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“We can’t just leave it,” Harry says, cuddling the little dragon to his chest. He knows it could still be dangerous, but it doesn’t seem dangerous. It seems lost.
“Hatchlings don’t just appear all on their own, Potter. That thing has a mother and I, for one, do not want to become its next meal.”
“Look around, Malfoy. Do you see a giant flying creature anywhere? We’re in the middle of nowhere. I think those guys on the train were smugglers.”
“What kind of simpletons would smuggle anything on a train heading to Hogwarts?”
“I’ll ask if I see them again,” he deadpans, running a hand along the top of the hatchling’s head as it peers up at him. “I’m bringing it back. I’m sure Charlie would come to get it.”
Malfoy huffs. “Your funeral, Potty. If its mother comes looking for it, I won’t hesitate to feed you to her so I can escape.”
He rolls his eyes and calls his broomstick to his hand. Surprisingly, Malfoy doesn’t take off without him as he struggles to hold onto the hatchling and the broom. It doesn’t really work and he’s about to say he has to go on foot when an idea strikes him. “Let me ride with you.”
“What?” Malfoy stares down at him like he can’t grasp the words.
“I can’t steer and hold it.”
“I don’t see how that’s my problem.”
Harry scowls and wonders why he bothered suggesting it in the first place. Just because they had a silent agreement not to be at each other’s throats this year, doesn’t mean Malfoy stopped being a complete tosser.
He leaves the broom behind–he could always come back and get it, or just get a new one–and starts walking. Malfoy flies above him to the left, already complaining.
“You’re going to walk back? Who knows how long that will take? What will you even feed that little monster?”
It was a good question, but he would rather eat his own shoe than concede that. He shrugs.
“Stellar plan, as always. Just leave the thing behind. We can tell the headmaster about it when we’re back at school.”
Harry ignores him, tromping alongside the damned train track. All he sees is rolling hills and he wishes he had ever paid attention to the land on his rides to Hogwarts.
After a bit more huffing, Malfoy dips down and cuts him off. “Fine, get on.”
He eyes the broomstick distrustfully. “Why not just go on without me? You clearly want to.”
“If anything happened to you out here, it would be me that would get the blame. Just get on.”
He gives in and climbs up, holding onto the broom with his legs and wrapping the dragon up in his coat, and then they’re off.
+
When they get to Hogwarts, the moon is hanging high above them and their stomachs are growling with hunger.
Harry makes immediately for the 8th year rooms and Malfoy sputters behind him. “Where are you going with that thing?”
“It’s sleeping anyway,” he says. “And I don’t think McGonagall would like being woken up this late. We can tell her in the morning.”
“You’re going to get us expelled on the last year before we even have one class.”
Ignoring Malfoy, as he is wont to do, he continues going until he gets to the temporary student housing that had been set up for 8th years. It’s small, but then they’re the smallest group at Hogwarts now, small enough and mature enough that McGonagall hasn’t separated the boys and girls into different areas.
Their small common room is empty and they hear only a few whispers behind closed doors as they walk down the hall. Noje of the whispers are Ron or Hermione, so he opens each quiet door he passes and checks for them. They’re curled up together on one bed with the other left for Harry. It makes him smile, but it’s not a solution that could last long. He leaves them quietly; Hermione and Ron could room together this year.
He keeps opening doors until he finds one empty and shuffles in with Malfoy silently (eerily) behind him. They take off their outer layer of clothes and climbs into their respective beds, Harry settling the hatchling down next to him.
“That thing better not scorch me in my sleep.”
He snorts and closes his eyes. He wouldn’t be so lucky.
+
When he opens his eyes again, it takes him a moment to remember where he is and that there should be a small creature by his side. There isn’t.
He bolts up and shoves his glasses on his face, scanning the room. He sees nothing and pushes himself off the bed, ignoring the morning chill
“Malfoy! The dragon is–” He stops short above Malfoy, who has begun to stir and currently has a hatchling curlee around his head like an overgrown cat.
“What are you doing, Potter?”
“I thought I lost the dragon,” he says, dumbfounded at the way Malfoy’s hand has reached up to pet the creature’s snout.
“It started getting restless last night and you slept through it, so I brought it over here.”
“Oh.”
Malfoy rolls his eyes and gets out of bed, the hatchling snuffling and stretching on his pillow. He gets dressed in yesterday’s clothes, which seems to mildly disgust him, and waits expectantly for Harry to do the same.
“I was thinking it’d probably be best to just give it to Hagrid,” Harry says, tugging on his shoes. “He can Floo Charlie.”
“Who is this Charlie you keep talking about?”
“Ron’s brother. He works with dragons.” He scoops the hatchling into his arms and starts walking towards the door, but Malfoy puts a hand on his arm.
“If you go walking through the school with a baby dragon, you’re going to cause mayhem among the students. And who knows how this thing will react.”
“What do you propose?”
Malfoy glances around the room before grabbing Harry’s pillow and transfiguring it into a box. He opens it up and holds it out, waiting for Harry to put the hatchling in, which he does, because he doesn’t have any better plans.
Malfoy hushes it gently and tells it that they’ll let it out soon, then lets Harry put the lid on. For someone who was so ready to leave it behind, he seems to have taken an inexplicable shine to the thing.
“Let’s go, then.”
Harry peeks a head into the hallway and Malfoy hisses at him to act normal.
There’s nothing really normal about him and Malfoy walking together though, so everyone ends up staring at them anyway. Hermione and Ron are nowhere in sight, but Ginny does come up to them with a suspicious look on her face.
“Harry.”
“Ginny.”
She looks at Malfoy with pursed lips and he grips the box tighter, scowling at her. “If you don’t mind, we have somewhere to be.”
“Where could you possibly be going with him?” she asks, directing the question at Harry.
He trusts Ginny, but everyone else would hear if he tried to explain to her the situation. “Uh, I’ll fill you in later, we really ought to go.”
They slip by her and out the door, garnering strange looks whenever they pass any students.
It’s a breath of relief when they finally get to Hagrid’s hut, shutting the door behind them like a barrier to the rest of the school.
“Harry,” Hagrid says jovially, but his smile falters when he sees Malfoy. “Extra company, have we?”
The hatchling shuffles inside the box, drawing Hagrid's eye.
“It’s kind of a long story.”
“I’ll make some tea.”
+
Harry leaves Hagrid’s feeling a little bit sad. He isn’t sure why he’d gotten so attached to the hatchling so quickly. Malfoy is quiet next to him on the walk back to the school and Harry wonders if he feels a sense of loss too.
He doesn’t ask, and they part ways for their morning classes.
He doesn’t ask even when they both end up in the same room that night, or the night after, and somehow he’s ended up with Malfoy for a roommate for the year.
It’s three days later that Harry visits Hagrid again, and is nearly knocked over as something flies into him. He stumbles and stares down at the dragon that’s now clinging to him. It takes him only a second to understand the implications. Really, he should have expected Hagrid would have a hard time giving up the hatchling.
“Hagrid, we can’t keep a dragon on school grounds again.”
“I know. But she gave me those big eyes and I couldn’t send her away. Look at her, she’s a lover.”
She (she?) is indeed nuzzling against Harry’s neck. He wraps his arms around her and sighs.
“I’ll just keep her till she’s a bit older, more able to take care of herself.”
He doesn’t point out that Charlie would be well equipped to take care of her and just nods. She is rather cute. “Does she have a name?”
“Not yet. You found her. Would you like to do the honors?”
+
When he tells Malfoy that night about the dragon, who he has named Ice, the first reaction he gets is, “Are you out of your mind?”
The second is, “And what kind of name is Ice, anyway?”
Harry shrugs and settles down into his blankets. “She’s blue. Reminded me of winter.”
“I pity your future children.”
+
Malfoy joins him the next day in visiting Ice with some bizarre excuse that Harry ignores. It’s clear that he just wants to see the dragon again, and is made even more clear when he keeps going back.
Eventually, they forget about his excuses and it just becomes a normal part of their routine. Ginny, Ron, and Hermione pester him at first about why he’s suddenly spending time with Malfoy, even after he’s told them about Ice, but that eventually stops too as the year moves along. Suddenly, it’s just normal.
He rooms with Malfoy and they’re helping rear a baby dragon and they maybe don’t fight as much as they used to. It’s probably as close to a peaceful year as he’s ever dreamed, and it’s nice.
It’s nice, except for the the fact that he’s gone and caught feelings for his ex-enemy.
He realizes it as Draco (when had it become Draco?) is sitting cross-legged on Hagrid’s floor and playing tug-o-war with Ice, shaking the toy back and forth. Ice could easily overpower him, but she enjoys the game.
He gives a sudden yank and Ice stumbles forward into his lap, giving a baleful screech that almost sounds like scorn for playing dirty. He laughs and pets her, looking more at ease than Harry has maybe ever seen him.
And Harry realizes he’s smiling fondly not just at Ice, but Draco too.
And he’s fucked.
Completely, utterly fucked.
+
"Ice loves me more and you know it," Draco is saying, playing mindlessly with one of her wings. Hagrid is out getting her food and it's just the two of them in his hut, entertaining themselves by occassionally trying to teach her tricks.
"As if! I'm the one that saved her! You were going to leave her behind."
"She was too young to remember that, so it doesn't matter."
"You love me more, don't you Ice?" Harry asks, crouching down next to them so he can stroke her neck. She trills at him happily and he grins. "See? She agrees."
"Fine, let's put it to the test. Leave her in the middle of the room and we'll go to either side and call her. Whoever she goes to is her favorite."
Harry considers it. "Fine. No tricks or bribery."
Draco crosses his heart mockingly and stands.
When they're both at their respective walls, they count down.
"3. 2. 1."
They both call her immediately and she takes a step in Harry's direction before turning towards Draco. Her head swings between them and she shudders, whipping her tail in agitation.
The door opens suddenly with Hagrid hauling in a giant hock of meat and she immediately races to him, drawing loud sighs from both Harry and Draco.
"Well, there we have it," Draco says wryly. "Her favorite is whoever has the food."
Harry mutters, "Little traitor," under his breath, but he doesn't mean it, and places a kiss on her face after he's done wiping her off after her meal.
Hagrid leaves again soon after to tend to his other animals and he and Draco are sitting with Ice between them. She nudges Draco's hand, seeking a scratch, and Harry is suddenly hit with a wave of sadness.
“What’s with the face?” Draco asks with a frown, diligently scratching Ice's chin.
“She’s going to have to leave soon,” he says softly. “We can’t keep her here forever. She’s only going to keep getting bigger.”
Draco looks down at her sadly. “I know.” He rubs a thumb against her snout, lips quirking up minutely as she snuffs at him. “I know.”
+
The day that Charlie comes to get Ice, Harry almost cries. He doesn’t, not in front of everyone else, even though tears are streaming down Hagrid’s face. Charlie tells them that they can still come see her, that she seems to have imprinted upon them and would be happier if they visited every now and again.
They’re sitting in their beds that night, the air quiet and morose, and Draco is the first to break the silence.
“This is all your fault.”
Harry looks up in confusion. “What is?”
“You brought Ice here, you gave her to Hagrid, and we both got attached to her.”
Draco’s tone is a little sharp, but Harry understands it’s just because he’s upset.
“Yeah,” he agrees, because he is the reason they had Ice. “But I would do it again if I had the choice.”
“Why would you want to repeat something that’s painful?”
He sighs and moves to the other bed, giving Draco’s shoulder a comforting squeeze as he sits down. “Because it wasn’t all painful. It was tough sometimes, but it was mostly fun. I love Ice. I’m going to see her again when I can, even if you don’t want to.”
Draco glares at him. “Don’t you dare go visit her without me.”
The vehemence of the demand makes him laugh for some reason. When he stops, Draco doesn’t look quite as miserable, and his heart aches softly as they look at each other.
“You know, another good thing that came from Ice… Somehow, some way, we’re friends now.”
Draco purses his lips and puts on a haughty expression. “As if I’d ever be friends with the likes of you.”
“Sure, I won’t tell anyone,” Harry jokes, bumping their shoulders.
The moment goes quiet and they stare at each other, so close. Harry is searching his face, trying to decipher if they’re feeling the same thing, when Draco leans forward and kisses him.
His eyes slip shut and his hands curls into balls on the bed.
It doesn’t last very long, but Harry still feels out of breath when they stop. Draco looks unsure of himself, like he’s waiting for Harry to lash out. What an idiot, Harry thinks, and kisses him again.