A Day At The Zoo

(relationship) cousins

The giraffe in the paddock leaned its long neck over toward its mother, resting its head against her silky fur and half closing its eyes in bliss. Teddy was mesmerized by their shape, so elegant, beautiful. He watched them, their ears like cuddly toys moving according to their mood. He couldn't quite get over their legs, so long yet strong at the same time. Then, as if right on cue, the smaller giraffe looked Teddy's way, its chocolate-brown eyes wide and curious.

"It's looking at me, Draco," Teddy whispered in awe, tugging on his cousin's arm. He reached up to push his mammoth-like monkey cap over his forehead, accidentally revealing a few turquoise-blue strands, and Draco quickly covered his hair.

"Yes, and people will look at you if they see your hair changing colours," Draco whispered, glancing around to make sure no one had seen Teddy's hair.

"But this cap is so big! Can't you make it smaller?" Teddy whined, his lower lip jutting out petulantly.

"It fits just fine," Draco stated, pulling him away from the giraffes and walking over to the next paddock. "Let's go see something else now."

"Okay—Ooh! Draco, look! Pandas!" Teddy dropped Draco's hand and rushed towards the enclosure, clapping in excitement. "Look, there's a baby panda, too! Hi, baby panda!"

Draco's lips turned up in a small smile as he watched his little cousin coo and clap at the red pandas walking on the branches of the trees. He had to admit that Teddy was pretty adorable for a five-year-old boy—or maybe he was just biased because Teddy was related to him.

Since Andy was sick and Teddy needed someone to care for him, Draco and Harry had stepped up for the job. Narcissa had suggested they take Teddy to the zoo to keep him entertained, and Teddy had jumped at the opportunity, claiming he rarely got to spend time with his cousin and godfather at the same time.

Speaking of his godfather, Draco looked around to see where Harry could be. He had gone off to buy food for them, but he hadn't returned yet. Scowling, Draco stood up on his tiptoes to look over the heads of the slowly dispersing crowd.

"Are you looking for your boyfriend?" Teddy asked suddenly, grinning mischievously up at him.

"Wh-what? No! He's not my boyfriend," Draco protested loudly, his ears turning pink at Teddy's question. Though I want him to be.

"Miss Luna says Harry likes you—and you like Harry. So, he's your boyfriend," Teddy said. One of his front teeth was missing, and the other was chipped, but his smile was incredibly confident and Draco envied it. If he'd had a broken tooth, there was no way Draco would have left his room.

"He's not my boyfriend, Teddy," Draco grumbled, turning to look at the fat little pandas. One of them sat staring at him as if wondering what was going on in Draco's mind. Draco snapped at it, "Stop looking at me like that!"

Teddy giggled and took Draco's hand, tugging him off to the next pen. "Harry's a boy, and he's your friend, so he's your boyfriend, Draco."

Draco rolled his eyes but kept quiet. He followed Teddy around the zoo, still wondering where the hell Harry was.

When they reached the reptile house, Draco stiffened at the sight. There was no way he was going to set foot in a place where Nagini-lookalikes lived. He'd had enough encounters with snakes as far as he was concerned.

"Ooh, is that where the snakes live?" Teddy asked him hopefully, already dragging him towards the cottage-like enclosure. "Can we see them, Draco?"

"I don't like snakes," Draco said calmly, his chest constricting with fear. "Let's go look at something better—like those meerkats we saw earlier. Or the lions. Or elephants? You like those, right?"

"Yeah, but I want to see the snakes," Teddy said, pouting up at Draco. "You're a snake, too, aren't you, Draco?"

"I'm a Slytherin—not an actual snake." Draco glanced at the reptile house and shook his head again. "We're not going in there… not without Harry."

"Ask and ye shall receive!" Harry suddenly appeared behind them, balancing three ice cream cones in his hands. He handed them their cones and took a quick lick of his own. "Sorry, the line was really long… What were you two talking about?"

Teddy beamed as he swiped his tongue over his cone. "I want to see the snakes, but Draco's scared."

"I'm not scared," Draco protested loudly, but the look on Harry's face said that he didn't believe him at all. "I'm not, okay?"

Harry got down on his knees in front of Teddy and said, "Listen, Teddy… You know that bad man we don't like talking about? Well, he had a very big snake, and Draco was brave enough to stay with it in his house… That's why he doesn't want to go in there. Do you understand?"

"Oh," Teddy murmured, looking up at Draco through his thick lashes. He nodded and suddenly lunged at Draco's legs, wrapping his arms around him. The ice cream dripped onto Draco's trousers, but he didn't notice it. "You're so brave, Draco! You lived with a snake!"

Draco awkwardly patted Teddy's head and said, "Yeah… Uh, could you let go of me now? Your ice cream's melting on me."

"Ooh! Sorry, Draco," Teddy said, immediately pulling back and licking his hands and wrists. "Let's go see the baby elephants!"

"No, you want to see the snakes," Draco said, plucking up his courage. "So, we'll go in there."

"But—"

"No, it's fine," Draco said, interrupting Teddy. "The snakes are behind the glass—they can't get out. It'll be fine."

Harry suddenly chuckled and said, "Reminds me of the time I set a boa constrictor on my cousin, Dudley."

"What?" Teddy and Draco whirled around and gaped at Harry in disbelief. "You did what?"

"It was an accident, sheesh," Harry said with a laugh. "The snake even thanked me for letting it out."

As Harry began recounting the tale, Draco looked down at Teddy, whose eyes were wide with awe and shock. I really hope Teddy doesn't set a snake on me. Merlin knows he loves to copy his godfather.