The French Beauty

Harry held Teddy’s hand in front of Little Magic Academy. He wasn’t sure if he was a fan of the place, but they took care of Teddy and provided him with a full report of what he did throughout the day and any habits that he may want to take care of now before he got any older and they became a problem. The reason he wasn’t a fan was because of the location and the structure. It was somewhat near a cliff, which he considered to be a hazard, and the building seemed to resemble a spiral, which hurt his eyes and made for several jokes from Ron. However, there were no other magical schools in the area that were even half as good - or that gave him a full report of what Teddy liked, disliked, did, did not do, his habits, friends, nitpicks, energy, and general mood - so this one would have to be it.

“Uncle Harry! Let me go!” Teddy said, trying to get out of his grip.

“Fine… be good, okay?” Harry said.

“I’m always good!” Teddy exclaimed.

Not always, but I’ll let you pretend, Harry thought.

Harry waved at Teddy as the boy ran inside into his classroom somewhere in the structure. He heaved out a sigh, and felt that pain in his chest appear once more. The pain that only appeared when he was alone again. It had started when Ron and Hermione had moved out, and he had then realized that he had abandonment issues and feared that Teddy was eventually going to abandon him as well. But he had to put up a strong font for him, or else Teddy wouldn’t be able to be as normal as all the other children in his class, or he might get made fun of because his caretaker couldn’t take care of either of them properly. He was lucky Teddy was young and he hadn’t already seen how Harry was barely keeping it together for the both of them.

“Hard to let go of the boy?”

The sudden voice had Harry flinching horribly and turning his head so quickly he had to pause to ensure that he twist his neck off. His eyes landed on a vaguely familiar woman. Her short, jet-black hair was piled on top of her head in a ponytail. Her black eyes glimmered slightly. Her pale skin was… pale. She was dressed in a well-made, yet simple, outfit. All in all, she was rather plain. Yet there was some familiarity.

“Are you gonna stay on the floor like an idiot or get up and talk with an adult, like an adult?” the woman said meanly, a familiar sneer that gave away her identity making its way onto her face.

Pansy Parkinson.

Why was she here? Why did she want to talk to him? How did she find him?

He stood rapidly, ignoring the forming headache. She snatched his wrist and Apparated them both to a strange location. He snatched his hand away quickly. How dare she do that?! Who did she think she was?! Just grabbing people and Apparating them to unknown locations! Was she going to kill him?!

“Much better. Wouldn’t want to talk in front of a daycare.” she said snootily, removing invisible dirt from her black skirt. She sat at a table… that came out of nowhere?

Where were they?

It seemed like a restaurant, but open, with the tables being fancy, but picnic like. It was almost like a charming fantastical forest to have a fairy lunch at. But, knowing her, she would bring him nothing but a headache that would make him despise the sparkles in the air.

“Sit down.” she ordered, and he obeyed. What else could he do?

“Heard you became friends with Draco.” she started, glaring daggers into his soul. “How is he?”

“Fine..?”

“Is he bothering you?”

“No.”

“Does he annoy you?”

“No.”

“Do you care for him?”

“N- no wait yes! I mean yes!”

“What are your intentions towards him?”

“What?”

“Are you deaf, Potter?” she snarled, her words turning more sour by the second.

He had realized that they were probably good friends ever since Luna’s party, but he had never given much thought to how she would react to him befriending Draco. She seemed to be testing him, trying to decipher him, and deem him worthy of something. But what? Did she test all of her friends' friends like this? Or did she just hate him that much that she would go out of her way and waste her precious time on him?

“I enjoy his company and would like to become good friends with him.”

She eyes him suspiciously. He could feel himself start to sweat under her unwavering gaze.

Somehow this was worse than being under the watchful eye of Draco’s mother… whose name remained a mystery to him. At least the woman had had the decency to not question him. And she had barely been understandable through her accent anyways. But Parkinson… was a completely different story. One that caused terror and fear, though not as much as their school days where she was his constant antagonist.

“I don’t believe you.” she snarled, acting like the snake she had been during school. Proving that she had yet to move on from their school days. Not like he could speak out on this, he too hated her just as much as he did back then, and had yet to forgive her for her insane and antagonistic actions towards him and his friends, no matter how much people told him to move on. Because he was not going to forgive the person who had called Hermione such an unforgivable word, or hexed Ron to be throwing up slugs throughout their potion lesson, or bullied Neville relentlessly, or gave away all their secrets for money, or cursed Angelina to tears, or tried to have Hagrid expelled. And the list of her unforgivable actions went on.

He just couldn’t comprehend why everyone had turned a blind eye to what she had done.

“And I don’t trust you, and I think you are up to no good, and I still hate you.” she went on, taking a bite out of a biscuit that had appeared out of seemingly nowhere. “And I don’t know why Draco trusts you so much. But I trust him, he’s my best friend, so I am willing to settle a truce between us, for now. But if you ever even so much as think about hurting, harming, betraying, or backstabbing him, I will not hesitate to murder you, Potter. And I don’t need the damned Killing Curse for that.”

For many people, they might see it as a somewhat empty threat, and they might call the authorities. But Harry was one- completely aware that she meant good with that threat, and would kill him with her bare hands if paid 20 Galleons, but was simply waiting for a proper chance to pounce in and get away with it, two- aware that she was very loyal to her friends and would do that even if it meant going to Azkaban, and three- aware that she could get away with it. She was influential, rich, and powerful enough to do so. Not to mention a cunning snake.

“Right.” he gritted out, wishing he had a biscuit to chew on.

They just sat there awkwardly, with her glaring at his very soul, and him trying to not punch the actual crap out of her in on ego and use his title to get away with it, because that would not go well over with Hermione or Ron. Or Zabini.

He had heard rumors that he and Parkinson were dating, but was unsure if the rumors were true. He glanced at the woman in front of him, and tried to see things from Zabini’s perspective, tried to see whatever beauty he saw in the plain woman that only ever looked extraordinary when she dressed glamorously and had a face-full of makeup. But no matter how much he tried, he just couldn’t see someone that would ever care for someone other than herself. 

She started drumming her claws against the table, claws painted an outrageous red that matched her lipstick. He caught sight of an expensive looking, diamond encrusted, engraved ring sitting snugly on her ring finger. 

It caught him so off guard, that he felt himself do a double take and his eyes went impossibly wide. She seemed amused by his face, because her lips turned into a cold, cruel smile, and her eyes gained a glint that showed her true personality, which everyone had somehow turned a blind eye to.

“Beautiful isn’t it?” she asked, running her other fingers over the ring, letting it catch the light.

He was too shocked to speak. Zabini had proposed?! When!? How?! Why?! 

What in the world had he seen in this cold, cruel, woman that bullied other people relentlessly and cared for no one other than herself?!

She kept glaring at him, but made it look calm and collected. She kept smiling cruelly, but made it look like an innocent smile. She kept drumming her claws on the table.

“When?” he managed to croak out.

She sighed, clearly thinking about that day. “It was right after our 100th date, two days ago.” She kept count?! What kind of psychopath did that?! “We were at the beach, the sun was setting. It was picture perfect, and you could see dolphins, and many other beautiful creatures that you have never seen and might never see. The wind was blowing perfectly. And then he turned to look at me, a smile on his face. And then he asked me, and of course I said yes.”

She spoke calmly, almost happily. She was clearly reliving the memory, and she had a face that he had never seen on her. It made her look younger, alive, and… almost pretty, in a way.

Was this what Zabini saw in her? It made more sense that way.

Parkinson gave him a strange look, somewhere between a glare and looking at him pleased. She got up, brushed off invisible dirt from her skirt. She then walked away, another cookie in her mouth as she did so.

Harry wondered how she of all people had managed to become friends with Draco, who seemed too innocent for the world. They were complete opposites. One was a literal demon, and the other one was the most angelic creature to ever walk the planet. Or was he seeing things wrong?

He sighed, and Apparated back to his house. It was still messy and everything was still on the floor. He waved his wand and watched as everything half put itself away, to make the house seem somewhat decent. It was still insanely messy, but better.

He walked up the stairs and lay on his, wondering what had just happened. If it was real. If the cruelest person he knew, Pansy Parkinson, who had bullied him for all of his education years, had really just taken time out of her day to test him, to see if he was worthy of being Draco’s friend? It seemed fake, even now, after he had lived through it. But why? What ulterior motives could she have? She was too cunning, cruel, and vicious for her to just so obviously reveal her motives out loud. Why had she accepted Zabini as her husband? Did she have other motives relating to him as well? It seemed possible, but to use someone who genuinely loved her for her own advantage seemed much more cruel than he thought her to be, she had to be above such cruel tactics. But was she..?

Sudden knocking at his door snapped him out of his thoughts. He rushed down the stairs, slamming into several walls along the way. When he opened the door, Draco stood there, Teddy in one hand. Teddy was changing his hair color to match the platinum blonde color that Draco and Luna sported, and pulled off so effortlessly. Yet, that wasn’t what had surprised him, Draco did have the tendency of dropping Teddy off for him, ever since he had finished his house. What had surprised him was Hermione, who stood next to him.

She was dressed in the most Hermione way possible, and her bushy hair was pulled back into a low ponytail. She had a strange smile on his face.

“Hello Harry! So nice to see you again!” she said excitedly, hugging him tightly. “I have come here to announce that I will be taking Teddy for the rest of the week!”

Harry stared at her shocked. She had never offered to take care of Teddy, she always said that there was no time, between planning the wedding, the budget, and working, so this was more than just a small surprise to him.

Hermione laughed at his reaction, and Draco just stared at him with that bemused expression that made Harry want to do something insanely stupid to make him laugh properly.

“Well, Ron and I have given it some thought, and decided we missed Teddy way too much to not take him for a while. You have him all the time! Stop the hogging and share a little!” she said playfully. “Besides, Teddy misses me! Don’t you?”

“I do!” Teddy squealed. “Uncle Harry, let me stay with Aunt Hermione! Please?”

Harry sighed. He could never say no to such innocent requests, though he was sure Teddy would come back completely differently from when he left. And it would be nice to have freedom for a few days. He loved Teddy, but taking care of a toddler was much harder work than he had originally anticipated.

“Fine, but behave well, okay?”

“YES!”

Hermione beamed at him, and grabbed Teddy’s hand from Draco, who didn’t seem to want to, but gave it to her anyway. It was nice to see that other people were just as attached to the boy as he was. That he took care of Teddy all the time and it got insanely tiring at times was a completely different thing. Also, she might want kids, and Teddy was good practice material.

What was he thinking? Why did he just compare Teddy, a living child, to school material? Something must be getting to him.

He looked up, to see that Teddy and Hermione had already Apparated away, which was fine, because Hermione had a whole room dedicated to Teddy for excursions just like that one.

But… Draco was still standing at his doorway, still looking angelic, the setting sun illuminating him in a way that he was just now seeing. And he had always thought that Draco was beautiful, gorgeous even, but… something about this slightly rumpled appearance, illuminated by the setting sun with the softest shades of pink, purple, and blue in the background just made him seem… ethereal. It showed all his best features with the lighting, and made all his nonexistent bad features vanish. He was… more lovely like that. And yet… he was so close, just mere feet away at his doorway, but there was a wall between them. A barrier. Because Harry knew that no matter how much he longed for him, Draco would never feel the same way. Because Draco was too good for that, he was too pure, too beautiful, too… out of this world to choose someone like him, Saviour or not.

But no matter what Harry thought, there was something that pleased him beyond belief that he was still there, that he hadn’t just gone away. Because it meant that their relationship now went a little deeper than just both bonding to Teddy. It meant that they were friends, or on good terms to be willing to indulge in each other’s presence longer than would be strictly necessary. It showed that maybe, if he even dared to think such things, that if they progressed enough, he just might have a chance. A chance to kiss those pink lips. A chance to see him with bed hair. A chance to… indulge in his wants, and to be himself around someone he truly loves, instead of being the perfect Golden Boy Saviour that everyone always expected him to be. A break from everyone, with a partner and a child to be with him through it.

He felt a small smile crawl onto his lips just thinking of it, and felt his mood lighten, and all his thoughts about earlier go away.

Draco stared off, as if he was deep in thought. His eyes glazed over slightly, drifting off, lips parted. And he looked… young. Innocent. Too good for the world.

“Pansy told me she talked with you earlier.” Draco suddenly blurted out.

That caught them both off guard. Harry did a double-take, embarrassment overtaking him as he recalled the earlier convo. He felt like Pansy knew he fancied Draco and made up super obvious while letting him have fun figuring it out, because she was that obnoxious… and that made no sense. Draco pinked slightly, and he looked away.

“Come inside?” Harry offered, thanking whatever had inspired him to clean up mildly earlier.

“Okay.” Draco replied, slipping inside and sitting himself on the same couch that he had sat on so long ago.

Harry sat down opposite to him, so that they could face each other. It was awkward, as the topic that they were to talk about was so strange. His past thoughts were slowly making their way back into their brain. Why had Pansy gone to talk to him? She had made it very clear throughout their school years that she couldn’t stand him. Why was she such good friends with Draco? Why.. 

“I apologize for Pansy’s behavior.” Draco started, soft voice drifting through the room. An angels song, that was the only thing his voice could be compared to, as nothing else would suffice.

“It’s all right.” Harry replied quickly, remembering all the more awkward scenarios he had found himself in throughout the years. He really wished he could go back in time and get out of those situations.

“I’m glad to hear that.” Draco said softly, a hint of a smile playing on his lips. Harry would pay to see him smile more often.

And that was a strange thought. Not the part of paying for a smile from him, that was a perfectly reasonable thought that was not weird at all. But that Draco smiled so scarcely, almost never really. Why was that? You could tell he was happy through his expressive eyes, and yet, Harry had seen him really smile less than ten times. Laughing was an even lower number, that he could use just one hand to count all the times he had seen the rare phenomenon occur, counting the first Meet party.

But he couldn’t just ask, ‘hey, why don’t you smile more?’, that was plain weird.

Besides, just indulging in time with him was enough, and knowing he was happy filled his heart with joy. Even if smiles were rare and laughs rarer… that just meant that when they happened, it would a special moment between them.

Who cared if Pansy thought he was bad news? She didn’t know that truly, and she had always hated him, and he didn’t really like her either. He would give her strange tendencies some thought. Another day.

Because Draco was looking at him weirdly, with some fondness behind it.

And that simple soft look that he was sending him, was enough for Harry.