A/N: This is based on "Little Yellow Bird" sung by Angela Lansbury in "The Portrait of Dorian Gray". ALL of the dialogue is sung. Even if I don't say it – that's what's happening.
Warnings: Slash, character deaths
Timeline: This is kind of like a prequel to Harry Potter canon, but it's an AU, you'll see why when you get there.
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Beta: FirstLaugh-LastTears because she reeks of pure awesome.
Draco, a small yellow canary, stared through the golden bars of his cage and out the window just beyond it. The outside world, which he had never seen beyond this one window, was white. It was very bright, though cloudy. The wind whipped the trees about wildly as snow fell through the air, covering everything in a thick white blanket.
The window itself was open; one of the servants had forgotten to close it. But he wasn't cold. There was a fire burning in the fireplace. There was always a fire burning, even when there were no people in the room. It was for Draco's benefit.
He was a very spoiled bird. His cage was almost four feet tall, he was a three inch tall bird. There were two house elves whose only responsibilities were his care. He got twice the amount of food he needed as well as snacks. His cage was filled with toys. He had everything he could possibly want except the one thing he wanted the most…a companion.
He swung back and forth slowly on his swing, his tiny claws clenching his perch. If he could cry he would've. Draco had never had a problem with his cage. He'd never known a different way to live. Plus, the cage he had now was golden, shiny and new. It could've been worse. He'd been kept in a box before. That hadn't been fun.
No, his problem was that he was lonely. His owners didn't come to visit him very often and while they'd spoken of getting him a companion, they'd never done so. It got boring in here. There wasn't much to do except stare out the window or sing. And he hadn't felt very much like singing lately.
There was no reason to sing when no one was around to hear it…
Harry, a small black sparrow with unusual green eyes, was worried. Very worried. The world was covered in snow and food was scarce. The wind made it difficult to fly, especially when you never got any rest.
He longed to sleep but there was no place he could perch without freezing to death. He was desperate for food but there were no crumbs to be found and the bugs had burrowed deeply into the Earth. So deeply that even if he were to get through the snow, he would never reach them.
His wings were growing more and more tired. He could feel his heartbeat slowing down. He hoped he found a place soon. He would die if he didn't.
Draco puffed himself up within the cage. His owners were Weasleys! As their beloved pet he should not be shaming them so by pouting. He had a job to do and he was going to do it.
His job was to sing. Provide his owners with beautiful music found nowhere else within nature. Why would they gift him with attention when he was failing at his one and only task?
He drew in a large breath of air and began to sing. A low, mournful tune that spoke of his sadness. Still, the song was beautiful, heartbreaking. Surely, his owners would be satisfied with this.
Harry flew towards a large mansion on a hill, hoping against hope that there would be something, anything he could rest in for the night. As he drew closer he heard the most beautiful bird song. As a bird himself, he'd heard plenty of it during his short life, but never anything quite like this.
It was a sad, lonely sound. A sound his heart made often. He flew closer, looking for the source. He came upon an open window, the only window that wasn't shut and locked tight.
He flew in and landed gently on the sill. There, in the center of the room, was a large golden cage. Within the cage was a handsome yellow bird with grey eyes. Most unusual, like his own. As the bird continued to sing, not aware of his presence, he couldn't help but add his own low whistling.
Their voices complimented each other well. As the song drifted away, the yellow bird looked up and spotted Harry. Harry almost fell out the window. The bird's eyes were intense, almost like a human's.
Draco stared at the small sparrow on his window ledge. Despite his rough, ragged appearance, he was a beautiful bird. His feathers were a shiny black and his green eyes seemed to glow.
Draco felt something swell within his small, feathery chest. This was the companion he'd been waiting for. This bird…this bird belonged to him.
"Oh sir sparrow." He sang softly, "I've been struck by Cupid's arrow. Would you share my cage with me?"
Harry blinked at the other bird. It was an offer that was almost too good to be true. The bird obviously had food to spare, and it was warm in here. His heart gave a little leap at the thought of having a friend, a lover maybe. He would've blushed at the thought, were it possible.
Then he looked up at the cage. It was golden and shiny, with a red ribbon and a tassel, but it gave Harry a cold, sinking feeling deep within his heart. A cage meant you couldn't fly. Not being able to fly was like dying. But worse than actual death, it was being dead while still being aware of all the things you'd left behind.
He sang back to the bird, his tone almost plaintive. "Goodbye little yellow bird. I'd rather brave the cold. On a leafless tree, than a prisoner be, in a cage of gold."
Draco couldn't believe it. A common sparrow refusing a bird with blood as blue as his? It was preposterous! This black bird clearly didn't understand the advantages that came with his spoiled, petted lifestyle.
He told the bird of riches. Of the abundance of food and toys, of always being warm. He told the bird of his masters and their gold.
Harry didn't understand this bird. Shiny things came and went but flying… Nothing could replace flying. "My liberties, for gold cannot be sold." He sang firmly. "I must be going."
Draco cried out in despair. "No, no it's snowing and the wintry windstorm blows. Stay with me my little deary, for without you 'twould be dreary!"
Harry couldn't help but give the yellow bird a long, lingering look, but in the end he only sighed. "Ah no. Goodbye little yellow bird. I'd gladly mate with you. I love you little yellow bird, but I love my freedom too. So goodbye little yellow bird. I'd rather brave the cold. On a leafless tree, than a prisoner be, in a cage of gold."
Harry spread his wings and leapt off the window sill. He would find another place to rest for the night. If he stayed here…he wasn't sure he could resist the temptation. And he would die, slowly but surely, if he wasn't allowed to fly.
Draco cried out as he watched the little bird leave. Would he really rather die than stay with Draco? Draco beat his wings against the door of his cage. For the first time in his life he hated the cage that kept him trapped here. His love had left him and he could do nothing to help the poor bird.
Damn it! What was the use of all this glittery stuff when it could do nothing to help someone? He flew back and forth within his cage, looking for a way out but there was none. Eventually he fell into an exhausted slumber, slumped at the bottom of his cage.
Over the following weeks, during which time Draco never again saw the sparrow, his health began to slowly decline. His owners brought in vet after vet, but they all said the same thing. He was depressed and fading away. There was nothing they could do to help. Draco could snap out of it, or he might not. Most of them predicted not.
Almost a month after the night he'd met the sparrow, Draco's cage was being cleaned out. As they worked the slaves started talking. A few days ago a sparrow had been seen flying about the manor, taping on the windows. It was almost as if the bird had been looking for something. Draco's heart leapt, his sparrow had been coming back to him? He turned his full attention to the two chattering elves. The noise disturbed Mistress Weasley who was ill and resting in one of the upstairs bedrooms. Master Weasley, upset and worried for his wife's health had stormed outside and shot the bird down with a well-aimed Avada Kedavra. He'd taken the body to the kitchens and tossed it into the fireplace. The stink was awful and the servants were worried that it would never go away.
Draco felt hate fill his heart at the thought of his master, while at the same time it was breaking with thoughts of the sparrow, his little love. He hadn't even known his name! Draco gave an unnatural howl and fell off the swing he'd been perched on. As he lay dying he cursed his masters, wishing that they would lose everything. They didn't deserve what they had.
The servants ran to him but it was much too late. There was nothing anyone could do for him now. Draco had given up his life. He didn't want to be the pet of a man capable of such a betrayal.
He wanted to be with his sparrow.
Draco Malfoy stared down at Harry Potter. The boy seemed so...familiar to him somehow. Everyone knew who Harry Potter was of course, but, that wasn't what this was. Draco knew this boy, somehow. The knowledge eluded him, something he'd long since forgotten.
He held out his hand, ready to beg for the chance to be the boy's friend. Harry Potter was precious to him. He didn't know how, he just knew that he didn't want to lose him. He felt, protective and almost frantic at the thought. The boy belonged to him. He would keep him close.
Harry Potter stared at the hand held out to him. He'd never seen Draco Malfoy before in his life yet he couldn't shake the feeling that he knew him somehow. He shrugged slightly, he needed a friend and anyone would be better than Ron Weasley. That kid freaked him out. He reached out and grasped the larger, pale hand in his own small, tan one.
Draco nearly crowed in triumph, his eyes shining brightly. As Harry smiled back at him one simple thought crossed his mind.
I will not lose him this time.
The End.