The Wolf's Howl

The Kitchens

"You know, mate, you never told me why you were laid up on Snape's couch with a bandaged ankle earlier this week," Ron said, looking up from his Transfiguration essay. Harry startled, striking a line across his DADA homework at the sudden statement. 

"I didn't?" he asked, waving his wand over his paper in a poor attempt to mop up the stray ink before it dried. At Ron's head shake, he explained. 

"So basically, you were kidnapped, discovered there were Death Eaters in the school, and managed to get away with relatively minor injuries all in less than 24 hours?" Ron reiterated after Harry finished explaining the events of that day. 

"Yeah, sounds about right." 

"But you don't remember where they took you?" Harry shook his head. 

"All I remember was running away from the camp, and encountering the edge of the Forbidden Forest after about 15 minutes. The only reason I managed to find my way back to Hogwarts was because I ran into a centaur who pointed me in the right direction," he said. Ron fell silent then, obviously thinking. Harry's quill nub scratched on parchment as he continued his assignment, punctuating the last sentence when Ron spoke again. 

"You know, over half of the security staff got fired and/or arrested, so there shouldn't be any more Death Eaters or sympathizers on staff anymore, but Fisher still managed to get into the school," he pointed out. Harry nodded. 

"That's been bothering me too. I wanted to track his scent to see where he came in from, but by the time I had a chance, I was too tired," he said, remembering the night. It had been irritating, how the scents had swirled together and clogged in his nose, his exhaustion making him unable to distinguish them enough to track Fisher's scent. There had been one faint but distinct scent he'd picked up on though... 

"Hey Ron, do you know anyone who wears Axe?" The redhead looked up with a confused expression. 

"Sorry, wears what?" 

"Axe, it's a kind of muggle deodorant," Harry explained. 

"How would I know if I've never even heard of it?" Ron replied. Harry shrugged. 

"I'll have to get some so you can smell it, I guess. But there's someone at Hogwarts who wears it, and I'm wondering who. It's quite unusual, even muggle born students usually wear RS Terre," he said. 

"You think the wearer might be related to the invasions?" Ron asked, glancing around the darkened common room in case someone had entered in the past few minutes. 

"I don't want to rule out the possibility until I've investigated it," Harry replied, putting his quill in his bag. 

"Mind taking this upstairs for me? It's about time for patrol to start." Ron nodded and took the straps as Harry passed. 

"Stay safe," he said, waving. 

"I will, don't worry," Harry replied with a small smile, stepping out of the portrait carefully, in an attempt to not wake the Fat Lady. 

"I sure hope nothing happens tonight," he muttered to himself, stepping into a dark classroom to shift.

+++

Harry's stomach grumbled loudly, causing the wolf to wince and take a step back, hoping Trelawny hadn't heard the noise. The witch was jumpy at the best of times, and even more so on the rare occasion that she got assigned to patrol. His stomach grumbled again, slightly quieter. 

Oh hush, there's like, five minutes left, he told it, rolling his eyes and padding forward, ignoring the slight pain in his gut. Maybe I'll swing by the kitchens on the way back to the dorm, he thought to himself. He saw Trelawney to her rooms before making good on his earlier idea. 

The House Elves were accustomed to the large wolf coming by sometimes in the wee hours of the mornings, so when he yipped quietly outside the fruit basket painting, he didn't need to wait long for it to swing open. However, Harry's eyes were met with someone much taller and much blonder than your standard House Elf. Then, the portrait promptly slammed in his face. 

I know I did not just see Malfoy in the kitchens at three in the morning. He sighed, confused, figuring he just wasn't gonna get his snack, and turned to leave. He took less than ten paces down the corridor however, before a thin, reedy voice was calling out to him. 

"Come back please! We are having some meats for you!" Harry mentally grinned, turning back and bounding up to the House Elf, giving the small creature a generous lick on the cheek. He followed the Elf through the portrait, sitting next to one of the tables as he waited. 

A small, quiet whimper caught his attention, and he turned to the sound, seeing Malfoy pressing himself into the far corner of the room. Harry wasn't necessarily fond of Malfoy, but he could recognize that the blonde wasn't an enemy either, so he got up and walked over to Malfoy's corner. About 3 meters away however, Malfoy fumbled for his wand, so Harry simply sat and looked at him with the friendliest expression he could muster. 

"You need not be worrying, Master Malfoy sir! Wolfie here is good wolfie! He is never hurting anyone!" a familiar voice spoke up. Harry yipped in agreement and wagged his tail, waiting for Winky to come close enough for him to lick. 

"I don't believe you, it's a wolf," Malfoy muttered, tone clearly suspicious. Harry ran his brain through the myriad of canid behaviors he was aware of, before laying down and rolling over, exposing his belly in a show of trust. Winky grinned and pounced, rubbing at the wolf's chest. Harry let out a pleased rumble; the Elf was inadvertently scratching an itch that had been bothering him all night. 

"Just come pet wolfie! Young Master will see!" Malfoy made a nervous sound in the back of his throat (that Harry only heard because of his enhanced senses), but came forward anyways, lightly running his fingers through the soft fur of the wolf's underbelly. 

"Here! Wolfie is liking this spot scratched!" Winky said, guiding the blonde's hand towards a spot right behind Harry's left elbow. Harry's leg started kicking - an action outside of his control - and Malfoy's face broke into a soft but genuine smile. 

"Alright, maybe you're not the big bad wolf I thought you were," he muttered, bringing his other hand up to scratch behind the wolf's exposed ear. Harry was surprised; he didn't remember ever seeing Malfoy smile beyond those cocky smirks he used to do. To be completely honest, it did wonders for his looks. 

Harry knew he had to be cautious though, even as another Elf brought a plate of meat over and Malfoy gently gave them to him, looking happier and happier with each piece that was gently but enthusiastically taken between canid teeth. 

He needed to be careful until he knew why Draco Malfoy, pureblood extraordinaire, wore Axe.

+++

I promised a chapter before the 16th, and I delivered. It's a short chapter unfortunately, but I couldn't make the next events flow into this chapter without having it be super long and possibly missing my deadline. I'll do my best to get some more chapters out relatively soon, but since I go back to university tomorrow, I can't promise much beyond an attempt :( As always, thank you all for reading, stay healthy and hydrated, and for those of you reading at 4 am, I see you. Sleep. The story's not gonna disappear overnight <3