Draco woke the next morning, showered, and dressed casually before heading down a couple flights of stairs to reach the bright room his mother insisted having breakfast in. The man opened the glass doors, kissed his mother on the cheek and murmured a good morning to his father across the table. He fixed himself a cup of tea and ate the blueberry scone a house elf placed before him.
Work had been uneventful the day before and he was glad to have the day off. Before he left work, Ginny had reminded him to meet her in front of St. Mungo's at 10. Looking over at the grandfather clock in the corner, Draco found he had about an hour to spare.
He contemplated getting a gift for the woman. But I hardly know her. I suppose all women love chocolate and she said she had a dragon. Perhaps some chocolate and dragon treats? Where does one buy dragon treats? Draco asked his father if he knew any where that may sell dragon treats. His father had looked at him like he'd had a lapse in his sanity. Well, asking about dragons seemingly randomly doesn't help. Nonetheless, Lucius directed his son to a shop in Knockturn Alley. Grabbing a box of chocolates he had brought from France, Draco bid his parents good day and made his way to the fireplace. He stated his destination and disappeared in a flash of green flame.
Draco arrived at St. Mungo's right on time. He had taken a walk at a nearby park to pass the time after an excruciatingly creepy session with the shop owner at Knockturn Alley. He fingered the shrunken container of dragon treats in his pocket and cast a quick Tempus charm just as Ginny apparated a couple feet from the entrance of the hospital. "Right on time, Ms. Weasley."
Ginny rolled her eyes and walked closer to the blond. "Let's just go, Malfoy. Here are the coordinates of the apparition point. We'll only have to walk about a block or so before reaching the store. Do you have the address?"
Draco eyed the red headed woman. "Of course," he replied shortly and promptly turned on his heel, disapparating with a soft pop.
Ginny huffed and turned on the spot, disapparating behind the man. By the time she had arrived, Draco was already standing at the edge of the alley, staring expectantly at the woman. Ginny sighed, thinking perhaps visiting a potential old friend with Malfoy was a bad idea. The pair walked half a block before spotting a bookstore among the many houses and apartment complexes in the area. They double checked the address before entering the store. The large display windows on either side of the glass door gave the small shop a very open feel to it. A good thing, considering the amount of full shelves blocking out light to certain areas, that were to be expected in the shop.
Pushing open the heavy glass door, the pair heard the tinkling of bells above them, announcing their presence. They stepped in, letting the door close behind them as they took in the magical bookstore. "I'll be with you in a short moment. Feel free to look around," a melodic voice called softly from an open door behind the counter.
And look around they did. Several snitches flitted about above their heads, occasionally pausing in front of the former Seeker as if coaxing him to reach out and capture the magical objects. None of the snitches seemed to be the traditional golden color but instead opted for silver, and metallic reds, greens, and blues. Ginny watched as one of the customers in an adjacent aisle beckoned for a snitch close to her. The elderly witch murmured to the ball before following it to a different aisle. She reached up to the book the snitch flitted directly in front of and nodded her thanks to the silver object. Ginny was impressed; it seemed that the snitches were charmed to help the customers around the store.
"Sorry for the wait. Welcome to The Snitch. How may I help you?" The voice sounded again, gradually becoming less muffled as figure made her way to the counter.
Harry had just climbed up a ladder to retrieve an order for a customer when he hear the telltale sound of bells indicating more customers. He called out to the customers to look around before reaching up to grab the package just above the ladder's reach. He realized he could have gotten the box down with magic, but manual labor made running this shop just a bit more interesting.
The wizard jumped off the ladder when he reached the last two steps and began welcoming his patrons even before he reached the counter. Harry placed the box off to the side, puffing air up at his fringe and shaking his head lightly. He looked up in alarm as he caught sight of flaming red hair that was too familiar to be comforting. So Ginny had finally tracked him down and she wasn't alone it seemed. Harry took in the sight of the tall blond behind his old friend. He smiled lightly and greeted the man. "Oh, hello, Mr. Malfoy. A pleasure to see you again. I didn't think it'd be so soon."
Said blond stepped forward and placed an odd container on the counter along side a box of Belgian chocolates. "Gifts, in apology for arriving unannounced," he spoke smoothly. Harry thanked him and took a hold of the oddly shaped container. "Dragon treats," he explained. "I remember you mentioned having a dragon at your shop."
Harry chuckled. "Yeah," he turned to the door behind him, stuck two fingers between his lips and whistled loudly. A moment later a silvery blur came bounding down the stairs and pounced on the blond.
Draco staggered back slightly before steadying himself and looking up at the creature with surprise in his eyes. He vaguely heard his co-worker gasp beside him at the small creature flew about lazily above their heads.
Harry tapped the hard counter with two fingers, smiling in satisfaction as the flying reptile flew over and sat on his haunches staring up at the blond in curiosity. The dragon beat his small wings a few times before settling down and curled up next to Harry's hand. "His name is Orion. Figured you'd like to meet the creature you're giving presents to," he laughed lightly.
The entire time Harry was conversing lightly with the blond, he felt the piercing gaze of Ginny on him. He figured he could speak with her privately later. He had a feeling she knew who he really was behind his almost airtight disguise. It would do him no good if the youngest Weasley outed him in front of Draco Malfoy.
"He's," Draco paused. "interesting. I've never seen one so small. I've seen a few during the last Tri-Wizard Tournament, but those weren't nearly as calm as yours." He said, watching the small animal curl up and tried to compare it to his memories of the vicious animals he saw years back, like that Hungarian Horntail Potter had battled.
Harry smiled. "He's small now but in a couple years he'll be full grown and I'll have to give him back to the dragon reserves in Romania," he said, looking at Ginny from the corner of his eye. "He's an Antipodean Opaleye; he isn't that aggressive unless provoked." He picked up the gifts and placed them under the counter. "Well, thank you for the gifts. I'm sure that wasn't the only reason you've come to visit me, and bring a guest, no less."
Draco smirked at the young brunette. "Right to the point, then? It seems that I was not able to catch your name the other night. You had left in such a hurry, it reminded me of a Muggle fairytale about a woman running off as the clock struck twelve."
Harry was a bit surprised at the comparison to Cinderella but didn't let it show. Instead, he apologized for the hurried departure and lack of proper introduction to the blond. "You may call me Lily. Lily Black," he smiled.
Draco nodded and stuck out his hand. "It's a pleasure to officially meet you, Ms. Black." He took the brunette's hand when it was outstretched and gave the small white knuckles a touch of his lips.
Harry couldn't help but stare and let a slight shiver make its way down his back as the blond kissed the back of his hand. He quickly regained his composure and responded in a quiet voice. "Likewise, Mr. Malfoy. And please, Lily is just fine."
"As is Draco. How rude of me, I hadn't introduced my companion. This," he gestured to Ginny. "Is my co-worker, Ginerva Weasley. She insisted on coming with me today for reasons I still do not know."
Ginny turned to the other woman, not sure what to expect. "Hello, you can just call me Ginny." She stuck out her hand for the other to shake, gripping a bit too tightly when Harry had made contact. "It's a pleasure to meet you. This is a lovely shop you have."
Harry winced inwardly. "Why, thank you," he replied with a smile, releasing the redhead's hand.
Draco directed his attention back to the dark haired woman and voiced his want to meet with her again, perhaps have lunch together to get to know each other better.
Harry nodded, "When are you free? I run the shop Monday to Friday so I'm free on weekends most of the time."
"How does next Saturday sound?" Draco inquired, no clue as to where he would take the young lady.
"Perfect. There's a little restaurant down the street I've been dying to try. If it's alright with you, we can meet in front of the shop around 11 or so? I don't live far so it's no problem for me, but I'm assuming you may not live in the area."
Draco shook his head. "Magic, my dear Lily, there's no need to worry about that. I'll see you next Saturday. I have some errands to run so I will be on my way." He waved to the two woman and made his way to the apparition point, promptly apparating home to finish some left over reports.
Ginny whipped around fiercely as soon as Draco left the building. "What the hell are you doing, Harry," she hissed quietly, rounding the corner to stand in the brunette's personal space. Even as a woman Harry was taller. He was tall enough for Ginny to have to look up at those brilliant green eyes she adored in her school days.
"I have no idea what you mean, Gin." Harry spoke, turning away from the girl and ushering the small dragon back up the stairs he came down moments before.
"You know what I mean! How are you doing it anyway? I can't sense any glamours and I'm assuming you haven't polyjuiced. I mean, you look exactly like the girl version of, well, you!"
Harry turned back. "It's a potion Narcissa looked up for me. She found it in one of the books in her library. It allows me to physically change my appearance with a spell."
"Aren't you afraid you'll revert back once the potion or the spell wears off ? Or that your spell won't hold up if you get knocked out for some reason?" She looked at him curiously, brushing off the fact that he had called the Malfoy Matriarch by her given name so casually.
Long, dark hair tousled lightly as Harry shook his head. "No, the spell works stays until until I say the counter spell and the potion stays in my system for three months at a time. There's nothing to worry about, Ginny. I'm safe in this disguise and happily running a bookstore."
"But what if someone finds out? What if Malfoy finds out?"
"He won't find out unless I want him to. Unless, of course, someone let's it slip. Then, and only then, will I deal with it. Right now, I'm just trying to be friends with the git. He doesn't know who I really am and he doesn't seem that bad. Besides only Luna, Narcissa, and Lucius know, and now you. How did you find out anyway?"
Ginny shrugged. "I was looking at the records when you came to the ministry. Harry Potter just happened to appear in the book when a brunette with green eyes stepped from the floo network. Normally, no one looks at the logs, but I wanted to find you. I wanted to confirm you were coming to the wedding."
"Yes, of course," he said, waving dismissively. "I wouldn't miss it for the world. I still can't believe you married a squib. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I always imagined you'd marry one of the many Quidditch stars you work with," he laughed.
Ginny sighed happily. "Yes, but at least he's not a Muggle. I have a feeling explaining everything about the magical world would be a major pain," she finished with a small frown.
"Well, I should get back to work. Drop by whenever, Gin, but you can't tell anybody. I swear! Not even Ron and Hermione. Too many people already know," he sighed.
Ginny nodded, moving to leave the shop when she paused with a hand holding the door open. She turned back to the wizard. "Be careful, Lily, don't slip up because this is Malfoy you're playing fire with. Don't get burned." With that she exited the shop.
Harry stared at the closed door for a moment before ringing up the next customer. That was the second time someone warned him about slipping up around Malfoy. It wasn't like he was ever going to find out, right?