A Fluffy Little Olive Branch (A Drarry FanFiction)

Chapter Two

   Harry blinked. Why, on earth, was there an owl on his desk. Had someone lost it? The little thing hooted again and shuffled on its feet. It was stood on cream coloured shredded paper that rustled as it hopped about (its eyes never leaving Harry's face), and Harry suddenly realised there was an envelope tucked in next to the small creature.

Curious, Harry reached down, only to pause at the last second. "You're not going to peck me, are you?" he asked the little bird, whose only response was to hoot back excitedly and hop from foot to foot again. So Harry reached down, and plucked the letter from where it was nestled in the paper.

Before he could carefully retract his arm though, the miniature owl jumped up and hooked its talons into his sleeve. It didn't hurt Harry, but it did startle him a little bit. "Um, hello?" he said.

"Tu-woo," went the owl, and narrowed its golden rimmed eyes so it looked like it was smiling.

"You want to come up?" Harry asked, warming to the little thing despite his reservations. He hadn't ruled out the possibility someone was trying to kill him via ornithology, but if they were, they had chosen an extremely small assassin. "Okay then."

The baby owl perched happily by his elbow as he eased his finger under the seal of the envelope. It was a pretty thing he had to admit, its fluffy feathers a mixture of white and brown that marked it as a regular 'True Owl'. It was watching Harry with interest, large eyes focused on the letter as it hooted again in something akin to encouragement.

"Is this from whoever put you on my desk?" he asked.

If an owl could look mischievous, this one managed it.

"Fine," Harry laughed. "I'm sure the note will tell me anyway."

The note did not in fact reveal the sender's identity. It was actually only a line or two long. "He looked like he needed a friend," the elegant, black scrawl stated. "And I thought maybe you did too."

Harry turned the parchment over, but there was nothing else. He felt a small flair of indignation at someone being so presumptuous. He had plenty of friends, and they all knew better than to try and palm a new owl off on him. He had never wanted another one since he had lost Hedwig in the escape from Privet Drive, knowing he could never replace her after all her loyal years of friendship.

"This is just temporary," he snapped a little harshly at the owl, but he shrunk away from Harry's displeasure, immediately making him feel guilty. He rolled his eyes and huffed. "Alright, no need to take it personally," he grumbled, but the owl still scowled at him. "Okay," he said, sighing again. "How about a job? Would you like to deliver a letter for me?"

He perked up instantly, hopping back and forth on Harry's arm. He hardly weighed a thing, so Harry couldn't even really feel it.

"I thought you might like that," he said, feeling less guilty for taking his anger out on the miniature bird. It wasn't his fault after all that someone had been thoughtless in buying him presumably for Harry to keep. "I'll keep it small so you can carry it."

He grabbed a bit of parchment and tore it into an even smaller sliver that he could roll up and attach to the owl's leg. "Thank you, whoever you are," he scribbled quickly. "However I have plenty of friends, and no need of an owl."

The baby bird seemed absolutely delighted to be given the responsibility of delivering Harry's letter, flapping his wings excitably and 'tu-wit-tu-wooing' several times as Harry carefully tied the note to his leg.

"Are you sure you know where you're going?" he asked dubiously as he opened the door, but the owl gave him that little eye-smile again and took flight without another moment's pause. So Harry sighed, and slumped down into his chair finally, picking up the now empty box with one hand and placing it on the floor by his feet so it would be out of the way.