At that, Harry found that he couldn't stop a laughed cough from leaving his lips. The sound was unintentionally harsh, the air escaping his lungs almost violently; Malfoy's words felt like a punch in the gut. Harry felt unable to properly inhale the air that had left his lungs, and yet, he was left with a strained but crooked smile and a hitched inhale.<br/>Malfoy had barely spoken a full sentence to him, and having this be the full, proper sentence Malfoy felt the need to say to Harry made Harry's heart ache. Even though the comment might have been a personal curse, not specifically spoken for Harry's sake, it was hard to pretend they hadn't been a spiteful remark at Harry's expense.<br/>"Yeah, well," he said, his voice sour despite his smile. Though Malfoy's words seemed to imply that Harry was some grand being, his words had made him feel impossibly small. "I tried."<br/>The blankness of his reply had muffled some of the initial hurt. Willing some professionalism and distance into his voice, Harry ducked his head towards his plate, straightening his posture as if to eat while not making a move to serve himself.<br/>"Believe me, I'm not thrilled about the center seat either," he said, though Harry was painfully aware of the fact that Malfoy wasn't upset about his actual seating - it was the fact that it meant Harry sitting by his side.<br/>When Harry glanced over at Draco, his eyes were glassy with the strain of his forced composure. His smile returned, polite but otherwise blank. "But you're welcome to try and talk sense into him as the Head of House Slytherin."