A/N: Told ya so!
Romeo, Romeo...
Binns and Trelawney had promised a long rehearsal, so Harry wasn't surprised when they continued into the next Act. Harry was forced to tear his gaze away from Malfoy's, glancing back sown at his script though he'd already memorized the scene. The blond's steady gaze unnerved him, but Harry tried to ignore it as he read through Romeo and Paris' fight. He never did like Zacharias Smith, so it made him feel marginally better to hear the boy call out his death. It didn't last long though and Harry blushed heavily at his final words. Even if they weren't acting the scene yet, just knowing he would have to pretend to kiss Lisa was embarrassing enough.
Chewing nervously on his thumbnail, Harry followed along as the play continued after his death, blushing again when Lisa read her own farewell kiss to the awws of the other players. Seamus nugded Harry slightly and winked. If this was any sign, Harry knew that Lavender... hell, all the Gryffindor girls were going to get a kick out of the last Act. Even with Baddock's stumbling recitation, the rest of the reading went by rather quickly and Harry shot out of his chair as soon as Trelawney released them.
Seamus found him a short while later in the dorm, laying facedown on his bed and muttering into his pillow. "Er..." he started uncertainly then shrugged, "what's wrong, Harry?" Harry shook his head into the pillow, still mumbling to himself. "Harry?" Seamus tried again, leaning over to tap his friend's shoulder.
Harry sat up suddenly, turning so quickly he almost hit Seamus. "I don't get it!" he burst out, and Seamus' eyes widened as he took in the twin splotches of red on his cheeks.
"Uh..." the Irish boy stammered and flicked his gaze around the empty room. He hadn't meant it like a trick question. "Are you alright?" Seamus tried again.
Harry shoved his hands through his hair, then reached back to grab his pillow, pulling at the pillowcase in agitation. Seamus sat down on his mattress and reached out, but he may as well have not even been there. Harry paid him no attention, just standing and tossing his pillow back to the bed as he started to pace.
Seamus shrugged slightly and crossed his legs, watching. Obviously, something was bothering the other boy. "He wasn't angry, so why does he keep glaring at me?" Seamus heard Harry say softly and cocked his head. He?
Harry stopped pacing, looking down at Seamus as if just realizing the other boy was there. "You're right," he said suddenly and grinned down at him. Then without another word, Harry left the dorm, closing the door behind him. Seamus lifted a brow. Okay, so now he was confused. Then he shrugged and moved to flop on his own bed. It was interesting to know he could help Harry solve his problems without saying a word.
Waving absently to the Gryffindors who called out to him, Harry left the tower, stopping outside the portrait hole to look both ways curiously. Then he turned left, jogging quickly down a few flights of stairs and dodging through small bunches of students headed for the Great Hall.
He passed by the room, ignoring the delicious scent of dinner wafting through the air towards him. Harry paused again at the top of the stairs leading to the dungeons, then passed by. He wasn't sure what was leading him, but somehow he knew that the person he was looking for wasn't down there.
Even so, it was still surprising that the feeling led him straight to Malfoy. The boy was stalking through the hall leading from Divinations tower, shaking his head with a look of disgust. Harry didn't stop to think, acting the Gryffindor Seamus had demanded. Meeting the boy half-way, Harry grabbed the front of his robes to drag him into the nearest classroom, fortunately empty. "What the Hell is wrong with you?" he exclaimed, rounding on the Slytherin as soon as the door closed.
"With me?" Malfoy drawled, straightening the front of his robes. He didn't need to say anything else for Harry to know what was going through his mind. That one arrogantly lifted brow said enough, reminding the Gryffindor just who had accosted who.
"Ugh," Harry groaned, shoving a hand through his hair and scratching the back of his head. "Yes, you." He spun on his heel, dropping his hands into fists at his side and glaring up at Malfoy. "You've been a royal pain in the ass for the last two days! What's that about, huh?"
The blond glared down his nose at Harry. "You have your oh-so-smart Ravenclaw girlfriend now," he snarled, "why don't you go and ask her?" He took a step forward, using his greater height to tower over Harry, a move that Snape had been using for years as an intimidation technique. "For that matter, why don't you just have her teach you to act, as well? The less I have to deal with you, the better."
"What? What's that got to do with anything?" Harry muttered, drawing back to meet the Slytherin's gaze. That same emotion that had taken his anger away before was back in Malfoy's glare, and it had the same effect. He wasn't angry anymore, in fact, felt like he should explain. Such a strange urge, when he couldn't tell even his friends the truth.
"Wait a minute," he called, reaching out to pull Malfoy back from the door before the other teen could open it. "I said, hang on!"
Malfoy turned, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring down at Harry. "What else is there to say?" he drawled in the superior tone that rarely failed to piss him off.
Harry grit his teeth. That tone was really starting to wear down his resolve to be nice. "She's not my girlfriend," he started, fingering his tie lightly. "And I can't ask her to help me act. Neither of us have the time. She's...uh..." he trailed off. The Slytherin lifted a brow, waiting. "She just can't," Harry finished lamely, letting his hands drop. "There's somewhere else she's got to be, so I'm just helping her out."
The blond stared down at him, taking in Harry's earnest expression. "So in exchange for letting everyone believe you two are dating, she helps you with your class work," Malfoy guessed.
Harry nodded, vaguely surprised by the Slytherin's quick and correct assumption. "So you can't quit tutoring me. We had a deal," he reminded the other teen, though it brought back the feelings of humiliation that plagued that particular memory.
"You do still have a lot to learn," Malfoy conceded after a long silence. "Fine." They stared at each other for a few moments, until Harry began to fidget nervously. He wasn't quite used to this uncomfortable silence. Malfoy seemed to notice and without another word he turned, leaving the room and Harry behind.
Harry waited a little longer, then left the room as well. He paused at the entrance to the Great Hall, then shook his head to himself, turning instead to go upstairs. The Gryffindor common room was empty of course. It was dinnertime, after all, so no surprise there. Alone in his room, he fell back onto his bed, crossing his arms behind his head. He absently traced patterns in the heavy canopy that hung above each bunk, thinking. All of his anger had disappeared, taking his appetite with it, and as much as he tried, he didn't think he could revive either.
Harry knew he wasn't too smart. Unlike Hermione, he would never be called the cleverest wizard his age, and he didn't have near the same intelligence that a Ravenclaw like Lisa cherished. He may have been a little slow, but Harry was by no means dumb. Even so, it wasn't until after that look, that expression that had so confused him just an hour ago, had disappeared from Malfoy's gaze that Harry realized what it was. And he felt every bit the dunce Snape always accused him of for not having realized sooner. By now, The-Boy-Who-Lived should have been able to recognize jealousy.
A/N: Nyeh, nyeh! Told you all I'd started. It's been written for a few says now but I wanted to put a little more time between the updates. Then, I got tired of waiting. Go figure. Anyway~ Thanks to BLEACHEDmarshmellow, Talking-Rock (for chapter 1), SwarmOfFanGirls, ragdolljazz, spiderfrommars, rainbowfreak, Draco and Hermione is like PBJ, brionyjae, YeahYouWannaKnowMyName, Dezra, Closet Chocoholic, PrincessPurity, Rukari, paintupurple, LyricallyInspired, niconico, and HiM'e'TSu. for the reviews. Wow, that was a lot! Hm. Oh, and I've started the next chapter already too! But don't expect as quick an update as this one. My muse is a fickle little (Beep)!