His Little Horntail

★ Chapter Three ★

Author Narration

Draco was awoken late at night by a small form by his bed, shaking his arm. He turned and saw Harry standing there clutching his dragon, tear stains on his little cheeks, looking sad and scared.

"Mister... mister..." he whispered as he jostled Draco.

Draco sat up and turned to Harry's small form. "What's up, little Horntail?" he asked quietly.

"I sowwy I woke you up but... I had a nightmawe," he said in a small, frightened voice. "Could... could I sweep wif you?"

Draco felt a smile grace his lips. "Yeah," he replied, placing his hands on Harry's sides and lifting him onto the bed.

"What's a Howntaiw?" Harry asked Draco curiously. "You cawwed me a wittwe Howntaiw earwier."

Draco chuckled. "A Horntail is a species of dragon," he explained. "You like dragons, so you're my little Horntail."

Harry smiled. "What's youw name, mister?"

Draco realized with a jolt that he had never told Harry his name. "I'm Draco," he replied. "Draco Malfoy."

Harry snuggled in beside Draco, looking tiny against the sea of blankets and mass of pillows adorning Draco's bed. "I wike that name."

Draco laid down again too, pulling the blankets snug to Harry's chin. "Why thank you, my little Horntail. 'Draco' means dragon in another language. I'm not too sure which one, though."

"Wow," Harry said quietly. Draco looked at him and wasn't surprised to see him closing his eyes sleepily.

"Goodnight, my little Horntail," Draco said with a smile.

"G'night, Mister Dwaco," Harry murmured, and fell asleep.

☆☆☆

This time, Draco awoke from the morning sun peeking through his dark curtains and brightening the room. He remembered his predicament, and was saddened when he realized that he would have to go to a professor to find a cure for Harry today. He didn't like to admit it, but he had grown quite attached to the little boy in a short amount of time.

Draco decided it was best to wake Harry, as he didn't want the already-malnourished boy skipping any meals. "Harry," he said quietly, smoothing back the little one's black hair. "It's time for breakfast."

Harry blinked his eyes open and sat up, looking sleepy and confused. "Wha' d'you wan' me t'make for bweakfas'?" he asked, speech slurred adorably from sleep.

"You don't have to make breakfast, little Horntail," Draco replied gently. "Do you wanna get up and come get something to eat with me?"

Harry rubbed his eyes with his fists. "You'we not Aunt P'tunia," he said distractedly.

Draco chuckled. "Nope. I'm Draco, remember?"

Harry's eyes opened wide for the first time as he felt around the bed for his dragon toy. Finding it, he clutched it close to his chest said it would fly away at any moment. "That wasn' a dweam?"

"No," Draco replied. "It was real. Let's go get something to eat, little Horntail."

Harry opened his arms, still holding the dragon, and Draco willingly picked him up, feeling the smaller boy cuddle into him as he walked towards the closet. "No falling asleep again, Harry," he reminded gently.

Harry went rigid as he straightened up from his relaxed position against Draco's chest. "S-sorry, Mister Dwaco... I won't do it again, I pwomise..."

Draco looked down at the little boy. "It's okay, Harry. You're not in trouble."

"I-I'm not?" Harry asked, sounding utterly puzzled.

"No," Draco sighed, sitting Harry down on a bench inside the closet. "Of course you're not."

Harry relaxed again as Draco searched through his closet for good outfits for both of them.

He ended up choosing for himself a pair of blue jeans and a black t-shirt with a picture of a mountain view, and for Harry a pair of black jeans, a plain white t-shirt, and a blue zip-up jumper (all of which he magically charmed to fit the tiny toddler).

Draco dressed himself and then helped a struggling Harry with his jeans and jumper zippers. He then tucked Harry's dragon safely into the little one's arms and picked him up, taking him all the way down to the Great Hall.

Draco sat down at the Slytherin table in between Pansy and Blaise, ignoring the stares and the unnerving silence, and introduced them to Harry. "What do you want for breakfast, Harry?" he asked the little boy.

Harry's eyes went huge at the sight of all the food spread out in front of him. "I can have anything?!"

Draco chuckled. "Anything."

"Otay, I wan' pancakes, an' eggs, an' bacon pwease," Harry requested. Draco nodded and made a plate for him, setting it and a fork down in front of the little one for him to enjoy.

Draco decided it was time to address all the staring. He covered Harry's ears to shield him from the volume and said, "I'm sure that by now you've all noticed that I have Harry Potter here sitting on my lap. This is the result of a misfired hex, my fault, so Harry will be staying with me for the time being. Until we find a cure I will be in charge of Harry, so don't forget that one wrong look in his direction could end up with you being hexed so I would recommend that you avoid giving him any weird looks."

The Great Hall was still silent.

"You can... go back to eating now?" Draco tried. A few people shrugged and the noisy chatter of the Great Hall returned. Draco removed his hands from Harry's ears with a shrug.

"It was the best I could do for now," he told Pansy and Blaise.

Pansy and Blaise shared a look. "It's never that easy with Draco and Harry, is it?" Blaise asked.

Pansy shook her head. "Nope. And it looks like Mr. 'Heartless' is catching feelings..."