Chapter 11

                                        

                                              
Published: 4/19/2025

Draco pulled into the driveway and tried to hope that his stubborn dog would eat his dog food. He pulled into the garage and parked. When he opened the door, the dog jumped on his chest and forced him backward into the car.
"Whoa!" he said and was saved by his car. The dog licked his face in greeting.
"How the hell did you get out?" Draco wondered, as his psycho dog continued to demand pets.
Draco petted him more and checked out the laundry room. He was confused until he discovered some dried sobber on the door handle.
"Oh, my Merlin... you can open doors?" Draco said, aghast, looking at the dog who tilted his head and wagged his tail. 
He sighed and, with his wand, locked the garage, front, back and pantry doors.
"What the hell?" he said, still dumbfounded. 
The books he read said the Belgian Malinois breed was very smart and trainable. He just assumed that someone taught the dog how.
"I see you didn't eat," Draco said, looking at the bad dog, who wagged his tail. 
Draco shook his head and let him outside to bark at the squirrel.
"Stupid dog!" Draco called out as he watched the dog go up onto its hind legs to try to "reach" the squirrel.
He went back inside, dumped the food from the morning and put a lesser amount of kibble. He was considering how to make the dog eat it, but he ended up just cooking some chicken for the dog and setting it aside without mixing it into his dog bowl. He put more spices on his own chicken and roasted some veggies and potatoes. 
He let the dog back in as he sat down to eat. The dog laid on the couch without him telling him what to do. Draco ate quietly and then called the dog over, ready with the chicken. He leaned over the dog bowl, about to scoop it in, when he saw that the Belgian Malinois had a remote in his mouth. The telly remote. Draco had hidden his shoes when he came home.
"Dog!" he exclaimed. "Put that down!" 
The dog wagged its tail in response and growled. It shuffled its feet and looked at the bowl that Draco was about to put the chicken into. The dog growled louder as Draco moved closer to the bowl and then stopped as Draco moved away from it. He gave the dog a look.
"You won this round," Draco muttered and lowered the plate of food without putting it into the kibble.
The dog dropped the remote at his feet and ate his chicken, wagging his tail. Draco muttered angrily and cleaned up. They watched some telly (luckily, the remote was undamaged), and when they went to sleep, the dog licked his face playfully. Draco shoved him off and was glad that he didn't smell like the dog food. He wondered what else he should try. Draco was not deterred by the dog's antics. Force might work. He still couldn't believe that the dog grabbed the remote like that. The dog was too bloody smart, he decided as he drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, he hid the kibble in the dog's eggs, but the dog, who refused to be named, spat it back out. The bastard almost went to go find another item to hold hostage, but Draco grabbed him and pulled him back to the bowl. The dog refused to eat but didn't bite or growl Draco when he manhandled him. He was very well-behaved for a wild stray.
But after several minutes of him trying to make the dog eat the kibble, he gave up. The dog woofed at him victoriously. So, Draco corralled him into the laundry room before he could grab anything.
"No! You have to eat dog food! People food is bad for you!" he argued with the animal, who backed away, his ears tucked in and shoulders hunched. 
He gave Draco a glaring look and yawned. Draco shook his finger at him and then Summoned his bowl.
"This is all you are going to get until I come home," Draco said, plopping the bowl beside the door. "Eat! It's dog food!"
Then he shut and locked the door with magic. The dog barked in protest, but Draco went to work. Smiling, he nodded. Looks like he won that round.