"My dad always had dogs around, growing up. They worked, hunting venison and other things like that," Draco began. "I had a puppy once, it was young and brown and kind of squirmy."
"What happened to it?" Harry Potter asked, hoping that this wasn't going to lead into Draco telling him that his father had killed it. Actually, really really hoping that wasn't the case, because if so, it said really sick things about Draco's obvious affection for his father.
"It got old enough to hunt, you know, as dogs do, and I started to train it." Draco said, softly. "I think I was a little overeager, though, and I sent it out on a hunt too early, and hunting a wildcat, to boot."
"Your dog was bigger than it, right?" Harry asked, kind of tentatively, trying to gauge the mood.
"yeah, but the cat wasn't fighting for it's supper, but for it's life." Draco said sadly. "Gage survived, but just barely. By the time I got to see him, he'd only one eye left, and his ear was shredded."
"I'm... I'm sorry." Harry said, haltingly. He tried to imagine Draco telling anything to his dog, but couldn't really do it. Maybe it was just a dog to him? Harry hoped, as he knew he wouldn't forgive himself doing something that bad to a friend.
"I played with him for a while longer," Draco said, "still feeling guilty, of course." He straightened, saying wistfully, "Then my father got me a broom, and I forgot all about Gage." He shook his head sadly, "It was months before I snuck out of bed to go see him again, and by then he was gone."
"Gone?" Harry really, really hoped no one had killed the dog, even if Draco had clearly forgotten about him.
"Yeah, when I asked, Father said he'd given the pup to the Goyles, but I never did see him again."
"I'm sorry," Harry said awkwardly.
"That's the thing of it, though - I've been to the Goyle's. And I was young enough that they'd let me run just about everywhere." Draco smiled a sad, watery smile, "I think ... they might have eaten him."
Harry stiffened, he didn't like dogs in general, not in the least, but ... that was just an awful fate. First to get hurt by a stupid boy's overconfidence, and then to be forgotten about, then sold, and then eaten? It was horrible.
"I hope they did," Draco continued quietly.
"Why? Why would you hope that?" Harry demanded, quietly but firmly.
"They don't have a lot to eat, there. Gage would just have been a burden." Draco Malfoy said quietly, "Father either meant it as an insult, or a stone around their necks." He shook his head quietly, "Haven't you noticed? Greg always eats more than his fair share, even at Hogwarts where kids can eat as much as they please."
Harry was silent, not sure what to say, and they rode on in the quiet. Apparently, Draco Malfoy was more considerate than he'd ever given the blond credit for.
[a/n: well, I really wasn't expecting this to turn so sad. Sorry! Leave a review!]
