Warning: NC-17
Draco frowned whilst he read aloud the terrifying news in the Daily Prophet:
Auror Potter is missing after a raid in Yorkshire. Sources at the Ministry tell us the Head Auror was fired because Minister Shacklebolt held him responsible for the loss of our Hero. Attempts to contact Harry's extended family and friends have been met with stern silence.
Reporter: Rita Skeeter.
He put down the paper with a trembling hand. After casting Tempus, he frowned at the numbers because he had to vote in twenty minutes. Draco had taken to heart his mother's advice to repair slowly the good name of the family, and had resolved to take up his duties as member of the Wizengamot.
Draco hated the unseemly hat he was forced to don inside the chamber, but he surely loved other perks accruing to his position. Due to the sensitive political nature of the votes, Aurors were often present to guard the deliberations. Draco's heart always fluttered when he noticed that tousled-haired man on the next row. He found it hard to concentrate on the dull business of the body politic when Auror Potter's hot body was casually slouching in front of him.
This dreadful news could portend nothing good, Draco thought. He drummed his fingers against the tablecloth, wondering whether he should call Hermione and find out more about Potter's disappearance. He was deep into his usual Potter reveries when the sudden noise of the door opening startled him; Narcissa had entered the room without her usual gentleness.
"Son, we have a problem," she said wearily, fiddling with the ruffles on her dress.
Draco arched an eyebrow at her whilst Narcissa waved her arms towards the window. "Your father found a strange animal stalking one of his peacocks. I had to save it!"
"But you hate the albino birds!"
"I rescued the poor beast. Those peacocks started pecking it; I had to scare them away!" Narcissa sighed, keeping to herself the reason she had rushed to save the cute, fluffy thing: the chubby animal reminded her of Draco when he was a four-year old.
oOoOo
Having arrived at the place where the furry intruder lazily lounged, Draco stared at the black patches circling the ears and eyes; his gaze took in the stark contrast of the white and black fur of the torso. "That's a panda, Mother!"
Narcissa stepped carefully towards the five-foot panda which walked between the oaks. "Why is it so… discoloured? The poor thing looks malnourished."
"Harry said…. I mean Potter told me their coat is coloured this way," drawled Draco as he slowly approached the animal.
He didn't hear his mother muttering low under her breath, "When will these two get it on? I'll have to nudge them!"
The way the panda glared at Draco with beady eyes reminded him of Auror Potter; he felt the black patches around the eyes resembled quite strongly Harry's glasses. Eyeing the blond with disapproval, the panda abruptly barked and lifted his forepaw as he flexed his wickedly gleaming claws. Draco shuddered because the threatening gesture was oddly similar to Harry swishing his wand after he had ordered the Auror to fetch him Butterbeer.
Draco nodded to himself, having arrived at the conclusion that the panda was indeed Potter. This must be his Animagus form; obviously Potter had fled the situation Skeeter so skimpily described in the paper. He was the victim of a nasty hex and couldn't turn back, so Potter's panda instincts had kicked in and brought him to the safest place he would remember, Malfoy Manor.
Draco smirked in satisfaction, recalling his lengthy reminiscences about the dark beauty of the Manor during those long, tedious hours in the Wizengamot.
He bent down to scratch the panda's ear; the animal grunted in satisfaction as Draco drawled, "So you listened, Potter. I doubted you would because you used to yawn and growl at me."
The panda turned his muzzle towards Draco and barked sharply.
"Exactly like that." Draco nodded approvingly, and petted the furry head. "Yes, you are Potter; but you need a panda name."
The animal shrank back and nervously looked around as if waiting for a leopard to spring out of the woods. Draco paid him no mind whilst he recited a list of increasingly absurd names.
"Ophiuchus: The Serpent Bearer." The name rolled off Draco's tongue like fine wine whilst the panda barked in dismay. Draco looked down and petted the black fur as he sneered. "It's the perfect name for a Slytherin's panda, isn't it?"
Draco crouched in front of the panda and grabbed the chubby arm. He tried to heave the bear but he gave up after a few seconds. "You weigh a lot, Ophiuchus. How much do you eat?"
The panda grunted menacingly.
Draco rolled his eyes, fondly recalling that Potter didn't like it when Draco uttered similar remarks about his weight. This train of thought led him to wonder what pandas ate. Harry never mentioned that, though he had enthused about how much he had wanted a panda plushie when he was a child. This had probably made him choose this Animagus form, Draco mused.
As he dragged the resisting panda towards the Manor like he was towing a giant plushie, Draco decided he should write Hermione to find out the panda's correct diet. After all, she was a knowledgeable witch who knew Muggle animals. He composed the letter in his mind:
Granger-Weasley:
I'm aware you know everything, so kindly let me know what pandas eat.
PS. Don't worry about Potter because he is safe; I feel it in my bones.
I expect your swift reply.
DM
oOoOo
"Blaise, pass me the treacle tart, will you?"
"Your pet doesn't like me," huffed Blaise whilst he pushed the plate towards Draco and the glaring bear by his side. Blaise felt the panda staring at him with a murderous expression.
Draco carefully cut the treat into small pieces and nudged the dish towards the panda's chair which creaked ominously. Looking at the bear, he sighed sadly; if only Harry would consent to date him whilst being human, Draco would be happy.
"What's its name?" Blaise rubbed the sleeve of Draco's robes, which elicited a deep rumble from inside the panda's chest. The Slytherin hastily scooted away from Draco and his possessive pet.
"Ophiuchus," Draco mumbled distractedly. "He doesn't like it but the name fits him."
The bear didn't eat the treacle tart, and Draco sighed in disappointment. Ophiuchus often disappeared for long hours, meandering through the garden and woods. Draco worried about his panda; thus, he tended to neglect his Wizengamot duties.
Ophiuchus looked up and barked softly at the fast speck of bright feathers which darted inside the room from the open window.
"I hope Granger finally deigns to answer." Draco glared at the owl but was unable to reach the letter. "Won't you read her message? I want to know what pandas eat; Ophiuchus is getting fat."
The panda and Blaise growled in unison. The Slytherin untied delicately the letter, scowling at it. "Fine, but bear in mind I'm not your Potter who fulfils your every whim!"
"Potter never…"
"He sure did when I watched you from the Visitor's Gallery during that Wizengamot session." Blaise snorted as he stole a piece of treacle tart to give to the owl in lieu of a treat. The parchment was littered with crumbles which Blaise fastidiously wiped away with his thumb.
Draco glared at the meticulous Slytherin as Blaise unrolled the yellowed parchment; finally he said, "Granger writes that pandas eat leaves and bamboo. She doesn't have time to explain more, she says, because they are looking for Potter."
Draco smirked at that; if Hermione only knew Potter was sitting by his side!
oOoOo
Narcissa scowled at Draco and his panda. "Dear son, your pet is destroying our garden. He ate the bamboo fence your father grew around the enclosure where he keeps his precious peacocks; and you know how Lucius feels about those birds."
"Sorry, Mother," Draco said, patting the panda's head. "Ophiuchus is a growing boy. He needs all the food he can get; and like me, he doesn't like those peacocks."
Narcissa shuddered delicately after the wards informed her two guests had Apparated into the parlour. She smiled at Draco. "Your friends are here."
"Who?"
Narcissa frowned because the magical signature of one of the visitors seemed a tad blurry. Despite that, Narcissa hoped this would be the day her oblivious son finally took his first step towards happiness.
"Miss Granger and… Harry Potter."
"Harry?" Draco pointed at the panda. "But he's…"
Draco didn't have time to finish because Hermione called out to them.
"Malfoy, look whom we found!" She beamed at Harry. The two walked along the pebbled path that came from the house, rapidly approaching the garden bench.
Harry glared at the panda next to Draco.
Ophiuchus lifted his muzzle, his beady eyes staring sharply at Harry whilst he barked angrily. With a swift motion, the animal jumped from the iron wrought bench and took long, looping strides towards the Gryffindors.
Before anyone could understand what was going on, the panda pounced on Harry.
Draco rushed to the rescue. He wasn't sure anymore if the panda was Harry or not, but he didn't want anyone to get hurt.
Whilst Hermione and Narcissa gasped, the boys and the panda rolled on the grass, entangled in a writhing mess of pale, tanned and furry limbs. Ophiuchus pawed at Harry as Draco hugged tightly the panda from behind to keep him from hurting the Auror.
Harry bled copiously from deep scratches on his arms. He jerkily stuck his hand inside his robes, fishing for his wand until he took it out and brandished it at the panda. Ophiuchus jerked his head forward and his jaws closed around the slender wood. The panda bit savagely the piece of wood which broke in two.
A bright flash of magenta and green enveloped the struggling trio. Hermione rubbed her eyes, waiting until the stroboscopic images faded before she focused on the men on the grass. She gasped at the sight, because she could swear Draco had been hugging the wild panda from behind, but now Draco was holding a nude Harry!
Hermione's gaze slid farther and she noticed a man clad in Auror robes whose arms were bleeding. She recognised the face from the wanted posters at the Ministry. A sandy-haired Dark wizard had been impersonating Harry!
Quickly drawing her conclusions, Hermione deftly cast Incarcerous on the impostor.
"Draco, could you explain what's going on?" said Narcissa with a catch in her voice.
"It's simple, Mrs. Malfoy," Hermione said calmly. "I should have realised it sooner, but we rescued 'Harry' just two hours ago. I'm sure this was a plot by Dark wizards. They wanted to infiltrate Auror Headquarters, and what better way to do it than spying on them under the guise of Harry Potter."
"You mean…?" Draco said tentatively
"We'll have to get the details through Veritaserum." Hermione sighed. "I reckon they transfigured Harry into a panda whilst one of them took Harry's form."
"Granger, are you sure?" Draco looked up at her from the ground, still holding tightly Harry's chest. Draco's hand strayed to play with the happy trail on the tanned body, but he was unaware of it.
Harry felt it though. He blushed whilst he hastily cast a wandless spell to conjure a blanket and hide his growing arousal.
Meanwhile, the impostor squirmed on the ground. The rope securing his limbs gleamed in the sunshine whilst he made gagging sounds which Hermione duly Silencio'd.
"That bastard," growled Harry. "He said I would never be able to recover my human form and it was safe to let me live. I escaped and sought refuge here." Harry's hand searched in the grass for the other end of the broken wand and he lifted it. "The bloody spell was cast by this wand. That git always prattled about his powerful wand, so I figured if I broke it the curse might be undone."
Draco brushed his fingers through Harry's ruffled hair in an unconscious gesture. "I know you came here because my stories drew you to the beautiful Manor."
"Actually, it was hunger that drove me here." Harry turned his torso so he was able to glimpse Draco's blurry face. He squinted at him until Hermione realised he needed his glasses and conjured them for him.
Nudging the horned rim of his glasses with his pinkie, Harry looked up at his best friend. "Thanks, Mione."
When he noticed Draco's furious scowl, he shrugged nonchalantly. "What can I say? You mentioned you had lots of trees and plants in your gardens, and Lucius had this huge bamboo fence."
Harry blushed and lifted his bare thigh, rubbing it against Draco's groin. His stint as panda had confirmed what Harry long suspected: beneath Malfoy's sneering attitude was a warm person who wanted him just as he was. Draco saw him with all his flaws but still yearned for him. Harry felt his cock twitch when he recalled the times he silently sneaked into the bathroom, using his soft pads, to watch Draco taking a bath. That expanse of pale skin had inflamed his senses, both as panda and human. It even made him forget the gnawing hunger to eat bamboo stalks.
"You're a prat, Potter," drawled Draco, smiling gently to take the sting off his words. "I liked you better as a panda."
"Really?" Harry wiggled his eyebrows; he jerked his hips forward and rubbed his length against Draco's clothed erection. The violent shudder Harry felt against his body told him Draco was lying. He snaked his hand beneath Draco's robes to rub the hollow of his collarbone. "I also came because I wanted to see you, git."
Narcissa blushed delicately and tugged Hermione's arm. "Miss Granger, I think we'd better leave the boys alone." With the heel of her shoe, she nudged the impostor's body. "We should get this scum to the Ministry."
Hermione blushed at the intimate sight of Draco curling his fingers around Harry's face. The wiggling motions of the blanket meant they were rubbing their bodies along their whole length.
The two women left them alone, Hermione having cast Wingardium leviosa on the impostor.
After Draco hastily vanished his trousers and boxers, the friction of Harry's cock against his prick was his undoing. Draco wrapped his fist around their girths.
"Git." Harry growled as his hips bucked forward. His blunt fingernails scratched the alabaster neck; afterwards he nibbled on the spots he'd marked. Increasing the speed of his thrusts, Harry shuddered violently as he came all over Draco's hand. Aided by the lubrication, the blond sped his movements and climaxed a few seconds later.
"Panda prat," muttered Draco fondly.