Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoat Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Warning: This is a slash fanfiction, which means male on male. It will also have slight beastality scenes.
I rubbed my caregiver's downy ears, enticing a deep rumbling from his throat. He had allowed me to move and I settled myself on the pallet next to the large warm body.
'Are you hungry?' Ice asked me, and I nodded fervently. It was another one of those times that the tiger would have laughed, but I don't think his larynx would let him. He flashed me a toothy grin and nuzzled me as he got up. I shivered from the contact, but I leaned into it nonetheless.
'Anything in particular?' and I was shocked that he would even ask me that. I figured that he would just go out and kill something and bring it back, not to ask me what I wanted. I felt humbled that someone would actually do that for me. I had never been treated like that before.
"You can choose…" I heard myself stammer and I immediately felt like a dunce. I mentally kicked myself after I realized I had virtually no idea how I was going to eat raw meat.
'I can, in fact, cook… So it won't be raw.' The voice flitted through my thoughts. The tiger had virtually read my mind.
"Uh, if you don't mind, how can you do that?" I asked curiously, and I looked at his gigantic paws. No thumbs. No fingers. How the hell was he going to manage this?
'I used to be human… and I've adjusted.' I heard the "I really don't want to talk about it" in the tone of his voice, so I let it drop.
"Do you need help?" I asked him, eager to get out. I had been inside all day and my legs were aching for a stretch because the damn tiger had made me sit down all day. Not that I minded… He made me feel, we it was hard to describe. Safety, love, possession, lust, all were written in Ice's silver blue optics whenever he looked at me how he fussed over me like a mother hen, though his tone seemed to be rather arrogant and perverse.
'No! You will sit right there while I go out.' he retorted and I giggled at his sudden snap.
"Fine, master Ice." I said jokingly, but Ice seemed to be offended by it. The hurt was evident in his feline eyes and in his face.
'No one will ever own you. Don't say that.' he said quietly, and I thought that he almost didn't say anything.
"I'm sorry, Ice. I didn't mean to hurt you." I apologized, reaching out an unsteady hand to the tiger. "I'm sorry… I'm sorry…I'm sorry…" I don't know what came over me, but I suddenly felt like I had let the world down. My heart ached and I buried my face in my hands as sobs racked through my trembling body. "I'm so sorryyy…." I wailed, the tears coming down more and more rapidly as I thought of losing the only actual friend that I had made that didn't like me just because I was the boy-who-lived boy wonder. I cried for everyone I had ever failed. My parents, Cedric, Bertha Jorkins, Sirius, and all of the others ran through my head as I apologized profusely. The tears rolled and wouldn't stop. For all of those times I couldn't let go of the sorrow, it came out. I started as I felt downy fur rub against me and the familiar musky scent of my tiger filled my nostrils. I grabbed onto his furry chest and buried my face into the fur, rubbing into the comfort of my new caretaker.
'My love. It's okay. It'll all be all right. Let them go. I'm here. Let them go. I'm here.' I pulled the sobbing teen to me, my paws roaming his back as I would if I was in my human form. 'It's okay.' I soothed him as one of my spirit animal would a kitten by instinct, my sandpapery tongue brushing the boy's face. The saline tears that I encountered were slightly salty and I licked them all off of Harry. In that moment of intimate confessions, I realized that Harold James Potter was indeed my mate. 'Shhhhhh….' I cooed, nuzzling the boy's raven hair. I felt his sobs slow down to frequent sniffling as he rubbed my chest. His fingers fisted my pelt and he looked up into my eyes. His emerald eyes were swollen and red rimmed, a sure sign of the breakdown he had moments before.
'Are you okay now, my love?' I asked my intended, nuzzling him. If he was feeling dejected, I was going to make him feel better. If he was in pain, I would heal him. If he was in trouble, I would save him. It was an age old tale of love and duty, a duty I felt no obligation to do, only that I longed to make Harry's life an Elysian on earth.
"I think so…" I heard his muffled voice say into my fur and I licked the back of his exposed neck. He shivered. "Why are you doing this? Helping me and everything, I mean."
'I don't really know. I want to. The only thing is will you let me?' I replied truthfully and then ended with the question of utmost importance. If he didn't want me, then I would go. But would I be able to?
Replies to reviews are on my livejournal. Also, I must apologize- this story is still in the process of being written, and I have decided that I will wait until I am finished with the entire story until I crack down on the horrible POV changes.
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