I Understand

A Haunting Smile

Harry Potter wasn't in the mood to talk to Ron. Not that he was in a bad mood, in fact if Ron had asked him anything else he would have said something. But Ron had asked about Malfoy.

"Come on Harry, what did you ask? Please tell me it was something embarrassing." Ron pushed, causing Harry to want to punch him. The reason why still eluded him.

"His favourite colour." Harry was glad he had only taken a little Veritaserum, other wise he might tell Ron about his secret mornings.

"Really? That's boring. Why didn't you ask something a bit more interesting? Seriously mate, You could have really learned a lot." Ron continued, Harry got more agitated. Why did Ron want to know anyway? Malfoy wasn't important, he was no one. To Ron at least.

"What is is favourite colour?" Hermione asked softly, at least she knew when to drop a subject.

"Green." Of course he had no idea if this was true, but neither would Hermione.

"Ah. Anyway, did you like the second potion we made today? I found it quiet interesting." Bless Hermione, queen of changing the subject.

"The only thing I want to know it who was the bloke who decided mixing dragon dung and pixie teeth into a cauldron of boiling hedgehog spit was a good idea." Ron interjected, dropping the subject of Malfoy. "They must have been mental."

"Actually, if you'd been paying attention, you would have heard Professor Slughorn say it was a potions master who knew what each ingredient did separately and came to the conclusion that mixing them together would create an enlarging potion. The only thing he didn't know was how to add them in. He wasn't mental, he was brilliant." Hermione said in a voice that often amused Harry, because it sounded like McGonagall, but Harry was already zoning out.

His mind drifted to Malfoy, and how he had said they were both insane. Of course it was true, Harry agreed with it, and they had both been in under the effect of a very effective Veritaserum. Harry almost laughed at the similarities between the two boys. Even though he thought them to be very different, it was Malfoy for goodness sake. A uptight rich prat who had daddy issues. But Harry knew there was more to Malfoy than that, but he also knew that knowing that was a dangerous path, he could end up friends with the brat. The brat that had been nothing but mean to his friends for years. He had constantly harassed them and belittled them, he was mean and conceded.

But, he had claimed both of them had been insane, not just Harry, but himself too. Malfoy wasn't just a prat, even though that was a big part of it. He was just older than Harry, young, with potential to do the right thing. Even if the big decisions were over, he had thousands of tiny ones he could make. And tiny things add up. Harry knew he was venturing down a dangerous path, but Malfoy had changed, perhaps for the better.

But other people didn't care, because Harry heard all the names being called out to Malfoy. Harry saw all the jinxes and hexes he was hit with on a daily bases. Harry noticed how he was always alone, never talking, never standing up for himself. It almost pained Harry to see how Malfoy was treated, and how he didn't even stand up for himself. That was not the Malfoy he knew, this was a broken person with nothing to live for, and Harry understood that. But coming from Malfoy, it didn't seem right. And he wanted to talk to some one about it, but he knew Ron would tell him that Malfoy deserved it, and Hermione would ask why he cared, and why he noticed so much about Malfoy in the first place.

So after Transfiguration, Harry went to talk to someone who he had often found himself seeking advice from over the summer. Luna Lovegood had been the only person to really know what was going on in Harry's head, and Harry didn't really know why he had opened up to Luna, but in the end, she really helped. She had really good advice, and Harry knew she wouldn't ask more questions than necessary. So he found comfort in Luna, and her weird useful advice.