Chapter Text
Draco, ever the organised one, had registered their mating bond at the Ministry, after that first time together three months ago. And, as Ministry protocol was to automatically allow mated partners permission to travel abroad together, there had been no difficulty for Harry being able to accompany Draco on this particular trip.
They were high in the Appalachian mountains, the air cool and thin, a green forest sprawling before them. The whole area was a magical reserve, a hundred miles in each direction, and it was peaceful and quiet.
Draco was looking incredible, dressed like a dragon handler in tough leather and heavy gauntlets. Harry desperately pushed away the thought of wanting Draco to handle him dressed like that, shaking his head to clear his mind. He could smell Draco’s scent all the time now, even when they weren’t together. It entwined around him, a lover’s caress, comforting him when Draco wasn’t there, driving him to distraction when he was. Harry saw the heated looks Draco gave him, and knew it went both ways.
Harry moved closer to Draco, wanting to touch him, to mark his territory: the possessiveness had settled a little since they mated, but wasn’t entirely abated. Only this morning he had straddled Draco in their hotel bed, riding him slowly until Draco knotted inside him and they both came, gasping and trembling together.
Given the chance, Harry would have pushed Draco down to the ground and do it all over again right now.
Harry had to push that thought out of his mind, however, as around them milled several other witches and wizards, all dressed similarly to Draco. They were a mix of handlers from the British Ministry’s Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, and handlers from the MACUSA’s equivalent department.
‘Not long now, love,’ Draco murmured, shifting towards Harry so their hips touched. They never spent too long without physically touching when they were together. Harry felt grounded when he was in contact with Draco, no matter how little, and he suspected Draco felt the same.
There was an angry little growl from in front of them, and Harry turned his attention to the heavy-duty crate sitting on the ground. It was bright blue and covered in warning stickers and International Floo Network stamps, with air holes in the top and a shimmering net of protective spells surrounding it. The little growl echoed again, and Harry reached for Draco’s hand.
‘Poor little guy,’ he murmured, and Draco squeezed his hand.
‘He did well at the rehabilitation centre,’ Draco reassured him. ‘And now he’s going to live a long and happy life in his natural habitat, Harry. Thanks to you.’
‘Thanks to us,’ Harry corrected, and Draco just smiled as the sun set over the mountains, and the creature handlers moved forward as one to surround the crate. Each had a persistent Protego raised around themselves, and Draco drew his wand and cast a combined shield around him and Harry. Harry snorted quietly - as if he wasn’t perfectly capable of casting his own Protego - but the alpha in him purred in quiet satisfaction at the protective little gesture.
Slowly and carefully, as Harry and Draco watched, still hand in hand, the creature handlers lifted the protection spells, and opened up the crate.
With an uncertain grumble deep in his chest, a small, light brown Wampus Cat with no eyes crept from the crate. He lifted his head once he was clear of the opening, cautiously sniffing the air, and then turned to the nearest handler: if the cat had eyes, he would be glaring straight at her. The handler calmly held her shield in place, and the cat huffed and turned away, delicately picking its way through the scrubby grass. In a few moments, he had disappeared completely into the dark, lost to the trees.
There was a collective sigh of relief from the handlers, and one of them shrank the crate and picked it up, sliding it into his pocket.
‘You two coming for a celebration drink?’ one of the MACUSA witches called over to Harry and Draco, a friendly smile on her face. Harry caught Draco smirking and held back a laugh of his own.
‘Thanks, but I think we’ll head straight to bed. We’ve got an early Portkey to catch.’
She nodded as the other handlers started to Apparate away from the reserve. ‘Well, it’s been a pleasure working with you both. Great work on rescuing the Wampus!’ With that she drew her own wand and Disapparated, leaving Harry and Draco alone in the forest.
Draco turned to Harry, stepping into his space so their chests pressed together, capturing his mouth in a kiss. Harry sighed happily against Draco’s lips, reaching down to take Draco’s arm in his hand.
‘Ready?’ Harry murmured, and Draco nodded, burying his face into Harry’s neck, nuzzling against the mating gland that made Harry’s entire body tingle with lust.
‘Ready,’ Draco replied, and Harry Apparated them both away.
Back to their hotel, back to their room.
And back to the rest of their lives, together.