Title: Hair of the Cat
Author:
enchanted_jaePrompt: # 2 - Harry Potter becomes a Cat and Draco Malfoy takes care of him. Cute and fluffy
Summary: Draco must scramble for an antidote after Potter tests one of his potions and turns into a cat.
Rating: PG13
Warning(s): None
Word Count: 2,431
Author's Notes: Thank you to
jake67jake for the beta read on this.
Link to AO3:
Hair of the Cat Draco had just finished placing a stopper on his newest potion when he heard his Floo activate upstairs. Right on time, he thought with a smile. Draco did appreciate punctuality. He went up the stairs, closing the door to his cellar lab behind him, and greeted his guest.
"Potter. Always a pleasure." Draco didn't dare let on just how much pleasure he derived from seeing his former Hogwarts rival.
"Malfoy," Potter returned with a nod. "Is that the potion you were telling me about?"
"It is," Draco confirmed. "It's designed to enhance your night vision. All that's left is to test it."
Fortunately, Potter was both brave and foolish enough to volunteer himself as a test subject for Draco's experimental potions. So far, none of the side effects had been too hideous. The worst had been when...
"Say, I'm not going to end up with giant eyeballs, am I?" asked Potter, interrupting Draco's musing. "I'm still traumatized by the Giant Hand Incident."
Draco turned away, lest Potter see him grinning. The Giant Hand Incident had been horrible at the time (Draco detested when his potions didn't work as planned), but it was an endless source of amusement in retrospect. He got his mirth under control and turned back to Potter.
"If you develop giant eyeballs, we'll deal with it."
"Says the bloke who isn't in danger of developing giant eyeballs."
Draco rolled his normal-sized eyeballs. "Are you willing to test this potion or not?"
"I wouldn't have come to your house otherwise," said Potter.
Draco suppressed a sigh. He needed to get over his ridiculous attraction for Potter and accept that there could never be anything between them.
"Let's go down to the cellar, where the light is dim," said Draco. He opened the cellar door and descended, hearing Potter clatter down the steps behind him. Draco removed the stopper from the vial, poured a small amount into a teaspoon, and handed it carefully to Potter.
Ever the Gryffindor, Potter took the spoon and downed the dose in one gulp. "Ugh! What's in this?"
"You don't want to know," Draco replied, watching Potter for any signs of distress. "How do you feel?"
"With my hands."
"Har har," drawled Draco. "I'm going to turn the light off to test your vision." He didn't wait for a response before flipping the switch that doused the light. As Draco's own eyes struggled to adjust to the dim cellar, he heard a rustle, as of cloth or clothing. Thinking Potter meant to surprise him with his newly enhanced vision, Draco quickly turned the light back on.
Potter was nowhere to be seen.
There was nothing but his official Auror uniform, lying in a haphazard pile on the floor.
Draco's throat tried to close in panic. "P-Potter?" he managed to rasp out. He approached Potter's kit cautiously and reached for the outer robe. Draco gasped and jumped back when the pile of clothing moved.
A black cat wriggled out from beneath the layers of cloth, sat back on its haunches, looked up at Draco, and growled.
"Potter?"
The cat's tail lashed side to side, and its ears flattened, displaying a white mark over its right eye.
"If that's you, Potter, stand up on your hind legs."
The cat rose to its hind legs before sitting down and growling again.
"Bloody hell," breathed Draco. "I've turned Harry Potter into a cat."
Draco shoved one heavy tome aside and reached for another. The words seemed to blur on the page and he rubbed his eyes. A tap on his hand drew his attention. Draco glanced up and saw Potter reach out to pat his hand again.
Draco scowled. "I'm trying to fix it."
Potter's ears went back before he yawned. Widely.
"If you're tired, how do you think I feel?"
Potter lowered his head and flung a paw over his eyes.
"Oh. You think I should stop for now and get some sleep?"
"Meow."
Draco sighed and stood up, groaning as his back and knees protested. He'd been hunched over the desk in his study for far too long. He ambled out into the kitchen and cursed as he nearly tripped over the black cat trotting along beside him. Draco groaned again. He was a terrible host.
"I reckon you're hungry, yeah?"
"Meow!"
Draco paused to consider what he could feed to a cat. He opened a cupboard and located a tin of tuna. Potter scowled and twitched his tail.
"It's not as if I can feed you treacle tart," Draco said in exasperation. "You can eat tuna as a cat or a human. I hope to get you sorted out soon, and then you may eat what you want." As he spoke, Draco opened the tin, dumped the contents in a bowl, and set it on the floor. In spite of his snit, Potter dug into his meal with enthusiasm. Draco checked the time and winced. No wonder his reluctant house guest was hungry; it was woefully late. He fixed himself a simple salad for dinner and ate it methodically while he tried to determine where his latest potion had gone wrong.
Draco's eyes felt gritty, and he reached up to rub them. He rinsed his dishes and left them in the sink as he stifled a yawn. He was exhausted and he knew better than to try sorting Potter out until he'd had some sleep.
"Potter, I'm knackered," said Draco. "I know you're anxious to be restored to your former glory, but I can't think straight until I've rested. Sleep where you like; I'm going to bed." He dragged himself up the stairs, entered his bedroom, and closed the door behind him. Despite how tired he was, Draco took a quick shower in the en suite, dried himself off, and returned to his bedroom naked.
Draco stopped short two steps in. Potter was lounging on his bed. "How did you get in here?" he demanded, grabbing a pair of pyjama bottoms from his dresser and stepping into them. Normally he slept nude, but it didn't seem proper with Potter in here. Admittedly, Draco had fantasized many a time about having Potter in his bed, but with less hair and fewer legs.
Draco crossed his arms. "There are two other bedrooms up here, if you wish to sleep on a bed. I prefer to sleep alone." That much was true; Draco was a shag-and-skive sort of bloke.
Potter simply meowed at him. Draco bent to pick him up, only to draw back when Potter growled. "Why, you surly beast," Draco growled back. "You are not sleeping in here."
Potter responded by moving to the foot of the bed and burrowing under the blanket that was folded there to provide extra warmth for Draco's feet. He turned and peeked out, only his eyes, whiskers, and nose visible.
Draco flung his arms out to the side. "Fine," he huffed. He flung the duvet and sheet back and climbed into bed. Draco doused the light with a muttered "Nox." and closed his eyes.
Draco woke sometime in the darkness. Someone was pressing fingers into his bum. Now, that was interesting. Wait. He'd gone to bed alone, hadn't he? Draco reached back and felt fur.
"Gah!" he cried, sitting up and fumbling for his wand.
"Meow?"
"Potter!" Draco spat. "You imbecile! You startled me. And why were you kneading my arse? Ugh, I feel violated."
Never mind that Draco would have enjoyed it had Potter kneaded his arse with human hands. While Draco was in the midst of shagging him. Aaaand now he was getting a stiffy. Bloody hell. Draco took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Then did it again. When he felt sufficiently calm, he was able to speak.
"If you don't wish to be stuck in cat form any longer than necessary, I suggest you allow me to sleep in peace," he said. "I need to be rested tomorrow so I can focus on an antidote." Draco then waited for Potter's reaction.
There was nothing but silence and stillness beside him in bed. Finally, Draco heard a thud as Potter jumped down. A moment later his door opened (bloody Potter and his ease with wandless magic!), and Potter stalked out. The door slammed shut behind him, startling Draco all over again.
Draco exhaled in relief, punched his pillow into shape, and tried to fall back to sleep.
By the time Draco entered the kitchen the following morning, Potter was already there. He was assiduously washing his fur. His very wet fur. Draco paused as he attempted to suss out how Potter had gotten soaked.
"Did you fall in the-"
A menacing growl cut him off before Draco could finish the question. "I apologize, Potter. I didn't think to provide for all of your needs. Why didn't you simply go out to the garden?"
His question was met with flattened ears and an expression of disdain.
"Ah. The wards. Very well, I'll fix you a box. Stop hissing at me. I promise to devote myself today to brewing an antidote."
After fortifying himself with breakfast and copious amounts of tea, Draco set about doing what he'd promised. Once Potter finished his own breakfast of a dish of chicken and a bowl of cream, he joined Draco in the study to supervise his efforts.
"You are getting in the way," Draco cried in exasperation. He flicked Potter's tail out of his face and returned to poring over his notes.
"Meow?"
"Why don't you...hunt a mouse or something useful while you're here?" snapped Draco. He was still tetchy over last night's arse kneading debacle. It had caused Draco's lust for Potter to go from a slow simmer to a full-blown conflagration. He wanted Potter, and he didn't think the object of his attraction was seeing anyone at the moment. First, however, there was the matter of restoring Potter to his human form.
Draco forced himself to focus on the matter at hand. In accordance with his notes, he had everything he needed for an antidote potion but for one thing. The mystery ingredient continued to elude Draco. He stood and began to pace.
"Murrp?"
Upon hearing a muffled sound from Potter, Draco turned to see the fiend himself in the doorway with something in his mouth.
"Dear Merlin!" he gasped. "You didn't actually find a mouse in my house, did you?"
Potter dropped the object, and Draco tensed, ready to flee. The object didn't move. Draco bent to peer closer. "Is that...my old school tie?"
"Meow!"
Draco crossed his arms and glared. "Have you been snooping in my boudoir?" He winced, thinking of some other items Potter could have unearthed.
Anything else Draco may have said was forgotten when his Floo chimed. "Stay out of sight," he told Potter before rushing to answer it.
Draco crouched down and spied Ron Weasley's face in the flames. "Weasley, to what do I owe the displeasure?"
"Sod off, Malfoy," groused the redhead. "I'm looking for Harry. Have you seen him?"
"Fit bloke, messy dark hair, ridiculous specs?"
"Very funny. Say, I think George is hiring at the joke shop."
As Draco sputtered in affront, Potter sauntered up and joined the conversation.
"Meow?"
"A pussy, Malfoy? I thought you preferred blokes."
Draco and Potter both growled at the insult. "What was that about your brother hiring?"
"Never mind that," said Weasley. "No one has seen Harry since yesterday. He told Hermione he was going to call on you for some reason."
"An assignation, Weaselbee," drawled Draco. "Say it with me."
"Bloody hell! I don't believe it," said Weasley. "Harry has better taste than that."
"Not in friends, apparently."
"Did you just-"
"Meow!"
Draco needed to nip this argument in the bud and get back to his antidote. "Potter stopped by to ask a question about a potion," he lied smoothly. "He mentioned plans to go out to a pub. Perhaps he overindulged?"
Weasley seemed to consider this. "Yeah, that's possible, I reckon. I tried to firecall him, but if he's hungover he wouldn't answer. Maybe I'll go to his flat, take him a bottle of Ogdens. Some hair of the dog, yeah?"
Draco rocked back on his heels. "That's brilliant, Weasley! I have a potion to brew. Give my regards to your pony-faced wife. Good day."
Draco closed the Floo connection and turned to Potter, all smiles. His grin fell when he noticed Potter glaring at him, ears flat and tail swishing side-to-side. Draco stuck his nose in the air. "If I compliment one of your mates, I must insult another," he said. "It's all about balance."
Potter turned and stalked off, tail in the air.
"Wait, come back," said Draco. "I've figured out the missing ingredient to the antidote potion, thanks to Weasley."
Potter returned to him and cocked his head. "Meow?"
"Hair of the dog!" cried Draco. "Or," he added, swooping forward to pluck several hairs from Potter's black coat, "hair of the cat!"
"Thank Godric," sighed Potter, running his hands over his body. "If I'd been stuck in cat form any longer, I may have ended up licking my own balls."
"Why lick yours when you can lick mine?"
Draco and Potter stared at one another. It was difficult to tell which of them was more surprised by Draco's flippant offer. Draco opened his mouth, but before he could articulate anything, Potter spoke up.
"Well, we can't have you lying to Ron now, can we?"
"S-sorry?" Draco stammered.
"You told him we had an assignation," said Potter. "That was a lie. But, it won't be if we..." His voice trailed off as he raised his brows and smirked.
"An assignation," said Draco. "Us. Together. You and me."
"That is what it means, yeah?" teased Potter. He shrugged and added, "You have a nice arse."
"My arse is far more than nice, Potter," Draco sniffed. "And I'm topping."
"Brilliant. I intend to knead your arse the entire time."
Draco gulped. "What are we waiting for? Let's go celebrate."
Draco was convinced his arse was bruised, but his happy cock made up for it. "We should have done this long ago," he murmured before yawning and dragging the blankets up over himself and Potter.
"Mm."
"We should certainly do it again."
"Mmhmm."
Draco's eyes were getting heavy, even though it was midday. Perhaps a post-coital snooze was in order. He closed his eyes and sighed. An odd noise caused Draco's eyes to pop open once more, and he propped himself up on an elbow to look at his bedmate.
"Potter, are you...purring?"