Zabini ran right towards them, his hands flailing as he tried to use Hermione as a shield. The cats were forming a mob in front of them, their hisses filling the air.
"I found the fighting ring but gave myself away." Zabini gasped out, his hands braced on his knees.
"They're cats, of course they have superior hearing." Ron snorted as Harry stood protectively in front of Draco, his eyes never leaving the felines.
"I sneezed actually." Draco snickered as he pressed himself against Harry's back, his hands coming up to rub the tension from his shoulders.
"Blaise is allergic to cats." Pansy whispered as she snuck over from the other end of the room.
The cats crept closer, as if they understood him and Zabini started sneezing loudly.
"I've been looking for you everywhere!" She hissed at him.
"Merlin, Zabini! No wonder you've upset them. Your sneezes could wake the dead." Mione rolled her eyes before taking her wand out.
"We can do this the hard way or the easy way." An old tomcat came forward, with half an ear missing and a nasty looking scar over one eye.
"Meow!" He hissed before darting forward as Hermione's wand sliced through the air.
"Leave my pod alone!" Harry screeched, his hands curled into claws.
"I'm assuming you all know why you're here?" McGonagall rubbed her eye before putting her glasses back on. She was wearing her nightgown and Harry shared a look with his friends. This wasn't going to end well for them.
"It wasn't our fault, ma'am! The cats were viciously attacking Zabini and we were just trying to help him!" Harry quickly said, hoping to gain some sympathy from their Head.
"Yeah! We couldn't let our fellow year mate get mauled by ol Scarface!" Ron looked sincere while the Slytherins nodded beside them.
"I was afraid for my life." Zabini looked like he wanted to cry, his face still scratched up from his fight.
"And why were you bothering the Hogwarts Cats?" McGonagall's eyes were narrowed on him.
"Ma'am! Zabini is delirious with pain, how can he be expected to answer such a loaded question?" Harry clutched his chest, motioning with his hand for Hermione to help him. Maybe if they distracted her, they would get out of this without getting detention.
"Poor Zabini! He got lost and ended up running into the cats. They practically killed him." Ron kicked Zabini's shin and the other boy hunched over, his face twisted up in pain.
"See!" The other two Slytherins looked surprised as they tried to talk their way out of trouble, something they had been doing since First year. Harry was sure they would be in the clear, when McGonagall's door opened up and two men came through.
"I heard we had a little incident?" Albus Dumbledore asked, his eyes twinkling behind his glasses. Snape scowled at his side before swooping to the closest corner. Harry sighed and knew his two friends were thinking the same thing. Fuck.
"Oh hello, Sirs! We were just leaving." Harry grabbed Draco's hand and didn't even make it to the door before Snape snapped.
"Sit down, Potter!" Draco perched on his seat before pulling him into his lap and Harry hummed happily. He probably shouldn't have tried to punch the cats but he was doing it to protect his treasure! At least he wasn't like Hermione! She was turning them into mice.
"The students have caused a ruckus and managed to destroy the front lawn as well as the entrance hall." McGonagall hissed, her bun starting to come undone.
"It was a misunderstanding, sir." Harry could feel Draco's chest rumble as he talked and had to fight the urge to press closer.
"We were just doing what we thought was light, I mean, right." Parkinson smiled innocently, her hands clasped in her lap.
"I'm sure you were, my girl! Minerva, we can always fix the entrance hall and Hagrid would be happy to replant the lawn. How about we let this go this one time?" Dumbledore asked as he snuck a cookie out of McGonagall's dish. Snape looked like he wanted to argue but didn't want his House to lose any points. Harry was about to try and make another break for it when a meow sounded outside the door. He pinched his nose when Scarface came strutting into the room, his back arched when he saw them. He hopped onto the desk and started meowing loudly, his tail swishing back and forth.
"I see." He found himself pinned under McGonagall's gaze as she asked "Potter, did you call Patches a mangy, flea infested groundhog before trying to bite off his other ear?" Harry quickly scrambled to his feet.
"I would never say such a thing, Professor! I have too much respect for animals to even think about doing something so despicable." He had his hand pressed to his heart.
"Uh huh. Granger, were you transfiguring the other Cats into mice and yelling "I'm going to feed you to my cat and he won't care that he's eating his own kind!", while cackling like a madwoman?" Mione's jaw was hanging open before she shook her head rapidly.
"What a horrid thing to say, Professor McGonagall! I can't believe Scarf-Patches would make up something so terrible!" Dumbledore looked like he was holding back laughter as McGonagall took a deep breath.
"You both realize Cats can't lie, right? They don't have the capability to do so." Harry looked at Mione before Ron fell out of his chair, his face pale.
"Oh no, Ron! I think he fainted." Ron was good at pretending to faint so it was always their last resort.
"Get up, Weasley. I can see that you're fine." Snape looked annoyed at their dramatics and Harry hissed at him. They were so close to weaseling their way out of this!
"They really were helping, ma'am. Blaise was being chased when he ran into us. We were just trying to help." Harry couldn't help smiling at Draco. His treasure was so precious.
"I understand that, Malfoy but they caused property damage and spelled over ten Cats! Detention for you three tomorrow, with Filch." Harry groaned along with Ron and Hermione. Flinch was the worst.
"I should have detention too, Professor. It was my fault to begin with." Zabini stood up abruptly.
"Oh you will, Zabini. You three will be with me tomorrow." Snape said as he crossed his arms.
Of course he would be separated from Draco, his chest aching at the thought.
~~~~~~
Draco sighed at Severus's announcement. He didn't need a crystal ball to know they would be scrubbing cauldrons, his godfather's favorite punishment. He still couldn't believe Harry and Granger tried to fight the cats. Weasley had just watched from the sidelines with them, his face resigned as the two Gryffindor's charged ahead.
"Now it's getting late, so you should get to bed! Oh and boys? Congratulations on your engagement! It warms this old man's heart to see such rivals set aside your feud." Dumbledore brushed a tear from his eye and Harry laughed beside him before whispering in his ear.
"Dumbledore is a sucker for romance." They all trudged out of McGonagall's office, Patches watching them smugly from her desk.
"Zabini, let's get you to the hospital wing. You look like you're about to keel over." Weasley scooped the other boy up, much to his surprise.
"Weasley!" Blaise's face was bright red in embarrassment and Granger looped her arm with Pansy's.
"C'mon, Parkinson. I think Ron is trying to woo Zabini and I'm starved." They were suddenly alone and Harry had him pinned against the wall, his eyes glowing softly.
"Are you okay? You're not hurt, right?" Draco dug his hand into his hair before angling his face towards him. After a nice slow snog, he drew back and was pleased to see Harry's scales out.
"I'm fine. Are you okay? I think Patches has it out for you." Harry beamed at him, his canines cutting into his bottom lip.
"I bet he's McGonagall's second in command, why else would she be so protective of him? I can't wait to tell everyone in Gryffindor." Harry kept rambling and Draco smiled softly at him. He really was ridiculous.
"I'll walk you to your Common Room. It's late and we have detention tomorrow." Harry scowled before taking his hand.
"I can't believe we have to serve them apart! What if something happens? I'll burn Hogwarts down if you have a single scratch, Draco. I swear it." He couldn't help shivering at the complete devotion on Harry's face as he kept muttering under his breath.
"I know, Harry." They made it to the portrait and Harry kissed him firmly before pinching his arse.
"Goodnight, treasure. Sleep tight." He winked before scrambling through the entrance, his cheeky smile the last thing he saw. Draco laughed loudly at his boldness, the fat lady giving him a curious look.
"What an adorable couple!" She cooed and he gave her a swift bow.
"Have a lovely night, my lady." She giggled behind her fan as he made his way to the dungeon.
"There you are! How did your date go? Did Harry's parents like you?" The First years were shouting out as soon as he walked into the Common Room.
"It went well." He replied slowly and they all cheered before running off.
"What in the world?" He shook his head before flopping onto his bed, Blaise still in the infirmary. He waited for his roommate to arrive and Blaise finally stormed through the door, his face healed but still burning with embarrassment.
"Weasley carried me to the Common Room too! What is his problem? Isn't he dating Granger?" He angrily paced back and forth as he dug out his pajamas.
"Well he did grow up with all of those siblings, I'm guessing that's why he didn't think twice about carrying you." Blaise scoffed before covering his face.
"It kind of made my heart flutter." He confessed and Draco laughed loudly.
"Blaise Zabini, the man who's slept with half of Hogwarts, swooning over a Weasley?" He was still laughing as Pansy came into their room.
"What's so funny?" Draco gave Blaise a sly smile before answering her.
"Blaise is yearning for Weasley after he took care of him." Pansy started giggling before Blaise threw his pillow at them.
"You better be careful! Potter will tear out your liver for hurting his darling Draco!" He rolled his eyes at them but couldn't suppress his pleased grin.
"Can you imagine if our thirteen year old selves could see us now? I think the only one who would be pleased is Draco! That was the worst year for your Potter obsession. We were convinced you would join the Dementors to take down Lord Black!" Blaise giggled into his hand and he glared at them.
"That's right! What was your excuse? "The only one allowed to kill Potter is me!" We thought it made total sense too!" Pansy hooted loudly, her shoulders shaking as she sat on the edge of Blaise's bed.
"I thought about it." He admitted and they all lost it.
"You better stop longing for Weasley this instant. Granger is insane! Did you see how easily she was turning those cats into mice?" Pansy shivered, her eyes full of awe.
"I'm not longing for him! It just made me realize that having a steady partner might not be a bad idea." He muttered the last part and Draco grabbed both of Pansy's hands.
"This is it, darling! Our little boy is growing up!"
"It's just happening so fast!" She pretended to dab her eyes before Blaise tackled them both to the floor. They all froze before Pansy shook her head.
"I think your Gryffindor's are rubbing off on us!"
Draco yawned before something grabbed his foot and he was pulled straight out of his bed. He blearily looked up at a grinning Blaise.
"Wake up, sleepy head!" He crawled to his feet before flipping him off. He found Pansy and Blaise waiting for him in the Common Room with the First years surrounding them.
"Harry is so cool. I want to be like him when I grow up!" One of them announced and a little girl nodded seriously.
"I'm going to find my own Dark Lord so I can punch his heart out too!" She grinned widely, her pigtails bouncing around her.
"Okaaay, this was a great conversation but we need to get to breakfast!" Pansy grabbed both of their arms and pulled them away, practically racing down the hall.
"Kids are so creepy!" She wailed as Blaise rubbed her back.
"I know, Pans. That's why they're Potter's problem right?" Draco pretended to throw himself down the stairs at their dramatics.
They finally made it to the Great Hall and found Harry swinging Weasley around as Granger egged him on.
"Go faster, Harry! I bet we can make him puke." Weasley looked green as the two of them laughed happily.
"Good morning, Harry." He barely got the words out before Harry was jumping into his arms. Weasley flashed him a grateful look as he stumbled around, trying to regain his balance.
"Treasure! Did you sleep well? I was dreaming of you all night long." A couple of Hufflepuffs walked by and gagged at his declaration.
"I did. Are you hungry?" Draco pulled him into the Great Hall and sat down at the Gryffindor table like he owned it. He could see Ginny Weasley a couple of seats down and hoped he hadn't missed the show.
"Here, Draco!" Harry held out a fork and he obediently took a bite. Patil and Brown squealed across from them.
"That's the cutest thing ever!" Patil gushed and Harry beamed at them.
"Lavender, are you still into Divination? Maybe later you can read our love lines." Brown got a dangerous look in her eye before standing up.
"I'll need to practice! Oi, Finnegan! Stop running away!" The two girls raced after their Housemate and the rest of Gryffindor laughed.
"Seamus is their guinea pig for everything." Granger said, never looking up from her book as she sat next to him.
"Oh, it looks like mail is coming!" Draco said loudly as a dozen owls swooped into the Hall.
"Oh, no! Mum heard about my detention already. I'm dead meat." Weasley slumped against the table so he didn't notice the owl fly past him and land in front of Ginny.
"It's for Ginny?" Longbottom gasped out and all of Gryffindor went silent as two Howlers unfolded. The first one opened its mouth while the second one waited patiently.
"Ginevra Weasley!" Mrs. Weasley's voice echoed throughout the Hall and Ron gave a whoop.
"She hasn't heard yet! Sorry, Gin!" Ron said before sticking his tongue out at her.