Work Text:
Idling about in the most recent heatwave the country was suffering through, Harry Potter stared contemplatively at the spray bottle he had been using for the bouquets of the day. The idea of spraying himself down was more tempting than it should have been. Maybe instead he could close early- Door. Bell. Customer. Right. Not going home early.
"I can't believe I'm doing this… I need your help." Looking up, Harry saw… Draco Malfoy. Standing there in his shop. Draco Malfoy, the kid from secondary school who hated his guts and tried to get him expelled for every small amount of trouble he got into, was standing in his shop. And…
“Hang on, did you just ask for help? The great Draco Malfoy is asking me for help?” Maybe he should get his phone and record the moment.
Draco huffed, crossing his arms. He actually looked contrite. "I need a bouquet. A third of it will be Narcissus, but I can't decide on the other two flowers." Huh. Contrite Draco asking for his help and needing a bouquet that was one-third narcissus. Okay.
Harry finally set his spray bottle down, grabbing a sheet of plastic and starting to prep it, “Alright. Well, narcissus are white and yellow, so you have a lot of options for flowers and colors that’ll go well. What’s the occasion?”
He watched Draco make a face. "An… apology?" An apology? Well, Draco had come far since school. "I think white leaves more room, I… My mother and father had a fight, and it was about me. Mother is Narcissus, obviously." Thirds… An apology… His parents. Ah.
“Alright. So maybe for this, flowers to represent you and your dad, yeah? What kind of flower works for him?” Harry went towards the fresh batch of narcissus he had gotten in the other day, picking out a good, fresh bunch and wrapping them in the plastic.
"That's just the thing, is I don't know. I've never thought about this sort of thing before, really." He couldn't blame him. Most boys didn't. That did surprise Harry, though. He'd pegged Draco for the type.
“Huh. Alright.” Harry thought for a moment, staring at the flowers he already had. “I dunno, is your mom into the flower meaning stuff any?”
"Oh, absolutely. Always goes on about that sort of thing." Yeah, that sounded about right for the Malfoys — especially for Draco’s mom.
Harry sighed, looking around the shop slowly, “Alright. Just so you know, most shops just go by what looks best and don’t really care about the meanings. So, blue hyacinths, to go with the white, and because they mean making peace. It’s like saying I’m sorry, basically.”
"Alright," Draco said with a nod. "It needs something else though, doesn't it? It feels like it." He was right. It did need something else. They had blue and white… a nice pink would go well, maybe.
“Dahlias,” Harry said firmly, moving to get some and mix them among the bouquet. “They work well with the blue and white and they mean grace and kindness. Thoughts?”
Draco thought about it before finally nodding. "Yes… Yes, I think that just might do it." Harry looked down at the flowers, a mix of blues, whites, and pinks, and couldn’t stop himself from giving a bit of a grin. Definitely one of his best yet.
“Good, because it’s all you’re getting.” With that, Harry shoved the bouquet into Draco’s hands, forcing him to hold it before he tied it off with a bright pink ribbon.
Draco sighed, nodding and moving it off to one hand as he started patting at his pockets. "How much do I owe you?"
Harry shrugged, walking back to the register with words tumbling out of his mouth before he was really sure on what he wanted to do, “I’ll call that one ten pounds.”
"Oh, is that it?" Draco didn't seem to question the low price, handing over a note. "I'll just hope it works, then."
“It will,” Harry grinned, scribbling something down and shoving the note into the till. “My flowers haven’t failed yet.”
"Is that so?" Draco turned back around on him, raising a brow. "And how's that?" Alright… he couldn’t resist.
Harry gave a grin, popping his cheek up on his fist as he leaned over the counter, “Dunno. Guess I’m just that good.”
"We'll see about that. If this doesn't work, I expect my money back." Prissy little thing, wasn’t he? Nice to see he hadn’t changed from their school days.
“Make sure you have a receipt with you, then.” Mm, although, Harry had forgotten how much fun it was to screw with Draco.
"A re-" He watched Draco look down and around with a frown, even going so far as to check inside the bouquet itself. "You didn't give me one."
“So I didn’t.” Harry didn’t even bother to make a show of looking around. “Guess that means it’ll work for sure, won’t it?”
The scoff that Draco gave was as familiar as it had been over all those years. "Am I just supposed to trust your word for it?"
“What?” Harry pouted, standing back up just to place a hand over his heart in mock hurt. “You don’t trust me?”
Draco's eyes narrowed at him. "Have you ever given me reason to before?" Ah, well… he’d give Draco that one.
Thinking over how he could respond for a moment, Harry finally gave a grin, “Guess you’ll just have to have a little faith.”
Looking at him, and at the flowers, Draco finally sighed. "Is this really going to work?" Harry waited until Draco looked up at the flowers and back towards him.
“It’ll work,” Harry said firmly. “I know you’re not good at the whole believing me thing, yet, but I have my own faith you’ll get there.”
Draco tsked. "For once, of the two of us, I hope you're right, Potter. I should go. Mother will be wondering where I am."
Maybe it was hope or Harry just losing whatever sense he had left, but he couldn’t stop his quiet, “See you soon, Draco.”
As the empty shop with nothing but himself and the flowers rang with the bell that singled he was once again alone, Harry sighed sharply and grabbed the spray bottle he had been using earlier. He sprayed a smattering of tulips near his arm and then, for good measure, he sprayed himself in the face.
Honestly… he should not be grinning so much at the thought of him and his little flower shop getting another visit from Draco Malfoy. Then again, he and his flowers could use a little excitement, and Draco always made for a good time.
Hm… he was going to need a bigger spray bottle.