drao looked at him, baffled he ould have run the idea by him first, but he supposed harry was one to ask for fiveness rather than permisn
“i suppose it would not ear too strange, but i don’t think it would be wise to allow him free range of the astle just beause he belonged to someone too gerous i think…it would be fine for him to aompany you around the astle in his animal form should he want to never alone, though, mr malfoy never alone i will leave you two to ath up, then not that you don’t have all the time in the world and don’tyour studies, mr potter maybe mr malfoy will be so kind as to help you he was a better student” professor mgonagall said, turning on her heel and heading out the door
the boys smiled politely at her as she exited
drao turned to harry the moment the entrane had losed behind her
“i may be in a age, potter, but that doesn’t mean i am your pet your familiar, how very ute,” drao spat, regretting it as the other boy flinhed at his words
“i didn’t mean it like that, malfoy i was only thinking that it the best pe to hide is in pin sight no one will snoop around after a dog they see all the time think about it hagrid has fang all the time, and no one is uus as to know whether or not fang is really a dog,” harry sputtered nervously
“beause fang is so learly a dog, potter anyway, you’re you everyone thinks everything you do is iing you’re sudden aquisin of a white wolf won’t go unsrutinized”
“well, i mean, sure people will notie, but a ertain allowane for eentriity omes with being the boy who lived, espeially now after all is said and done i think you would be quite safe anyway, aompanying me to ss would be loads more iing than just sitting around here all day for the rest of your life,” harry said, moning at the room around him as he fell uneremously into one of drao’s armhairs he propped his feet up on one armrest, leaning bak against the other
“shoes,” drao hastised, ting harry’s toe as he walked passed to him settle in the opposite hair, sitting upright like a ivilized human being
harry rolled his eyes and kiked off his shoes, whih bouning haphazardly aross the floor
“who says that would be more iing? who says i don’t have plenty to do here?” drao asked, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees
“for one, i’d be there,” harry said
“and you’re iing?”
“you seem to think so, based on those albums you’ve—”
“don’t start with the album fet the album i should burn the album,” drao huffed “it’s the reason i’m here in the first pe, pying some twisted game of house where i’m the pet dog”
harry smiled at him, though it eared fored
“unfortunately for you, i won’t be fetting the srapbook didn’t get obliviated, you see tell me, what do you have to do here that is more iing?”
“reading,” drao replied shortly
“reading would be more fun than going to ss with me? think about it you ome with me to the defense ss room we’ll keep something for you to lie on up by my desk you keep an eye on the students, and when they do something stupid, we an talk about it together instead of me having to do the funny things justie when i tell you about my day,” harry answered
“so i’ll be some glorified vern of mrs norris who says i want to hear about your day, potter?” drao sneered, trying to hide the fat that that did, in fat, sound pleasant nothing bred ommunity quite like gossip, and drao had always loved a good bit of gossip himself
“the albu—”
“what do i have to do to get you to drop the album?” drao asked, sned out of the pleasant musings brought on by the thought of spending time around people and bak into reality
“aknowledge the elephant in the room,” harry said
“whih is?” drao tensed
“i just vowed to protet you with my life for the rest of my existene, malfoy”
“i know, i was there,” drao replied, the words as long as we both shall live ehoing through his mind, his heart beat piking up again as he repyed harry’s answer, a slow, deliberate, and above all else, inredibly o i will
“so that means i—”
“don’t hate me i know you’ve menned”
“i was going to say don’t mind being around you might even go so far as to say i would like to be around you,” harry ontinued
“thanks very muh, kind of you to say,” drao said he didn’t want to say it not so pinly not yet
“so i guess what i am saying, drao, is is that album what i think it is?”
drao suppressed the leap his heart made at harry’s use of his given name it wasn’t the first time he had said it, but he seemed to only reserve it for moments like this, moments that tug at drao’s hest, threatening to make him spill every seret he’d held lose for the st deade
“what do you think it is?”
“evidene that maybe you’d like to be around me, too”
“maybe i would seeing as we’re as good as handuffed together forever, it seems like it would be in my best i to like to be around you”
“you just an’t stoop so low as to admit you don’t hate me so muh, either, an you?” harry ughed
“to your fae? never,” drao said, a pleasant warm feeling spreading through his stomah as he returned harry’s smile
so maybe the familiar idea wasn’t the best one he had ever had, but it ertainly wasn’t the worst after all, he was only trying to make sure drao didn’t feel like a prisoner for the rest of his life it was ironi really, that this was the life he hose when it was highly unlikely he would have ended up in azkaban after the trials, espeially when harry would have vouhed for him harry hated to say it, beause it made him sound so self-important, but his word did go a long way in the months just after
