𝐃𝐑𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐘 𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐌𝐀𝐆𝐔𝐒 2008

Owl Treats

Author: liz_chan
Title: Owl Treats
Pairing(s): Harry/Draco
Rating: PG
Summary: Ron and Harry have a new client.
Warnings (if any): None
Total word count: ~3,000

Owl Treats

It was a normal day at the office. Ron was working on his fantasy Quidditch league and Harry was staring into space. Since they had finished their last job, things were slow. A fly moved from the upper right-hand corner of the room to the lower left. Harry thought about making it dance but decided that it would take too much energy. He sighed. He wanted to think something along the lines of “I wish something exciting would happen,” but he knew that thoughts like that inevitably ended in trips to the infirmary or St. Mungo’s and scolding lectures from Hermione. So he sat quietly and tried not to think about anything.

This tactic got Harry through about fifteen minutes when fate intervened and something happened. An owl happened. It swooped through the open window and landed on the owl perch. Its leg held a scroll tied on with a green ribbon. Harry leapt up and took the scroll quickly. He turned to get a treat to feed to the owl but when he turned back, it was gone.

“Damn,” Harry said. He hated it when the owls didn’t stay; Pig wasn’t the most reliable owl he’d ever known.

“New job?” Ron asked, pushing back from his desk, Quidditch scores left behind.

“Hopefully,” Harry replied. “It’s either that or more fan mail from Lockhart.” The ex-professor had become enamored with Harry while reading newspaper accounts of the last battle. He sent Harry a new letter every week proclaiming that they were meant for each other. They had been funny for a while, but even Ron admitted that a letter a week for three years was a little much.

Harry unrolled the scroll and quickly skimmed it. When he reached the signature, he growled and threw the scroll at Ron. Ron read it and snickered when he finished.

“Malfoy wants our help?” Ron asked. “How the mighty have fallen. Always going on about how he was the best at everything and now he’s asking a Weasley to ward his house.”

Harry shook his head. “I don’t trust him.” Harry had never trusted Draco, which was a slight understatement. Harry never really trusted anyone, but Malfoy was in a special class. Ever since their original meeting on the Hogwarts Express Harry had kept a close eye on Malfoy, though that had waned in the past few years. Harry hated running into Malfoy in Diagon Alley, not so much because Malfoy was rude, but because Harry got funny feelings he would rather not think about, thank you very much. None of this changed the fact that something was odd about Draco Malfoy requesting help from the P&W Warding Agency. Hermione had claimed that a simple name made their business more attractive to older clients. Ron had wanted to name it “We Beat the Dark Lord, So Let Us Keep Your House Safe.”

“Harry, the war is over,” Ron said with a sigh. “You’ve got to stop seeing enemies around every corner. Every time you go to the park you skulk around in the bushes. At least that’s what Zacharias said.”

Harry rolled his eyes. Why Ron cared so much about his personal life was a mystery, but he suspected it was Hermione’s influence. “The war may be over, but it’s still Malfoy. How do we know this isn’t a trick? He didn’t even instruct his owl to stay. That’s just rude.”

“You’re just concerned about Pig being able to find his way to the Manor,” Ron said. “You know he’ll be able to do it.” Ron glanced at the little owl who was currently trying to untangle himself from a hanging fern. “Probably.”