Chapter 12

                                        

                                              
Published: 4/20/2025
Happy Easter!

This time, when Draco came home, the dog greeted him at the entrance of the driveway. His jaw dropped.
"How the bloody hell did you get out of the room? Or the house or yard, for that matter?" Draco added as he carefully parked the car in the garage. The dog jumped on him when he got out, wanting pets.
"Well, I'm glad you didn't run away and get hit again. Come on, dog," Draco said, regretting not getting a tag for the collar, yet.
He just told the dog to go to the door, and he went, no doubt hungry. Draco was wary about doing magic outside, despite the Muggle wards and trees. Draco opened the door, and the dog ran into the house, doing circles. Draco went to the laundry room and found the window open. He looked down at the dog, who stopped at his leg, panting.
"I didn't open the window," Draco told it.
"Woof!" the dog replied.
He checked the trim and saw claw marks. He looked at the dog, again, amazed. "Apparently, I own the only dog in the world who is an escape artist. What did you jump on the dryer and... claw it open? How?"
The dog tilted his head and whined.
Draco looked again and checked the lock. He could see claw marks. It was crazy. There was no way a dog could unlock a window, right? He looked at the dog, who looked a little smug. It had to be a coincidence. Draco shook his head and magically locked the window. He started on dinner, eyeing the dog for signs of bad or weird behavior. He prepared the dry food and meat bowl again and dragged the dog to the laundry room to confine him.
"Come on, you must eat at this!" Draco said, and slammed the door.
The dog howled and whined at the door. Draco smiled because he won this round.
That was until the dog busted through the window. Draco was just about halfway through his dinner and rushed outside. The dog was running around the yard, happy and practically braggy. Draco ran out into the grass when he remembered that the dog had escaped the yard, too.
"Come here, boy!" he called, and the dog came running. There was some blood on the top of his head and another cut on his back, but the dog was wagging his tail. He healed him with Episkey and turned to the window, which the lower pane was smashed out. Draco cast Reparo, and it reformed. However, when he turned the dog, it was gone.
"Dog?" he called, swearing that the damn dog needed a name. He looked around the yard, and he wasn't there. Then he looked behind at the sliding door that he had left open in his haste to get outside. He walked in. The bloody dog was sitting in his seat, eating the rest of his dinner.
"Hey!" he said.
The dog just licked his plate clean and lifted his head. He tilted it and barked a soft "Woof!" 
"Get down!" he spluttered.
He jumped down and came over. He rubbed against his leg and Draco couldn't stay mad at him. The stubborn bastard was hungry. He sighed, petted his furry escape artist and started cleaning up. He supplemented his dinner with some ham rolls. Draco went to the couch to watch the telly. His dog climbed onto his lap and laid down. The devil rolled over for belly rubs.
"You are something, aren't you?" he said, obliging him. "Such a bad dog."
The dog whined appreciatively.
"You need a name. Cujo? Fido? Lassie? Rin Tin?" Draco tried, but the dog yawned. "Prat. That's what I should call you."
The dog snorted... or that's what it sounded like to Draco. When the show was over, he turned the telly off and went to his bedroom, and his dog followed him. "I should make you sleep in the laundry room. You ate my dinner."
The bloody dog looked up at him and licked his lips. Draco sighed. The dog won, again.
"Come on, get on the bed. You beat me fair and square. We'll see about tomorrow."
The dog barked and jumped up on the bed. Then git watched him change like a pervert.
"Something you like, boy?" he said, forgoing his pajama top as it was a bit warm in the room.
The dog tilted his head, inspecting him.
"Aren't you forward?" Draco granted, and climbed in.
The dog came over and sniffed him. Draco petted him and jumped slightly when the dog licked his chest, more specifically, the Sectumsepra scar across his chest.
"Boundaries, Dog," he laughed.
The dog tilted his head and licked it, again.
"Hey, come on!"
The dog whined and laid down, putting his head on Draco's stomach. He whined, again, and Draco petted him.
"It's okay, boy. It happened a long time ago. Another prat like you won that fight, too," Draco murmured, touching the prominent scar on his chest. "I attacked the hero of the wizarding world. He was faster... better. I tried to hurt him, but he stopped me. I'm glad he did. I don't know what I would have done if I had hit him with an Unforgivable. Probably go to jail for the war and after. Potter won the war in the end, but... he needed me to win. And I needed him."
The dog perked his head up.
"Yeah, Potter saved my life in more than one way," he said. The dog whined and gave him puppy eyes. "I broke his nose," Draco confessed.
The dog flinched.
"Yeah, you would be hurt if someone broke your nose," Draco breathed, petting his long nose. The dog licked his hand.
"You are such a beautiful dog, when you're not being an asshole."
The Belgian Malinois wagged his tail and nudged his hand to keep petting him.