"Mate, do you have the report?" Ron canted his chin to shoot Harry a crooked grin. "I have to meet George near the Ministry. Might as well grab the chance and hand it over to our boss."

Harry pointed at the ceiling of the parlor in 12 Grimmauld Place and then strode towards the staircase. "I'll go get it; it's in my bedroom." At the threshold, he called over his shoulder. "I take it George is doing better?"

"Seems so." Ron shrugged. "He's been happier lately; the git even started working on new products."

"Good," Harry muttered before trotting up the stairs.

Harry passed in front of the room which held the Black tapestry, where the soothing sound of Draco's elegant drawl caught his attention.

"I must admit you've been very helpful, Granger."

"Just call me Hermione; after all, we work together!" Hermione said sharply. "So you tell me that things between you two aren't working out?"

Harry grinned at her indignant retort. His fingers brushing his tousled hair, he walked past the room but then the import of Hermione's words finally sank into his mind. Harry gulped and leaned towards the wooden frame of the closed door.

"I believed we were good after our last fight, but…" Draco trailed off while Harry stuck his hands in his pockets with a guilty sigh.

Sure, the two wizards had fought bitterly over the Quidditch World Cup finals, Draco being a firm supporter of the Netherlands while Harry favored the opposing team. Nevertheless, after Harry spent three cold nights sleeping on the couch, the two wizards had made up.

So why was Draco still unhappy?

"Let me guess. You're like me and you've just found out ginger suits your needs best!" Hermione's voice oozed so much satisfaction, Harry could almost taste her smirk.

Harry glared at the door. Was his best friend scheming behind his back to break him and Draco up? Obviously Hermione's vacation in Romania had inspired her with matchmaking ideas concerning Charlie and Draco!

"Exactly, that's why I have to ask you a favor."

Harry's fingers curled around his trusty wand as he waited on tenterhooks for Draco's next words.

"You don't have to. I guess you want him to stay with you," Hermione said smugly.

His heart fluttering like the wings of the Golden Snitch, Harry tightened his fist around his wand. The movement dislodged a silver Sickle that fell out of his pocket and tinkled against the wooden floor.

"There's someone outside," Draco said. "Wait…"

Before Draco could open the door, Harry dived towards the stairs, his hand clutching his wand to Apparate into the master bedroom right above. He was not ready to confront his cheating fiancé yet.

Draco gazed at the corridor with a puzzled frown and then closed the door. "It must have been Aldebaran or Crookshanks."

He sighed at the thought that Aldie still hadn't forgiven him for the cruel words the Boggart uttered in its Malfoy guise.

"So what do you say, Hermione?" Draco shot her a smirk.

"I told you that you don't have to ask; now let us go over this rune one last time." Hermione brushed her fingers against the soft vellum of the parchment on her lap and raised her chin to flash Draco a reassuring smile. "And of course Crookshanks can stay with you for a while. Merlin knows you need all the help you can get so Aldebaran forgives you!"

oOoOo

"What's eating you up, Harry?" Ron closed the kitchen door with a heartfelt sigh, his blue eyes peering at Harry from below his fringe. "You've been moody all day; you almost let that dark wizard escape."

Harry scuffed his leather boots on the floor. "Am sorry, all right? Should've paid more attention."

Aldebaran walked up to the distraught wizard and rubbed his flanks against Harry's trousers. He bent down to pick up the white cat, easily cradling the undulating feline between his arms. "What's up, Aldie? Did you fight with Crookshanks again?"

"Is that it, mate?" Ron thrust his chin at the cat while he made his way to the pantry. He opened it and fished inside for the cans of Italian tuna which was the cats' favorite food. Ron hefted three cans, waving them at Harry. "You and Malfoy fought again? Merlin knows you two bicker almost as much as the cats."

"We do not fight that much!" Harry scowled at his friend, who was opening the cans and pouring the contents onto two white bowls.

"Come off it, Harry!" Ron took out his wand, swishing it with practiced ease at the bowls which smoothly swooped downward to the floor. "You do!"

Crookshanks strolled into the kitchen, his bottle-brush tail curled up in the air as the half-Kneazle rubbed his flanks against Harry's trousers, liberally peppering them with orange hairs. Then the cat lowered his head, his tongue lapping daintily at the tuna while his whiskers quivered, his tail swishing side to side with the precision of a Swiss metronome.

"Fine, you want to know? I'll tell you," Harry growled in exasperation.

While the cats ate, Harry told Ron about the conversation he had heard and the conclusions he gleaned from Hermione and Draco's ominous words.

Ron listened to the tale patiently, his brow furrowing while he observed Harry's face clouding over his recollections.

"You think Malfoy is cheating on you?" Ron continued at Harry's sad nod. "With Charlie?"

"Yeah."

"You're completely wrong!" Ron paced briskly around the kitchen, his fingers ruffling his red hair. "Let us use Auror logic to solve this."

"So how do you explain Hermione's words then?"

"You forget that Charlie is in the dragon preserve in Romania; he's too far away to have an affair with Malfoy!" Ron said confidently. "Obviously Malfoy isn't cheating on you with him!"

Harry heaved a sigh of relief but then Ron struck his open palm with his fist, the slapping sound startling him.

"It's George!" Ron said angrily. "Malfoy's cheating on you with him!"

"George?"

"George is kind of gloating lately." Ron stared at the window with a pensive look. "Used to think it was because he was preparing a prank, but what you heard gives me pause. So that's the reason he's been happy lately!"

Harry's stomach twisted in a painful knot. He wanted George to leave the past behind and move on; only not this way, by stealing Draco away from him!

Ron grunted, his blue eyes sparkling with fury as he gazed at his best friend. "I'm going to beat Malfoy and George to a bloody pulp for cheating on you!"

"Thanks, Ron."

"And then I'm going to beat you too because you made me hit my brother!"

Harry gulped.

The sharp sound of a beak hitting the glass distracted him; Harry craned his neck to glance at the windowpane where a tawny barn owl hooted in exasperation.

"I can't believe the gall of the git," Ron growled while he stepped towards the window, his fingers unclasping the latch so the owl could fly into the room. "George is using Hooters to deliver messages to Malfoy!"

Harry untied the frayed string that held a small box to the bird's claw and then fished inside his pockets, his fingers grasping an owl treat which he shoved rudely into Hooters' beak. The owl whipped her head in consternation before dashing away from the grumpy wizard.

Harry's fingers fumbled with the box. He finally opened the lid and took out two pieces of candy. His eyes widened at the sight of George's scrawl on a torn piece of parchment: 'Here's a preview of my latest product: 'Malforming Madness'"

Harry made a fist around the candies and then turned towards the door, his biceps bulging inside his white shirt as he threw them forcefully at the parlor where the sweets landed with a soft plop against the legs of the table.

"That does it!" Ron stomped towards the door. "I'm going to have a word with George right now!"

"Just don't hit him, alright?" Harry plopped down on the chair, burying his face on his hands while Aldebaran made his way out of the room with Ron, Crookshanks walking up to Harry and batting his head against Harry's legs.

"I won't hit him hard, I promise," Ron called over his shoulder. "I'll just make him see reason. If he wants an obnoxious blond, he could bloody well pull Zacharias Smith and leave Malfoy to you!"

Aldebaran was bored after the strange human ginger, whose fur reminded him so pleasantly of Crookshanks, left the house. He meandered around the parlor, his nose tickled by the alluring scent coming from the candies beneath the table. Aldebaran had trouble with the slippery plastic wrapped around the sweet, until the white tomcat speared the material with his sharp claws and managed to uncover the candy which he ate delicately.

Aldebaran would learn, as countless wizards and witches before him through the years, that trusting Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes is a dicey proposition both for humans and cats.

oOoOo

"Harry, I'm home!" Draco drawled, shrugging off his cloak and placing it on the hat stand next to the parlor door.

Draco tilted down his chin as he sauntered into the darkened room, wondering how he would manage to wean Aldebaran from his stubborn Gryffindor fixation. Granted, it would seem that House held an unholy fascination for astute watchers, but…

The strange sounds coming from the couch caused him to raise his chin, and Draco gasped at the incredible sight in front of him.

It was Aldebaran all right - his lustrous white fur as impeccable and groomed as ever -the trouble was his head. It wasn't feline but avian: a cock's head complete with an engorged red comb, white beak, bulging wattle, and small green eyes.

The furry tail of the strange being slashed the air impatiently as Aldebaran's beady eyes pierced him with malevolent intent. Draco's cat opened his beak and the clucking sounds made Draco shiver from head to toe as he stumbled.

When his human didn't listen to his demands for help, Aldebaran grew angrier, his wattle pulsing violently as he cocked his head sideways, his throat emitting a weird mixture of crowing and meowing which reminded Draco of the sounds his father made after a white peacock bit Lucius' hand.

Draco lurched towards the kitchen and opened the door with quivering hands, his face paler than usual. He noticed Harry sitting forlornly on a chair, Crookshanks purring on his lap.

Draco pointed at the parlor with a trembling hand. "Th… there's a huge cock on the couch!"

"WHAT?" Harry roared as he shot out of the chair at that, his face twisting in indignation while Crookshanks meowed in protest at hitting the cold floor. "You want me to watch? Why don't you simply sit on it, you slut!"

"Potter, what do you mean?" Draco shook his head in bewilderment. "That would kill him!"

"So George is hung but not as strong as you thought, huh?" Harry glared at Draco.

"George?" Draco scowled at him. "By Merlin's wet breeches, are you taking the piss out of me?"

"I don't want to see..."

Draco didn't let Harry finish; he stepped forward and grabbed his arm, pulling him towards the parlor. Harry stumbled behind Draco, green eyes blinking owlishly at the sight of the transformed Aldie.

"What is this?" Harry muttered, reaching out his hand to pet Aldie. The cat cocked his head and rubbed his wattle on Harry's fingers.

"It's George Weasley's fault!" Draco made his way to the chimney and grabbed the vase with the Floo powder. "I've talked with the obnoxious git trying to cheer him up, and this is how he repays me!"

"So you've only talked to George? You're not interested in him?"

"Course not, Potter. I don't like gingers; Crookshanks is the sole exception!" Draco said indignantly. "You and I will have a long talk after Aldie has been restored; you had better believe it!"

As Draco lowered his torso to call Hermione on the Floo, Harry sighed sadly and made the mental note to stock up on blankets. It would seem his nights on the couch were far from over.

oOoOo

"Granger, you failed. I can't believe it!" Draco huffed, pale fingers ruffling his hair.

Soft hooting interspersed with meows came from the couch.

"You even changed Aldie's color!" Draco picked up the small grey cat, whose head no longer resembled a chicken but an owl.

"It was hard," Hermione conceded. "I had to improvise. Need I remind you it was you who suggested the potion anyway?"

Draco mumbled an inaudible reply.

"I only used my runes to fine-tune it!" Hermione said. "George has the antidote anyway, but you were too impatient to wait!"

Harry petted the soft fur on top of Aldie's head, his heart melting at the huge orange eyes that gazed at him with familiar wisdom.

"Can't we leave him like this?" he muttered softly.

Draco opened his mouth to utter a sarcastic remark, but the tender gaze on Harry's eyes stopped his tongue. He sighed, recalling the strong bond Harry enjoyed with his owl, Hedwig, and made the mental note to get his fiancé a new bird.

Aldie nestled on Draco's arm, hooting softly against his robes while Harry made cooing sounds.

"Let's go to bed, Harry," Draco said as he made his way to the door. "I'm tired after all these ups and downs."

"Are you sure?" Harry eyed the uncomfortable couch with a weary look.

"Yes, I am. We all need a good night's sleep." Draco wrapped his other arm around Harry's back and called over his shoulder. "Come on, Crookshanks!"

The half-Kneazle walked towards the door with a bandy gait while Harry looped his arm around Draco's waist.

As the two wizards and the cats left the parlor, Hermione shook her head fondly.

They hadn't said good night or seen her out. It might seem impolite but she was aware of the deeper truth.

Harry and Draco were too much like cats: proud and collected, with a fiery temper that would not be bound - and Hermione knew well that cats greet effusively but never say goodbye.

The End