CHAPTER 9! The first part of this chapter starts out a year after Chapter 8 and then time skips again. I'm so happy! This is the first time I've actually written so many chapters for a fanfic. I'm still in Hawaii and I think I'm starting to develop a dog allergy. I have no idea why but I'm always sneezing. I hope to God it's just my paranoia. Lol, have fun reading this chapter and let me know what you think! It's been quiet lately.
Now he's really done it. The shocked faces of the children made Draco want to fall into a black hole in the floor and disappear. The children found out about his secret. James and Albus picked up Lily from school on their way home from King's Cross since James had gone off to pick Albus up anyway. James graduated last year and was allowed to stay home now. Their father was at work today anyway. When the arrived home, the light was on. The thought that the house had been robbed frightened them. They had approached the house cautiously, opened the door as slowly as possible and ran straight to the living room to ambush anyone who had stayed.
"Petrificus Totalus!" James yelled as Draco, who had been watching TV, became stiff in his place. His eyes were wide and found that he couldn't move an inch. James and Al grabbed some rope from the closet in the hallway and tied him up before taking the spell off of him. "Guys, wait! It's me, Draco! Please, you have to believe me." Draco pleaded as he lay still on the floor in his restraints.
"Why should we believe you? Draco's a ferret. A stray one without any magical powers!" Albus yelled, his and James' wands pointing straight at him while Lily hid behind James. "You're only half right..." Draco said. Lily looked down and looked Draco in the eyes. "It's really him. Untie him." James looked down at his younger sister and looked back towards Draco. With a flick of his wand, the ropes unraveled themselves and Draco stood up.
He looked like he was in his early twenties. His skin was a light pale tone that glowed against his cool gray t-shirt and dark blue jeans; his feet were left bare. He was obviously healthy since his tight clothing left almost nothing to the imagination. He was built yet lean. Very healthy. Everything was brought together by his deep silver eyes that didn't look as calm and collected as they usually do. His face was really red as he looked down and tried to explain.
"U-um, guys. I have something I need to tell you..." James stopped him right there. "I think we can see for ourselves. How long have you been able to transform from a ferret into a human? or vice versa?" Draco looked up and foggy silver eyes met dark brown. "I have been able to transform from a human into a ferret for...I think about 26 years now. I'm 38 at the moment and I was able to transform at the age of 12. It's a family curse." Draco explained as he backed up. The kids looked up at him in shock. And not just from the fact that he was a human as well as a ferret.
"Y-you're 38?! You look like you're in your early twenties!" Albus pointed rudely at Draco. The man just stood there and his face was painted an even darker red. "U-um, thank you I guess. Now that I think about it, my physical appearance doesn't change as long as I'm in ferret form and I've only transformed into a human every once in a while..." He sheepishly scratched the back of his neck. Lily was hiding behind James' legs and her eyes were tearing up. "How come you never told us this? W-we would've loved you whether you were a ferret or not... Why did you lie to us?"
Draco sighed and looked down. He couldn't meet any of the children's eyes, especially Lily's. "I-I was scared that you would throw me out if you knew i wasn't the 'cute and fluffy' ferret you knew me as." His eyes widened suddenly as soon as he remembered the whole reason.
"G-guys, your father can't hear about this." James' eyes narrowed in suspicion. "And why not? This is very important, Draco. Or whatever your real name is." Draco nodded. "That, coincidentally, is my actual name. And the reason is the same as it is for you. I will be thrown out if I'm known. Please, I'm begging you. I literally have no other place to go. My family disowned me after they found out that they had a Squib for a child." Draco dropped to his knees and hid his face behind his hands, hoping that they will also hide his shame and the pathetic tears that rolled down his cheeks. James looked down and let go of his sister's hand that had tightened around his to the point that it hurt.
"Fine. I won't tell Dad about this. How long do you plan to lie to him though?" Draco looked up in surprise and picked himself off the ground to stand up straight in front of the kids, wiping his tears away on his sleeve. "I plan on telling him when I'm ready. I've been telling myself that it should be soon or that it'd be better if I didn't at all but now I have to tell him for sure since I wasn't expecting you guys to learn about this so soon. I would have to thank you guys though. Now I have a reason and the motivation to do this and not regret it."
Lily stepped away from her brother and towards Draco cautiously, as if if she were to take one more half-step, Draco would change back into a ferret or disappear all together. She looked up and saw the sincerity swimming in his silver eyes. This was real. Lily smiled softly and wrapped her arms around Draco's waist, burying her face into his shirt. Draco flinched at the unusual contact. He was used to it in ferret form, but in human form it was just awkward. He awkwardly wrapped his arms around her back and leaned down to kiss the top of her head once he was a little more comfortable. He smiled as James and Al walked forward and pulled them all into a group hug. He really did love these guys.
- A year later
A small snore echoed throughout the bedroom as Harry slept in Draco's arms, still unaware that Draco was in human form. Draco ran his fingers through Harry's hair lovingly like he does every night and pulled back Harry's bangs to kiss his forehead. He moved away for a minute to kiss down Harry's face. First his forehead, then his nose, then both cheeks, and finally his lips. Only lightly though because if he tried for anything more than that, Harry might wake up. His forehead fell forward and met Harry's, his eyes focusing on Harry's lips. He thought for a moment before speaking to Harry in his sleep for the first time.
"I love you, Harry. After all this time, I started to gain feelings for you. Ever since you bought me from the shop, I've had my eyes on you and only you. I could only hope for you to feel the same as I do." Draco closed his eyes and sighed but he quickly opened his eyes in shock when he heard Harry mumble. "I love you too, Draco." Harry didn't show any signs of waking up after that so Draco kissed Harry's lips lightly again before closing his eyes and smiling. 'That's all I'll ever need to hear for the rest of my life.'
Draco woke to the feel of Harry's arms tightening around his waist. He squirmed a little before relaxing once Harry's arms let loose a tiny bit. He looked down at himself and then back up to Harry's peaceful smile that only showed itself when Harry had a very good night's sleep. It used to be a rare occurrence (specifically around the month of the divorce) but became a usual sight in the mornings. He smiled before falling back asleep. He had no reason to transform anymore. After maybe an hour or so after falling asleep, he felt himself being pushed off the bed and falling on his face. He woke up and jumped off the ground before being tackled back down by Harry.
"W-who are you and why are you here? And what have you done with my ferret?" Draco tried moving around to get into a more comfortable position before sighing and giving up. "I'm your ferret." It took a minute for Harry to understand what was going on before Draco realized how ridiculous that sounded. "What do you mean? That doesn't make any sense." Harry asked, his hands still holding up Draco's above his head tightly.
"Since when has anything made sense since you turned 11, Harry? It's me. I'm Draco." Harry quickly let Draco's hands free but still stayed straddled on Draco's waist in case he tried to do something. "T-that's true. For a second, I thought I had gone to a bar last night and picked up someone. Although, now that I think about it, I don't really fancy going to bars in the first place unless I'm very distressed or just plain sad." Harry looked off to the distance in thought before looking down to meet Draco's eyes. "Who are you really?"
Draco tried his best to keep his eyes away from Harry's chest which was visible under the large neck hole of Harry's shirt and instead stare longingly at Harry's neck. He wasn't paying attention to Harry's question until Harry noticed where Draco was staring before pulling up his shirt to hide his neck and chest. This broke Draco's trance and he shook his head a bit before focusing on Harry's reddened face. "I told you already. I'm Draco. Your ferret that's lived here for the past 2 and a half years. If you help me up, I'll explain everything." Draco lifted his upper body on his elbows, but Harry's hand pushed him back down, his hand staying on Draco's chest. Draco's face flushed pink.
"No. You'll tell me everything right now in the position you're in." Draco raised his eyebrow and Harry knew he made a mistake. All the worry and embarrassment that swam in Draco's eyes seemed to have completely ceased to exist, instead replaced by mischief and pride.
"Well, the Malfoy curse had caught up with me at the age of 12 and I gained the power to transform from a human to a ferret at will. It was kind of like transforming into an animagus but it was different. I just had to think of a ferret to transform into one while the process of an animagus was much more complex." Draco explained as his hand started to caress Harry's thigh. Harry flinched and turned a bright red before nodding for Draco to continue his story. Draco smirked before continuing.
"Since I was a squib and my parents didn't want a retarded child, they threw me out. I ran around for so many years through different cities, countries, etc. I never had a real family and never started any relationships or anything like that. I was very unhappy and was very stressed at the thought that I was to remain like that for the rest of my life. I had just arrived at London and before I knew what was going on, I was chased all the way to Sirius' pet shop by a stray dog that was trying to eat me whole. I stayed as a ferret for those many years of wandering, mind you. My human form stayed the same and only aged when I turned into a human. My aging stopped every time I transformed into a ferret. That's why I look very young for a 38 year old."
Harry's eyes widened as he had just realized that the man in front of him did look pretty handsome and young. The hand that had been on his thigh had now moved up under his shirt to pet his side; the other hand glided softly from Harry's hair to his cheek, loving the tan skin that seemed to glow against his own. He felt Harry's skin shiver under his touch.
"I was rescued by Sirius from the dog. I was scared out of my mind. You don't understand the fear that had swelled up inside of me each time I was almost killed throughout my life. It began to have a numbing sensation since I was so used to it that I was just about ready to accept my fate. I was taken in by Sirius and then by you, who showed about as much kindness as Sirius. It honestly took me a while to accept my feelings but I did and now I'm so happy to finally show you who I really am." His finger traced Harry's bottom lip before he leaned forward and the gap between them decreased to nothing. Harry's eyes widened for a moment before fluttering closed.
Draco couldn't believe it. Harry wasn't resisting. Although it was obvious that Harry wanted it, Draco wouldn't allow himself to take advantage just yet. He broke the kiss and looked Harry straight in the eye.
"I love you, Harry." Harry leaned back away and sighed. He got off of Draco and walked out of the room. Draco picked himself up and followed Harry downstairs and into the kitchen, where Harry was already setting up the stove to cook breakfast. Draco watched as Harry moved back and forth from the refrigerator to the pan that was set up above the preheating stove and sat down at the dining table. He crossed his arms on the table and let his head relax, his eyes watching as Harry cooked up some scrambled eggs and bacon. He smiled as his plate was set before him and began to eat. 'Things could've gone worse.'
Of course I'm not gonna leave the story off at this. There's more to learn and understand about Harry and how he connects Draco to his past. I'm actually gonna start writing Chapter 10 tomorrow and then write another side story. I love side stories ^-^ Anyways, please review and let me know what's up.