Changes

Chapter 6

When Harry woke up the next day he dressed mutely and didn't eat anything for breakfast. His throat burned from the previous night and his stomach couldn't handle food when he was this stressed, and stressed he was.

For today was the day that he came up with a believable lie for the entire Wizarding World to read in the newspapers. He hated the fact that people made assumptions, but this time he wanted to be the one to be feeding them the right assumptions to make. It really irritated him that he had to do this, make up another lie about himself, but he also knew that he'd get a lot farther along in life if he just spewed out what he knew the public needed to believe. In due time he might, perhaps, tell Draco and Severus what really went on and explain the real reasons as to why he had all the nightmares and why he was dressing as he was. Maybe they'd understand, in time.

Or maybe they wouldn't.

He forced his mind to shut down; he knew what he had to do and he knew what needed to be done to get him there. It wouldn't be easy, but he'd do the best he could. After all, he'd lied before to save others from knowing the horrors he had to live through. What was the difference, really? This was just one more lie to cover up what he knew the general populace couldn't handle.

But unlike last time, this time he was scared.

He was truly worried that no one would buy his made up story. He was afraid that someone would question it and come up with something much closer to the truth. He already knew that's what Severus and Draco had done. They just didn't ask about it-yet.

When it was time to leave the classroom for the interview, Draco didn't say a word. He just stood there and gave him a meaningful look, one that asked him if he was all right and if he'd be able to handle what he was about to do. He nodded and got up to go and meet with the one woman who had tried to destroy his life by receiving more readers. This was about to be one messed up interview as Harry would be the one scamming her, instead of the other way around.

The room was small, but not the size of a broom closet like the one she had forced him into after he had his name called from the Goblet of Fire. It was definitely a size that he preferred.

Draco was still there, a constant presence that kept Harry from panicking and backing out the last minute. He knew that he needed to do this, and he was grateful for the other man being there. It meant that he couldn't leave, no matter how hard this got to be on his nerves. And somehow, he suspected that Draco would help him out later with the pain that these new lies would bring upon his heart and conscious.

She arrived a few minutes later, and sat down at the table, pulling out a quill and parchment as she walked. Her heels were no longer the bright colors she used to favor-now they were a flat black and brought no attention to her feet whatsoever. Harry was glad that at least something of hers had changed.

"Look, are you sure you want to watch this entire process? After all, it is a bit lengthy-" Harry cut her off.

"Yes, I'm sure. I have Dobby waiting in the hallway. I trust him completely with making sure that nothing changes from here to the printed version for the public. I don't care if you so much as spell something wrong or miss a comma. It will be printed as such." She nodded.

"Well then, if you'll kindly tell me as to why we're here and why you agreed to such an interview, we can get started."

"I'm not answering questions. I'm going to tell you why I've changed and what I feel is necessary for the public to know." He took a deep breath, and he noticed that Draco moved slightly closer, providing him with more comfort in knowing that he wasn't about to leave anytime soon.

"With Voldemort being the entire focus of my life, I never really knew how to have fun. I could never do anything I wanted-it was always what the public wanted of their Savior. I've wanted to be like this my entire life, and the fact that I couldn't because of society hurt but I dealt with it.

"I've always wanted to wear the eyeliner and the black clothes. I always wanted to just sit back and do my work and let everyone else alone. Unfortunately with the stress of the entire world on my shoulders, even as a twelve year old boy, I couldn't even focus on class. I'm lucky I passed.

"I spent the summer with Severus Snape, my potions professor, because he has seen and done some of the things that I have seen and done. He knows what I suffer and he offered to help, to be somewhat of a comfort to me. He has been. And he's tutored me in all of my classes, catching me up to where I wanted to be in the first place by now. I still study with him privately, and talk to him on occasion outside of class.

"But as for spending as much time with Draco Malfoy as I have, I just decided that a schoolboy grudge wasn't worth a lifetime of fighting with someone for no apparent reason. Draco saved my life and for that, I felt that it was time to put a petty argument away, permanently. He agreed, and we now share private rooms to prevent harassment and to better our studies. It's easier for us to concentrate in a quiet room alone than with an entire other House or in the library where whispers are sent across bookshelves." Harry got up and left, leaving the reeling writer alone and walked swiftly down the hallway. He could hear Draco behind him, giving him room and time to think before catching up to him in their rooms.

He just hoped that he wouldn't get there before he could take care of his need to let lose a few tears.