Cat's Eye Chapter 12

Harry was awakened by a swift kick in the stomach.

"Holy shit Harry! What are you doing out here in the stoop?" Draco said with a slight slur to his voice. "Luna pissed off at you?"

Harry pushed the heavy blanket off his body and noticed the pre-dawn glow in sky behind the trees.

Draco noticed the thin glowing thread that kept Harry tethered to the pole. "And the cuffs too. She must really want to teach you lesson. ……… I like it."

Draco jumped back off the porch. He paced the ground below Harry and examined Harry's condition closely. He put his hands up with his two thumbs touching to frame his view of Harry.

"I wish I had a camera. The mighty Harry Potter sleeping tied to a porch like a stray dog. My father would love it."

Draco paced as the sun sent its first rays of light knifing through the trees.

"My father" Draco said like spitting the words from his mouth. "The Ministry forgave him but it meant nothing to him. Forgiven by a bunch of muggle lovin half-breed lovin idiots. At least if he went to jail he would have kept his pride. You didn't just bring Voldemort down, you brought the Malfoys down as well. Our name means nothing now. Because of you Potter!"

Draco rushed in closing on Harry, "Because of you, Harry the dog."

Draco grabbed Harry by his hair and pushed him off slightly. Harry stood up on the stoop. His heart quickened with Draco's rising anger.

"Mudbloods and Half-breeds everywhere. No one stands with the pure-bloods anymore. We're the outcasts now."

Draco pulled a flask from his jacket and took a quick drink.

"Do you know what he does these days? He collects old family artifacts. He goes around begging for them. He collects all these old writings and books about the family. He spends hours and hours every day pouring over them. The relatives give him the stuff because they know its worthless junk. But he doesn't. He can't work anymore the Ministry doesn't trust him. So his life's work now is to rebuild the greatness of the Malfoy family name. ALL HAIL THE MALFOYS"

Draco raised his flask to the sky and took another drink.

"Of course I don't deserve the name. I brought down the name. I was the one who was supposed to save it but I was the weak one. He reminds me of it every day." Draco's voice rose and fell in drunken waves.

Draco turned away from Harry and started to throw stones into the forest nearby.

"Who lost to Harry Potter in Quiddich? I did."

Draco threw a stone.

"Who lost to Harry Potter in a Wizarding duel? I did.

Draco threw another stone.

"Who was the worst Death Eater ever? I was."

Draco threw another stone.

"And who made it his business to make me and my family look bad at every possible moment?

You did."

This time Draco turned around and threw the stone directly at Harry, who jumped from the stoop as the rock ricocheted off the door.

"Potter the perfect. I didn't have a chance against you while you were tucked under Dumbledore's wing. But I couldn't let it be because my father couldn't let it be. Every time he saw your name in the Daily Prophet he went wild with jealousy. Do you really think Dobby was the only one around our house that he beat?"

Draco came up to Harry and gave him a strong shove in the shoulders.

"Harry Potter the savior."

Draco gave Harry another shove.

"Harry Potter the chosen one."

Shove

"And now Harry Potter the dog. And you can't even bark. "

Draco pulled Harry close to his face. "Ruff"

"They knew you'd be useless to everyone…….in the end."

Suddenly Draco swung and landed a punch squarely on Harry's jaw. Harry staggered back as his eyes popped with white light and his heart filled with the rage of the betrayed. Harry and Draco charged toward each other and locked into an echoing fight. As one landed a blow the other landed a blow in kind. Draco would come to his feet only to be brought down by Harry, then Harry would rise to be felled by Draco. Draco ripped open the back of Harry's shirt and Harry did the same to Draco. Draco staggered back beyond the reach of Harry's tether to catch his breath.

"You pathetic bastard always doing what you're told."

Then he rushed back in after Harry. Draco wrestled Harry to the ground. They rolled round across the mud grappling at each other when Harry once again reached the end of his tether and received the warning jolt of electrical shock telling him he could go no further. Draco with his knee on Harry's shoulder received part of the jolt as well. The shock stopped them. Draco with his fist recoiled above Harry and Harry trying to fight off the pain from the cuff. They looked squarely in each other's eyes. Draco saw the face of pain, betrayal and doubt and Harry saw the same. Draco slowly lowered his fist. His eyes widened and softened as if he was seeing Harry for the very first time.

"We're always doing what we're told." Draco said in a voice cut short by his quick breathing. "You don't deserve this Harry. You don't deserve to carry this fucking cursed stone."

Draco slowly reached down for the amulet round Harry's neck and with a certain quick tug pulled the amulet off . Harry recognized his own voice in a painful yell. He put his hands to his neck but it wasn't cut. Draco got off him staring at the amulet in his hand. Luna came rushing out the hut door.

"Boys! What have you done? I heard yelling." Luna cried running off the porch, hurriedly wrapping an orange bathroom around her.

Draco had his back to Luna. His gave Harry a board smile and helped him up. He dangled the amulet in front of Harry. It looked like nothing one than a cheap piece of rock a child might wear to remember a holiday by the beach. Harry smiled and put out his hand. Draco let the amulet fall in it. Draco took Harry by the shoulders and started to laugh. Harry clutched him and started to laugh as well. He laughed with a deep forgotten laugh from his soul.

"What's so funny? What are you laughing about? I heard fighting" Luna said.

Victor stepped out of the hut. He looked still half asleep and didn't remember stepping over Harry in the middle of the night when he got back. Draco and Harry turned around toward their friends still laughing uncontrollably. Their faces covered with blood and mud.

"Oh, No you're bleeding….but………….you're laughing……HARRY! You're laughing!"

Luna ran to them. "Harry you're laughing."

Luna was crying.

EPILOGE

"Morty! Morty!" Harry shouted "Mortimer Von Peltentangled, Where are you?"

The shaggy brown dog bounded from around the barn and greeted Harry with an enthusiastic jump.

"Hey boy, there you are. Let's go see how little Buckbeak is doing."

Morty ran out ahead of Harry toward the barn. It was a crystal blue day. Harry admired the sky as he walked to the barn behind Morty. The place wasn't much but it was Harry's. With the money his parents had left him Harry purchased his part of the green landscape of Ireland. Tucked between three hills Harry had a small house and three barns. All in need of serious repair but to Harry it was paradise. The property was cut off from the Muggle world by and impassable bog. It was accessible to only those who could fly in. The property was owned by the family of Angus Oliver an eccentric old wizard, who used it to raise pet pixies of all different colours. Despite the beautiful colours he raised them in, Pixies never became popular pets because of their poor temperament. The old wizard died and the Pixies flew off and the property remained vacant for years. At first, Harry only bought it because he needed a secluded place to keep Buckbeak. Then he found Thestals living in the forest nearby. He quickly became their caretaker. As the months pasted he took in more Hippogriffs who owners became frustrated at their arrogant ways. Soon he found himself the owner of a ranch. He raised Thestals. They were becoming a popular means of transportation because of their calm manner and smooth flight. Being able to see them was a sort of badge of honour left over from the Voldemort battles. They were in high demand and the ones raised by Harry Potter even more so.

Morty and Harry went in to the Hippogrif barn and saw Buckbeak standing proudly over his newborn son. Hippogrifs are beautiful creatures when mature but as babies they're just about the ugliest creature Harry had ever seen. Born completely without feathers, they're covered in a purplish wrinklely skin. Their beaks seem too large for their head. They bob and weave and fall face down on their noses when they try to walk but to Buckbeak he was perfection on earth.

"How's it going Daddy?" Harry said stroking Buckbeaks nose. "How's mom?"

Buckbeak had a mate called Averienta that had come to Harry from the Black Forest. The baby needed to be kept warm 24 hours a day for an entire month until his feathers came in. The parents took turns sheltering him. Harry went over to the vat of minnows to draw their morning meal. The baby would only take the minnows from his parent's beaks. Harry watched as Averienta carefully fed her son. Harry went over and opened the barn door to let Buckbeak out for his morning hunt. Harry watched Buckbeak sore out over the green hills.

Harry called his place Lilly Haven. He planted all types of lilies around the property whenever he had time.

"Come on Morty let's get something done."

Harry went to the tool shed and grabbed some shingles and nails. He climbed up on the roof of the Hippogrif barn and started to repair some holes. Harry looked out over the lonely landscape and felt at peace. The hours slipped by through the morning. Harry stopped for a drink and noticed a dark shape in the sky approaching from the south. Harry didn't have his wand with him. He recognized the shape as someone approaching by broomstick. Harry fought his instinct to scramble down off the roof and get his wand. He looked down from the figure and told himself. "No one's going to attach you." "No one wants to kill you anymore." Harry had had visits from a few curiosity seekers. But they didn't mean any harm. For the most part the Wizarding World left him alone, except when they wanted to purchase a Thestral. Harry watched the figure grow larger and found himself slowly moving closer to the ladder. Then he saw a bright flash of long red hair.

Harry stood up on the roof and waved, "Ginny, Ginny, Here."

Ginny landed carefully on the roof. She gave him a warm hug.

"Harry, How are you?" Ginny said as she stepped back to look at him. "You look good."

"Back again? How was Spain?" Harry asked.

"It was great you should go. The Ministry there is unbelievable, set way up on a mountain top."

"Sounds great."

"The people there are so warm and welcoming you'd love them. I met a family so much like mine. They had a Dad that collected Muggle electronics. No clue how to use them but he was fascinated by them. Remind you of anyone?"

"Yeah."

Ginny sat down on the roof top and spoke to Harry in a more serious tone. "Listen Harry" Ginny said and patted the tiles beside her for Harry to sit down. "I've got a new assignment from the Ministry. It's going to require more travel."

"Oh"

"With Satellite Technology and GPS and Google earth it's getting harder for the Wizarding World to go unnoticed. There are so many details to be worked out. People to meet. It's a whole new time between Wizards and Muggles now and I want to be a part of it. You could be too."

Harry looked off into the distance and shook his head no.

"I'm part of the Partnership of Wizard Protection Department. We work with them various imaging companies to insure the privacy of the Wizarding World. The PWP would love to have you with us."

"No, Ginny. I happy here."

"With your Thestrals and Hippogrifs?" Ginny said with a note of sarcasm.

"Yes, and don't forget Morty."

"Harry, you can't hide yourself away here forever."

"I'm not hiding from anyone. Somehow people find me. Even the Malfoys bought a Thestral from me. They're not going to pass up the latest status symbol."

"The Malfoys. Don't get me started. Draco's still drinking. And his Dad……."

"Leave them alone. Give em a break they've been through a lot."

Harry got up and gathered his things.

"I'm going down" He said the a short flat tone to Ginny.

Ginny flew quickly down from the roof.

"Hey," She confronted him, "Don't expect me to understand what happened between you and Draco. To me they've been a family that treated us like dirt…….. I'm just worried about you"

"You don't have to. I'm fine here." Harry said heading back to the shed. "Don't understand"

Ginny stopped and looked around at the dilapidated buildings around them. "How can you live like this?"

Harry set his tools down heavily in the shed and turned around to Ginny slowly. "I love this place because it's mine. I do what I want when I want. I have control over my own life."

"A life with animals? You're only here with them because they can't betray you."

Harry felt the stab of truth in what she said.

"Harry come back to us. Come back to me."

"I can't. I'm sorry."

"And I can't stay here. The PWP needs me."

They stood in silence facing each other.

"What do we do now Harry?"

Harry stepped up to her and wrapped her in his arms.

"Just be happy, Ginny. Just be happy." He said quietly in her ear.

Note from the Author-

Thank you to all my readers. I hope you enjoyed the story. I had a lot of fun writing it. This will be my last Harry Potter story. I hope to post an original story on soon.

Look for Sylvia Hazel