Just Some... Help

Chapter 8

A little confused at the instructions he had been given, Draco let his mind to wander to Potter as he climbed the stairs to the seventh floor. A kind of desperation and hopelessness had been building as the weeks went by, time dragging him closer to the Christmas holidays. Every morning, the sight of his owl swooping into the Great Hall to deliver a letter made his stomach clench painfully. But in the midst of this, Potter had been something to think about, because even if thinking about him made him more confused, it was a welcome distraction from his situation.

Harry made his way to the seventh floor, wondering again just why he was trusting Malfoy with this place. The decision to not tell his friends anything had been made for him the day in the hallway when Malfoy had cornered him and fiercely told him that no one could know.
As he reached the tapestry of the trolls he spotted a flash of blond hair and quickly looked around to see if anyone else was there. He stepped closer to Malfoy, clearing his throat to indicate his presence.
“Potter” Malfoy greeted him, his voice sounding tired and thin.
“Malfoy” Harry replied. “Erm... So we- I have to just walk here to make the room appear.” Malfoy stared at him, lifting his eyebrows in question at the mess Harry had made of that sentence. He ignored this and instead turned to pace down the corridor, thinking about a place to talk, not too small but just for the two of them... He looked up happily as a door appeared in the wall and turned to Malfoy to see his grey eyes wide and pink lips parted, a small noise of surprise leaving them. As he watched, Malfoy swallowed, pressing his lips together.
Draco’s eyes flicked to Potter to make a comment about the door, before noticing that his eyes were already on Draco, but rather than at eye level, Potter was staring at his lips. Experimentally, Draco slowly took the side of his lip between his teeth, watching Potter closely. He heard his breath hitch and Draco looked at the door before looking back to Potter who was now staring at Draco. That was very interesting.
“Shall we?” Draco managed, indicating to the door with his arm. Potter nodded, opening the door to reveal a spacious room, filled mostly with a large table like the ones found in the library, two chairs placed next to each other. Draco followed him in, sitting next to Potter at the table.
Harry pulled out some snacks from his pockets, wrapped carefully in paper and placed them on the table. He was pleased to see Malfoy’s face turn indignant as he spoke.
“Why do you just have food in your pockets?” he asked, confused.
“Oh.. Erm I guess I just always carry it with me? It’s just from lunchtime.” Harry replied, scratching the back of his neck as he said it.
“Why do you always carry food with you?” Malfoy asked, a curious lilt to his voice.
“Just habit I guess” Harry mumbled, not wanting to tell Malfoy about that just yet. “Anyway, why did you need to see me so badly?” he asked as he took a piece of treacle tart from the table, popping it into his mouth. Malfoy stilled, his expression becoming guarded and his words careful.
“Okay. Well, Potter, recently I discovered something about myself which is not helpful to my survival at all, but you’re the only person that can help me, because it’s not going to change.” He took a deep breath before continuing, all of Harry’s attention focused on him and his words.
“I know that the Dark Lord is growing stronger, not only from you but also because of the talk at my house.” Harry felt a thrill go through his stomach that Malfoy trusted his word, listening as he continued. “My parents-” here he hesitated, thinking through what he was going to say. “They talk about the growing strength of the Dark Lord, about the inevitable separation between the muggle world and the wizarding world, and the death of all muggleborns. And its just not something I believe in and I want to help you fight him because he can’t come to power.” He spoke the last sentence quickly, the words coming out rushed, and Harry sat back, trying to process this turn of events.
Draco watched Potter carefully, letting him react to Draco’s words.
“and Potter you can use veritaserum or a truth potion on me if you don’t trust my word, but-”
He broke off as Potter looked up, his eyes questioning. “When did this change of heart happen?”
“Well, it was at the Quidditch World Cup, when I saw the destruction his followers made, how little they cared for it. I- that was when I really knew that I didn’t want to be just another one of them.” Potter nodded, and Draco breathed out. He seemed to believe him, at least enough to not hex him out of the room.
“Why did you tell me about this?”
“Because, well, the first thing I did was go to Severus, and he’s started teaching me occlumency to help me block out the Dark Lord, and now I need to go to Dumbledore, but you’re going to know either way, and I thought that telling you seemed way less daunting than Dumbledore. And I thought that- I thought maybe you would come with me to tell him?” The words came out jumbled and rushed, and he felt vulnerable, laying all his weaknesses there for Potter to judge.