Has violent scene. Will have warning for when it gets violent. I gave myself a challenge to not say the word animagous for the first part of it. Terrible ending, but whatever.

Ever since the first time he had seen it, Draco had been hooked. Casually the cat had strolled into the classroom as if it were her own, before turning into their teacher. It was in fact her own classroom. The shift from cat to human looked so natural and fluent. Clothing had appeared with the change.

This was something he had never witnessed. Apparently neither had Harty or Ron. The look on their faces was priceless which just added to the experience.

From that moment, it continuously played in his head. Multiple times he had tried to distract himself with his feud with Harry, his education, or flying. Nothing worked completely. The slow shift of bones, skin and muscle would always return to his mind somehow.

Draco had done some research. He hadn't found much, but nevertheless what he found only made him more curious. You couldn't choose what you would become. That was a very risky thing in Draco's opinion. You could become a fish and not be able to breathe. Becoming a tiny animal gave the risk of being squashed or killed by mistake. Perhaps someone wouod become a dragon and crush the place. There was also the possibility that you couldn't change back once you'd turned. Those would all be horrific results. Despite this, he only found himself more interested.

Then Rita came along. It was fairly obvious she wouldn't have the skill to collect all that information without help or some secret way. Draco had turned his attention away from Harry and his obsession for a bit. Then directing it towards her for a while. When he found he was right, he got the rare chance to see a human transform completely. There in Rita's place was a lady bug. Draco being a Slytherin, used this as blackmail. Suddenly he had all the books he needed to learn about the unique process Rita had gone through earlier right in front of Draco's own eyes.

Draco was thrilled.

When going through the books, he learned of three possible ways to change. Two were dangerous and would most likely kill you. So twit was safe to say Draco was not going with those. The last meant he had to keep a mandrake leaf in his mouth for a month (I believe it was a month anyway). So he set out to do it.

After two unsuccessful tries, it finally worked. This time as he stood in front of his reflexion, he had changed a lot. The feeling was exhilarating. There were so many ways he could use this skill. Perhaps he could get some dirt on Harry this summer

.......

Harry was not excited to go home. If he was honest, he wouldn't even call the Dursley's small place his home. With their beige carpets that had once been white, their four chaired table he was never allowed to sit at, and the cupboard which was the main location for his childhood memories.

Home to Harry was Hogwarts. It was the place he felt happiest, and found the hardest to leave. The friends, multiple parental figures, the ghosts and the animals there to keep him company. Nearly everyone was kind or fun to be around. Yes, there were exceptions, but they weren't big deals in Harry's mind. Leaving was hard.

S

omewhere along the train ride Harry had passed a group of Slytherin's. He'd heard Draco mentioning he wasn't going home this summer. He'd asked Blaise to cover him if his parents inquired about him. Blaise had agreed. Not caring, Harry had completely forgotten about the conversation.

Sitting in the train was one of the last times Harry could enjoy himself like this for a long time. They'd play games like exploding snap, they'd eat Bertie botts every flavour beans, talk, or make up new games. This always proved a good distraction, but the anxiousness never faded.

Harry had been in this same position three times before, and each time he got better at hiding his dread. Not even Hermione noticed anymore which suggested she'd decided to ignore it, or that he had become an expert at hiding it. The second was most likely because she hadn't even given one of her 'I am judging you harshly and attempting to figure out what's wrong' looks.

The train ride felt far shorter than it was said to be. Soon they were there.

Unfortunately he was returning to the Dursleys after a year at Hogwarts. Leaving was always horrible. Hermione trying not to cry, Ron giving a manly pat on the back and the harsh urge to run back into the train and hide. Heck, staying with the Malfoys would be a treatment upgrade from the Dursleys.

The Dursleys refused to be seen with Harry. This meant Harry had to leave the station. Alone. Vernon waited in the car expectantly.

"Boy! What took you so long?" Vernon demanded when Harry had finally got out.

Harry had opened his mouth to speak when Vernon shook his arm to silence him. "It doesn't matter, put your stuff in the back and get in."

Following his instructions, Harry didn't notice a milky white cat jump in right before the back door was shut.

"Hurry up boy!"

Then they were off with one more than planned.

..........

"Quick, quick! We have things to do!" By that Vernon meant Harry had things to do.

"You have a list of chores on the table once you've put your things under the stairs."

Emptying the back, he found something unexpected in the back. An injured white cat. A suitcase must have fallen on him on the way here. That left Harry with an added responsibility. He'd have to take care of him.

How?
He'd have to be quick. Place the cat in the shed next to spare food they kept in there. Then he'd have to race back without making the Dursleys suspicious. Then during the night he would have to bring the cat to a nearby veterinarian.

Swiftly, he picked the cat up gently and raced to the shed. Then he explained, "stay here. I'll come and help you when I can, but for now you've got food and water." He had no idea why he felt the need to explain, but he did anyway.

Then he raced back to the vehicle and grabbed as many of his belongings as possible.

"Hurry up boy!"

For the rest of the afternoon, Harry did the many chores on the list Petunia had ready for him. These were all tedious tasks.

When the Dursleys were finally in bed, he made an emergency call to the vet, and told how he found a cat that had gotten caught under a suitcase. Then he'd grabbed some of the money he'd earned from helping neighbors without the Dursleys knowing. Gently he took the cat and brought him (he checked because he needed to be able to tell the vet the gender.)

The cat had been quite cranky ever since he'd been left in the shed. Unfortunately, Harry couldn't help it. That was the only way that the cat would get help. Harry checking his underside had only pit him in a  worse mood. Not having the patience to hold a feisty cat, Harry wrapped the white fur ball in his sweater immobalizing the cat completely.

A long walk later, and they were there. The lady was waiting for him at the door. It was a late night emergency call, so she locked the door after him.

Dr. Magnorge was her name. She brought the two to a room in the back.

"May I take the adorable fur ball?"

Instead of speaking back, he hesitantly gave the stranger the cat. Harry somehow felt like he knew him. Although he didn't like the cat all that much, he felt a responsibility to help.

"I believe it's a fracture. I'm going to take X-rays," she explained before taking the cat in the back.

Harry was left thinking why this cat seemed so familiar. White fur, kinda silver blue eyes he swears he's seen before, and a sassy attitude. Of course the attitude could just be from pain, but he doubted it.

"Harry right?" He nodded and turned to Dr. Magnorge. "It's a simple fracture, and it will be fairly easy to heal. Use a simple splint, and it should be healed up in two weeks. We'll keep it on for three just in case." After explaining, she began on the splint. "I understand he's not your cat, but I will ask you to look after him. The vet is full and can't take anymore animals. Because of this, I'll only get you to pay for the X-ray. Sound fair?"

Harry nodded and listened to her ramble on some more. How was he going to keep this from the Dursleys?

"You got that?" Dr. Magnorge asked. Harry nodded in response. "Alright, now go home Harry. It's getting really late. Have a nice night."

........

"Freak! Get down here for breakfast!" It had been two days since Harry had took Arden home. For the meantime Harry had decided to call him Arden. If the cat took a liking to him, then perhaps he would permanently adopt him, but at the moment, Arden remained wary of Harry.

Immediately after getting Arden's leg looked at, Harry had gone to a store and bought a large bag of cat food, which was currently hidden under the bed. All traces of the cat were usually gone when the Dursleys came in.

Surprisingly, Arden had been a lot more subdued then Harry had expected. Yes, cats didn't need as much exercize or attention as dogs, but due to his fairly feisty behaviour earlier, Harry had expected more. Harry was thankful. The Dursleys couldn't find out about him.

These two days back had been hard, but it wasn't quite hell.

Yet.

.......

Draco had not expected this. Getting hit by a suitcase had completely ruined his plan. Now he was stuck in Harry's room. At least Harry had taken him to get medical attention. Even though he had made him wait in a dark shed for hours for muggle medical attention. At least he'd gotten it.

His leg was getting better at least. He wouldn't be able to change back until the splint came off. By the sound of it, that would be a a few weeks away.

Ever since he'd gotten here, Harry had been a completely different person. Maybe he'd just seen Harry in situations where he was in the spotlight. Here, Harry was quiet, humble and didn't talk much. He was also quite kind to his owl and 'Arden'. Due to Draco only being on the receiving end of hatred from the saviour, this was strange.

Quickly Draco had noticed many strange things. Like how much Harry hid food, magical items and anything that was remotely interesting. How rude Harry's family had been was definitely one of the many strange things. With Draco's enhanced hearing, he constantly heard Harry's stomache rumbling, which explained the food.

Was Harry's family starving him?

'Arden' wasn't allowed out of Harry's room, which seemed at first to be a curse, but as time went on, Draco realized it was a favour. The Dursleys were not very nice people.

Once when Dudley had barged in, Draco had caught sight of him from under the bed. The fat lump was putrid. How Harry had lived with him, Draco didn't know.

The thing was demanding and had a lot of weight to throw around in fights. He had threatened Harry, and looked like he meant it. Then Harry had spoken a few words about magic, and the pig was running out.

........
(Scene has violence. Go to next dotted divider if you'd rather not read).

Then one day Harry had ran in and covered Hedwigs cage and thrown Arden under the bed.

"Stay under there. I know you can understand me, so you better listen if you know what's best for you." Then Harry had sat on his bed and looked at the floor.

Moments later there was loud thudding steps coming from the stairs.

"HARRY!" Vernon yelled angrily. "I can't believe you BURNT THE BACON!"

Then Harry's door swung open, and Vernon went faster then you would think a man of his size could move and slapped Harry using all his body weight. The sound was crisp and sharp.

Draco had been very tempted to jump out and attack Vernon. He didn't due to fear, and his own reasoning. Could he really do much in this body? Even if he could, why would he want to? Harry was his enemy.

With another punch, Draco took back that reasoning. He wouldn't wish this life on his worst enemy. Yet here he was.

After a few more hits, Vernon ordered Harry to take off his shirt. The fact that Harry obeyed shocked Draco. Then he was ordered to stand with his hands against the wall. Harry did. The look on Harry's face showed he felt resigned to this. When Draco saw Harry's back, he realized this had obviously happened before.

Vernon slipped off his belt, and Draco couldn't watch anymore. He turned around and tried to zone out the shouts and the noise that came from each harsh slap of the belt.

It felt like it went on forever. Eventually Vernon left, and Harry managed to get to the bed before he collapsed stomach first.

The bright white cat got on the bed, and lay beside him in the first kind act that he had done in the entire time that he had been with Harry. It was quite comforting for Harry. They each fell asleep fairly quickly.

.........

When Arden was finally able to walk well again, Harry gave him the opportunity to leave. He refused. So he had stayed in Harry's room.

In reality, Draco had tried to turn back, but it seemed he couldn't quite yet. At this point he was terrified that he would never turn back. At least with Harry, he would return to Hogwarts.

The beatings had continued, and Harry was getting incredibly skinny. Somehow, he still managed to feed Hedwig and Draco well. Which very much surprised Draco. Had Harry always been so self sacrificing? If he had, how was he still alive?

Actually, Draco had a lot of questions. Why hadn't anyone done anything about this situation? Wouldn't Dumbledore have wanted to protect his precious saviour? Why had Harry never told anyone? Draco could think about this for hours. In fact, he did. It wasn't like he had no time to.

Over the month Draco had learned a lot about Harry, and regretted making his haven slightly more like his summer home. Perhaps one day he could make it up to him.

..........

One day everything changed. Harry received two letters tied together from an unfamiliar owl. It was addressed to Draco Malfoy.

Opening it, Harry read it out loud.

Dear Draco,

Recently I have gotten a letter from your father. He wishes for you to come home for urgent matters. You and I both know what he wants. If I were you I wouldn't go home. Stay wherever you are. It's got to be better than becoming a slave to a man who couldn't kill a baby.

He's probably going to come after me, so I'm going to go into hiding as well. Then there's the fact that my parents want me to do the same thing as your parents want you to do. I'm sorry I can't celebrate your birthday with you this year.

We've discussed what we would do when this time came. It seems it came earlier than both of us expected. Follow the plan.
P.s. I think there's a tracker in your father's letter that only works when you open it. So I recommend opening it at Hogwarts.

I'll see you back at Hogwarts,

Blaise Zabini.

"Why would I get this? Blaise obviously placed a spell to make this reach Draco... and if that means he gets it through me..."

Then he turned around and looked at 'Arden'. "You're an animagous aren't you?"

Draco nodded in cat form. He was expecting Harry to get mad. His worst enemy had just seen his home life.

"And you couldn't turn back because you were injured right?"

Another nodd from the white cat.

"Have you tried in the last three days?" Harry inquired.

Then Draco shook his head.

"Then why don't you give it another go?"

So he did. Closing his eyes, he imagined his human body, his incredibly light hair, and his silver blue eyes. Moments later he felt the shift.

Draco sat for a moment before looking at Harry with wide eyes. He had changed back! Now he could help Harry! Oh how he wanted to hex Vernon into oblivion. Unfortunately that would get him in Azkaban, and since he was underage, he would lose his wand.

"You can change back now. You don't need my protection. Good bye Draco,"Harry muttered quietly before leaving the room.

What? He thinks I'm just going to leave him? Draco thought to himself.

.........

When Harry came back into his room, he found Draco had left. So he sighed and lay down on his bed. He wasn't sure if he was relieved or saddened by the loss of company.

It had been nice having a creature comfort him after beatings. He hadn't known what to do when he found out it was Draco. Although he was sure he would want to leave. Why would he stay here?

Suddenly something jumped on his face. Harry's first thought was oh my goodness Dudley is trying to suffocate me. Then it came off and revealed Arden- er, Draco.

Swiftly he turned back to a human and asked, "you didn't think I'd just leave you did you?"

Harry looked to the ground. He had thought Draco would leave. Why wouldn't he?

"How long has it been like this?" Draco questioned.

"A while," was Harry's simple reply.

Draco got comfortable. A habit he'd earned from being a cat. "Do you always talk so little here?"

"Yeah. I'm usually pretty talkative at Hogwarts trying to find out who, or what, is going to try to kill me next."

"That's the most I've heard you say in a day. Gosh I missed talking. It's so fun, yet you do it so little."

Shrugging, Harry spoke, "guess the Dursleys just never wanted to remember I was there, so they taught me to be silent."

Draco shivered thinking of how they taught Harry. "So when are we getting outbof here?"

"What?"

"I'm not leaving you alone here. I'm either taking you away with me, or staying here with you."

Looking at Draco with distrust, he asked, "why should I go with you? What reasons could you have for wanting your worst enemy to go with you?"

"For things first, you're not my worst enemy. You'd be rid of the Dursleys. You've helped me, so I kind of owe you now. Plus, this is not a suitable home for anyone. You know a lot about the muggle world, and I know things about the wizarding world you have yet to learn. We could be an unstoppable duo."

"We?"

Living here truly had an effect on Harry. Draco knew that now. He was going to help Harry however he could. Maybe in the meantime, he could find a safe place for himself. "Yes, 'we' you idiot. Pack up your stuff. I hate your so called 'family'."

"What about your stuff?" Harry asked curiously. What had happened to it?

"Blaise hid it for me. I know where it is. We'll stop by when we find the time. I'll get your stuff from the cupboard." With that, Draco exited. Not even a minute after Harry heard the door bell ring.

There was murmuring before Vernon shouted that Harry should pack, and that someone was here to pick him up.

.........

Harry was finally getting out of his own personal hell. It was due to the least likely person too. What would happen while they were on the run? Would someone find them? What would have happened if Harry had decided to stay when Draco gave him the chance? What if he never had got this chance?

Suddenly Harry was glad he had kept the cat.

.