hd inspiration for the hd_inspired community
Author: liz_chan
Recipient: The hd_inspired Community
Title: Owl Treats
Pairing(s): Harry/Draco
Rating: PG
Summary: Ron and Harry have a new client.
Warnings (if any): None
Total word count: ~3,000
Disclaimer: This story/artwork is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros. Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Beta(s): dogwoodblossom
Owl Treats
It was a normal day at the office. Ron was working on his fantasy Quidditch league and Harry was staring into space. Since they had finished their last job, things were slow. A fly moved from the upper right-hand corner of the room to the lower left. Harry thought about making it dance but decided that it would take too much energy. He sighed. He wanted to think something along the lines of “I wish something exciting would happen,” but he knew that thoughts like that inevitably ended in trips to the infirmary or St. Mungo’s and scolding lectures from Hermione. So he sat quietly and tried not to think about anything.
This tactic got Harry through about fifteen minutes when fate intervened and something happened. An owl happened. It swooped through the open window and landed on the owl perch. Its leg held a scroll tied on with a green ribbon. Harry leapt up and took the scroll quickly. He turned to get a treat to feed to the owl but when he turned back, it was gone.
“Damn,” Harry said. He hated it when the owls didn’t stay; Pig wasn’t the most reliable owl he’d ever known.
“New job?” Ron asked, pushing back from his desk, Quidditch scores left behind.
“Hopefully,” Harry replied. “It’s either that or more fan mail from Lockhart.” The ex-professor had become enamored with Harry while reading newspaper accounts of the last battle. He sent Harry a new letter every week proclaiming that they were meant for each other. They had been funny for a while, but even Ron admitted that a letter a week for three years was a little much.
Harry unrolled the scroll and quickly skimmed it. When he reached the signature, he growled and threw the scroll at Ron. Ron read it and snickered when he finished.
“Malfoy wants our help?” Ron asked. “How the mighty have fallen. Always going on about how he was the best at everything and now he’s asking a Weasley to ward his house.”
Harry shook his head. “I don’t trust him.” Harry had never trusted Draco, which was a slight understatement. Harry never really trusted anyone, but Malfoy was in a special class. Ever since their original meeting on the Hogwarts Express Harry had kept a close eye on Malfoy, though that had waned in the past few years. Harry hated running into Malfoy in Diagon Alley, not so much because Malfoy was rude, but because Harry got funny feelings he would rather not think about, thank you very much. None of this changed the fact that something was odd about Draco Malfoy requesting help from the P&W Warding Agency. Hermione had claimed that a simple name made their business more attractive to older clients. Ron had wanted to name it “We Beat the Dark Lord, So Let Us Keep Your House Safe.”
“Harry, the war is over,” Ron said with a sigh. “You’ve got to stop seeing enemies around every corner. Every time you go to the park you skulk around in the bushes. At least that’s what Zacharias said.”
Harry rolled his eyes. Why Ron cared so much about his personal life was a mystery, but he suspected it was Hermione’s influence. “The war may be over, but it’s still Malfoy. How do we know this isn’t a trick? He didn’t even instruct his owl to stay. That’s just rude.”
“You’re just concerned about Pig being able to find his way to the Manor,” Ron said. “You know he’ll be able to do it.” Ron glanced at the little owl who was currently trying to untangle himself from a hanging fern. “Probably.”
“I’m not just worried about Pig. I’m worried about Malfoy. I have to know what’s really going on.” Harry thought for a moment and then nodded. “I’ll write a reply and take it over myself. That way I can see if something’s up. Malfoy did always like to talk aloud. Maybe he’ll give something away.” Harry grabbed a blank sheet of parchment and set about writing a reply. He tossed it over to Ron to read. Ron made a few corrections and added an insult or two and then rolled it up. Harry stood up from his chair, stretched and turned into a sleek brown owl.
“Be careful Harry,” Ron said as he tied the parchment to the owl’s leg. “You have to let these things go. It can’t be good for your health.” Ron paused. “I can’t believe I just said that. I have to get out more.” He finished tying the message and gave the owl a pat on the head. “Good luck mate!” he said as Harry took off into the night.
***
Harry glided through a tree, determined to reach Malfoy Manner as quickly as possible. He wanted to know what was going on and why. Despite what Ron had said, Malfoy had to have some sort of ulterior motive. Why would he contact Ron and Harry for help otherwise? Of course, they were good, probably the best, they did have a lot of practice, but Malfoy hated them. Plus, wouldn’t he want something a little more . . . dark than what Ron and Harry were prepared to do? Harry ruffled his feathers and sped up.
***
The room Harry landed in was nice. Very nice. Not that he expected anything different from a Malfoy. There was a perch by the window that Harry landed on softly. Malfoy entered the room a few moments later.
“Ahh, a response then?” he asked and took the scroll from Harry’s leg. He put the scroll on a desk and grabbed a small tin from a shelf. “Here’s something to eat,” he said as he presented the tin of treats to Harry. Harry sniffed them and deemed them appropriate. Once he tasted them he knew he was in owl heaven. They were the right combination of crunch and mousey and Harry couldn’t even think anymore. He just wanted to eat. He spared a thought that the owl treats were too good and had to be dark somehow, but then he remembered that he hadn’t had supper yet and continued eating. He was so busy eating that he almost didn’t hear Malfoy talking to himself as he read the response.
“Yes, yes, all very professional,” he muttered. “How nice to hear from you Mr. Malfoy, hope all is well and that you haven’t run into any Death Eaters recently. Oh, how is your father doing? Right, he’s in jail for trying to kill me and everyone else in the world. Blah, blah, blah.” Harry snickered as much as an owl could at Malfoy’s reading. He was fairly close to what Harry had been thinking when he wrote the letter. Malfoy read the rest of the letter quietly, rolling his eyes when he got to the end. He stood up, stretched and walked over to the owl perch.
“Sounds like your owner was a little upset that my owl didn’t stick around,” he said as he softly petted Harry’s head. Harry hated it. Really. He hated it a lot. He in no way encouraged it by bumping Malfoy’s palm with his head. “You seem to like it here though,” Malfoy said. “Certainly like the food enough. Why don’t you wait while I write a reply huh?” He walked back to the desk and began to write.
Harry stayed on the perch and looked around the room. It was awfully neat and nothing was out of the ordinary. Maybe there was evil lurking in the shiny polish of the floor. Harry stared at it intently until he fell asleep. It had been a long flight.
***
Harry flew back to the office the next day and changed back. He slumped down in his chair and read Malfoy’s response. He seemed on the level, explaining that he simply wanted more protection from the neighbors who held “loud parties that always end in some sort of orgy (that I’m never invited to) and I don’t want a drunken, sex-crazed wizard peeing on my bushes. AGAIN!” He had come to Ron and Harry because they were the best and they were discreet. Also, the Manor had been stripped of all its protections since they were classified as Fourth Level Evil and Draco was desperate to get something up that would pass inspection. As hard as he tried, Harry couldn’t think of a reason not to do the job. Ron came in while Harry was slumped over his desk trying to focus on his hatred of Malfoy and not on the treats that he’d been eating all night.
“So, what’s up with Malfoy?” Ron asked. He looked chipper, which probably meant that he had eaten breakfast out. Hermione was on an oatmeal kick lately.
“Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I didn’t find anything wrong!” Harry whined. He flew the parchment over to Ron to read.
“Seems like an easy job,” Ron said. “I think we should take it. It’ll probably take me a week or two to come up with the plan, so you can take some time off if you want; maybe take a holiday since you never do.” Hermione’s nagging was wearing off on Ron. That or he was sick of Harry sighing all the time.
Harry shook his head. “I’ll stick around and take the letters to Malfoy.” He was still suspicious of Malfoy, but he had eaten and slept better as an owl in Malfoy’s study than he had in the past month. More than enough reasons to keep flying over there. Ron nodded and jotted a note back to Malfoy.
“You want to take this one over then?” he asked.
***
The week passed in a sort of haze for Harry. He spent a lot of his time as an owl in Draco’s study (and when did he become Draco?). The food stayed delicious and the petting was wonderful. Draco always seemed to know where his left wing itched and was amazing at head massages. Harry had been right about Draco liking to talk out loud. At first Harry listened with intent, sure that Draco was going to spill his evil plan. However, it soon became clear that Draco was used to being alone and simply said whatever he was thinking. Harry listened to many speeches on the importance of proper hygiene and how hard it is to find good help these days. He also heard Draco’s plans to buy a new dining room table (“the one Father bought has stains on it that I’m fairly certain were left by Death Eater parties so they’re either blood or something I can’t think about if I ever want to have sex again”) and how his visit with his mother went (“she didn’t remember me again”).
By the fourth day Harry realized that he was spending all his work time and free time at the Manor and thought he should take a day off. Instead of sitting around in Draco’s warm study listening to his voice, Harry sat around the office flicking pieces of paper at Ron.
“Would you stop that!” Ron shouted after Harry hit his nose.
“Sorry, just bored,” Harry replied. Maybe if he aimed a little to the left he could get the next one in Ron’s ear.
“Why don’t you go over to your boyfriend’s house and eat some more owl treats?” Ron asked sarcastically. Harry fell off his chair. Draco, as a boyfriend? He did spend a lot of time there and Draco was fun to be around (in owl form at least) and he was pretty and smelled good and . . .
“Oh shit! I think I’m in love with Draco Malfoy!”
Ron didn’t take the news as badly as Harry had thought he would. He was mad at first (“Malfoy?! THAT Malfoy?!”), but after a long talk with Hermione about tolerance (the talk may have included a brief venture into Hogwarts: A History) he had accepted that Harry liked Draco and had begun putting a plan together to get them together. It involved a singing house-elf dressed as Cupid and some slightly illegal love flowers. Harry had nixed the idea, but Ron was still pushing it.
***
Harry spent most of the rest of the week at Draco’s house trying not to act like an owl in love. Of course, he had no idea what an owl in love acted like, so he wasn’t sure how good of a job he did. He was glad when the planning phase was over though; mostly because if he heard the song “Deeper than a Bottomless Cauldron” one more time he was going to hex Ron silent no matter what Hermione said about inappropriate behavior. Harry was not looking forward to the meeting that was set up for Monday because it was the first time that he and Draco would meet in person. Harry had much less practice at not acting like a lovesick human than he did a lovesick owl. Ron was supposed to present his plan to Draco and Harry would explain what was going to happen and he was not going to make a fool out of himself. He was not optimistic.
Ron and Harry arrived at Malfoy Manor by three and Draco was waiting for them. The initial greetings were slightly frosty, but Ron quickly engaged Draco in the plans and Harry leaned against a wall, trying to look menacing and also trying not to drool. The effect was apparently amusing as Ron kept smirking. That or he had been at the love flowers.
Ron pushed Harry and Draco out into the grounds claiming that he had to make some last minute adjustments and that Draco should show Harry around. Harry was sure that he heard Ron humming as he and Draco walked away. Harry wanted to lead Draco into a clump of trees and do . . . something to him, but instead they wandered over to a stream.
“Over here we’ll need some extra strong wards in order to keep the spring from overflowing,” Harry explained. “I know Ron mentioned it, but I thought I’d go over it again since you’ll probably feel the magic for a while until you get used to it.” Draco nodded and glanced around. Harry followed his movement and noted they were alone. His first thoughts were of panic, Draco had lured him away to do dirty things to him, but then he thought about it and decided that it sounded like a good idea. Draco reached over and grabbed Harry’s arm and Harry almost screamed. Almost.
“You know, I should report you,” Draco hissed.
“What the hell Malfoy?”
“You treat your owl like he doesn’t matter. You know that he spends hours sitting in my study sleeping and eating because you and Weasley obviously don’t take any care of him. Within two days of spending time with me his feathers were shiny and he had a mussed wing feather one day and how dare you treat your owl like that.” Draco nodded and glared at the end of his rant.
“Um, owl? Oh, the uh, office owl, James, right. He’s, we take good care of him!” Harry said quickly, never being very good at thinking on his feet. He scratched his eyebrow and blinked a few times.
“James?” Draco said, frowning. “Wasn’t that your ... never mind.” Harry blinked a few more times. “You look just like your owl when you do that,” Draco said, stalking away from Harry.
***
Once the work on the Manor began, Harry was too busy to play owl, which bothered him more than it should have. He was around Draco constantly, but never had the connection he wanted. He was lying in his flat one night thinking about this when a tap came at his window. Outside was an owl, the same one that originally had brought Draco’s request to the office. Harry stared for a moment before letting it in. The owl was carrying a parcel and a note. Harry took them both and the bird left. He set the parcel down on his bed and read the note first.
“You are a really bad liar and your acting is giving me a headache,” was the message. Harry frowned and opened the parcel. Inside was a tin of the owl treats that Harry loved. Harry dropped the tin as he gasped. Realizing that he had just spilled his only collection of the owl treats, he shoved them back in the tin, then changed into an owl and flew out the window. Harry flew at breakneck speed to Malfoy Manor and landed with a tumble at the front door. He changed back and started banging at the door.
“Malfoy! Open up!” he yelled.
The door flew open a moment later and Harry launched himself at ... the house-elf who had opened the door. They tumbled to the floor and there was a bit of stuttering and apologies and Harry had to make sure the elf didn’t iron his hands in an attempt to make everything better. Sometime during all this Draco appeared in the hallway and snickered. When Harry noticed him, he glared, but not too much. After the elf had been appeased and had left, Harry was at a loss. He could only watch as Draco glided over to him and offered him a hand up. He took it and was pulled into Draco’s arms.
“You like my gift then?” Draco asked. Harry nodded. Draco smiled and leaned forward. He was about to kiss Harry when he paused. “You haven’t eaten any have you? Because to humans they don’t taste very good and...”
Harry laughed and kissed him quiet.
Recipient: The hd_inspired Community
Title: Owl Treats
Pairing(s): Harry/Draco
Rating: PG
Summary: Ron and Harry have a new client.
Warnings (if any): None
Total word count: ~3,000
Disclaimer: This story/artwork is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros. Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Beta(s): dogwoodblossom
Owl Treats
It was a normal day at the office. Ron was working on his fantasy Quidditch league and Harry was staring into space. Since they had finished their last job, things were slow. A fly moved from the upper right-hand corner of the room to the lower left. Harry thought about making it dance but decided that it would take too much energy. He sighed. He wanted to think something along the lines of “I wish something exciting would happen,” but he knew that thoughts like that inevitably ended in trips to the infirmary or St. Mungo’s and scolding lectures from Hermione. So he sat quietly and tried not to think about anything.
This tactic got Harry through about fifteen minutes when fate intervened and something happened. An owl happened. It swooped through the open window and landed on the owl perch. Its leg held a scroll tied on with a green ribbon. Harry leapt up and took the scroll quickly. He turned to get a treat to feed to the owl but when he turned back, it was gone.
“Damn,” Harry said. He hated it when the owls didn’t stay; Pig wasn’t the most reliable owl he’d ever known.
“New job?” Ron asked, pushing back from his desk, Quidditch scores left behind.
“Hopefully,” Harry replied. “It’s either that or more fan mail from Lockhart.” The ex-professor had become enamored with Harry while reading newspaper accounts of the last battle. He sent Harry a new letter every week proclaiming that they were meant for each other. They had been funny for a while, but even Ron admitted that a letter a week for three years was a little much.
Harry unrolled the scroll and quickly skimmed it. When he reached the signature, he growled and threw the scroll at Ron. Ron read it and snickered when he finished.
“Malfoy wants our help?” Ron asked. “How the mighty have fallen. Always going on about how he was the best at everything and now he’s asking a Weasley to ward his house.”
Harry shook his head. “I don’t trust him.” Harry had never trusted Draco, which was a slight understatement. Harry never really trusted anyone, but Malfoy was in a special class. Ever since their original meeting on the Hogwarts Express Harry had kept a close eye on Malfoy, though that had waned in the past few years. Harry hated running into Malfoy in Diagon Alley, not so much because Malfoy was rude, but because Harry got funny feelings he would rather not think about, thank you very much. None of this changed the fact that something was odd about Draco Malfoy requesting help from the P&W Warding Agency. Hermione had claimed that a simple name made their business more attractive to older clients. Ron had wanted to name it “We Beat the Dark Lord, So Let Us Keep Your House Safe.”
“Harry, the war is over,” Ron said with a sigh. “You’ve got to stop seeing enemies around every corner. Every time you go to the park you skulk around in the bushes. At least that’s what Zacharias said.”
Harry rolled his eyes. Why Ron cared so much about his personal life was a mystery, but he suspected it was Hermione’s influence. “The war may be over, but it’s still Malfoy. How do we know this isn’t a trick? He didn’t even instruct his owl to stay. That’s just rude.”
“You’re just concerned about Pig being able to find his way to the Manor,” Ron said. “You know he’ll be able to do it.” Ron glanced at the little owl who was currently trying to untangle himself from a hanging fern. “Probably.”
“I’m not just worried about Pig. I’m worried about Malfoy. I have to know what’s really going on.” Harry thought for a moment and then nodded. “I’ll write a reply and take it over myself. That way I can see if something’s up. Malfoy did always like to talk aloud. Maybe he’ll give something away.” Harry grabbed a blank sheet of parchment and set about writing a reply. He tossed it over to Ron to read. Ron made a few corrections and added an insult or two and then rolled it up. Harry stood up from his chair, stretched and turned into a sleek brown owl.
“Be careful Harry,” Ron said as he tied the parchment to the owl’s leg. “You have to let these things go. It can’t be good for your health.” Ron paused. “I can’t believe I just said that. I have to get out more.” He finished tying the message and gave the owl a pat on the head. “Good luck mate!” he said as Harry took off into the night.
***
Harry glided through a tree, determined to reach Malfoy Manner as quickly as possible. He wanted to know what was going on and why. Despite what Ron had said, Malfoy had to have some sort of ulterior motive. Why would he contact Ron and Harry for help otherwise? Of course, they were good, probably the best, they did have a lot of practice, but Malfoy hated them. Plus, wouldn’t he want something a little more . . . dark than what Ron and Harry were prepared to do? Harry ruffled his feathers and sped up.
***
The room Harry landed in was nice. Very nice. Not that he expected anything different from a Malfoy. There was a perch by the window that Harry landed on softly. Malfoy entered the room a few moments later.
“Ahh, a response then?” he asked and took the scroll from Harry’s leg. He put the scroll on a desk and grabbed a small tin from a shelf. “Here’s something to eat,” he said as he presented the tin of treats to Harry. Harry sniffed them and deemed them appropriate. Once he tasted them he knew he was in owl heaven. They were the right combination of crunch and mousey and Harry couldn’t even think anymore. He just wanted to eat. He spared a thought that the owl treats were too good and had to be dark somehow, but then he remembered that he hadn’t had supper yet and continued eating. He was so busy eating that he almost didn’t hear Malfoy talking to himself as he read the response.
“Yes, yes, all very professional,” he muttered. “How nice to hear from you Mr. Malfoy, hope all is well and that you haven’t run into any Death Eaters recently. Oh, how is your father doing? Right, he’s in jail for trying to kill me and everyone else in the world. Blah, blah, blah.” Harry snickered as much as an owl could at Malfoy’s reading. He was fairly close to what Harry had been thinking when he wrote the letter. Malfoy read the rest of the letter quietly, rolling his eyes when he got to the end. He stood up, stretched and walked over to the owl perch.
“Sounds like your owner was a little upset that my owl didn’t stick around,” he said as he softly petted Harry’s head. Harry hated it. Really. He hated it a lot. He in no way encouraged it by bumping Malfoy’s palm with his head. “You seem to like it here though,” Malfoy said. “Certainly like the food enough. Why don’t you wait while I write a reply huh?” He walked back to the desk and began to write.
Harry stayed on the perch and looked around the room. It was awfully neat and nothing was out of the ordinary. Maybe there was evil lurking in the shiny polish of the floor. Harry stared at it intently until he fell asleep. It had been a long flight.
***
Harry flew back to the office the next day and changed back. He slumped down in his chair and read Malfoy’s response. He seemed on the level, explaining that he simply wanted more protection from the neighbors who held “loud parties that always end in some sort of orgy (that I’m never invited to) and I don’t want a drunken, sex-crazed wizard peeing on my bushes. AGAIN!” He had come to Ron and Harry because they were the best and they were discreet. Also, the Manor had been stripped of all its protections since they were classified as Fourth Level Evil and Draco was desperate to get something up that would pass inspection. As hard as he tried, Harry couldn’t think of a reason not to do the job. Ron came in while Harry was slumped over his desk trying to focus on his hatred of Malfoy and not on the treats that he’d been eating all night.
“So, what’s up with Malfoy?” Ron asked. He looked chipper, which probably meant that he had eaten breakfast out. Hermione was on an oatmeal kick lately.
“Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I didn’t find anything wrong!” Harry whined. He flew the parchment over to Ron to read.
“Seems like an easy job,” Ron said. “I think we should take it. It’ll probably take me a week or two to come up with the plan, so you can take some time off if you want; maybe take a holiday since you never do.” Hermione’s nagging was wearing off on Ron. That or he was sick of Harry sighing all the time.
Harry shook his head. “I’ll stick around and take the letters to Malfoy.” He was still suspicious of Malfoy, but he had eaten and slept better as an owl in Malfoy’s study than he had in the past month. More than enough reasons to keep flying over there. Ron nodded and jotted a note back to Malfoy.
“You want to take this one over then?” he asked.
***
The week passed in a sort of haze for Harry. He spent a lot of his time as an owl in Draco’s study (and when did he become Draco?). The food stayed delicious and the petting was wonderful. Draco always seemed to know where his left wing itched and was amazing at head massages. Harry had been right about Draco liking to talk out loud. At first Harry listened with intent, sure that Draco was going to spill his evil plan. However, it soon became clear that Draco was used to being alone and simply said whatever he was thinking. Harry listened to many speeches on the importance of proper hygiene and how hard it is to find good help these days. He also heard Draco’s plans to buy a new dining room table (“the one Father bought has stains on it that I’m fairly certain were left by Death Eater parties so they’re either blood or something I can’t think about if I ever want to have sex again”) and how his visit with his mother went (“she didn’t remember me again”).
By the fourth day Harry realized that he was spending all his work time and free time at the Manor and thought he should take a day off. Instead of sitting around in Draco’s warm study listening to his voice, Harry sat around the office flicking pieces of paper at Ron.
“Would you stop that!” Ron shouted after Harry hit his nose.
“Sorry, just bored,” Harry replied. Maybe if he aimed a little to the left he could get the next one in Ron’s ear.
“Why don’t you go over to your boyfriend’s house and eat some more owl treats?” Ron asked sarcastically. Harry fell off his chair. Draco, as a boyfriend? He did spend a lot of time there and Draco was fun to be around (in owl form at least) and he was pretty and smelled good and . . .
“Oh shit! I think I’m in love with Draco Malfoy!”
Ron didn’t take the news as badly as Harry had thought he would. He was mad at first (“Malfoy?! THAT Malfoy?!”), but after a long talk with Hermione about tolerance (the talk may have included a brief venture into Hogwarts: A History) he had accepted that Harry liked Draco and had begun putting a plan together to get them together. It involved a singing house-elf dressed as Cupid and some slightly illegal love flowers. Harry had nixed the idea, but Ron was still pushing it.
***
Harry spent most of the rest of the week at Draco’s house trying not to act like an owl in love. Of course, he had no idea what an owl in love acted like, so he wasn’t sure how good of a job he did. He was glad when the planning phase was over though; mostly because if he heard the song “Deeper than a Bottomless Cauldron” one more time he was going to hex Ron silent no matter what Hermione said about inappropriate behavior. Harry was not looking forward to the meeting that was set up for Monday because it was the first time that he and Draco would meet in person. Harry had much less practice at not acting like a lovesick human than he did a lovesick owl. Ron was supposed to present his plan to Draco and Harry would explain what was going to happen and he was not going to make a fool out of himself. He was not optimistic.
Ron and Harry arrived at Malfoy Manor by three and Draco was waiting for them. The initial greetings were slightly frosty, but Ron quickly engaged Draco in the plans and Harry leaned against a wall, trying to look menacing and also trying not to drool. The effect was apparently amusing as Ron kept smirking. That or he had been at the love flowers.
Ron pushed Harry and Draco out into the grounds claiming that he had to make some last minute adjustments and that Draco should show Harry around. Harry was sure that he heard Ron humming as he and Draco walked away. Harry wanted to lead Draco into a clump of trees and do . . . something to him, but instead they wandered over to a stream.
“Over here we’ll need some extra strong wards in order to keep the spring from overflowing,” Harry explained. “I know Ron mentioned it, but I thought I’d go over it again since you’ll probably feel the magic for a while until you get used to it.” Draco nodded and glanced around. Harry followed his movement and noted they were alone. His first thoughts were of panic, Draco had lured him away to do dirty things to him, but then he thought about it and decided that it sounded like a good idea. Draco reached over and grabbed Harry’s arm and Harry almost screamed. Almost.
“You know, I should report you,” Draco hissed.
“What the hell Malfoy?”
“You treat your owl like he doesn’t matter. You know that he spends hours sitting in my study sleeping and eating because you and Weasley obviously don’t take any care of him. Within two days of spending time with me his feathers were shiny and he had a mussed wing feather one day and how dare you treat your owl like that.” Draco nodded and glared at the end of his rant.
“Um, owl? Oh, the uh, office owl, James, right. He’s, we take good care of him!” Harry said quickly, never being very good at thinking on his feet. He scratched his eyebrow and blinked a few times.
“James?” Draco said, frowning. “Wasn’t that your ... never mind.” Harry blinked a few more times. “You look just like your owl when you do that,” Draco said, stalking away from Harry.
***
Once the work on the Manor began, Harry was too busy to play owl, which bothered him more than it should have. He was around Draco constantly, but never had the connection he wanted. He was lying in his flat one night thinking about this when a tap came at his window. Outside was an owl, the same one that originally had brought Draco’s request to the office. Harry stared for a moment before letting it in. The owl was carrying a parcel and a note. Harry took them both and the bird left. He set the parcel down on his bed and read the note first.
“You are a really bad liar and your acting is giving me a headache,” was the message. Harry frowned and opened the parcel. Inside was a tin of the owl treats that Harry loved. Harry dropped the tin as he gasped. Realizing that he had just spilled his only collection of the owl treats, he shoved them back in the tin, then changed into an owl and flew out the window. Harry flew at breakneck speed to Malfoy Manor and landed with a tumble at the front door. He changed back and started banging at the door.
“Malfoy! Open up!” he yelled.
The door flew open a moment later and Harry launched himself at ... the house-elf who had opened the door. They tumbled to the floor and there was a bit of stuttering and apologies and Harry had to make sure the elf didn’t iron his hands in an attempt to make everything better. Sometime during all this Draco appeared in the hallway and snickered. When Harry noticed him, he glared, but not too much. After the elf had been appeased and had left, Harry was at a loss. He could only watch as Draco glided over to him and offered him a hand up. He took it and was pulled into Draco’s arms.
“You like my gift then?” Draco asked. Harry nodded. Draco smiled and leaned forward. He was about to kiss Harry when he paused. “You haven’t eaten any have you? Because to humans they don’t taste very good and...”
Harry laughed and kissed him quiet.