Work Text:
"Oh, Harry!" Hermione exclaimed.
Harry hated when Hermione looked at him like that and he really hated it when she used that tone of voice, but there was nothing for it. Draco had been acting suspiciously.
"What?" Harry asked. "Don't tell me you can't see it? You didn't believe me last time either, but I was right if you recall."
Maybe, it wasn't quite like their sixth year, but it was enough for Harry to take notice.
"But Harry, the war is over." Hermione motioned around them. "Draco has nothing else to hide."
Harry looked to Ron for support, but his friend was busy shoving biscuits into his mouth. He just shrugged at Harry, kept chewing and motioned with his hand at Hermione, obviously not wanting to get involved in the familiar debate.
"All I said was that he was acting strange. He spends too much time alone, don't you think?"
Draco would disappear for hours on end. And really, Harry didn't think he was up to anything, but nevertheless, where was he going? How could one person stand to spend so much time alone and why did no one seem to care?
Harry watched Draco push open the doors of the Great Hall and disappear into the hallway, and he sighed. Everyone was happy enough just to let Draco disappear into the background, but that just wasn't good enough for Harry.
Harry had survived those first few weeks after the war by doing little more than sleep, but after that he'd started thinking. He'd had plenty of time to think in the months since the defeat of Voldemort and one of the things at the top of Harry's list of things to contemplate had been Draco.
Harry had gained a lot of perspective. And with that perspective, it had become clear that Draco Malfoy was just as much of a victim of the war as they all were.
Harry pushed his chair back from the table and stood.
"I'll see you later."
"Where are you going?" Hermione asked with concern.
"I don't know. For a walk I guess." He shrugged. "Don't worry, Hermione. I'll be back soon." He sent a small smile at her. He really was grateful to have such good friends, but this was something he had to do alone.
Harry reached the heavy doors and pushed them open. He turned in the direction that he knew Draco would have gone - out the front doors of Hogwarts and towards the lake.
=====^.^======
Harry padded along in the shadows, a safe distance behind Draco. He'd spent a good part of the last week tailing Draco around the castle, but he wasn't ready to reveal his presence just yet.
If nothing else, Draco was predictable . He went outside after meals, stalked the Potions classroom in the evening, hid in the library between classes, and always either to the astronomy tower or the seventh floor after curfew when he thought he was alone.
Most of the time, Draco seemed caught up in his own thoughts. Harry could make a pretty good guess as to what they were too. If Draco's thoughts were at all similar to the path that Harry's mind took when he passed by those places. He could certainly understand why it was Draco always looked so sad. Especially now, as they came closer to Snape's old office, it was hard not to think of the man.
It had to be difficult on him to be the only of his Slytherin classmates to return to Hogwarts. From what Harry knew, all of Draco's friends were now either out of the country, in Azkaban, or dead. Maybe what Draco most needed was a friend. Someone to care about him. Someone to talk to. Not that he'd ever accept any such thing from Harry.
Harry was lost in his own thoughts, and even as graceful as he was in this form, it didn't help if he didn't watch where he was going. With a loud crash in an otherwise quiet hallway, Harry ran head first into a suit of armor.
Quickly, he ducked behind it. Crouching into the blackest part of the shadows that he could reach, he hoped that Draco wouldn't be able to see him.
=====^.^======
"Who's there?" Draco asked the seemingly empty hallway as he swung around, wand drawn.
He didn't see anyone, so he crept a few paces closer to the suit of armor where the banging noise still echoing through the halls had originated.
"Lumos," Draco called out, waving his wand from side to side to better light the corridor.
He stepped closer to the suit of armor, and the light of his wand reflected off of something. Kneeling down into the shadows behind the statue to get a closer look, Draco's wand illuminated a pair of glowing green eyes.
With his wand lighting even the darkest shadows behind the armor, he saw a cat. A black cat.
He'd heard that Muggles had strange superstitions about black cats being bad luck, but Draco didn't buy into any of that rubbish. All witches and wizards worth anything knew that black cats were actually good fortune.
"Where did you come from?" Draco asked as he backed away from the corner giving the animal room to escape.
The strange cat looked at him with wide eyes and slowly crawled out of its hiding place, looking around its surroundings warily.
Draco reached his hand out towards the frightened animal. "That's it. Come on out."
The cat crept closer until it was near enough to smell Draco's hand. Satisfied that it wasn't in danger, it bumped its head into Draco's palm, wanting to be petted.
"Who do you belong to?" Draco asked, looking around the quiet hallway. Draco pushed off of his knees to stand again. "Well, I don't know where you came from, but you'd better get back there if you know what's good for you."
Draco ended his Lumos, turned away from the animal and walked on in the direction of Snape's office. Glancing behind him, he could see the cat following along in his shadow.
Draco turned and scowled at the stubborn animal. "Go on with you. Get lost now."
When he stopped, the cat came right up to him and weaved its way between Draco's legs rubbing against his trousers.
"Get out of here, you stubborn git. I said I didn't want you here. And stop rubbing against me. You're going to get cat hair all over me." Draco said, exasperation clear in his voice.
The cat continued doing circle eight patterns between his feet.
Draco reached a hand up to rub his temple. "What do I have to do to be rid of you?" He asked with a sigh.
=====^.^======
Draco kicked at a rock as he wound through the grounds of Hogwarts. A solitary walk around the edge of the castle was much preferable to lingering in the Great Hall after meals where everyone looked down at him, seeing only the mark on his arm. He could feel the eyes on his skin, like a tangible thing.
Even after the death of The Dark Lord, that mark was still determining his future. He didn't know how the Malfoy name would ever be the same and his chances of producing an acceptable heir were going to be severely limited. Not that he'd ever wanted that anyway. He'd known he was attracted to blokes since he'd been old enough to notice the difference.
Hell, maybe the fact that Draco was gay was all Potter's fault too. After all, Harry bloody Potter had been the star of Draco's first wet dream. Except, he couldn't really say Potter was to blame for everything that had gone wrong in his life anymore. Without Potter, Draco knew he'd have suffered the same fate as Crabbe. But Potter had been there, he'd swooped down like some kind of guardian angel and pulled Draco from the flames.
Nearing the edge of the Forbidden Forest, Draco saw Hagrid just outside his cabin. He started to turn around and go the other way, when something caught his attention. The cat from the other night was sitting atop a pumpkin in the giant's garden.
The cat obviously saw Draco as well, because it hopped down from its perch and came bounding over to him. It stopped short in front of him and twined itself around his feet, rubbing against his legs.
Draco kicked lightly at the animal in an attempt to dislodge it, but to no avail. It only seemed to encourage the cat, who batted playfully at his feet.
"Fine then," Draco huffed. "You can walk with me." Draco turned back towards the lake and the cat matched his pace happily.
=====^.^======
Draco walked along the seventh floor corridor. Images of flames and the sounds of screams now seen and heard only in his mind overwhelmed him. He leaned against the wall where he knew the door to the Room of Hidden Things should be and slowly slid to the floor. Eyes shut tightly and elbows propped on his bent knees, he dropped his head into his hands. He could almost taste the tears again.
Something brushed against Draco's legs and he jumped slightly. A quick glance confirmed his suspicions.
"You're back again, I see. Worse than a bloody shadow, you are," he said as his hand reached out to touch the black fur.
The blasted cat had been following him for weeks now. First at a distance, but growing bolder every day.
"Can't a bloke get a moment's peace around here?" He scratched behind the soft ears.
The cat weaved around his legs and under his bent knees, rubbing against him. Draco rolled his eyes, but allowed it. "You're a menace, do you know that?" he asked, with no real bite to his voice.
In truth, Draco had gotten used to being alone the last few months, but still it was nice to have some company.
=====^.^======
The next night, Draco found himself climbing the stairs to the Astronomy tower, his throat tightening with every step. Why did he torture himself like this? He just couldn't seem to stop coming here. This was the place where he'd well and truly lost control of the situation. Hell, he'd lost control of his life. Draco's mind whirled with regret.
Shadow had disappeared again after dinner, but as he reached the top of the tower, Draco turned to look back and saw the cat only a few paces behind.
Draco stepped over to the ramparts. He'd never forget seeing Dumbledore fall from here. He leaned one arm against the wall and stared out into the night. He felt Shadow come up and weave between his legs and Draco collapsed to his knees beside the cat, reaching out to touch him.
Shadow always seemed to be there when Draco was at his saddest- whether he was thinking about how Snape had offered to help him or how he hadn't been able to save Crabbe from his own stupidity. When he missed his friends the most, Shadow was there - rubbing up against Draco's leg or pressing his head into Draco's hand until he finally gave up and petted him.
"I used to think I'd never be able to come up here again. The first time I had to force myself. Each step was a struggle, but I did it. Now I can't seem to stay away." He stroked the sleek black fur as he spoke.
"It's hard to think that he wanted to help me even as I had him at the tip of my wand. Batty old fool." Draco choked.
Shadow's fur seemed to bristle at the mention of Dumbledore and Draco smoothed it down again.
=====^.^======
Draco sat, back propped against a tree looking out over the lake, his hand gently rested atop the black cat that was curled up in his lap. At first, Shadow had laid down beside him and had remained there for a long while as they sat in comfortable silence with Draco occasionally running a hand to smooth the fur of his back. Eventually, the cat had nuzzled closer and climbed its way into Draco's lap. Draco's hand came down to scratch under Shadow's chin, evoking a deep vibrating purr from his small friend.
Shadow had become his near constant companion. No matter how many times he told the black cat to go away, it always came back. There were times when the cat would disappear, but would predictably be back at Draco's side the next day.
As Draco's hand trailed over Shadow's back, he wondered if Shadow had an owner. He found it doubtful as much as the cat stayed with him. Maybe it had belonged to one of the victims of the war? Or maybe Shadow just liked him best. A small grin tugged at the corner of his mouth at the thought. It had been a long time since he'd genuinely had a reason to smile. His hand continued its path along the soft fur, taking comfort in Shadow's companionship.
Looking back out at the quiet ripples on the water, Draco watched the giant squid break the calm of the lake with a raised tentacle. It wasn't the first time that Draco had found that having Shadow there and the constant rumble of his purr helped to soothe him.
The purring eventually stopped and Shadow's breathing evened out into a soft snore. His body relaxed and his head lolled. The cat had never fallen asleep in Draco's presence before. Softening a bit more at the knowledge that Shadow trusted him enough to let his defenses down, Draco leaned his head back against the tree and closed his eyes as well.
Draco was just starting to drift asleep himself when he felt the weight on his lap shift and grow heavier. He opened his eyes and looked down.
There in his lap, where once had been Shadow, was now Harry Potter's head, resting on his thigh.
His first response was to shove Potter away or maybe to hex him. His hand jerked back quickly and he reached for his wand that lay next to him.
Potter slept on.
Draco's mind reeled and his stomach flipped. How could he have not known that this was Potter? Did anyone know that Potter was an Animagus?
Instead of shoving the git off his leg, Draco sat there, frozen in thought.
He felt a strong urge to reach down and touch Potter's hair. He couldn't help but wonder if it was as soft as Shadow's fur. Losing the battle with himself, Draco let his hand come back to Potter's head, his fingers carded through the surprisingly soft black hair.
What in bloody hell was Potter playing at anyway? Was this all a joke to him? Draco didn't think Potter was capable of such a thing. Somehow, he felt that maybe, there wasn't as much difference as he might have once thought, between the cat that had been following him around and the maddening boy who now lay in his lap.
Why was Potter sitting in his lap anyway? Cat or no, the idea of Potter draped across his thighs was almost too much to take in.
=====^.^======
Harry's eyes fluttered open and he looked around, taking in his surroundings. He was outside lying near the lake and he had been asleep. His mind whirled, trying to remember where he had been before he fell asleep. Shadow. The last thing he remembered was being in his Animagus form.
Panic welled up inside Harry.
A hand stroked through his hair and he realized that his head was pillowed on something soft - something soft that looked a lot like legs- Draco's legs.
Oh, Merlin's beard! Had he turned from cat to human in his sleep? He'd never actually fallen asleep as a cat before and wasn't sure what to expect. He shouldn't have chanced it, but lying in Draco's lap, with a hand running smoothly over his fur had felt so relaxing that he'd drifted off unknowingly.
No longer relaxed, Harry felt his entire body go rigid and the hand that was petting him moved away. The game was up. Draco certainly knew that he was now awake. Harry spared a moment to wonder why Draco hadn't already hexed him in his sleep. Or better yet, why he had still been touching his hair when Harry was so obviously no longer a cat. Harry filed that information away for later consideration.
Slowly, Harry sat up, unsure of exactly what he would find when his eyes met Draco's. Harry's own hand ran through his tousled hair in a useless attempt to smooth it down as he tried to find the courage to meet Draco's gaze.
Finally, green eyes lifted to gray, but where he thought he'd find anger, he was met with amusement instead.
"Did you have a good nap, Potter? Or shall I call you Shadow?"
"Um. . . " Harry looked sheepish as he ran a hand over the back of his neck.
"Articulate as always." Draco smirked at him. "It's possible that you were a better conversationalist as a cat."
Harry narrowed his eyes at Draco and Draco laughed.
It was good to hear Draco laugh, even at his expense.
A small smile tugged at the corner of Harry's mouth. "Yeah, I guess I did sleep well. A little too well, maybe?"
"May I ask why you've been posing as my cat, Potter?"
"It wasn't like that. I mean, I didn't plan it like that. At first I wanted to approach you as myself. I wanted to. . . " Harry shrugged. "I don't know. Help, maybe?"
Draco nodded.
"You just looked so sad; I had to do something and having Shadow around did seem to help. It seemed to make things easier for you."
Harry felt bereft at the loss of Draco's touch. He had gotten quite used to Draco's attentions in the past few weeks as a cat. He looked up to meet Draco's gaze again. Confirming that there was no anger in him, Harry reached out for Draco's hand, slightly surprised when Draco allowed him to take it.
"After awhile, I came to realize why I cared so much and by then I just couldn't help myself anymore. I wanted to be near you and that was the only way I knew how."
Draco nodded again. "Having a friend was nice. It made the days more bearable. Less lonely."
"Are you lonely now?" Harry asked. "Now that you know that Shadow's gone?"
"That depends. Shadow's not really gone, is he?" Draco asked.
Harry grinned. "No, I suppose not."
"And I imagine you'd make a passable replacement for when he is. If you're up for the job?" Harry heard the fear of rejection in Draco's wavering voice.
He moved in slowly, waiting for Draco to push him away. When Draco didn't deny him, he leaned in closer and closer, until he could feel Draco's breath on his lips. "Consider this my application for the position," Harry said, as he brushed his lips against Draco's in a faint trace of a kiss.
Leaning forward to return Harry's kiss, Draco knew that he was amazingly lucky that this particular black cat had crossed his path.