Eagle Eyes (H/D, PG-13)
Title: Eagle Eyes
Author: sesheta_66
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1300
Challenges: reciprocity_'s birthday request of "not established, Hogwarts era", awdt's prompts of "Next morning the winter's first snow lay soft and clean on (insert character's name here) window sill" and "All I can do is think of you," hd100's prompts of "devil," "great outdoors," "Narcissa" and "battle," and dracoharry100's prompt #68 - "Animagus," and #69 - "Fire".
Summary: Harry returns to school with a new outlook and a plan.
Disclaimer: The characters contained herein are not mine. They belong to JK Rowling and her publishers. No money is being made from this fiction, which is presented for entertainment purposes only.
Eagle Eyes
Alone post-war, Harry had spent a great deal of time thinking. Thinking about his choices, and about those of people around him.
He was haunted by Draco Malfoy's face. He kept seeing him through Voldemort's eyes: terrified and disgusted. He remembered Dumbledore's words and Draco lowering his wand. He dreamt of Draco's arms around him, his body pressed against Harry's, as they escaped the Fiendfyre.
His thoughts wandered back further, and he wondered if he could have done anything differently himself. He thought of Dumbledore and decided to view his own thoughts in a Pensieve, to see things more clearly.
He was surprised to see the look of anguish on Draco's face when Harry hadn't taken his hand. The look was quickly replaced with anger, but that fleeting moment spoke volumes. Harry vowed to himself that he would make amends with Draco if and when he returned to Hogwarts.
Harry dedicated the rest of his time reading about Animagus transformations. He'd thought about it a lot over the years, but had never had time to dedicate to the task. If his father and Sirius could do it ... hell, if pathetic little Peter Pettigrew could do it, so could Harry.
~*~*~
Harry returned to Hogwarts a new person. Well, that's what he'd told himself anyway. He was determined to have a new outlook. Tired of preparing most of his life for battle and then eventually participating, he decided that he wanted to live free of conflict from now on. Easier said than done, of course. But he was going to give it his all.
He was determined to become friends with Draco. Not that it would make up for past mistakes, but he hoped they could move forward. He hoped that his testimony in both Draco and Narcissa's trials would help.
Harry requested and was granted permission to return to the castle two weeks before classes were set to begin, appealing to Headmistress McGonagall that he needed time to heal, knowing that he would not have a moment's peace once the others arrived.
He spent this time visiting the sites of various events, playing them over in his mind. He had given McGonagall that excuse to return, but found he actually needed the time, and was glad of the solitude. The rest of his time he dedicated to studying Animagus transformation.
As Harry knew, the Hogwarts library was the perfect resource.
He'd spent nearly two months working on his transformation before returning to school, and most of the time since too. He knew he was close; he'd felt something the last few times he'd tried, yet he still hadn't succeeded. It was incredibly frustrating and draining; at those times, his thoughts kept returning to Draco Malfoy.
All I can do is think of you, Harry thought. Images of Draco had gone so far as to infiltrate his dreams. And friends would not be the word Harry would use to describe what they were in those. He blushed just thinking about them.
~*~*~
Once everyone returned to school, Harry still found himself alone. It was awkward seeing Ron and Hermione return as a couple, and he'd felt just as he had after the war. Left out. A third wheel. Unwanted.
Back in the summer, he'd received a thank you when he'd returned Draco's wand, and an owl after the trials, but nothing more. He'd tried to talk to the Slytherin once he returned, but Draco remained aloof. At least the sneer was gone.
So Harry did what he did best. Marauder's map in hand, he donned his Invisibility Cloak and followed Draco around.
After weeks of watching him, Harry soon discovered that Draco was as alone as he was. He spent no time with his former friends who had returned. He spent a lot of time in the great outdoors, and walked the grounds alone, eventually sitting by the lake.
One night while he sat watching Draco, Harry desperately wanted to approach him, but was afraid he would bolt. Harry removed his cloak, tucked it into his robes and stepped out from behind the tree cover he'd been under. With great determination, he felt his body transform. Spreading his wings, Harry took flight.
~*~*~
Harry landed near Draco, but stayed a safe distance away.
"Hey, you." Draco held a hand out to Harry. "Don't worry. I won't hurt you."
Harry stepped closer to Draco who looked pleased. "That's it; you can trust me."
Harry's heart jumped a beat as he thought that he really could trust Draco. It was a strange feeling. Even though he'd been thinking almost non-stop about him, and even though he'd starred in many of Harry's dreams lately, he'd never really thought about trusting Draco before.
In response, Harry walked right up to Draco and allowed him to pet him.
"Are you all alone too?" Draco asked as he continued to run his hand over Harry's feathers. It felt nice. "Where's your mate? Or do you not have one? I don't either. It seems nearly everyone else here does. Everyone except Potter."
Harry stiffened when he heard his name. "Relax," Draco soothed. "He's not so bad. He wouldn't hurt you either. He saves people. I'm sure if you were ever in danger, he'd save you too."
Harry nudged closer again. "Strange that. He could have anyone he wanted, but he's alone. I suppose being the hero isn't everything. Who knew?"
~*~*~
Over the next few weeks, Harry visited Draco in his Animagus form, which turned out to be an eagle. Draco continued to talk to him, often with Harry as the topic, but he never had a bad word to say. It seemed Harry wasn't the only one thinking about his former nemesis.
It took until the end of November before Hermione got suspicious and asked questions about what he was doing.
Harry had laughed. "Took you long enough to notice my absence, didn't it?"
Hermione had blushed. "You have other priorities now, Hermione," Harry had said. "And so do I."
~*~*~
Harry decided to combine his Gryffindor courage with his Slytherin slyness and use the information he'd obtained as an eagle. He approached Draco at the lake in his human form.
"Mind if I join you?" he asked.
"Don't you have people to save, Potter?"
Harry smiled. "Actually, no. I believe that job's done."
"I'm sure you have witches to woo, then."
"I'm not interested."
"Oh?" Draco had asked, sounding intrigued. "In the witches or the wooing?"
"Both. I have no desire to be with someone who's into hero worship and, to be perfectly honest, I'm rather more interested in wizards."
Harry's rather abrupt admission broke the ice. Draco had been so shocked that he'd forgotten to not speak to Harry. They stayed by the lake for hours, sometimes talking, sometimes in companionable silence. It surprised them both.
It soon became a routine. Neither one spoke about it, and arrangements were never made, but Harry met Draco by the lake each day and they spent their time talking about everything. Everything except the war. Which suited Harry just fine.
As the Christmas holidays approached, Harry took a chance. "How would you like to drop by for a visit over the hols?"
~*~*~
Draco had visited; in fact, he had stayed the night. Harry had risked a kiss, still unsure what reaction he would get. Draco's 'It's about bloody time, Potter' was a welcome surprise. What it led to was even better.
Next morning, the winter's first snow lay soft and clean on Harry's window sill. He lit a fire, smiling devilishly as Draco came downstairs.
"I woke up and you weren't there," Draco said with a pout.
"I'm here. I'm not going anywhere."
"After all that time pursuing me," Draco said, "I should hope not."
If you only knew, Harry thought to himself.
Author: sesheta_66
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1300
Challenges: reciprocity_'s birthday request of "not established, Hogwarts era", awdt's prompts of "Next morning the winter's first snow lay soft and clean on (insert character's name here) window sill" and "All I can do is think of you," hd100's prompts of "devil," "great outdoors," "Narcissa" and "battle," and dracoharry100's prompt #68 - "Animagus," and #69 - "Fire".
Summary: Harry returns to school with a new outlook and a plan.
Disclaimer: The characters contained herein are not mine. They belong to JK Rowling and her publishers. No money is being made from this fiction, which is presented for entertainment purposes only.
Eagle Eyes
Alone post-war, Harry had spent a great deal of time thinking. Thinking about his choices, and about those of people around him.
He was haunted by Draco Malfoy's face. He kept seeing him through Voldemort's eyes: terrified and disgusted. He remembered Dumbledore's words and Draco lowering his wand. He dreamt of Draco's arms around him, his body pressed against Harry's, as they escaped the Fiendfyre.
His thoughts wandered back further, and he wondered if he could have done anything differently himself. He thought of Dumbledore and decided to view his own thoughts in a Pensieve, to see things more clearly.
He was surprised to see the look of anguish on Draco's face when Harry hadn't taken his hand. The look was quickly replaced with anger, but that fleeting moment spoke volumes. Harry vowed to himself that he would make amends with Draco if and when he returned to Hogwarts.
Harry dedicated the rest of his time reading about Animagus transformations. He'd thought about it a lot over the years, but had never had time to dedicate to the task. If his father and Sirius could do it ... hell, if pathetic little Peter Pettigrew could do it, so could Harry.
~*~*~
Harry returned to Hogwarts a new person. Well, that's what he'd told himself anyway. He was determined to have a new outlook. Tired of preparing most of his life for battle and then eventually participating, he decided that he wanted to live free of conflict from now on. Easier said than done, of course. But he was going to give it his all.
He was determined to become friends with Draco. Not that it would make up for past mistakes, but he hoped they could move forward. He hoped that his testimony in both Draco and Narcissa's trials would help.
Harry requested and was granted permission to return to the castle two weeks before classes were set to begin, appealing to Headmistress McGonagall that he needed time to heal, knowing that he would not have a moment's peace once the others arrived.
He spent this time visiting the sites of various events, playing them over in his mind. He had given McGonagall that excuse to return, but found he actually needed the time, and was glad of the solitude. The rest of his time he dedicated to studying Animagus transformation.
As Harry knew, the Hogwarts library was the perfect resource.
He'd spent nearly two months working on his transformation before returning to school, and most of the time since too. He knew he was close; he'd felt something the last few times he'd tried, yet he still hadn't succeeded. It was incredibly frustrating and draining; at those times, his thoughts kept returning to Draco Malfoy.
All I can do is think of you, Harry thought. Images of Draco had gone so far as to infiltrate his dreams. And friends would not be the word Harry would use to describe what they were in those. He blushed just thinking about them.
~*~*~
Once everyone returned to school, Harry still found himself alone. It was awkward seeing Ron and Hermione return as a couple, and he'd felt just as he had after the war. Left out. A third wheel. Unwanted.
Back in the summer, he'd received a thank you when he'd returned Draco's wand, and an owl after the trials, but nothing more. He'd tried to talk to the Slytherin once he returned, but Draco remained aloof. At least the sneer was gone.
So Harry did what he did best. Marauder's map in hand, he donned his Invisibility Cloak and followed Draco around.
After weeks of watching him, Harry soon discovered that Draco was as alone as he was. He spent no time with his former friends who had returned. He spent a lot of time in the great outdoors, and walked the grounds alone, eventually sitting by the lake.
One night while he sat watching Draco, Harry desperately wanted to approach him, but was afraid he would bolt. Harry removed his cloak, tucked it into his robes and stepped out from behind the tree cover he'd been under. With great determination, he felt his body transform. Spreading his wings, Harry took flight.
~*~*~
Harry landed near Draco, but stayed a safe distance away.
"Hey, you." Draco held a hand out to Harry. "Don't worry. I won't hurt you."
Harry stepped closer to Draco who looked pleased. "That's it; you can trust me."
Harry's heart jumped a beat as he thought that he really could trust Draco. It was a strange feeling. Even though he'd been thinking almost non-stop about him, and even though he'd starred in many of Harry's dreams lately, he'd never really thought about trusting Draco before.
In response, Harry walked right up to Draco and allowed him to pet him.
"Are you all alone too?" Draco asked as he continued to run his hand over Harry's feathers. It felt nice. "Where's your mate? Or do you not have one? I don't either. It seems nearly everyone else here does. Everyone except Potter."
Harry stiffened when he heard his name. "Relax," Draco soothed. "He's not so bad. He wouldn't hurt you either. He saves people. I'm sure if you were ever in danger, he'd save you too."
Harry nudged closer again. "Strange that. He could have anyone he wanted, but he's alone. I suppose being the hero isn't everything. Who knew?"
~*~*~
Over the next few weeks, Harry visited Draco in his Animagus form, which turned out to be an eagle. Draco continued to talk to him, often with Harry as the topic, but he never had a bad word to say. It seemed Harry wasn't the only one thinking about his former nemesis.
It took until the end of November before Hermione got suspicious and asked questions about what he was doing.
Harry had laughed. "Took you long enough to notice my absence, didn't it?"
Hermione had blushed. "You have other priorities now, Hermione," Harry had said. "And so do I."
~*~*~
Harry decided to combine his Gryffindor courage with his Slytherin slyness and use the information he'd obtained as an eagle. He approached Draco at the lake in his human form.
"Mind if I join you?" he asked.
"Don't you have people to save, Potter?"
Harry smiled. "Actually, no. I believe that job's done."
"I'm sure you have witches to woo, then."
"I'm not interested."
"Oh?" Draco had asked, sounding intrigued. "In the witches or the wooing?"
"Both. I have no desire to be with someone who's into hero worship and, to be perfectly honest, I'm rather more interested in wizards."
Harry's rather abrupt admission broke the ice. Draco had been so shocked that he'd forgotten to not speak to Harry. They stayed by the lake for hours, sometimes talking, sometimes in companionable silence. It surprised them both.
It soon became a routine. Neither one spoke about it, and arrangements were never made, but Harry met Draco by the lake each day and they spent their time talking about everything. Everything except the war. Which suited Harry just fine.
As the Christmas holidays approached, Harry took a chance. "How would you like to drop by for a visit over the hols?"
~*~*~
Draco had visited; in fact, he had stayed the night. Harry had risked a kiss, still unsure what reaction he would get. Draco's 'It's about bloody time, Potter' was a welcome surprise. What it led to was even better.
Next morning, the winter's first snow lay soft and clean on Harry's window sill. He lit a fire, smiling devilishly as Draco came downstairs.
"I woke up and you weren't there," Draco said with a pout.
"I'm here. I'm not going anywhere."
"After all that time pursuing me," Draco said, "I should hope not."
If you only knew, Harry thought to himself.