The Heart of a Ferret

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, nothing is mine. Everything belongs to JKR

Warnings: Violence, adult language, slash-y elements (HD, naturally)

A/N: Our two favourite heroes will finally get a chance to see eye to eye. Maturing is wonderful, isn't it? Once again, a big thank you to Keir! Oh, and if someone has been wondering... In this story, the first five books have happened, but there is nothing about the Half-Blood Prince or the Deathly Hallows.

Chapter 3 Groping For Understanding

The rest of Harry's second day as a ferret was uneventful. There were no daring rescue attempts, no silver linings on the clouds obscuring the blue sky. He was just stuck in a small, placid cage with absolutely nothing to do. Well, Harry did groom his fur several times, took several naps and bickered with Draco several times, but otherwise, it was horribly monotonous. Of course, Harry was grateful that it was only the boredom he was suffering from. He could easily be hanging upside down somewhere else, subjected to incredible amount of painful torture. So, in a way, Harry was very satisfied with his state, even though he couldn't stop freezing or wincing every time he heard or smelled someone walking nearby. The ominous steps or muffled voices of people clad in black robes swirling across the yard made him want to cringe.

However, Harry was a little bewildered at how little attention he attracted. He wasn't complaining the slightest, but nevertheless it seemed a little weird. The few Death Eaters milling about didn't scorn at him, didn't taunt him or discover if the Cruciatus worked on a ferret. In fact, they practically ignored him. It was almost as if... Lucius hadn't told anyone about Harry the ferret. Which was, naturally, quite peculiar and unexpected. Maybe Lucius had been too busy to inform anyone? Harry really doubted that. Was even Voldemort informed about this, he idly wondered, just as the slice of warm sunlight was rudely blocked by someone crouching to stare into the cage. Harry lifted his head quickly, gazing upwards with trepidation.

His view was filled with a narrow, slightly gaunt face with thick, black locks around it. Heavy lidded, dark eyes were glinting maliciously as they stared down. Harry recognized the owner of those eyes and jumped to his feet in an instant, hissing poisonously.

"Well well well, you've got a new playmate, Draco?" Bellatrix cackled, pressing her face even closer. "How delightful."

Draco had emerged from his pile of cloths and looked up, a look of contempt on his face. 'Eugh. Her again.'

Harry snapped his teeth at the vile woman, wishing she would put a hand into the cage so that he could tear the said hand into bloody shreds. Draco trotted to join him, and they stood there, side by side as they watched Bellatrix.

"Oh you look so cute!" she exclaimed mockingly, clapping her hands together. "Adorable, indeed. I guess you, Draco, don't even deserve any other company than an animal's. It was stupid of you to turn down the Dark Lord. Well, you made your bed, didn't you?" Bellatrix sneered, pulling away. "I always knew Cissy spoiled you too much. You've become a weakling. A mere Gryffindor. Ah well, there are a few bad apples in every tree. Your father should have done the same thing I did to the bad apple of our family, that mutt of a Black..."

Draco let out a low growl but didn't move. Harry, however, snarled audibly and sprang forward to flatten himself against the restricting bars, trying to swipe his paw across the face looming in the distance. Bellatrix had startled, drawing back as the black ferret had pounced. She gazed at Harry with raised eyebrows and Harry met her eyes with fierce defiance. Flashes of Sirius falling through the Veil, a look of utter surprise on his face, flew past Harry's own eyes. The snarling increased.

"What a tempestuous little room mate you have there, Draco," she remarked, a lazy smirk curling her lips. "Good luck taming that one."

"Bella, what are you doing?"

Bellatrix pulled away as the smooth, suspicious voice of Lucius rang in the air. She drew to her full height, eyeing the elder Malfoy underneath her thick lashes. The idle smirk still arching her lips, she let out a low chuckle. "Just admiring your precious offspring, Lucius, no harm done."

Lucius crossed his arms over his chest, his pale face an emotionless mask as he regarded the woman through narrowed eyes. "Well, if you are quite done with this admiring, I suggest you find something better to do, yes?"

Bellatrix laughed again, a mockingly sweet sound that grated on Harry's nerves. "A little defensive, are we, Lucius? Afraid someone might accidentally slaughter your little son, mistaking him for a simple rodent and pest?"

Harry felt Draco stiffen beside him, and Lucius' hand twitched, as if he was longing to reach for his wand. "Is that a threat, Bella?"

A wide smile made Bellatrix's face seem abnormally distorted. "Of course not, dear Lucius, of course not. I wouldn't dream of it. But if I were you... "

"Yes?" Lucius practically hissed through clenched teeth, his face otherwise devoid of any emotion. Bellatrix cackled with glee before leaning closer to the blond Death Eater.

"I'd keep a close eye on your brat," the woman conspiratorially whispered, nodding her head. "You never know what can happen... "

Bellatrix favoured Draco with one, last disdainful sneer before vanishing from the sight. Harry stared after her with blazing eyes, his blood still boiling. He barely noticed that Lucius swept after her, as well. Draco's scornful 'What a bitch' barely penetrated his agitated mind and the white ferret poked him irritably. 'Hey, Potter, chill down, will you? She left already.'

Reluctantly, Harry relaxed his vexed to the bone stance. 'I hate her.'

Curiously, Draco drew closer. 'Why do you hate her so much? I mean, she is a bitch, and a psycho – I should know, she is my aunt after all – but it seems there's some personal vendetta between you two. Feel free to correct me should I be wrong.'

Harry was silent for a moment, gazing at Draco, unblinking. 'She... she killed my godfather, at the end of my fifth year.'

Draco cocked his head. 'Your godfather? You mean Sirius Black?'

Harry gave a curt nod. 'And before you ask, no, he wasn't a mass murderer. He was innocent, framed by his friend,' he spat out, 'Peter Pettigrew.'

'That sturdy, pitiful man sentenced to Azkaban six months ago?'

Harry nodded again. Pettigrew, the snivelling little rat, had been caught, indeed, by Remus Lupin of all people last winter. The deceitful man had to spend a month in St. Mungo's before he was healthy enough to stand through his trial which, in the end, resulted in carting him straight to Azkaban. In addition, Pettigrew's trial finally proved Sirius' innocence and he was officially declared not guilty. Even though it brought deep satisfaction to people having cared about Sirius, it had been too late for the last male of the Blacks. Harry still remember the woeful evening he had received the letter from the Ministry. Dear Mr. Potter, it had said, We sincerely apologize the lateness of all this, but we would like You to know that the case of one Sirius Orion Black was reopened last month. Due to the new evidence, all charges have been dropped and thus, the late Mr. Black is therefore formally innocent. The last will of Mr. Black appoints you, Mr. Potter, as his official heir. Hence, we would like you to arrive at the Department of Magical Heritage And Legacies tomorrow at noon to discuss various subjects concerning your new duty as the Heir of Blacks. However, as you are still under-age, please bring a trusted adult with you... It had been a real shock, not only for Harry, but Remus, too. Afterwards, the two of them had kept a small, quiet dinner to the memory of their departed friend. That day, Remus had timidly asked if he could be named as Harry's new godfather. Harry, desperate for a real family, had gladly agreed. He hadn't regretted that decision.

'I see,' Draco remarked quietly. Harry shook his head clear from the memories flooding his mind, focusing on the white ferret, instead. For once, he noticed, there was no mocking edge colouring Draco's voice. 'I take it Black named you as his heir?'

Despite Draco's neutral tone, Harry's hackles rose defensively. 'Yeah, he did. He left everything to me, though I have no idea of what that 'everything' even includes. I really haven't even looked at that list yet... Remus is in control of every house, vault and other stuff left to me for now, I gave him the authority to look over them and use them as he likes.'

'I'm just curious... What kind of properties?' Draco flashed his teeth in a wide, competitive smirk. 'Not like any of our Malfoy estates, I'm sure... '

Harry frowned inwardly, ignoring Draco's jibe. Did he even know everything he owned now? He didn't really care about his possessions – they only made him feel bad, knowing they were his just because Sirius had died. But hadn't Remus showed him a list of the properties last spring? 'Well... There is the Black Mansion, of course, I think it's the only house I've visited myself. A villa in Italy, I believe, a cottage in Ireland and... some sort of castle somewhere in England. There was also talk about a penthouse in New York, I'm not sure.'

Draco snorted. Harry imagined the snort had a little impressed tone in it. 'Potter, you really ought to take care of your belongings, you're too sloppy for your own good. I mean, you own so much – though I have even more, naturally – and you just let them be, unattended?'

'I told you, Remus takes care of them,' Harry reminded the white ferret with annoyance. 'Besides, there are house-elves magically attending the houses, or at least that's what I've been told.'

'House-elves?' Draco snorted again, this time with jeering laughter. 'Have you told your friend with that unhealthy obsession with house-elves' freedom about that?'

Harry scoffed. 'She knows. Besides, she agrees that I need those elves to take care of everything I own. And they are paid and free, for your information.'

Draco shook his furry head, looking distantly amused. 'Only you would employ free house-elves, Potter. Such a Gryffindor thing to do.'

Replying with a huff, Harry remained otherwise silent. He himself liked the idea of 'employing free house-elves'. Hermione (who else?) had suggested it after Remus revealed that there were dozens of house-elves working in the properties owned by Harry, and who was Harry to turn down an idea by his brilliant friend? Not to mention that Hermione would have scolded and pestered him till the end of days unless he freed the elves.

After a moment, the peaceful silence was broken, once again, by Draco.

'So you're filthy rich then, Potter. Congrats. Have you considered giving some of that gold to your weasel friends so that they could build up a real house?'

Harry shot him an extremely dirty glance. Holding a civil conversation was not one of Draco's attributes, was it? 'For your information, Malfoy, I have offered a vault for them to use. Not that it's any of your business.' He peered out of the cage, distracted, as an unrecognisable man with black robes strode past. 'Malfoy... Have you noticed that people here don't really pay any attention to me?'

Harry realized what he had exactly said when Draco snorted loudly. 'Really, Potter, could you have a bigger ego?'

'That's not what I mean, you moron,' Harry retorted with a scowl. 'It's just odd that no-one hasn't crucio'd me or anything, that's what your dad's pals usually do when they see me. I think that's their greeting of some sort... Do you reckon Lucius hasn't told about me? He was acting a little weird when that homicidal aunt of yours came to pay a visit.'

'Well... ' Draco's nose twitched. 'I think it's most definitely strange, but... maybe he hasn't told anyone. Perhaps he's waiting for a good time, you know, and then they all have a huge party around the bonfire as they cackle about the fate of the Golden Ferret.'

Harry rolled his eyes. 'Must you insert that idiotic ferret- joke everywhere? Might I remind you that I am not the only ferret around here!'

'You are the only animal here, Potty, I, myself, am a perfect pure-blooded -'

'Oh don't start on that again... '

And so they went on; spending the next hour bickering and quarrelling from the bottoms of their hearts. In fact, that's how they spent the next days, actually. It was very apparent that the two boys were too different from each other to function properly together, too strong-headed and stubborn to accept opinions they thought were improper. It was like trying to mix oil and water, always staying apart, never moulding together. A careless, yet snide remark about brainless Gryffindors or inbred pure-bloods was enough to set the two ferrets off, leading to hissy fits involving cruel words and insults and brief scuffles. Icy silence and ignoring each other always followed these moments of rough-and-tumble -till the next scathing comment came. It was a never-ending cycle.

However, after a long week of endless pettifogging and general annoyance -and no sign of rescue or Voldemort showing up, either- it all changed.

It was an early morning, damp and misty, when Harry woke to the sound of obnoxiously loud and unduly excited chitter. 'Potter, you lazy sod, wake up!'

Yawning, Harry cracked his eyes open and blearily glared at Draco, who was practically jumping up and down in the middle of the cage. The scene was very comical and Harry could barely cover up his sudden mirth. 'What is it, Malfoy? Do you have fleas or something?'

Draco paused enough to deliver a frosty glare at Harry. 'If you want to stay here and sleep while I ran off to hell away from this place, then please, be my guest.'

Harry stared, bemused. 'What are you saying? Did these past weeks finally crack you up? Because I thought you mentioned something about running away.'

'That's because I did, Potter! Look, look! Up!'

And Harry looked, craning his neck to get a better view. He blinked. The hatch on the roof, the one always securely locked, was now wide open. After the first jolt of excitement, however, suspicion began to set in. 'Wait a moment. Why is the hatch open? There is no way in hell Lucius could've left it open by accident.'

'Who cares!' Draco cried, his nose twitching wildly with exhilaration. Harry didn't think he had ever seen the Slytherin so excited about anything. It was quite scary, really. 'The point is that it's open!'

'Malfoy, wait! It could a trap – damnit, Malfoy!' Harry cursed as Draco swiftly clambered to the roof with agility, heaving his body through the open latch, not heeding on Harry's warnings. Harry hesitated for a second, then cursed again and ran after the white ferret, quickly making his way through the hatch. If something happens, I'm going to kill that stupid git myself and make a hat of him. He glanced hurriedly around from the top of the cage and saw no-one in sight. There was a strange scent in the air, however... Something that made his senses tingle with fear.

There warning bells went off in Harry's head. 'Malfoy, get back here!'

But the other ferret fleetly slinking further away from the cage either didn't hear him or didn't want to hear him. Harry guessed the latter one. Now who is the stubborn and hard-headed Gryffindor? He gave one last, worried look around him and proceeded to jump down, sliding his lithe body carefully all the way from the edge of the table to the chair seated next to it and, finally, to the chilly ground. Harry set his eyes on Draco's retreating form and started to pursue him, his small paws scraping the uneven ground beneath him. 'Malfoy, wait!'

For his great surprise, Draco did halt and looked over his shoulder. 'What's keeping you, Potter? Come on, we haven't got all day!'

Harry was about to say something when a sudden blur of movement from behind Draco caught his undivided attention. Harry froze for a second, his eyes growing large and his ferret senses practically screeching in fear. 'Shit, Malfoy, look out!'

'What?' Draco looked utterly bemused before realising something was very wrong indeed. He glanced towards the direction Harry was staring and let out a terrified, startled sound. And with a good reason. A large, wolfish dog came bounding towards them, yellow eyes hungrily locked on the white ferret trembling in the middle of the yard. It seemed that Draco was rooted to the spot. 'Malfoy, get a move on!'

Draco finally tore off, heading towards Harry and the safety of the cage. Harry, his heart painfully pounding in his chest, saw, however, that the dog was much faster. Not really giving his feeble plan forming in his mind a second thought, he started running as fast as his short feet could carry him. Not to the direction of the cage, but Draco and the drooling dog in pursuit. There was no time to waste. In a few moments, the dog would reach the desperately fleeing ferret and -

Harry was near enough to witness the pure terror in Draco's eyes when the fierce looking canine finally caught up with his prey and with a swipe of its massive paw, knocked Draco to the ground. Draco shrieked in panic, curling up to protect his vulnerable belly. Harry gave an extra spur of speed just as the dog was closing its jaws around Draco's squirming middle body and launched himself in the air with despair. The dog was suddenly attacked by a black ferret clinging to its vulnerable muzzle with teeth and claws and it let out an awful howl, forgetting the other ferret completely. Ha, that's what you get for attacking ferrets!

Harry, sinking his claws in deeper as the dog trashed around, threw a panicked look at the ground. Draco was still stock-still, his head tilted to ogle at the yowling dog above him. 'Damnit Malfoy, move! Get to the cage!'

Draco startled, and after a moment of hesitation, set off hastily. Harry waited a few very long seconds, desperately holding on, before finally letting go. He collided with the ground painfully but scrambled to his feet as quickly as he could, making a dash towards the cage. The two frightened ferrets clambered back up to the cage in haste and dived in, just in time. The furiously barking dog had recovered quickly from the attack and stood now in front of the cage, growling at the ferrets menacingly, bloody scratches decorating its muzzle.

'Bloody hell,' Harry gasped, squeaking. 'Do you reckon it's leaving sometime soon?'

'I don't know, it seems pretty vengeful to me.' Draco's voice was still shrill from the sudden scare of nearly being eaten. 'You really did a number on it.'

'Yeah, well, it was that or leave you to be introduced to the joys of canine digestion system.'

'Shouldn't you be jolly friends with dogs?' Draco demanded in a shaky tone, though he tried his best to hide it. 'Considering your late godfather was a mutt, too.'

Harry stared at the raging dog snarling at them, spit flying from its long fangs, eyes wild from vehemence. He just couldn't imagine the jovial dog form of Sirius on its place, with its mirthfully sparkling eyes and joyful barks. 'I don't know how you knew about Sirius' ability to change into a dog and I'm not even going to ask, but no. This one is nothing like Sirius.'

'Oh.'

'Yeah. Oh.'

Harry and Draco were still bundled up in one corner a short moment later when Lucius Malfoy made his appearance, still out of breath and hearts beating wildly. Lucius perplexed glance went from the shivering ferrets to the open hatch and finally landed on the growling dog ogling the cage ravenously. The blond Death Eater scowled darkly, and firmly grabbed the dog by its collar. "Bella! If you can't control your cur, keep it away from here!"

A sickeningly sweet chuckle was barely heard from inside the house. Of course, Harry thought grimly. I should have known. "If you say so, Lucius! I just thought your son would like to have some more company, that's all!"

Lucius' frown darkened even more, his lips tightly pursed together. He quickly pulled out a half of an apple and dropped it into the cage before closing the hatch, swiftly charming it to be steadfastly locked. Fingers securely curled around the boisterous dog's collar, he dragged it away without a backwards glance. Silence reigned in the peaceful yard once more, as if nothing had happened. The faint singing of birds started again, the distant melodies flowing across the yard.

'Okay... ' Draco's voice hadn't stopped quivering and Harry still felt tremors going through both Draco's and his bodies. 'So that's what a near-death experience feels like. Can't say I want to feel it again.'

'Yeah,' Harry muttered, trying to will his ferret self to calm down. Merlin, that had been a close call. He still saw the snapping teeth in his mind, smelt the vile stench of the dog's breath. He shivered. 'Tell me about it.'

'Uh... I – er... ' Draco suddenly fidgeted, seemingly nervous. 'Thanks. You know, for saving my life.'

Harry looked at him, surprised. He never would have thought he'd hear that from the other ferret. Draco Malfoy, he had thought, was above apologizing like a common Muggle. Evidently, he had been wrong. 'Don't mention it. I'm sure you'd done the same for me.'

'Yeah... ' Draco trailed off. They both stared at each other for awhile, lost in thoughts, before Draco blinked, snapping out of it. 'Food.'

Harry drew back, flummoxed. 'Come again?'

'Food,' repeated Draco flatly. 'Lucius, he brought us food. You hungry?'

'Oh.' Harry glanced at the lone apple on the floor. It didn't seem very appetising, to be truthful. 'Not really, I guess. You can go ahead and eat, if you want.'

Draco shook his head. 'No... I'm not really hungry either. We can save it for later.'

A strange, civil and even slackened mood filled the cage for the remaining day. Both ferrets silently retreated to their respective cots, not trading insults nor pleasantries. It was funny, Harry mused, staring emptily into nothingness whilst resting his head on his paws, how the almost deathly encounter with the savage dog had drastically changed the formerly tense and strained atmosphere. He shifted his head a little to the left, allowing his eyes to drift over to rest on Draco's still form. The white ferret was napping, its upper body loosely curled up so that Draco's small nose was nuzzling his belly. An irresistibly adorable sight to any girl under twenties, Harry was certain. But Harry knew better. He knew that underneath that shiny fur and pink, twitching nose there lay a person just as relentless as hard steel, just as poisonous and hurtful as acid and just as frosty and collected as a block of ice. Draco was not stupid either, Harry pondered. Even though it pained him to admit it, the Slytherin possessed a high level of intelligence - he was second best at school, after all. And he turned down Voldemort... Suddenly, a bang of pity ran through Harry. Draco had denounced his home's ancient ways, and thus, had become a misfortunate outsider, an enemy for his own family and friends. For all Harry knew, there was no-one for Draco in the changed world anymore. In some way, the black ferret didn't wonder how Draco had become so bitter.

'I wouldn't, you know.'

Harry was startled as Draco suddenly spoke, the vapid tone barely audible in Harry's head. He blinked, nonplussed, staring at Draco. The white ferret was snoozing no more, but holding a fixated stare at Harry instead. 'I'm sorry?'

'In the beginning,' Draco continued quietly, 'you asked me if I could kill Granger because she is from a Muggle family.' The silvery orbs burned with intensity, boring into Harry's own eyes. Harry couldn't turn his gaze away. 'I wouldn't do that. I couldn't kill anyone, based on your blood purity.'

Harry went on staring at Draco with widened eyes, completely astonished. It was not what Draco had said, though it did matter greatly, of course, but the way he said it. Earnestly, solemnly, like talking to an equal. The most sincere response Harry had ever caught coming from the notorious Draco Malfoy. He was sorely impressed.

'Oh... ' Harry tried to find the right words, hesitating, the force of Draco's eyes drilling into what felt like his very soul making him falter. 'Well. I'm happy to hear that, Malfoy. Honestly.'

Draco just nodded silently, finally averting his unnaturally pale eyes, resembling lustrous drops of mercury. 'Good. How about we eat? I'm kind of hungry now.'

And for the first time they shared a cage, the two ferrets had a quiet, peaceful mealtime.