Chapter 25
As suspicious as Granger was being, insisting on coming into their little apartment, the joy she left in her wake was 100% worth it. Harry looks at the yarn, then at Draco and Draco immediately snatches Harry's wand away.
“I can summon things for you Harry you don’t need to waste magic,” Draco says summoning a pair of elegant crystal needles.
“Yeah but you don’t know what you’re doing,” Harry picks up and inspects the needles, “These are a size too big,”
Draco rolls his eyes and makes them slightly smaller, “Better?”
Harry grins and starts looping the yarn over the needles, “This yarn will make for the softest sweater you’ve ever felt,”
Draco watches for a while, before wandering off and grabbing Harrys laptop. It didn’t take long before he found Itunes, Harrys account had bands like ‘System Of A Down’ which Draco could not stand (Harry laughed when he rushed to change it after the first song that came), but it also had LoFi which Draco found much easier to listen to.
At some point Harry gasped and dramatically put down his needles, “You promised I’d get to paint your nails Draco,”
“I did, what color are you going to do.”
Harry hums and walks into the bathroom and returning with a delightfully slytherin green nail polish and black, “Choose,”
Draco points to the green and Harry starts carefully painting his nails, his face practically pressed to Dracos hand. Draco had never painted his nails before, and he dreads to think what his father would think of it, but it was rather nice sitting there and letting Harry move slowly around his cuticles.
The flames of the floo flares up in the corner, “Erm- Hello Harry, sorry to bother but the floo’s just been installed,”
Harry blows on Dracos nails which are kind of a mess, “Well that’s good,”
“I know you have work but do you mind if we send Esme through for a bit?” Dudley smiles, “There’s this wine tasting Oliva wants to go to tonight and Mum-” Dudleys face drops a little, “Well Mum isn’t Esmes biggest fan right now.”
Harry grins into the fire, “I would love to have her over,”
“Harry’s a tad sick, nothing contagious more a product of his own idiocy, so it might end up me who takes care of her, is that all right?” Draco interjects.
“I am perfectly fine,” Harry elbows Draco in the stomach lightly but when Draco tries to return the favor Harry focus’s a sharp glare on him, “Nails, Draco.”
“That’s fine,” Dudley says, “You’re going to need to step through for her though I’m afraid, I’m not sure how safe it is for us magicless folk to come through…”
Harry gives a big thumbs up and stands up only to walk into the wall next to the floo, “Fucks sake.”
“Harry why don’t I go through it?” Draco suggests.
“And get floo powder on your nails? No.” Harry feels his way around the fireplace until he finds the dust on the mantel, “Fantastic.”
***
When Harry manages to make his way through the floo, he is struck by how little he can still see.
“Hello,” Harry squints at the people shaped blobs walking foreward a little and immediately tripping, “I am slightly legally blind at the moment.”
Harry can hear Oliva take a sharp breath in, “Is the floo safe?”
“Completely,” He turns to address Esme, “You’re going to throw down a handful of this powder and say very clearly, ‘Draco Malfoys Apartment Hogwarts’ Alright?”
She nods confidently and turns towards the fireplace, “Why don’t we practice a few times first?”
After five trys Harry decides she’ll do just fine and he ushers her to go first. He explains how to use the floo and she catches on quite quickly for a four year old and she rushes foreward throwing the floo powder down and enunciating each syllable.
“We’ll call tomorrow when we’re ready to pick her up,” Dudley says.
Harry nods, “Try to call before breakfast, Draco was right I’m a little indisposed and am not working right now but I’m not entirely myself once the fever kicks in, I can always let her hang out with Hermione if need be,”
Once she disappears into the flames he smiles at the worried muggles behind him and does his best to replicate exactly what she said, breathing a sigh of relief when he steps into Draco and his apartment and Draco is talking quietly to a small human shaped blob.
“You did great Esme,” Harry kneels down holds up double high-fives, which Esme eagerly returns.
“Draco says you can do my nails,” She beams up at him.
“Of course, what color?” Harry asks, “Draco do you mind summoning the nail polish?”
Draco nods letting the different shades float across the room, “We can always get a different color if you’d like Esme,”
She shakes her head and points to a vibrant pink, “That one, please,”
Harry snatches the color out of the air and Draco sends the polishes back to where they came from.
“Harry why don’t we use a stencil so you don’t paint her cuticles,” Draco says summoning a few stencils.
“Did I mess up your nails?” Harry asks squinting at Draco’s hands.
Draco shakes his head, “No mine looks great, I just thought we’d wanna be extra careful with Esme,”
Esme giggles a little and lets them place the little stencils on her nails.
***
Draco loves this, watching Harry carefully paint Esme's nails and Esme staring skeptically down at them. After the first few fingers were a horrific mess, Draco handed Harry his glasses and put a hand on his back allowing magic to flow out of him and into Harry.
Harry sighs, “That's so much better,”
He finishes the rest of the nails with ease and Esme seems much more satisfied with the results.
Draco cleans up the edges where Harry struggled to stay in the lines, “Now we’ve gotta wait for them to dry huh,”
“No,” Esme draws out the word, “Dry them with magic,”
She presents her nails to Draco with an air of confidence, Draco crosses his arms, “Is that how we ask for something?”