Because I Deserve It - Drarry

Chapter 28

It didn't take long for Draco to formulate a plan. Alina came in close to an hour later with some lunch, which was actually quite delicious, and he asked her for a book. A very specific book.

"Transformation Magick for the Transfiguration Master?" Alina asked. "Whatever could you need a theory book for? You won't be able to practice magic, if that's what you mean to do," she said, looking suspicious.

"Of course," Draco immediately assured her. "It's nothing like that. I happen to find magical theory fascinating, and I was in the process of reading that particular book. I would quite like to be able to finish it," he said, reciting his cover story.

Alina was all smiles once again. "Anything for my lovely fiancé," she trilled, fluttering her lashes flirtatiously. Draco gave her his most charming smile, the one even Pansy couldn't resist. Harry, of course, the sap that he was, broke at even the hint of a pleading look. But Draco relegated all thoughts of his brunet boyfriend to the back of his mind, knowing that he wouldn't be able to go through with his charade otherwise.

When Alina returned with the book, he accepted it gratefully. Then, mentally readying himself, he adopted a disappointed and slightly pained expression.

Alina, noticing the change immediately, asked him what was wrong.

"I have a headache," Draco admitted. "It's quite awful." He clutched at his head for emphasis.

"Oh no!" Alina immediately started fussing over him. "Is there anything I can do for you? Headache potion, perhaps?"

"Thank you," Draco said, ruefully, "but those don't work on me. As much as I hate to say it - your company is delightful, to say the least - could you possibly leave me for a while? And open the window? It's quite hot in here. Rest is the only thing that might help, so I need to be alone for a couple hours. Hopefully we may talk at dinner, though?" Draco asked, trying to sound regretful.

Alina immediately assured him that she would be glad to speak with him at dinner, and she expressed concern over his headache, saying she would check on him in a few hours. After opening the window, she left, and Draco waited a few more minutes to make sure she wasn't going to come in again.

Then, in a flash, Draco got up and furiously flipped through the pages of Transformation Magick. He didn't have a lot of time, and Alina could come in at any moment. It was lucky he had already done so much practice before his kidnapping - it meant he wouldn't need to do much before getting the hell out of the house.

Draco finally found the page he was looking for. Step 6: Complete Transformation. This was it, it was now or never. He would become an animagus at this very moment, or he would be taken to Italy, perhaps never to see Britain again. Draco had managed to finish Step 4 (Simultaneous Partial Transformation) and Step 5 (Sensory Transformation) only days prior. The latter had been the most disorienting, giving him the enhanced hearing and eyesight of a dragon, as well as the ability to practically taste the air around him. Draco had also been able to see heat, and looking down at himself proved that he had been far warmer than a normal human should have been. It was fascinating but almost too much for him to handle.

Now, with minimal practice, he would attempt the final shift into his dragon form. If anything went wrong, no one would come to the rescue, especially since Draco was currently unregistered.

Draco took a deep breath and began to clear his mind. He mentally removed the metaphorical clutter in his brain, slowly but surely reaching a state of emptiness. Draco decided he would sacrifice a bit of  valuable time for safety - he would run through the partial and sensory transformations before he tried the full one. He visualized the change taking place, his few hours of practice still allowing him to do it with some ease. He turned the skin on his arm to iridescent, red scales. It figures he would be a Gryffindor-colored dragon - his life was full of irony. Harry had laughed for a full five minutes when Draco pointed out the unfairness of the situation. Again, Harry was forced to the back of his mind.