Frost covers the pavement as Harry wanders down the street to Sofya's. Ginny's shift is ending any minute and they have made plans for a late breakfast together before Harry heads off for a meeting. The trees are completely bare, their skeletons standing out starkly against the icy-blue sky. Harry squints up into the bright sun, pushing his glasses crooked as he watches a squirrel skitter up the tree. A few steps forward and the street turns into an ice rink, almost depositing Harry on his ass as he slips and slides precariously on the paving stones. Luckily, the main streets are well gritted in preparation for the hordes of pedestrians travelling to work.
The bell rings out cheerily as Harry steps over the threshold, bringing Sofya running. The shop warm and smells like coffee and cinnamon and Harry stands there for a few minutes, just breathing it in. Sofya embraces him, hands cupping his face as she goes off about him working too hard. She leads Harry over to his usual table at the back, wrestles his jacket off him and almost shoves him down into the chair. Harry starts to unwind his scarf, glasses askance from Sofya's affections.
'So where's that young man of yours? Your tesoro Draco? Is he not with you today?'
'Not right now, Sofya. Ginny's going to be here in a few minutes. I'm seeing him later though,' Harry laughs at her delighted face when he mentions Draco. She seems completely taken with Draco, good thing too. Sofya can be a fiercely over-protective mother hen when she wants to be. Harry knows this from (extremely awkward) experience. Sofya whirls around at the sound of the bell, ringing loudly as Ginny steps through the door, a bundle of scarves and messy hair.
'Aah, my bella Ginny! Long time, no see, tesoro! We have missed you! Sit, sit, you look cold! Oh, I will get you both some food and coffee,' She rushes off back into the kitchen after embracing Ginny firmly.
Ginny leans over to kiss Harry's cheek, her lips icy cold. She then slumps down in the armchair opposite, swiping strands of hair off her face. She looks exhausted, Harry notes, dark circles under her eyes and complexion unnaturally pale. Sofya returns with mugs of steaming coffee and plates piled high with fresh rolls and jam. Hit with that wave of caffeine, Ginny immediately perks up, leaning forward to cradle the mug in her hands, eyes closed as she inhales the steam. Harry instantly tucks in like he hasn't eaten for days.
It takes an hour and two more cups of coffee each for them to finish planning Harry's date for that night. Harry has never been more grateful for Ginny's Pinterest app. Ginny, ever the organised one, promptly makes a schedule for the evening, and is only satisfied when everything is completely sorted. She spends the rest of the time loudly fangirling over how cute Harry and Draco are together, Sofya joining in at times.
Harry's cutting it close as he races down the street towards a waiting taxi. It would not be good to be late to this meeting, not after his tardiness the last three times. He's still clutching a warm bag of food Sofya shoved into his hands as he ran out the door in a panic. A good few hours flew by in that little shop. It's probably the influence of good company and even better coffee. Ginny, totally shattered after her night shift, has plans to lie in bed for the rest of the day. Harry wishes he could do the same as he hurriedly rattles off the address to the driver, slumping back in the seat as the taxi pulls out onto the busy road.
Harry sits on a freezing park bench in the dark, feeling his legs turn numb with cold. Any longer and he will have to be hospitalized with frostbite. Glancing down at his phone, it's still 5 to 7. Nothing left to do but wait. Typical, the only time Harry is ever early, it's minus degrees and pitch black. Harry can hear the cars in the distance, a cacophony of car horns and rumbling engines. His fingers are icy cold, even through thick woolen gloves and there's an icy trickle of wind finding every gap in his scarf. Christmas is magical and all, but the winter weather is always a let-down. At least it's not raining. Harry's phone suddenly vibrates in his pocket, making him jump about three feet into the air. It's a text message from Draco.
Where are you? X
Harry's heart leaps. A kiss! A kiss. It's like they are an actual couple now. How cute! Ginny will be delighted. Harry begins to tap out a message, but stops when he senses someone walking up behind him. Tentatively looking up, Harry's heart leaps as Draco stands directly over him, eyes sparkling in the light from Harry's phone. He looks gorgeous. Standing up, Harry quickly leans over to kiss him. Draco's lips are so soft as he sighs, melting into Harry's embrace. It's a relief to share another's warmth after sitting alone for fifteen minutes. It's a good few minutes before Draco pulls away, stopping their greeting before it turns into a full make-out session in the middle of a dark, empty park.
'You could have told me where you were! It's completely dark and there's about 400 benches in this park anyway. You can't just say "that bench in Hyde Park" and expect me to know where you mean!' Draco grins, tucking Harry's hand into his.
'I'm sorry. I should have probably been more specific,' Harry smiles sheepishly as they start walking down the tree lined path.
'So, where are we going anyway? You didn't tell me that either, you idiot,' Draco says fondly, a far cry from the taunts exchanged in school.
'Listen,' Harry stops dead in the middle of the path and Draco takes it as an opportunity to tug Harry into another kiss. Tearing himself away before they get carried away, Harry grabs Draco's hands.
'No, listen,'
The noise of faint fairground music can be detected over the city noise, all screams and thumping bass. Just above the trees, the sky is lit up with roving lights of all different colours. Over the top of it all, Bing Crosby is playing, as if trying to drown everything else out. Draco spins around, grabbing Harry's hair and pulling close again.
'A fairground? You brought me here?' He mumbles against Harry's lips, pressing kisses onto the corner of his mouth. Harry grins at the excitement in his voice.
'Well, Ginny seemed to think that a perfect second date would be at the top of the ferris wheel in Winter Wonderland. I came here last year with her. It was so fun,'
'I never did anything like this as a child. You, Harry, are helping me become 7 years old again,' Draco winds his hands into Harry's hair, kissing along his jaw as Harry laughs, whole body shaking.
'My revisited childhood too. Living with Ginny, we've done all sorts of crazy things. She calls it "Experiencing life to it's fullest". I call it being a bit insane,'
'What are we waiting for? Let's go!' Draco grabs Harry's hand and starts to pull him in the direction of the lights.
They wander around the stalls, booths and rides, enjoying the atmosphere. After much persuasion, Harry manages to get Draco on a few rides. Despite being thoroughly self conscious and sensible at the start, Draco gets properly caught up in the atmosphere and Harry is rushing around after him, attempting to keep up. They both agree they are wayyy too grown up and sensible for the more extreme rides and stay safely on the ground, wrapped around each other as they watch the other people get hurled into the air. Harry's phone is full of pictures of Draco, excitement in his eyes and hair lit up multicoloured from the strobing lights, posing like a supermodel, all cheekbones and jawline, lit up in blue against various rides. He looks like an angel to Harry.
The queue for the Ferris Wheel is long and Harry's fingers are numb by the time they actually enter it. An open basket, draped with fairy lights, rising higher and higher into the air. Harry wiggles around on the slatted wooden seats, peering out over the park as they reach the very top. He can see the cars shooting along the roads, the glittering tower block lights, the fairground way below. They descend slowly towards the ground and rise back up again effortlessly. This time, the wheel grounds to a halt, leaving them suspended in mid air, the basket rocking slowly in the wind. Draco shifts closer, arms wrapping around Harry's waist, pulling him flush against his body. Harry leans forward and they are kissing, suspended in the air above Hyde Park. Lips parted, gloved hands rough against flushed cheeks, the soft swaying of the basket hardly registering in their brains.
The Ferris Wheel gives a jolt and suddenly they're turning towards the ground. Down, down, down until they are level with the whirlwind of lights and music. With hands still linked, Harry and Draco stumble out onto the ground.
Harry's head is spinning. It's been such a long time since he has any form or physical or emotional contact with another. He still has no clue about Draco's background. It's only the second date and when together, kissing seems more preferable than talking. It's not like Draco has ever told him much about his past life. At school, most Malfoy family rumours were common knowledge, also everyone was just a bit too scared of Lucius Malfoy to pass round anything properly sordid. Hermione probably knows quite a lot, with her shrink tendencies, but she would never break a vow of secrecy. She would say she's told him too much about Draco's situation already.
Draco's lips crashing down onto his pulls Harry from his thoughts. After a few minutes of kissing under the lights, Draco mumbles something unintelligible into Harry's hair.
'What was that?' Harry asks.
'This was a perfect evening. Thank you,' Draco lifts his head for a moment before burying it back into Harry's shoulder.
Harry puts a finger under Draco's chin and lifts his head up to look him in the eyes. 'I'm glad, Draco. But really, you should be thanking Ginny. She's got the head full of good ideas,'
'It's really late. I should really be getting back,' Draco replies reluctantly. 'I've got three consecutive meetings tomorrow,'
Harry, also, doesn't want the night to end but the long day is starting to take a toll on him, eyelids threatening to close. They walk, hand in hand, back through the park in silence, tiredness starting to overtake. The park gates lead out onto the busy road, making Harry squint into the blinding brightness of rows of headlights. The Underground sign glows red and blue, suspended over the stairs leading down into the underbelly of the city.
Harry wraps his arms around Draco's waist as Draco rests his head on Harry's shoulder. Standing up straight to look Harry in the eyes, Draco plants a feather-soft kiss in the corner of Harry's mouth, not breaking his gaze. He whispers something so soft Harry can hardly hear before kissing Harry one last time and starting to descend the stairs.
'I'd be an idiot to let you go again, Harry Potter,'
Harry watches as Draco's blonde head disappears from view. Then he turns around and starts walking home, hands buried deep in pockets and a smile on his face.