Archive of Our Own ^beta

Harry takes another look at his watch and curses. Forty minutes late! It’s not his fault he got held up by first-year Emma Newman’s missing toad. Again. Still, he hopes his date isn’t the overly punctual type. Or the type to really enjoy Valentine’s Day at Madam Puddifoot’s, now that he thinks of it.

For the hundredth time that day, he wonders why he agreed to this. Ever since Ginny started dating Pansy, she’s been telling him to get out more. He’s perfectly fine, thank you very much. Coming up with new ways to keep his classes interesting and his duties as Head of Gryffindor house keeps him busy enough. Plus, he always makes time for his children in the evenings, enjoying the time they’re still at Hogwarts, and for meeting Ron and Hermione on the weekends. So what if he sometimes feels a little lonely and longs for someone to hold and tell about his day? It rarely happens and he always finds something to distract him. But Ginny had insisted that the person she had in mind would be perfect for him, so here he is. Maybe she’ll leave him alone if this all goes badly. Or maybe for once it won’t go badly at all.

Picking up his pace, Harry rounds the corner towards the tea shop and stops short.

There, sitting alone at a table by the window, is Draco Malfoy. Harry’s heart speeds up, like it always does when he sees him. Draco is wearing a dark green shirt, and there’s quite a bit of confetti on his shoulders, indicating that he’s been there a while. He looks absolutely gorgeous. And angry.

Harry swallows hard, wondering if this is just a coincidence or if Ginny actually set him up with Draco. He always enjoyed consulting with him before he left the Aurors to teach at Hogwarts, and after every case he's sure he gushed about Draco's competence. He’s also always admired Draco’s looks, not that he ever told anyone. Draco is wearing green, though, just like Ginny said his date would.

When he enters the tea shop, he notices Ginny and Pansy at a table, only having eyes for each other. At another table, he sees his sons looking at him and giggling. Al turns to smirk at him. Harry sighs. He knows he shouldn’t have told them about his date, but the little menaces would have ferreted it out of him anyway. Looking around, he sees that Draco’s is the only table with just one person. He feels butterflies in his stomach as he approaches.

“You’re late,” Draco snaps.

Harry rubs the back of his neck and grins sheepishly. “I’m so sorry. One of my students lost her toad again and I couldn’t leave before we found her.”

Draco deflates at that. “Oh. That’s alright, I suppose. I thought you’d figured out it was me and decided not to come.”

Harry huffs a laugh. “Why would I do that?” He stops unwinding the scarf from his neck. “Wait, you figured out it was me?”

“Obviously. Pansy’s been dropping hints all month.”

“Well,” Harry says, sitting down, “I didn’t know. Although part of me was kind of hoping it would be you.”

Draco blushes. Harry can hear his sons giggling in the background and tries to ignore them. “So, I see you’ve already ordered.”

Draco nods. “Yes. Would you like some confetti tea? Or maybe some lemon tart with a soaked confetti topping?” He gestures grandly at the cake stand between them, where streaks of colour have radiated out from the little paper pieces raining down from the ceiling.

Harry laughs. “This is terrible, isn’t it? I’m really sorry I’m so late.”

“It really is.” Draco laughs, too, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “I don’t like this place anyway. Want to get out of here? I know a cosy pub in Aberdeen that makes a fantastic treacle tart.”

Harry smiles. “Yes, please.”

As the shop’s door closes behind them, Harry can hear Jamie and Al still giggling. He smiles fondly and turns to Draco who’s holding out his arm.

Together, they apparate away.