Disclaimer: JKR and Co owns all things Harry Potter.
A/N: Uh, yeah, so this is meant to be filler, although you still have to pay attention because some of it is actually important. Hehe ^_^ *gets rotten tomatoes thrown at me* Hey now! It's an update, be happy! *hands out sugar quills as a reward for putting up with me* Also, as I was re-reading the last chapter (so I know what to put in this chapter), I realized the ending is a bit confusing and not-Draco sounding. I fixed it. If you understood what I was saying the first time, there's no real need to go back and take a look. If you were majorly confused, go re-read that last paragraph.
Chapter Ten — July 12th
Harry felt like slamming his head against the wall. Unfortunately, that was not an option, as the wall was covered in roses of every colour and said roses had not yet been unthorned.
"Argh!" He groaned, dropping his head onto the counter in front of him.
"Thinking too strenuous of an activity for your brain, Mr. Potter?"
Harry lifted his head to see Ting Ting's —Harry finally remembered the florist's name — younger sister sneering across the counter from him, the disdainful expression looking out of place among the pink frills and curly chappatsu hair. "Huh?"
The girl rolled her large, dark brown eyes. "Merlin only knows how you defeated that loser Dark Lord over in England."
"Don't be mean, Avril," Ting Ting scolded lightly as she came out from the back room.
That caught Harry's attention.
"Avril?" He gasped, jerking upright and accidentally hitting the counter in the process. "Ow."
Avril snickered, twisting her long, manicured fingers around the nametag she wore.
"I knew there was something suspicious about you," said Harry with a scowl and narrowed eyes.
She merely stuck her nose into the air. "I hardly think teaching you how to seduce Draco is suspicious. You ought to be thanking me!"
"You know the man Mr. Potter is courting?" Ting Ting injected, leaning over from the rack of white lilies she was arranging to listen in.
Avril put on a smug smile. Harry noticed that there was a certain guarded air beneath it. "Yes, of course I do. You know the Malfoys, do you not?"
Ting Ting fidgeted awkwardly but nevertheless replied with a small smile. "Yes. They're an old a French pureblooded family, aren't they?"
"They've been mostly English for centuries, sister." Avril raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, yes, I merely forgot is all," the older girl waved it off. "Never mind. What's troubling you, Mr. Potter?"
"Draco, obviously," Avril said. "Why else would he be here?"
Ting Ting gave her sister a 'please don't' look but didn't comment. "Mr. Potter?"
"It does have to do with Draco, actually," Harry admitted. He blushed and scratched the back of his neck. "You see, he's figured out the secret admirer is me."
"And how is that a problem? Is he bad in bed?" Avril asked, eyes wide in sarcastic curiosity. "I'm sure an arse that hot couldn't be that bad."
"Avril," Ting Ting warned softly. It was a half-hearted attempt, though, and Avril ploughed on undeterred.
"Or was he repulsed by the idea of the giftter being you? I mean, he does have good taste and you look kind of…." She trailed off, making a show of looking Harry over. "How did he find out anyway?"
"Erm, I told him it wasn't me," Harry said. "I don't know how he found out. I had just told the bartender to give Draco his gift yesterday, you know, at the club. Next thing I knew, he was asking me if it was from me."
"Then why did you deny it?"
"I—I wasn't ready, okay?" Harry blurted, waving his arms wildly. "It was just so out of the blue and I hadn't expected him to figure it out so soon and I didn't know what to say!"
Avril groaned and dropped her head into her hands. "You are hopeless."
"What was his reaction, after you denied it?" Ting Ting asked as she placed a soothing hand onto Harry's shoulder.
"He looked…" Harry thought for a moment, "a bit sad, maybe. But I think that's just wishful thinking on my part. He's probably still suspicious of me, I mean, he kinda has been for a few days..."
"Yes, the tension between you two was a bit thick, now that I think about it," Avril mused. "I personally think you two should just shag and get it out of your system. But no, you wanted to play it the romantic way, and here we are."
"If it's not too much trouble—"
"We've helped you this far, Potter. I don't help lost cases." She gave him a lopsided smirk, before pulling out her wand and a piece of parchment. Harry smiled back, much to his own surprise. "Well let's start with this. We want him to wish it was you, and since you already denied it when you had the chance, the best path for you to choose is reverse psychology. Make him think it really isn't you but could be you, if he pays close enough attention to the clues. And to be honest, if he's paying that much attention to how the clues connect back to you, I'd say it's pretty safe to call off the plan and just tell him."
"Uh, okay?"
Ting Ting rolled her eyes. "What she means is to be more subtle with your clues. Sending him things that only you two would understand isn't such a good idea."
Harry nodded. "Of course. What should I give him, then, this time?"
"Start with something less personal. Maybe a book or hobby that everyone knows he likes," Ting Ting offered.
"And don't give such obvious clues as to who you are. Talk about something important to him that quite a few people close to him could say they know about. Or even better, a misleading clue. Tell him something about yourself that he doesn't know about you," said Avril. She looked excited, a pink flush spreading across her cheek as she bounced slightly in anticipation.
"No, don't use a misleading clue just yet. Malfoys are clever and making such a wild change of direction in your messages will only prove that you are the secret admirer. You have to ease into it," Ting Ting contradicted.
Harry tapped his wand against his chain and thought for a bit, before pulling the parchment in his direction. "How about this?"
xXxXxXx
"Mail's here!" Granger called out as she trotted her way down the entrance hall. "You have a letter from Kingsley, one from the International Magical Office of Law — actually, one from the British one and one from the Chinese one — a letter from the Chinese Minister, a letter from Avril, and another gift."
Draco looked up. "I have a gift?" Granger smiled knowingly and handed the small wooden box, rose, and letter to him, looking at him for permission to open the Ministries' letters. Draco merely waved at her, already distracted by the admirer's letter.
I like to fly.
Flying helps you clear your head. You don't need to trouble yourself with life's problems when you're flying. It's just you, your broom, and the endless sky.
I hope we can fly together, one day.
Draco raised an eyebrow at the note. What was that supposed to mean? Shrugging to himself, he placed the letter gently onto the table and cracked open the clasp holding the box closed. There's a bit of a buzzing, and then a golden ball shot straight out of the box. Thwack! "Ow!"
Granger looked over from her seat, lips twisting this way and that as she tried to keep from laughing out in obvious amusement. Draco rubbed the eye the golden ball had hit dead on, scowling. "What the bloody hell is that?"
"I do believe that's a snitch."
Draco turned to glare at the stupid golden ball, a mere streak of gold flashing around the room. He was a seeker, however, and with a quick swipe of his hand, he caught the ball. It was a snitch. The moment it touched Draco's hand, a swirly script started spiralling across its golden surface.
July Twelfth — The Twelfth Day of Courtship
"That's awfully romantic, Draco. Who's it from?" Draco turned to see Granger looking over his shoulder, her never-ending curiosity spelled out on her face.
"I don't know. I haven't figured it out yet," Draco replied. Even after Harry's denial and confusion when he'd asked him the day before, Draco was still suspicious — he wasn't a Slytherin for nothing, after all.
"Doesn't that handwriting look familiar?" Granger pointed out. Draco frowned. Granger was right. It did look familiar. In fact, it looked like...
"Avril's Handwriting." As Draco spoke it, he realized it was true. It looked identical to Avril's handwriting spell. He quickly Accio-ed the rest of the notes from the gifter and the letters from Avril.
"They're the same," Granger breathed. Draco could only nod.
xXxXxXx
Harry smiled happily as he started back to the hotel. He was walking; just taking his time as it was absolutely brilliant weather — all blue skies with a few puffy white clouds to act as a translucent screen for the burning sunlight. There was even a slight breeze to help down the heavy July heat. Good weather like this was rare in Hong Kong; the towering muggle skyscrapers and busy crowds did nothing to help the stifling humidity. At least crowds were always thinner in wizarding areas — Purebloods were adamant on Flooing or apparating from place to place rather than walking.
Suddenly, a familiar face caught Harry's eye. "G-man?" he whispered to himself. "What's he doing here?"
It certainly looked like G-man. Harry could have sworn the features on that young face was the exact same. In fact, the only differences between the two were that this man's hair was fully brunette, not at all bleached like G-man's fringe was, and this man was wearing robes, not muggle jeans and T-shirts. Harry sped up, hurrying after the other wizard. Unfortunately, the man was walking rather quickly, and it was making it hard for Harry to stay inconspicuous. This man seemed so calm and comfortable walking among Purebloods and Ministry supporters, something Harry would never have expected a Half-Blood like G-man to be. Then, seemingly out of the blue, the man ducked into a side alley and out of Harry's line of sight. The Auror made to follow, but a voice stopped him.
"Harry!"
Harry turned, blinking in surprise. "Avril?" The girl's pink frilled robes were blowing out behind her and her cheeks were flushed as she ran towards him, waving a pouch of something in her hand.
"I forgot to give this to you. You three will need it." For the case.
Harry nodded. "Thanks. I'm in a bit of a hurry, if you don't mind…?"
"Go," she waved him off. As soon as the words left her cherry lips, he turned and took off towards the side street. It was empty.
"Fuck," Harry swore before apparating back to the hotel. He didn't feel like walking anymore.
A/N: If anyone has any gifts they'd like to see, feel free to PM me or let me know in a review. I still need to think up stuff for a few more of Harry's gifts.
I will happily whore out chapters for reviews! *sticks one into a bunny costume and puts on display*