Work Text:
Draco Malfoy didn’t collect Chocolate Frog Cards. There was simply no reason to. After all, he had access to countless books on the famous wizards and witches who were featured on the cards, and his library was far more detailed than a tiny piece of chocolate-smudged cardboard. So, like any reasonable adult, whenever he ate a Chocolate Frog, he threw the card away.
Expect for when it was Potter’s face blinking back up at him.
Draco could never bring himself to throw away any of the Frog Cards featuring The Chosen One. If asked, he would explain that he owed Potter for saving his life, that as a former Death Eater he couldn’t be seen to be doing anything that might appear to be a slight to The Saviour, that it was just odd luck that Potter’s cards never made it to a trash bin, or that he felt strange throwing away a picture of someone he knew. Thankfully, no one had ever asked. Most likely, because no one knew.
There were two cards shoved nearly all the way behind the coffee maker on the kitchen counter, and another three in the junk drawer. There was one on top of the fridge, and two more in a pocket of the coat hanging just inside the door to his flat. At least five or six more were scattered under the couch, plus two stuffed beneath the cushions, and three quickly moved from the coffee table to behind the teley-visor when Pansy had paid a surprise visit. Perhaps worst of all, there were seven in the drawer of Draco’s bedside table, although he felt that those should only present a convincing case in favor of his predilection for eating chocolate before bed, and nothing other than that.
It was a somewhat precarious system, leaving such incriminating evidence out until someone arrived unexpectedly and then shoving them under the nearest objects, and far messier than any other part of Draco’s life, but it was fine. At least, it was until Andromeda came through the Floo with Teddy in tow asking Draco if he wouldn’t mind watching him, just for an hour, I’ll be back soon and he’s already eaten lunch and had his snack so he’ll probably just want to play quietly or take a nap on the couch, thank you so much. And the door had hardly closed behind her, and Draco had hardly had time to sigh in resignation, before a tiny voice behind him cheered “Uncle Harry!”
Whipping around, Draco saw, to his horror, Teddy’s delighted face grinning up at him over the three Chocolate Frog Cards clutched in his chubby little fist, recently pulled out from behind the teley-visor.
“Yes,” Draco tried, in his most placating tone, “that is your Uncle Harry. Very clever, Edward! Now, shall we put those back where you found them?”
It was a futile attempt. The words were barely out of his mouth before Teddy was diving towards the sofa, another triumphant cry of Uncle Harry! ringing in the air. If Draco hadn’t been so concerned for the state of his certainly-not-an-obsession, he would have been delighted to note that Teddy apparently had the keen eyesight and attention to detail befitting a Seeker. As it was, however, Draco’s life was quickly spiraling into what could easily become an embarrassing situation. (Only because of how the circumstance would appear though, not because it actually was embarrassing! After all, he had good reasons for keeping all of Potter’s Chocolate Frog Cards, truly, and he would certainly be able to remember at least one of them when Andromeda inevitably asked.)
The afternoon was a disaster. Teddy spent the hour his grandmother was gone in a state of ecstasy, discovering Frog Cards even Draco had forgotten about, and chirping constantly about his ‘Uncle Harry’. By the time Andromeda returned, there were at least twenty five Frog Cards, all bearing Potter’s face, spread out across Draco’s living room floor, and Teddy was in the process of discovering a twenty-sixth card Spell-o-taped to the underside of a low bookshelf.
To make matters worse, Andromeda was not alone.
Teddy’s shouts of “Uncle Harry!” every time he had discovered a new Frog Card were nothing to the warcry he let out when he saw Potter in person.
“Hey there, Tedward,” Potter said as he expertly scooped up his godson before being plowed over. “How are you today?”
“Draco gave me Frog Cards!”
Draco was secretly impressed at how little Potter flinched, considering Teddy’s volume, and proximity to his ears.
“Oh my goodness, Draco, you didn’t! His collection is already so big, you spoil him!” And now Andromeda had noticed the cards spread around the living room, and Draco was going to have to Obliviate himself, Potter, and two of his only living relatives to save them all from the embarrassment that was sure to come.
“We played hide and seek with Uncle Harry!” Teddy proclaimed, still clinging onto Potter’s neck and still shouting in his ear.
Potter actually looked surprised at that (or perhaps the hearing damage was setting in). “You had a scavenger hunt? That was nice of Draco to save up cards and hide them for you! Did you find them all?”
On the one hand, it was the best possible thing Potter could have said. It offered an explanation for why Draco had the cards in the first place, it saved him from embarrassment, and even if Teddy did take the cards with him that would be fine because Draco didn’t actually want to keep them anyway.
On the other hand, it was the worst possible thing Potter could have said, because Teddy’s accidental magic had been particularly excitable for the last few months, and when asked if he had found all of the cards, some sort of warped-summoning charm whipped around Draco’s flat and at least five more cards shot out from their hiding places. Draco could hear the faint sound of cardboard hitting his hastily thrown wordless-shield charm coming from the direction of his bedroom, but unfortunately didn’t notice the card flying off the top of the fridge until it hit him in the face.
As Potter set the now-squirming Teddy down to retrieve his newest finds, Draco began sneezing from the dust that had been disturbed from the top of his fridge.
When his sneezing fit had subsided, Draco looked up to find Potter holding back a laugh. He glared.
“What is it, Potter?”
“Err, gesundheit,” he said, still looking on the verge of laughter.
Draco scowled even more.
“It’s just - how long has that card been up there, to get so dusty?”
Draco willed the blood rising in his cheeks to not show, for once in his life. Potter’s smile just got wider.
“And how long have you been saving those cards up? For Teddy, I mean, of course, not for any other reason.”
Draco opened his mouth to respond, but the words didn’t come quickly enough. It was unfair that Potter could still get under his skin even after so many years, and more infuriating still that Draco couldn’t hex him while there was a toddler just a few feet away.
Then, the look on Potter’s face changed slightly, and he took a step closer. “I mean,” he continued in a much quieter tone - and had his voice just gotten deeper? Oh Salazar, what was happening?? -, “you certainly don’t look like you eat Chocolate Frogs on a regular basis.” Potter’s eyes scanned over his entire body, Draco was sure of it, and he was also sure that he was going to spontaneously combust any moment now. Had Potter just winked at him?
“I- I assure you,” Draco began, but what was he even going to assure Potter of? That he didn’t eat Chocolate Frogs? That he did, and had been saving all the cards for Teddy and hiding them as he got them, despite not being aware that Teddy apparently collected Harry Potter Chocolate Frog Cards?
Potter was back to smiling again, a brilliant unrestrained thing, and he actually laughed out loud as he stepped past Draco into the living room, touching his shoulder as he went.
“Andi, would it be alright if I met up with both of you at the z-o-o a little bit later?” Potter asked, bending to help pick up the cards.
“Of course, dear,” Andromeda replied, casting an all-too-knowing look back at Draco. “Come on, Teddy, I’ve just remembered that we need to make another stop, and then we’ll have a surprise for you! Say thank you to Draco and tell him that you’ll see him soon!”
Being shepherded towards the door, Teddy obediently stepped towards Draco and echoed, “Thank you, Draco. I’ll see you soon!” before giving his knees a hug and running out the door. Andromeda just patted Draco’s cheek as she followed her grandson, closing the door behind her and leaving Draco alone with Potter in a room that was suddenly very quiet.
“Potter, I-”
Draco’s attempt to speak fell flat once more, and once again, Potter didn’t seem to mind. He just smiled lazily at Draco, before pushing off of the wall and walking over to him, until he was in Draco’s personal space.
“Tell me if I’m reading this wrong,” he murmured, leaning in closer still, and Draco could hardly hear him over the absolute symphony his heart was beating out.
Then, before he could say anything, or even begin to parse what Harry was reading - correctly or not - in the first place, Harry’s eyes were closing, he was even closer, and then their lips were touching.
For all that Draco’s mind and body had failed him that afternoon, they suddenly came back to life at Harry’s touch. His eyes slid closed, his hands came up to clutch at Harry’s shirt, and his mouth opened in invitation.
Harry clearly took that as encouragement, and deepened the kiss, carding a hand through the hair at the nape of Draco’s neck and wrapping his other arm around Draco’s waist, drawing him in closer still.
When they parted, Draco blinked his eyes open slowly to find Harry looking just as flushed and as breathless as he felt.
“So?” Harry asked after a moment, a hint of uncertainty creeping in under his Gryffindor courage.
“I suppose I’m not too upset,” Draco said, trying to restrain the smile threatening to break through on his own face. “I was initially quite put out when I thought that Edward was going to take almost all of my Frog Cards, but I suppose getting to have the real thing instead is an acceptable trade.” He gave a beleaguered little sigh, which served the wonderful purpose of making Harry laugh, then lean in and kiss him again until Draco was smiling for real.
“Almost all of your Frog Cards, eh?” Harry was grinning at him in a way that simultaneously made Draco want to pinch him and kiss him. “Accio Frog Cards!” Harry said, before Draco could react, and the seven cards that had been saved from Teddy came whizzing through the air from Draco’s bedside table.
Harry leaned around Draco to peer down the hall and further into the flat. “Is that your bedroom?”
Draco drew himself up to his full height and looked down imperiously at Harry.
“You’re moving a bit fast, aren’t you?”
Harry’s eyes grew wide.
“No, I just meant, you-” he spluttered.
“There will be plenty of time to see my bedroom later. First, I believe it’s customary to go on a date.”
Harry looked suddenly wary. “A date? Where do you want to go? I dunno what places are serving right now, it’s not exactly dinner time yet.”
Draco just barely resisted rolling his eyes. As preferable as the real Harry Potter was to any Chocolate Frog Card imitation, there was a chance that the cardboard Potters were faster on the uptake.
“I was thinking we could go to the zoo. Seeing as you promised your godson that you would meet him there just a few minutes ago, it would only be polite. And then, after we’ve enjoyed an afternoon at the zoo, and after you’ve bought me something ridiculous from the gift shop, we can go to an acceptable restaurant, have dinner and drinks, and then make plans for the rest of the evening.”
“And then?” Harry looked hopeful.
“And then we repeat that, or something similar, and a number of other things too, for the rest of the foreseeable future. Are you truly so unfamiliar with the concept of dating, Potter?”
Harry was grinning again, and now Draco just wanted to kiss him.
“We’re dating, are we?”
Well, I should hope so!” Draco sniffed. “First, you kiss me; then, you demand to see my bedroom-”
“I didn’t demand-”
“-and then you asked me to join you for dinner-”
“I don’t think that’s quite what happened.”
“-so the only thing I can possibly believe is that you’ve been trying to ask me out this whole time, and you’re just spectacularly bad at it. But don’t worry, Potter, I will save you the embarrassment of having to admit your obsession with me and put you out of your misery right now: Yes, I will go out with you.” And with that, Draco grabbed Harry’s hand, kissed him quite thoroughly, and then pulled him out the door.
“I’m obsessed with you, am I?”
“Oh yes, quite,” Draco answered breezily, looking back over his shoulder to smile. “You should really do something about it.”
For once, Harry took his advice, and simply kissed him again.