For @drarrymicrofic, prompt: Silver, with additional words from the Summer Bingo Card. Words: 475.
This is my life now, he thinks, sitting on the branch outside Potterās window, watching Potter look back at him. This is it.
At work, Draco overhears him in the Ministry cafeteriaĀ
āAt first it only turned up every now and then, but now it comes almost every day,ā Potter tells Granger.
āIāve never seen a bird like it. Itās so pale itās almost like silver. I wondered if it might have leucism. Can birds have that?ā Potter asks Lovegood.
āI think the bird likes me,ā Potter tells Finnigan. āIāve called it David.ā
Draco even starts singing. He hadnāt known he could, but his bird body knows things Draco doesnāt. It comes as naturally as speech.
Some days, he has trouble transforming back. Being human feels strange afterwards. His skin is a little too fragile. The bathroom tiles bite into the soles of his feet and his clothes feel too heavy.
He prefers Potterās window, where there is nothing and he is no one.
Potter has started opening it for him, leaving seeds and nuts on the sill. He talks to him, too. Calls him David, sweet thing and precious.
āAre you all alone, sweet thing? Like me?ā
āIām tired, David. Are you tired? I know I donāt have a right to be.ā
āSometimes Iām back in the woods, and it makes me happy.ā
Draco doesnāt always understand what Potter is talking about, but he likes to listen.
āSometimes I feel like I know you, David. Weird, isnāt it? Were you there? In the forest? Is that why youāre here? Sometimes I think thatās why.ā
Draco sings in response. What else is there to do? He often wonders what really happened there. What makes Potter want to go back.
Itās a Tuesday when Potter doesnāt come home after work. Draco waits outside the empty room until dark.
He comes back the next day. And the third. He even stays there all night, calls in sick at work.
By the fourth, he shows up and starts listening at the Ministry. He knows where to go. Where the rumour lives.
āCurse damage,ā someone whispers, āSomething went wrong on a mission. Poor thing.ā
Draco transforms in an alley behind the Ministry and flies all the way to St Mungoās. The wards bounce him straight back. He tries again several times, but the wards clearly recognise Animagus magic.
Furious, Draco transforms back and storms inside. He flashes his Ministry credentials and says āUnspeakable businessā with enough conviction that no one asks questions. It gets him through three sets of doors and past an increasingly suspicious Healer.
Potter is lying very still, his face turned towards the window. Draco stops beside the bed, all his certainty suddenly gone.
Then Potter opens his eyes. He looks straight at Draco.
āDavid,ā he says. āI knew youād come.ā
(Words from bingocard: Animagi and pining.)
***
A huge thank you to @fluffyunderneath for proofreading this story. You are so very dear to me. I also wrote this as a little ode to Pierre, the puffin with leucism from her lovely fic Salt, who has a very special place in my heart.
No bingo yet, maybe next time?