When Harry fell asleep, Draco gently picked him up as he continued to stroke his hair as he made his way towards the headmaster's office, careful not to wake him. As he walked down the halls, there was not a single student to be seen, making the trip all the easier. The other professors must have told the students to head to the dorms and not come out unless otherwise told. There was no other explanation for the emptiness in an otherwise bustling corridor. When Draco arrived at the gargoyle, he met with Professor Snape who was standing in front of the gargoyle, waiting for one of the teachers or Draco to return so he could give them the password.
"Lemon drop," Snape said with a scowl as the gargoyle leaped aside. The password was very unoriginal. The headmaster must use lemon drop at least once or twice a year. The two climbed up the spiraling staircase until they reached the door. Snape knocked on the door twice, entering only when they heard a "Come in."
"Severus, my dear boy. I see you and Draco have run into a bit of a... problem. I shall call Poppy to have her do a few tests to see if the boy is healthy." He conjured a patronus and gave it instructions. When it left, Dumbledore turned towards them.
"Now, would somebody like to explain what happened to me?"
Draco sighed. "He was turning in our potion we created when he noticed Neville and Ron's potion was ready to explode. He pushed them out of the way just before it exploded. He must have gotten some in his mouth and swallowed. After that, there was a blinding light, and here we are; though that doesn't explain the new additions." He looked down at the young boy, smiling when Harry snuggled closer, purring softly.
"And why would young Ron be in the infirmary?" Dumbledore questioned further, his brows crinkling together.
"When he woke up, he only recognized me, but Ron became livid when he saw this. He started to accuse me of nonsense, and eventually, he became physical. Now, this is only a theory, but I think that it was his instinct to protect me. He kept calling me his mate, and he even took a punch for me. He was doing everything in his power to try and protect me; and in his eyes, Ron was a danger," Draco answered, still a bit surprised that this event even happened. It was all so confusing. The potion wouldn't have been able to de-age someone and also give him new features. And what was this about a mate, how come he never heard of this before? There were too many unknowns, and he would like to get down to the bottom of this for both the sake of Harry and himself.
As Dumbledore processed the given information, the doors burst open and in rushed a worried Poppy.
"Where is he?" she questioned. When she saw that Draco had him, she said, "Bring him here." She pointed to the couch.
When Harry was laid down, she practically pushed Draco out of the way and performed a few diagnostic spells on him. When Harry could no longer feel Draco's warmth or presence he began to whimper, then outright cry as his hands searched for the older teen, but found nothing. His eyes flung open and he curled himself into a ball as he let out more whines and whimpers. Draco rushed over to the boy and pulled him into a hug, whispering sweet nothings into his ear.
"It's okay. Calm down, sweetheart. Hush, darling, hush." As Draco calmed Harry down, Poppy finished the diagnostics spell and gasped at the length of the injuries and past health conditions over the years. Professor Snape snatched the five-foot paper from the medic and began to read. As he read his eyes became wide and his hands started to shake. The entire time he had known Harry, he had treated him like shit. He was prejudice and thought that the Boy-Who-Lived was nothing more than a spoiled brat who knew nothing of pain, who always got what he wanted all because his father was James bloody Potter. He only hoped the boy would be able to forgive him when this was all over.
"Bloody hell," he whispered in shock. Draco looked up from where he was sitting on the couch, Harry clinging onto him for dear life. Snape passed the paper over to Draco and got similar reactions out of him. He stared at the boy, looking at him in a new light. It would explain why the boy was afraid of touch and punishment. Now that he thought of it, he didn't see Potter touching people all that much. Not even his friends were really ever allowed to touch him. Granger, being the mom figure in the trio, wasn't afraid to show affection more often than not. And Weasley, growing up in the nest that he did, showed his love through bold actions and pats on the back. Boyish things really.
"He has his memories that he had at that age then, doesn't he?" It dawned on him. Harry was going to have a hard adjusting to all these people. He would be constantly afraid. It was almost as if he was isolated from humanity. When he glanced over at Dumbledore, he saw that the headmaster had a smile plastered on his face. "You... you knew about this, didn't you? How couldn't you? You placed him in a house full of monsters, and you do nothing?!" All eyes were now on Albus. "How dare you? Do you think this was all a game? He was seriously hurt, and you knew he was, but you just pretended that you couldn't see in front of your own nose! That you didn't see the abuse going on! I'm sure he even came to you, begging to stay at Hogwarts over the summers or to stay with Sirius before he died. But no, you went and denied him all hope! How could you?!" All the occupants in the room, save Dumbledore, looked absolutely livid. How could one do this to a child? It was unforgivable.
"My dear boy, it was all for the greater good." He said with a twinkle in his eyes. He knew this would piss them off, and he thrived on the suffering of others. It's why he became the headmaster of this school. By teaching "light" magic, the suffering inflicted by more powerful magic created the perfect environment for him.
"Greater good my ass!" Snape and Draco said in unison, shocking each other. Draco has to pause just for the slightest moment to ponder over how much like his uncle he was truly was.
Snape drew a deep breath, attempting to calm himself before saying in a very strained voice, "I think it's safe to assume that we will be continuing this conversation in the privacy of my quarters." He turned to Draco. "You and Potter will be given your own private quarters as well as anything a normal house would have minus a kitchen of course. Come, now, and follow me." With a swish of his robes, he led Draco, who was carrying Harry, and Poppy to his rooms. "I am very disappointed at you, Albus."
When they arrived, Snape whispered the password to the painting and the painting flung open. Draco settled himself and Harry on the black leather couch as the blacks and silvers of the common room calmed his anger a bit. Harry got up from his snuggled position and looked at the older boy.
"Drake, I'm hungry," he whined with a pout. Draco couldn't help but think this was cute. Damn the cuteness of five-year-old Harry. If he was grown up he would never have thought of Harry as being cute. Maybe sexy as hell- No! Not sexy, ugly, very ugly. That hair of his was absolutely dreadful! As Draco was lying and trying to convince himself that he didn't have any physical attraction to Harry, the boy in question was getting impatient. Harry gave the older teen a lick to the face with his rough tongue and whined, "Drake!"
"Huh? What? Uh, yeah food. I'll get a house elf to bring some tea with cheese and crackers." He snapped his fingers.
"What cans I dos for you, sirs." The house elf said as he appeared with a pop. Harry practically jumped out of his skin as he ran behind the couch. His head popped out from behind and he growled, fur puffed and ears flat against his head. Snape merely looked on in amusement while Pomfrey huffed at his actions. Draco for the life of him couldn't figure out what was wrong. It was just a house elf. He looked at his godfather for guidance. Snape raised and eyebrow and sighed at the lost look on his godson's face.
"Maybe he doesn't know what a house elf is," Snape said sarcastically. When realization dawned on his face Snape merely shook his head in exasperation. When Draco explained the creature to the boy, he relaxed considerably though his fur was still standing on end. He cautiously moved around the couch and sat on the older boy's lap, watching the creature with careful interest. It seemed that he didn't fully trust the creature.
Draco sighed. "Can you bring us some tea along with cheese and crackers?"
"Of course, sir." The elf disappeared with a loud pop in the now silent room only to return a moment later with the requested items. He quickly poured the tea and disappeared. Harry jumped off of Draco in favor of food. The teen watched as the younger boy added five cubes of sugar to his tea and a large drizzle of honey. It would seem he had a bit of a sweet tooth.
The adults gathered together to discuss what they had read earlier.
Poppy cleared her throat. "It would seem that young Harry is suffering from malnourishment. It would explain why he was always underweight and shorter than most in his year." She doesn't sound too pleased at this information. "And, well... the reason for the extra appendages is that on his seventeenth birthday he came into his creature inheritance."
Draco just stared at her as if she had grown another head. Snape spoke up. "Do you happen to know what he is?"
"He is a nine-tailed fox. They are a breed of Japanese demons who are quite the tricksters. Must've gotten it from his father. He was always a prankster. They do indeed have mates which would explain why he called you his mate. He will have to have at least one meal a day of raw or extremely rare meat -though preferably raw- though it would be best if he had it three meals a day. I will tell the house elves of his new diet. He will always have to be around you because of his creature, if not around you he could become dangerous to himself and others. His emotions could get out of hand when not near you, meaning he could get extreme depression to the point of suicide or become livid to the point of murder. He will do anything to protect you and will be extremely possessive if someone so much as looks at you the wrong way. If you reject him as your mate, it could be emotionally and mentally damaging for him. It will not be as bad for him now as a kid, but when he gets older it will become more difficult as he will become more and more dependent on you as his dominant. You can tell he's submissive because submissives always look more animalistic than the dominants." Draco stared at nothing as he took in all this information. It was a lot to take in finding out that your school rival has to survive on you to be mentally sane.
"How come he didn't look like this before and why didn't he come to me as his mate then?" Draco asked.
"Well, kitsunes -their Japanese name- are well-known shapeshifters. He most likely transformed into his more human form and hid any other animalistic features that he couldn't hide himself with strong glamours and forced down his instincts as a fox. He would have to be incredibly powerful and trained to do any one of these let alone all three at once." She looked at Harry in awe as he happily munched on cheese and crackers.
Snape spoke up. "Mr. Malfoy, look at it from his point of view. What would you do if you found out that you childhood rival was your mate that you're certain hates you, the dark lord is on your heels trying to kill you, and you have a war on your shoulders while being manipulated by Headmaster Dumbledore." He said the name with a sneer. "Knowing Harry, he most likely didn't want to force you into to something into something you didn't want. He would rather die than do that to you because of one simple fact."
"What is it?" Draco asked.
"He loves you. He most likely did before, probably because his subconscious recognized you as his mate. That is why he was he was always focused on you during the school years even if it was you two fighting. The only reason he rejected your friendship, Draco, is because you insulted his first friend. If you didn't he most likely would have become your friend."
"Now, because his creature self has met you, when he gets older, he will not be able to live without you. If he is without you the end result will be deadly for him. Seeing as he would be the only one effected, he will do try to avoid you so you could have your own life, even at the stake of his own." Poppy said.
"Typical Gryffindor," Snape sneered though it lacked its usual malice.
They all watched Harry, who was currently curled up in a ball on the leather chair napping while emitting small purrs. Draco allowed a small smile and went to pick up the child and turned to face Snape.
"Do you have a room we can borrow for just tonight? I am deathly tired and today has been a long day. We will be out of your hair tomorrow." Snape gave a small nod and led the two to his guest chambers. When alone, Draco transfigured the duo's clothes into pajamas and laid the both of them down on the bed. Harry snuggled into Draco and wrapped his tails around him purring. The two fell asleep like that in perfect contentment.