Chapter 19
Harry didn’t stop running until he broke through the last line of trees. His trainers were leaking, leaf-mulch working its way inside to rub against new blisters. Bending forward, Harry placed his hands on his thighs as he gulped down air. Fuck.
He…
Fuck.
With a crash and a curse that was either ‘bloody cunt bucket’ or ‘ delightful punk muppet’, Draco slide to a halt beside Harry. He had leaves in his hair, the wet greenery making his cheeks look even pinker than usual.
“Potter, what the f-”
“Don’t even start,” Harry interrupted, holding up a hand.
“Start? Start what? I’m not-” Draco paused to gulp some air, “I’m not starting anything. Dear me, can’t a man-”
“Did you just say deer?” Harry swung around to face him, eyes wild.
“What? I… Oh! No! No no no! I would never…” Draco trailed off, mouth working frantically.
“You said deer.”
“I didn’t,” Draco retreated back into the forest as Harry advanced.
“Fuck you. You think this is funny?”
“No!” Draco’s back collided with a tree. “Well… it is maybe a little, tiny, bit funny.” The last few words were shouted as Harry lost his temper completely and grabbed Draco around the waist, tumbling the pair of them onto the wet grass.
Draco fought back, grabbing hold of Harry’s hoodie and trying to flip the two of them over while avoiding the handful of grass that Harry had ripped from the ground.
“Eat it, Malfoy. Eat the grass,” Harry panted, attempting to stuff the wet handful into Draco’s mouth. “Isn’t that what stags do? Fucking eat it.”
“No! Get… get… off… me…” said Draco, squirming further out from underneath Harry with each word. “Look, Potter. I’m sorry about the animagus thing but you really blowing this out of all proportion.”
“Blowing it out of proportion?” Harry staggered to his feet, lurching closer to Draco who, in turn, skipped back a few feet. “Is that another size joke? Because I’m a cricket?”
“Well, I…”
“And how the fucking fuck are you a stag?” Harry carried on, pacing back and forth. “My patronus is a stag. My dad’s animagus was a stag. How am I a cricket and… and…” It was like he physically felt the fight go out of him. Plopping down on the grass, Harry stared unseeingly back at Hogwarts.
“And I’m a stag?” Draco moved closer, casting a drying charm before gingerly sitting down next to Harry. Harry felt the drying charm nudge up against his arse and felt a twinge of gratitude for Draco’s thoughtful spellwork. Even if the charm was a bit intrusive. “You heard what Hagrid said,” Draco continued, ducking his head to try and catch Harry’s eye. “An animagus takes a while to settle. Just because you’re a cricket now doesn’t mean you’ll be one forever. And I assume that I will have at most a week as a noble stag before settling into life as a ferret.”
Harry grimaced at Draco’s words but it was difficult to maintain and he found himself smiling down at the ripped up grass. Encouraged, Draco started smiling, too.