Disclaimer: I'm not JK Rowling. I do not own Harry Potter, any of the following mentioned characters, and I'm not making any money off them. Yada, yada, yada...

Warnings: None...unless you're offended by implied slash. And if you are, what the hell is wrong with you! Other than that, this fic is pretty tame, which is odd for me actually.

Description: Ultra-short one-shot. Harry/Draco. Draco's thoughts shortly after the final battle...may tie into another story I'm working on. This is seriously the shortest thing I've ever written in my life...except poems...actually I have written a poem longer than this!

Appearances

by Lady Katie

It's funny how different we all are from what we appear. Weasley never appeared bright nor brave, and yet he died being both. Granger was always the smart thinker; quick to act with a cool calm about her. Now she struggles to maintain even the mildest composure. I was sophisticated, stoic; my father. Then an old man set on world domination reduced me to a nervous mess. And you. You I never had figured out. Quick to defend your friends, slow to use common sense, and easily flustered. Appearances. And yet, you are the one who's coolness and common sense saved us all. After your friends were either killed or destroyed and all that was left was me, you stood with a strength that I never thought possible.

They all had you wrong. Except perhaps Dumbledore. Was it creepy how he knew everything about you when he didn't even spend that much time with you? How do you think he became that good at reading people? Did he spend hours studying them when they weren't paying attention? Was he a Seer? When it really comes down to it, he was the only one who ever really knew me. I couldn't let anyone in to actually know me that way. If they knew me, they would know my weaknesses. Then they could destroy me. How did he know? How did he know that I wouldn't do it? How did he know that I really wanted him to catch me at it so I'd be relieved of this duty? How did he know that you would survive without him?

Maybe he didn't know. Maybe it was all foolish carelessness. Maybe that is what's driving me now. It can't be common sense or self preservation. If it was I would have ran as soon as it was over. But I didn't. I stayed, and, as much as I hate to admit it, I helped Granger. But I suppose that's okay because it wasn't for her. It was for you. Always for you. Sure, it started out as a Slytherin survival instinct; align myself with the winning side. But, as it turns out, you're addicting, so I had to stay, didn't I? How Gryffindor of me.

I'll have to stop this nonsense for now. I think I'm disturbing you and Madam Pomfrey is giving me dirty looks. But I always gave the appearance of being an evil bastard, one who wouldn't hesitate to kill the boy who lived in his sleep. Who could have known that Draco Malfoy would be sitting day and night at the bedside of Harry Potter, worried sick that you'll die? Appearances are nothing in the end.

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