Not a Date pt.2
Harry finally stepped into the pub. It was slightly crowded given that it was a Saturday, but luckily it being early it wasn’t as packed as it usually was. He spotted Draco in a semi-tucked away table reading alone with two glasses of presumably fire-whiskey and a bowl of nuts. Well shit, how long has he been waiting for, Harry thought. He took a breath and found there was no sense in making him wait any longer so he made his way to the man.
Draco didn’t look half bad either, he was wearing a black button down with silver penates keeping the collar down with a green and silver necklace acting as a tie replacement. Over top was a simple black suit jacket but upon another glace, it had silver detailing along the cuffs. His hair was slicked back as usual but looser than what Harry remembered, not as greasy or stiff more tossed back, like he had just ran his hand through it. He looked nice is essentially the jist, Harry let out a small cough to draw him back into reality and not the weird softness that Draco’s hair looked like, or the way his perfectly manicured hands turn the page of the book he was reading. Anyways…
He approached the table and set his coat on the back of the chair that sat across from Draco and took a seat.
“Malfoy” Harry greeted as he sat down.
“You’re late, Potter” Draco responded sounding rightfully annoyed as he closed his book and set it to the side, not once meeting Harry’s gaze
“Well, sorry I ran into my Godchild on the way here” Draco finally looked at him but with a confused look “You know your cousin once removed”
“Hardly I never met him”
“Them” Harry corrected, silence fell as Draco still looked confused “Well Teddy uses They/Them pronouns” Of course Draco wouldn’t get it but as Teddy says ‘there’s always an opportunity to educate’ so even if Malfoy doesn’t might as well try “Similar to Wagner” an older Slytherin that Draco knows and regardless if he understands it, Malfoy does seem to respect Wagner’s wishes.
“Hm and are they..friends with Wagner?”
“I suppose so, Wagner didn’t join S.Q.U.A.D. until after Teddy graduated but, I think they must’ve talked occasionally before then”
“Ah”
You could cut the air with a knife, it was tense and awkward as the two struggled to make even the smallest bit of conversation. They both took a drink of the alcohol that, thank Merlin, Draco got. Who knows how the night would go without drinks?
“So um…how come you ended up at Hogwarts?” Harry supposed asking a question that everyone has been dying to know would be low hanging fruit, but at this point it’s the only fruit available
“I needed to make a living” Draco responded dryly
“Well yes but why teaching?”
“Why not teaching?”
If Harry’s eyes could reach his skull from eye-rolling they would have ‘once a git always a git’ he thought “Are you going to avoid answering half of the questions I ask?”
“Are you going to start asking questions that interest me?” The audacity of the man
Harry nearly slammed his drink down “Could you be more Slytherin?”
Draco sighed and put his drink down as well “If that’s how it’s going to be then I am leaving”
“I’m just trying to get to know you, Malfoy”
“Really?” He said nearly sarcastically “It sound to me like your insulting me”
“Since when is it an insult to call someone a Slytherin?”
“I thought it was always meant to be an insult”
“We-well” Harry shrank in his chair, realizing what and how he said things “Thought wrong then didn’t you” good one Harry, he couldn’t just admit that Draco was actually right about something.
But then, that sort of playground thinking will get them nowhere. If they were to be adults, colleagues even, Harry would have to swallow that Gryfindor pride in order to truly be a good Head of Slytherin
He let out a breath of defeat “Maybe you didn’t, back then especially, but things are different now” He sat back up trying to seem more mature, but despite being in his thirties he’s still as dumb as any teenager when it comes to words “I’m Head of Slytherin now and I don’t think that, being Slytherin is a bad thing (even if they are a bit difficult to understand” He mumble that last part hoping the chatters of the bar would cover it
“So what do you want, a cookie?” Draco snapped back clearly more frustrated
“Huh?”
“You can’t expect me to ‘take your word for it’ when you’re dining the bare minimum”
“What’s that supposed to mean, ‘the bare minimum’?”
“Well the scarfs, the sweaters, the decor in your office” He was similar to Teddy in dramatics with emphasizing the list with his fingers “It all speaks volumes, not just to me but more importantly the your students”
“Fine! I get it. I'll stop it with the Gryffindor memorabilia” He was getting tired of everyone’s comments about it anyways “I know that it’s..insensitive, look from now on I’ll only wear Slytherin colors! Happy?”
“It’s a start” Draco sipped from his glass thinking that some different colors isn’t the only update Harry’s wardrobe was needing
“Look I’ve been doing more to support the Slytherins than the few things you’re able to see”
“Is that so?”
“Yes that is so!”
“Well, then I am looking forward to seeing your..’support’ take a more visible form” His eyes narrowed on Harry's, similar to the way Teddy’s does when talking about showing support for S.Q.U.A.D.
The air went cold after that comment, both because Harry didn’t know how to agree with Draco given that he was right, since day one of McGonagall’s offer Harry has been dreading being supportive towards Slytherin. Second reason is because what else was there to say, to both of their knowledge they quite literally have nothing in common. Draco sat back in thought then finally.
“So how’s that family?” He asked with a sigh and a sip of his drink.
“Excuse me?” Harry responded in a defensive tone
“Your family Ginevra and your son” No one ever calls Ginny by her full name like that, it was nearly foreign to hear especially out of Malfoy’s mouth
“What’s it to you?”
“Well, I thought we were ‘getting to know each other’ it’s a two-way street you know” He swirled his drink in his hand as he was annoyed at Harry’s refusal to do the main thing they came here to do, maybe that’s why Harry got mad at the start of their evening, Draco thought “Or were you expecting to just ask all the questions and for me to give answers, because that’s not what we call a conversation, Potter that’s an interrogation” He gave a smirk at the end now thinking seeing Harry be the closed off one to being amusing, almost like when they were younger, much younger before the war ruined their lighthearted banter
“Fine! Fine.” Harry threw up his hands in defeat “Ginny and James are good, we had dinner yesterday at the burrow” He then realized Draco not exactly being in the loop “That’s the Weasley’s house, anyways, as we do every Friday or so since the divorce” He trailed off a bit, with a sting at the realization that until James starts school, he really does only see him on Fridays, and just for dinner. But he isn’t here to get into that “Ron’s good too if you were wondering”
“I wasn’t” He smirked into his glass
“Why must you make this so difficult?”
“Hmf! You enjoy the challenge though” Draco was returning back into his old snakish ways, once again knowing all of the buttons to push on a person, especially Harry
With hands rubbing the increasing stress lines on his forehead Harry responds “I really don’t, I always enjoyed the thought of a quiet life” His sentence was stopped by a small chuckle from Malfoy “But challenges seem to enjoy me, so what choice do I have?”
“If you say so”
Harry has had about enough, if it’s a challenge Draco wants “Okay fine. How’s your family?” he gave a cocky smile and he drank from his glass
“Well they are either dead or abroad”
Harry nearly spit out his drink. Ok, so he forgot that because Draco’s family were death eaters and that they were either sent to Azkaban or killed, that was his bad.
“Either way we don’t have family dinner every Friday”
“No, uh” Quick Potter change the damn subject “Mrs. Malfoy waiting eagerly for you to return home for the weekend?”
Now it was Draco’s turn to nearly spit out his drink, he hid in his near laughter with the sleeve of his jacket and took a sharp inhale of breath before responding
“...No” The air went silent yet again
“This is never going to work is it?”
“Well, what were you expecting, Potter?” Draco gazed out the window that was across from them nearly looking disappointed “That we would become friends? I mean we’re too different”
“Not friends, necessarily, we can aim lower than that”
“Like what?”
“Colleagues?”
“Acquaintances”
“As long as we can be civil”
Draco rolled his eyes “I’m always civil”
Harry scoffed “Sure you are”
Silence fell for the last time and they sat in thought of their soon-to-be acquaintanceship was now underway, they both took drinks of what was left of their whiskey and sighed.
“Well this has not been entirely pointless” Draco commented “but I do need to get back” he looked at his watch for the time, it was shockingly a rather mundane watch, an old leather strap and it looked to be well-loved. Unlike Harry’s golden watch that Ginny had given him for their 5th anniversary. He guessed Draco really does need to make a living.
“One last thing” He began to stand up from his seat leaving a bit of money for the drinks
“What?”
“If..you do need more help ‘charming Slytherins’ I can help you with a wardrobe update”
“Why would I need help with that?”
Draco gave a quick glance over and sighed “While I know that the current trends are combining both muggle and normal clothes, I have yet to see…’hobo chic’ on the cover of Witch Weekly” He gestured to Harry’s worn sweater that Mrs. Weasley knitted for him for his birthday, So Teddy was just being nice when they said Harry was dressed ‘not half bad’
“I don’t look homeless! Now who’s insulting who?”
“You’re focusing on the wrong thing, Potter” His tone changed to something more formal, nearly business-like “the point is that at some point you will not only have to deal with Slytherin students, but you will also have to look presentable to.. Their parents” A chill went down Harry’s spine
“Merlin” Harry’s face went white.
Draco gave a weirdly empathetic look, and as he left he brushed a reassuring hand across Harry’s shoulders.
“You know where to find me”
And with that he left.