𝐃𝐑𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐘 𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐌𝐀𝐆𝐔𝐒 2008

Feathered Deception (2/2)

Feathered Deception Part 2 of 2

Fly through the open living room window.

Clothing will be provided for you in the drawing room.

*******

Three days later, the black eagle appears on the windowsill just as the note instructed.

Draco is most relieved, not only to see ‘his’ bird again, but also to discover that it has made a full recovery.

He isn’t about to let Harry Potter know this, however, so his greeting is limited to a dryly uttered, “You certainly took your sweet time, didn’t you?”

The eagle spreads its wings to fly onwards to the drawing room, but Draco speaks again: “Stop! Hold it right there.”

Baffled, Harry obeys and hops onto the sideboard instead.

“Thank you,” Draco says, an unreadable expression on his face. “Now change.”

The bird blinks.

“You’ll change right here in front of me, Potter. Seems only fitting, wouldn’t you agree? Given those vile voyeuristic tendencies of yours.”

Harry cringes inwardly. His gut feeling tells him to take off again—this very instant—and to fly as far away from Wiltshire as his wings will carry him.

What was he even thinking, coming here? Perhaps he has inadvertently set himself up for a night of severe and constant humiliation.

Executing that kind of revenge would certainly be right up Malfoy’s street. Slytherins don’t necessarily get mad, at least not as far as anyone can tell, but you can bet your last Galleon that they will get even.

“Well?” Draco crosses his arms and eyes the bird expectantly. “I was hoping that you might get on with it at some point in the current millennium.”

Harry hesitates for another moment. Standing stark naked in front of a former enemy isn’t terribly clever, especially when you don’t have any proper means of defending yourself.

For an eagle, carrying a wand is no option. Harry made several attempts, but every single one failed miserably, not in the least because the wand itself wasn’t exactly cooperative either.

He hopes that Draco isn’t actually intending to do him any harm, and that he only wants to make a statement.

‘Well, it’s not like I didn’t bring this on myself anyway,’ Harry decides grimly, and preparing himself for the worst, he transforms back into his human shape.

During what must be the longest two minutes of Harry’s young life thus far, Draco silently looks him up and down, before finally remarking with a devious smirk, “Right. I suppose this makes us even. Go put some clothes on, why don’t you?”

Harry lets out a relieved breath. He quickly heads for the drawing room, before Malfoy gets the chance to change his mind.

*******

Seated at the dining-room table, Harry half-expects to be served raw meat or a bowl of wriggling maggots.

Fortunately, his host hasn’t taken his revenge plot quite that far. The starter is tomato soup with crispy bread rolls.