A/N: Helloooo everybody! I wrote this story while I was meant to be a)writing chapter 4 of 'The Skill of Seducing', b)writing my A/N and the thank-yous for 'Behind The Walls', and c)REVISING FOR THE TWO WEEKS OF EXAMS I HAVE STARTING NEXT WEEK! So I hope you all appreciate it, lol. It probably doesn't make as much sense as it did in my head, but oh well. I really should buckle down and start revising, though, or else I'll fail all my subjects, which I am quite well on the way to doing … I swear, I was going over Maths shit we did at the beginning of the year, and I can't remember a bloody thing … I'm sooooooo gonna die … eeeee … ahem, anyway on with the show. Oh yeah, and review please! Reviews make me happy, and me happy means I write faster:):):)

Disclaimer: I own nothing that you recognise from the Harry Potter books by JK Rowling. I do, however, own everything else. Hehehe.

Warnings: Oddness, swearing ('Mudblood'), liars and actors, sex.

Pairing: Harry/Draco

Rating: T/PG-13

Summary: The only difference between liars and actors is that liars tell the truth. Take Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter, for example: which one is the liar and which one is the actor?

Twinkle

The only difference between liars and actors is that liars tell the truth.

Take Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter, for example: which one is the liar and which one is the actor?

Some might say, Harry Potter is the liar, obviously. He does nothing but lie – he lies to his family and his friends, his teachers and his enemies.

He tells them he's fine, but he's not. It's a lie. He tells them he's accidentally left his homework in his dormitory, but he hasn't. It's a lie. He tells them he wants them to leave him alone, but he doesn't. It's a lie. He tells them that he'll kill Him, but he won't. It's a lie.

He's not fine, he's breaking; he hasn't forgotten his homework, he's just seen no point in doing it; he doesn't want them to leave him alone, he just wants them to shut up; he won't kill Him, he'll die.

All Harry Potter does is lie.

And Draco Malfoy is an actor, obviously. A bloody good one, too.

He says that Muggles and Mudbloods are the scum of the earth, but he doesn't really think that. It's an act. He claims that if only he had a better broom he'd beat Potter in Quidditch, but he doesn't really believe that. It's an act. He makes out that he's superior and better than everyone else, but he's not. It's an act. He rants about how Dumbledore's a fool, but he doesn't actually think that. It's an act.

Muggles and Mudbloods aren't scum, they're people; a better broom won't make him beat Potter, only a better talent will; he's not the best, he's really underneath everyone else; Dumbledore's not a fool, he's a genius.

So, as you can clearly see, Harry Potter is the liar and Draco Malfoy is the actor.

… Yeah, right.

Do you really think that's the case?

If you do, then think about this:

Will Harry really lie to his loved ones?

Lie and tell them he's fine, when he's really not? Harry Potter is nothing if not a good boy, and good boys don't lie.

He'd feel terrible if he lied to his friends, even a tiny white lie, and the guilt would eat him up inside.

But while lying is a bad, bad thing Harry would never do, he can, however, simply act the part.

When they ask him if he's fine, he can just give them a faint smile and a nod, and he's not lying, he's acting, acting as if this were all a play and he were the main character, and the main characters are always fine, they're not dying or breaking or liars, they're just fine.

When Harry acts, he doesn't lie.

And if that has not convinced you (which it probably hasn't), think about this:

Will Harry really lie about saying he'll kill He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?

How can he lie, unless he's planning on running away to Alaska under a false name, using a heavy glamour charm, and leaving countless witches and wizards and Muggles to die? And Harry Potter most definitely does not plan on doing that.

The wizarding world needs him, they need their hero. Without him, they'd just give up, and they'd all be dead or enslaved within a week.

So Harry plays the part of the hero, the good boy, the saviour, the Boy Who Lived, and says that he will kill He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and everyone smiles and praises him and goes along with his little game.

Harry Potter doesn't lie, he acts.

And if that didn't convince you, think about this:

Draco Malfoy thinks that Muggles and Mudbloods are people, and that he's not better than everyone else in the world.

Do you really think that's true?

He has grown up with all the adults around him constantly talking about how they are polluting the wizard world with their bad blood, talking about how Mudbloods are a disgrace to the wizard name, talking about how Muggles are the very reason there are so little pure-blooded families today, talking about the dirty, disgusting, perverted, down right fucked up things that Muggles get up to, and telling Draco that if he ever even talked to a Muggle with the slightest hint of respect, he would be disowned without a second thought.

Think about that, if you will, then ask yourself the question: after growing up with all of that, will Draco Malfoy really think of Muggles and Mudbloods as people?

And then, think about if Draco thinks he's better than everyone else in the world.

Thought about it? Well, let me remind you of this:

He's a Malfoy.

Of course he thinks he's better than everyone. He comes from one of the greatest, richest, most prestigious, most influential, pure-blooded families in the entire wizarding world, if not the greatest. It's no wonder he thinks he's better than everyone – if you were brought up with people constantly telling you this, wouldn't you think so too?

It obviously can't all be an act, if Draco believes it.

But can it be a lie?

Quite simply, yes.

If Draco was brought up being fed this high-and-mighty shit every day of his life until he went to Hogwarts, he's simply been lied to his whole life.

And thinking that Muggles and Mudbloods are either scum or people can be a lie too.

Draco cannot simply just act like he does. He has to lie like he does.

"Muggles aren't worth shit," he can say, but that's not true. Muggles can sometimes be worth money, didn't one of the other pureblood families buy a Muggle slave recently?

"Mudbloods are scum," he can spit, but that's not true either. Mudbloods aren't scum, they're flesh and bone and blood, just like him. And if he doesn't like that argument, then he can try this one on for size: Mudbloods aren't scum, they're worse than scum, they're dirt, they're mud, they're nothing.

Draco Malfoy doesn't act, he lies.

However, let's go back to the very first sentence of our story: The only difference between liars and actors is that liars tell the truth.

Liars tell the truth? How can liars tell the truth? I hear you ask.

The answer is quite simple, really, as is life, if you think about it and forget all the twists and turns and snakes and ladders and ups and downs and you learn the rules of the game.

Take a brief look at this scene, if you will, which happened in the middle of sixth year:

Harry, Ron and Hermione are talking to Draco, Vincent and Greggory.

(That's Potter, Weasley and Granger if you're a Slytherin, and Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle if you're a Gryffindor.)

Ron and Draco had been having a heated argument about their families, during which Vincent and Greggory were looking threatening and cracking their knuckles, Hermione was scowling at Draco, and Harry was just glaring at him with green eyes, when Ron spat out the question that had been on Harry's mind for quite some time:

"Are you going to become a Death Eater like your daddy, Malfoy?"

Draco stops in the mid-flow of his rather long-winded insult about Ron's hair, and stares at the three Gryffindors through shifty grey eyes.

"No," he lies slowly, his heart pounding against his ribcage so loud he swears they can hear it. "No, I'm not."

Hermione looks mildly surprised, Ron looks as though he doesn't believe a word Draco's saying, and Harry frowns suddenly, but Draco does not notice any of this in the shocking revelation he has suddenly come to.

He hadn't been planning to become a Death Eater. Ever. But he knew that it was what was expected of him. But he wasn't going to become one. But he had to. But he wasn't going to. But he had to. But he wasn't-

Draco has just realised: when he lied just then, he told the truth.

After that, Draco proceeded to worry quite a bit, for he realised that every time he lied, it was the truth, and that was a very scary thought indeed as he lied quite a lot of the time, but we shall not go into that right now and focus a bit on Harry and actors.

We have found that it is possible for liars to tell the truth.

Actors, on the other hand, never tell the truth.

How can they, they're actors? They're not allowed to tell the truth. You might think the same about liars, but it is up to the liar whether they let slip the truth or not. Actors simply can't.

Let's take a brief look at another scene, shall we? This happened at the beginning of seventh year:

Harry is lounging about in an armchair in the Gryffindor Common Room, when a little first-year comes up to him, looking a bit nervous.

Harry looks at him and smiles, trying to look friendly, prompting the little boy to talk.

"Are you going to defeat You-Know-Who, Harry Potter?" the first year asks timidly, slightly squeakily, as his voice has obviously not broken yet.

Harry doesn't even have to glance nervously at Ron and Hermione who are curled up together on the armchair next to his, he has this act so well perfected.

He smiles and ignores the feeling of butterflies fluttering around in his stomach (I say fluttering, but it's more like ramming), and says in his smooth, deep, valiant voice, "Of course, Thomas."

He watches the young boy's face light up as he runs off to tell his friends that Harry Potter will defeat You-Know-Who, that he is a real hero, and he will save the whole world.

Harry watches the young boy with that same, easy-going smile upon his face, and he doesn't let the smile slip off his face until it's late at night and he's in bed and he has a chance to think about why he can't stop acting.

And now that we know Harry Potter only acts and Draco Malfoy only lies, let's take a look at the scene in the middle of seventh year that changed nothing and everything at the same time.

"You're nothing but a liar, Malfoy!" Harry hisses.

"And you're nothing but a pathetic actor!" Draco hisses back.

The two boys glare at each other and suddenly, it's like everything makes sense.

"Oh God, Draco! God yes, yes, oh! That's it Draco, oh my God, I love you Draco, I love you so much, I want to be with you, God, Draco," Harry moans and babbles and pants and acts and throws his head back in ecstasy, eyes squeezed shut and limbs shaking with pleasure.

Draco doesn't reply straight away.

He just pumps faster and faster and faster until he can see stars in his eyes, even when he closes them, and when he's calmed down a bit he lies down next to Harry, both boys breathing heavily.

And just before Draco drops off into unconsciousness, there is a dry whisper upon his lips:

"I love you, Potter."

Harry's eyes twinkle at the lie, and he can't for the life of him understand why Draco didn't just act.

The End.