twenty seven
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honeydukes was as lively as ever, the cute jingle of a bell sounding as they walked inside, bringing a cold draft into the heated shop that quickly settled into a pleasant warmth.

ron immediately headed into the shelves upon shelves of sweets, practically drooling, and hermione followed her boyfriend to make sure he didn't get more than he needed, leaving draco and harry alone.

much to harry's surprise, draco wasted no time in grasping harry's hand, cold fingers weaving between his own.

"come on, i want a toffee!" draco announced with no interest for harry's opinion. harry huffed a laugh as draco dragged him off to another side of the store. his eyes were shining with the innocent joy of a child's, a light in them unlike anything harry had ever seen.

draco shoveled mounds of honey colored toffees into his shopping bag, a pleased little smile on his lips. then, after glancing around cautiously, draco hurriedly unwrapped one with deft fingers and shoved the toffee into harry's unsuspecting mouth.

"draco!" he gasped, almost choking on the sweet candy. draco looked at him, amused, as he spluttered, widened eyes fixing upon draco's smug face.

"what?" he asked. "it's just one toffee. here, i'll grab another."

"but draco, that's—"

draco laughed softly. the sound was breathy with adoration, and harry's cheeks grew hot.

"just eat the toffee harry," he cooed. "i know you want to. if you don't eat it i'll make you."

harry raised a brow. "how would you make me?"

draco's wicked smirk told harry he didn't want to know...(or maybe he did?)

he swallowed the toffee obediently, pointedly glancing away from the mischief in draco's irises.

"good." draco praised, patting him lightly on the head. the action was as tender as it was teasing, and the blush on harry's face darkened. he cursed draco under his breath, clinging to his pride as draco turned him to flustered goo.

"now what would you like harry dear?"

it seemed draco was determined to kill him today.

he swallowed hard and glanced about the colorful shop.

"um...can we get chocolates? and lollipops?"

"of course." draco grabbed him again, pulling him along as though he couldn't walk for himself. it should have been annoying, but instead it was kind of cute.

draco stopped them in front of a shelf stocked full of different, varying chocolate, all of different flavors and fillings, most of them enchanted in some quirky manner.

"have your pick." draco told him, and harry pondered, taking his bottom lip softly between his teeth.

he ended up picking out several orange flavored and caramel-filled chocolates and chocolate frogs, which never ceased to remind him of his first train ride to hogwarts. he told draco as much as he loaded the lot of them into the shopping bag, a giddy smile on his lips.

"this was one of the first candies i ever had when i learned about the wizarding world. i wasn't expecting them to actually hop, so i just sat there and watched as it jumped out the train window."

he giggled, and draco watched him fondly, imagining a young harry's shocked face when his chocolate threw itself out of a moving train.

draco turned away with a smile, grabbing a bag of mint chocolate candies, and dropped it in their shopping bag.

upon seeing what the blond had chosen, harry wrinkled his nose in disgust, which did not go unnoticed by draco.

"what?" he asked.

"mint chocolate," harry grumbled.

draco crossed his arms, eyes narrowed. "what's wrong with mint chocolate?"

"why would you want your candy to taste like toothpaste?"

the blond's eyebrows raised to his hairline, tone taking on an offended lilt. "it does not taste like toothpaste!"

"yes it does!"

"no it doesn't!"

"yes!"

"no!"

"yes!"

"no!"

"yes!" he was giggling now.

"look, it really doesn't, i'll even let you taste some!"

harry still looked mildly disgusted, but he huffed out, "fine."

draco smiled, playfully linking his arm with harry's and pointing across the shop to a shelf filled with lollipops.

"well, let's go get your lollipops. look, i see granger and weasley are heading that way too."

indeed, harry could spot ron's vivid red hair accompanied by hermione's voluptuous golden curls. he hummed contently, allowing draco to pull him over.

hermione and ron turned at the sound of their approach.

"hey! did you get everything you needed?" hermione asked, gaze flickering to the pair's intertwined arms and utter lack of personal space. ron followed her shifting eyes and nearly gagged at the sight.

"yes!" harry hummed, and draco chuckled under his breath at the raven haired boy's uncharacteristic energy. "we just need to get lollipops. what kind do you want draco?"

"mm, i think grape sounds good."

"alright!"

harry hastily took a multitude of lollipops from the shelf, including draco's purple grape ones, and added them to their shopping bag.

after it was confirmed they had acquired more candy altogether than they could fit in their stomachs, the group stumbled over to the check out counter. draco and harry couldn't seem to stop giggling under their breaths, and the woman behind the desk gave them both incredulous looks as hermione placed their shared money in front of her. harry and draco remained oblivious, lost in their own world.

harry had worked up quite the sweet tooth wandering about the magical candy shop, and as they walked back out into cold, trudging through the heavy snowfall, he shoveled a handful of chocolates into his mouth.

"hungry harry?" draco asked with a graceful air of sarcasm. his gaze was almost unbearably fond as it looked him over, taking in his bunched up cheeks and pleased, chocolate smeared grin.

he shrugged. "got a craving."

draco's lips quirked in the beginnings of a faint smirk.

"cute." he drawled ever so gently, and that familiar burning seared harry's chest again, giddy and bubbly and hot.

he swallowed the now half melted wads of tangy chocolate in his mouth, yet even the delectable flavor didn't rid his dry throat of that scalding affection, that fluttering bashfulness that burned like a growing fire. he whisked out a cherry lollipop and pressed it to his tongue with an almost awkward hastiness.

hermione and ron, to their credit, refrained from remarking on his flustered behavior.

they walked for some time, quietly debating where next to go. draco was adamant about going clothes shopping. "for harry's sake," he insisted when ron shot him an exasperated look. ron wanted to go to zonko's and hermione needed a certain book from flourish and blott's. however, the arguing abruptly ceased, giving way to shocked quiet when draco turned to harry with an intoxicating dimness to his eyes.

"you have chocolate right there." he breathed, lifting one pale, elegant hand. harry could only watch in rapt attention, eyes round and glistening and breaths short as draco's delicate, slender fingers touched down tenderly upon the heated skin of his cheek.

his touch was like a curse, almost unbearably hot but in the most wondrous of ways. harry blinked as though in a trance while draco rubbed the pad of his thumb against the corner of his aching lips.

draco's stare pierced him, heavy and bright and rimmed by lashes laden in crystal snow, and harry knew he hadn't been breathing, would not be able to breathe until draco pulled back, pulled away, stopped staring at him like that and touching him so gently.

it seemed as though many hours passed before draco removed his hand from harry's cheek, though he knew in reality, it had probably only been a few moments. the rushing heat residing beneath his skin, simmering and boiling in the places draco touched him only seemed to recede and fade once ron abruptly interrupted them, yanking them back to reality.

"oh god," ron groaned nauseatingly, abruptly bringing the pair back to reality. harry gasped, and the air fell frigid in his constricted lungs, yet still failed to cool his flaming body. "oh god, please stop. hermione. hermione obliviate me, do it now."

"don't be dramatic ron." hermione scowled, punching his arm as he continued to feign gagging.

draco at least had the sense to look slightly embarrassed, wringing his freezing hands together and glowing with blush.

"let's just go to flourish and blott's first. it's closest." draco suggested and through the flustered haze that had settled thick over his brain, harry registered his gratitude to draco for changing the subject, even if it was his fault harry had been reduced to a speechless, embarrassed mess in the first place.

a/n: how are you guys feeling? the hogsmeade trip is taking longer than i thought, but at least i've been able to keep up a schedule. :)
ヾ(⌐■_■)ノ♪