Written using prompts from the forum Caesar's Palace: hob, electric fence, livestock
Also written for Caesar's Palace's The Build-A-Bear Challenge. Fred!lives AU
Submitted to HPFC's Word War One.
WC: 513
Harry put his hand on the sheep's wool and pet it frantically.
"Don't let them see I'm here," he whispered in its ear. "I'm on the run."
The sheep grunted in response and shifted to the side, as if he were giving Harry more room in the barn. Harry swore he saw the sheep nod.
"Thanks, mate," Harry said, and hunkered down into the hay. He eyed the window on the top floor just in case he needed to make a quick exit, suddenly wishing he had his wand. But then again, hide-and-seek wasn't so fun when magic was involved. Apparating and point-me spells would be all too easy, and much more magically exhausting.
How had this all begun? It started back at the house, with the Weasleys.
Fred wanted to play a game with the children, and Hermione had recommended a few games like kick the can (which the children found much too complicated), whisper down the lane (which collapsed into anarchy in five minutes), and hide-and-go-seek. Harry was at his wits end with these young'uns running all over, and he had been sitting at the fireplace, poking his sandwich onto the hob.
"What do you think, Uncle Harry?" Hermione asked pointedly.
Harry dropped his grilled cheese into the fire and swore under his breath before slapping a hand over his mouth. "Sorry. Hm?"
"You'd love to play hide-and-seek, wouldn't you?"
Harry quirked his eyebrow. "Err...sure."
"Right then!" Hermione clapped twice and the entire Weasley clan rushed out the door.
Flash forward a few minutes, and Harry's sitting in a shit-filled barn, hiding from his little gremlin children.
The sheep squished Harry beside him, squishing Harry's face into the wire fence boxing off the sleeping pen. "Hey, watch it!" Harry said. He didn't enjoy the square netting or the smell.
The sheep baa'd indignantly and trotted towards the barn door. Harry sighed. "At least it wasn't an electric fence," he muttered. The Burrow was much better when there wasn't livestock everywhere. A few months ago, Hermione had wanted to try the Muggle way of self-sufficiency, after going on a yoga kick. Somehow, this involved buying sheep, goats, chickens, and other assorted creatures, as well as calling relatives over to farm with her. It'll be a good life experience, she said! It'll be fun, she said!
Harry heard high-pitched screaming coming from near the door of the barn. He could never tell if their screaming meant they were in pain or mirth. But, he did know that this time it meant he was about to be found. "Oh bugger."
He climbed the ladder to the top floor and pulled it up after him. It would be a terrible accident if one of the children tried climbing up and fell. The barn door opened with a creak, and he leaped out of his hiding spot. Here's to staying alive! he thought, as he jumped out the window, hoping to make a break for the house.
Turns out he severely misjudged the height of the window. He wouldn't be playing any games for a while.