For Michy - I hope you like it! :)
He stared down at the tiny creature. Ordinarily, he wouldn't even go near the thing, but everything that had happened-
Damn Potter, he thought. That stupid Gryffindor ruined everything, and now he – he – was standing in the middle of a crowded Muggle road, of all places, considering saving a stray kitten to gift to Harry Potter.
If only Pansy and the others could see him now. The depth to which Draco Malfoy had fallen was embarrassing, really. But despite the vast amounts of self-knowledge that he possessed, he couldn't help but bending down and scooping the animal into his hands. He wasn't too happy about carrying the mangy creature, but he was reasonably certain that it would make Harry happy.
Perhaps making a gift of it would finally take his mind off his old owl – the date of its death and Harry's flight from the Muggle world was coming up, and Draco could barely bare the heartbreak. It practically emanated off the Gryffindor. Of, he would have to make sure that the cat was not disease-ridden in addition to being mangy, of course, but apart from that, it was the only solution he had for making the green-eyed man smile again.
Damn Potter, he thought once again. Regardless of the status of their relationship, he, of all people, should have been able to resist falling prey to that pitiful look. But because it was Potter, he had – the Gryffindor had a way of burrowing into people's hearts and minds that was honestly just annoying, and resulted in them doing rather uncharacteristic things.
After all, before him, he would never have thought it possible – or even probable – that he would one day be walking among hundreds of Muggles with a rescued street animal in his hands. And yet, there he was.
"You're late," Harry observed.
"It's not like you've never been late before," Draco groused, tossing his cloak blindly at the closest piece of furniture – a chair – and collapsing on to the sofa next to Harry.
"I'm not complaining," the dark-haired man murmured, resting his head comfortably on Draco's shoulder, "Just making an observation. You're not usually one to spend so much time amongst our neighbours – I was starting to wonder."
"That damn store you sent me too had an enormous line," Draco complained. It was best not to tell Harry about what he had really been doing until he was certain that the kitten was healthy. The last thing he needed was for the fool to fall in love with it and be told that he couldn't have it. "I don't know why you needed your – Coke – immediately. You could have done with pumpkin juice."
"Maybe," Harry said in reply. "But in case you've forgotten, we've got to go to Hogwarts to meet up with everyone tomorrow, and the last thing I wanted was to forget all about it. It was the best to send you as soon as I remembered."
Draco groaned, gently disentangling himself from Harry. "You're an evil, evil person, Potter. It's a pity no one else knows, maybe then they'd stop thinking that the sun shines out of y-"
"Draco!" Harry laughed, "Stop!"
"You have to admit, they're getting better," he continued, still grinning, as he shuffled back close to Draco. "It's barely been a year – they're still getting used to all the changes. They should leave us completely alone soon. You're sure nothing else happened?" he questioned suddenly, changing track in the middle of the conversation. "To make you so late, that it?"
"Nothing," Draco reiterated. Harry seemed to be content with that knowledge, but he was still going to…convince the magizoologist he had left the kitten with to work faster. Harry knew him well enough that he would probably begin to wonder again soon, and the quicker they came to a decision, the less of chance of Harry finding out what he was hiding.
"You're sure nothing happened?" Harry asked worriedly as Draco made his way towards the fireplace. "I don't think a line would have held you up for nearly an hour – you just went to the grocery store, not to shop during a sale or something," he continued to babble.
"I promise you, nothing went wrong," Draco murmured, quieting the other man for the moment. He leaned in to kiss Harry gently, before pulling back. "Stop worrying so much."
Harry gave him a doubtful look, but nodded nonetheless. Draco was not fooled. He doubted it was possible for Harry to stop worrying – it seemed to be hardwired into his very being or something. Still, it would serve to reassure the man at least until Draco got back, at which time he was almost certain he would be accompanied by the little animal that was causing Harry to go crazy.
And then perhaps everything would return to being as normal as possible around Grimmauld Place.
Honestly, sometimes Draco wondered what had happened to him. Before Harry, he wouldn't be trying to sneak around in Diagon Alley, of all places – but unfortunately, there were Weasleys in the alley, and the last thing he needed was for them to somehow spoil his surprise. Not after he had somehow managed to fend off his (he absolutely hated the word, it sounded too juvenile, but he really couldn't think of a better alternative) boyfriend's curious questions for almost a week.
No, the last thing he needed was those blasted redheads interfering again.
"It's ready, then?" he asked, trying to sound disinterested. Harry and his friends might have seen him in his less than best state, but he didn't want the general population thinking that he had gone soft. Dating Harry already made them think he had somehow reformed; anything else would destroy his reputation completely.
"She is, Mr Malfoy," the man behind the counter said, handing him the kitten. "Should I also show you some supplies to take care of her?" he queried, probably hoping to make a large sale.
Draco waved him off. "I am already well equipped," he replied, "But I will keep this place in mind in case I need anything else, thank you." It was always best to make allies, even in places that didn't seem useful at all. This much, at least, he had managed to learn better than his father ever had.
(There was a reason that Draco was the only Malfoy to truly be accepted back into the public fold, after all, and it had little to do with either money or him sucking up to the Ministry.)
"Of course, Mr Malfoy," the man murmured, returning his attention to his work as Draco made to leave the shop.
Now he only had to actually give the creature to Harry.
"I don't understand," Harry whined, "Why can't I see where you're taking me? It's not like I don't already know what Grimmauld Place looks like!"
"It's a surprise," Draco replied calmly. "Weren't you talking about how much you loved surprises the other day? You should be happy about this."
"I've changed my mind," Harry muttered, sounding sulky. "I hate surprises now."
"Well tough," Draco said, refusing to collapse under Harry's quite honestly adorable protests. "You're going to have to see this one through."
"I think I hate you too," the dark haired man mumbled.
Draco simply smiled. He was almost certain that that, at the very least, was an opinion that Harry was soon going to change. Regardless of his feelings on cats – something he should probably have asked Harry about before today, now that he thought about it – he had always been a sucker for poor little defenceless creatures, so this was definitely going to get him some points for the next time he messed up.
(Which he would. It was a disconcerting feeling, not being able to be completely perfect in their relationship, but it was something that he had unfortunately come to expect. With Harry, he could never predict when he would step out of line – only that, sooner or later, he would inevitably do so.)
It was only when they reached their destination – the side room where he had left the cat – that he vanished the blindfold wrapped around Harry's eyes. "As I promised," he said, pointing to the little creature trying to claw its way to the top of the antique oak side table, "Your surprise."
The widening of Harry's eyes and the delight in them was more than enough to let him exactly what he thought of it. It was also the only warning he had before he launched himself at him.
"Thank you," he whispered, giving him a chaste and gentle kiss before disentangling himself and turning all his attention of the kitten.
"Does it have a name?" he asked distractedly, carefully removing the kitten's claws from the wood and scooping her up into his arms.
"Isis," he murmured in reply, smiling as he watched Harry become completely entranced by the kitten.
As Harry grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the room, kitten in his other hand and babbling away about a million things he needed for her, Draco was hit by a sudden stray thought.
The wizarding world should really have been grateful that Harry was too damn noble to ever think about going dark. Seeing him like this, Draco had no doubt that if he ever did change allegiances, there would be a line of witches and wizards wanting to join him as opposed to trying to fight him.
He was too bloody softhearted for his own good, but in the end, Harry Potter had a way with people that no one else did. After all, there was no else for whom Draco would have saved a scruffy kitten – and from the Muggle world, of all places, with absolutely no thought of what would happen to his reputation if that story ever came out!
That damn Potter would be the death of him, but Draco couldn't find it within himself to regret it.
A/N: I hope you guys liked it! As always, please don't forget to drop a review on your way out :)
Also for the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition, using the prompts neighbour, possible and join