Forbidden (Neko Drarry)

Chapter 12

Draco held his wand in his teeth as he grasped one of the lower branches of the beech trees. His hands slipped on the smooth bark of the massive tree, which sat ever-present on the edge of the Black Lake. His arms were just long enough for him to lace his fingers together on top of the massive branch. He brought his legs up and hooked his feet together, briefly hanging upside down to shake out his hands. He brought his hands back up, again lacing his fingers together and now using his feet to push against the trunk and climb on top of the branch. He swung one leg over and faced Hogwarts, waiting.

There was no moon in the sky - the first quarter moon having set hours before- but the stars were just enough to light the sprawling grounds. Still no sign of him. He glanced towards the Forbidden Forest, where the leaves were already beginning to turn from dark green to vibrant shades of red, orange, and yellow. Autumn had come later than usual this year.

He settled himself against the trunk of the tree, legs still dangling below the branch. It was surprisingly comfortable. He closed his eyes, relaxing against the mostly smooth bark of the birch...

•••

He jumped, standing on the branch and narrowly avoiding hitting his head on the branch above. His heart was racing. Looking down, there was nothing below him. What the hell...?

He studied the ground hearing muffled laughter. "It was you!" Draco made a show of being insulted.

Harry swept the Invisibility Cloak off his head, still laughing. "Who else would it be?"

"I don't know. Possibly one of the many dangerous creatures that live on the grounds that would be willing to attack anyone on the grounds alone at night."

Harry laughed. He morphed into Neko form, tail, ears, and paws appearing, and sprung onto the branch besides Draco. He reached the branch easily and used his claws to anchor himself and he spun and sat next to Draco, facing towards Hogwarts. Startled, Draco pressed his back into the tree, unconsciously morphing into Neko form. Harry settled himself on the branch and turned to face Draco.

"You know, you only answered one of my questions. You never told me where you learned to sing."

Draco looked down, avoiding eye contact. "I taught myself."

Harry nodded. "Why do you sing? It's okay if you don't know, but I'm just wondering."

Draco glanced over at him, relaxing away from the trunk of the beech. "Well, I guess it's just to cope. Back at home when my father wasn't around my mother would bring me into the Muggle world. She technically wasn't supposed to be doing this and if anyone had seen us it would have been an embarrassment to the Malfoy family, but she took me anyways. And always around my birthday. The day before my ninth birthday, she brought me to see a band and I wanted to sing like that some day." He thought back to the old journal he used to keep. He had written about it in there.

"I wish I could do that. The Dursleys... they would never bring me to see a band or an orchestra. They hated musicians and artists. They thought they were wasting their time and that they should become a productive member of society." He sighed.

"They're the Muggles that hate magic, right?"

"Yeah."

"They must hate music because it's the closest Muggles can get to magic."

Harry looked over him. Years before he never would have thought that he'd have a civilized conversation with Malfoy, but now... he was so much different. He had depth and he seemed like a real person, not just a one dimensional bully.

They sat in silence, both thinking their own thoughts when Draco broke the silence. "What's your story? I'm mean... if you're ok with me asking. You don't have to tell me."