524 Days
19th of December, 2003
“Potter, I pray that this owl finds you. I know that I am in no position to ask anything of you as it is I that owes you a life debt, but I am in desperate need of help. Please help me, I beg of you
D. Malfoy”
Harry looked down at the scrap of parchment that looked as if it had been torn from a brown paper bag or the wrapping from around a parcel, then looked over to the owl that had delivered it with a demand of payment upon delivery. It was obviously a Public Post Owl and seemed rather impatient as Harry had yet to pay it.
“Give me a second to write out a reply,” he said to the bird as he pulled out a fresh sheet of parchment and scribbled down his address, then cast a spell to ensure that it couldn’t be read by anyone other than who it was intended for. “Deliver this to the sender,” he instructed as he slipped more than enough coins to cover the cost into the pouch the owl wore.
The bird made a sound of acknowledgement and took wing, gliding out of the window it had entered in.
Harry stood and watched the bird disappear into the darkness of a frozen mid December evening.
Read more on A03 please. It's too large to put here on Tumblr without breaking it up.