Archive of Our Own

Having left Malfoy Manor some fifteen years earlier, the first thing that Draco had done was buy a mid-sized farmhouse that was surrounded by sixty acres of land on the outskirts of London. Although it was similar to the Manor in appearances, it was a fraction of the size and didn’t take as much looking after. Which was a good thing, because after having a few bad years at the end of his school days, followed by the period of house arrest imposed on him by the Ministry for his part in the war, he much preferred his own company. Well, his own and that of his beloved Kneazles.

Somehow, he’d managed to become one of the top breeders in the country and his kittens were much sought after. Which was why he was in the barn, performing welfare checks on his current litters, at ten o’clock on a Friday night. The barn had been converted into a modern breeding facility. It was warm and well lit, with plenty of room for pens to house expectant mothers both before and after they give birth.

“Everyone is looking healthy, Delilah, well done.”

Draco Malfoy smiled and reached out to tickle the grey striped Kneazle under her chin. He’d just finished the daily weighing of Delilah’s offspring which were now suckling fiercely as Delilah attempted to bump her head against Draco’s palm.

“Now, now, you’ve got your babies to look after. You can have a cuddle later,” Draco chuckled, pushing himself back to his feet. “I need to go and check on Jupiter and her terrors.”

Delilah gave a huff and began to clean one of her large paws.

Draco gave her a fond smile and stepped out of her pen, closing the low gate behind him. He stood for a moment, watching as Delilah moved from cleaning her paw to cleaning the kitten that was closest to her head. Then he continued on his way to the next pen in the line, which was currently housing a mottled ginger Kneazle and three larger kittens. These kittens were, by now, a month old and were running rings around their mother who was largely ignoring them as they gambolled around her.

“Hello, Jupiter,” Draco said softly as he watched her from outside of the pen. “Would you like a break?”

Jupiter looked up at the sound of his voice and made a loud mewling noise.

Draco laughed. “Alright, it’s about time for your hunting trip anyway. It won’t be long before these little monkeys will be joining you.”

Jupiter stood up and stretched lazily, opening her mouth in a wide yawn as she padded across to the door.

Draco opened the door all the way so that Jupiter could leave the pen. Before the kittens could follow her, Draco stepped into the pen and closed the door behind him. “Sorry, babies, not yet. I need to give you all a quick check over.”

He knew this wouldn’t be a problem as the kittens were always all over him when he entered the pen. Sure enough, as he knelt down, one of the kittens charged at him and leapt towards his chest, almost bowling him over. Draco laughed. “Alright, alright, calm down. We’ve got quite a bit to do first,” he said, grabbing the kitten gently around the middle and beginning to check him over.

Within minutes, he’d caught and checked all three kittens and was now lying on his back in the pen with the kittens climbing all over him. It was one of his favourite parts of rearing Kneazles, he thought. He enjoyed the short period where the kittens were playful and liked to spend as much time with them as he could in order to habituate them to people. As soon as they began to be a bit more independent, he stepped back slightly so as not to form a permanent bond. It had taken some trial and error before he’d discovered the optimum time that he would need to step back, and he’d had a few new owners contact him to ask how to bond with the kittens as they seemed to miss him.

It was as a result of this that he had ended up having a kitten returned to him once, in exchange for pick of the next litter. That particular kitten had been one of his most striking to look at, with her pure black fur that was flecked with grey and her brilliant green eyes, and she was now four years old. He would never claim to have a favourite, of course, but if he was pushed, it would certainly be Scarr.

“Alright, I’m going to leave you all now,” Draco said as he stood up, carefully setting the kittens on the ground as he did so. “Your mother will be back soon, I’m sure.”

The kittens rose up on their hind legs, giant paws scrabbling at his shins as they mewed at him. He smiled and bent down, rubbing each of their heads in turn. “Don’t worry. I’ll be back in the morning.”

With that, he opened the gate to the pen and slipped outside, ensuring that none of the kittens got out with him. He secured the gate and headed out of the barn, checking the time on his watch. As he made his way out of the gate that separated the barn from the main property, he caught sight of movement ahead of him. Instantly on his guard, he drew his wand and moved forward cautiously.

“Who’s there?”

“Hello?”

Draco frowned. He didn’t recognise the voice, but there had been a hint of confusion in the tone that concerned him. Perhaps it was someone who had got lost, although what they would be doing in his grounds was a mystery as the road leading up to the house was private, not to mention long enough that anyone turning up it in error would soon realise their mistake.

“Can I help you?” Draco asked, still moving cautiously. He didn’t think the person sounded like he’d cause harm, but one could never tell.

“I’m ever so sorry, I saw this big cat…”

Draco groaned softly. He knew, now, exactly what had happened. He put his wand away, as the man had said cat rather than Kneazle, so presumably was a Muggle. “Black with green eyes?” He asked as he drew closer to the front of the house.

“Yes, is it yours?”

Draco rounded the final corner and found the man standing on his drive, looking very confused. “Yes, she’s mine. I’m terribly sorry if she’s caused you concern. She’s a Norwegian Forest Cat and much larger than regular cats. She can roam quite far from the property, but I assure you she’s quite harmless.”

“Oh… I see,” the man replied, blinking.

Draco recognised this look of confusion. It wasn’t the first time he’d had to explain Scarr’s fleeting appearance to a Muggle. She was too fond of wandering past the boundary line, even with the complex charm work in place. He’d quickly found that most Muggles had no idea what a Norwegian Forest Cat looked like, or had any idea that Scarr looked nothing like one, so it was an easy explanation to give.

“She’s a bit of a free spirit and, despite having all this land at her disposal, she does like to wander down the lane,” Draco continued.

“Is she around so I can see her properly?” The man asked, turning to look around.

“Oh, no, she’ll be off hunting the mice, I imagine,” Draco replied apologetically. “And she’s unlikely to come if I call.”

“Ah. That’s a shame,” the man replied, looking slightly disappointed. “Well, I suppose I’ll be on my way. Sorry again for disturbing you.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Draco replied with a wave of his hand. “I’m sorry that my cat brought you so far out of your way.”

“It’s fine, my own fault,” the man laughed as he turned to head back down the lane. “Have a good night.”

“You too,” Draco replied, watching as the man began to walk away. He surreptitiously pulled his wand back out and cast a mild memory modification charm to ensure the man remembered nothing of their conversation.

Once the man was out of sight, Draco turned around and there, in front of him, was Scarr. She was sitting gazing at him and he put his hands on his hips as he regarded her. “There you are, you infernal minx.”

Scarr purred loudly and padded across the drive to butt her head against his thigh.

Draco smiled in spite of himself and reached one hand down to rub her head. “You are going to get us in a lot of trouble one of these days. Come on, inside,” he said, heading for the house with Scarr at his heels.

Draco found himself having the same conversation several times over the course of the next few weeks. Each time, it was a man who’d been intrigued by Scarr’s appearance and had followed her up the lane.

Frustratingly, despite his attempts to strengthen the wards that surrounded his property, Draco found that Scarr was managing to find a way out and the men were finding their way right to his courtyard.

And, one afternoon as he was having tea with Pansy, the topic rolled around to Scarr’s recent behaviour.

“Honestly, Pans, I have no idea what’s got into her,” Draco sighed as he leant back in his chair. They were sitting in the garden, the sun blazing down on them. “It’s been practically every night for the last couple of weeks. I come out of the maternity ward and there’s a random man wandering around the courtyard.”

“Good-looking men?” Pansy asked, setting her teacup back down on the saucer and putting both cup and saucer on the patio table.

“That is besides the point,” Draco replied, his brow furrowed as he looked at her. “I do not want random men wandering around here! Especially Muggle ones.”

“Have you not even looked at them?”

“Pansy! Focus! Whether these men are good-looking or not is not what is bothering me,” Draco exclaimed. “I need to get Scarr’s behaviour under control before she blows the whole Statute of Secrecy and I actually get thrown in Azkaban.”

“So what are you going to do?” Pansy asked, closing one eye against the glare of the sun as she turned to look at him.

“I’m going to have to get a trainer in, I think,” Draco sighed, pushing one hand through his hair. “I have no idea where to begin.”

“Is this a problem breeders normally have?” Pansy frowned.

“No, because we’re breeders and that’s all,” Draco replied, twisting his mouth slightly as he thought. “Our focus is usually on producing the best kittens we can. But since Scarr isn’t one of my queens, she really is more of a pet and I need her to start behaving appropriately.”

“Well then, you’d best start looking for a trainer,” Pansy said thoughtfully. “You know, I’m sure I heard that someone we know is a very highly thought of animal trainer.”

“Really? Who? Why haven’t I heard this?”

“Because you live out here in the middle of nowhere,” Pansy said drily. “You miss out on a lot of information when you’re not in the city.”

“That is why I keep you around,” Draco said pointedly. “You’re supposed to tell me things!”

“I do tell you things,” Pansy sniffed. “Do you want to know who it is, or not?”

“Of course I do. They could be the answer to my problems!”

Pansy gave him a glance that he couldn’t decipher. “Perhaps in more ways than one. It’s Potter.”

Draco’s eyes widened comically as he sat up and looked at Pansy in disbelief. “No. Absolutely not. Don’t even–“

“You said it yourself,” Pansy said lightly. “He could be the answer to your problems. From what I hear, he’s very successful.”

“I don’t care. I won’t be calling him in,” Draco insisted, shaking his head. “No. I’ll find another trainer.”

“Draco, don’t be silly,” Pansy said, leaning forward. “If you want the best, get the best.”

“Well how do we even know whether Potter is the best? What if someone else is better?”

Pansy sighed. “Alright, you look into it. See if you can find someone better. Just let me know when you’re ready to call Potter.”

Draco frowned and picked his teacup up again, taking a sip without answering.

Pansy picked her cup up too and Draco could tell she was watching him through her lashes, but he wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of looking across at her.

Another week passed, and Draco decided that enough was enough. Scarr had lured no less than seven men up the lane to the courtyard and he was getting tired of modifying memories. He was sure that he’d seen the same man at least twice and he was concerned about what the effects of too many memory charms would be.

After completing the morning checks of the kittens, Draco sat down at his writing desk and sighed. He had no other choice. He pulled some parchment out of the drawer and picked up his favourite quill. He dipped the quill into his ink pot and sat with it hovering above his parchment for what seemed like an age before he let it touch down.

Dear Mr Potter,

I would like to request your assistance with a very troublesome Kneazle. She is, for want of a better phrase, testing my patience. I am willing to pay whatever your rates are if you are able to assist with the problem.

If you feel you would like to take the job, please let me know at your earliest convenience by return owl. I will be more than happy to answer any other questions you might have before making your decision.

Yours hopefully,

Draco Malfoy

Putting his quill down, he read through the letter twice before rolling it up and tying a small length of ribbon around it. He was satisfied that it was polite enough to send to someone that he hadn’t seen for ten years, not to mention someone he had never been on particularly good terms with. He could only hope that Potter wouldn’t set fire to the parchment immediately upon seeing who it was from.

Standing up, he went to the window and pushed it open, giving a low whistle as he did so. Within moments, his faithful eagle owl swooped through it and landed on the sill. Draco smiled. “Hello, Oberon. I need you to take this to Harry Potter, and mind you take good care of it. Don’t let anyone other than Potter take it from you.”

Oberon hooted in acknowledgement and held one leg out towards Draco, who carefully tied the small scroll to it.

“Go on then, off you go,” Draco said softly, running a hand over the owl’s sleek feathers. “No need to wait for a reply, I don’t want to pressure him into answering me.”

Oberon hooted once more before turning and taking off, gliding out through the still open window.

Draco sighed deeply before moving to close the window again. “And now I wait.”

Three days later, as Draco was just sitting down with a cup of coffee, there was a tapping at the living room window. Looking up, Draco was surprised to see a small grey owl hopping about on the windowsill, a letter attached to one leg. Frowning, he stood up and went to the window, pushing it open enough to let the small owl in. As soon as it was inside, the owl held out it’s leg, allowing Draco to remove the letter.

Draco wasn’t prepared for the owl to immediately launch itself into the air, flying around the room in circles, hooting incessantly. “Are you insane? Get down here, at once! There are Kneazles around!”

For a few moments, the owl continued to zoom around but then it landed on the back of an armchair. Draco eyed it for a few seconds before daring to turn his attention to the letter. He unrolled the small scroll and began to read.

Dear Draco Malfoy,

Well, I must say it was unexpected to receive your letter. Before I go any further, please let me apologise for Pig. I had to borrow him from Ron because your owl didn’t wait for a reply. Please don’t let any of your Kneazles eat him.

Now, onto your request. I am intrigued as to the nature of your troubles with your Kneazle. Though, I do perhaps need some more information before I say one way or the other whether I would like to take the job.

Would you be open to having lunch with me one day to discuss your requirements?

Please send a reply with Pig. Might as well get my use out of him.

Harry Potter

Draco’s brow creased slightly as he read the letter once more. He hadn’t bargained on Potter asking to have lunch with him to discuss the job, but it only took him a moment’s pondering before he was at his desk to write a reply. The owl, which apparently was named Pig followed him as he moved through the room, perching on the back of his desk chair while he wrote a quick reply.

Dear Mr Potter,

I would be more than happy to meet you for lunch. If you would like to come to my place tomorrow, I will have lunch ready at twelve thirty. My fireplace will be open for you to arrive by Floo, or you can Apparate to the courtyard. I’ll make sure the wards will admit you.

No need to send a reply, unless you are unable to make it tomorrow. I will expect you at twelve-thirty.

Draco Malfoy

Putting his quill down, he turned to look for the owl. “Right, you come here. You can take this back with you.”

Pig hooted happily and flew two laps around Draco’s head before landing on the desk in front of him, hopping around on one leg with the other extended.

Draco rolled his eyes and picked the owl up with one hand, using the other to secure the letter to the extended leg. “Right. Take this straight back to Harry Potter, you hear me?”

Pig hooted again, looking thoroughly delighted with himself as Draco carried him to the window.

Draco frowned slightly, but pushed the window open with one hand and held Pig out, opening his hand. The tiny owl dropped a foot or so before he flapped his wings. With one final hoot, Pig disappeared into the night and Draco closed the window once more.

Exhaling loudly, he made his way back to his armchair and lowered himself into it. He picked up his coffee and took a sip before immediately spitting it back into the cup. “Bloody Potter, still ruining my day,” he muttered as he stood up, cup still in hand, to go and make a fresh one.

The next day, after completing his morning checks on the kittens, Draco made his way into the kitchen to begin making lunch. He opened the fridge and peered inside for a moment before he straightened up again. He had no idea what Potter liked to eat, he realised. Frowning, he bent down to look in the fridge again. He pulled out a selection of cooked meats, some cucumber, lettuce and tomato and butter, placing them on the kitchen counter.

Closing the fridge, he went to the bread bin and took out the loaf he’d made that morning. He carried the bread over to the counter and put it onto the chopping board before opening the drawer to get the bread knife. Then he got to work, cutting thick slices of the bread and buttering them as he went.

He laid the slices of bread out on a large platter, covering them with a protective charm to stop the bread from drying out. By the time it was twelve o’clock, he had another platter laid out with the selection of cooked meats and a bowl filled with the salad elements.

Satisfied that he’d provided a good choice for lunch, he made his way up to his bathroom to have a quick shower. He was not prepared to meet Potter face to face for the first time in years without being as clean as he could be.

Once he was showered, he dressed in a fresh pair of soft black denim jeans and a bottle green cashmere jumper. He ran a comb through his hair and made his way back downstairs. As he walked into the kitchen, the Floo roared into life and Harry Potter himself stepped out. For a moment Draco stared at him, taking in the familiar, yet somehow different appearance of his old classmate.

“Nice place, Malfoy,” Harry said, looking around the kitchen. “I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting this.”

“Yes, well,” Draco started, recovering quickly. “I’ve lived here for the last fifteen years. I had to leave the Manor as soon as I could, I’m sure you’ll understand.”

“Oh, of course. I meant it though, this is nice. I mean, I’ve only seen your kitchen but it’s nice,” Harry replied.

Draco paused for a moment before looking at Harry again. “So you think my place is nice?”

Harry groaned. “Alright, I realise I’ve said nice four or five times in the three minutes I’ve been here. No need to point it out.”

Draco laughed, the tension seemingly broken. “I appreciate you coming here. I know I was quite vague in my message.”

“You were,” Harry nodded. “But I was intrigued. I thought you were a Kneazle breeder?”

“I am. But I do also have a pet Kneazle and she is the one causing me some trouble,” Draco said.

“Ahh. That makes more sense,” Harry said with a nod. “Alright, so–”

“Not so fast, Potter,” Draco interrupted. “We need to have lunch too. I thought we could eat outside?”

“Sounds good to me,” Harry replied, a smile playing on his lips. “It is ready?”

“It is, yes. It’s nothing fancy, just sandwiches. I hope that’s okay?” Draco said, waving his wand over the three platters.

Harry nodded. “Absolutely fine by me. I don’t normally have too much at lunchtime.”

“Good. Follow me,” Draco said, making his way to the door while levitating the platters ahead of him.

Harry fell into step behind him. Something which made Draco feel slightly nervous, though he didn’t really know why.

He led the way out of the house and to the patio that looked out onto the rest of his land. The table and chairs had been cleaned that morning and were ready for them. Draco lowered the platters onto the table and gestured for Harry to sit down before taking his own seat.

Harry sat down slowly, gazing out over the lush green fields that lay in front of them. “Is this all your land?”

Draco nodded, removing the protective charms from the platters. “Yes. There’s sixty acres altogether, although not all of it is fields. This is just a lawn, for example. There are fields beyond the hedge and some woods.”

“Wow. How do you manage it all?” Harry asked, looking back at Draco again.

Draco shrugged. “I do a lot of it magically, I have to admit. If I didn’t, I’d need to employ a gardener.”

“Fair enough. It’s impressive,” Harry replied, turning his attention to the food that Draco had set out. “This all looks fantastic.”

“Thank you, please help yourself,” Draco said, waving a hand at the food. “I wasn’t sure what you’d like, so there’s a bit of everything but please don’t feel you have to eat more than you’re comfortable with.”

Harry chuckled. “Don’t worry, I won’t eat just to be polite,” he said, picking up a slice of bread. “Homemade?”

Draco nodded. “Freshly made this morning. By hand.”

Harry raised his eyebrows as he looked up at Draco again. “Your hand?”

Draco nodded once more, but didn’t speak.

“Interesting,” Harry murmured as he began to layer the bread with some ham and salad.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Draco asked, his tone automatically turning defensive.

“Nothing, nothing. I just… assumed that you might have a house elf,” Harry said, topping his sandwich off with another slice of bread.

“No. I haven’t had house elves since I was at the Manor,” Draco replied shortly. “I wanted somewhere that I could manage on my own.”

Harry raised an eyebrow. “And that means a house with sixty acres of land?”

“The house is manageable on my own,” Draco replied, still defensive. “The land is manageable with magic. It’s a compromise.”

“Alright, alright,” Harry said, raising his hands. “I didn’t mean anything by it. Sorry.”

“I should think so. I wanted your help, not an interrogation,” Draco replied with a sniff.

“Yes, please forgive me,” Harry said, abashed. “Would you like to tell me more about the particular problem you’re having?”

“Thank you. Yes, so, Scarr is quite independent. She’s allowed to roam freely about the property and until quite recently was very good at not going beyond the boundary lines,” Draco began, before pausing to take a bite of his sandwich. He chewed and swallowed the mouthful quickly before continuing. “If she was just wandering, I wouldn’t mind. But she’s bringing all kinds of men back to the property, which as you can imagine is quite dangerous in terms of the Statute.”

Harry frowned as he listened. “Why do you think she’s doing that?”

“I honestly don’t know,” Draco sighed. “But I’d like to try and stop her, if at all possible. I don’t know what you can suggest, but a trainer seems like my only option at this point.”

Harry nodded, chewing the bite of sandwich he’d just taken. “Yes,” he replied, swallowing. “I think we can certainly implement some kind of enrichment program to try and tire her out mentally, then she may not feel as inclined to wander off.”

“What about the men?” Draco asked, his sandwich forgotten. “I don’t want random men hanging around here.”

“I… don’t know. I’ll need some time to think about that one,” Harry said, frowning slightly. “I’ve never actually heard of a problem like this before.”

Draco sighed. “I understand. It’s baffling me, I have to admit. In all my years of handling Kneazles, I’ve never known one to deliberately bring men back. I suppose it could be worse, she could be bringing women back…”

Harry laughed. “That would be worse?”

“Well, yes, in one sense. I may not be interested in any of these random men – although some of them were rather good-looking – but I would be even less interested in women. I just suspect they’d be harder to get rid of,” Draco replied with a shrug, finally picking his sandwich up again and taking another bite.

“Oh, I see,” Harry said, nodding. “So you think she’s trying to find you a mate, for want of a better word?”

Draco coughed, choking on the mouthful of sandwich he was eating. “Potter, do you mind?!”

“Oh, sorry,” Harry exclaimed, alarmed. “I didn’t… are you okay?”

Draco coughed once more but nodded. “Yes… yes, I am. Do you think that could be what she’s doing? Matchmaking?”

“I don’t know,” Harry said, shaking his head. “I just thought… it might be a possibility. I can certainly try working with her. Hopefully, a bit of enrichment will make her less inclined to do such things.”

“What kind of enrichment?”

“That’s going to depend on what you’ve got time for,” Harry replied. “Ideally, you’ll be doing the training so that she doesn’t just associate those things with me. How much free time do you have to spend with her on a daily basis?”

“I have all the time in the world to spend with her. I want to get this sorted, so I am willing to put as much time as it takes in. I usually spend an hour or so checking on the expectant mothers and any who currently have kittens. In fact, I don’t have any expecting at the minute, but I do have two litters,” Draco said.

“Can I see them?” Harry asked with interest.

“Yes, I suppose so,” Draco replied after a moment. “I can show you the grounds, if you like. Perhaps it will help with Scarr?”

“It might be helpful to see the land she calls home, yes,” Harry nodded. “It’ll give me an idea of what I’m working with.”

“Alright, then eat up and we can go now,” Draco said, gesturing to the half-eaten sandwich in front of Harry. He picked his own sandwich up and took another bite.

Harry nodded and picked his sandwich up again, beginning to eat again.

Ten minutes later, they stood up and Draco led Harry through the garden and into the courtyard. “This is where the men make it to. No further, I always manage to get here in time to intercept them.”

Harry nodded, looking around. “Is that the lane out to the main road?”

Draco nodded in response. “Yes. They come up that way and they go back that way, very confused about the “Norwegian Forest Cat” they’ve seen.”

“Norwegian Forest Cat?”

“Yes. That’s what I tell them Scarr is. Fortunately, not many people seem to know what Norwegian Forest Cats look like, because Scarr looks nothing like one,” Draco said, shaking his head.

“Oh. Good thinking,” Harry replied, nodding. “So where are the breeding facilities?”

“This way,” Draco said, gesturing for Harry to follow once more. He continued through the courtyard and turned the corner of the hedge-lined path that led to the barn.

Harry followed half a step behind and Draco caught a glimpse of him looking up at the hedges.

Draco continued until they reached the barn, then he turned to face Harry. “Alright, this is the barn. Converted, of course, into several large breeding pens although I do try not to have more than two nursing females in here at a time. I favour quality over quantity, you understand?”

“Oh, absolutely,” Harry nodded, looking impressed. “Not that I know too much about the ins and outs of breeding.”

“I have absolutely no time for those people who breed several litters a year from the same females,” Draco said with a disgusted tone as he shook his head. “It’s just cruel. Anyway, that’s not why you’re here. Now, the two females in here have seven kittens between them. One litter is older than the other, so you’ll see a difference in the kittens. Jupiter and Delilah – the mothers – are both wary of strangers, as most Kneazles are but you’ll be alright.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to upset them,” Harry said, as Draco put his hand on the door.

“You won’t, I promise,” Draco replied, pausing and turning to look at Harry once more. “Although they’re wary, they’re quite used to strangers coming in to view the kittens, even though I’m the one who matches them up.”

“You don’t have people choose which kitten they want?”

Draco shook his head. “No. Only in exceptional cases. Usually I have them tell me their circumstances and because I’ve got to know the kittens and all their little quirks, I’m able to pick the one that would fit each household the best.”

“Oh, right, I see,” Harry replied, nodding thoughtfully. “I suppose that makes sense.”

Draco nodded too. “Indeed. Alright, let’s go and see these kittens,” he said, opening the door and stepping inside. He held the door open for Harry to follow, letting it shut behind them as Harry was looking around.

“These are impressive facilities,” Harry commented. “Not at all like I was expecting.”

“What did you expect?” Draco asked curiously.

“I don’t know… not this,” Harry replied, frowning slightly. “I didn’t think they’d be so big.”

“Well, they need to be fairly big to house a Kneazle family,” Draco said with a laugh. “These are not your regular house cat, Potter.”

“Of course not,” Harry replied, shaking his head slightly. “So who have we got here?”

“This is Delilah,” Draco said, showing Harry the first pen. “Her kittens are a month old, so they’re starting to become curious about the outside world. They’re eating solid food now, and Delilah will bring them whole mice back.”

“Have you got names for them?”

Draco shook his head. “No, I try not to get too attached so I don’t name them. Their new owners can do that.”

“Makes sense,” Harry nodded, watching the kittens playing with each other. “They look so sweet.”

“They do now, yes. But before long they’ll be a lot bigger and a lot more dangerous until they’re properly bonded to the owners,” Draco replied, gazing fondly at the kittens who hadn’t noticed their appearance. Delilah was snoozing in a corner.

“What about the next litter?” Harry asked, looking across at Draco. “Where are they?”

“Just over here,” Draco said, moving down the line of pens. He led Harry past the empty pen that sat between Jupiter and Delilah’s pens. “This litter is almost ready to go to their new homes.”

“Do you deliver them, or do the owners pick them up?” Harry asked as he trailed behind.

“It depends on the circumstances. I’ve done both in the past,” Draco replied with a shrug. “Two of these kittens will be picked up. I’ll take the third one to her new home myself.”

Harry nodded thoughtfully. “Wow, they are quite a lot bigger aren’t they?” He asked as Draco stopped in front of the pen. “Where’s their mother?”

“She’ll be out hunting,” Draco said, watching as two of the kittens played tug with a battered old scarf. “The kittens are completely weaned now, so she gets plenty of time to herself. She’ll come back later and take the kittens out with her.”

“Don’t you worry they might run off?”

Draco shook his head. “No. That’s the beauty of raising Kneazles. The mother is a very good teacher, including teaching them how to find their way home again. Once they go to their new homes, the owners are instructed not to let them go off the property for two weeks so that they get used to their surroundings. Then when the wards are changed to allow them free movement, they know how to find their way back.”

“Interesting,” Harry murmured. “I’ve never thought much about how they learn these things.”

“And you an animal trainer,” Draco commented, looking over at him.

“I know, I know. I’ve let myself down,” Harry said with a grin. “Kneazles aren’t really my area of expertise though, so I don’t think it’s too bad.”

“Perhaps not. Anyway, they’re having a nap at the moment, as you can see,” Draco continued, gesturing to the kittens. “But when they’re awake, they’re a bit of a handful.”

Harry nodded. “I can imagine. So, do you ever have all of these pens full?”

Draco shook his head. “No. I don’t think I’ve ever had them full, I just built this many in to prepare for all eventualities. There could be a time when I need to separate litters, or I might have an unwell Kneazle who needs to convalesce, you know?”

Harry nodded again. “I see. That makes absolute sense. It really is quite a set up you’ve got here.”

“Thank you,” Draco replied, a small smile appearing on his face. “Now. Scarr. Would you like to meet her?”

“Yes, please,” Harry said, looking around. “I was going to ask if she’s around.”

“Well, she’ll be around somewhere. I don’t know that she’ll come when I call though,” Draco said, looking embarrassed now. “She can be a bit of a law unto herself.”

Harry chuckled. “That’s alright. I don’t have anywhere to be this afternoon so I can wait around, or come back if you’d rather.”

“I don’t think that will be necessary. I have an idea of where she’ll be if you’d like to take a walk with me?” Draco replied. His nerves had certainly eased when he began talking to Harry about the Kneazles so the idea of taking him on a walk around the property was not as daunting a prospect as it had been that morning.

“That sounds good,” Harry nodded. “I think meeting her will help to give me an idea of what will work.”

“Alright, then we’ll do that. How does your training process normally work?” Draco asked, moving towards the barn door.

“Normally I visit the home of the person and their pet, like I’ve done here with you,” Harry said, following. “I’ll meet the pet, spend a bit of time with them, then I’ll go away and come up with a training plan to work around the person’s schedule. And then, of course, I’ll go back to begin the training.”

“How long does it normally take?”

“That really depends on the owner and the animal,” Harry replied. “If they put the work in between sessions with me, they see quicker progress and it doesn’t take quite as long. If they don’t put in as much work, it can take longer than I have initially planned for.”

“Of course. I am fully prepared to work with your plan,” Draco said, nodding. “I absolutely need to get a handle on Scarr’s behaviour.’

“Good to know,” Harry replied with a smile. “I’m sure it won’t take you too long then.”

“I hope not. Other than this new, strange habit of hers, she’s not really any trouble,” Draco sighed as they walked down the path that led to the woods. “Just a bit mischievous, but I quite like that about her. She’s full of character.”

“I’m looking forward to meeting her,” Harry said, still smiling. “The ones with character are the best kind of pets.”

Draco nodded, falling silent for a moment before remembering he’d offered to give Harry a tour of the grounds. “So, we’ve come away from the house and the barn, and we’re now in the grounds properly. As you can see there’s quite a lot of open land. None of the Kneazles really like to be out in the open during the day but there is plenty of space if they did choose to be.”

“Alright, so I won’t come up with anything that involves being out in the open,” Harry commented as he looked around.

“That would probably be best. This path we’re on leads to the woods,” Draco continued. “It’s the perfect hunting ground for them. I do provide food for them, of course, but I don’t discourage their natural hunting instincts. You never know when they’ll need them, or what kind of home they’re going to. Some of the new owners might want them to hunt.”

“Fair enough. It’s good that you have somewhere like this at your disposal, then,” Harry replied.

“Yes. It wasn’t the deciding factor in me buying this property, but it certainly helped,” Draco said as they reached the entrance to the woods. “It’s not as big as the Forbidden Forest, or as dark in there, thankfully.”

Harry laughed. “Glad to hear it.”

Draco nodded and led the way. They only walked for a short while before he stopped, putting out an arm to stop Harry. “There she is,” he said, pointing to where the Kneazle was lying in the longer grass around the base of one of the trees.

Harry’s gaze followed the direction of Draco’s hand and he let out a soft gasp. “She’s beautiful.”

“Isn’t she?” Draco asked, smiling with pride. “She’s very striking to look at. If I were to breed from her, her kittens would be most sought after.”

“How come you don’t breed from her then?” Harry asked, looking at him.

“Partly because I don’t want to exploit her just to make some extra money, and partly because she’s a bit too wilful,” Draco replied ruefully. “Independence is good, but sometimes she’s too independent, if that makes sense? I like her as a pet, but most people wouldn’t and traits like that can be passed to offspring.”

“I suppose that makes sense. You’d potentially be left with the kittens if their temperaments weren’t quite right,” Harry said.

“Exactly. I can cope with one Scarr, but not a litter full,” Draco said with a slight chuckle. “I don’t want to disturb her hunting, but I’d like her to meet you.”

“I’m in no rush,” Harry replied. “I can wait a little bit longer, if you want to let her hunt in peace.”

Draco shook his head. “No, if we leave her, she might go further into the woods. I’ll give her a minute and then call her. I’m sure if she sees you she’ll come over. She’s curious enough about new people.”

Harry nodded as he turned to watch Scarr once more.

Draco looked at Harry out of the corner of his eye. He hadn’t worked out yet what he thought of Potter now. It was clear that he still had the same passion that Draco remembered from school, along with the curiosity that had often got him into trouble. But he could now, finally, see what others had seen all those years ago. Strangely enough, he realised that he wasn’t annoyed by that fact. He had always, as Pansy frequently pointed out, had a bit of a thing for Potter but had never allowed himself to admit it, choosing instead to believe that their obsession with each other had been down to mutual dislike.

“She’ll know we’re here already, I assume?” Harry asked.

“Oh, yes, no doubt about it,” Draco replied. “Even though we’re upwind of her, she’ll have heard us coming from ages away. She’s just choosing to continue with her hunting.”

“I suppose that’s fair enough,” Harry said with a chuckle. “Is she a good hunter?”

“Absolutely. Unfortunately, she often leaves me presents of rats and birds,” Draco said, making a face. “If you could help stop that too, I’d be most grateful.”

Harry laughed softly. “I’m not sure I can stop something that’s an innate instinct like that. She just wants to show you how she can provide for you.”

“Yes, well, I can provide for myself quite well,” Draco replied, shaking his head. “Alright, I don’t think she’s going to catch anything while we’re here. Scarr!”

Scarr’s ear twitched in their direction.

“Come on, Scarr,” Draco called again. “I need you to come here for a minute, then we’ll leave you alone.”

After a moment, Scarr stood up and turned, padding slowly towards them. Draco could see her nose twitching and knew that she was evaluating Harry’s presence. As she got closer, he could see that her eyes were on Harry rather than him. “Ah, she’s clocked you,” he said softly, looking across at Harry.

“Should I be worried?”

Draco shook his head. “No, she’s relaxed. I think she’ll just come and give you a sniff.”

“Do I need to do anything special to greet her?”

“Just let her sniff you. If she bumps her head against you, that’s basically her saying you can stroke her,” Draco replied. “She’s not quite as dangerous as those Hippogriffs from school. If she doesn’t like you, she’ll just walk away.”

“Good to know. Although it would make my job easier if she liked me, it’s not essential,” Harry replied with a smile. Scarr was now by their sides, sniffing at Harry’s knees with interest. Then she lifted her front feet off the ground slightly as she raised her head to bump against Harry’s hand that was hanging loosely by his side.

“Ah, good,” Draco said softly. “I didn’t think you’d have any trouble.”

Harry lifted his hand and rubbed the top of Scarr’s head gently. “She’s so soft.”

“I know. I think she’s possibly got the softest fur I’ve ever felt on a Kneazle,” Draco replied. “It’s very dense, too.”

“I was going to say the same,” Harry said with a grin. “I don’t think I’ve ever worked with an animal with such thick fur.”

“Does that make a difference to anything?”

“No, not at all. Just an observation,” Harry replied, glancing at Draco. “She certainly seems happy enough to be in my company, anyway.”

“Yes, I think she is. So hopefully she’ll take to your training program as well,” Draco said. He was feeling slightly anxious that even Harry Potter’s methods wouldn’t work with Scarr and he’d be stuck shooing random men away from his property for the rest of his life.

“We’ll soon find out,” Harry replied. “I think we should start straight away once I’ve designed the program. If that’s alright with you, of course?”

“Of course,” Draco nodded. “Whatever you say. I can move things around if necessary.”

“Perfect. I don’t think it’ll take me long to come up with a program to be honest,” Harry said, stepping away from Scarr now. “Her behaviour doesn’t seem to be much of a problem.”

“No, as I said earlier, she’s a fantastic companion. It’s just this luring of men that’s an issue,” Draco said with a sigh. “I wish I could understand why she’s doing it.”

“You have no idea how many times I’ve wished the animal I’m working with could talk,” Harry said with a laugh. “It would make everything so much easier.”

Draco nodded. “It certainly would. Alright, Scarr, you can go and hunt again now. We’re going to leave you,” he said, gesturing for Harry to follow him.

They turned and walked back the way they’d come, passing the open fields and heading for the lawned garden in companionable silence. They reached the lawn and headed around it into the courtyard.

“Thank you for showing me around,” Harry said, as they came to a stop. “I have to admit, I was a bit nervous about coming.”

“I was nervous too,” Draco admitted with a nod. “It’s been so long since we saw each other, I wasn’t sure what to expect from you.”

“Same here. I’m grateful you’ve given me this opportunity.”

“Apparently you’re the best trainer there is,” Draco said, shrugging. “I’d be stupid not to give you a chance. I’m grateful that you’re willing to come here and give me a chance.”

“Apparently we’ve both grown up a lot since the last time we saw one another, then,” Harry said, smiling. “About time, wouldn’t you say?”

“Absolutely,” Draco replied with a smile of his own. “Thank you for coming, Potter. I look forward to seeing what you come up with.” He held his hand out, watching as Harry glanced down at it for a moment before grasping it and shaking firmly.

“My pleasure. I’ll be in touch once I’ve come up with something,” Harry said with a nod. “Can I fire call you or would you prefer I send an owl?”

“If sending an owl will involve that tiny thing you sent last time, please fire call,” Draco said with a pained look. “I was on edge the whole time it was in my house in case Scarr came in and caught it while it twittered around.”

Harry laughed. “Duly noted. He’s very enthusiastic about his job, but I understand your fears. Fire call it is.”

“Thank you,” Draco said gratefully. “Do you want to use the Floo to get home?”

“Yes, please,” Harry replied, looking relieved. “If you don’t mind.”

“Not at all,” Draco said, turning to go back into the house. “It’s the least I can do.”

They walked back through the house and into the kitchen, where Draco held out the tin of Floo powder for Harry to take a pinch.

“I’ll be in touch soon,” Harry promised, before turning and throwing the powder into the flames while calling out his own address. He stepped into the fireplace and was gone in seconds.

Draco leaned back against the counter and exhaled deeply. He hadn’t realised how much tension he’d been holding onto while Harry was there. Now that he was gone, he could feel all of his muscles relaxing. He moved across the kitchen to make himself some coffee.

The next morning, as Draco was sitting at the breakfast table, the Floo chimed and the flames roared.

Putting his coffee mug down, Draco turned his attention to the fireplace where Harry’s head had appeared. “Good morning, Potter.”

“Morning, Malfoy,” Harry replied, smiling. “Sorry to interrupt your breakfast.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Draco said, shaking his head. “Have you come up with a training plan already?”

“I have,” Harry replied with a nod. “Are you free this morning for me to come over and discuss it?”

“Yes, of course,” Draco said, glancing at the clock. “I’ll be completely free by ten o’clock if that’s any good for you?”

“That’s perfect,” Harry replied. “I’ll see you then. I’ll let you get back to your breakfast now.”

“See you at ten,” Draco said, nodding again as Harry disappeared. Then he picked up his coffee mug once more, taking a sip. He had time to finish his breakfast before going to make his checks on the kittens.

When ten o’clock rolled around, Draco was back in the kitchen, with the kettle on. He had managed to find Scarr and bring her back to the house after he’d completed his daily checks and now she was lounging in front of the Aga, enjoying the warmth that it gave.

The Floo chimed and the flames roared once more, but this time, Harry stepped out into the kitchen. Draco watched as Harry brushed some soot off his shoulders and glanced around. “Good morning – again – Potter.”

“Good morning,” Harry replied with a smile as he stepped into the centre of the room. “I’m glad I didn’t have to come looking for you. I think I’d get lost without your guidance.”

“I wouldn’t dream of making you find me in these grounds,” Draco said, shaking his head. “We’d be here forever. Coffee?”

“Oh. Yes, please,” Harry replied, surprise evident in his voice. “Milk but no sugar.”

Draco nodded. “Coming right up.”

He moved around the kitchen, spooning coffee into two mugs before pouring hot water on top. He added milk to both mugs, then added three spoonfuls of sugar to his own mug. “Here you go,” he said, handing Harry the mug without sugar. “Should we go through to the lounge?”

“Yes, if you like,” Harry replied with a nod. “It won’t really matter where we discuss this.”

“Then we might as well be comfortable,” Draco said, raising an eyebrow briefly before leading Harry out of the kitchen and along the hall to the lounge.

Gesturing for Harry to take the armchair, Draco sat down on the sofa. He watched as Harry sat down and then pulled out a small roll of parchment.

“I’m not sure what you were expecting?” Harry asked as he glanced up at Draco.

“I don’t think I had anything in mind,” Draco replied, shrugging. “I honestly don’t know what to expect.”

“Alright, I think that might make this easier to explain, then,” Harry said, unrolling the parchment. “It’s not a complicated plan.”

“That’s good to hear,” Draco replied. “I like the sound of uncomplicated.”

Harry laughed.

A second later, the door swung open and Scarr padded into the room. She paced around the outskirts before settling down on the rug. She fixed her eyes on Harry.

“Nice of you to join us, Scarr,” Draco said with a smile.

“Obviously wants to know what we’ve got planned,” Harry commented, chuckling softly. “Don’t worry Scarr, you’ll like it.”

Scarr blinked at them, settling her head on her paws.

Draco shook his head slightly. “Sometimes I don’t know whether she likes me, you know. She’s very good at giving me the cold shoulder.”

“I think she’s very loyal to you though,” Harry said. “And in tune with your feelings.”

“Possibly,” Draco replied with a nod. “She’s quite good at being affectionate if I’ve had a bad day.”

“She sounds delightful to live with, I have to say,” Harry said. “And I’m being serious about that.”

“She is, she really is. I’m not supposed to have favourites,” Draco replied. “But I couldn’t help it with this one. She came back to me as a kitten and I toyed with the idea of having her as a breeding queen, but like I told you the other day, her temperament isn’t quite right.”

“She really fell on her feet with you, though,” Harry continued. “It’s obvious how much you love her.”

Draco nodded, unable to keep the smile from his face.

“Alright, so this training plan isn’t so much of a training plan as an enrichment one,” Harry said, spreading the parchment out on the arm of the chair. “Some of the things I recommend are Muggle products, so if you need any help getting them, just let me know. I don’t think she needs any help with hunting or searching food out. She seems quite good at that already.”

Draco nodded. “She is.”

“Exactly. But I thought she might enjoy some of the food puzzle games that I’ve developed,” Harry continued. “They’re very simple, but do require a bit of preparation.”

“Alright, that’s fine,” Draco said.

“If you’ve got any old cardboard boxes, or items for recycling, you can use these to set up a sort of obstacle course,” Harry said. “You should aim to have things she can climb over, or under, and things she can go inside – without getting stuck – as well as things that make noise. Things like paper bags, or tin foil and bubble wrap.”

“What’s the purpose of all of that?” Draco asked curiously.

“Mostly to make her use her brain,” Harry said, looking up at Draco. “She’ll use her brain while she’s hunting, but if you make her think about different things, it’ll help tire her out more. She’s used to hunting live prey, but if you hide some of the food you feed her, I think she’ll get more out of it. Of course, you don’t need to have all of this equipment straight away. You could do this just as well out in the grounds, but you’d need to be sure that she’s going to engage with what you’re doing rather than hunting live prey.”

“I suppose that makes sense,” Draco said slowly, nodding. “And if it tires her out, she’ll have less inclination to go wandering?”

“Exactly. Now, you can also make use of the interactive feeders that Muggles use for dogs,” Harry said, putting his hand into his pocket again and pulling out a thin booklet. “If you look here, these are the kinds of things I mean.”

Draco got up and moved closer to Harry to peer at the booklet. “Potter, some of these look obscene.”

Harry laughed, looking up at Draco. “I know. You just have to try and look past that.”

“Well, I’ll try my best but I can’t make any promises,” Draco said, shaking his head. “Some of these things do not look like they should be anywhere near a dog.”

As he leaned over Harry’s shoulder, Draco heard a noise that he couldn’t place. Frowning, he looked around and realised that Scarr was purring loudly, though she looked as though she was sleeping.

“Those aren’t the ones I wanted to show you anyway,” Harry said, drawing Draco’s attention back to the booklet. “These are the feeders. You see? They have to work out how to get to the food by opening drawers, or pulling strings and flipping things.”

“And you think Scarr will be able to do that?”

“Why wouldn’t she? If she’s as clever as I think she is, she’ll have no problem learning how to do this,” Harry replied, looking at Draco again. “Some are much easier than others to work out, so you’d start with those ones and then move onto the more complicated ones.”

“Alright. Would you recommend those over the obstacle course?”

“No, I would say the obstacle course is priority and the feeders are for if you don’t have as much time one day,” Harry replied. “They’ll make her think, but probably not as effectively as doing an obstacle course will.”

“Fair enough. That makes sense. Have you got anything in the plan for having her be more responsive to my calls?” Draco replied, moving back to his own seat. Scarr’s purring stopped.

“Yes. We can start that now while I’m here,” Harry said, consulting the parchment again. “The simple option for that is to literally give her some food every time you say her name.”

“Forever?”

“No, but it may take a little bit of time before we can fade the reward out,” Harry replied. “Ideally, you’d be unpredictable with your reward schedule but because this is something new we’re asking her to learn, we’ll reward her every time at first. So for the reward, you’ll want something that she finds irresistible but you don’t need big pieces.”

“I usually feed her Muggle cat food, which is supplemented by all of the creatures she finds while out hunting,” Draco said thoughtfully. “But I do sometimes give her bits of leftover meat from my own meals.”

“That sounds perfect for rewarding her with,” Harry said, looking up. “Raw or cooked?”

“Both, really. It depends if I feed myself before or after I’ve fed her,” Draco replied with a shrug. “I don’t know if she prefers one or the other.”

“Well, we could find that out quite easily if we need to,” Harry said, nodding. “But for the purposes of this, either will work. We’ll get about ten pieces of food and literally just say her name and give her a piece of the food. She doesn’t have to do anything to earn the food, it’s just paired with her name.”

“That seems simple enough. Should we do that now?”

“If you like,” Harry said. “Or we could go through the rest of the plan first?”

“Oh. Is there more?”

“Just a little bit more,” Harry said with a chuckle. “I told you it was a fairly simple plan. I didn’t need to put a lot into it really, as your issue is so specific.”

“Okay, let’s do that then.”

For the next ten minutes, Harry talked Draco through the rest of his training plan and they began to work with Scarr on pairing her name with a food reward. Then, they went out into the grounds and Harry helped Draco set up a search area where Scarr could hunt out pieces of her food.

They watched as she sniffed around the search area, swallowing each piece of food she found. Draco smiled as he watched her methodical searching, listening to the sounds of her sniffing. “I didn’t think anything could sniff so loudly,” he said softly.

“It’s surprising isn’t it?” Harry replied. “People underestimate the power of the nose.”

“Apparently so,” Draco said, his eyes still on Scarr who was now standing on her hind legs while she sniffed at the trunk of a tree.

“So, if you can manage to do a search like this every day, you should soon see a change in her behaviour,” Harry said.

“And if I can’t manage it every day?” Draco asked. He was sure it wouldn’t be a problem, but of course he couldn’t guarantee it.

“You’ll still see a change, it just might be a bit slower than you’d hoped,” Harry replied. “I’ll come back in a couple of days to see how you’re getting on. I find that I see better results if I’m not constantly present after the initial training session.”

“I suppose that makes sense,” Draco said with a nod. “I’m not anticipating having problems setting a search up every day, of course.”

“I know,” Harry smiled. “Don’t worry. I won’t tell you off if you don’t manage it.”

“Glad to hear it,” Draco said with a snort. “You never told me what your fees are, by the way.”

“We can discuss that later,” Harry said, waving a hand. “I don’t have set fees, I like to see how long it takes me to sort the problems and then charge accordingly.”

“And that’s a financially viable way of running your business?”

“I don’t think that’s any of your concern, but yes,” Harry said, glancing at Draco with one eyebrow raised.

“Sorry, you’re right, it’s none of my business,” Draco replied, holding his hands up. Scarr was still snuffling through the undergrowth in search of the last piece of food.

“I’ll forgive you,” Harry said. “I think she’s enjoyed this.”

“I think she has too. I’ve never seen her so engaged with something. Oh, look, she’s got the last bit.”

Harry smiled. “Well done, Scarr.”

Scarr turned to them, licking her lips. She padded over to them, bumping her head against Harry’s leg first and then Draco’s.

“Will this stop your wandering, you wicked Kneazle?” Draco asked softly, rubbing his hand over her head. Scarr purred loudly in response.

“Alright, I’d better be going now,” Harry said, running a hand over Scarr’s back. “I’ve got another appointment to get to. Do another name session with her later on, then leave it for the day and go back to it tomorrow. If you have any trouble, you can fire call me at any time, but I’ll see you in two days time regardless.”

Draco nodded. “I can do that. Thank you for coming today. I’ll walk you back up to the house and you can use the Floo.”

“Thanks,” Harry replied. “I appreciate it.”

Draco nodded. “Don’t mention it. Come on then.”

He turned and waited for Harry to join him before heading back to the house. Scarr walked at their heels the whole way, occasionally flicking her tongue out to lick her lips again.

Three weeks passed and Draco had found himself having to call Harry more than once.

“I don’t know why, but on the days you’ve been here, I haven’t had a problem with her,” he said with a sigh on the third Friday. “On the days in between, even though I’ve done searches with her, and the name game, she’s gone off down the lane and a very confused Muggle has followed her. Please tell me you can help.”

“I hope so,” Harry replied with a frown. “She’s perfectly happy on the days I’ve been? Not restless or anything like that?”

Draco shook his head. “No, not at all. In fact, she often looks like she’s smiling and she spends much more time in the house with me.”

“Very strange. Let’s see what we can get from her today then,” Harry said, lifting his coffee mug and taking a sip.

Draco did the same. They were sitting at the kitchen table, Harry having arrived half an hour earlier in response to Draco’s frustrated call. The moment Harry had stepped out of the fireplace, Scarr had appeared in the kitchen, winding herself around their legs and purring loudly. She was currently lying on the hearth, blinking slowly.

“You know… she’s always very affectionate when I arrive. I hadn’t thought about it before,” Harry said, setting his mug down again. “Perhaps she just likes having me here?”

“Possibly,” Draco agreed, nodding. “Could she have made the association that you arriving means more food? Even though I’ve been doing the exact same things when you haven’t been here?”

“That is a definite possibility,” Harry replied, a thoughtful look on his face. “Can we try something different today?”

“Yes, anything,” Draco said, nodding. “I’ve cleared my schedule today to try and get on top of this. What are you thinking?”

“Instead of doing anything from the plan, can we go through to the lounge and just talk?” Harry asked. “I know this sounds odd, but trust me.”

“Alright… shall we go through now?” Draco replied, confusion evident on his face.

“Yes, you go first,” Harry said, nodding.

Draco stood up, scraping his chair back on the stone floor. Scarr blinked and opened her eyes fully, watching as he left the room.

Harry got up and followed him.

As they sat down in the lounge, Harry on the sofa and Draco in the armchair, Scarr slunk into the room and immediately curled up in front of the fireplace. She laid her head on her paws and watched them.

“What are you watching for exactly?” Draco asked, taking a sip from the coffee mug he’d brought with him.

“I just want to try a few seating positions and see how she reacts to them,” Harry replied, his eyes still on Scarr. “But not yet. Let’s just… chat.”

“Chat?” Draco asked, raising an eyebrow. “What do you want to chat about?”

“Us. I mean, our lives. What have you been up to before calling me in to help your Kneazle?” Harry said. “Other than the obvious breeding.”

“That is pretty much all I’ve been doing,” Draco admitted. “I’ve concentrated on building my reputation as a breeder. I’ve spent plenty of time with Pansy, of course, and my mother but other than that I haven’t really been one for socialising.”

“I see. No significant others?” Harry asked.

“The odd one,” Draco said, frowning. “No-one I really clicked with. Well, not to the degree I wanted to spend the rest of my life with them, anyway. What bearing does this have on anything, Potter?”

“I’ve told you, we’re just chatting. You can ask me questions too, you know,” Harry replied with a chuckle.

“Very well. What about you? What have you been doing? I know you didn’t leave school hoping to be an animal trainer,” Draco said, shifting in his seat to get more comfortable.

“No, you’re right, I didn’t,” Harry said. “I entertained the idea of being an Auror for a little while, but when it came down to it, I just didn’t have the energy for it anymore. Those last couple of years at school almost killed me – literally – so I decided to look at other options.”

“How did you decide on this as a career path, then?”

“It just happened one day. I actually went back to Hogwarts to help Hagrid for a while, and it was him who put the idea in my head,” Harry replied with a shrug. “He lost Fang a couple of years after we left school, and his new dog was a bit… unruly to say the least. It turned out that I had the knack for teaching him new behaviours, so that was it. That’s what I ended up doing.”

“Interesting. I suppose it shouldn’t surprise me that you were just automatically good at it,” Draco said with a sigh. “It’s like school all over again.”

Harry laughed. “You know that’s a lie. I wasn’t automatically good at things, other than Quidditch.”

“It’s how it seemed to me at times,” Draco replied, grinning. “Anyway, do you enjoy doing this more than the combat stuff?”

“Much more. It’s almost more rewarding too,” Harry said. “The combat is exhilarating, but also dangerous and I’ve had enough danger in my life. I know animals can be dangerous too, but the majority I work with are pets so the threat isn’t there. I like the challenge of coming up with a plan that will work for each individual animal and then the feeling when the animal you’re working with finally gets it is amazing.”

“I can imagine. Although I don’t think I’m anywhere close to having that feeling with Scarr,” Draco muttered, shaking his head. “What about socialising then? Any significant others for you?”

“Well, not right now,” Harry said with a shake of his head. “There have been some, but like you, none that I could picture spending my life with.”

Draco snorted softly. “Aren’t we doing well for ourselves?”

“I think we’re doing alright, actually,” Harry replied. “Can you come over here now?”

“What?” Draco asked, looking at Harry with wide eyes. He felt his heartbeat quicken. “What do you mean?”

“Just come and sit over here,” Harry said. “I want to see how Scarr reacts.”

Draco’s jaw dropped slightly, but he got up and moved to sit at the opposite end of the sofa to Harry.

Scarr, who had opened her eyes to watch him, flicked her tail and purred softly.

“Well that’s interesting,” Harry murmured as he watched her. “Does she normally do that if you sit next to someone?”

“Not that I’ve noticed,” Draco said slowly, also watching Scarr. “But then again, she’s not normally here when I have guests. She’s normally off hunting somewhere.”

“Alright, this is starting to make sense, I think,” Harry said as he glanced across at Draco. Scarr’s purring increased slightly. “What happens if you get up and move away from the sofa? Don’t go back to your chair, go to the window or something.”

Draco frowned slightly, but did as he was asked and stood up, moving across the room to look out of the window. Scarr’s purring stopped, though he could see her reflection in the window and she was watching him. “What are you playing at?” He murmured under his breath.

“Experimenting,” Harry said as he joined Draco at the window.

Draco jumped, not having seen Harry approaching. “Merlin, Potter! You could have warned me!”

“Shh. Listen.”

Draco paused and listened. His jaw dropped again as he realised that Scarr was purring once more, though it seemed even louder as he and Harry stood side by side at the window. “What is she doing?”

“If I’m not mistaken, she’s doing exactly what we thought she was doing that first day we spoke,” Harry said, turning to look at Draco. “She’s matchmaking.”

Draco whipped his head around to look at Scarr in horror.

“I’ve heard of Kneazles doing this before,” Harry continued. “Their intelligence and sixth sense are not usually to be dismissed.”

Draco turned back to face Harry. “So you’re telling me that she is basically setting us up?”

Harry chuckled. “Seems like it. Let’s go and sit back down on the sofa. Sit right next to me this time.”

Draco suppressed a groan and nodded instead. “Alright. Whatever you say.”

They both made their way back to the sofa, sitting down beside one another. Draco squirmed slightly in his seat as he realised exactly how close he was to Harry. So close that he could smell Harry’s aftershave and feel the warmth generated by him.

The sound of Scarr’s purring increased, overriding the scent of Harry’s aftershave in Draco’s mind. “Oh, Merlin,” he muttered, daring himself to look at Harry.

Harry’s cheeks were tinted pink as Draco looked at him. “Can you believe this?” Draco asked quietly.

“I suppose I can,” Harry replied, looking away from Draco briefly. “Kneazles don’t act like this unless there’s been some kind of hint in the first place.”

Draco sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, before opening them again and looking at Harry. “Your name may have come up a few times in conversation over the years.”

Harry laughed softly. “Dare I ask whether it was complimentary?”

“Some of it was,” Draco replied, nodding. “Some not so much.”

“Sounds about right. So, perhaps we need to look at this again,” Harry said. “The enrichment was possibly unnecessary, but at least it won’t have done any harm. Neither will teaching her to respond to her name.”

“No, I suppose not,” Draco said, shifting slightly so that he was almost facing Harry. “Would you recommend continuing with it?”

“I would. But I would also recommend that you join me for a drink tonight,” Harry said. “Wherever you like.”

“Oh, really?” Draco replied, raising one eyebrow. “I think I can do that. It seems that we have a lot to discuss.”

“It does. So, tonight?”

“Tonight is good. I don’t know that I want to discuss… whatever we’re going to discuss in public though,” Draco said, frowning slightly. “Not when I’m barely understanding it myself. You, ah, you could come back here for dinner?”

“You wouldn’t mind?” Harry asked, raising an eyebrow.

Draco shook his head. “No, not at all. I would feel infinitely more comfortable talking with you here. I can cook, or there’s a very nice pub in the village that does takeaway.”

“Either is fine by me. I eat pretty much anything,” Harry said, running one hand through his hair. “But for ease, you can’t go wrong with a good steak and chips.”

“Good to know. What time do you usually eat on an evening?”

Harry shrugged. “Whenever I have time. I’ll fit in with you, just let me know what time I’m expected.”

“Seven-thirty? I don’t like to eat too early,” Draco replied, wondering what on Earth he was doing.

“Seven-thirty is fine by me. I’ll be back here before then,” Harry said with a nod. “I don’t… want this to be weird.”

“I think it’s a bit late for that, Potter,” Draco said dryly. “Trust me, when I called on your services for Scarr, I did not imagine this happening.”

“Well, no, neither did I,” Harry replied. “I’m still not really sure where we should go from here, but we can discuss that tonight I suppose.”

Draco nodded. “That and much more, I’m sure.”

“Indeed. Well, if you’ll excuse me, I’d better get going. I do have another quick appointment to go to this afternoon,” Harry said, standing up.

Draco stood up too, eyeing Scarr as her purring intensified once more. “Shush, you. You’ve done enough today.”

Harry laughed. “She has certainly had more of an impact on my day than I expected.”

“You and me both. I’ll see you out,” Draco said, gesturing for Harry to go ahead.

They made their way into the kitchen with Scarr at their heels, and Draco watched as Harry disappeared into the flames before turning to the Kneazle.

“I hope you’re pleased with yourself,” he scolded, pointing one finger at Scarr. “This was your plan all along, wasn’t it?”

Scarr simply looked at him and gave a wide yawn, showing off her gleaming white teeth, before standing up and winding around his legs.

“You’re a terrible traitor,” Draco continued before he paused and crouched down to make a fuss of her. “But I suppose I should thank you, really. I’ve got a date of sorts with Harry Potter.”

Scarr purred loudly, butting her head against Draco’s chest affectionately.

“Tell me again how this happened,” Pansy said as she sipped from the champagne flute in her hand.

Draco groaned softly from across the table. They were sitting in the garden once more, enjoying the sun on their faces. “That bloody Kneazle of mine has been matchmaking. I can only assume she was luring those men here in the hopes I’d fall for one of them. But instead, I call in Potter, and she thinks all her Christmases have come at once.”

“She’s an animal, surely she doesn’t know how human attraction works?” Pansy asked with a frown. “How can she matchmake?”

“I honestly don’t know. Potter did say he’d heard of it before, so I can only assume that Kneazles tune into their owner’s emotions,” Draco replied. “Pansy, you should have heard her purring when we were sitting next to one another. I tried so hard to keep everything professional.”

“I know you did, darling,” Pansy said as she gave him a sympathetic look. “But look at it this way, now you have an opportunity that you wouldn’t have got otherwise. From the sounds of it, Potter has been harbouring feelings of his own.”

“We haven’t seen one another for years, though. Why wouldn’t he have got in touch sooner?”

Pansy looked at him with one eyebrow raised. “Why didn’t you get in touch with him sooner?”

Draco glared back at her. “Alright, alright, I get your point. But still, dinner tonight is going to be the most awkward affair I may ever have been part of.”

“But it doesn’t have to be awkward. Was it awkward talking to him this morning?”

“No, I suppose not. I mean, it was a bit odd at times, but no it wasn’t really awkward,” Draco replied with a frown. “What if we run out of things to talk about?”

“Then you start snogging,” Pansy said, shrugging. “Why are you finding this so hard?”

“Pansy! I am not just going to start snogging Potter over the dinner table!” Draco exclaimed, horrorstruck. “Can you imagine?”

“I can, actually, yes,” Pansy replied. “You never got the chance at school, surely you wouldn’t miss your opportunity now?”

“Stop it, you hag. Don’t put ideas in my head,” Draco muttered, shaking his head. “It would be a bit of a shock to him, I imagine.”

“Alright, maybe don’t do that then,” Pansy said with a smirk. “Just talk to him about normal, everyday things. He can’t be that intimidating.”

“Well, no, he’s not. That’s the thing,” Draco replied. “He’s different from how I remember him from school. He’s certainly not as annoying.”

Pansy gave a snort. “You never really found him annoying at school, either. Or if you did, it didn’t stop you talking about him.”

“Isn’t it time you were leaving?” Draco asked pointedly, ignoring what Pansy had actually said.

“So rude,” Pansy replied, though she was smiling. “As it happens, I do need to leave. Be sure to let me know how it goes with Potter later.”

“Of course,” Draco said, shaking his head. “You’d never let me forget. I do appreciate you coming over this afternoon. I just needed someone to keep me calm.”

“I know. You can pay me back for that another time,” Pansy said with a grin as she stood up. “I’ll see you later. Enjoy your food.”

“Thank you. I’m going to go down to the pub now and ask for two takeaway meals, I think,” Draco replied. “I don’t know that I can trust myself in the kitchen.”

Pansy rolled her eyes before stooping to kiss him on the cheek. “Good luck,” she said seriously. “I’m sure it’ll go well.”

“I hope so,” Draco sighed. “Goodbye, Pans.”

“Goodbye, darling,” Pansy replied, waving her hand at him before she turned on the spot and disappeared.

Draco exhaled and looked at his watch. He didn’t have long before Potter arrived again, he realised, standing up.

“Another fine litter, Cordelia,” Draco said proudly as he stood up. The dark grey Kneazle in the pen looked up at him and gave a yawn. Five kittens were already suckling and making tiny mewling sounds. “Three girls and two boys, you’re going to have your work cut out with these babies, I think.”

He moved to the table that sat at one end of the barn and picked up his clipboard and parchment to begin a record of the litter. He peered into the pen and made a note of each kitten’s markings before pulling out a charmed tape measure to record the kittens’ measurements.

The door to the barn opened and Draco looked up. “Hi.”

“How’s she doing?” Harry asked as he hovered in the doorway.

“Come and see,” Draco replied with a smile, turning back to his clipboard. “They’re all here.”

Harry joined him at the pen. “Oh, look at them… they’re so small.”

“I know, it’s hard to believe isn’t it?” Draco replied, glancing across at Harry. “That these tiny, perfect kittens can turn into something as contrary as Scarr.”

Harry laughed. “A bit, but they’re going to be beauties aren’t they?”

Draco nodded. “Absolutely. Let’s hope they’re of good temperament too.”

“Cordelia has one of the best temperaments I’ve ever known in a Kneazle, so surely they will be?” Harry asked, his attention still on the new family in front of him.

“They’re likely to be, yes,” Draco nodded, still scribbling notes on the parchment. “Especially as Xander is fairly mild-mannered as well. But you can never be sure.”

“I still can’t believe you named two of your Kneazles after characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”

“Well, why not? It’s entirely your fault for introducing me to the show,” Draco said, raising one eyebrow as he looked at Harry. “I take inspiration from everywhere.”

Harry laughed again. “Alright, fair point. Anyway, I didn’t come just to admire the litter – although that was a big part of my reason for coming now – I’ve just had a call to go and sort out an unruly Crup. I’ll be a couple of hours, is that alright?”

“Yes, of course,” Draco replied with a nod. “I’ll have dinner ready when you get back.”

“Well, I was going to say I could bring food back with me? I’m going into London, I could call at that Indian restaurant you like,” Harry said. “I thought you might appreciate having a quick meal tonight with this going on.”

Draco turned to Harry with a broad smile. “That sounds fantastic. You don’t mind?”

Harry shook his head. “No, not at all. Do you want your usual?”

Draco nodded. “Yes, please. And plenty of poppadoms, don’t forget.”

“Like I would dare. I know how much you like them,” Harry said with a snort. “Alright, I’d better get going. From the sounds of it, this Crup is going to destroy it’s owner’s house if they can’t get a grip on it’s behaviour.”

Draco made a face. “Go. Be the saviour you’ve always been.”

Harry reached out and flicked the back of Draco’s ear. “Ha, ha. I’ll see you around five.”

Draco nodded, leaning over to give Harry a quick kiss. “See you later.”

Harry returned the kiss with a smile before leaving the barn.

Draco shook his head slightly and turned back to his clipboard to continue his note taking. When he thought about the last five years, it was hard to believe that this was his life now. Calling Harry in to help with the infernal minx of a Kneazle called Scarr had been one of the best things he’d ever done. Having the chance to reconnect and get to know each other was not something he’d thought would ever happen and yet here they were, five years later, living together and combining Draco’s breeding knowledge with Harry’s training knowledge to breed even better litters. They were now able to send kittens off to their new homes with basic behaviour skills and a training plan for the new owners to carry on with, should they choose. It allowed them to only breed one litter a year from each queen and their litters were now the most sought after in the country.

Sighing softly, Draco took the parchment off the clipboard and inserted it into a new section of a big ring binder. Then he went back over to the pen and looked in at the family. The kittens were now in a pile in one corner, fast asleep and Cordelia was cleaning herself. “Good girl,” he said softly, smiling. “Get some rest. I’ll bring your food down in an hour.”

He turned and left the barn, heading up to the house to begin contacting the people on his waiting list. He’d had a lot of interest in this litter and he needed to narrow things down. This was, perhaps, his least favourite part of the job because it meant talking to so many people but it wasn’t something he would ever give up because he only wanted the best homes for his kittens. Plus, this would keep him busy until Harry returned with their food.

True to his word, Harry returned by ten past five with a large paper bag full of food. “That Crup was an absolute delight, you know.”

“I thought it was a destructive little beast?” Draco asked, looking up from the newspaper he was reading.

“Oh, it is. But it’s all because of boredom and lack of engagement from the owners,” Harry replied, depositing the bag on the kitchen counter. “Once I showed them some basics, the Crup was much happier.”

“You’ll be going back, though?”

Harry nodded. “Oh, yeah, there’s a lot of work still to be done. I just gave them a couple of things to do before I finalise their plan to help ease a bit of the frustration that was in the house.”

“Ah, I suppose that makes sense,” Draco nodded. “Nothing more frustrating than a misbehaving pet.”

“Well, you’d know,” Harry said with a chuckle. “Speaking of, where is Scarr? I haven’t seen her today?”

“She was out in the woods earlier. I suspect she’s still there,” Draco replied. “She does like to spend hours out there.”

“It’s funny, she doesn’t seem so keen on being around me now I’ve been here for a while, does she?”

Draco snorted. “That’s probably because she’s realised how much space you take up in the bathroom.”

Harry turned to him with a grin. “You think so?”

“No, of course not, she’s just used to us being a pair now,” Draco replied, joining Harry at the counter to plate up their food. “She doesn’t need to matchmake anymore.”

“I’m glad she doesn’t, it does make life easier,” Harry said with a smile. “Here are your poppadoms.”

“Ohh, great,” Draco exclaimed, taking the bag from Harry and peering inside. “Don’t you want some?”

“Well, I thought I might have a couple,” Harry replied. “If that’s alright?”

“I suppose I can let you have one or two,” Draco said, smiling. “Did you get the pickles?”

“Do you really think I would get you poppadoms and not get you the pickles?”

“You could have forgotten,” Draco said with a shrug as he put some of the poppadoms on his plate. “I just like to check.”

Harry shook his head and leaned over, grabbing a smaller bag and handing it to Draco. “Here.”

Draco took the bag with a smile, leaning over to kiss Harry quickly. “Thank you.”

They plated the rest of their food up in near silence and took it to the table to sit down and eat.

Later that night, after Draco had done his final checks on the litter and they were relaxing on the sofa, Scarr slunk into the room.

“Ah, here you are,” Draco said lazily from where he was lying with his head on Harry’s chest. “What have you been up to?”

Scarr approached the sofa, purring loudly.

Harry reached out an arm, letting Scarr bring her head up to meet his palm. “Do you know what I’ve never asked?”

“What?”

“How Scarr got her name. You said you take inspiration from everywhere, what was your inspiration for her?”

Draco groaned softly. “I was hoping you wouldn’t ask that.”

“Why?” Harry asked, amusement creeping into his voice. “Is it that bad?”

“She was one of the first Kneazles I bred, and back then, well, it wasn’t that long after the trials so you were on my mind quite a lot,” Draco said with a sigh. “I couldn’t exactly call her Potter or something so I went for something that you were known for.”

Harry looked down at him with a smile. “My scar?”

Draco nodded. “It was the only thing that made sense to me at the time. And it does quite suit her.”

“I agree, it does,” Harry replied, lifting his other hand to stroke Draco’s hair absently. “She’s still beautiful too, isn’t she?”

“She’s gorgeous… just like her namesake,” Draco murmured, closing his eyes. He’d always enjoyed having his hair stroked like this.

“You flatter me.”

“I speak the truth. Will you be going back to see the Crup tomorrow?”

“No, probably not tomorrow. I’ll start writing a training plan for them though,” Harry replied. “Then I’ll be free to help you if you need me.”

“That would be nice. I might need you to keep Cordelia occupied while I check the kittens over,” Draco said sleepily. “If you could?”

“Absolutely. I’ll do some simple search games or something around the barn so she’s not too far away.”

“Sounds perfect,” Draco replied with a smile.

“Should we go up to bed now? It’s getting late,” Harry murmured, his hand still stroking Draco’s hair.

“I suppose so,” Draco said with a sigh. “I really am quite comfortable here, though.”

Harry laughed softly. “I know, but I bet we could be even more comfortable in bed.”

Draco groaned quietly. “Alright, you’ve persuaded me. Let’s go to bed.”

“You make it sound like such a hardship.”

“Well, it means getting up and walking up the stairs. That’s quite a lot of effort, you know!”

Harry laughed again before poking Draco in the side gently.

Draco yelped in surprise and sat up. “There was no need for that!”

Harry was grinning at him cheekily. “I think there was every need. Come on, help me up.”

Draco rolled his eyes and got to his feet, holding his hand out to Harry. “If you insist, Chosen One.”

Harry groaned as Draco pulled him to his feet. “Been a while since you called me that and I have to say, I don’t like it any more now than I did the last time.”

Draco smirked at him. “Just thought I’d remind you.”

Harry shook his head and pulled Draco towards him. “Good job I love you.”

Draco’s smirk softened into a smile. “I know. I love you too,” he said, leaning in to kiss Harry deeply.

Harry’s arms tightened around Draco’s waist as they continued to kiss.

From somewhere behind them came the sound of Scarr’s loud purring.