hd inspiration for the hd_inspired community (1)
Author: romaine24
Recipient: The hd_inspired Community
Title: My Nawa Jujun (Part 1 of 6)
Pairing(s): Harry/Draco
Rating: NC-17
Summary: A small, unsolved case has Auror Harry Potter annoyed. His persistence pays off, and the answer reveals what his favourite DADA professor, Remus Lupin, meant by "the Animagus transformation can go horribly wrong".
Warnings (if any): bondage, rimming, HPDH (EWE)
Total word count: 49,675
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. Please note: There are more disclaimers at the end of this story.
Author's notes (if any): I hope you, the hd_inspired community, enjoy this gift. I had a wonderful time writing it. The story is a bit on the Dark and erotic side with a large dose of mystery and adventure. It turned out much longer than I anticipated, but trying to control a muse when inspired is not my forte. Thanks to the mods for holding such a wonderful fest.
Beta(s): eynhashofetyour support, comments, and corrections were so appreciated. I'm not sure I could have done this without you. I owe you a Scotch. alaana_fair, thanks for the sanity check.
My Nawa Jujun Part 1 of 6
Your father and Sirius here were the cleverest students in the school, and lucky they were, because the Animagus transformation can go horribly wrong - one reason the Ministry keeps a close watch on those attempting to do it. Remus Lupin Chapter 18, Prisoner of Azkaban.
March 2003
The midnight air cracked at the same moment Harry peeked around the corner of the Three Broomsticks. "Damn it," he muttered as the Petrificus Totalus spell hit the brick wall. He lowered the hawthorn wand and walked down the darkened alley. As with most pathways in town, it appeared to be devoid of debris. "Lumos," he whispered, and began scanning every crevice. It would take just one hair to find out who the wizard was. He spotted something and bent down to inspect it. With gloved hands, he picked up a small clump of fur. Instinct, told him to take it, he withdrew a plastic bag from his robe pocket, put it in, and sealed it.
"It's from a raccoon, Auror Potter," the ancient witch said as she lifted the fur with tweezers and brought it up close to his face. Harry had been startled the first time he'd met Witch Trudy, the name she insisted upon being called. He thought she looked like what most Muggle children think of as a witch, hunch-backed, long crooked nose, and pointy teeth. She'd run the forensics lab as long as anyone could remember. Every tiny detail to her was important and no case had a priority over another. He'd waited four days for this meeting. That she'd called him down to her laboratory was a good sign. Usually, she had her familiar, a raven, deliver missives with the critical information.
He took a step back as her gnarled hand shook and the bits of fur almost touched his nose.
"A raccoon?"
She lowered her arm and turned back to her marble workbench. "Yes," she cackled, "not native to this land. But there's something else, my dear, oh, yes, there's something else."
Harry coughed and covered his mouth trying to restrain himself from laughing. "What is it?" Harry asked after clearing his throat.
Her hand rose and one bent finger beckoned him to come closer. He moved next to her and leant over the worktable. "This," she said and her long grey fingernail pointed to one short strand of hair. "Human hair, it was mixed in with the rest."
Harry stood up, his eyes widened. "Is there a match?"
She turned to him, her dark eyes enlarged by magnifying spectacles, brightened. "No, no match with any wizard or witch we have on file. But it has a root, as does one piece of the fur."
"And?"
"And," she said, poking him in the stomach with her finger, "and they match."
Harry's brow furrowed. "They match? The raccoon and the human hair match?" he asked in disbelief. His brain engaged and he began recalling his forensic classes from five years before. There was no recollection of anything relating to this. Wait, wait a second, it wasn't from forensics it was from his training in how to track a werewolf. Then the memory of how training can never fully prepare you for such an encounter made him wince. "Werewolf?" he responded, not truly believing it was the correct answer.
"Close, Auror Potter, but not a Dark Creature."
She held his stare as he continued to think.
"Human and animal, animal and human," he muttered continuously.
The old witch nodded her head each time as if drawing the answer from deep within his brain.
"Animagus!" Harry burst out.
"Yes, very good, but a true Animagus would only have animal fur. What we have here, Auror Potter, is some witch who's stuck in transformation."
"Witch?"
"Yes, witch."
"But, the reports have said a wizard has been spotted after the break-ins."
The old witch laughed; at least that is what Harry thought it was, the raspy sound was high-pitched. He would have to tell Ron about this peculiar incident. Witch Trudy was never known to laugh.
"We've got ourselves a mystery, then don't we?"
Harry looked back down at the evidence. "One that's lasted for five years."
"Many mysteries have lasted longer than that, Harry Potter. If you happen to find this raccoon-witch, bring her to me. I might be able to help."
******************
The detailed map of Hogsmeade covered the conference table. This was his case to work. Actually, it was more like a hobby and he worked it in his spare time. It was the only one on the books not to have been solved. They were only minor incidents, but it bothered him. He didn't like the idea that someone or something could be so elusive for so long. That signalled trouble to him. Harry went over every single mark on the map that showed the day and time of the break-ins for each establishment, the latest one being the Three Broomsticks. There was no rhyme or reason to it. No pattern. He walked around the table holding his Gryffindor coffee cup in hand. Every single establishment had been hit and a few homes. Nothing of consequence had ever been taken, just bits of inventory, including food from each store and small items from the homes. Only three citizens had ever recorded their observations. They each saw a creature scurrying along the ground and then a heavily robed wizard Disapparate soon afterwards.
Five years ago, soon after the war, the incidents were frequent, then they came to a complete stop some months later, and a few months ago, they had started up again. Harry lifted his wand, waving it over the parchment. What was new in the last few months that had not been hit?
"Harry, did you need something?"
Harry glanced up at his housemate, who was making a name for herself in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.
"Yeah, have you ever heard of someone getting stuck while becoming an Animagus?"
Hermione's eyes were transfixed on the parchment where icons of establishments and homes were highlighting as Harry's spell worked through the algorithm. "Um, you mean being stuck in their animal form? No, not that I've ever heard. Of course, there's only a few registered Animagi. It's one of the most difficult spells to conquer, and they don't teach it at Hogwarts because...."
Harry's eyes narrowed. "No, I mean being stuck in the middle of a transformation?"
Hermione grimaced. "Oh, that is just disgusting."
Harry laughed.
"Okay, so why wasn't it taught at Hogwarts? I taught the D.A. to do...Malfoy!" Harry yelled.
Hermione giggled.
Harry blushed. "God, I so didn't mean that. It's just that the only recent shop that hasn't been broken into lately is Malfoy's Estate Resale Shop."
Hermione leant over the table. Harry could tell she was doing what he had done earlier: looking for a pattern. She scratched her head and sighed. "Malfoy wouldn't need to break into places, and as far as I know his parents haven't disinherited him. Unless...."
"Unless what? He's a kleptomaniac?"
"Well?"
"I don't think so, even though the monthly inspections haven't turned anything up, it might be worth checking out his shop personally. I know he evades me like the plague since his return from abroad. Maybe there's something he's hiding," Harry said as he waved his wand, and the parchment rolled up into a cylinder. "So what's the issue with the spell?"
"Oh, um, it seems to be one of those magical conditions, which you either have the capability or not, like Teddy's Metamorphmagus. And even if you do have it, it's still difficult to master. There are a few in the history books who preceded Hogwarts, but all the other known and registered Animagi are or were Gryffindors."
"Skeeter?" Harry asked in disbelief.
"Harry, think of the bollocks it takes to write what she does. Not all Gryffindors use their powers for good."
*************************
“Yes, Mrs Baker, the spell is guaranteed to last for a century. I cast it myself,” Draco said to the young Squib mother with three magical children in tow. He kept his eye on them making sure they didn’t get into things they shouldn’t. His attention was brought back to the woman as she once again opened the drawers of the dresser and dumped baskets of clean laundry into them, only to watch the clothes magically separate, fold themselves, and move into the correct place.
“Oh, Mr Malfoy, I can’t thank you enough for opening this shop. It has been a real lifesaver. You know since Mr Baker had his accident he can't…” Draco’s attention was drawn away by the sound of the bell over the shop door. The late afternoon sun was shining through the windows and all he could see was the silhouette of a wizard standing there. From the stance alone, he knew it wasn’t a customer.
“Excuse me, Mrs Baker. I'll be right back,” he said with a smile and patted her on the hand.
As he approached the entrance, his adrenaline began to rise. The wizard who had entered his establishment was no ordinary wizard; it was Auror Harry Potter. Draco counted to ten as he came closer to Harry. His eyes travelled up and down the wizard taking it all in. The black riding boots and the Auror robes made his pulse quicken, and the mirrored sunglasses increased his anxiety. He felt unduly uncomfortable not being able to see someone's eyes and where they were looking.
“Auror Potter, what can I do for you today?” Draco said trying to sound unconcerned.
“It’s business, Malfoy. I’ll wait,” Harry responded authoritatively.
Draco narrowed his eyes as Harry removed his sunglasses and gave a quick swipe through his short cut hair. Draco hadn’t been this close to him in five years, and those years had been good to Potter, but there was no reason to acquiesce to the Auror’s presence. “You’re aware that two Aurors were here last week, for the monthly inspection, aren’t you? I thought everything was fine.”
Harry looked past Draco at the women and three children. “Just finish your transaction and we’ll have a little talk.”
Draco rolled his eyes and turned away. “Fine, Potter.”
He could barely listen to Mrs Baker blather on about her husband’s illness. His eyes kept shifting to Potter who was now cruising his estate resale shop with his hands clasped behind his back. Draco took notice whenever Harry stopped and paid special attention to a particular item. Currently, he was leaning over the glass enclosure holding heirloom jewellery pieces; none of them were tainted with Dark magic. The Aurors had done a clean sweep the day he opened and found nothing.
“And the children are just running me ragged,” Mrs Baker sighed. Draco gave her a consolatory smile and put his arm around her shoulder leading her to the counter to write up her order. The two boys and their sister were getting antsy, and began a game of hide n’ seek. Draco reached for his wand to cast a charm to protect his inventory when the kids suddenly became frozen in place.
“What do you think you are doing, Mr Malfoy? How dare you! I'm going straight….”
“Straight to where?” a low voice said from across the room.
Mrs Baker spun around, her brown eyes widened at the wizard who was suddenly right behind her without having made a sound. “Um, um, Auror Potter. I- I didn’t know that was you.”
Harry gave her a gentle smile.
“It’s okay, Mrs Baker. I'll release the spell, but it would probably be best if you didn’t bring your young ones into Mr Malfoy’s shop.”
Mrs Baker’s eyes widened. “Is- is there Dark magic here?” she asked, her voice cracking with fear.
Harry laughed. “No- none that I can detect. I was actually more in fear of Mr Malfoy’s merchandise being damaged by the children.”
Draco exhaled deeply. He hadn’t realised he had been holding his breath during the verbal exchange. His eyes focused on Harry and the two-holstered wands he was sporting; one of them used to be his. Neither wand had been touched when the spell on the children ended. Draco took advantage of the moment to study the face that had infiltrated his visions for the last few years.
Mrs Baker returned her attention to Draco to place her order. Harry was now on the floor playing with the kids. The children were sucking on peppermint sticks and being mesmerised by conjured stuffed rabbits hopping around the shop. Harry had pulled the candy out of his pocket and given it to them. Draco tried not to be obvious as he stole quick alternating glances at Harry acting like a child and the rabbits that he longed to pounce on.
"Well, what is it, Potter?" Draco asked as he walked over to the display case in front of the register and wiped away the sticky handprints the children had left.
"I was curious as to whether you've had any break-ins, any items missing?" Harry said after removing a peppermint stick from his mouth.
"No, can't say that I have. Of course, I will notify the Ministry if such an occurrence does happen."
Harry rolled his eyes. "So maybe you can tell me why your place is the only one that hasn't been affected?"
"I don't know, Potter, maybe they're afraid given my background."
"Oh, yes, you were such a scary Death Eater," Harry muttered as he looked about the main room.
"Fu- forget it. It doesn't matter what you think, the label still makes people wary."
Harry nodded and walked through a wide-open doorway and into another room filled with more furniture and cases with breakable items. Draco followed him. This room was his favourite, the scent of antique furniture and old magic put him at peace. He took a deep breath as Harry spotted the oval Cheval mirror along the far right wall and made his way over to it. He wasn't surprised that Harry was drawn to it, he was sure its magic was reaching out to him. The previous Aurors who had shown up were Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, he'd always wondered what this particular Gryffindor would think of it.
Harry reached out, touched the golden filigree frame, and then slipped his regular glasses on to get a better look. Draco could only hope Harry would be transfixed by what the obvious revelation was and not see what else the freestanding mirror showed. No maybe it would be best, maybe it was time. Harry leant forward and inspected the symbol markings and drawings of lions, wizards, and witches on the base and posts held up by lion claw feet.
"Gryffindor's?" Harry asked.
"Yes."
"Where did you get it?"
"Voldemort," Draco replied, intentionally using the Dark Lord's name.
Harry's jaw set. "Explain."
Draco swiped his lips with his tongue and swallowed hard. He knew at some point Harry would find out about the mirror and he'd practiced his explanation; he just didn't expect it to happen today. It would be detrimental for it to be destroyed. "He brought it to my family's home in the autumn of that year."
"Go on. Did he say where he got it from?"
Draco sighed. "He never told me, but my father said it came from Godric's Hollow. He guessed from Batilda Bagshot's home."
Harry's fingertips ran along the frame, tilting it back and forth and then he closed his eyes. Draco knew that Harry was trying to feel the magic imbedded into the silvered-mirror. "It looks familiar- feels familiar," Harry said softly and then he turned the mirror to its complete vertical position. There was no escaping the inevitable so Draco stepped up next to him. Harry laughed and turned his head side-to-side as a black leopard kitten grew into a full-grown black panther. The panther in the mirror, with a faint white lightning bolt across its forehead, mimicked his head motion. The snow leopard next to it stood perfectly still. Draco's eyes focused more on the background shown in the mirror. It morphed from a quaint parlour room to his shop.
"Did you see that?" Harry asked excitedly.
"What that we happen to be looking at two leopards?"
Harry flicked him on the head; the black leopard cuffed the white one in the mirror, a hiss and show of teeth came from both. "No you git, the room it showed in the beginning. It resembled the few pictures I have from when I was a baby; that was an image of my home, my parent's home."
"Really, then maybe you can tell me what this means?" Draco said enthusiastically as he flipped the mirror over. The plain wood back looked blemish free. Draco bent down and pointed to scratch marks that ran along the bottom edge, they had been a mystery to him for the previous five years. Harry knelt down, examined the marks, and then began to laugh.
"The bastards!" Harry chuckled. "Malfoy, what does this mirror do? I'm sure it has something to do with becoming an Animagus."
Draco stood. "It reveals what your Animagus form would be if you could do the transformation. From what I know it helps those learning the spell to have a better chance of being successful. I assume because you can focus on the type of animal you would turn into. So what do the markings mean?"
Harry rose and flipped the mirror back round so he could see the cat images again. "They're footprints or rather paw prints of a dog, a stag, and a rat. The dog's prints are for Padfoot, your cousin, my godfather, Sirius Black; the stag, Prongs, was for my father, and the rat...."
"Wormtail, Peter Pettigrew," Draco said with disgust. "That's how he knew how it worked." He watched as the dark leopard swished its tail frantically, he glanced back at Harry, thankful his arse wasn't twitching.
Harry lifted his foot and watched the leopard mimic him. He snarled and then jumped at the sound that reverberated back. Draco put his hand over his face and coughed trying to not to laugh.
"So have you tried to do it? I recently heard only Gryffindors could manage the spell."
"Really, Potter, that's like saying only Slytherins can be Parselmouths."
The back fur on the dark leopard rose. The tail became still. "I'm not a Parselmouth anymore, Malfoy. So it might still be a fact. Now are you trying to evade my question?"
Draco sighed. He could banter back and forth with Harry all day, but eventually he would relent and show him. A part of him was proud a Slytherin could do it. A flash of light filled the space where Draco had stood. A snow leopard took his place. Harry's eyes travelled back and forth between the cat and the reflection in the mirror, Draco Malfoy was in the mirror. The cat next to him began to sniff his leg, and to Harry's delight its counterpart bent down and began to do the same to the black leopard. Harry petted the large white and black cat. It snarled. In return, the black cat pawed Draco who snarled and didn't look pleased. Another flash of light and Draco returned.
The bewildered look on Harry's face gave Draco the confidence for the questions he knew would be forthcoming. He had the edge; Potter was ignorant about the mirror and about the spell. He could finesse the outcome through his presentation of details. Somewhere deep inside he had known this day would come, he would need Potter's help, he just wanted it to be on his terms. The strain of the situation had become too much.
"Do you need the mirror to learn?"
Draco withheld the sigh, he expected Potter to understand at least that. "No, and if you knew who was registered or those in the past, you would know Rita Skeeter didn't have access to it. I'm not sure about McGonagall or the few others who are registered."
"So it's not a Gryffindor trait," Harry mumbled, sounding disappointed.
"Potter, as much as this goes against my better judgment, why don't we have tea and I will tell you what I know. It's been a long day and the spell drains me."
"Yeah, you're looking a bit piqued." Harry said and turned away from the mirror. He took one-step forward and spun back around, leaving a black scuffmark on the wooden floor. His head turned back and forth. "There's a door on the far wall in the mirror, but not here."
"Yes, I was beginning to doubt your prowess as an Auror."
"Well?" Harry said impatiently.
"Tea first, Potter."
**************************
Draco led Harry back to the main room and up a back wooden stairwell. He withdrew a simple skeleton key and unlocked the only door at the landing. "Welcome to my home," Draco said, without the sincerity the words usually implied. He took his cloak off and hung it on the coat rack. Harry snickered as a brass hand clasped it and then he followed suit. The parlour room to the right was warm as the heat spread from a crackling fire. Every piece of Victorian furniture was exquisite. The first person he thought of was Aunt Petunia; despite the modern pieces that made up the house on Privet Drive, he knew she would have preferred a home like this. Shelves of magical knickknacks and still paintings of magical worlds were strategically placed throughout the room.
"You can have a seat or follow me into the kitchen; it's going to be a few minutes for the tea to steep."
"No house-elf?" Harry asked.
"No, it's a luxury I no longer indulge myself with."
Draco walked down the narrow hallway; Harry followed glancing up at the tall ceilings. Candlelit crystal sconces lit as Draco passed by. A few tall arched doors on the left were closed and Harry longed to open them, but the open archway at the end of the hall beckoned him with the scent of fresh baked bread.
The open and airy kitchen made him blink. The afternoon sun was setting and its final rays filtered through the bank of windows on the right wall. Draco opened the oven door with a mitted hand and withdrew a perfectly crusted loaf of white bread. "Marmalade or honey?"
Harry leant over the marbled centre island and examined the selection Draco referred to. "The Scottish thick-cut marmalade."
"Yeah, brings back memories of Hogwarts in the morning."
Suddenly, Harry realised what he was feeling: nostalgia. He wasn't sure if it was nostalgia for something he truly experienced, or rather nostalgia for an earlier time period he had never experienced. Whatever it was, it was warm and comforting. Draco measured out the tea and poured the boiling water into the ceramic teapot. He reached up to one of the many beveled-glass fronted white-maple cupboards and took down two cups and saucers, and plates for the bread.
Harry felt his mouth salivating while he waited for the first bite; as usual, he had missed lunch.
"I have to be in front of the mirror to do the transformation. What you said earlier is correct, to do it properly you have to be a Gryffindor," Draco commented as he sliced thick slices of bread and laid them on the plates. A generous pat of butter was spread on each piece of bread and melted into each miniscule pocket.
"I don't understand how that can be. Hermione mentioned that people either had the trait or not, like Metamorphmagus."
Draco shook his head. "No, it's because only Gryffindors have the bollocks to do it and not be afraid of the repercussions. For the rest of us, it's like a barrier is put up, every instinct screams not to try it, not to do it. Most other witches and wizards don't even see their reflection. As far as I know, I'm the only non-Gryffindor to see an Animagus form, but there have been rumours of others."
Harry sat down at the cloth-covered table by the windows. A vase filled with sweet peas added to the charm. The view of Hogsmeade below was charming. The town's lantern lights were coming on. Draco set down the cups of tea on their saucers and then the plates of bread. "But you did," Harry said as he coated the warm generous slice of bread with the chunky-orange marmalade. Draco drizzled the honey on his and it was at that moment that Harry reflected upon how relaxed he felt and that for the first time ever he and Draco Malfoy were having an intelligent conversation. The corners of his mouth curled up at not only that thought but with the taste and texture that filled his mouth.
"I did, but it wasn't by choice. Well, no that's not correct. It was more as if I had a compulsion to do it."
Harry sipped the hot tea; a swirl of steam rose up and he breathed the Earl Grey scent in. "Why?"
Draco set down his slice of bread. "I'll tell you if you first tell me why you're really here? Putting the mirror aside, what information did you come seeking?"
"I can't say."
Draco nodded. "Then I can't help you."
Harry snorted. "I wasn't asking for help."
The roll of the silver-grey eyes ended the feeling of comfort. Harry wanted to strangle Draco, and that emotion scared him. It had been years since he'd felt something so visceral. A long silence ensued and was only broken by the six chimes from a clock in another room.
"It's against regulations, but I think we might be able to work around those."
The smirk that emerged on Draco almost made Harry want to just say forget it and walk away. But he knew Draco had something he was withholding, and given what had occurred downstairs, they could possibly be related.
"Remus once told me that the repercussions of not doing the spell correctly were horrible. Do you know what happens if an attempt to become an Animagus is not successful?" Harry asked. The diversity of emotions that Draco's eyes exhibited in one brief moment let Harry know he was on the right track.
"It's not pretty."
"But it's not lasting, is it?"
Draco drained the last of his tea and stared out the window. The time had come to tell someone, and unfortunately, in this case, as the images had told him and the others, Harry Potter was the right person. "It is lasting if the witch or wizard attempting it hasn't been trained properly, or if their magic isn't strong enough, or if they were coerced into doing it."
"I- I don't understand. I mean there's a spell to force an Animagus back to its human form. I've seen it."
Draco stood and went to another cupboard. A bottle of brandy was produced with two snifter glasses. "The parlour is probably a better place to discuss this."
Harry shovelled the last half of his second piece of bread into his mouth. Draco grimaced. Harry shrugged and then followed Draco back down the hallway. Harry was motioned to sit in an old, brown-leather chair with a footstool by the fire. Draco closed the curtains, raised the fire and put up an Imperturbable Charm. A healthy amount of the amber liquid was poured into each glass, before he sat down in a matching chair.
"The spell works similarly to Apparition. Either you are successful or you aren't. You can't undo an Apparition and you can't undo do an Animagus transformation, except by changing back if you are successful. In Apparating you face the danger of splinching, and if you've ever done it, you know Finite Incantatem doesn't work. It hurts like hell and you hope it was only a sliver of skin and not a limb or internal organ that was damaged. In Animagus, the consequences of failure are even more dire. You are partially transformed, and into what state that transformation leaves the unlucky witch or wizard, is dependent upon how well and strongly the spell was cast."
"Fuck, no wonder they don't teach it at Hogwarts."
Draco laughed. "Yes, many parents would've been disappointed if their little magical child came home as a dog with human feet."
"Ugh."
"Exactly."
"And you've seen this?"
Draco nodded as he tipped the snifter and heated the brandy over a candle sitting on a table between them.
"Recently?"
Another nod as the warm brandy was imbibed.
Harry stared into the fire, his mind filled with ghastly images of half-human half-animal creatures. "Is there any method that can make them completely human or animal? Even in splinching, if the body part can be found, it can be re-attached."
The heavy sigh caught Harry's attention, he glanced over at Draco who was staring into space, his narrow jaw held a small tremble. "Malfoy, you okay?"
Piercing silver eyes settled on him. "No, I don't think I am. I haven't been okay for a long time, but that's neither here nor there," Draco responded and then took another long sip of his brandy. Harry returned to watching the flames. "It is possible to become unstuck, but the major stumbling block is that the closer one gets to being an animal, the more animal-like you become and the harder it is to cast the spell. As time goes on in this form, the wizard or witch becomes more feral, unless strict rules are adhered to."
"And you know this how?"
Another deep sigh and this time a hand clasped down upon Harry's wrist. Fingernails, longer than they should be, dug into his skin. Harry looked over at the wizard next to him. The grasp and the look matched, Draco was silently pleading for understanding. Words seemed to be frozen on Draco's lips and he couldn't get them out.
Harry set down his brandy snifter and placed his hand on Draco's, which was now shaking. For the first time in his life, he looked Draco Malfoy in the eye without malice. "Mal- Draco, do you need this to be off the record?" Harry stumbled over using Draco's first name; he had learned early that when taking statements from a victim, it was best to use their first name. Malfoy's current demeanour seemed to put him that category. Draco didn't even seem to notice and Harry knew then whatever Draco was about to say, cut deep.
Slowly, Draco's eyes shut and a head movement of yes was given.
"Okay, I can do that, but I need you to trust me."
A small wry grin appeared and Draco opened his eyes.
Harry chuckled in response. "I know it might be difficult, but I've been known to keep a secret or two." Fingernails dug deeper into his wrist. "Draco, let me give you two reasons why I think you can trust me and why I know in some strange way I can trust you."
Harry removed Draco's hand from his arm and withdrew a wand from its holster. Draco's eyes tracked the hawthorn stick Harry held in his hand. Harry held it out on his palm for Draco to take it. "Your wand came through for me when I needed it most. Not only was it the wand I used to cast the spell when I duelled with Voldemort, it has also helped me through the years since. There are certain instances, where it is your wand that I instinctually reach for, and not my own. I can't tell you why, but it's never failed me."
Draco's eyes widened. His hand held the one end of the wand, while the other stroked the wooden shaft.
"I would also say that it's highly unlikely that those two leopards down there are a mere coincidence."
The fire popped and sparked, both turned towards the innocent sounds. Draco lifted the wand and cast a charm to increase the blaze. He smiled and then handed it back to Harry. "I think you might need it more than me."
"Thanks," Harry said and set it on the small table between them. He picked up his brandy, sat back in his chair and put his boots up on the footstool. "Talk to me, Draco."
Draco picked up his wand again and soon a quilted blanket arrived. Draco put his feet up on the footstool and tucked the blanket over and around his legs. "I chill easy, a side-effect of being a leopard too long. I think my body got used to having fur."
Harry let the comment slide by. He had learned after years of interrogating suspects and interviewing witnesses, there was a time to be quiet. Draco claiming he had been a leopard definitely qualified as one of those moments. He brought the brandy to his lips and prepared himself for what was to come.
"I wasn't abroad for three years. I was at the Manor getting in trouble for stalking birds and gnomes in the gardens. Actually, Mother was pleased about the gnomes, but the birds she liked and so did I for mid-morning snacks. Father wasn't pleased about any of it, especially when a peacock turned up missing. Of course, what was he to do? I could've easily killed him and it crossed my predator's brain daily to do just that. To the rest of the world I could've passed as a snow leopard, but if they looked closely, they would've noticed my eyes didn't dilate like a cats. Who knew that something so mundane could have such an effect? It was only when I succumbed to a complete depression, and thought suicide would be a way out, that I completed the transformation. Apparently, the human part of me relinquishing the will to live caused the success. That was about a year ago."
Harry cleared his throat.
"Did you want to say something?"
"No, go on," Harry said.
"No, you wanted to say something, and if I can't trust you to ask a question, then we can stop right now."
"Okay, okay, but it was just a thought that popped into my head."
"Well?" Draco asked, staring at Harry intently.
"I was wondering how a leopard would commit suicide."
Draco burst out laughing.
Harry joined in. "I'm sorry, Draco, but that's what crossed my mind. See, you should've trusted me when I said go on."
"I thought about eating my father, and then I was sure my mother would kill me, but it just seemed wrong."
Harry snorted.
"Seriously, I was going to leap off the lookout tower. Landing on one's paws wouldn't make a difference from that far up. Of course, Mother would have been devastated and Father pissed that I made a mess."
Harry glared at Draco. "I think Lucius Malfoy would've been devastated too."
"Yeah, I know, but our relationship is strained at the moment, so I like to think of him as evil."
"Not a big stretch," Harry mumbled while he sipped his brandy.
Draco sneered at Harry.
"Best continue with what you saying before. But, first, may I have some more bread? I completely missed lunch and I'm already starting to get pissed from the brandy."
"Ah, yes, food, I wouldn't want a pissed Harry Potter at my home. Merlin knows what could happen."
"You'd be surprised," Harry replied.
Draco gave him an easy smile and removed the blanket. "I have a pot of stew I can reheat, that is if you don't mind leftovers. I made the bread to accompany it."
Many thoughts of why those words coming from Draco Malfoy seemed wrong, but he held back the instinct to banter with him. "Sure, that would be great. Do you need some help?"
"No, I'll just be a few. If you need the loo it's the first door on the left," Draco said as he exited the parlour.
Harry rubbed the rim of the snifter of brandy. His eyes wandered around the room, it was so different from what he saw of Malfoy Manor years before. The elegance was present, but this room was warm, comfortable, and soothing. He imagined Draco reading the Prophet with his morning tea in the kitchen looking down upon Hogsmeade, and then reading late into the night by the fire in the parlour with an evening brandy to ease the troubles of the day. The mirror above the mantle reflected the shelf on the opposing wall. Statues of animals filled it. Seeing one of a leopard, led him to reflect on what Draco had just told him. He had been a leopard for over three years and that there were others who were caught in a similar nightmare. He sipped the brandy and rested his head against the chair.
Soft music came from down the hallway. Harry removed his glasses, setting them on the table, and rubbed his eyes. He tried to stifle a yawn, but couldn't, instead he indulged himself and closed his eyes.
The large rodent was scurrying along the heavily leaved floor. Its whiskers twitching as it sniffed the thick humid air. A loud shriek from the canopy overhead and the cat twitched its tail once before pouncing and capturing the small beast in its paws. One bite to its neck and it was dead.
"Harry, Harry, supper is ready."
Harry jumped and shook his head. He blinked his eyes trying to focus on the person in front of him and to try to register where he was and who was calling his name. Glasses were set in his hand.
"Draco...your house...shit...sorry...dozed off."
"It's okay, Potter, you're not the first to go to sleep on me. Dinner's on the table."
Harry grinned through the yawn that broke through, but his head wasn't clear. Images and sounds of faraway places he only knew from books refused to go away. "Be there in a moment," he said as he rose and headed toward the loo.
The bathroom was long and narrow. A stained glass window that covered most of the far wall was dark. He lit the sconce by the door and walked towards the coloured glass. The scene of tall grass, a blazing sun, and one tree surprised him. Then small bits of the glass began to move. He had never seen anything like it. A long strip of glass came down from the tree and swayed. He moved closer and saw the camouflaged, spotted cat resting in the branches of the tree, its tail swinging free. He shook his head again and returned to the sink. He turned on the tap and lowered his face towards the simple ceramic washbowl. The cold water jolted him out of his fog. He stared into the long oval mirror above the sink as he dried off. He barely recognized the man who stared back. With all of his Auror work, pushing for reforms, having to socialize for political reasons, all for the cause to make the magical world safe, he didn't have time for himself. The man in the mirror had grown up, and right now, that man was exhausted.
Harry put his glasses back on and out of the corner of his eye, he spied the closed curtain surrounding the claw foot tub; the flame’s flicker brought forth an image that had previously escaped his notice. Slowly, he turned around, squinting as he tried to comprehend the silhouette. It was definitely animal, but it wasn’t moving. His fingers carefully pulled back the curtain along it pole. “Oh, Malfoy,” he muttered as he saw the partial goat carcass leaning up in the tub. Streams of blood had coagulated around the drain, but there was no smell of rotting flesh. He closed the curtain and left the loo feeling more dazed then when he entered.
"I'm surprised you didn't hex me," Harry said trying to lighten his mood as he entered kitchen. With the natural light vanished, a wrought-iron chandelier over the table lit that section of the kitchen. The aroma of the stew and bread brought forth memories of the Burrow. Harry sat down at the table; Draco filled their glasses with an appropriate amount of wine. Harry admired the decanter the wine had been left to breathe in. The cut crystal played with the light.
"I'm not stupid, Potter. I assume the Ministry knows you're here."
"I- I just meant it must have been tempting."
Draco's eyes narrowed. "No, I think you're projecting."
“I’m not projecting, Draco. Given our past, it wouldn’t have surprised me if you had hexed me.”
“You’re right,” Draco sighed before sipping his wine. Harry couldn’t help but notice once again the length of Draco’s nails as he drank from the glass. "That part of my life seems so long ago. Just so you know, it never crossed my mind."
Harry tried not to look confused. The wizard sitting across the table had just entered the category of being an enigma. He picked up his fork stabbing at a large chunk of meat in the bowl of stew, and an image of the goat came forward. “So what kind of meat is this?” he asked, trying not to sound paranoid.
“Beef.”
Harry swallowed and then forced the bite into his mouth. The meat was infused with herbs and flavours that extracted a moan after his first taste. "This is spectacular."
Draco smiled. "I have my talents," Draco replied and gave Harry a wink.
Harry covered his mouth hoping the food wouldn't escape as he coughed. This playful Draco, who happened to have a half-eaten goat in his bathtub, had him perplexed.
"Why did you do it?" Harry asked. It was the one question, out of at least a hundred, that came to the forefront of his thoughts.
Draco poked at the vegetables in his stew with his fork, but never actually took a bite. Harry examined his dinner companion. He looked gaunt, tired-no exhausted, but he had a glow about him that added to the confusion. "I thought I could help them."
"Who?"
"The others, the witches, the coven, whatever you want to call them. I thought I could help them. It was stupid and rather Gryffindorish of me to try. Anna tried to talk me out of it, and then when I became stuck, they were all furious with me. Oh, they forgave me, but I could see the sadness in their expressions towards me."
Harry set down his fork; it clinked on the bread plate. "The witches, they are all stuck? How many? Who are they?"
"So many questions, Potter, and I'm not sure if I can even make sense of it to explain it to you. They, the witches, are Godric's children, all Gryffindor witches or would have been if they went to Hogwarts. They were forced to try the spell, to try to change, he wanted them as part of his arsenal."
"Voldemort forced them?"
Draco brought his hands to his face, occluding his features. "No, I did."
Harry sipped the wine, trying to calm himself and not give into the want of yelling at Draco. "Why?"
Draco removed his hands from his face and clasped them before his mouth. Slowly, he raised his eyelids and looked at Harry. Harry wasn't sure he had ever seen such sadness and guilt in one expression before.
"Draco, why?"
Draco lowered his hands and rubbed his upper arms as if he was freezing. "I thought their best chance to do it was through me. Early on, it was either Pettigrew or me, and then it was just me after his death...." Draco stared into Harry's eyes as if measuring each word and then taking account of each reaction Harry made. It wasn't the first time Harry had seen this behavior, it occurred quite often during crime confessions.
"Go on," Harry said as he took another bite of stewed-meat.
"Voldemort hated the Ministry, even though he had control of it, he detested it. He let them play their games with condemning those who were Muggle-borns, but he didn't like the idea that only a piece of paper could prove one's worth. He felt it should be something more, more like a test of magic. He knew about the mirror and what it was used for and he delighted in the idea of forcing young Gryffindors to do his will. Girls from rural parts of Britain were snatched and brought to my family home. They were placed in front of the mirror. Any of them that saw their animal form stayed at the Manor. The others were Obliviated, and returned to where they came from.
"He wanted to experiment with the kids, to test for blood purity and magical power. He told me that if any of them succeeded in becoming a true Animagus, he would release them."
Harry coughed. "And you believed him?"
Draco snorted. "No, but I knew they would at least live."
"So you taught them the spell."
Draco shook his head. "No, at first Pettigrew did. I was assigned to watch Pettigrew. Snape never trusted him, and Voldemort agreed that I would monitor him. Pettigrew was told that I was to be his apprentice in the endeavour. I watched every move he made, and listened to every word of how he practiced before ever attempting it."
"Why just witches?" Harry asked, before biting into the soft carrot piece.
"I don't really know for sure, but my Aunt Bella was the one who brought each girl to the house. I think it amused her to see how frightened they were."
Harry thought about pursuing the reasoning further, but getting into the workings of Bellatrix Lestrange was something he didn't want to get into right now. "So were there any successes?"
"No."
"Then why continue?"
Draco shivered. The blanket floated in from the parlour and he wrapped it around his shoulders. "There was no choice. He would've killed them if they didn't try. Of the five who tried during the Christmas holidays, four became stuck and one died. Her Animagus form was aquatic and she couldn't live on land or in the water without being fully formed. I scoured our home library at Christmas and then at Hogwarts when I went back for any information I could find. It was limited, but Hogwarts did have one book on the theory and history behind the spell. I was told when I was to return home for the spring break that there would be a new batch of witches to work with. I had just had a horrific experience a few hours before you and the rest of the Golden Trio arrived during spring break. It was a young girl, only nine, she wasn't like the other girls, I think she was from London. The mirror revealed her form to be a snake. Aunt Bella was so excited that she wanted the girl to try it right away. I tried my best and so did Beatrice, that was her name, but her resulting form was one no one could or should have to...."
Harry put his fork down as Draco's voice became so soft he could barely hear him. His instinct was to get up and comfort the wizard who was struggling to stop tears from forming. "It's okay, Draco, I'm sure you tried your best."
Draco shook his head and pulled the blanket tighter around his body. He exhaled loudly and continued. Once again, his eyes bored into Harry's watching his reaction. "She had the body of a cobra, which was amazing that she got that far, but her face, her head was still human. Sh- she cried, and so did I. She begged me to kill her." Draco stopped speaking again and looked out the window. Evening was fully set in and the quarter moon was in view.
Harry's insides ached for his old nemesis. He knew what he must have felt. He remembered back two years ago to when he and Ron had tracked down a female werewolf in the high country. They found her wailing in an old barn after her transformation back to being human. She cried as she told them that the Wolfsbane had stopped working a year ago and her husband hadn't chained her down properly yesterday. She was hysterical, her clothes shredded and her body covered in blood. She crawled over to a pile of hay, throwing handfuls to the side. It was stained red, and then Harry saw the bodies. "My babies," she cried, and then begged to have them kill her. She couldn't live with repercussions of her act. It was Harry's one and only time killing someone. He released a sigh when he remembered it had been with Draco's wand. Ron had asked for a transfer soon afterwards. "You did the right thing, Draco."
"Did I?" he asked rhetorically. "I just couldn't handle it and there were six more girls in queue. I came upstairs to talk with my father; I needed to know if he'd ever killed someone, I needed to know how he dealt with the guilt."
Harry bit his tongue and didn't respond. He couldn't imagine coming to Lucius Malfoy to understand how to deal with guilt.
"And then you all showed up. I knew it was you, but something clicked in my brain that this experimentation would only stop if you won. I could've cared less about your cause at the time, but the sickness that invaded my home had to cease."
Harry inwardly smiled, at least some things about Draco Malfoy had remained the same.
"But that was when I was young and ignorant."
Harry coughed. "Excuse me?"
For the first time since Draco began his tale, he smiled. "Thought that might get your attention."
"You've had my attention, Draco. I'm just not sure what to think of you personally right now."
A large grin broke over Draco's face. "I'm glad I have your attention, it's been a few years since I've had it."
Harry snickered. "Didn't know you wanted it. But, since you now have it, I'm noticing that you aren't eating and you look tired."
Draco pushed his bowl forward to the centre of the table. "I'm not hungry. I'll eat later."
Harry grimaced thinking of the goat.
"What?" Draco said, tilting his head trying to decipher Harry's expression.
"Uh, well," Harry stammered. He knew the image wasn't going to leave him and he had to know. "Um, well, I saw what was in the bathtub."
Draco burst out laughing. "Oh, my God, Potter, that's not for me, that's for the coven."
Harry shook his head. "Sacrifice?"
Draco continued to laugh and threw a piece of bread at Harry. "No, you git, their dinner. A few of them are carnivores, and unless I want my house covered in blood and guts, I make them eat in the bathtub."
"So, they're here, in your home?" Harry asked flabbergasted and looked around the kitchen, seeing if he could see anything unusual.
"No, they only come up when I invite them. They have their own place, behind...."
"Behind the door. So it was you I saw in the alley the other night with the raccoon."
Draco flinched. "You saw Missy?"
"Missy? Draco, all I saw was a wizard in a cloak Disapparate. I discovered some fur that was comprised of raccoon fur and a strand of human hair."
Draco smiled. "There's only a few human hairs left, she's getting close. She's quite the rascal and is good at escaping."
Harry couldn't believe how animated Draco had suddenly become and then things started to fall in place. He had felt responsible for these creatures and was still caring for them, five years later.
"Her real name is Mildred, but she hates it, so we call her Missy. Well those who can talk do. I wasn't able to for a few years so we communicated in the universal language, and...."
"The what?"
Draco went pale. "Shit! I can't believe I just said that. Potter, you can't tell anyone about this, about us, about them!"
Harry pushed his empty bowl forward. "I won't, Draco," Harry said emphatically. He could see Draco begin to shiver again. "Do you need me to take an oath?" Harry asked frantically as Draco's feet began to tap the wooden floor repeatedly. He looked to be going into a panic attack, something Harry was very familiar with.
"No, but I need you to go, now. You can come back tomorrow, but please go."
"I- I don't want to leave you like this," Harry said as he stood up.
Draco jumped out of his chair, raced out of the kitchen, and down the hall. "Go, Potter, go!" he shouted.
Harry ran after him, the front door was wide open. Harry grabbed his jacket and Draco's wand and bounded down the stairs. He saw the flash of light fill the side room and then heard the snarl of an agitated leopard. He Disapparated.
**********************
Part 2
Recipient: The hd_inspired Community
Title: My Nawa Jujun (Part 1 of 6)
Pairing(s): Harry/Draco
Rating: NC-17
Summary: A small, unsolved case has Auror Harry Potter annoyed. His persistence pays off, and the answer reveals what his favourite DADA professor, Remus Lupin, meant by "the Animagus transformation can go horribly wrong".
Warnings (if any): bondage, rimming, HPDH (EWE)
Total word count: 49,675
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. Please note: There are more disclaimers at the end of this story.
Author's notes (if any): I hope you, the hd_inspired community, enjoy this gift. I had a wonderful time writing it. The story is a bit on the Dark and erotic side with a large dose of mystery and adventure. It turned out much longer than I anticipated, but trying to control a muse when inspired is not my forte. Thanks to the mods for holding such a wonderful fest.
Beta(s): eynhashofetyour support, comments, and corrections were so appreciated. I'm not sure I could have done this without you. I owe you a Scotch. alaana_fair, thanks for the sanity check.
My Nawa Jujun Part 1 of 6
Your father and Sirius here were the cleverest students in the school, and lucky they were, because the Animagus transformation can go horribly wrong - one reason the Ministry keeps a close watch on those attempting to do it. Remus Lupin Chapter 18, Prisoner of Azkaban.
March 2003
The midnight air cracked at the same moment Harry peeked around the corner of the Three Broomsticks. "Damn it," he muttered as the Petrificus Totalus spell hit the brick wall. He lowered the hawthorn wand and walked down the darkened alley. As with most pathways in town, it appeared to be devoid of debris. "Lumos," he whispered, and began scanning every crevice. It would take just one hair to find out who the wizard was. He spotted something and bent down to inspect it. With gloved hands, he picked up a small clump of fur. Instinct, told him to take it, he withdrew a plastic bag from his robe pocket, put it in, and sealed it.
"It's from a raccoon, Auror Potter," the ancient witch said as she lifted the fur with tweezers and brought it up close to his face. Harry had been startled the first time he'd met Witch Trudy, the name she insisted upon being called. He thought she looked like what most Muggle children think of as a witch, hunch-backed, long crooked nose, and pointy teeth. She'd run the forensics lab as long as anyone could remember. Every tiny detail to her was important and no case had a priority over another. He'd waited four days for this meeting. That she'd called him down to her laboratory was a good sign. Usually, she had her familiar, a raven, deliver missives with the critical information.
He took a step back as her gnarled hand shook and the bits of fur almost touched his nose.
"A raccoon?"
She lowered her arm and turned back to her marble workbench. "Yes," she cackled, "not native to this land. But there's something else, my dear, oh, yes, there's something else."
Harry coughed and covered his mouth trying to restrain himself from laughing. "What is it?" Harry asked after clearing his throat.
Her hand rose and one bent finger beckoned him to come closer. He moved next to her and leant over the worktable. "This," she said and her long grey fingernail pointed to one short strand of hair. "Human hair, it was mixed in with the rest."
Harry stood up, his eyes widened. "Is there a match?"
She turned to him, her dark eyes enlarged by magnifying spectacles, brightened. "No, no match with any wizard or witch we have on file. But it has a root, as does one piece of the fur."
"And?"
"And," she said, poking him in the stomach with her finger, "and they match."
Harry's brow furrowed. "They match? The raccoon and the human hair match?" he asked in disbelief. His brain engaged and he began recalling his forensic classes from five years before. There was no recollection of anything relating to this. Wait, wait a second, it wasn't from forensics it was from his training in how to track a werewolf. Then the memory of how training can never fully prepare you for such an encounter made him wince. "Werewolf?" he responded, not truly believing it was the correct answer.
"Close, Auror Potter, but not a Dark Creature."
She held his stare as he continued to think.
"Human and animal, animal and human," he muttered continuously.
The old witch nodded her head each time as if drawing the answer from deep within his brain.
"Animagus!" Harry burst out.
"Yes, very good, but a true Animagus would only have animal fur. What we have here, Auror Potter, is some witch who's stuck in transformation."
"Witch?"
"Yes, witch."
"But, the reports have said a wizard has been spotted after the break-ins."
The old witch laughed; at least that is what Harry thought it was, the raspy sound was high-pitched. He would have to tell Ron about this peculiar incident. Witch Trudy was never known to laugh.
"We've got ourselves a mystery, then don't we?"
Harry looked back down at the evidence. "One that's lasted for five years."
"Many mysteries have lasted longer than that, Harry Potter. If you happen to find this raccoon-witch, bring her to me. I might be able to help."
******************
The detailed map of Hogsmeade covered the conference table. This was his case to work. Actually, it was more like a hobby and he worked it in his spare time. It was the only one on the books not to have been solved. They were only minor incidents, but it bothered him. He didn't like the idea that someone or something could be so elusive for so long. That signalled trouble to him. Harry went over every single mark on the map that showed the day and time of the break-ins for each establishment, the latest one being the Three Broomsticks. There was no rhyme or reason to it. No pattern. He walked around the table holding his Gryffindor coffee cup in hand. Every single establishment had been hit and a few homes. Nothing of consequence had ever been taken, just bits of inventory, including food from each store and small items from the homes. Only three citizens had ever recorded their observations. They each saw a creature scurrying along the ground and then a heavily robed wizard Disapparate soon afterwards.
Five years ago, soon after the war, the incidents were frequent, then they came to a complete stop some months later, and a few months ago, they had started up again. Harry lifted his wand, waving it over the parchment. What was new in the last few months that had not been hit?
"Harry, did you need something?"
Harry glanced up at his housemate, who was making a name for herself in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.
"Yeah, have you ever heard of someone getting stuck while becoming an Animagus?"
Hermione's eyes were transfixed on the parchment where icons of establishments and homes were highlighting as Harry's spell worked through the algorithm. "Um, you mean being stuck in their animal form? No, not that I've ever heard. Of course, there's only a few registered Animagi. It's one of the most difficult spells to conquer, and they don't teach it at Hogwarts because...."
Harry's eyes narrowed. "No, I mean being stuck in the middle of a transformation?"
Hermione grimaced. "Oh, that is just disgusting."
Harry laughed.
"Okay, so why wasn't it taught at Hogwarts? I taught the D.A. to do...Malfoy!" Harry yelled.
Hermione giggled.
Harry blushed. "God, I so didn't mean that. It's just that the only recent shop that hasn't been broken into lately is Malfoy's Estate Resale Shop."
Hermione leant over the table. Harry could tell she was doing what he had done earlier: looking for a pattern. She scratched her head and sighed. "Malfoy wouldn't need to break into places, and as far as I know his parents haven't disinherited him. Unless...."
"Unless what? He's a kleptomaniac?"
"Well?"
"I don't think so, even though the monthly inspections haven't turned anything up, it might be worth checking out his shop personally. I know he evades me like the plague since his return from abroad. Maybe there's something he's hiding," Harry said as he waved his wand, and the parchment rolled up into a cylinder. "So what's the issue with the spell?"
"Oh, um, it seems to be one of those magical conditions, which you either have the capability or not, like Teddy's Metamorphmagus. And even if you do have it, it's still difficult to master. There are a few in the history books who preceded Hogwarts, but all the other known and registered Animagi are or were Gryffindors."
"Skeeter?" Harry asked in disbelief.
"Harry, think of the bollocks it takes to write what she does. Not all Gryffindors use their powers for good."
*************************
“Yes, Mrs Baker, the spell is guaranteed to last for a century. I cast it myself,” Draco said to the young Squib mother with three magical children in tow. He kept his eye on them making sure they didn’t get into things they shouldn’t. His attention was brought back to the woman as she once again opened the drawers of the dresser and dumped baskets of clean laundry into them, only to watch the clothes magically separate, fold themselves, and move into the correct place.
“Oh, Mr Malfoy, I can’t thank you enough for opening this shop. It has been a real lifesaver. You know since Mr Baker had his accident he can't…” Draco’s attention was drawn away by the sound of the bell over the shop door. The late afternoon sun was shining through the windows and all he could see was the silhouette of a wizard standing there. From the stance alone, he knew it wasn’t a customer.
“Excuse me, Mrs Baker. I'll be right back,” he said with a smile and patted her on the hand.
As he approached the entrance, his adrenaline began to rise. The wizard who had entered his establishment was no ordinary wizard; it was Auror Harry Potter. Draco counted to ten as he came closer to Harry. His eyes travelled up and down the wizard taking it all in. The black riding boots and the Auror robes made his pulse quicken, and the mirrored sunglasses increased his anxiety. He felt unduly uncomfortable not being able to see someone's eyes and where they were looking.
“Auror Potter, what can I do for you today?” Draco said trying to sound unconcerned.
“It’s business, Malfoy. I’ll wait,” Harry responded authoritatively.
Draco narrowed his eyes as Harry removed his sunglasses and gave a quick swipe through his short cut hair. Draco hadn’t been this close to him in five years, and those years had been good to Potter, but there was no reason to acquiesce to the Auror’s presence. “You’re aware that two Aurors were here last week, for the monthly inspection, aren’t you? I thought everything was fine.”
Harry looked past Draco at the women and three children. “Just finish your transaction and we’ll have a little talk.”
Draco rolled his eyes and turned away. “Fine, Potter.”
He could barely listen to Mrs Baker blather on about her husband’s illness. His eyes kept shifting to Potter who was now cruising his estate resale shop with his hands clasped behind his back. Draco took notice whenever Harry stopped and paid special attention to a particular item. Currently, he was leaning over the glass enclosure holding heirloom jewellery pieces; none of them were tainted with Dark magic. The Aurors had done a clean sweep the day he opened and found nothing.
“And the children are just running me ragged,” Mrs Baker sighed. Draco gave her a consolatory smile and put his arm around her shoulder leading her to the counter to write up her order. The two boys and their sister were getting antsy, and began a game of hide n’ seek. Draco reached for his wand to cast a charm to protect his inventory when the kids suddenly became frozen in place.
“What do you think you are doing, Mr Malfoy? How dare you! I'm going straight….”
“Straight to where?” a low voice said from across the room.
Mrs Baker spun around, her brown eyes widened at the wizard who was suddenly right behind her without having made a sound. “Um, um, Auror Potter. I- I didn’t know that was you.”
Harry gave her a gentle smile.
“It’s okay, Mrs Baker. I'll release the spell, but it would probably be best if you didn’t bring your young ones into Mr Malfoy’s shop.”
Mrs Baker’s eyes widened. “Is- is there Dark magic here?” she asked, her voice cracking with fear.
Harry laughed. “No- none that I can detect. I was actually more in fear of Mr Malfoy’s merchandise being damaged by the children.”
Draco exhaled deeply. He hadn’t realised he had been holding his breath during the verbal exchange. His eyes focused on Harry and the two-holstered wands he was sporting; one of them used to be his. Neither wand had been touched when the spell on the children ended. Draco took advantage of the moment to study the face that had infiltrated his visions for the last few years.
Mrs Baker returned her attention to Draco to place her order. Harry was now on the floor playing with the kids. The children were sucking on peppermint sticks and being mesmerised by conjured stuffed rabbits hopping around the shop. Harry had pulled the candy out of his pocket and given it to them. Draco tried not to be obvious as he stole quick alternating glances at Harry acting like a child and the rabbits that he longed to pounce on.
"Well, what is it, Potter?" Draco asked as he walked over to the display case in front of the register and wiped away the sticky handprints the children had left.
"I was curious as to whether you've had any break-ins, any items missing?" Harry said after removing a peppermint stick from his mouth.
"No, can't say that I have. Of course, I will notify the Ministry if such an occurrence does happen."
Harry rolled his eyes. "So maybe you can tell me why your place is the only one that hasn't been affected?"
"I don't know, Potter, maybe they're afraid given my background."
"Oh, yes, you were such a scary Death Eater," Harry muttered as he looked about the main room.
"Fu- forget it. It doesn't matter what you think, the label still makes people wary."
Harry nodded and walked through a wide-open doorway and into another room filled with more furniture and cases with breakable items. Draco followed him. This room was his favourite, the scent of antique furniture and old magic put him at peace. He took a deep breath as Harry spotted the oval Cheval mirror along the far right wall and made his way over to it. He wasn't surprised that Harry was drawn to it, he was sure its magic was reaching out to him. The previous Aurors who had shown up were Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, he'd always wondered what this particular Gryffindor would think of it.
Harry reached out, touched the golden filigree frame, and then slipped his regular glasses on to get a better look. Draco could only hope Harry would be transfixed by what the obvious revelation was and not see what else the freestanding mirror showed. No maybe it would be best, maybe it was time. Harry leant forward and inspected the symbol markings and drawings of lions, wizards, and witches on the base and posts held up by lion claw feet.
"Gryffindor's?" Harry asked.
"Yes."
"Where did you get it?"
"Voldemort," Draco replied, intentionally using the Dark Lord's name.
Harry's jaw set. "Explain."
Draco swiped his lips with his tongue and swallowed hard. He knew at some point Harry would find out about the mirror and he'd practiced his explanation; he just didn't expect it to happen today. It would be detrimental for it to be destroyed. "He brought it to my family's home in the autumn of that year."
"Go on. Did he say where he got it from?"
Draco sighed. "He never told me, but my father said it came from Godric's Hollow. He guessed from Batilda Bagshot's home."
Harry's fingertips ran along the frame, tilting it back and forth and then he closed his eyes. Draco knew that Harry was trying to feel the magic imbedded into the silvered-mirror. "It looks familiar- feels familiar," Harry said softly and then he turned the mirror to its complete vertical position. There was no escaping the inevitable so Draco stepped up next to him. Harry laughed and turned his head side-to-side as a black leopard kitten grew into a full-grown black panther. The panther in the mirror, with a faint white lightning bolt across its forehead, mimicked his head motion. The snow leopard next to it stood perfectly still. Draco's eyes focused more on the background shown in the mirror. It morphed from a quaint parlour room to his shop.
"Did you see that?" Harry asked excitedly.
"What that we happen to be looking at two leopards?"
Harry flicked him on the head; the black leopard cuffed the white one in the mirror, a hiss and show of teeth came from both. "No you git, the room it showed in the beginning. It resembled the few pictures I have from when I was a baby; that was an image of my home, my parent's home."
"Really, then maybe you can tell me what this means?" Draco said enthusiastically as he flipped the mirror over. The plain wood back looked blemish free. Draco bent down and pointed to scratch marks that ran along the bottom edge, they had been a mystery to him for the previous five years. Harry knelt down, examined the marks, and then began to laugh.
"The bastards!" Harry chuckled. "Malfoy, what does this mirror do? I'm sure it has something to do with becoming an Animagus."
Draco stood. "It reveals what your Animagus form would be if you could do the transformation. From what I know it helps those learning the spell to have a better chance of being successful. I assume because you can focus on the type of animal you would turn into. So what do the markings mean?"
Harry rose and flipped the mirror back round so he could see the cat images again. "They're footprints or rather paw prints of a dog, a stag, and a rat. The dog's prints are for Padfoot, your cousin, my godfather, Sirius Black; the stag, Prongs, was for my father, and the rat...."
"Wormtail, Peter Pettigrew," Draco said with disgust. "That's how he knew how it worked." He watched as the dark leopard swished its tail frantically, he glanced back at Harry, thankful his arse wasn't twitching.
Harry lifted his foot and watched the leopard mimic him. He snarled and then jumped at the sound that reverberated back. Draco put his hand over his face and coughed trying to not to laugh.
"So have you tried to do it? I recently heard only Gryffindors could manage the spell."
"Really, Potter, that's like saying only Slytherins can be Parselmouths."
The back fur on the dark leopard rose. The tail became still. "I'm not a Parselmouth anymore, Malfoy. So it might still be a fact. Now are you trying to evade my question?"
Draco sighed. He could banter back and forth with Harry all day, but eventually he would relent and show him. A part of him was proud a Slytherin could do it. A flash of light filled the space where Draco had stood. A snow leopard took his place. Harry's eyes travelled back and forth between the cat and the reflection in the mirror, Draco Malfoy was in the mirror. The cat next to him began to sniff his leg, and to Harry's delight its counterpart bent down and began to do the same to the black leopard. Harry petted the large white and black cat. It snarled. In return, the black cat pawed Draco who snarled and didn't look pleased. Another flash of light and Draco returned.
The bewildered look on Harry's face gave Draco the confidence for the questions he knew would be forthcoming. He had the edge; Potter was ignorant about the mirror and about the spell. He could finesse the outcome through his presentation of details. Somewhere deep inside he had known this day would come, he would need Potter's help, he just wanted it to be on his terms. The strain of the situation had become too much.
"Do you need the mirror to learn?"
Draco withheld the sigh, he expected Potter to understand at least that. "No, and if you knew who was registered or those in the past, you would know Rita Skeeter didn't have access to it. I'm not sure about McGonagall or the few others who are registered."
"So it's not a Gryffindor trait," Harry mumbled, sounding disappointed.
"Potter, as much as this goes against my better judgment, why don't we have tea and I will tell you what I know. It's been a long day and the spell drains me."
"Yeah, you're looking a bit piqued." Harry said and turned away from the mirror. He took one-step forward and spun back around, leaving a black scuffmark on the wooden floor. His head turned back and forth. "There's a door on the far wall in the mirror, but not here."
"Yes, I was beginning to doubt your prowess as an Auror."
"Well?" Harry said impatiently.
"Tea first, Potter."
**************************
Draco led Harry back to the main room and up a back wooden stairwell. He withdrew a simple skeleton key and unlocked the only door at the landing. "Welcome to my home," Draco said, without the sincerity the words usually implied. He took his cloak off and hung it on the coat rack. Harry snickered as a brass hand clasped it and then he followed suit. The parlour room to the right was warm as the heat spread from a crackling fire. Every piece of Victorian furniture was exquisite. The first person he thought of was Aunt Petunia; despite the modern pieces that made up the house on Privet Drive, he knew she would have preferred a home like this. Shelves of magical knickknacks and still paintings of magical worlds were strategically placed throughout the room.
"You can have a seat or follow me into the kitchen; it's going to be a few minutes for the tea to steep."
"No house-elf?" Harry asked.
"No, it's a luxury I no longer indulge myself with."
Draco walked down the narrow hallway; Harry followed glancing up at the tall ceilings. Candlelit crystal sconces lit as Draco passed by. A few tall arched doors on the left were closed and Harry longed to open them, but the open archway at the end of the hall beckoned him with the scent of fresh baked bread.
The open and airy kitchen made him blink. The afternoon sun was setting and its final rays filtered through the bank of windows on the right wall. Draco opened the oven door with a mitted hand and withdrew a perfectly crusted loaf of white bread. "Marmalade or honey?"
Harry leant over the marbled centre island and examined the selection Draco referred to. "The Scottish thick-cut marmalade."
"Yeah, brings back memories of Hogwarts in the morning."
Suddenly, Harry realised what he was feeling: nostalgia. He wasn't sure if it was nostalgia for something he truly experienced, or rather nostalgia for an earlier time period he had never experienced. Whatever it was, it was warm and comforting. Draco measured out the tea and poured the boiling water into the ceramic teapot. He reached up to one of the many beveled-glass fronted white-maple cupboards and took down two cups and saucers, and plates for the bread.
Harry felt his mouth salivating while he waited for the first bite; as usual, he had missed lunch.
"I have to be in front of the mirror to do the transformation. What you said earlier is correct, to do it properly you have to be a Gryffindor," Draco commented as he sliced thick slices of bread and laid them on the plates. A generous pat of butter was spread on each piece of bread and melted into each miniscule pocket.
"I don't understand how that can be. Hermione mentioned that people either had the trait or not, like Metamorphmagus."
Draco shook his head. "No, it's because only Gryffindors have the bollocks to do it and not be afraid of the repercussions. For the rest of us, it's like a barrier is put up, every instinct screams not to try it, not to do it. Most other witches and wizards don't even see their reflection. As far as I know, I'm the only non-Gryffindor to see an Animagus form, but there have been rumours of others."
Harry sat down at the cloth-covered table by the windows. A vase filled with sweet peas added to the charm. The view of Hogsmeade below was charming. The town's lantern lights were coming on. Draco set down the cups of tea on their saucers and then the plates of bread. "But you did," Harry said as he coated the warm generous slice of bread with the chunky-orange marmalade. Draco drizzled the honey on his and it was at that moment that Harry reflected upon how relaxed he felt and that for the first time ever he and Draco Malfoy were having an intelligent conversation. The corners of his mouth curled up at not only that thought but with the taste and texture that filled his mouth.
"I did, but it wasn't by choice. Well, no that's not correct. It was more as if I had a compulsion to do it."
Harry sipped the hot tea; a swirl of steam rose up and he breathed the Earl Grey scent in. "Why?"
Draco set down his slice of bread. "I'll tell you if you first tell me why you're really here? Putting the mirror aside, what information did you come seeking?"
"I can't say."
Draco nodded. "Then I can't help you."
Harry snorted. "I wasn't asking for help."
The roll of the silver-grey eyes ended the feeling of comfort. Harry wanted to strangle Draco, and that emotion scared him. It had been years since he'd felt something so visceral. A long silence ensued and was only broken by the six chimes from a clock in another room.
"It's against regulations, but I think we might be able to work around those."
The smirk that emerged on Draco almost made Harry want to just say forget it and walk away. But he knew Draco had something he was withholding, and given what had occurred downstairs, they could possibly be related.
"Remus once told me that the repercussions of not doing the spell correctly were horrible. Do you know what happens if an attempt to become an Animagus is not successful?" Harry asked. The diversity of emotions that Draco's eyes exhibited in one brief moment let Harry know he was on the right track.
"It's not pretty."
"But it's not lasting, is it?"
Draco drained the last of his tea and stared out the window. The time had come to tell someone, and unfortunately, in this case, as the images had told him and the others, Harry Potter was the right person. "It is lasting if the witch or wizard attempting it hasn't been trained properly, or if their magic isn't strong enough, or if they were coerced into doing it."
"I- I don't understand. I mean there's a spell to force an Animagus back to its human form. I've seen it."
Draco stood and went to another cupboard. A bottle of brandy was produced with two snifter glasses. "The parlour is probably a better place to discuss this."
Harry shovelled the last half of his second piece of bread into his mouth. Draco grimaced. Harry shrugged and then followed Draco back down the hallway. Harry was motioned to sit in an old, brown-leather chair with a footstool by the fire. Draco closed the curtains, raised the fire and put up an Imperturbable Charm. A healthy amount of the amber liquid was poured into each glass, before he sat down in a matching chair.
"The spell works similarly to Apparition. Either you are successful or you aren't. You can't undo an Apparition and you can't undo do an Animagus transformation, except by changing back if you are successful. In Apparating you face the danger of splinching, and if you've ever done it, you know Finite Incantatem doesn't work. It hurts like hell and you hope it was only a sliver of skin and not a limb or internal organ that was damaged. In Animagus, the consequences of failure are even more dire. You are partially transformed, and into what state that transformation leaves the unlucky witch or wizard, is dependent upon how well and strongly the spell was cast."
"Fuck, no wonder they don't teach it at Hogwarts."
Draco laughed. "Yes, many parents would've been disappointed if their little magical child came home as a dog with human feet."
"Ugh."
"Exactly."
"And you've seen this?"
Draco nodded as he tipped the snifter and heated the brandy over a candle sitting on a table between them.
"Recently?"
Another nod as the warm brandy was imbibed.
Harry stared into the fire, his mind filled with ghastly images of half-human half-animal creatures. "Is there any method that can make them completely human or animal? Even in splinching, if the body part can be found, it can be re-attached."
The heavy sigh caught Harry's attention, he glanced over at Draco who was staring into space, his narrow jaw held a small tremble. "Malfoy, you okay?"
Piercing silver eyes settled on him. "No, I don't think I am. I haven't been okay for a long time, but that's neither here nor there," Draco responded and then took another long sip of his brandy. Harry returned to watching the flames. "It is possible to become unstuck, but the major stumbling block is that the closer one gets to being an animal, the more animal-like you become and the harder it is to cast the spell. As time goes on in this form, the wizard or witch becomes more feral, unless strict rules are adhered to."
"And you know this how?"
Another deep sigh and this time a hand clasped down upon Harry's wrist. Fingernails, longer than they should be, dug into his skin. Harry looked over at the wizard next to him. The grasp and the look matched, Draco was silently pleading for understanding. Words seemed to be frozen on Draco's lips and he couldn't get them out.
Harry set down his brandy snifter and placed his hand on Draco's, which was now shaking. For the first time in his life, he looked Draco Malfoy in the eye without malice. "Mal- Draco, do you need this to be off the record?" Harry stumbled over using Draco's first name; he had learned early that when taking statements from a victim, it was best to use their first name. Malfoy's current demeanour seemed to put him that category. Draco didn't even seem to notice and Harry knew then whatever Draco was about to say, cut deep.
Slowly, Draco's eyes shut and a head movement of yes was given.
"Okay, I can do that, but I need you to trust me."
A small wry grin appeared and Draco opened his eyes.
Harry chuckled in response. "I know it might be difficult, but I've been known to keep a secret or two." Fingernails dug deeper into his wrist. "Draco, let me give you two reasons why I think you can trust me and why I know in some strange way I can trust you."
Harry removed Draco's hand from his arm and withdrew a wand from its holster. Draco's eyes tracked the hawthorn stick Harry held in his hand. Harry held it out on his palm for Draco to take it. "Your wand came through for me when I needed it most. Not only was it the wand I used to cast the spell when I duelled with Voldemort, it has also helped me through the years since. There are certain instances, where it is your wand that I instinctually reach for, and not my own. I can't tell you why, but it's never failed me."
Draco's eyes widened. His hand held the one end of the wand, while the other stroked the wooden shaft.
"I would also say that it's highly unlikely that those two leopards down there are a mere coincidence."
The fire popped and sparked, both turned towards the innocent sounds. Draco lifted the wand and cast a charm to increase the blaze. He smiled and then handed it back to Harry. "I think you might need it more than me."
"Thanks," Harry said and set it on the small table between them. He picked up his brandy, sat back in his chair and put his boots up on the footstool. "Talk to me, Draco."
Draco picked up his wand again and soon a quilted blanket arrived. Draco put his feet up on the footstool and tucked the blanket over and around his legs. "I chill easy, a side-effect of being a leopard too long. I think my body got used to having fur."
Harry let the comment slide by. He had learned after years of interrogating suspects and interviewing witnesses, there was a time to be quiet. Draco claiming he had been a leopard definitely qualified as one of those moments. He brought the brandy to his lips and prepared himself for what was to come.
"I wasn't abroad for three years. I was at the Manor getting in trouble for stalking birds and gnomes in the gardens. Actually, Mother was pleased about the gnomes, but the birds she liked and so did I for mid-morning snacks. Father wasn't pleased about any of it, especially when a peacock turned up missing. Of course, what was he to do? I could've easily killed him and it crossed my predator's brain daily to do just that. To the rest of the world I could've passed as a snow leopard, but if they looked closely, they would've noticed my eyes didn't dilate like a cats. Who knew that something so mundane could have such an effect? It was only when I succumbed to a complete depression, and thought suicide would be a way out, that I completed the transformation. Apparently, the human part of me relinquishing the will to live caused the success. That was about a year ago."
Harry cleared his throat.
"Did you want to say something?"
"No, go on," Harry said.
"No, you wanted to say something, and if I can't trust you to ask a question, then we can stop right now."
"Okay, okay, but it was just a thought that popped into my head."
"Well?" Draco asked, staring at Harry intently.
"I was wondering how a leopard would commit suicide."
Draco burst out laughing.
Harry joined in. "I'm sorry, Draco, but that's what crossed my mind. See, you should've trusted me when I said go on."
"I thought about eating my father, and then I was sure my mother would kill me, but it just seemed wrong."
Harry snorted.
"Seriously, I was going to leap off the lookout tower. Landing on one's paws wouldn't make a difference from that far up. Of course, Mother would have been devastated and Father pissed that I made a mess."
Harry glared at Draco. "I think Lucius Malfoy would've been devastated too."
"Yeah, I know, but our relationship is strained at the moment, so I like to think of him as evil."
"Not a big stretch," Harry mumbled while he sipped his brandy.
Draco sneered at Harry.
"Best continue with what you saying before. But, first, may I have some more bread? I completely missed lunch and I'm already starting to get pissed from the brandy."
"Ah, yes, food, I wouldn't want a pissed Harry Potter at my home. Merlin knows what could happen."
"You'd be surprised," Harry replied.
Draco gave him an easy smile and removed the blanket. "I have a pot of stew I can reheat, that is if you don't mind leftovers. I made the bread to accompany it."
Many thoughts of why those words coming from Draco Malfoy seemed wrong, but he held back the instinct to banter with him. "Sure, that would be great. Do you need some help?"
"No, I'll just be a few. If you need the loo it's the first door on the left," Draco said as he exited the parlour.
Harry rubbed the rim of the snifter of brandy. His eyes wandered around the room, it was so different from what he saw of Malfoy Manor years before. The elegance was present, but this room was warm, comfortable, and soothing. He imagined Draco reading the Prophet with his morning tea in the kitchen looking down upon Hogsmeade, and then reading late into the night by the fire in the parlour with an evening brandy to ease the troubles of the day. The mirror above the mantle reflected the shelf on the opposing wall. Statues of animals filled it. Seeing one of a leopard, led him to reflect on what Draco had just told him. He had been a leopard for over three years and that there were others who were caught in a similar nightmare. He sipped the brandy and rested his head against the chair.
Soft music came from down the hallway. Harry removed his glasses, setting them on the table, and rubbed his eyes. He tried to stifle a yawn, but couldn't, instead he indulged himself and closed his eyes.
The large rodent was scurrying along the heavily leaved floor. Its whiskers twitching as it sniffed the thick humid air. A loud shriek from the canopy overhead and the cat twitched its tail once before pouncing and capturing the small beast in its paws. One bite to its neck and it was dead.
"Harry, Harry, supper is ready."
Harry jumped and shook his head. He blinked his eyes trying to focus on the person in front of him and to try to register where he was and who was calling his name. Glasses were set in his hand.
"Draco...your house...shit...sorry...dozed off."
"It's okay, Potter, you're not the first to go to sleep on me. Dinner's on the table."
Harry grinned through the yawn that broke through, but his head wasn't clear. Images and sounds of faraway places he only knew from books refused to go away. "Be there in a moment," he said as he rose and headed toward the loo.
The bathroom was long and narrow. A stained glass window that covered most of the far wall was dark. He lit the sconce by the door and walked towards the coloured glass. The scene of tall grass, a blazing sun, and one tree surprised him. Then small bits of the glass began to move. He had never seen anything like it. A long strip of glass came down from the tree and swayed. He moved closer and saw the camouflaged, spotted cat resting in the branches of the tree, its tail swinging free. He shook his head again and returned to the sink. He turned on the tap and lowered his face towards the simple ceramic washbowl. The cold water jolted him out of his fog. He stared into the long oval mirror above the sink as he dried off. He barely recognized the man who stared back. With all of his Auror work, pushing for reforms, having to socialize for political reasons, all for the cause to make the magical world safe, he didn't have time for himself. The man in the mirror had grown up, and right now, that man was exhausted.
Harry put his glasses back on and out of the corner of his eye, he spied the closed curtain surrounding the claw foot tub; the flame’s flicker brought forth an image that had previously escaped his notice. Slowly, he turned around, squinting as he tried to comprehend the silhouette. It was definitely animal, but it wasn’t moving. His fingers carefully pulled back the curtain along it pole. “Oh, Malfoy,” he muttered as he saw the partial goat carcass leaning up in the tub. Streams of blood had coagulated around the drain, but there was no smell of rotting flesh. He closed the curtain and left the loo feeling more dazed then when he entered.
"I'm surprised you didn't hex me," Harry said trying to lighten his mood as he entered kitchen. With the natural light vanished, a wrought-iron chandelier over the table lit that section of the kitchen. The aroma of the stew and bread brought forth memories of the Burrow. Harry sat down at the table; Draco filled their glasses with an appropriate amount of wine. Harry admired the decanter the wine had been left to breathe in. The cut crystal played with the light.
"I'm not stupid, Potter. I assume the Ministry knows you're here."
"I- I just meant it must have been tempting."
Draco's eyes narrowed. "No, I think you're projecting."
“I’m not projecting, Draco. Given our past, it wouldn’t have surprised me if you had hexed me.”
“You’re right,” Draco sighed before sipping his wine. Harry couldn’t help but notice once again the length of Draco’s nails as he drank from the glass. "That part of my life seems so long ago. Just so you know, it never crossed my mind."
Harry tried not to look confused. The wizard sitting across the table had just entered the category of being an enigma. He picked up his fork stabbing at a large chunk of meat in the bowl of stew, and an image of the goat came forward. “So what kind of meat is this?” he asked, trying not to sound paranoid.
“Beef.”
Harry swallowed and then forced the bite into his mouth. The meat was infused with herbs and flavours that extracted a moan after his first taste. "This is spectacular."
Draco smiled. "I have my talents," Draco replied and gave Harry a wink.
Harry covered his mouth hoping the food wouldn't escape as he coughed. This playful Draco, who happened to have a half-eaten goat in his bathtub, had him perplexed.
"Why did you do it?" Harry asked. It was the one question, out of at least a hundred, that came to the forefront of his thoughts.
Draco poked at the vegetables in his stew with his fork, but never actually took a bite. Harry examined his dinner companion. He looked gaunt, tired-no exhausted, but he had a glow about him that added to the confusion. "I thought I could help them."
"Who?"
"The others, the witches, the coven, whatever you want to call them. I thought I could help them. It was stupid and rather Gryffindorish of me to try. Anna tried to talk me out of it, and then when I became stuck, they were all furious with me. Oh, they forgave me, but I could see the sadness in their expressions towards me."
Harry set down his fork; it clinked on the bread plate. "The witches, they are all stuck? How many? Who are they?"
"So many questions, Potter, and I'm not sure if I can even make sense of it to explain it to you. They, the witches, are Godric's children, all Gryffindor witches or would have been if they went to Hogwarts. They were forced to try the spell, to try to change, he wanted them as part of his arsenal."
"Voldemort forced them?"
Draco brought his hands to his face, occluding his features. "No, I did."
Harry sipped the wine, trying to calm himself and not give into the want of yelling at Draco. "Why?"
Draco removed his hands from his face and clasped them before his mouth. Slowly, he raised his eyelids and looked at Harry. Harry wasn't sure he had ever seen such sadness and guilt in one expression before.
"Draco, why?"
Draco lowered his hands and rubbed his upper arms as if he was freezing. "I thought their best chance to do it was through me. Early on, it was either Pettigrew or me, and then it was just me after his death...." Draco stared into Harry's eyes as if measuring each word and then taking account of each reaction Harry made. It wasn't the first time Harry had seen this behavior, it occurred quite often during crime confessions.
"Go on," Harry said as he took another bite of stewed-meat.
"Voldemort hated the Ministry, even though he had control of it, he detested it. He let them play their games with condemning those who were Muggle-borns, but he didn't like the idea that only a piece of paper could prove one's worth. He felt it should be something more, more like a test of magic. He knew about the mirror and what it was used for and he delighted in the idea of forcing young Gryffindors to do his will. Girls from rural parts of Britain were snatched and brought to my family home. They were placed in front of the mirror. Any of them that saw their animal form stayed at the Manor. The others were Obliviated, and returned to where they came from.
"He wanted to experiment with the kids, to test for blood purity and magical power. He told me that if any of them succeeded in becoming a true Animagus, he would release them."
Harry coughed. "And you believed him?"
Draco snorted. "No, but I knew they would at least live."
"So you taught them the spell."
Draco shook his head. "No, at first Pettigrew did. I was assigned to watch Pettigrew. Snape never trusted him, and Voldemort agreed that I would monitor him. Pettigrew was told that I was to be his apprentice in the endeavour. I watched every move he made, and listened to every word of how he practiced before ever attempting it."
"Why just witches?" Harry asked, before biting into the soft carrot piece.
"I don't really know for sure, but my Aunt Bella was the one who brought each girl to the house. I think it amused her to see how frightened they were."
Harry thought about pursuing the reasoning further, but getting into the workings of Bellatrix Lestrange was something he didn't want to get into right now. "So were there any successes?"
"No."
"Then why continue?"
Draco shivered. The blanket floated in from the parlour and he wrapped it around his shoulders. "There was no choice. He would've killed them if they didn't try. Of the five who tried during the Christmas holidays, four became stuck and one died. Her Animagus form was aquatic and she couldn't live on land or in the water without being fully formed. I scoured our home library at Christmas and then at Hogwarts when I went back for any information I could find. It was limited, but Hogwarts did have one book on the theory and history behind the spell. I was told when I was to return home for the spring break that there would be a new batch of witches to work with. I had just had a horrific experience a few hours before you and the rest of the Golden Trio arrived during spring break. It was a young girl, only nine, she wasn't like the other girls, I think she was from London. The mirror revealed her form to be a snake. Aunt Bella was so excited that she wanted the girl to try it right away. I tried my best and so did Beatrice, that was her name, but her resulting form was one no one could or should have to...."
Harry put his fork down as Draco's voice became so soft he could barely hear him. His instinct was to get up and comfort the wizard who was struggling to stop tears from forming. "It's okay, Draco, I'm sure you tried your best."
Draco shook his head and pulled the blanket tighter around his body. He exhaled loudly and continued. Once again, his eyes bored into Harry's watching his reaction. "She had the body of a cobra, which was amazing that she got that far, but her face, her head was still human. Sh- she cried, and so did I. She begged me to kill her." Draco stopped speaking again and looked out the window. Evening was fully set in and the quarter moon was in view.
Harry's insides ached for his old nemesis. He knew what he must have felt. He remembered back two years ago to when he and Ron had tracked down a female werewolf in the high country. They found her wailing in an old barn after her transformation back to being human. She cried as she told them that the Wolfsbane had stopped working a year ago and her husband hadn't chained her down properly yesterday. She was hysterical, her clothes shredded and her body covered in blood. She crawled over to a pile of hay, throwing handfuls to the side. It was stained red, and then Harry saw the bodies. "My babies," she cried, and then begged to have them kill her. She couldn't live with repercussions of her act. It was Harry's one and only time killing someone. He released a sigh when he remembered it had been with Draco's wand. Ron had asked for a transfer soon afterwards. "You did the right thing, Draco."
"Did I?" he asked rhetorically. "I just couldn't handle it and there were six more girls in queue. I came upstairs to talk with my father; I needed to know if he'd ever killed someone, I needed to know how he dealt with the guilt."
Harry bit his tongue and didn't respond. He couldn't imagine coming to Lucius Malfoy to understand how to deal with guilt.
"And then you all showed up. I knew it was you, but something clicked in my brain that this experimentation would only stop if you won. I could've cared less about your cause at the time, but the sickness that invaded my home had to cease."
Harry inwardly smiled, at least some things about Draco Malfoy had remained the same.
"But that was when I was young and ignorant."
Harry coughed. "Excuse me?"
For the first time since Draco began his tale, he smiled. "Thought that might get your attention."
"You've had my attention, Draco. I'm just not sure what to think of you personally right now."
A large grin broke over Draco's face. "I'm glad I have your attention, it's been a few years since I've had it."
Harry snickered. "Didn't know you wanted it. But, since you now have it, I'm noticing that you aren't eating and you look tired."
Draco pushed his bowl forward to the centre of the table. "I'm not hungry. I'll eat later."
Harry grimaced thinking of the goat.
"What?" Draco said, tilting his head trying to decipher Harry's expression.
"Uh, well," Harry stammered. He knew the image wasn't going to leave him and he had to know. "Um, well, I saw what was in the bathtub."
Draco burst out laughing. "Oh, my God, Potter, that's not for me, that's for the coven."
Harry shook his head. "Sacrifice?"
Draco continued to laugh and threw a piece of bread at Harry. "No, you git, their dinner. A few of them are carnivores, and unless I want my house covered in blood and guts, I make them eat in the bathtub."
"So, they're here, in your home?" Harry asked flabbergasted and looked around the kitchen, seeing if he could see anything unusual.
"No, they only come up when I invite them. They have their own place, behind...."
"Behind the door. So it was you I saw in the alley the other night with the raccoon."
Draco flinched. "You saw Missy?"
"Missy? Draco, all I saw was a wizard in a cloak Disapparate. I discovered some fur that was comprised of raccoon fur and a strand of human hair."
Draco smiled. "There's only a few human hairs left, she's getting close. She's quite the rascal and is good at escaping."
Harry couldn't believe how animated Draco had suddenly become and then things started to fall in place. He had felt responsible for these creatures and was still caring for them, five years later.
"Her real name is Mildred, but she hates it, so we call her Missy. Well those who can talk do. I wasn't able to for a few years so we communicated in the universal language, and...."
"The what?"
Draco went pale. "Shit! I can't believe I just said that. Potter, you can't tell anyone about this, about us, about them!"
Harry pushed his empty bowl forward. "I won't, Draco," Harry said emphatically. He could see Draco begin to shiver again. "Do you need me to take an oath?" Harry asked frantically as Draco's feet began to tap the wooden floor repeatedly. He looked to be going into a panic attack, something Harry was very familiar with.
"No, but I need you to go, now. You can come back tomorrow, but please go."
"I- I don't want to leave you like this," Harry said as he stood up.
Draco jumped out of his chair, raced out of the kitchen, and down the hall. "Go, Potter, go!" he shouted.
Harry ran after him, the front door was wide open. Harry grabbed his jacket and Draco's wand and bounded down the stairs. He saw the flash of light fill the side room and then heard the snarl of an agitated leopard. He Disapparated.
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Part 2