Chapter 23

                                        

                                              
Published: May 27th, 2025

Draco pulled into his driveway at the usual time. Tomorrow was his first day off since he found Potter the Dog. He prayed that the menace didn't trash the house. He was nervous. He'd seen plenty of muggle movies and shows where the dogs go crazy and eat everything.
He parked the car in the garage and closed the bay door, before he opened the house door. As soon as he did, his four-legged maniac jumped up on him and was whining happily. Draco petted him awkwardly as the dog was nearly pushing him backward, but he managed to close the garage door before he fell out of it.
"Were a good boy?" he asked, and the fur monster yipped, did some excited circles and laid down for belly rubs.
"Aww... I don't even care," Draco said as he knelt and rubbed his overgrown puppy. "Such a good boy!"
Potter whined and wiggled, basking in the attention. He growled playfully and gently nipped at Draco's hand when he scratched his neck and head.
"Aww... my good boy. It's just me and you now! I finally got two days off." 
"Woof!" Potter responded and flipped over to tackle Draco to the floor. The dog laid on his stomach and licked his face over and over. 
"Ph.. Ph... Dog! Potter! Come on! Your slobber does not taste good!" 
Potter finally stopped after Draco scratched his head, again.
"You're insufferable. Look, there's hair everywhere!"
Potter licked him again.
"Stop!" he said with a laugh. He managed to get up. "Well, there's dog hair all over my clothes... good thing you didn't pull that this morning. Hmmm... maybe Blaise knows dog hair removal spells." He looked at Potter and went fake serious. "Then I'll take all of your hair off."
Potter whined and his ears tucked in. He gave a soft growl as if saying, "No, you aren't."
"I sure will. You can be a hairless dog," he threatened.
Potter growled louder and gave a "Woof".
"Yep... no more hair."
"Grrr..." Potter growled and glared.
Draco laughed. "No... I couldn't do that... you're too cute."
Potter perked right up, jumped up onto his chest and licked him, again. Draco sighed but endured it. He walked Potter to the back door on two legs, holding him by his front paws.
"See, you can walk!"
"Grr... grrr..." Potter growled, nibbling at his hands as they walked.
"If you keep jumping on me... I get to keep your paws, right?"
"Gr-woof!" Potter disagreed as they reached the door.
Draco let go and Potter nudged his nose into the back of his knee in retaliation. Draco stared at him. Potter sat down and stared back, tilting his head.
"Touché, Potter, you adorable bastard. Let's go. We need to fix the fence thing tomorrow."
Draco went outside with his escape artist. He had to stay with the dog in the yard. It'd be annoying when winter came. The dog had a fur coat, but he did not. Potter managed to stay in the yard this time, and they went inside. Draco got to making Tuscan chicken in a lovely tomato cream sauce. He fried some plain chicken breasts for Potter, as well as some rice. He sat down to eat, and Potter grumpily waited for his food.
He was eating when he saw that the spare bedroom door was open. The room was for when Pansy and Blaise came over to visit, so they didn't have to try drunken Apparation. He hadn't had the door open since last month during their last visit. So, unless someone came while he wasn't here, Potter must have opened it. Snooping, most likely.
Draco was about to take another bite, when he stopped. Dogs don't snoop. Investigate, sure. But to open a door for no reason? He looked at his furry companion. Coincidence? He wasn't sure. Potter almost seemed to understand that Draco was talking about shaving him. It was probably his tone... right? He ate his food and tried to put it out of his mind.
When he got up, Potter looked over, ready for dinner. Draco cleaned his plate and put the leftovers away. He plopped Potter's bowl on the floor, and rubbed his dog's head. Potter licked his hand and ate.
He decided to survey the house for damage and checked out his desk. He couldn't be sure, but it looked a little different. He remembered stacking the letters neatly, and now they were moved. He remembered these kinds of things as the Aurors had been right bastards when he was on parole, especially after Potter, the real Potter, had disappeared. The random inspections were tearing his place apart. Luckily, Blaise had warded his personal stuff from being noticeable. He didn't need the Aurors going through his schoolboy crush on Potter. There was a certain box under his bed dedicated to the bastard. 
Potter the dog was licking his chops and gave him a look.
For some reason, Draco felt the need to check his secret box. He walked to his room, and Potter followed, the pervert. 
"Just going to the loo and changing, Potter. Go lay on the couch," he ordered and shut his bedroom door on him. He did change and relieve himself, but then got on the floor and checked that his box was still there. It was, but he had a strange feeling like it had been touched. 
He was being stupid. The dog was probably exploring, like the guest room. Potter was just a dog, right? It could be that someone had come into his house while he was gone. That was a disturbing thought. A muggle would have had no chance with the repelling wards and a large dog guarding the place. 
Draco went out to the couch, and Potter was there, ready for pets. He sat down, and Potter rolled onto his back and leaned against him. He petted his puppy as he turned on the telly. It was all a coincidence. It had to be.