Title: Tomorrow, Then
Author: sdk
Fandom: Harry Potter
Pairing/Characters: pre-Harry/Draco (could be gen if you like)
Rating: G
Length/Word Count: Ficlet, 383 words
Notes: Written for alisanne who prompted me with "Harry/Draco, hot chocolate". Unbeta'd so please forgive and/or point out any typos/errors. Thanks! <3 One of my 2012 Holiday Ficlets.
Disclaimer: The following is based on fictional characters I don't own doing fictional things in a fictional world I did not create. No copyright infringement intended.


Tomorrow, Then

The bell over the door jingled and Harry eyed the clock hanging on the wall. 10:05, he thought. Same as always. He was already spooning his special chocolate mix into hot milk when he heard the familiar clearing of a throat.

"Really, Potter. What's the use of having a bell if you're just going to ignore your customers anyway?"

"Be right with you, Malfoy." Harry bit back a smile. He set a spell for the drink to mix with the accompaniment of Malfoy's foot tap-tap-tapping on the tiled floors, but Harry wouldn't be rushed. Finally the hot chocolate was perfectly thick and frothy, and only then did he turn, presenting the mug to his most frequent customer.

"Here you go."

Malfoy frowned, looked at the drink and then back to Harry. "And what if I'd wanted something different?"

"You always order hot chocolate."

"Hmph," Malfoy said, his scowl deepening.

"Well, if you don't want it-" Harry reached for the mug, but Malfoy snatched it from his fingertips.

"I didn't say that." Malfoy took his drink and sat as his usual table in the corner, furthest from the door. Harry busied himself with cleaning his countertop, but he kept one eye on Malfoy, waiting for that first sip.

Malfoy closed his eyes, breathed in the aroma, and swallowed his first mouthful. Pink tinged his cheeks, his hands curled around the mug, and he sighed, ever so quietly.

And Harry ducked his head and smiled.

"You know I don't come here for you," Malfoy had said once. Honestly, he said it often, as if the more he did, the truer the words would become. "I'm only here for the hot chocolate."

"That good, then?" Harry would always reply just to see him bluster, his mouth opening and closing like a gaping fish, searching for a way to deny it.

But eventually Malfoy always grumbled, "Yes," then usually added the caveat, "even if it's served by a messy-haired git."

Harry would laugh. And sometimes Malfoy would smile so faintly and swiftly that if Harry blinked, he'd miss it.

So he didn't blink.

"Tomorrow, then," Malfoy said once he'd finished and was half-way out the front door. It was his usual parting greeting; he'd given up pretending he wouldn't be back.

Harry waved and smiled. "Tomorrow, then."




-Fin-







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