Decorus Draco

Severus Snape was a man with a lot on his mind. Between playing a dangerous game of passing information between two formidable wizards on opposite sides of the war, he also had to deal with idiotic students who didn't know the difference between a paranoia potion and a subtle influence potion if their lives depended on it. He had finally got a bit of free time on his hands, and had decided to spend his dinner break in his room, relaxing and having some 'me time.'

He was poring through his books and magazines; Potions books of course, it wasn't as if he subscribed to Wild 'n' Wicked Witches or anything, and the secret drawer at the bottom of his desk most certainly did not contain the last five years' worth of subscriptions of similar magazines. The good professor leafed through his 'study material,' and almost jumped out of his skin as the door to his office was pounded on repeatedly.

"Who's there?" he asked, hastily stashing away his magazine in the secret drawer.

"It's me, Professor, Draco."

Snape mumbled about irritating brats with shitty timing before he whispered the unlocking spell to his door. A thoroughly panicked Draco Malfoy rushed in.

"Professor," Draco started, gasping for breath, "he's trying to kill me."

Snape sighed resignedly as he motioned for Draco to have a seat. He was very used to the Slytherin's theatrics by now.

"Mr. Malfoy, why don't you take a few breaths and tell me exactly who you think is trying to kill you?"

Draco sat down and took a deep breath. "Potter, Sir - he's trying to do me in."

"And what exactly has Potter done now to make you think that?"

Draco ran a hand through his hair. "He - well, you saw what happened in Potions, didn't you? That was only the first attempt on my life. And he's been glaring at me like he really wants to hurt me. And...and right now at dinner, he did something, and there was this weird green glow around him and he tried to kill me with a chandelier. He's a dangerous murderer, I tell you. I think you should have him sent to Azkaban...or spank him or something."

Severus's eyes gleamed at the last suggestion. Yes, Potter had long been asking for a sound spanking. However, Dumbledore had mouthed some codswallop about students having rights, and Snape was never allowed the privilege. Oh well.

Severus frowned as he absorbed what Draco had been saying. Albus had told him about Potter's loss of magical control and his subsequent susceptibility to the Decorus's charms. Obviously, Potter had bungled things up as usual and Draco now thought he was after his life, instead of just wanting to get into his pants. Severus wondered what he should tell Draco. He could not disclose Potter's current weakness to Draco, the news would reach the elder Malfoy within a few hours, and the Dark Lord's sympathisers at Hogwarts would be attacking the Gryffindor left and right before anybody could say 'Morsmordre!" Not that Severus wanted to protect the pesky brat, but he had to keep him alive for the sake of the Cause.

A sneaky thought crept into Severus's mind, bypassing the greasy hair and zooming straight into the 'Evil Plans Zone' of his brain.

"Mr. Malfoy," he began thoughtfully, I trust your father has informed you about your Decorus heritage?"

"I...er...yes," said Draco hesitantly, hoping more than anything that he would not be told that his professor was suddenly attracted to Draco. I mean, he respected and admired Snape, but seriously...ewwwwww!

Severus, who had muttered a low 'Legilimens' when Draco had started talking, was most offended. I mean, he was no pedophile, but surely his students should think of him as an unattainable goal and not someone to be connected in any way with the word Ewwwww. He sniffed haughtily and continued, "It seems to me that Potter is not trying to kill you; rather, he just wants your attention."

"My attention? Why would the git want that? All I ever do when I meet him is make fun of him and his little friends."

"Yes, be that as it may, Potter seems to be unduly attracted to you," said Severus, waving his hand dismissively. "I think he's your mate, Draco."

Draco snorted. "Riiiight. You think he's my mate. Vince and Greg are my mates, Professor. And Blaise and Pansy. Certainly no Gryffindors."

Snape elegantly wrapped his robe around himself and said slowly, as if to a child, "I meant, I think Potter is your soul mate."

Draco jumped out of his chair and screamed, "What kind of hallucinogens are you on, Snape? He's Potter, the Golden Boy, the git whom I hate with every fibre of my being. Why would you say something absurd like him being my soul mate?"

Snape rolled his eyes. "Five points from Slytherin for melodrama, Mr. Malfoy." Ignoring Draco's scowl, he continued, "Think about it rationally. You just got into your Decorus powers before school began, and since then, Potter has been acting weird around you."

"But he always acts weird, around me or not," Draco argued, starting to pace around the little office. "He just hasn't tried to kill me before."

Severus appealed to the Evil Ideas zone of his brain again. "He's just so overcome with emotion, with...er...lo...cough...love for you that he's losing control. That only proves that Potter is, indeed, your soul mate. You have, no doubt, felt some attraction to him as well, haven't you?"

At this Draco turned an interesting shade of pink, but still managed to stay haughtily, "I most certainly have not."

Severus just shook his head and said, "There's nothing I can do about this, Draco. It seems like Potter is your soul mate. You can either accept it and live happily ever after..." Severus paused, not believing he had just said that. "...or you can deny what's happening. I have to warn you though, pure Decoruses have only one mate for eternity, and if they don't receive their love, they die." Severus was making up this stuff on the fly, the Evil Ideas part of his brain working overtime, and he put on his best I'm-your-professor-so-you'd-better-believe-me look, hoping it would give him some credibility.

Draco, who had been starting stonily at Severus, sank into his chair with a plop. He caught his head in his hands, and said, "What are you doing to me? Why don't you just Avada Kedavra me and get it over with?"

Severus felt a little twinge of guilt at Draco's defeated posture. Luckily for him, the guilt was driven away quickly and the wicked part of his brain took over again.

"I know this must be a shock, Draco. Maybe you just need some time to get used to the idea?"

"But Blaise..." Draco began. "...he's going to kill me. And Potter..."

"I assure you that Mr. Zabini will not cause you to come to any harm. Please try not to overreact so much."

"Me, overreact?" Draco shouted, but Snape interrupted him before he could continue.

"On second thoughts, homicide would probably be on my mind as well if I had found out that Potter was my soul mate. At any rate, I sympathise, but there's nothing more that I can do except wish you luck and happiness with Potter, Draco. You are excused."

Draco threw him a dirty, dirty glare, and stormed out of the room.

~~~~~

After Draco's hasty exit from the Great Hall, Blaise Zabini stared moodily at his plate as he attacked a piece of veal with his fork.

'Potter,' he thought to himself, eyes cold as ice, 'you mess with my property, you mess with me. Damn that Golden Boy! How dare he try to kill my Draco?'

To be honest, Blaise had never been the commitment type. But when Draco, his face flushed with fury, has asked Blaise why he had just put the Leg Locker Curse on the unfortunate Ravenclaw whom Draco had just been kissing, Blaise had faltered. When Draco had asked angrily, "Are you my bloody boyfriend or something?" Blaise had responded by slamming the blond against the wall and ravishing his lips until they were both breathless. Since then, Draco had just assumed that they were boyfriends, and Blaise had never bothered to correct his misconception. It resulted in a seemingly monogamous relationship between the two; and with both of them being hormonal seventeen year olds, it was as close to being committed to each other as it could get. As long as the other didn't find out about their exploits, it was alright with them. Blaise very much thought of Draco as his, and felt some kind of responsibility towards the delicate blond.

Besides, if anything untoward happened to Draco, Blaise would lose his shag buddy. For all his haughtiness, Draco was quite the feisty little kitten in the bedroom. Or the Quidditch changing room, or the storage locker, or any convenient unused classroom, as the case may be.

Blaise frowned as he thought of Potter. He was not going to let everybody's favourite hero take that away from him.

~~~~~~~

Blaise noticed Potter and his henchpeople leave their seats and walk out of the Great Hall. Blaise quietly got up and followed, a few paces behind the trio. The Weasel and the Mudblood said something to Potter and headed off in the direction of the library, but not before the Mudblood placed an affectionate pat on Potter's shoulder.

As soon as his friends were out of sight, however, Potter let out a strangled groan, and kicked the corridor wall with all his might. The groan then became painful, as Potter hopped around on one foot, nursing the injured foot with his hand.

"Bloody Zabini!" Potter yelled.

'Ooooo-kay,' thought Blaise, 'That was unexpected. I thought he was mad at Draco, not me. Maybe confronting him right now is not the best idea after all.'

Blaise attempted to slowly slink back the way he had come, but had only gone a couple of steps before he was interrupted by a loud, "Zabini!"

Blaise gulped and turned back. A furious looking Harry Potter was holding his wand pointed directly at Blaise's heart.

"Calm down, Potter," Blaise said slowly. "You have nothing against me. It's Draco you want to kill, remember?"

Potter's hand dropped, a confused look on his face. "Draco? What?" he asked, most eloquently.

"Isn't Draco your enemy, and the one you want to kill?" Blaise repeated, extremely fearful for his life by now. If it were a choice between Potter killing him or Draco, he decided he would rather live. After all, even if Draco lived to continue being a great shag, it would hardly be any use to Blaise if he himself was no longer alive to enjoy it.

Potter now frowned, as he said, "Of course I don't want to kill Draco, Zabini. I just want to...I mean I would like to..." Potter flushed at this point and licked his lips, a lusty look in his eyes.

Blaise's eyes went wide in realisation. "I knew it!" he said. "You want to shag him, don't you? Well, you can't. Draco wants nothing to do with you."

Potter slowly walked towards Blaise and lifted his wand to the Slytherin's throat. "I don't think you realise what I'm capable of, Zabini. I strongly suggest you stay away from Draco. If not -"

Harry never got to finish his threat, however. He was interrupted by Draco storming in and shoving his hand away. "What do you think you're doing, Potter? Keep away from Blaise."

Harry both turned to look at Draco, whose silver eyes were burning in anger. He jabbed Harry in the chest with a finger. "And stay away from me too, d'you hear me? We want nothing to do with you. I don't care what Severus says, it's not true and I don't believe it."

Harry had no idea what Draco was talking about, but a sharp pain in his chest distracted him from saying so. He turned his face down to look at Draco's finger jabbing him. His robes had been torn and a trickle of blood was seeping out. He looked at Draco's finger, still on his chest, and was shocked to see the sharp claw at the end of a finger covered with blond fur. Harry turned back up to look at Draco's face, and gasped at the sight. Draco's hair was now shoulder length, and he had blond whiskers sprouting from upper lip and chin. Harry was shocked and drawn in at the same time. He lifted his hand and stroked the side of Draco's cheek.

All the anger left Draco's eyes as he nuzzled Harry's hand. He purred deeply, and Harry was lost. Harry cupped Draco's face with both hands and pulled Draco's face closer. Draco rubbed Harry's nose with his own, and purred again, his eyes closing in contentment.

"Draco!" Zabini's shocked voice startled both Harry and Draco.

Draco's eyes opened wide and he jumped away from Harry. "Ssssstay away," he hissed at Harry, before he grabbed Zabini's hand and started walking away quickly.

Harry just stood there staring. He put his hand to his nose, and muttered, "Draco's a pretty kitty." He shook his head, trying to clear it. What had just happened? One moment, he was arguing with Blaise, the next, he was accosted by Draco, who had transformed into a furry creature in front of his very eyes. And he had purred. Harry shivered, remembering that soft, sensual purr. Wait a minute, Draco couldn't purr - he wasn't a cat. But he... Something was not right. Harry wanted answers and he wanted them now. He gave a deep sigh, and walked determinedly towards the library. It was time to consult the human encyclopedia, and he knew exactly where to find her.