"Swellin's gone," Hagrid commented, rubbing the fur at Draco's groin. Draco peered over the hand around his middle, curving his lower body upwards to see. Sure enough, everything looked normal again, for a ferret. "Congratulations."

Draco tilted his head curiously, wondering why Hagrid was congratulating him on being rid of an infection. "Dook-dook."

Hagrid scratched behind Draco's ears with a smile, then shifted his gaze as an owl knocked on the window. Hagrid set Draco on his shoulder. Draco scrambled for protective cover under Hagrid's beard. "Hedwig!" Hagrid said, opening the window. "Come in. Come in."

The snowy owl coasted through the window and landed on a perch. The canary flapped down from the rafters, settled beside Hedwig, and whistled. Hedwig barely gave him a glance and extended her leg to Hagrid.

"A letter from 'Arry?" Draco poked his nose out further from the bushy beard at Potter's name. "Seems Witherwings's bin called inta service."

Draco laughed at the bitterness he heard in Hagrid's tone.

Hagrid sighed and tucked the letter in his pocket. "Reckon I'd best get 'im ready."

He removed Draco from his beard and put him back in the cage. The canary started singing the moment Hagrid walked out the door. Hedwig looked startled, as the serenading canary snuggled against her side. She inched down the perch.

So, Potter needs a hippogriff. Draco caught his reflection in his water dish, twitched his whiskers at the mussed fur behind his ears, and groomed it smooth. He contemplated what Potter would want with such a vicious beast. Sharpbeak, or Buckshot, or whatever that creature had been called, had nearly torn Draco's arm off back in Third Year.

Maybe that's why Potter wanted Witherwings. Perhaps Potter wanted to sic the beat on poor, hapless Death Eaters and watch them be ripped to shreds. Potter was a bloodthirsty git, Draco remembered vividly. He licked the spot where his human skin had been slashed.

"TaWEEEEEEEETadeedleeedleeedle-tweet-tweet-tweet," the canary sang, causing Draco to turn and see the canary cozying against Hedwig again.

Hedwig tried to move further away, but her foot fell off the edge of the perch. An expression of dismay crossed her face.

Hagrid came back inside, thumped the snow from his boots, and shut the door behind him. The canary fell silent, but continued staring up at Hedwig with moony eyes. Draco watched as Hagrid retrieved ink and a quill and scratched a reply on the back of Potter's letter. The letter was tied to Hedwig's leg. "Take tha' back t'Arry. Witherwings'll be right behind ya."

Visibly relieved, Hedwig launched immediately into the air. Her wing knocked the canary from the perch and into an open bag of floo powder. Hedwig's hooting laugher followed her out the window.

Hagrid closed the window, and then came over to Draco's cage. Draco watched as he stuck a peg in the door lock. Confused, Draco pressed his front paws against the door and rattled it slightly. He glanced up concernedly at Hagrid. Hagrid smiled sadly and rubbed one of Draco's paws. "No worries, girl. I'm sure 'Arry'll letcha out once you've arrived."

Arrived? Draco had a sinking feeling in his stomach.

The canary rose from the bag covered in powder and flew blindly into the fireplace. "Tweet!" the canary exclaimed, and vanished in a green flash of smoke.

tbc...

Author's Note: In case you people weren't payting attention, this is a HUMOR fic with WARNINGS blatantly posted in the first chapter. If you read something you deem offensive, it's your own damn fault for not heeding the warnings. Flame me at your own mocking, because it obviously titillated you enough to read this far.