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"Let's get a dog."
At this, Draco's reading glasses drooped slightly down his arched nose as he paused his reading to surmise an unamused eyebrow towards his husband.
"Pardon?"
"A dog. I said, let's get a dog." He repeated.
"I'm well aware of what I've heard, Potter. Why are you suddenly in dire of one? Am I not interesting anymore to you that you felt the need to take care of another living creature?" Draco wondered vocally with a slight scowl, boring the classic Malfoy sneer towards his expectant husband.
Harry blinked dumbly for a second then proceeded to furrow his eyebrows, "You're ridiculous. Of course not, I just thought the house is a little bit empty with only us and Kreacher occupying it. We are both are well aware that we aren't ready to adopt a little child, so why not get a dog?"
Draco pondered about it for a while, and abruptly stood up from the velvety couch and put the book he was reading aside, "No." He vetoed, dismissing the idea.
He trailed his way to the kitchen to delight himself with a nice cup of tea, with Harry following him eventually with a pleading look etched on his face. He looked like a pleading puppy. That's enough, isn't it? Why do you need another bloody dog when you have Harry Potter?
Not to mention both are obnoxiously loyal.
"Oh come on! Don't you think that we need a dog? Having only Kreacher here is kind of unsettling, he likes to creep around the corners." Harry visibly shuddered.
At some point of their relationship, Harry eventually gathered the bundle of valour that is left from his system and asked Draco to move in with him to Grimmauld. And Draco, impulsively, agreed much to Harry's satisfaction.
He even became best friends with Kreacher, which was not surprising in the slightest since the elf has always favoured purebloods more; and the fact that Draco is related to the Blacks family had drastically increased Kreacher's goodwill towards Draco. Poor elf is just missing Regulus, is all.
"Kreacher isn't that bad. And he isn't an animal as barbaric as a dog, Potter." He waved his wand and a jar of sugar immediately flew into his hands as he mixed some with his tea.
"A dog isn't even that bad, Draco! Sirius had a dog, too, and he was the best. I just thought that Grimmauld wouldn't be complete without a presence of a dog. Sirius loved dogs." Harry pouted slightly, leaning against the countertop. "And stop calling me Potter, you're a Potter too if you aren't aware."
"Don't you dare pull the pity card on me, Harry Potter. It doesn't work on me." Draco drawled airily, stirring his tea languidly.
"Please, Draco. Didn't you have a small poodle, too?" Harry shot back, squinting his eyes.
He brittled at the vague mention of his old poodle, he was eight years old when he had Mr. Winkles, and he finally passed of old age when Draco was fifteen. Poor Mr. Winkles. Draco loved him very much.
"Do not bring Mr. Winkles into this, Potter."
Harry raised his hands up in surrender, "Fine, fine! Sorry! But don't you just miss him?"
Draco mulled, once in a while taking a sip from his steaming cup of tea. He did miss Mr. Winkles, that small bundle of energy fuelled with unnecessary zeal packed in such a tiny body.
He would scamper everywhere across the manor and Draco and basically an army of house-elves would have to search through every nooks and crannies of the labyrinthine manor just to find the small rascal.
His father's attraction towards the trifling canine was quite farcical and hilarious, he'll admit that. He'll just glare at the dog in visible disgust and dare Draco say, distrust.
Once in his young age, Draco would run to his father with an armful of Mr. Winkles and transferred the dog to his father's hesitant arms. Lucius would hold the dog in repugnance, sneering slightly towards the waggling dog.
But Draco swore to Merlin that once, when father thought that mother and him weren't looking his way — he had fed small, torn bits of his grandiose Danish raspberry pastries. Father had never, ever shared his precious pastries to anyone. So clearly, it was quite a sight to see his father being oh-so affectionate towards Draco's poodle.
He was snapped out of his stupor by Harry's incessant and impatient tapping on the countertop, he had a smug expression etched; he obviously knew that he had hit a weakening nerve after bringing up Mr. Winkles.
"Oh, wipe that expression off your face," Draco grumbled. "Fine."
A shit-eating grin flew on his face and he stood up straighter, "Is that a yes, then?"
The blond feigned chagrin and rolled his eyes, "Just- don't make me regret this."
"I won't, I won't." Harry snatched the cup of tea from Draco's slender hands and placed it on the counter, then proceeded to lace his arms around his waist possessively and murmured subtle "thank you"'s into Draco's neck.
Draco bit his lip to suppress a moan, "Let's not do it here, you're the one that said that Kreacher liked to sneak around the corners."
Harry brought his lips to Draco's and and it glided in sync. He felt Harry's greedy hand crawling up the curves of his arse, before proceeding to swat it away.
Draco pulled back and tutted, pressing a finger over Harry's needy lips. "Let's go up."
Then all of a sudden Draco was in Harry's arms, being carried, no—manhandled in his strong arms while they streaked up the stairs with an armful of an excitedly shrieking Draco.
"This place reeks of dogs." The Draco's nose scrunched up in obvious disgust, straightening himself slightly.
"Obviously. It's a dog shelter, after all." Harry muttered, taking the latter's hand and entering the spacious room filled with caged dogs, battily barking at the couple's presence.
The plump lady followed them from behind, "What kind of breed are you searching for, sirs? Or do you not have anything in mind?"
"A poodle."
"A husky."
At the clash of their opinions, they visibly glared at each other.
"Poodle, Potter." Draco seethed.
"Husky." The other man squinted his eyes in challenge.
"Poodle."
"Husky.
"Poodle, Harry! You were the one that brought up Mr. Winkles! Do you think I won't miss him?"
"Well, yeah! But Sirius had a husky!"
"What is the matter with you and what Sirius had? A dog is a dog!"
"Grimmauld isn't complete without a husky!"
"Well I'm not complete without a poodle!"
A loud cough interrupted the couple's childish quarrel, the lady smiled apprehensively. "Well, such a coincidence. A poodle and a husky were just brought in a week ago. They were found together, abandoned in the streets. And they're pretty much inseparable now. An odd pair, really. But quite adorable, seeing such a huge breed of a dog jovially associating with a smaller one."
The couple stared blankly at the lady as if expecting her to continue, which made the lady shift her weight to her other leg uncomfortably. "Might you want to take both, perhaps?"
The two recently collected dogs barked as they entered the Potter's household, the husky flourished with excitement and the smaller poodle entered gracefully, but it was obvious that she's quite delighted at the prospect of a new home.
Draco and Harry followed from behind with an armful of dog supplies, with Draco carrying one bag and Harry carrying about ten more. 'I wasn't raised to be labored' quoted Draco.
"Come on, Princess!" Draco called the little white poodle, yelping slightly as the canine ran to his arms in glee.
"You know, that is a terribly girly name." Harry smiled as he dropped the bags on the table, massaging his aching shoulder from the previously heavy weight he had carried.
Draco arched his head to turn and glare to his husband, "What? Doesn't make me less of a man that Princess is the correct name for this little angel."
Harry whistled to get the husky's attention, "C'mere, buddy!"
The dog stayed unresponsive in the other side of the room, waggling his furry tail slightly, sticking out his tongue in anticipation.
"'Buddy', terribly American." Draco clicked his tongue, ruffling the soft, pearly white fur behind Princess' ear which caused her to go extremely batty out of pleasure. "Also I won't be surprised if we found out that he's slightly deaf."
"Shut up, let me try again." Harry mumbled in determination, he whistled again to catch the dog's attention, to no avail only getting the canine still sprawled in the soft carpet in the living room.
"Deaf." Harry faltered.
"Try to catch his attention with your hands." Draco added, nodding to the husky.
Harry began to wave his hands hastily, trying with all his might that this would get the dog's attention. He did this until his arms ached but finally he was repaid by the dog running to his arms elatedly.
"Don't forget that my parents are coming over for dinner tonight. Father would freak if he found out that I found an exact replica of Mr. Winkles." Draco snorted, walking over to the husky and ruffling his ears too, earning an envious growl from Princess.
"What are you going to name him, by the way?"
Harry pondered, he hadn't thought of that bit yet. As his fingers slide through the husky's fur, a name popped in his head, "Padfoot."
Draco smiled warmly, although continued with a snort, "Sentimental prat."
"Father, father, are you okay?"
"Lucius!"
"For the love of God, Lucius!"
No one had really expected Lucius Malfoy to faint face first onto the floor, with little to no grace. As soon as Princess, that is really, the exact copy of Draco's old poodle, entered the room; Lucius wondered if Mr. Winkles resurrected.
Or Lucius just had terribly died somehow that the spirit of Mr. Winkles decided to wait by him.
"Mr. Winkles," Lucius sighed, unaware of Narcissa's hands slapping across his face demanding him to regain his consciousness. "Always the robber of my pastries."