Title: Shakespeare At Sunset and Fights On A Ferris Wheel
Pairing(s): Harry/Draco, Ron/Hermione, Pansy/Gregory, past Harry/Ginny, past Draco/Astoria
Word Count: 2130
Summary: Draco attempts to recite a bit of Shakespeare's Macbeth to a crowd of kids on Halloween night. Harry manages to convince him to ride a Ferris Wheel. As usual, things don't go as planned. A short bit of fluff.
Warning(s): Epilogue compliant, established relationship.
Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters herein are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No copyright infringement is intended.
Notes: Written for day eight of Tricks for Treats on hd_writers. Happy Halloween, everyone! :D
Shakespeare At Sunset and Fights On A Ferris Wheel
"Double, double, toil and trouble! Fire burn and cauldron bubble!" Draco exclaimed in his most theatrical voice as Harry looked on, smiling. Of all the ways he could think of to spend Halloween night, this was certainly the best one possible – huddled around a picnic table at a Muggle amusement park at sunset, long after the crowds had dissipated to go trick-or-treating or attend Halloween parties, surrounded by the people he loved, telling scary tales...well, sort of.
"That's not a ghost story!" protested Hugo. "That's poetry!"
"It's good poetry," Draco said defensively. When no more arguments rose from the small crowd of children, he cleared his throat dramatically and continued, "Fillet of a fenny snake, in the cauldron boil and bake –"
"What's a fenny snake?" Scorpius asked from his seat next to Rose across the table.
"A snake that lives in a fen," Draco replied crossly. "Now, as I was saying –"
"What's a fen?" Albus questioned inquisitively, half-snuggled into Harry's side, gripping his camera tightly in one hand.
"It's a mire, you idiot!" James called.
"James, language!" Ginny reprimanded.
"Please go on, Uncle Draco," Rose said meekly.
Draco gave her a cordial half-bow and went on, "Eye of newt and toe of frog! Wool of bat and tongue of dog! Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting, lizard's leg and owlet's wing –"
"They cut off a baby owl's wing?" Lily squeaked in horror.
"It's just a story, Lily," Hugo soothed.
"It's not a story, it's a play!" Rose exclaimed, rolling her eyes. "Honestly, Hugo, don't you read?"
"Hey, hey," Ron said pleasantly. "Let Uncle Draco finish."
Draco continued, "Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf –"
"You skipped a few lines!" piped up Rose again.
Draco studiously ignored her. "Witches' mummy –"
"They used a witch's mother?" Goyle and Pansy's son, Damon, gasped in horror.
"I think he means the mummy of a witch. You know, those things you see in Egypt?" his sister Desiree contributed.
"Eww, they used those things?" Scorpius exclaimed.
"Actually," Rose stated matter-of-factly, "Mummy in this context means rotten flesh."
"Gross!" Albus exclaimed.
"Maw and gulf of the ravin'd salt-sea shark –"
"What in Merlin's name is a maw and gulf?" Hugo demanded.
"Stomach and throat," said Rose, a trifle impatiently.
"They threw in shark parts?" James grinned. "Wicked."
"Come, now," Draco said, sounding mildly bemused. "Do you want to hear the rest of the story or not?"
"Why is the poem so long?" Scorpius groaned.
"Scorp!" Astoria scolded reproachfully.
"Root of hemlock digg'd in the dark –"
"The same way James digs stuff up in the Forbidden Forest after curfew?" Albus suggested.
"Dude, shut up," James snapped. Harry cast him a warning glance.
Draco sighed, apparently giving up all hope of being able to finish his speech. " – and the witches threw all these ingredients in and mixed them up, but they forgot to turn the heat down, so the cauldron exploded and they all died. The end!"
"That wasn't scary!" Hugo said.
"I thought it was very good," Lily smiled.
"Thank you, my dear," Draco smirked, stepping off from where he had been standing in the middle of the table and moving to stand next to Harry, twining their fingers together.
If, just two years ago, Harry had been told that he would be peacefully divorced and in a wonderful relationship with a similarly divorced Draco Malfoy, he would have laughed out loud. But now, sharing a lovely evening with Draco, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Astoria, Gregory, Pansy, and all their children seemed so ordinary, and, frankly, it was absolutely everything Harry could ask for.
Well, almost everything. Harry hadn't had any private time with Draco since morning.
"Want to sneak off for a bit?" Harry grinned, brushing his lips discreetly against the shell of Draco's ear.
Draco smirked. "The kids will miss us."
"Don't worry about that," Astoria said suddenly from behind them, causing Harry to jump. "I think Weasley's got it covered." She gestured behind her, jerking her thumb in the general direction of Ron, who was currently attempting a horrible impersonation of a dragon, rendering the small gathering helpless with giggles. When Harry and Draco hesitated, she snickered. " Oh, go on, you two," she said. "I'll distract them."
"Thanks, Astoria," Harry grinned as Draco leaned over to kiss her cheek. "You're a star."
"I know," she smirked. "Quickly, get out of here, before I change my mind."
Harry laughed, softly thanking her again before grabbing Draco's hand and pulling him along.
The walkway was lit by lanterns hanging from spindly trees which cast their orange rays down onto the ground, basking their path with an almost golden glow. Harry turned his head to look at Draco and smiled involuntarily when he saw the way the light played on his alabaster features, making him look almost ethereal.
Draco caught Harry staring and smirked. "What Hufflepuff-worthy thoughts are going through your head, Potter?"
Harry chuckled. "I'd voice them, but I don't think you'd be able to stomach them."
"Too right," Draco grinned.
A rickety Ferris wheel stood on the right of the path, looming ominously above them, black against the warm grey-gold of the sunset. Draco seemed to realise what Harry was thinking of even before he started pulling Draco in its general direction.
"Harry, you know I hate Muggle contraptions," he sighed.
Harry just grinned, tugging Draco easily along with him. "Come on. It isn't scary at all, I promise," he coaxed. "It goes really slow, plus the view is great. Just give it a chance."
"Why should I?" Draco challenged.
Harry chuckled, gently cupping Draco's chin and tilting his head down to press their lips together. He felt Draco melt against him and smiled into the kiss, teasing Draco by darting out his tongue to lick at the seam of his lips and pulling away abruptly before Draco could react.
"That's not fair," Draco protested, but Harry was already pulling him onto the ride, grinning mischievously, knowing full well that although Draco complained, he would indulge Harry anyway.
Sure enough, Harry managed to get him into a carriage with minimal protests, bringing the safety bar down over their laps and laughing when Draco muttered something about feeling like a caged animal. The ride slowly started up, whirring to life with a soft hum, and Draco automatically clutched Harry's arm a little tighter. Harry wrapped an arm around him and grinned.
"Scared, Malfoy?" Harry asked, quirking an eyebrow.
Draco clearly was, but he tilted his chin upwards defiantly. "You wish," he smirked, just as the wheel gave a short lurch. Draco jumped and subconsciously leaned further into Harry, who held him tighter to reassure him.
Eventually, Draco relaxed slightly and turned his attention to the view laid out before them.
"Worth it?" Harry asked, a teasing note to his voice.
Draco sniffed, acting unimpressed. "It's alright." He turned towards Harry. "Nothing compared to what I'm looking at now."
Harry laughed, although he couldn't help the heat that rushed to his cheeks at the comment. "Now who's sprouting Hufflepuff-worthy lines?"
"Shut up," Draco scoffed.
Harry laughed again, opening his mouth to mock him further, but Draco hurriedly cut him off by grabbing Harry's shirt and tugging him forward, crushing their mouths together. Harry sighed contentedly as Draco's lips moved against his and cupped Draco's face tenderly in his hands.
"You doing that out of the kindness of your heart, or just to shut me up?" Harry asked when they parted.
"I've found that snogging is an excellent method to keep people quiet," Draco responded, and when he sensed Harry was about to protest, he pulled him in for another kiss. By now, Harry already knew that he was being forcefully shut up, but he found that he didn't care in the slightest.
The ride suddenly lurched to a halt and they pulled away with a start. Harry glanced down and realised that they were at the very top of the Ferris wheel, which, for some unknown reason, had completely stopped moving.
"What the hell –" began Draco.
A very muffled voice was shouting beneath them, several hundred feet away, more resembling an ant than a person. "Sorry!" the worker manning the ride yelled. "I don't know...broken...contractor!" His voice seemed too soft to make out the entire coherent sentence, and a few seconds later, the worker turned and dashed off through the amusement park.
Draco crossed his arms sourly upon realising their predicament. "What did I tell you about Muggle contraptions, Potter?" he growled, determinedly turning away from him.
"Hey, you were enjoying yourself a moment ago," Harry shot back.
"I demand that you Apparate us out of here at once!" Draco ordered.
Harry rolled his eyes. "I'd love to, but in case you haven't noticed, we've attracted some attention!" he snapped, gesturing to ground. It seemed as if their situation had drawn the few remaining Muggles from all over the theme park to gather around and watch the scene unfold.
Draco groaned. "This is all your fault!" he snapped.
"I didn't make this stupid thing break down!" Harry retaliated.
There was a short, sulky silence.
"They could have at least made the carriages more roomy," Draco muttered.
"There's nothing we can do about it now," Harry said, sighing. "The least you can do is stop complaining and make being stuck here as painless as possible."
Another silence, this time even shorter than the previous one.
"This bloody safety bar is annoying," Draco groaned.
"Will you please be quiet?" Harry asked.
Draco ignored his pleas. "Do you think those Muggles can see us?"
"They probably won't recognise us on the street, if that's what you mean," Harry replied. "Heck, they can't even see us if we stay very still in the centre of the carriage."
"Then why can't we Apparate out?" Draco snapped.
"Because everyone's already seen us here at least five times since we got stuck, what with all your fidgeting and moving about! Muggles aren't used to things just vanishing into thin air!" Harry exclaimed, getting annoyed.
"Then why couldn't we have gone when it was just that Muggle worker who saw us?" Draco snarled.
"Because he was looking right at us, and we were looking right at him!" Harry nearly shouted. "Stop being impossible."
"I am not being –"
Harry cut him off by kissing him, hard and passionately, for one or two moments. When he broke away, Draco looked rather dazed.
"Interesting," Harry said. "Snogging really does keep people quiet."
Draco blushed, embarrassed, but masking it by taking on a defiant stance. "Shut up and do it again," he demanded, and Harry obliged.
Now, it might interest the reader to know that a few hours later, upon reaching home, Albus Severus showed Harry and Draco the pictures that he had snapped on his camera, and that Harry and Draco completely astonished to discover a series of five zoomed-in, moving photographs of them on the Ferris wheel. The first was simply of them glancing over the side of the wheel and onto the people below, their mouths moving and a slight frown forming on photo-Harry's face. The second was of what appeared to be an explosive argument, in which photo-Draco had drawn himself up to full height and both of them were gesturing violently with their hands. Photo-Draco also seemed to be shouting a little, and Photo-Harry was waving his arms. The third was of the photo-pair of them kissing with obvious passion. The fourth was solely of Draco throwing his head back over the edge of the carriage, mouth falling open, back arching and eyes falling closed. The fifth showed both Draco and Harry when they finally got off the ride. Photo-Harry looked very pleased with himself as he helped photo-Draco out of the carriage, while photo-Draco's cheeks were flushed bright red.
It might also interest the reader to know that, despite Draco's protests, Harry kept the fourth photograph in his wallet for several months after. Draco secretly did the same with the third photograph in his own wallet, although he vehemently denied it each time he was asked.
It is probably of no interest to the reader, but the author wants to inform you anyway that Astoria Greengrass was extremely proud of herself that night, and that Hermione Weasley was heard asking to her rather nauseous husband why he never did anything romantic. Also, Gregory Goyle developed a rather rapid interest in Shakespeare and has since taken Draco's place at storytelling sessions.
Oh, and before the author forgets: it will most definitely interest the reader to know that Harry Potter has since learned several new ways to shut Draco Malfoy up, and has used them to their absolute fullest on several occasions since then. Draco most certainly isn't complaining.
Finite
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