Hello everyone,

I know I'm one day late, but I spent most of yesterday playing Sims Medieval. As repetetive as thet game can be it is strangely addictive for me ;)

Disclaimer: Do I even need to write that again?

And it is the right thing to do, I can see it. The dragon helps to stabilize Draco in the real world. Yes, he is still mostly apathetic, but at least he starts to communicate simple things like yes or no and when he wants something. Well, sometimes he does that, I can see the neglect and abuse he suffered in many of his actions. Also the way he clings to that little toy turns from endearing to painful after a certain time. There are times when he looks like he thinks that little inanimate thing is the only being that cares about him.

He is making progress but it is only a tiny piece of all we have to achieve. He has still not made a single sound apart from a few whimpers, groans and sighs. His left hand hasn't made more than a few twitches, it's immobile no matter what I try. But I wouldn't dare to push him again. I know that to cure him we still have a few episodes like that ahead of us, but he desperately doesn't need me triggering even more than strictly necessary. And I don't want to see that again either.

I remember when I forced him to take a bath again. He didn't really twitch, letting me undress him without much more than going completely stiff. It was better than I expected. Until I tried to take the dragon away that is. Since the thing is a stuffed toy I didn't want him taking it in the water. But when I lowered him into the tub and put the dragon away, he started to make small, unsure whimpers in the back of his throat. At the beginning I hesitated but when he went silent and only curled in on himself, I relented. I put a water repelling charm on the thing and handed it to him. I certainly won't forget the look of joy on his face when it returned to his hands.

Just yesterday Hermione suggested we could take the next step. Start with living beings. It has been almost three weeks since we gave Draco the stuffed dragon and he took well to it, so it's time to try the cat.

That's why I am currently standing in a muggle pet shop. We decided early on that we wanted a completely normal, nonmagical cat, so there is less of a chance it might scare Draco. But there are just so many! I never knew how many races of cats there are. Not to mention that this shop has every age, from kittens, still falling over each other, to older cats, who do nothing but bathe in the sunlight the whole day.

"Can I help you, sir?" a soft voice suddenly asks behind me.

I startle as I was so focused on the animals that I didn't notice someone approaching. When I whirl around I am confronted with a woman who looks to be in her early thirties. Soft gold blonde hair falls in easy curls over her shoulders. Her blue eyes are looking at me with a curious expression, but open and relaxed. She is wearing an apron with the name of the store printed across it, so I assume she is working here.

"Err, yes," I clear my throat, "I am looking for a cat."

"I gathered that much, since you have been standing in front of them for over twenty minutes now. But apparently you can't find one you like. None of them catching your eyes?" she smiles.

"That's not it," rubbing the back of my neck nervously, I avoid her eyes, "It's just that I am looking for something pretty specific and I don't know which cat is the right one."

"Okay," she steps forward, next to me, "Then let's try to find the right one together, shall we? What are you looking for? Short hair? Long hair? Large or small cat?"

"Ah no," I shake my head, "It's not about what they look like. But certain character traits are indispensable for me. Unfortunately I can't tell that by simply looking at the cats."

"Right," she gives me a nod, "That's a bit more difficult to determine. Not impossible though. Can you be a bit more specific?"

"Okay, uhm," I think for a moment, "I need a cat who is not easily startled. Not by sounds, strange smells or other beings. They also need to be very accepting of humans. If it is possible that they won't try to scratch or bite even if someone doesn't really know how to handle them," I tilt my head, "And one that's friendly, that they come to the human on their own but also won't need too much attention."

She chuckles, eyebrows raised, "You're very specific and there are a lot of things to consider. May I ask what you need the cat for? Why are you buying one now?"

I give her a sad smile, "Well, I have a friend. He's… in a very dark place right now, traumatised. He used to have a cat when he was younger so we thought getting one now might help him. But of course in such a case I can't have one that startles with every jerk he makes or gets impatient when he doesn't pay attention to it immediately. And since his trauma is also connected with physical pain, getting scratched might have adverse effects."

Her face has been getting sadder too, "I understand. Give me a moment. I will look which of the cats might fit your profile."

She shuffles around for a moment then she lifts a big white cat with different coloured patches of fur all over. She looks at me with dark eyes, purring a bit.

"That's Daisy," the shop worker explains, "She's startled by nothing. A bit lazy perhaps but a nice cat."

A bit tentatively I stroke the top of the animal's head. She purrs but somehow it doesn't feel right. So I shake my head slightly.

"I'm pretty sure she's great. But uhm…" I think for a moment, "She's very big. Maybe a cat that's a bit smaller?"

She smirks and puts Daisy back into her cage, "I thought it didn't matter what they looked like."

"Yes, but it's just, he's not really up to strength yet and…" I babble.

"It's fine, you don't have to explain," she waves it off and steps to another row of cages.

The next cat she shows me is a sleek black animal. She's beautiful but her fluid movements give me a slight impression of snakes. And if even I think of that, I don't want to risk Draco to be reminded of Nagini in the slightest. Better not bring in a potential trigger. She shows me several other cats after that but none really seem the right ones to me.

"Well, you are surely a difficult customer," she smirks, "Maybe there is not the right cat for you here," then she bites her lip, "But I have one last idea. Give me a second and wait here."

I nod, a careful smile on my lips. She bustles away from me and somewhere further to the back. I wait patiently. A few moments later she comes back, something that looks like a white furball in her arms. She grins as she comes up to me. When she stops next to me, she holds the bundle of fur up to me. It turns out to be a young-looking cat with white fur, occasionally speckled with grey. Two bright blue eyes beam up at me and the small maw lets out a curious sound when the cat sees me. The shop keeper grins at me.

"That's Dragon," I can't help but chuckle at the name, "He's only three years old but he's a very patient cat. I picked him for you because he doesn't only fit your profile very well, but uh… You said your friend was traumatised, well, Dragon's mother was killed not long after his birth and he was left alone. It might help. He's a very affectionate cat and loves cuddling, but without being overbearing or getting violent if no one pays attention to him. So how do you find him?"

I stare at the relatively small cat, green eyes locking with blue. It meows at me. Carefully I extend my hands and the girl puts Dragon into them. The little cat wriggles in my arms until he is comfortable, then meows again. I smile and stroke one hand over his fur, which is immediately rewarded with a loud purr. My smile brightens. I don't know how, but I'm sure this cat is the right one. I lift my eyes to the shop keeper.

"I will take him. He's perfect," I smile and Dragon purrs again.

A bright smirk comes to her face, "That's great. I knew he would fit."

"Then why wasn't he the first cat you showed me?" I smirk as Dragon wriggles in my arms.

"Because he was in the back," she grins then walks over to the front desk, "Okay, do you have everything for him at home?"

"Yes," I nod, "I prepared already."

"That's good," she takes out a stack of sheets, "Then you will now have to sign the papers for him."

I nod and hand the cat back to her. Dragon gives a displeased huff but keeps still nonetheless. I fill the empty spaces on the stack of papers the shop keeper handed me. It takes me a few minutes and afterwards more words are exchanged and I pay for him.

Half an hour later finds me on my way home with Dragon happily laying in a transport cage. Since he is a nonmagical cat I didn't want to force him through apparition already, so I am walking home. It's not far after all. A twenty minute walk later lands me at Grimmauld Place again. I unlock the door, walk in and set the cage down. I hear rustling from within, indicating that Dragon has moved to peer through the bars at his new home. Just as I am pulling off my cloak, I hear footsteps coming down the stairs. When I look up, my eyes catch with brown.

"Hello Hermione," I say.

"Hi Harry. Found a cat?" she asks, motioning to the cage next to my feet.

I smirk, "Yeah," bending down I lift the little bundle of fur out of his cage, "Hermione meet Dragon."

"Dragon?" she chuckles, "Seriously?"

"Maybe that's exactly what we need," I grin and hand the cat over to her inspection, "A dragon to help another dragon."

"Yeah, maybe," she smiles down at the little cat, who is purring as the girl rubs his back, "So you wanna take him straight to Draco?"

I shrug, "He seems comfortable enough. Where is Draco?"

"In the living room. He made it clear that he didn't want to sleep more."

"That's good."

"Yes, it is," she smiles, "At least he isn't content to stay in bed the whole day anymore."

"Okay, let's introduce our new guest to him," I smile, strange excitement cursing through my veins. As I walk past Hermione, I stroke a finger over Dragon's head, "And you be good for him, alright?"

The cat only purrs and pushes against my hand. I take it as an agreement and walk to the stairs. The girl follows me, furball still in her arms. I motion her to wait for a moment in once we reach the door to the living room and enter first. Draco is sitting slumped in his chair as usual. His long blond hair is combed and pulled back, fresh but simple clothes hanging off his still bony figure. He doesn't really react when I enter, just keeps running his fingers over the stuffed dragon still in his lap. I kneel in front of him as I do often to be in his line of sight.

"Hey, Draco," his eyes get slightly more focused but he doesn't move, "I'm back," he just blinks, "And I brought you something. Rather someone who wants to meet you, okay?" he blinks but does nothing more, "Is it alright if I take your dragon for a moment?"

We have been training with him so we can take the toy from him for a short amount of time. It wouldn't do to have him stuck to it forever. So he only twitches momentarily when I carefully push his hand from the dragon. I take the stuffed animal up and set it on the table out of his reach. It only earns me a blank stare from him. I try to smile and stand up to head over to the girl. She hands me the little cat with an apprehensive face.

"It's going to work out," she repeats and I nod.

Returning to Draco, I kneel in front of the blonde. Dragon wriggles in my arms. I put a hand on the other boy's. Grey eyes blink once.

"Hey Draco," I try to catch his attention, "I brought a new friend for you," nothing more than another blink, "Do you remember the cat you had when you were young? I think she was called Dhalia," I exchange a look with Hermione, "So I thought maybe a new cat could be a nice friend for you."

That seems to have earned me his attention as he makes an effort to slowly turn his head towards me. Grey orbs fix on the bundle of fur in my arms. I smile and lift the cat who turns curious bright blue eyes on the still human.

"This is Dragon," I explain, "I hope you two will get along well."

Draco doesn't make any move towards the cat. The animal gives out a meow, like he is trying to catch the blonde's attention too. As usual his only answer is another blink. Careful of Draco's expression I lower the furball onto his lap. But he doesn't seem to react negatively. Unfortunately he doesn't really react at all. Just watches me put the cat on his legs. Not even his functioning hand is lifted towards the animal. Apparently Dragon refuses to accept that though and instead of just laying there like he did with Hermione and me, he gets up on his paws and does the two steps across Draco's thin legs. Once he reaches the bony hand, he energetically bumps his head against it.

And indeed it works. After a few times of this, Draco's head turns down to the little animal who meows when he feels the grey eyes settle on him. Another bump and the right hand lifts again. Dragon purrs and rubs his head against the pale skin. The blonde's movements are slow and unsure as he runs it up and down the cat's head, but the animal rewards him with a loud purr nonetheless. It's like Dragon can understand how damaged Draco is and purposely encourages him. I smile and turn around to my friend who has come closer by now.

"It seems to work out perfectly," I grins.

She nods, face thoughtful though, "I agree. This is a great start and I don't want to worry you. However don't be too careless. Like his condition, the way he reacts to Dragon could change within the span of hours. He's not stable enough yet to hold a mood."

I nod, but the smile never leaves my face, "I know. Believe me I didn't forget that. But we have to be happy about the small steps he takes. And that is one of those steps. There is a difference between an unmoving toy and an actual animal. So I will stick to that for today and think about his next breakdown after I woke him up tomorrow."

Hermione laughs, "Yes, you're right. For now enjoy that peaceful picture. By the way, Dragon seems to know exactly what Draco needs. It looks like you chose the perfect cat for our patient."

"I agree."

Then it fades into silence, both of us watching the blonde slowly run his fingers through white fur, accompanied by loud purring from the content cat.

That's it for today. Thanks for reading.

Phew, long chapter. Hope you liked it.

Reviews pretty please!