This is my first fan-fic, so be nice, please. R+R if you like.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any characters from J.K. Rowling's books.
It was beneath the dignity of a Malfoy to sit on the roof in the dark making hooting noises. Draco knew this, yet here he was, perched on the shingling of the elegant Malfoy Manor. He felt like such an idiot sitting here alone at night, but what else was there to do?
It had all started with his owl. It was beneath the dignity of a Malfoy to show any sort of affection to anything, even an owl. So when his father had abruptly entered his chambers unannounced to rant on about some dinner party, he immediately pretended he had not been talking in a friendly manner to his owl and feeding him treats. His father, in mid-lecture, had not even noticed as Draco berated his confused bird for being 'such a stupid, useless feathery freak,' when a moment ago he had claimed to have 'the cleverest owl in all of England.' The owl, deeply insulted, had taken a dive out his open window and had yet to return. He had excused himself from dinner with the pretext of being ill, much preferring to search for his eagle-owl than attend some stupid dinner-party.
"You cannot think you'll get away with that pathetic excuse, can you?" his father had sneered.
"Of course, father," Draco had smirked, with one of his platinum blond brows raised sardonically. "You'd much rather I be sick in front of all our guests?"
As much as it pained him to say it, those Weasley Puking Pastils had done the trick. He'd never seen his father make a more hasty exit.
That left him here, trying to coax his affronted owl back indoors.
Draco sighed. Being a Malfoy was harder than people thought it would be. He had to act so coldly and indifferently to everything, as if he were stone, or ice. Pretend he had no feelings or emotions of his own. How he envied Potter, to be able to smile and laugh, and have real friends. That, he would never ever admit out loud, not even to himself. Now here he was, so affection-starved he was chasing after his spurned owl. But if the owl left, there was no one else to talk to and be friendly with. He was nice to his pet because he knew that it could never reveal that Draco Malfoy, Ice Prince of Slytherin, had a heart.
How pathetic he was.
He crouched there, shivering slightly in the night air and pulling his robes closer around him. Now, how to convince the eagle-owl to return to him? Maybe if he imitated an owl? That wasn't hard to be sure, but it certainly made him feel like a fool. What the hell, no one had to know…
Lucius Malfoy lifted the hand holding his drink regally into the air. He clinked it with a silver utensil, and the ringing of crystal filled the hall. Every eye turned to him, and the murmur of voices quieted and fell silent.
"Now, I would like to make a short speech to welcome you all to our home," he announced solemnly into the silence. In the dramatic pause that followed this proclamation, a distant yet distinctive hoot was heard.
Lucius stopped frozen in utter speechlessness, forgetting for a moment that it was beneath the dignity of a Malfoy to leave his mouth hanging open. Then, he snapped it closed, one of his eyes twitching. Another hoot, louder this time, echoed out of the night. Jaw clenched, Lucius gritted out to his guests, "Excuse me for a moment, please."
Then, he turned with a snap of his dress robes, jerked the door open and closed it behind him forcefully. The guests remained quiet, raising speculative eyebrows at the sound of his feet stomping on the stairwell above. Narcissa Malfoy smiled thinly, not quite managing to appear reassuring. Then, the ominous sound of a second story window being thrown open met their ears.
"DRACO!"
"AAAAH!" Draco was so startled by the unexpected sound of his father's scream he nearly toppled off the roof. He managed to grab onto the gutter before he fell, and although he was currently dangling there, he had not plunged to his death. Struggling, he somehow got his armpits over the gutter, but could not pull himself back onto the roof.
"Dammit, father, are you trying to kill me?" Draco snarled once he got his breath back.
His father appeared below him, framed in the window. With an impatient flick of his wand, he dragged his son back into the dubious safety of his chambers.
"Just what the hell do you think you were doing?!" Lucius growled. "It is beneath the dignity of a Malfoy…"
Draco let out a breath that was not quite a sigh, tuning out his father's latest lecture. Damn, his owl had been flying nearer when his stupid paternal figure had startled it into fleeing it back into the night.
"Just look at the state of your robes," his father eyed said garments with the deepest disgust. "there is nothing in this world that could force me to present you to the public in such a state."
With this last, final statement, Lucius marched out of his room, slamming the door behind him.
Draco went back over to his still-open window to stare out into the darkness. There he was, his eagle-owl was perched on a tree not far from the manor. He took out a bag of owl treats and shook it. The owl appeared to hear this, and turned it's head in the direction of the window.
"Come on, here, I've got treats for you!" Draco called out softly into the night. "Come on! Oh, I'm sorry for being such a git, just come back!"
The owl turned its head away and refused to look at him.
"Please, I've got no one else to talk to!" Draco pleaded, hating himself even as he did. It was beneath the dignity of a Malfoy to plead.
Finally, in desperation, he climbed back out onto the roof, being more careful not to misplace his footing than before. One near-death experience per night was quite enough for him, thank you very much.
He breathed in deeply. He had to make this count, for undoubtedly his father would come wrathfully back up here in all his fury once he heard.
"Hoo!" he hooted.
Finally, the eagle-owl spread its wings wide and leapt off the branch. It soared gracefully over to him and landed carefully on his arm. It nuzzled his ear affectionately with his beak. Draco laughed quietly as he clambered back in his window, shut it behind him and placed the owl back on his stand. The sound of his father's footsteps approaching grew louder.
"DRACO! WHAT DID I JUST TELL YOU?!"
Draco sighed for real this time and began, "It is beneath the dignity of a Malfoy…"