Title: Peeking
Rating: PG
Summary: A peek into the lives of Draco Malfoy and Severus Snape
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Author(ess): bluefuzzyelf
Word Count: 401
Draco Malfoy, the only child of the prestigious Lucius Malfoy, was currently wasting his valuable time away sitting by the lake and being a human being, as was so often rare for him. Many thought of the boy as a two dimensional character, thought they had him figured out. There were few who didn't share this opinion. One was his father. Another was his godfather, one Severus Snape. While Draco tried not to have any dealings with the muggle loving headmaster, even Albus Dumbledore was not prey to the illusion he carried off so well.
Well, it wasn't really an illusion. It was more being content with people underestimating him. He watched. He noticed. He wasn't one for subtlety when dealing with Potter and his posse, but he was nevertheless a subtle person. He had learned well from his father. Draco was a complex and twisting maze, still an impressionable boy under all his elegant boasts and haughty glance.
Severus Snape knew this, and watched the boy Draco sitting still watching the giant squid. His face was light with seldom seen delight. The Potions Master, a cruel and hardened man, hadn't lost his hope that the Malfoy boy could be saved. Severus had known Lucius in his school days. The man was slightly older than he, and Severus had taken to him quickly. They had been as close as Slytherins ever got.
Severus breathed quietly, and his robes rustled. Draco didn't move, didn't show any outward sign that he knew his godfather was standing behind him, but he was suddenly, abruptly aware. His professor smelt of mint and ink and aged parchment, a surprising mix of sharp and clear and musty.
They stayed that way for a while, just a man and a boy, staring into the great lake of Hogwarts.
Draco revered his professor. It was something akin to hero worship, if a Malfoy had ever been plagued with some blatant respect and love for someone. His strong glare had come not from his father's ice cold eyes but from the dark and heated eyes that belonged to Severus Snape. His frigid looks, his stride, the slight change in expression that signified deep disappointment (which Crabbe and Goyle were loathe to receive) all came from Draco's godfather.
Severus reached down with one long fingered hand and squeezed Draco's shoulder. It was light and familiar. Then he was gone.
Draco smiled.