Glittery Shamrocks
Draco doesn’t get to kiss her nearly as much as he wants. Sure, when he greets her at the end of his shift he always gets a brief hello. And when he walks her home there is always a long goodbye, heated breath shared between them. But it isn’t enough.
His favourites come when he isn’t expecting them. When they are mid translation and she pulls him by the sleeve of his shirt until his lips are pressed to hers.
Or when he was stocking the mystery section and she hugged him from behind, waiting for him to turn in her arms and lower his face to hers. Or the kiss she’d bestowed upon him after he chased a very insistent owl from the store.
Then there was the kiss they’d shared after dinner with Levi, when the little boy had become quite cross with Draco. He’d crossed his pudgy little arms and turned away, reminding Draco of himself as a boy.
He could understand the young lad’s reaction. Sharing his mum with someone after so long without doing so was bound to be a tough potion to swallow.
Hermione had told his son that Draco might be coming over for dinner frequently, to which the little boy objected- loudly. Though, once Draco joined him on the floor to draw, he softened to him once more, requesting that Draco draw him a dragon with bright blue scales.
Draco had been terrified of Levi’s reaction. Of doing anything to hurt the bond between mother and son. Part of him thought it might be best if he broke things off before they became complicated. Hermione wouldn’t let him though.
She made sure all three of them fit together. It took a few weeks, but eventually he no longer felt like an interloper at their dinner table.
Plus Levi started siding with Draco no matter if he understood the argument between the two grown ups or not. He’d ended up agreeing about the delicious taste of cabbage by accident.
It’s the 17th of March and Draco finds himself stuck in front of his mirror. Laura had given him a bag the night before and informed him that today was a holiday. St. Patrick’s Day. He’d heard of it, but he’d never witnessed its celebration.
So while he could accept that it was a tradition taken seriously by muggles, he didn’t understand the item Laura had given him.
Inside the bag had been what he could only assume was meant to go on his head. Though once he had donned it, he was certain no human alive would ever see him wearing it. Two springs with some sort of clover shape were attached to a green band which fit snug against his scalp. Against his light hair, they couldn’t be missed.
“Bugger all,” he curses at his reflection, pulling the headpiece off and shoving it back in the bag.
No way was he going to wear something so ridiculous.
Draco did however relent and wear a green sweater, courtesy of Hermione, paired with black and green plaid pants. It seems to be enough in the spirit of the day.
On his walk to work, Draco accepts the fact that perhaps the headpiece is not as strange as he first assumed. There are many men, women, and children dressed in green, and not the dark shade Draco had gone with. No, some are wearing neon green and wearing foot high hats with buckles on them.
He also notes several people carrying long plastic horns, also in a sickening shade of green. They seem to be moving towards central London, away from Draco’s place of work.
Thank Merlin.
The street outside the book shoppe is quiet for which he is grateful, though he spots Laura’s automobile. It’s a small black thing he’d only ridden in once. Draco thinks that perhaps he would enjoy driving, but simply sitting in a hunk of metal travelling so fast was nauseating.
Sure enough, his lovely employer is waiting inside, hanging up a garland of the same shape as Draco’s gift.
“Happy St. Patrick's Day, Draco!” She calls over her shoulder, finishing the charm to stick the garland in place.
“Same to you,” Draco greets, hoping she doesn’t say anything about-
“Where is your headband?”
Headband. Right. Of course that is what it is.
“You can’t really expect me to wear this thing,” he holds up the bag, intending to return it to her.
“I do expect you to wear it, yes! I’m sure you’ll look quite dashing,” she scolds while somehow managing a compliment.
“It will glitter everywhere,” he points out.
Laura laughs and grabs the bag from his hand, withdrawing the offending accessory.
“Come on, put it on,” she lifts it towards his head, even though she can barely reach.
Fine.
Draco takes the headband and settles it back on his head, fully aware of how ridiculous it looks.
“Happy?” He asks.
“Ecstatic,” Laura grins like the cat who ate the canary.
“It better be a slow day today,” Draco warns her.
She doesn’t seem threatened. Or bothered. Instead she waves her hand and heads for the counter.
There, an even more obnoxious headband awaits. It’s got two smiley creatures seemingly dancing on top of it, though they don’t resemble real leprechauns at all.
She pops it on and turns, flourishing her hands and asking Draco what he thinks with a raised brow.
“You look like a nutter. We both do,” he says.
“Oh tosh. Where is your sense of whimsy, Draco? You’ve been in the muggle world too long.”
Draco nods, agreeing with her, but then stops. Has he been in the muggle world too long? It had been a couple of months since he left his job in the ministry. Years since he’d set foot in Diagon Alley or the haunts of his youth.
Yet he isn’t unhappy. No, where months ago he’d have cursed the day he lived fully as a muggle, now he is content to do exactly that. He’s learned the joy of takeaway curry, instant messaging, and kinder surprise eggs (a favourite of Levi’s).
Sure, if he had his wand he would certainly be using magic but he doesn’t need it. Not in the way he’d always assumed he would.
“My sense of whimsy doesn’t extend to cheap plastic headwear,” he replies, finding himself to truly be in a pleasant mood.
Draco and Levi match. Not their clothes, though Levi is wearing a green shirt, but their headbands.
Which is the only reason Draco wears his for the remainder of the day. He swears.
Hermione is wearing a big green hat, her hair stuffed up inside of it, save for a few loose curls. She also has green powder on her eyelids and a dark green rouge on her lips.
Laura takes photos which Draco is relieved are muggle. He can’t imagine the wizarding photo which likely would have captured the movement of his shamrocks.
Levi gives Draco a coin and tells him not to eat it straight away.
It takes Draco an embarrassingly long time to figure out it is a chocolate sweet.
Granger plants two green kisses on his cheeks and Laura asks him if he has any Irish heritage.
Draco informs her that his family is English, with some French heritage.
Granger pulls him aside as Levi explains his plan to trap a leprechaun to Laura.
“Thank you for being a good sport about all of this. We tend to go all out for holidays around here,” she smiles, reaching up to flick one of his antennas.
Worth it. The headband is worth it.
“I think I’ll find something for myself next year. Maybe one of those caps the man who bought the Grisham novel was wearing.”
“Next year?”
Draco nods, once again surprised by how easy it is for him to admit he is happy where he is.
“You would look very handsome in a hat like that, Draco Malfoy,” she bats her lashes up at him.
Draco leans in and kisses her, because he can. Marvellous feeling, that is.
She sighs against him and he slips his arm around her waist, pulling her close even as they part from the kiss.
“Would you like to come over and help Levi set up his leprechaun trap?”
“You know leprechauns aren’t common in London, right Granger?” he teases.
“If they were, I wouldn't let him set up the trap. I’m going to wait for him to fall asleep and then make it look like one came, maybe leave behind a galleon for him to find tomorrow morning.”
“I’ll never understand the muggle assumption that leprechauns have a pot of gold. They much prefer a mischievous prank or two.”
“He’s not even three,” Hermione reminds him.
“In that case, I’d love to help him trap a leprechaun.”
Draco chuckles and turns his attention to the toddler, babbling away still to Laura.
Walking away from Hermione, he picks the young tyke up and asks him about his trap, excited to help the boy with it.
From what he can glean it involves a shoe box, a stick, and all of Levi’s chocolate coins.
Draco pulls his from his pocket and offers it up, earning a huge smile from the child.
He suddenly hopes that he gets to celebrate many more holidays with Granger and her son.