𝐃𝐑𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐘 𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐌𝐀𝐆𝐔𝐒 2008

A Star and a Stray Cat (1/2)

Author: winnett
Title: A Star and a Stray Cat (Part 1 of 2)
Pairing: Harry/Draco
Rating: R
Genre: Adventure/Romance
Summary: Draco wanted what Harry had: family, job, an Animagus form, love. Harry wanted Draco.
Warnings: Adultery, Disturbing Imagery
Word count: Approximately 17,000

A Star and a Stray Cat Part 1 of 2

A rain of spell lights flashed through the street blinding him as he dodged between a parked Mercedes and the alley wall. Bicket had disappeared. It'd been ten minutes since Harry'd released his SOS beacon and still no back-up Aurors had arrived. The dark wizard they were trailing had trapped them like a tiger in the bush and the proverbial ring of flames had choked off the only escape. By some Auror labeling system, this particular suspect had been categorized as a 'minor threat' requiring only two Aurors for his apprehension. Now Harry was trapped, partnerless, and certain that he was thoroughly and utterly screwed.

Swift, flitting glances unveiled no people, no targets; he could see neither the origins of the curses nor the other Auror. He had to locate Bicket; he would not desert his partner.

Calling his magic to him, he began the change into a much faster, smaller target. The change warmed him, made him feel alive, but there was always a brief moment where he sank below the surface of his consciousness, losing his surroundings. It was narcotic, almost as good a high as a thoroughly mind-blowing orgasm.

Mere seconds slipped by and he was down on all fours, the world around him exposed in a relief of sights, smells and sounds, the lack of which made him feel blind and stupid as a human. He took a prolonged sniff of the air, inhaling the acrid scents from the car's engine and the spell-fire that had suffused the area only moments before. His hearing honed into the cacophony of life around him, fanning out in a half circle away from the car. Car horns, a cat yowling, a rat skittering through the sewer grate. A groan nearby. Perhaps, he thought, that was Bicket.

Crouched low, he slunk behind the car and darted around the corner, tight against wall, keeping his senses tuned sharp. Finally, he pinpointed the groaning: across the road to the other side of the alley.

Cautious, he waited, watching and listening. All was quite, still. He didn't see anyone or hear anything alarming. So he took his chance and sprinted across the alley.

Out of nowhere a curse zapped through the air, a jagged bolt of negative energy plunging straight into his torso. It was blinding and it was sharp and a sudden overwhelming sensation of pure existence threatened to burn him alive. He tumbled and flipped and slammed into the brick wall. Footsteps approached.

~~~

It was a pile of sad lessons that Draco had learned after school. He would not ever please his father. He would not ever become an Auror due to past allegiances branded with cursed ink into his arm. He would never live a life of love, having been forced into a loveless marriage, which he'd eventually escaped, and he would never, ever learn how to become an Animagus.

He'd always wanted to. It seemed he was doomed to be Transfigured into a ferret without ever developing the skill to perform the transmutation himself. He studied with masters, he examined every book he could get his hands on, he watched Animagi change over and over again at the clinic, but he just couldn't perfect the magic.

Draco was doomed to never feel that freedom; was doomed to never have that kind of escape. And as happens with all failures, those who can't do, teach. With all of his expertise acquired on the subject of his failure, he became a foremost expert on Animagi.