title: look at your doorstep and watch what you find
summary: Harry doesn't exactly get what he was expecting; in fact, it's way better. Featuring bunny!Draco and ditziness, a desperate Harry, and a new beginning.
notes: Written, once again, for the miettesdesmots challenge. Where would I be without that challenge? Storyless and without inspiration! And where would that leave me? xD I love this challenge to bits, and I've participated maybe six times since its creation. It never gets old. What would I do without my boys? x) Harry/Draco as always.
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Harry took a deep breath and steadied himself. Lying in front of his door, looking far too innocent on his doormat, was a box. Boxes were normal, they didn't usually cause people to sweat like Harry was sweating. They didn't make you look nervously at your neighbors houses, just in case. As if they had ever shown any interest in his affairs anyway—he lived in a Muggle neighborhood.
Brown, square, bigger than usual—about four feet diagonal on each side, Harry guessed. In a neighborhood like his it was the norm, but it still unsettled him, made him paranoid about his little secret package.
Murmuring a quick spell to make it lighter, he 'carried' it into his house and closed the door with a click. The hallway was painted a light, bright blue—Ginny's choice—and it still made him wince at the thought of their failed relationship. All his fault.
"All right then," he said to the box. "Let's see what's in there." He noticed the catch in his voice, but it was okay because no one else could.
Slitting the thick tape with a knife—old habits die hard—he opened it, looking curiously inside. What was inside looked like a bundle of pale yellow fluff sitting amongst expensive fabrics, clothes Harry didn't even know the name of, let alone wore. Light blues and greens and whites swept over him like a bright summer day and he stared disbelievingly for a second.
That was it, then. He'd been had, just as he'd known he would be, though for some reason he'd still ordered it. Still hoped. He swallowed, suddenly feeling alone. Even then it had seemed pathetic, but now…Now it became crystal clear, just how very lonely he was, with Ron and Hermione happily married and busy with kids. The whole Weasley family, who had taken him in as if he was their own—busy. Bill enjoying wedding life with Fleur (almost ten years later, she was still stunning), Fred and George expanding, Ron out conquering the bad guys while Hermione edited Hogwarts: A History and took care of little James. And Ginny was off who knows where, conquering curses and hearts and having a good time. Without even a single, last glance back.
This time, he'd wanted to do something about his situation. Mend it, somehow, because he was better with actions than anything else, really.
Failed again.
Suddenly the living room seemed too vast, too unfriendly, and with the box sitting forlornly in the middle of it, Harry felt potently the joke that had become his life. With disgust, he tried to pick up the box. And froze.
He heard a rustle coming from inside.
And there it was again: a faint shuffling noise, muffled presumably from all the cloth stuffed into it. Alarmed, he gently lifted the bundle of fabric and was met with sparkling, blue-gray eyes and a face framed with pale blond hair and ears. Animal ears that were long, fluffy, and right now they were twitching.
"Hi," the person said, smiling brightly. "I guess you're my new owner now." He had smooth, flawless skin and long lashes, Harry noticed.
"Uh…" Harry said. He couldn't process this. How could a person—an actual person!—fit in there? He'd ordered a puppy, sure. A puppy would've been nice. A big blond one with wide, innocent eyes and ears that twitched just like the strange person's did—
Whoa. Treading on dangerous territory here, Harry, he scolded himself. No thinking about that. Nooo-ooo thinking. No. He noted absently that even the stranger's neck was white as china.
"So, hey," the stranger said, "you ordered me, right? I'm here, just for you, c'mon, let's play!" It didn't seem to dawn on him that he was still stuck in a box. When he moved to stand, he was met with soft cardboard resistance and sat down on the floor with an 'oomph.'
"Hey!" he said. At least Harry thought it was a he. "Why can't I get out? Don't you want me to get out?"
Harry moved compliantly to his side and lifted him out. There was still confusion in his eyes, but he stared at his new companion and couldn't help feeling better. Human company always did that to him.
"Oh, wait, I forgot to tell you my name," he burbled obliviously, "so, yeah, hi, I'm Draco, half-bunny half-man, ready and at your service!" He giggled at the last part, plain white t-shirt slipping off his thin shoulders.
Without thinking, Harry fixed his shirt and placed it back on his shoulder. "I'm Harry," he said.
"Hi Harry!" Draco cried. He jumped and enveloped Harry in a big, sloppy hug, and Harry was filled with the sensation of warmth and the clean smell of flowers in Draco's hair. "You're so skinny," he whispered, feeling stupid because it was all he could think to say.
"Oh, yeah, back when I was a rabbit I didn't eat a lot," Draco explained. "And they only turned me human recently so I haven't gained weight yet."
When Harry looked sad and a tiny bit confused, Draco frowned. "But hey," he exclaimed, "you can cook, right? Cook food and I'll eat, so I'll gain weight in no time!" He bounced excitedly on the balls of his feet.
Harry smiled at him.
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure, Harry." Draco wandered around his living room, touching Harry's things and staring at photographs with vague intensity.
"Why are you here? I thought I ordered a puppy."
Draco's eyes widened. "You did?" Hands, previously touching a picture of Harry with Ron and Hermione, fell to his side. "You mean—you don't want me?" His big doe eyes, so vulnerable and slightly teary, made Harry's heart hurt a little.
"No, that's not it at all," he said quickly. "I just wasn't expecting a human."
Draco wrinkled his forehead. "You didn't know? They take animals like me and turn us human, and then they ship us off so now here I am."
"Right."
Draco nodded vigorously. "Only I guess they messed up 'cause you ordered a dog-guy instead of a bunny-me, but you don't mind, do you Harry?"
With his big puppy dog eyes, Harry figured he might as well keep him—he was like a dog anyway.
"No, I don't mind," he said, figuring it would at least keep him busy for a while.
"Yay!" Draco squealed and Harry found himself with an armful of bunny and he reflected that it didn't feel half bad. Draco was warm and light and comforting, and on second thought, Harry felt that maybe there was a good reason he and Ginny had broken up after all. He must've missed something that she'd obviously spotted.
"How did they know to bring a guy?" Harry said out loud.
Draco giggled. "It was kinda obvious when they saw who it was."
"Obvious?"
"Everybody knows, Harry," Draco said with a knowing glint in his eyes.
"Knows what?"
"Look, we don't have to talk about it," Draco said impatiently, pouting like a child. He leaned closer to Harry and looked up earnestly. "But you're satisfied with what you have, aren't you, Harry? You like me?"
"Well…" Harry couldn't bring himself to say no, even if it would be a lie. "Yes. I guess I do."
"One question, though," he continued, ignoring the arm that was creeping up on neck and the inevitable redness that followed in his cheeks, "how does everyone know about that?"
"Your sexuality, you mean?" Draco asked. His face was so full of wide-eyed innocence that Harry wanted to smack him, and still Draco's arm went higher.
"Yeah." A leg now, sliding up the side of his thighs and making his goosebumps pop up on his arms.
"Maybe someone told," Draco said with a giggle. His foot brushed up and down Harry's leg and made him shiver.
"But who?" Harry wasn't focused on the topic at hand; just felt the warm hands on his body and the beautiful face staring up at him with such clarity.
"Who do you think?" Draco whispered, hand buried in the thickness of Harry's hair. Harry paused.
"It was Ginny, wasn't it?"
"Bingo!" Draco said, delighted. "She told everybody, because she had a love bite from some guy. When we asked she said it wasn't her fault, that you were gay anyway and that it wasn't her fault, couldn't she be happy?" Draco wrinkled his nose. "She wasn't very nice, was she, Harry?"
"Who cares," Harry said. He really didn't, because what was Ginny compared to soft pink lips and sweet smiles and hair that looked like an angel's? A voice as high and clear as a bell and eyes that adored and were adored, by him at least; and Harry realized he was foolishly in love. Or would be. And it had taken, what, ten minutes? He decided he was out of his mind but if he was going to be out of his mind, he would rather not be out on his own, thank you.
Ready to tell Draco, he opened his mouth, but no words came out. His mouth stayed open as he realized that he no longer had hands in his hair or a leg wrapped intimately around his own; it felt weird, where'd it go, hey Draco, come back!
Draco backed away from Harry in one swift motion, smiling beatifically at him even in the face of Harry's urgent stare. Hands moving emphatically through the air, Draco spoke quickly. "I knew you'd get it! You're so smart, I'm really glad I came to you instead of anybody else, you know that, Harry? I'm so happy!"
Ignoring Harry, he wandered through the halls and yelled, "Hey Harry, aren't you coming? I'm hungry! Can you make me something to eat? Maybe I'll take a nap. I'm going to take a nap," and he zoomed over to Harry's room (how did he know? Harry wondered) and when Harry followed, he found him snuggled into the comforter, snoring softly. White hands gripped the sheets tightly, like a child, and Harry smiled fondly.
He brushed aside Draco's fair hair because it seemed like the cliché thing to do (and didn't it say to do it in the owner's manual?), and also because he wanted to see if it was as soft as it looked; and it was, as soft as a rabbit's fur and such a shiny blond too. Draco murmured, voice sleepy and fretful like a child half-asleep. "Not now, Harry," he grumbled. "Let me rest and eat 'n' we'll have sex later."
He turned over to Harry's side and clutched his shirt in his fist, burying his head in Harry's chest. Harry could feel Draco's heartbeat, could feel it right on his lower chest and he looked down. He hadn't been this happy in a while, he couldn't help thinking. Draco shifted and Harry heard him say, "Love you, Harry," and it made his heart clench and want to burst. He didn't know what to say. "I love you, too," didn't even seem to cover it.
He rested his head on Draco's. "That wasn't in the owner's manual," he whispered.
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