Black Truth [READ DESCRIPTION]

chapter twenty-two

Chapter Twenty-Two: Vacation's Conversations

Harry blinked as a muffled "thud" pounded through the walls of Malfoy Manor. A few minutes later a muffled "crash" followed. This time Harry put down his quill from the letter he had been writing to Ron and waited a minute. When he heard the muffled explosion he got up from where he'd been lounging on the bed and made his way into Draco's room. Draco was nowhere to be seen so Harry continued walking down the staircase into Draco's potions laboratory. Draco had spent the large part of three days in there, so Harry was not surprised in the least to find him there working on… something.

Despite the loud "smash" that shot through the room as Harry opened the door, Draco looked as if this was quite normal.

"I suppose you wanted those small explosions to happen" Harry commented as he closed the door behind him.

Draco nodded absently as he dropped something green into the bubbling cauldron, a silver one Harry noted. Harry opted to sit on one of the many stools in the room as Draco continued working on whatever it was he was working on. Harry had learned that when Draco was working on a potion that was either particularly intricate (never "difficult" because that would imply that there was a chance for failure) or one that reacted to certain steps particularly quickly he would soon forget that there was anyone else in the room. And when Draco didn't think there was anyone in the room, all his facades fell down to reveal a boy that Harry thought was absolutely beautiful. Had Harry been a poet he could have easily written an ode to the way the light of curiosity seemed to sparkle in Draco's eyes, making them seem like molten silver. If Harry had been the best artist in the world, he was sure that he could not have done Draco justice in the art media, nor the way the candle-lit room provided a glow that seemed to dance around his face and fingers as he stirred whatever he was brewing or chopped something with a fine silver knife. And Harry knew that these kinds of thoughts about Draco Malfoy would have scared him out of his skin back during the first week of school, but he realized he didn't mind them now.

Draco realized Harry was watching him again. Harry had been doing that off and on for the past few days. It was obvious to Draco that Harry was attracted to him at least but Draco wasn't sure how far that attraction went. It was rather frustrating. At times like this, when Harry's eyes stared at him in an almost unblinking fashion, as if afraid to miss one detail, or when he would awake in the morning to find Harry doing the same type of thing as he had slept, Draco was sure that Harry's emotions ran deeper. But when Harry knew that Draco was… well alert to his surroundings Harry was just amicable. It was rather frustrating because Draco didn't know how to respond to Harry when he flip-flopped through emotions like this. Like right now for example. If he stretched just a bit… yes, he could see Harry gulp ever so slightly. That didn't happen normally. It was almost like Harry couldn't make up his mind.

Draco didn't really blame Harry for this, because he was in the same boat really. Oh, he knew Harry was attractive, in a very different way than Draco himself was attractive, but he didn't really know quite where his feelings for Harry lay. There was also the small fact that neither Harry nor he himself had really broached yet: the fact that whether they fell in love with each other eventually or not, they were stuck together for life.

There would be no way they could hide this for all that long after they graduated Hogwarts… Merlin, Draco didn't even know how they were going to hide it through the summer when his friends were going to find it rather strange that Harry Potter just happened to be at the Manor they hadn't yet discussed how they should let the public view their relationship of sorts.

Draco's eyes quickly fell to the clock at his right. If there was another explosion in two seconds-

A loud smash rose from the swirling contents of the cauldron.