I Understand

Un-Malfoy-ish

As Harry came in and sat down, Draco let out a small breath of relief.

Harry seemed to always be accompanied by calm, and that was what Draco had needed. He had had another nightmare.

One that often came to him. It was really more of a memory, but it hurt him.

It was the day, over Easter break, when Harry had been dragged to the Manor. But it did not begin with the 5 prisoners being brought in. 

It began with Grangers' screams. 

High-pitched and terrible. They made his blood curdle. He knew that Bellatrix was hurting her, someone innocent. Someone brilliant, with a bright future. 

It would be different, if it had been someone like him. Someone who was a bully. Someone who had hurt others before. Someone who had done what they were told by the Carrows. Someone who did not fight back. If it had been him. He deserved pain. But Granger, she is a good person.

Yet he let it happen. He was too scared to do anything. He continued to listen to the evil people he was around. 

He was weak.

A coward.

Useless.

Unwanted.

Better off dead.

His forearm had started to dully itch again. And the flowers on his arm had turned white. He vaguely recalled that meant feeling worthless. They couldn't be more right.

He looked down at the blank page in his lap. He had been so caught up in hating himself, he hadn't drawn Harry.

He frowned a little. How long had he been thinking? Did he even have time to draw him this morning?

"Are you okay?" Harry's voice came from beside him suddenly. Draco jumped a little, he hadn't noticed Harry come over.

He saw Harry looking over at his flowers. He pulled his sleeve down. "I'm fine." He muttered and clenched his jaw.

Harry looked at him for a while. The silence, which usually was comfortable, turned awkward. Draco was about to leave, when Harry spoke softly.

"Do you remember the first time we met?"

The question took him by surprise. At least Harry hadn't pressed the colour of his flowers. "At Madam Malkins'. We were being fitted." Draco said recalling the memory. He hadn't even know it was Harry Potter he was talking to. It must have seemed outright awful. But of course he had, he was awful.

"Yeah. I had no idea what you were talking about. The muggles that raised me didn't ever speak of magic. They hated wizards, so I had actually never heard of Hogwarts until I got my letter." Harry gave a small laugh.

"Really? The muggles who raised you never told you?" But he was Harry Potter. "What did they do when you started showing accidental magic?" How had they kept it from him?

"They punished me and wouldn't hear reason." Draco was taken back. Punished him? For accidental magic? Even when he accidentally died his Fathers hair dark blue, he wasn't blamed. "There was this one time, they had my hair cut short, because they didn't like how untamed it was. Then I grew it back, and my aunt nearly died. She almost shaved my head, except my bangs. 'To hide that hideous scar.' But over night it grew back. Lucky, they couldn't find a reason for that to be my fault." Harry laughed at the memory. 

He took Draco's mind off of his nightmare, and Draco told Harry of his 1st accidental magic. "Mother came to wake me up one morning. Usually she woke me up gently and told me to get ready for breakfast. But instead of her soft voice, I heard her scream. I woke up frightened out of my mind. Suddenly all my furniture dropped to the ground and I fell forward onto the canopy above my bed. Apparently I had turned all my belongings upside down so they were on the ceiling." He smiled faintly at the happier time that seemed like so long ago.

"Really? In your sleep? Honestly, that would have been hilarious to see. You almost gave her a heart attack." Harry said giving a lop sided smile. Draco's heart suddenly gave a little flutter and Draco warned it. 

I can NOT have a crush on Potter! Do not have a crush on Harry, please. Draco begged to himself. "At first she was too shocked to do anything, but them she went around telling everyone. Even my father bragged a little." Harry and Draco had turned to face each other on the small couch that Draco had sat on this morning. Harry's emerald eyes seemed to shine a little as they imagined what had happened so many years ago.

"I bet. I mean, the entire room? On the ceiling? Lord, my aunt and uncle would have a field day with that. Granted it would have been hard considering I slept in the cupboard under the stairs until the my first letter arrived. They were worried they'd get in trouble for mistreating me, so they gave me my cousins second bedroom." Harry said as if living under the stairs was completely normal. 

Draco frowned and pulled his eyebrows together. "Wait, you slept in a cupboard under the stairs while your cousin had more than one room? But, why? I mean, you'e the famous Harry Potter. The Boy Who Lived. Did they not realize you probably saved the entire world,  magical and muggle? Even if they didn't, why would they treat any one like that? You were a child." Draco was stunned. Harry hadn't even been 11 by the sound of it.

"That wasn't the worst thing they did." He smiled sadly. Suddenly Draco felt his blood boil. He wanted to find Harry's relatives and hex them. Then he thought, that was how the Malfoys treated everyone else. How he had treated everyone else.

"Some people are horrible." Draco said solemnly.

"Good people do bad things sometimes." Harry responded.

"Bad people do good things sometimes." A few good deeds do not save a life time of evil.

"Ah yes, like the time Tom Riddle saved those puppies from a burning building. Very heroic." Harry said sarcastically. Draco's heart jumped a little. Oh lord, no.

"Don't forget he also helped old ladies cross the street. The elderly community loved him." Draco said, distracting himself from his rights and wrongs.

Harry snorted and let out a small chuckle. Smiling pleasantly at Draco. Again Draco's heart leaped from inside his chest. Great. That was absolutely just lovely.

"It's almost time to wake Ron up. He hates waking up in the mornings." Harry stood and stretched, his shirt reaching up a little to reveal his stomach. Was Draco imagining them, or did Harry have abs? God, he was a sucker for muscles. "I'll see you in class." Harry said and walked do his dorm with a small smile playing on his lips.

Why had Draco never really noticed how hot Harry was? He always saw him as good looking, but now?

One of the reasons he had seen though the illusion that Malfoys were better because they were Malfoys, was his heart.

In third year, when he found out he was gay, it completely shattered everything that he though he knew. 

He wondered what is father would think f he had known just how un-Malfoy-ish Draco really was.

But why did it have to be Harry?

How in the name of Merlin was he going to survive this year?

I was skating earlier, and had a little make-out session with the ground, so I hurt my hand. It was lovely writing this through the pain.

For the sake of my knees and palms, don't forget to vote and comment.

Stay safe darlings.