Nothing is what it seems

Decided to update sooner than I originally intended. Couldn't resist :)

Thank you so much for all the kind reviews I have received so far.

Enjoy:

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The next thing Harry knew, he was sprawled on the floor of Dumbledore’s office. Once he had regained his bearings, he looked round to see if he had been wrong. Hoping he had been wrong. To his devastation, he wasn’t. Draco had not grabbed on to the portkey. Harry was certain he was dead now. Well, not dead…worse than dead. He suddenly noticed Dumbledore sitting behind his desk and he gave him a look of total despair.

“He said he would come back,” Harry began to explain, “He said he would. But he didn’t. He didn’t hold on to the portkey.” Harry realised that his sentences were not complete, but he was in too much shock to care.

“You did what you could.” Dumbledore responded softly.

Harry felt anger begin to flare up inside him. “No, I didn’t! I should have held on to him!”

“You are not responsible, Harry.”

“Yes, I am. I should have known that he didn’t want to come with me.” He paused, consumed in his own thoughts for a few moments. “Send me back!”

“I’m afraid I cannot do that.”

“Why? You sent me there in the first place! Apparate me back!”

“You’ve done all you can.”

“I know. But if he won’t come back with me, then I want to go back to him!” Harry shouted. He was beginning to lose his temper now.

“No, Harry.” Was the quiet but firm response that Harry received.

Harry knocked one of the lamps over that sat on the small table by the door and watched it as it smashed onto the floor. He was hoping that Dumbledore would send him back in order to keep his possessions safe. However, it did not have the desired effect. Dumbledore remained as calm as ever. In fact, he began to smile.

“Send me back, or…or…I’ll smash everything.” Harry threatened.

“Go ahead.” Was the calm reply that Harry received. “But once you’ve finished, please sit down again. We need to talk.”

Harry knew that he did not believe he would do it. He would have to show him otherwise. He pushed the cloak stand over and watched as it crashed to the floor. He then looked at Dumbledore again, who was still smiling infuriatingly. Figuring that this behaviour was not going to get him sent back to Draco, he decided that perhaps cooperating would be a better option. He sat down on the chair opposite the older man.

“Right, what is it?” Harry said, getting straight to the point.

“What happened back there?” Dumbledore asked him gently.

“I told you. He agreed to come back with me, but then he changed his mind.” He paused, wondering whether he should voice his next thought. “He obviously doesn’t care about me at all.” He shrugged.

“How do you know that?”

“Well, isn’t it obvious? Surely if he did care, he would have come back.” He said simply.

“Love is a fickle thing, Harry. It’s not as straight forward as some people like to think. Love is a strange concept to Draco. He was not brought up with love, but with rules.”

“I wasn’t brought up with love either. The Dursleys weren’t exactly the most loving family.” Harry responded. He did not see how that could possibly be used as a reason.

“You knew your parents loved you, Harry. They died to save your life. Draco was never shown excessive love by his parents, in fear that it would make him weak.” Dumbledore explained.

“That’s rubbish! How can love make someone weak?” Harry asked him.

“It doesn’t. It can only make a person stronger. However, the power of love is usually undermined. Just because Draco did not display affection, it does not mean he did not care.”

Harry’s eyes began to sting. It was almost easier to believe that Draco had had no feelings for him, because he could have at least convinced himself that they had nothing real anyway. That Draco could never love him. The bitterness almost covered the hurt. But knowing that it was a possibility that he had cared just filled Harry with despair. Despair at the fact he had just lost one of the few people who did actually care for him. Just like when he had lost Sirius.

Before he knew it, Harry had begun to cry. He desperately tried to stop himself, feeling humiliated from just sitting there crying, especially in front of Dumbledore. But he found that he could just not help himself. Dumbledore merely watched, fuelling Harry’s embarrassment. He hid his face behind his knees, trying to restore some kind of dignity. Once he had composed himself a little better, he put his feet back on the floor.

“Why does it always happen to me? First my parents. Then Sirius. And now, Draco.” Harry said. He knew that he sounded sorry for himself, but he could not help it. “Please, let me go back. Perhaps there is still time.” He pleaded.

Dumbledore shook his head. “It is too late, Harry.”

“No.” Harry whispered. “No, it might not be. He might have fought them.” As deeply unlikely as that was, Harry needed to cling onto some kind of hope. For his own sanity.

“No, Harry. The Ministry are fully trained and powerful. Draco would stand no chance in a confrontation.” Dumbledore replied.

Harry felt sick. He could not accept that that was it.

“Maybe you should go back to your dormitory and get some sleep. You’ve had quite an ordeal.” Dumbledore suggested.

Harry stood up, silently agreeing. With a jump, he heard an extremely loud crack sound from behind him. He spun round automatically. What he saw overjoyed and alarmed him. There was Draco, lying on the floor of Dumbledore’s office. However, he was not conscious.

“Harry, go and get Madam Pomfrey.” Dumbledore instructed, standing up.

“I want to stay…”

“Go. Now. I am unsure of how serious any injuries of his might be.” He said. Harry left the office immediately, worried about the amount of concern he had heard in the older man’s voice. He ran to Madam Pomfrey as quick as he could. After he had found her, he explained briefly and waited, impatiently, for her to collect a few potions. Once they had reached Dumbledore’s office, Harry ran straight back to Draco’s side.

Madam Pomfrey bustled around him for a few minutes before deducing that there was nothing seriously wrong with him, but he had collapsed from exhaustion. She recommended that he be moved straight to the hospital wing so that he could rest.

Ten minutes later, Draco had been placed in a bed on the hospital wing. Harry sat down in a chair next to the bed and looked at Draco’s pale face. He wanted to cry as he watched him, knowing how close he had come to losing him. He grasped his pale hand that was lying limply on the bed next to him. He did not know how long he sat there before he was interrupted.

“Harry, I think you need to get some rest.” Came Dumbledore’s voice.

“Please, I want to stay here. I cannot leave.” Harry insisted.

Dumbledore looked at the despair in Harry’s face and smiled gently. He nodded. “I’ll ask Madam Pomfrey to set you up a bed.”

“No, I didn’t mean…”

“I would rather you got some rest.” Dumbledore persisted. Harry gave in, nodding.

Madam Pomfrey re-entered the hospital wing to set up a bed for Harry, next to Draco. She bid him goodnight and left. It took Harry ages to get to sleep. He kept tossing and turning, replaying the night’s events back through his mind. He wanted to know what had happened once he had left. Wondering what could have possibly caused Draco to come back, he eventually drifted into a restless sleep.

*****

When he woke up, Harry was not immediately sure where he was. He sat up and looked around. Have been there many times before, he recognised the room as the hospital wing. He jumped out of bed and rushed over to Draco’s. Seeing he was still asleep, he sunk into the chair next to him and yawned, trying to wake himself up properly. He sat there for at least an hour, studying Draco’s face intensely, before the other boy finally woke up.

As Draco opened his eyes, he looked extremely shocked. If the situation had not been so serious, Harry probably would have laughed.

“How are you?” Harry asked, holding his hand firmly.

“Where’s my father?” Draco asked in return, sitting up abruptly.

Harry honestly did not know. He had not heard any information regarding Lucius. He told Draco this.

“What happened?” Harry asked him.

“My father saved me. When I was about to be captured, my father used the last of his energy to send me back here. He’s…” His voice trailed off. Harry gripped his hand harder. “I thought he didn’t care.” This was all he could manage to say before his eyes began to water. It was heart-breaking for Harry to watch. But he knew he could not leave him.

“Sssh…” Harry said in a soothing whisper, trying to comfort him.

Draco didn’t seem to hear him. He sat in silence, staring at the wall opposite his bed. Harry wanted to know what he was thinking. He wanted to help him but did not know how. Draco began to stand up.

“Where are you going, Drae?” Harry said softly, also standing up.

“I need to get out of here, I need to know what has happened to my father.” Came the mechanical reply.

“No, get back into bed. You’re not ready to get up yet.” Harry said firmly. He stood in front of him so that he had no choice but to sit back down. Draco did as he was told. “How come you were not caught?” Harry asked.

Draco took a few moments to refocus his attention back on Harry. “You left your cloak,” He began, “I hid under it once you had gone. I knew that I wouldn’t stand a chance if they came in then. So I waited until they had gone back downstairs. I followed them. Once I was back in the room with my father and the others, I removed the cloak,” He paused again, still weak, “I tried to help. They grabbed my father, so I threw a hex at the man who bound him. The binding spell broke.” He stopped for a minute, trying to compose himself. He carried on quietly. “My father would have had time to get away. But instead, he turned to me and used the opportune moment to get away to send me back to Hogwarts…” His voice trailed off. Harry’s eyes were glistening with tears as he listened to Draco’s story. He gripped his hands in a comforting way.

“It’s ok…it’s ok.” Harry said, as he rubbed Draco’s hand.

“It’s not though. I need to know what happened. Does Dumbledore know?” Draco asked him, searching for the answer in his eyes.

“I don’t know.” He moved from the chair to Draco’s bed. They sat side-by-side and Harry put his arm around him. With his free hand, he touched Draco’s arm. “Let me look after you.”

“I don’t need looking after.” Draco insisted.

“I know.” Harry said. He did not want to give Draco any excuse to start any kind of argument. He knew he must be hurting right now. Draco moved his arm and his sleeve slid up, revealing his cuts. Harry did not say anything. He knew Draco did not like talking about it. “I thought I’d lost you.” Harry said quietly. He turned his head and pushed his lips against Draco’s neck lovingly. “Please never do anything like that to me again.” He whispered, his lips still pushed against Draco’s skin.

“I felt so bad for tricking you like that,” Draco added, once he had recovered some of his dignity, “I just needed to get you out of there. They might have killed you if you had stayed.”

“I don’t care.” Harry said plainly, still not moving his face away.

“I couldn‘t bear it if you‘d died.” Draco explained

“I understand.” Harry said, pulling his head away.

“I don’t think you do...” Draco stated.

Harry looked at him seriously. “Don’t say it. Not unless you mean it.”

Draco nodded. “But I do. I’ve thought about it for a while now.”

Harry watched him apprehensively.

“I love you, Harry.”