"It's already dark?!" Draco's startled cry jerked Harry upright, and they both looked out the window in slight shock. Harry chuckled slightly, and Draco looked back at him with a small smile on his face.
"I'm not even hungry. If it's been nearly all day, shouldn't we be hungry?" Harry was quite baffled, and looked to Draco, who shrugged.
"Well, we'll probably get very hungry rather soon. Would you care for a late night snack?" Draco asked cordially, extending his arm out to Harry rather like a gentleman. Harry smiled a little bit confused and very much amused, and took Draco's arm. They nearly walked out the door to Draco's room when Harry paused.
"I kind of feel like we should put on some clothes first." Draco started laughing at this, and nodded in agreement. They slid into clean clothes and looked at each other, smiling lovingly. They then proceeded down the endlessly spiraling staircase down to the kitchen area. Draco took out a box in one of the lower cupboards, the wood of the box skillfully decorated with carvings. Draco almost tenderly opened the box, revealing rows of tea bags, meticulously sorted by the teas they contained. Harry's eyes widened slightly at the broad assortment of teas. Draco turned to Harry.
"Darjeeling, Earl Grey, Oolong, Jasmine, Chamomile, Sweet Rosemary?" Draco paused as he saw Harry's look of absolute confusion.
"Um, I think it would be best to let you decide, as I have no clue about teas." At this Draco smirked, and proceeded to select tea leaves, which he placed in two different bags, and bring the water in the tea pot to a boil. Once the pot started screaming, Draco took it off the heat and poured the fragrant tea into china cups. He dipped the tea bags into the warm water and offered one to Harry, who took it in slight awe of Draco. Draco sipped at the tea, and Harry followed suit.
"What kind is this?" Harry asked, wanting to learn more about what Draco was so passionate about.
"It's Jasmine tea. It's known for a more subtle taste and sweeter scent than other teas." At this point Draco forcibly stopped himself from talking, not wanting to bore Harry. Harry could tell that Draco was holding back, and spoke.
"Go on." Draco looked at him in surprise. "I want to hear it. I want to know more about the things you love." Hearing this, Draco smiled at him, relieved that he could truly be himself around Harry.
"It actually starts out as normal Green Tea, which is made from the dried leaves of Camellia Sinensis and steeped at a rather low temperature. Then it's infused with the scent of jasmine flowers, which gives it the sweet smell and taste. But you have to be careful, because with any tea, if you have the water too hot, then the tea will come out really bitter. Higher quality teas normally have higher temperatures they can steep at, but higher quality means higher price." Draco looked at Harry, wanting to make sure Harry didn't hate him or anything for his interest in tea. Harry slid close to Draco.
"That's amazing. How did you learn all that?" Harry sipped at the tea, completely at ease.
"Private tutors love it when the pupils actually ask questions, no matter how much off topic they are," Draco replied with a smile. Harry smiled back.
"Hey, can you actually play all those instruments in your room?" Harry felt slightly insignificant, knowing he didn't have any really special talents.
Draco nodded in reply. "Dad kept giving me lessons for different instruments, but mum finally convinced him that knowing how to play five different instruments is plenty." Harry smiled, slightly envious, but determined to hide it. Draco seemed struck by an idea. "Hey… do you want to learn how to play the piano? I could teach you." Harry didn't expect this, and immediately turned down the offer as habit.
"I couldn't. It's not even practical. I mean, I wouldn't even have anywhere to practice except for this place."
"Hogwarts has an entire music room. It's completely filled with every instrument you could possibly dream of. Although it isn't always there." Draco slightly lost himself in thought for a moment before pulling himself back. "Anyways, I won't take no for an answer." With that, Draco grabbed Harry's wrist and started dragging him back up the horrifying amount of stairs. Harry just managed to put his cup down on the counter before being yanked away.
Author's Note: Whoa, 6,000 views! That's amazing! I have no idea how this got so popular! I love all of you guys who keep reading my chapters, you're really the only reason I keep doing this! Thank you so much! And please, if you have any requests for this story or for any future story, please review or private message me, I love hearing you're guys' feedback!
