Nothing is what it seems

Author's Note:
Thanks for the reviews so far :)
Just working my way towards the Harry/Draco bit :D

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The next morning brought a very lonely silence. Used to waking up to either the sound of his roommates snoring or the noise of them bustling around, it struck Harry as very odd that there were no sounds. Once the last trace of sleep had left him, he remembered that it was now the Christmas holidays and that he was the only person from that dormitory remaining at Hogwarts. Sighing, he sat up and got out of bed. He got dressed and then decided to go down to the great hall for some breakfast.

On entering the great hall, he was remotely surprised at the extent to which the hall was decorated. There hung gold and silver snow flake shapes along the walls and there were flashing lights coming from each corner. The next thing Harry noticed was that the four long house tables had been removed in favour of a much smaller table which had fourteen seats around it. Eight of which were already occupied. Dumbledore was sitting in the seat at the far end of the table, with McGonagall and Snape either side of him. In the other seats were two second year students from Hufflepuff, a young girl from Ravenclaw and of course, Draco Malfoy. Harry took a seat as far away from Malfoy as possible and smiled at Dumbledore, who had been watching him closely ever since he had entered the room. Dumbledore acknowledged his smile and stood up.

“Good morning, everyone. I thought I would just take this opportunity to wish you a happy Christmas holiday. There are not many of us here at Hogwarts, so it’s important that every single person here works together to make it an exceptionally joyous one.” He looked meaningfully at Harry and Malfoy, who were sitting at opposite ends of the table. “Right, let’s have breakfast.” At this command, food sprung from nowhere and the small table creaked under the strain.

Harry had been watching Malfoy throughout Dumbledore’s speech and had been somewhat amused at his reaction. The constant rolling of the eyes and sighing was something Harry was accustomed to seeing Malfoy doing, but it was his facial expression that had amused Harry. As if he was a schoolboy who had been up to something mischievous. He had had the same glint in his eye, but it hadn’t been aggressive. It was this small detail that had surprised Harry.

Once everyone had finished eating, they rose to their feet to leave the table. As Harry was leaving, Dumbledore called him aside.

“Harry. I know you and Master Malfoy have your differences, but it is Christmas, so I don’t want to hear of any confrontations between the two of you.” The older man breathed.

“Well, I won’t start anything if he doesn’t,” Harry replied defiantly.

“Draco’s having a hard time at the moment and I think all he needs is to be shown a little kindness, Harry. I know you are not cruel. I’m not asking for a miracle, I’m just asking you to be patient.”

Harry hesitated. “Okay, I’ll try.”

Dumbledore smiled warmly at him, patted his shoulder affectionately and then left the hall. Harry remained there for a few moments longer wondering why Dumbledore had specifically asked him to try to be nice to Malfoy. The idea was ridiculous. Sure, Harry wasn’t a cruel person, but Malfoy sure was.

Unsure what to do with the rest of his day, Harry eventually decided on getting his broomstick and going for a fly. School work would wait until tomorrow, after all.

****

When Harry reached the quidditch pitch, he noticed somebody else already flying around it. As he got nearer, he recognised the person as no other than Draco Malfoy. He took a seat in the stands to watch him fly. As he observed the other boy, he could appreciate that he was actually quite a good flyer. It wasn’t his standard of flying that led him to always lose against Harry - it was his inability to work as part of a team. After watching him for about ten minutes, Malfoy flew towards him.
“What do you want, Potter?” Malfoy challenged.

“It’s not illegal to sit in the quidditch stand, is it?”

“Well, why are you watching me then?”

“If you must know, I came out here to fly around the pitch a few times. But I noticed you were using it, so I thought I’d wait until you’d finished.” Harry replied honestly.

Malfoy looked at him scornfully. “So you can’t use the pitch while I’m on it? Scared I’ll show you up?” He mocked.

Harry’s temper flared a little. “I don’t think so, Malfoy. Have you forgotten all those times I beat you at quidditch?”

“Chance, Potter. That’s how you manage to survive dangerous situations. Pure luck. Do you honestly think you’re any match for the Dark Lord?” He added spitefully.

“I’d rather die trying to defeat him than join him.”

This seemed to touch a nerve. Malfoy flinched slightly and looked a little unnerved, However, within a matter of seconds he had regained poise, so Harry was unsure of whether he had just imagined it.

“Come on then, Potter. If you think you’re so skilled…I’ll get the snitch. We’ll have a little match, shall we?” Malfoy said, his eyes glittering maliciously.

Not wanting to back down and show weakness, Harry instantly agreed. He picked up his broom and made his way down to the pitch.

Moments later, Malfoy had released the snitch and the two boys were prowling the pitch steadily for sight of it. Harry frequently looked over in Malfoy’s direction for any signal that he might have spotted it. Suddenly, Malfoy pulled into a dive and Harry was close on his tail. They flew around the pitch, gradually building up speed, until Malfoy finally stopped, looked over his shoulder at Harry and smirked. Realisation hit Harry and he suddenly realised that Malfoy had fooled him into believing he had seen the snitch. Looking away from Malfoy, he once again resumed his search, knowing he could not let Malfoy win this. Malfoy begun to call insults out to Harry, forgetting about the snitch entirely. As he did this, Harry noticed a glint of gold just behind him. Not wanting to alert Malfoy to this new development, he cautiously made his way over there, trying not to look suspicious. As he reached the blonde boy, he gave his broomstick a spurt of speed as he lunged for the snitch.

Malfoy noticed far too late and had no time to react. Feeling the cold metal from the centre of his fist, Harry flew back to the ground, relieved that Malfoy had not won. He wasn’t sure how he would have tolerated his constant gloating, had he won. Malfoy joined his seconds later, a hurt look on his face. Harry couldn’t help but feel slightly guilty.

“Well done, Potter,” Malfoy spat, “the precious golden boy has done it again.” And with this, he turned and strutted away in the direction of the castle.

Harry was confused. Why was Malfoy so bothered that he had won? He usually beat him at quidditch anyway. It wasn’t the outburst of aggression that had confused Harry, but the pained, hurt look that he had displayed in his eyes. Harry cast his mind back to what Dumbledore had said earlier. Why was Malfoy having a hard time? He hadn’t seemed any different to Harry lately. He had been his usual spiteful self, as far as Harry could see. Picking up his broomstick, he followed Malfoy’s route back up to the castle.

****

The days leading up to Christmas were uneventful and Harry felt miserable from boredom. He had not seen Malfoy for a few days now, ever since he had beat him in their mini competition. Harry couldn’t help feeling the other boy was being slightly ridiculous about the whole thing, not coming down to meals merely because he caught the snitch first. He pulled the marauders map out of his trunk and muttered the words to enable it. Suddenly a map of Hogwarts appeared, and Harry’s eyes drifted to Slytherin’s common room. A dot labelled ’Draco Malfoy’ was there, as usual. Harry wondered why Malfoy had not left the common room for three days. He couldn’t still be bitter that Harry had beaten him, surely.

Beginning to feel restless, Harry looked at his marauders map once more. He was surprised to see that the dot with Malfoy’s name underneath it had left the common room and was walking down one of the corridors. Hastily grabbing his invisibility cloak and putting the map in his pocket, he left Gryffindor common room.

His heart pounding in his chest, he moved at a fast pace down the corridor to find Malfoy. He was curious to know why he had not made any appearances lately. It was not that he particularly cared, he told himself, he just had nothing else to keep him amused. Looking at the map, he noticed that he had just entered a classroom that already had a dot labelled ‘Severus Snape’ in it. As he approached the classroom, he slowed down a bit, to give him time to catch his breath. Just as Snape was closing the door, Harry managed to quickly run through, still trying not to make a sound.

Harry looked around the room, wondering why they had chosen to meet here and not in Snape’s office. He looked over at Malfoy, who had his back to him. Once Snape had closed the door firmly, he turned towards Malfoy.

“What is the problem, Draco? Why was it so urgent that you spoke to me?” Snape asked, the tone of resentment that he usually used with Harry, absent from his voice.

Malfoy turned around and Harry saw his face for the first time. When he saw him, Harry almost let out a gasp. Malfoy had always been pale but now he had reached a whole new level. He had dark circles round his eyes and he looked particularly fragile.

“I received a letter from a friend of my father’s this morning. He said…” His voice began to crack. Harry suddenly felt extremely awkward at being present.

Snape looked concerned. “What did he say?”

“He said my mother had been attacked. Said she was in a critical condition…” His voice trailed off.

“How long have you known?”

“Two days. I’ve been waiting for more news but…” He paused. He sounded like he was struggling not to cry.

Snape nodded. “I understand. I’ll ask Dumbledore for permission to take you to see her. Am I correct in presuming that she is currently at St. Mungo’s?”

Malfoy nodded meekly.

“Okay. I’ll come and find you once I have spoken to the headmaster.” With this, the potions master left the room.

Once Snape had left the room, Malfoy slid to the floor and remained motionless. Harry felt desperately sorry for the other boy but obviously could not reveal that he had been there the entire time. He watched him as he placed his head in his hands. Harry was sure he was about to cry, but Malfoy did no such thing. Instead, he remained on the floor, completely still. Harry assumed this was what he had been doing ever since he had heard the news. Harry wanted to leave the room, but knew he had to wait until Malfoy left because he could not open the door. An excruciating twenty minutes later, Malfoy finally stirred and stood up. He opened the door, left the room and Harry followed him. Malfoy stalked off in the direction of the dungeons. Harry felt too guilty to spy on him any longer, so walked in the opposite direction. His mind was spinning. Who had attacked Malfoy’s mother? And why? He supposed it was because their family was in league with Voldemort. Although he had never seen eye to eye with Malfoy, he still couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.

****

Later on, he made his way down to the great hall, the earlier scene still spinning through his mind. He was not surprised to see that Malfoy was not there. He ate his dinner and then went outside for some fresh air. He walked in the direction of the lake, knowing that the sound of the water would relax him and allow him to think. As he approached, he noticed somebody was already sitting there. Recognising the person as Draco Malfoy, he hesitated as to whether he should continue walking or turn around and go back. Remembering Dumbledore’s words from a few days ago, he decided to make an effort to be nice to the boy. It was almost Christmas, after all.

Harry coughed to signal his presence and Malfoy turned around. On seeing Harry, an automatic sneer manipulated his features.

“Potter.” He merely stated, before turning around again.

Fighting the urge to walk away, Harry sat down.

Surprised to see Harry still sitting there, Malfoy turned to face him once more. “What do you want?”

“Is that all you can ever say to me?” Harry asked with a smirk.

Malfoy said nothing.

“Why weren’t you at dinner?” Harry asked.

“Why do you care?” Malfoy challenged.

“I don’t.” Harry retaliated.

Malfoy turned so that he was facing the lake once more. Not looking at Harry, he replied, “Well, can you leave me alone then.” The tone of his voice was expressionless. Harry would rather it been aggressive.

“Look, Malfoy, I know that we’re not really friends or anything, but it is Christmas and…”

“…the Golden Boy has to be nice to everyone, is that it?” Malfoy snapped.

Harry struggled to hold onto his temper, knowing that losing it would only make the situation worse. He didn’t say anything.

“Well, don’t bother. Don’t be nice to me.”

“Why not?” Harry asked with curiosity.

“Just don’t.” Malfoy stated. Harry looked at Malfoy, and noticed, with alarm, that his eyes were glistening. Not with menace, like they usually were, but with pain. He also noticed that Malfoy would not look at him. The blonde-haired boy shivered. Harry wanted to talk to Malfoy about what had happened to his mother, but didn’t know how to approach the subject without revealing he had been in the room when he had been confiding in Snape. He decided to ask seemingly innocent questions to prise the information out of him.

“So what’s wrong?” Subtly was not a skill that Harry possessed.

“Nothing.” Malfoy mumbled.

“Nothing? If nothing was wrong, then you would have probably thrown a curse at me by now.”

Malfoy smirked a little before quickly restraining it.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

Harry was stumped for ideas now. He could hardly continue to interrogate him once he had plainly been told to back down. Malfoy shivered again. Harry realised they should probably go inside now. It had suddenly become very dark and the wind was very bitter.

“Do you want to go inside?” Harry asked.

Malfoy shrugged.

“Come on, it’s freezing out here.”

Malfoy did not protest. Inside, he hauled himself to his feet and began to walk towards the castle. Harry quickly stood up and caught up with him. As they walked, Harry racked his brains for something to say. He hardly wanted to leave Malfoy alone, but at the same time, did not particularly spend any extra time with him either. After internally debating with himself, he decided not to be so selfish.

“Do you want a game of exploding chess?” Harry asked, as politely as he could possibly be towards his enemy.

Malfoy shook his head, without any trace of emotion. “I’d rather just go to bed.” He stated. And with this, he turned around and walked away from Harry. Harry watched him go, feeling stabs of pity in his chest as the other boy vanished from sight.