Author's Note: 11/17/12:

I am editin this story, I realize that it's been up here for a long time and I just didn't like the way it looked before so i've run it through again and i've added so much detail now. I hope you like the new version as much as the old.

(*)

The sky was almost black and only the lights from the street lamps and store fronts showed the people who walked quickly under the cold pelting rain of another London summer day. Thunder boomed in constant rolls and people moved quicker on the sidewalks, hopeful to get home to a nice warm house and perhaps a special someone. Most carried umbrellas on this dark day, having anticipated the rain, others were less lucky and they moved that much quicker as the rain soaked their heads.

Draco Malfoy, a young wizard of 25 was one of the smart people with an umbrella. Even as a wizard who knew thousands of spells to keep dry, he was practical. His handsome face was frowning as he held the device above his head and heard the force of the rain droplets as they hit the fabric. Another beautiful day in Muggle London.

He walked with one hand shoved into the pocket of his black trench coat, while the other held the umbrella. The security of his wand tucked into a holder on his belt that he could reach through the pocket. Just because the war had been over for some time, he knew there were people who would like to see a Malfoy, any Malfoy pay. And he couldn't trust the fact he was surrounded by Muggles to protect him. He sighed as he waited at a crosswalk, growling as a car sped by and almost soaked him in muddy dirty water. "Arsehole." He muttered as he continue to wait for the light.

He was about to walk when he heard a weird noise. Something between a cry and a pathetic yowl. He looked around. It was loud enough to hear over the rain and the honking of cars and Malfoy had always been a curious creature. His frown deepening, he listened and headed towards the sound as it repeated.

There it was again, a small meek, meeerrroooooww…

He stopped and looked around, on one side of him, was the road and those blasted cars that muggles favored so much. On the other side was an alley, made darker by the lack of streetlamps and the fact that the sky was so dismal already. He took a step just inside of it and looked around at the litter and garbage that filled it. He heard the cry again and heard some shuffling. Seeing movement from under a few wet newspapers, he took another step forward.

He narrowed his grey eyes, again there was the pitiful meerrroooww… He walked forward towards the newspapers and kneeled down. He loathed touching the filth but he wanted to know what was making that pathetic noise. He made a face as he took his thumb and pointer finger, touching as little as possible of the papers, he lifted it and looked under. There among the dirt and the garbage were bright green eyes looking at him.

He pulled back in surprise and dropped the newspaper; the animal made a noise again and stuck its little black head out. It was a small black kitten. He looked at the small cat and it looked back up at him with its bright green eyes. Draco was so surprised he almost fell onto his arse. Those eyes were so familiar. And they were so bright in the darkness, almost as if they had a light of their own.

For some reason they were so familiar to him but he couldn't place it. Draco continued to stare until the kitten made that noise again and tried to move closer but the weight of the papers held it down. Draco couldn't help himself, even if he hated filth and this cat was covered in it, he couldn't leave it stuck like that. He reached out to pull the papers off of the kitten but stopped as it sniffed his hand and moved forward to nuzzle his fingers, still stuck.

Draco moved his hand closer and pulled the papers off, immediately the kitten shook and meowed, moving closer and rubbing up against his foot. He pet the small thing, feeling the muddy fur. Staring down at it, a decision was made and he scooped up the kitten. It protested but didn't struggle too much. In fact as he held it to his chest, it curled up in his elbow and fell asleep almost instantly.

Seeing this, the former Slytherin held the cat to his chest, away from the threat of rain. He looked around and stepped out of the alley, it was getting darker if possible and Draco needed to head home, so he kept the cat close and did so as fast as possible.

_*At Draco's Flat*_

'What the hell is wrong with me?' Draco thought to himself as he looked at the sleeping bundle of fur lying on his couch cushion. His one hand on his hip, the other on his forehead, he had no idea what compelled him to take a dirty, stinking feline home. He had never cared for a cat before!

He shook his head and went to the kitchen; maybe a nice hot cup of tea would help him sort this out. As he set the pot to brew with a swish of his wand, he sat down at the table. What had transpired as he had gotten home came to him, making him shake his head.

When he had first opened the door, the kitten, which had been quietly sleeping until that moment, awoke with a hiss and sunk its sharp claws into his arm through his coat. He growled and shouted at the thing as it jumped out of his arms and landed unsteadily on its paws. The cat's fur was on end and it hissed at him before diving under his couch to hide.

He cursed and in his anger, threw down his umbrella. There was another hiss and he rolled his eyes, he was the one bleeding for Merlin's Sake! He took a deep breath to calm down and spelled himself dry, removing his coat and his shoes and putting them both in their proper places, he didn't miss the black head popping out from under the couch to look about. He ignored it as he gingerly rolled up his arm and saw that not even the skin was broken, just 10 little red marks on his shirt. In his youth, he would have screamed and cried in pain for attention, but he was an adult now, grown out of such things.

He sighed and turned towards his apartment, seeing the kitten slowly coming out from under the couch. It sniffed the air and with one look to Draco, proceeded to jump onto his nice white couch and lay it's muddy body down upon it and curl up to sleep.

Draco had stared and now he was in his kitchen, contemplating what to do next. He had no pets besides Glau his barn owl. And owls were smart; they knew when to be out of the way and could take care of themselves. A cat was different. It would need food from Draco and water, and Merlin forbid, a litter pan.

He stood up when the water was done and poured his tea, sitting again and putting his head in his hands. What could he do?

Merow...

He looked down and saw the little muddy creature had come for him. It sat on the floor next to his foot and he saw muddy paw prints behind the animal, coming all the way from the living room.

"So…Now what do I do with you?" He said out-loud, more to himself than the animal. The kitten looked up at him with those amazing green eyes and tilted its head to the side.

He shook his head and sighed, he needed help, but he needed to start off with something. Looking down, he sat back in his chair.

"First off, are you a boy or a girl…?" He stared at the small black animal and realized he didn't know how to check. Or if there was a way to check, which was ridiculous but still, he never knew. "Well most cats are girls so…" He didn't get to finish when the little thing hissed at him. That was new.

He raised a blonde eyebrow and stared at it, leaning forward and scooting his chair back so he could lean his elbows on his knees. The cat stepped back, it's tail twitching with what looked like irritation at the loud noise the chair made. He frowned. "So does that mean you're a boy?" He muttered out loud. Then he remembered if he were to keep this muddy feline, he would need to name it.

Draco tilted his head at the cat and saw it mirror him. "What to name you then? Err I don't think Spot is appropriate. What does someone normally name a mangy cat?" He rubbed the back of his neck while the cat looked at him. "Speckles?" He shook his own head at that name, it was stupid. Something too Muggle, if he was to have a cat, it would have a sophisticated name!

"Julian?" He tried out loud, the cat made a strange sound between a hum and a meow. Draco realized it had growled at him. He wanted to laugh, that was its growl? Pathetic little thing wasn't it? He jumped and let out a growl of his own when the cat swiped at his sock covered foot. "Why you little! How about Severus then you slimy git! Perfect personality!" He shouted in annoyance. The cat growled at him again and he noticed that those green eyes grew more intense. Did he have a magical cat?

"Okay, fine…not Julian, not Severus, how about Seth?" The cat gave him a look and he swore the animal was glaring at him. He sighed and looked at the ceiling, wondering what the gods had cursed him with. He glanced down as the cat let out a mew. Its eyes were locked onto his and he realized why they were so familiar. They looked so much like the green eyes of Harry Potter. His rival from school and his savior from the fire he had cast and from Voldemort. The-Boy-Who-Lived had not been seen for the last year, some assuming he had retreated into solitary living for the moment, to escape the fame that always surrounded him. Draco didn't blame him, they were both famous figures. Him, the Heir to the Malfoy name and a Former Death Eater with a Former Death Eater Father and Mother and Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived-And-Saved-The-World.

Drawing away from those thoughts, he figured it couldn't hurt. "How about Harry?"

The kitten looked at him and it seemed to be thinking before purring and coming closer, Draco flinched, expecting another attack but instead the cat rubbed against his leg. It was quite cute until Draco realized it was rubbing mud and who knew what else against his pant leg. "Ugh!" He stood up and back but the cat followed after him. "You need a bath Harry." He said, chuckling a bit, he now had something to insult and feel like he was insulting his rival!

Still chuckling, he scooped the cat up; it must have weighed no more than 4 pounds. He carried it towards his bathroom and set it in the tub. The cat seemed to have no idea what was going on as Draco locked the door and looked at the animal. He had no animal shampoo, so his own would have to suffice. He had heard that cats hated water, but magical cats were surprisingly different. But he wasn't too sure that's what this feline was.

So he rolled up his sleeves and kneeled beside the tub. A simple Scourify might work but he wasn't sure if it would end up removing the fur as well. He had never tried it on an animal.

He pulled out his wand and muttered the charm for water and let it splash next to the cat. The animal jumped but after a moment seemed to think before relaxing and sitting still for him. He raised an eyebrow but didn't think too much on it as he ran the now flowing water from his wand over the cat's fur. The mud came running off easily and he was grateful that the cat stood still.

It took a few minutes, no more than 15 before Draco was done and the cat was being dried off in a fluffy towel. Now clean of mud and who knew what else. Its black fur would shine as soon as it was dry.

Draco smiled in accomplishment as he carried the now mewling cat back into the living room, frowning at the muddy paw prints everywhere. A quick charm and they were gone.

He sat down on the couch, forgetting about his tea and continued to dry the cat off.

"So you're clean and named...What should be next? Are you hungry?" He asked petting the top of the cat's head with a corner of the towel.

The little animal 'mewled' again and wiggled out of his hold, jumping onto the floor and stretching before looking at Draco expectedly. Draco took that to mean that it was indeed hungry and realized he had no food for an animal that wasn't an owl. He sighed but got up and headed into his kitchen, remembering in some distant memory that cats like milk and fish so he found a packet of tuna and poured a bowl of milk, setting them down on the floor for the cat. Immediately the little beast dug in, obviously hungry. Draco remembered his tea and sat down at the table again, watching the animal as it ate its food. Maybe it would be easy. This didn't seem hard so far.