Looking Beyond The Lies (Drarry) (Boyxboy)

Chapter 7

"Draco," Hermione turned to her best friend holding an item precariously in one hand. "What do you think of this?" She turned the item around in her fingers, taking in the delicate designs of its face, and how the parts intricately locked.

The blonde, hearing his name, looked up from his book. "Hm?" He noticed Hermione was holding an object, but he took no note of it and returned to his book.

"This!" The witch shoved it in his face for a full frontal view, and Draco jerked back, almost falling out of his chair. "Honestly Hermione, shouldn't you be studying? This is your thing." He scolded the witch and returned to his book. A Transfiguration textbook, to be precise.

"Well, this thing is very fascinating. But I suppose you're right." Hermione set the object on the table and returned to her textbooks. Draco made a slight scoff at her statement.

Looking over the girl's shoulder, he noticed Ron coming behind her with some textbooks. He thunked them on the table and they made a loud noise. Startled, Draco looked around the library, waiting for a reaction. The only one he got was Hermione jumping out of her skin. It seemed she could easily get absorbed in studying in mere seconds.

"Honestly Ronald! How do you expect anyone to study around here with you making noise all over the place?" She harshly scolded the teen before her and he sent a helpless look to Draco.

Draco shrugged his shoulders and glanced back at his book. "I wasn't meaning to, Mione. Honestly. I wasn't." Ron pulled up a chair, spluttering out his sentence to a glaring Hermione.

And in the next second, Hermione said "Nevermind, just sit down and open a book, for Merlin's sake!" To avoid the wrath of Hermione, Ron plunked his behind onto the chair so fast, his face turned white.

Draco cast a hand over his mouth to hide the laughter threatening to bubble out. He glanced over at the window and took note of the sunset rapidly disappearing. "I'll see you guys at dinner. I'm finished studying for now." And without further ado, the blonde stacked the textbook he was reading and left, hearing goodbyes over his shoulder.

Draco left the library and trailed down several hallways before reaching the doors of the Great Hall. He peeked in and noticed that a few students had already entered. Seeing as he wasn't a loner, he made his way in and down the left side of the hall, to where the Gryffindor table was located.

Draco scored a seat across from Dean and Seamus, who were quietly talking amongst themselves. Once he settled on the seat and dropped his bag on the floor, he looked up and greeted the broad smiles of the two boys.

"'Ello Draco, how was studyin'? Is Hermione crackin' down hard on yer?" Seamus thick irish accent rang through his sentences as he talked. Draco nodded back with manners and recalled the incident earlier with Ron.

"Yeah, I only just managed to escape her wrath myself. Poor Ron though, he scared her out of her skin and she jumped on him. Sat down so fast his whole face turned white. Swear I heard the chair crack though." He was grinning through his speech and watched as Seamus and Dean let out boisterous laughter.

The three boys talked, and talked some more, until students began pouring into the Great Hall, taking their respectable places and waiting for the food. No sooner than most of them sat down, had the food appeared. Draco spotted Ron's orange hair making his way over, Hermione behind him.

They both squished into seats on either side of Draco, Ron eyed the food meticulously before piling copious amount of it onto his plate. Hermione turned her nose up at the sight and took up a conversation with Neville, of whom was sitting beside her.

Draco picked at his own dinner, eating quietly as the ominous sounds of the ever present Ron munching own his food became a bit much. Hermione's head whipped around so fast, she could've given herself whiplash with her hair.

She fixed Ron with a murderous glare, as if provoking him to do it again. When he didn't notice, the witch became impatient as he continuously smacked his food against his teeth, pausing every few seconds to stuff his face again. "Ronald Weasley!" Hermione whispered angrily, as to not attract attention. Her face was flushed and her eyes were in small slits.

Slowly, Ron stopped chewing to look at Hermione. "What?" He asked with a mouth full of food. Hermione sighed in agitation. "Forget it. I give up." Draco sensed there was something more going on between the two but decidedly left it alone.

Seamus and Dean leaned across the table with smug grins and a mischievous twinkle in their eyes. "So," began Seamus in a hushed whisper, "have you found someone yet?" Draco fought the blush rising on his cheeks and feigned innocence.

"What are you talking about?" He thought he played that pretty well until Dean winked at him and grabbed Seamus' face and snogged him gently. Draco was intrigued by the kiss, however, others weren't as quite appreciative.

"Oi, you two. Keep it down and in your pants. No PDA at the table please." Someone yelled further along the row of Gryffindor students.

Dean and Seamus pulled away, laughing quietly. "That's what I mean, Draco. You found someone?" As Harry thought about it, he heard Dean whispering to Seamus. "I think you should think a bit and then word your sentences, love." The young dark man swept his arm around the Irish boy's shoulder and pulled him close, tucking him into his side.

Draco admired the two, and wondered what it would be like to have his own person. Someone whom he could give secretive kisses to, and pull them in close for embraces. Someone whom he could banter with playfully, but know that it wasn't meant.

Furtively, Draco thought back to the other night when Harry chased after him in the hallway. And all those words he said. The blonde wondered if he truly meant them. And wether or not that meant they could be together.

Only willing to admit his crush to himself, he looked across the Hall at Harry, sitting quietly at the Slytherin table. His ever pristine presence made him look like quite the image if the Ice Prince that he was.

'I want to be the kind of person that you like. I can change. And I wanna change, for you. But I need help... And I want you to know that I do care for you, and I want to take the time to know you. The real you.'

Draco pondered Harry's words. No one had ever bothered to get to know the real him save for the few actual friends he had in Gryffindor.

Harry wanted to change. He wanted to be the kind of person that Draco liked. That thought alone sent firecrackers whizzing in his stomach. And the blonde wasn't sure wether to trust him, because if something went wrong, he would be royally screwed. But maybe that was a chance he would have to take.

Remembering Seamus' question, Draco broke from his thoughts to find the couple staring at him. Blush flamed his face and he couldn't fight it down this time. He thought about Harry, and gave a small smile to Dean and Seamus. "I think I have, but only time will tell." Draco looked back across the Hall at Harry.

As if he knew he was being thought about, Harry's head shot up and looked Draco right in the eye.

Small motions were made between them and Draco smile at Harry. He smiled back.

X

Chapter 7 yo. Enjoy it cause I slaved away most of the afternoon between watching Harry Potter to write this. Yesterday I was watching half blood prince and the part where umbridge slapped Harry hit me right in the feels because Draco. His face though. He was all like 'bitch, did you just slap my boyfriend?" Yeah, good times...