2Author's Note: Hi, and this is another Harry Potter one-shot! It takes place a few years after the war, but I have no specific time for this fic. Hope you like it!
Harry, Ron and Hermione were wandering around London, relaxing on a sunny Saturday. It's not uncommon for them to be the Muggle side of London to escape from the paparazzi's constant pestering. And today, they decided against visiting Diagon Alley, simply wanting enjoy the day.
They were chatting with each other when Ron said something that made them all stop dead in their tracks.
"Hey guys - isn't that Malfoy?"
Said person was about a hundred feet in front of them, looking at the displays in a shop's window. Ron wasn't able to make out what shop exactly from his position.
"Huh, really?" said Harry. "You mean you saw Malfoy? Walking around Muggle London, of all places?" True, it was certainly quite unexpected of Malfoy.
Their relationship with Draco Malfoy was shaky at best. After the war, they rarely had cause to speak to him, and when they did, it was forced and awkward. Both sides tried their best to avoid one another as much as possible. The last time the trio talked to him was three years ago at a Christmas Ball the Ministry hosted, when they, the special guests" had to greet all the people that attended, which included Malfoy.
"Yeah," said Ron, pointing. "Look, that's him over there."
"Should we, um, say hi to him?" asked Hermione doubtfully.
Harry nodded. "I guess it can't hurt, right? Might as well."
Well. It could hurt, for example, the friendly greeting could turn into a deadly duel, Harry thought, but he decided not to voice this out loud. Instead, all three took hesitant steps toward him.
They reached him and Hermione greeted tentatively, "Hello, Draco." He turned. He looked all nervous and jittery, not like his usual composed self.
"Oh hello – and it's you Potter, Weasley, Granger."
"Actually," said Hermione brightly, holding out Ron and her intertwined hands. "Ron and I are married!"
That seemed to make his nerves even worse. He mumbled feverishly under his breath, seemingly debating with himself about something. Finally he took a deep breath and addressed the trio, "Well. Uh, you see, I've been planning to propose to Astoria… but I can't decide what ring to give her. I tried asking the shopkeeper for assistance, but the stupid Muggle doesn't really understand. Maybe it's lucky I ran into you guys. If you could help me…?"
Ron looked at his friends. If Draco Malfoy was willing to give up his dignity for their help, he must be really desperate. Harry shrugged. "It's not as if we had anything planned anyway. Sure. You owe us one though, Malfoy."
Relieved, Draco led them inside the jewellery store. Rows of display cases lined with glittering rings greeted them. After a few minutes of looking, an awkward silence descended upon the group. Wanting to break the ice, Harry ventured, "So, when did you two meet? You and Astoria, I mean?"
Draco smiled, a genuine smile, and replied, "We knew each other from Hog - I mean, school," he nervously looked around, and continued, "But also, our parents used to be acquaintances. We officially met during the Christmas Ball three years ago, and well, to sum up, we've been dating ever since."
"Wow! That's really amazing. How romantic of you, Draco." Hermione said. Draco coughed loudly. "Oh, yes, right. The ring. Um, what does Astoria like?" She hastily added.
Draco's response was quick. He'd clearly been thinking about this for long. "Astoria has a fondness for all things Muggle, which is why I'm buying a Muggle-made ring for her." His tone clearly said, I have no idea why she likes Muggle things, but I'm willing to humor her because I love her. He continued, "She hates things overly fancy, and I was also thinking silver and emeralds for some Slytherin house pride." He smirked.
Ron opened his mouth, probably to say how Gryffindor is the best, but Hermione's warning glance silenced him.
"Um, okay. Well, how about this one?" asked Harry, indicating a ring with a large emerald.
"Too flashy."
"I agree. What do you think of this?" Hermione held up a simple silver ring embedded with a tiny gem.
Draco pondered a bit, before saying, "Too plain."
"How about this one, then?" Ron said. "I bought Hermione a similar one. It looks really nice, right 'Mione?"
Ron's suggestion was also shot down immediately. "Do you hear yourself, Weasley? There's no way I would get anything you would get. Astoria is special to me. No offense, Granger."
Hermione had to hold Ron back for that one, but Draco simply grinned.
It continued like this for quite a while, with Harry, Ron and Hermione suggesting different shapes and sizes of rings, only to be all vetoed by Draco.
An long, exhausting hour later, after countless heated discussions, Draco finally decided on a ring that wasn't too extravagant or too simple. ("If you weren't going to take any of our suggestions, why even have us here?" muttered Ron under his breath.) Two separate pieces of silver metal coiled around each other to form a vine-like band, with flowers sprouting out from it, topped off with a sparkling emerald. It wasn't terribly, but it was mezmerising all the same.
A week later, a letter addressed to a certain Mr. Potter arrived by owl just when the trio was at Harry's place.
The letter read:
Dear Potter,
Astoria has accepted my proposal and said that she loves the ring. Thank you for your assistance, I guess. Tell Weasley and Granger – Sorry, the Weasleys for me. Remind me to send you an invitation to the wedding sometime. Astoria said that she'd be honoured to have you three there, since she never got the chance to thank you properly. I told her that you three are really nothing special, but she doesn't believe me. Well, I don't want to waste more parchment thanking you of all people, so I'll end it here.
Worst wishes,
Draco Malfoy
"So, um, does that mean we're friends or something?" asked Ron uncertainly.
Harry flipped the letter over. On the other side were the words: And no, that does not change anything. I still hate you, Potter. Once again, worst wishes.
"I don't think we'll be friends anytime soon," said Harry. "Some things just never change, huh?"
The trio exchanged looks with each other and laughed.
Author's Note: When I had the idea, I didn't expect it to be this hard to write. But I finished it, and that's all that matters. All reviews are welcome. This fic is complete, mostly because I don't have ideas for the Drastoria proposal scene. Love you, bye bye!