Love by Numbers

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ltr;unicode-bidi:embed\'>Love
by Numbers

ltr;unicode-bidi:embed\'>Chapter
5 - Harvest

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ltr;unicode-bidi:embed\'>Draco
sat down between Pansy and Blaise who were keeping a seat for him. As the two
greeted him and inquired, rather sincerely, about how he was feeling, he
realized that he was going to miss them. Pansy might not have been the prettiest female
on the grounds, but her nasty mind more than covered for it. She \'got\' him,
because she was the same. She understood his upbringing, shared the same ideals,
and viewed the world just as he did. She was always up for some mudblood
bashing, she was inventive in bed, and she was as loyal as a Slytherin could be.
The same things applied to Blaise. Draco still had them as his friends, his
followers, but he was about to loose them. Together with a lot of other things
- such as himself. He would soon loose his status in school, the fear and
respect that he inspired, his position on the Quiddich team, his position in the eyes of other pure-blood families, even his connections to his own family. Draco Malfoy was going to be seen as a traitor.

ltr;unicode-bidi:embed\'>But
even more so, his personality was going to have to disappear soon. He was going to have
to sacrifice his ideals, his aversions, his character, his sharp, carefully cultivated, tongue. Will he actually have to tone down his intelligence to fit in with the Gryffindorks? Not to notice obvious flaws in the people around him? In Hufflepuffs. In Mudblood and Weasel. In Potter.

ltr;unicode-bidi:embed\'>Well,
he decided to preserve something of himself. He couldn\'t, and, more importantly,
wouldn\'t, erase himself completely. A: there was no point in doing so – people
wouldn\'t believe the miraculous transformation. B: It would be too strenuous to
keep up such a monumental lie. Instead he was going to mix and match, keeping
what he could of his own essence, but recasting it in a different form.

ltr;unicode-bidi:embed\'>But
a transformation would still have to happen – undercover wasn\'t about lying,
it was about convincing yourself of what you were presenting. He will speak
truthfully about his new convictions, he will truthfully feel amiably about
Potter\'s friend, and he will care for Harry Potter. And he will do it
perfectly, because he was a Malfoy.

ltr;unicode-bidi:embed\'>He
had to figure out how to still have some fun, though. He couldn\'t imagine what
he\'d do without being able to pick on the dungheads around him. His life
was about to become progressively dreary.

ltr;unicode-bidi:embed\'>And,
per usual, it was all Potter\'s fault. Thankfully, it was all going to be worth
it. His position will be re-instated, tenfold, his friends will once again
worship him, Potter will be dead, and Draco will be the Dark Lord\'s right hand.
Draco was going to keep his eye on the prize – and do whatever it takes to get
it.

ltr;unicode-bidi:embed\'>Meanwhile,
he was going to enjoy the last days of being Draco Malfoy, the Slytherin
Prince.

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ltr;unicode-bidi:embed\'>At
the end of double potions that day Harry Potter, closely followed by Josie, Hermione, and Ron, caught up with a slowly moving Draco Malfoy.

ltr;unicode-bidi:embed\'>"Malfoy!"

ltr;unicode-bidi:embed\'>"What?"
There was not bite to the response, and Harry noticed an underlying tiredness
in the blonde\'s voice. That bit of weariness helped Harry to say what he needed
to, without too much resentment.

ltr;unicode-bidi:embed\'>"I
just wanted to thank you for helping Josie," he said with no inflection.
He didn\'t want to trigger this new Malfoy into an argument.

ltr;unicode-bidi:embed\'>The
voice that answered him was just as calm and tired as before: "As I told
the Empress," the pale blonde nodded to Josie, "I didn\'t do
anything."

ltr;unicode-bidi:embed\'>Relieved
that his mission was over, Harry said "Okay," and started to move
away. Only to receive an elbow in the ribs and a pointed look from his girlfriend.
He turned back, resigned to give it his best shot.

ltr;unicode-bidi:embed\'>"Regardless
of whether you planed to or not, you did help her. And... we\'re lucky that you
were there. So, thank you."

ltr;unicode-bidi:embed\'>Malfoy
caught his eye for a long moment, then finally nodded. "I accept."
Looking away, he said, quetly "I\'m glad she\'s not
hurt." With that he nodded to Josie, turned, and left the corridor.

ltr;unicode-bidi:embed\'>The
group he left behind stood dumbstruck. They all felt that something
extraordinary and very important happened between Harry Potter and his nemesis.
Of course, Josie was the least surprised of all, in fact she had a content look of \'I told
you so\' on her face.

ltr;unicode-bidi:embed\'>Perhaps
things were changing, and Draco Malfoy was growing up after all. But none of
the seventh-year Gryffindors knew how to interpret this change or weather to
trust it. Harry has put Malfoy senior in Azkaban, and Draco didn\'t seem too
happy about it at the time. Even less so when his father\'s machinations to get out of prison came to nothing. But now that Lucius Malfoy escaped over the summer, the Slytherin wasn\'t gloating, he just seemed… worn down.

ltr;unicode-bidi:embed\'>Exchanging
confused looks, the three friends silently shrugged off the issue for now, and
started moving towards their next class; Harry slipping a hand around Josie\'s
waist, happy that she was safe.

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ltr;unicode-bidi:embed\'>A/N:
To all the people who reviewed: Thanks guys! You are the reason I don\'t just
think random thoughts about this story, but actually sit down and write new
chapters.

ltr;unicode-bidi:embed\'>To
all the people who didn\'t review – I just hope you\'re enjoying this story too.

ltr;unicode-bidi:embed\'>To
all who wonder when Harry and Draco will get together – it\'s going to take time.
But, I already have a hot, lemony, scene written for them. :-) You just have to
wait.