I've joined up with a fellow Drarry writer to create this little story as a gift for a dear friend of ours, DrarryMadhatter. We had so much fun, we decided we'll probably do more stories together in the future.

Below is only a teaser to the story. The complete version can be found on our joint account: JanieODrarrelie here on FFnet or through our individual accounts on AO3 (Drarrelie and Janieohio respectively). You can find a link to the full story in my user profile. Just look for JanieODrarrelie and Sweet Tastes and Feathery Touches.

Title: Sweet Dreams and Feathery Touches

Part one of the Feathery Touches series

Summary:

Back at Hogwarts after the war, Harry can't help but notice there's something different about Malfoy. But maybe that's okay, because something is different about Harry too, and although it doesn't make any sense, he can't seem to kick the feeling that it might all be related.

His friends say he's obsessing again, but he's not. He's just… curious.

Tags/Warnings: Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Hogwarts Eighth Year, Redeemed Draco Malfoy, Oblivious Harry Potter, Snakes, Parseltongue, Harry Potter has a Pet Snake, Parselmouth Harry Potter, Mystical Creatures, Creature Fic, Wingfic, Winged Draco Malfoy, Veela Draco Malfoy, Mating Bond, Emotional Tether(s), Magical Tattoos, Moving Tattoo(s), Romance, Fluff, POV Harry Potter, Don't copy to another site, Fanart Welcome

Word count: 6,954
(This post is only a teaser. To read the full story, please find it on our joint account. The link is in my profile, or you can search users for JanieODrarrelie.)

Disclaimer: All characters belong to JKR and associated publishers. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended. The comments and opinions expressed by the original creator do not reflect the views of the author of this transformative work.

TEASER

Sweet Dreams and Feathery Touches

by Drarrelie and JanieOhio

Excerpt

For L.

Let your dreams be your wings and your heart be your guide.

Harry jerks awake.

Heart pounding, he stares up at the canopy and listens to the comforting sound of boys sleeping all around him. It's familiar, like an old song he's heard a million times before, and yet…something is different tonight.

But what?

With his eyes fixed on the red velvet above, he goes through each sound, ticking off each one in his mind, as if from a checklist. Neville's snore, check. Ron's mumbling, check. Low murmurs from Dean and Seamus's bed—officially Seamus's bed, but they've hardly slept apart since Fifth Year—check. The brisk wind outside, whipping against the tower's windows, confirming his place in space and time; Scotland, late November. Check.

"If one insists on being awake, disturbing rest, one could at least pet."

The hissing comes from Orion's spot next to Harry's pillow and Harry smiles at the sound.

"Sorry. Something woke me and I'm not sure what."

He reaches over and runs his fingers down Orion's spine, gliding over the corn snake's emerald scales, warm from sleeping next to Harry and absorbing his body heat. Harry moves his hand to pet the flat part of Orion's head, eliciting a little moan of pleasure from the snake—or what sounds like one to Harry's ears, anyway.

"Was it same dream again?"

Harry shakes his head, trying to recall. "No, I don't think so."

Then he feels it. A pulling sensation in his chest, like a rubber band constricting, urging him to get up, urging him towards…

"The Owlery?" Harry hisses in question. "Why do I feel the need to go to the Owlery?"

Orion yawns. "Humans always have strangest urges. Is misfortune one can't tell what to expect up there before forcing both to leave such warmth for horrid, horrid cold — as both know one will."

"You're a genius." Harry pulls back his bed curtains and steps out onto the cold stone floor. He casts a quick, low-level Lumos and begins to rummage through his trunk. As long as Ron didn't take it the last time he slipped off with Hermione, it should be right— "Found it!"

"Harry?" Hermione's sleepy voice comes from the bed next to his, muffled by the drawn curtains.

Well, that explains why Ron hasn't snuck out tonight. Harry refrains from commenting on the matter and wills himself not to think about what his best mates have been doing with him asleep in the same room. He looks down at the Marauders' Map in his hands and knows Hermoine will insist on getting herself involved if he tells her what he'd been searching for. "Sorry. It's nothing. Just looking for a jumper."

"Do you want me to cast a Warming Charm for you?"

Harry's heart melts just a little at her offer, and his budding irritation evaporates in a flash. "No, thanks, I'm fine. Don't want to risk it getting too hot for Orion. Now go back to sleep, 'Mione. Sorry if I woke you."

"M'kay. Night."

Harry crawls back into bed, closing the curtains, and Orion slithers over his hand to wrap himself around Harry's wrist. The pull in his chest is getting stronger, stretching tighter. What the hell is going on?

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," he says in a whisper, and the map comes to life. Pointing his lit wand down towards the map, he traces the lines, tapping the parchment to scroll to the castle grounds. He finds the Owlery and squints in the dim light, looking closer, making out the name he's followed on the map for years. The name he's not at all surprised to see.

Draco Malfoy.

To read the full story, please find it on our joint account. The link is in my profile, or you can search users for JanieODrarrelie.