Please forgive me for my long absence of an update, my computer has a virus that makes it nearly impossible to get online. I'll update as much as possible and will answer reviews whenever I can so keep sending 'em! Thanks! Now enjoy!
Belligerent Bovine
The boys passed the time away by strolling through the Manor grounds. The structure was situated on over one hundred acres of land, ten of them dedicated to a large garden for Mrs. Malfoy. Draco actually got a chance to show Harry around rather than the dark haired boy showing himself, as he'd been doing.
"And this is Sugar," Draco said, stopping to point to an animal. Strolling freely on the hedges was a pure white peacock. It gazed curiously at the boys for a moment before continuing its majestic saunter.
"Is it a Patronus?" Harry asked.
"Er, no. It's a peacock," Draco said.
"Yeah, I know that. But is it a Patronus?"
Draco gave him a dead stare. "Potter, it's a peacock," he repeated slowly.
"I know," Harry bit out. "But-is-it-a-Patronus?"
Draco puffed up with a rant in his lungs when his father stepped out from behind the hedge. "Harry, it's just a peacock, nothing special. It's not a Patronus, a ghost, bewitched semen or whatever else you might think it is. It's just a bird." Before either of the boys could ask what he'd been doing behind there in the first place, he walked away.
"Bewitched—" Harry began in confusion.
"Yeah," Draco said in understanding.
"I didn't even know that was white," Harry mused.
Draco cast him a sideways glance. He didn't either, but he wasn't about to let Harry know that. "Um, let's continue the tour," he quickly said and strode off further down the property.
They stopped again in front of a large pond. "Does a squid live in here?" Harry asked playfully.
"No, but a shark does," Draco responded seriously. Harry's eyes narrowed.
"Generally sharks are saltwater swimmers, except for maybe a bull shark." He smiled inwardly at the information he remembered from Hermione.
"Thanks for the nature lesson, Potter, but I'll pass. I get enough teachings at school." Draco stepped closer to the pond. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a chocolate frog and tossed it in the water, not bothering to unwrap it.
A moment later, an eighteen-foot great white jumped out, mouth wide open. As though a scene from Jaws, it ate the candy whole before splashing back into the water with a huge spray.
Sopping wet, Harry stared at Draco. "I think I prefer squids better," he grumbled, wringing the water from his clothes. Draco smirked and led on.
On the other side of the pond, rolling grasses made a pasture for some cattle.
"Cows?" Harry scoffed. "For some reason, I figured the Malfoy's were above owning bovine."
Draco shrugged. "Mother doesn't see the sense of going grocery shopping when you can have everything fresh from your backyard. When we need some slaughtering done, Dad just calls Macnair."
"That guy that would've been Buckbeak's executioner?" Harry asked.
Draco did a double take at him. "Would've been? I thought the hippogriff was dead?"
"Nope, he got away." Harry said calmly, not looking at Draco.
The blonde gave a silent sound of relief. For weeks after the supposed execution, he'd had dreams of the creature coming back to haunt him, snapping him up like it did ferrets…and he was one of those ferrets. Another tidbit about himself that he intended to keep till death did him and this world apart.
Harry cupped his hands over his mouth and gave a loud "Mooo!" The cows raised their heads at him, still chewing the cuds in their mouths. He smirked and did it again. This time, one of the closer ones started walking toward him. Figuring that the herd was moving, the rest of the cows followed it.
"Cool," Harry said. Until the cows came a little too close for comfort. "Um…Drake?" he said, biting his lip.
"Yes, James?" Draco said back innocently. Harry caught the hint.
"Fine, Draco. Do they normally walk up to people?" Every one of the cows was staring directly at Harry, hardly blinking.
Draco smirked at his discomfort. "Only those idiot enough to call them while wearing red," he said, nodding his head at Harry's robes. Despite his earlier comment about Draco's room, he was wearing his House colors.
"Oh…blimey, I'm an ass," Harry muttered. A very close bull gave an indignant moo, startling both boys back. "Maybe I should just walk away…" Harry whispered to Draco, backing up more.
Suddenly, Draco burst out laughing. "You know, you have nothing to worry about. They're color blind. It's the motion of a matador's cape that angers them, not the—" But he was speaking to thin air. Harry had turned and ran.
And thus the cows gave chase.
"No, Potter!" Draco shouted. But Harry was long gone and the cattle were getting closer to him. He too turned and ran.
Merlin's earlobe, that boy has a listening complexity! Draco was never one for sprinting and very soon he was only ahead of the bovine by a few feet, his running kicking dust in their faces. Far ahead of him, he could see that Harry had nearly reached the wooden fence that enclosed the pasture. A second later, the boy hopped the fence like a thief and was gone.
He's really going to let me die, Draco thought dismally. There was no way he was going to out run the cows. His feet slowed, and then he just stopped. He turned and faced the oncoming herd. Might as well go out with some dignity. He squared his shoulders, but squeezed his eyes shut, not bearing to see the inevitable attack…
That never came. The cows ran past him as though he were nothing more than a tree in their way and continued down to the other side of the pasture. After the ground stopped rumbling around him, Draco peeked open one eye. He was still alive and standing. Quickly he whipped around. The cows had stopped their stampede before they reached the fence and had started grazing again, as though just a second ago they hadn't been a crazed mob hell-bent on boy destruction.
Draco gave a sheepish laugh at his fear, then gave a high pitched scream and fell over at the sound of a loud crack near him. Harry had Apparated back.
"Wotcher, Draco?" he asked, sounding like Tonks.
Draco wanted to strangle him. "First you leave me to be trampled to death, then you nearly send me into cardiac arrest by…wait, you just Apparated."
"Yeah, that's what they call it when a witch or wizard can traverse locations on the spot," Harry said sarcastically, but helped Draco up while at it. It was a moment before Draco realized what Harry had just done. And hadn't done.
"You pick me up but couldn't stay put to help me get away from our deranged cows. Some Gryffindor," he scoffed.
Harry looked over to the cattle. "Bessie there doesn't look like she could harm a fly," he said, pointing to a heifer that was dropping cow patties as she walked.
Draco made a disgusted face. "The Ministry is going to get you for what you just did, the underage Apparating."
Harry looked like he could care less, and walked off toward the manor, though making a wide berth between himself and the cows. "The Ministry now has more important matters to deal with than if a person does underage magic. Besides, I need to hone my skills since in a few weeks, we'll be in the midst of an epic battle."
"Not if you run like you just did, Voldemort won't be able to catch you," Draco jeered.
"And with your slowness, you'll be the first to die," Harry retorted. Draco grabbed at him, but Harry dodged his hand and ran back to the house, laughing almost manically. Draco ran after him, though he didn't make it back for a full two minutes after Harry did.
Panting and laughing, they stumbled into the house. Only to find Lucius waiting for them.
"Dumbledore will be here shortly for the ceremony. You two should go get ready." Gone was his laughter from before. He wasn't menacing, but simply more subdued. Turning away, he headed down the hall.
Harry dashed up the steps to Draco's room, the other following much more slowly from being out of breath. "You know, you never did show me where I would be staying," Harry said as he plopped down on Draco's bed again.
"Room…right next…to mine…" Draco panted, pointing to the wall. He slumped down on his bed just as Harry was getting up from it. The dark haired boy went and checked out his room, happy to see that his luggage had been brought up, like at Hogwarts. The only problem he saw with his lodgings was the prevailing green and silver on the upholstery. With a simple spell, he changed them to the scarlet and gold of the Gryffindors.
Sitting down on his bed, Harry reviewed the hectic day. Or tried to. A knock downstairs interrupted his thoughts.
"Showtime, Potter!" Draco called out from his room.
Harry groaned. Showtime it was.
