Title: A Fool in Love
Author: persephoneapple
Pairing: Harry/Draco
Rating: PG-13 for language and suggestion
Word Count: 1491
Disclaimer: JK Rowling and co own everything. I'm writing for fun and not for profit.
A/N: unbeta'd and I took certain liberties with the running of the bulls in Pamplona, which occurs in July, not April. Slight OOC!Draco. Also, red hair is beautiful and the phrase in the fic comes from Urban Dictionary.
Summary: Misinformed about an April Fool's Day prank pulled on Potter, Draco is surprised to see what the real damage is when his boyfriend comes home to celebrate their anniversary.
A Fool in Love
"Merlin, Draco, it's awful. Have you seen him?" Pansy shakes her head as if to dispel the images that come to her mind. She had just Floo called him a few minutes ago-the frequent chimes from the Floo call had forced Draco to shorten his shower- and still she had not gotten to the point. Based on Pansy's ramblings, she had seen Potter in the Ministry canteen looking like a hot mess, but coming from her, that was nothing new. "In fact, I'm surprised that you're still dining out tonight considering what he looks like."
Draco rolls his eyes. "Pansy, nothing, I repeat, nothing is going to keep me from celebrating our anniversary. Besides, Potter already owled me and yes, I know all about the prank pulled on him by Weasley."
He sits down in front of his vanity table and in the mirror's reflection, he sees Pansy giving him a puzzled look. "So, you're not angry? From what I heard, it's permanent until Weasley is kind enough to give him the counter-spell."
"Please, Pansy, it's April Fool's Day. Potter knew he'd be targeted because he's Head Auror, but no one would actually be stupid enough to harm him, Weasley included." Draco picks up a comb and tugs it through his hair, wondering if he should leave it loose, like Potter prefers, or tie it back. He grew out his hair to shoulder-length when Potter had requested it months ago, but now it might be time for a change.
"Draco!" He looks up to see Pansy giving him an annoyed glance. "What exactly did Potter tell you?"
He almost refuses to answer her, but then realises that Pansy would force it out of him in the end. It's almost seven and he needs her to leave so that he could finish getting ready. "Weasley spelled Potter's hair to change colours throughout the day, or at least until he could figure out how to cancel it. I don't see any harm in making Potter look like a fool one day out of the year."
Pansy sighs and says, "Figures he wouldn't tell you the entire truth." Draco stops combing his hair and turns around to look at Pansy, but her expression gives nothing away.
"What do you mean? Did Weasley do something worse and Potter's now stuck in St Mungo's? If that's the case, I'll kill him for ruining tonight."
Now it's Pansy's turn to roll her eyes. "Don't be dramatic, Draco. Weasley mucked up the spell and now Potter's hair, for lack of a better word, is 'stuck.'"
"Stuck? Like there's goo in it or…" Draco wrinkles his nose in disgust. Potter better find a way to fix his hair before tonight, or he'd threaten to cut it all off.
"It's not sticky, but his hair isn't black anymore, nor is it changing colours." Before Draco can ask her to elaborate, he hears Potter Apparate into their flat and the thud two seconds later that signifies he's lost his balance. Pansy must have heard him, too, because she quickly says "goodbye" and her head vanishes from the fireplace.
Shaking his head at Pansy's weird message, Draco turns back to face the mirror and decides to leave his hair loose. He leans forward, inches from the mirror, and inspects his face, looking for any signs of imperfections that he can hide with a glamour. He's too focused on covering the bags under his eyes that when Potter appears behind him, all Draco can say is, "Get dressed, Potter. The Port Key activates at half past seven, and I'm already behind because Pansy felt the need to warn me about you. You've managed to reverse the spell, right?"
Instead of answering, Potter steps into the walk-in closet and undresses, which Draco finds odd, considering that Potter usually would try to delay getting dressed. He shrugs his shoulders and looks at the mirror one last time. Satisfied by his appearance, Draco removes the towel around his waist and stands up to put on the slate grey dress robes he's purchased for this occasion. As per Wizarding tradition, he'll be starkers underneath, something he's tried to convince Potter to do, with little success. Instead, Potter will be wearing a Muggle suit underneath his malachite green robes.
"Are you ready, Potter?"
"I really don't think it's a good idea to go out tonight, Draco." Potter's voice is a little stressed, but it's hard to tell if it's because he's suddenly ill or nervous.
"Nonsense, you've had our anniversary dinner in Pamplona planned out for months. I've been looking forward to running with the bulls. With the aid of magic, of course." Draco sits on the edge of the bed to put on his shoes and looks up just in time to see Potter emerge from the closet.
"Sweet Salazar, Potter, what the fuck happened to you!" Potter winces at the words, but Draco finds there is no pleasant way to describe the atrocity of Potter's appearance. Now he knows why Pansy tried to warn him.
Potter runs a hand through his red-red! - hair and sighs. "Are you that surprised that Ron wouldn't pull a stunt like this after you mocked the Cannons for having another losing season?" He stands there with his dress shirt half-unbuttoned and the tie hung awkwardly around his neck as if he's given up on the evening.
Draco goes to stand in front of Potter and is glad that there are no freckles on his face. Thank Merlin for small favours. He waves his wand to see if he can charm the hair back to black. It doesn't work, nor does trying to hide it with a glamour. Perhaps he might have to cut off Potter's hair after all, because the red hair is ghastly, but only as a last resort. However, Potter is tense, waiting for his reaction and Draco doesn't want to ruin their night. So he slides his hand into Potter's hair and even though the bright red is unsettling, it's still soft and still Potter's.
"So there's no chance of it going back to normal?" It wouldn't hurt to ask one last time.
Potter shakes his head in defeat. "Not until midnight without the counter-spell. So if you want to stay home, I'll cook dinner-"
"No," Draco interrupts him by kissing Potter, who's surprised at first, but then returns the kiss with enthusiasm. It's a few minutes before Draco pulls apart, breathless and he stares at Potter who now looks more disheveled, but there is no mistaking that he is happy. Good. Draco crosses his arms and says, "It takes more than red hair to put me off and I won't let the Weasel ruin our anniversary."
Potter breaks out in a huge grin before saying, "How did I end up so lucky?"
"You tell me. You're the one who asked me out as a joke." Draco reaches forward and begins to straighten up Potter's tie and shirt.
"Yet here we are three years later." Potter shakes his head and then asks, "So you're fine with me having red hair?"
"I'll feel better after I hex Weasley the next time I see him. However, I can say that red hair, any shade of it, is not your colour, and I'll be extremely happy once it's gone. Imagine if you were a natural ginger." Draco shudders at the image and is stopped short when Harry lets out a strangled cry.
"What?" Draco asks and looks up to see Potter biting his lip and refusing to meet his eyes. Draco narrows his eyes because Potter only acts this way if he has a secret. Potter seems to struggle on what words to say before shaking his head and blurting out, "What would you say if I said the carpet matches the drapes?"
Draco frowns at the unfamiliar Muggle expression and he shrugs his shoulders. "Absolutely nothing."
Potter turns an unpleasant shade of red that clashes with his hair. However, he points to his head and then slowly brings his hand down to his waist and repeats the motion until it dawns on Draco and he takes a step back.
"No! Are you fucking serious?" Draco shakes his head as if that would refute Potter's gesture. Of all the pranks to pull on Potter, this one definitely was the worst because it affected Draco as well. No, he definitely can't stomach the thought of seeing Weasley ginger hair during sex.
"I'm afraid so."
Draco pinches the bridge of his nose and says through clenched teeth, "Never mind hexing Weasley. I'll kill him with the horn of a bull next time I see him. For now, finish getting dressed and I'll go grab something for tonight."
Potter turns around and gives Draco a puzzled look. "I thought you were all packed up for the week. What else could you possibly need?"
"In light of recent events, nothing much, just a blindfold."