Title:The truth of the cake
Author:
smirkingcatRating:PG
Word Count: 1.406
Summary: The cake reveals the truth, and Harry has to face it.
Warnings: unbetaed,
Notes: This is part of apparently what will be an ongoing series.
Click if you want to read Part I but it may be read on its own.
Disclaimer: Harry Potter characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended.
dear
sophie_french Happiest of Happy Birthday to you!
it's another year, so here we go with another installment in your verse!
i hope you are doing well, and i wish you all the best *hugs* lots of health and fun and smiles in your life with an extra-portion luck on top!
this time i give you something to smile at!
please enjoy!
The truth of the cake
"Well, we can agree that you won't be applying for training as a confectioner," Draco stated, while being brave and trying another finger of the chocolate- butter- cream- icing. Harry could see the shiver going down Draco's spine. It was actually that awful.
"I don't know where I got it wrong. I mean I can cook-"
"You certainly can do that. My mother still speaks in awe about your Coq au Vin, or your mushroom soup last week. That was exquisite," Draco said and put his hands around Harry's waste, resting his head on Harry's shoulder.
"But apparently being a confectioner has more to do with potions than with cooking," he added carefully.
"What do you mean?" Harry asked and stared at the slightly burned, extremely crooked and, sadly, ill tasting cake. To tell the truth it tasted like a mix between too sweet and too rocky with a spice of stingy and a undercurrent of horrible, or maybe even salt.
"You can cook pretty well, because there you can eye ball it, and if you don't like a flavour you balance it out and minimalise the damage it may have done. That is not an option you have when you are doing cakes, creams or sweets. The options may be too limited for your genius. I always told you to think big," Draco sighed, and reached for his strong black coffee.
"I thought it would be fun and helpful for you, you know. Making the sweets and the cakes you like. Being useful to you," Harry whispered and hung his head in shame.
Draco sighed again, before he slipped between Harry and the counter and stared Harry point blank in the eyes: "Potter! Harry, you don't have to be useful to me. If you haven't realised it in the last eight years, I'm sticking with you. Just because. No matter what everyone says, no matter what you do, at the end of the day I'll still be in our bed waiting for you."
Harry opened his mouth, but before the words left him, Draco's fingers covered his mouth: "And yes, before you say it, I might complain, and I might whine and be annoyed and get irritated and stressed and utterly frustrated by you. But I'll still be right next to you. And you know I have a pretty good track-record to prove it, living through four major scandals and all the small ones. Honestly, Potter if I was thinking about getting out, I certainly would have done so sooner, why would I get out now?" Draco shook his head, and leaned up to kiss Harry.
"Yikes, you still taste after that cream," he shuttered after the too short kiss.
"Yes, sorry, should have warned you, but then you saw me take the bite," Harry grinned before he simply vanished the cake. It was the sixth one he vanished and the first one that had made it to the cream-covering-and-still-remotely-looking-like-a-cake-stage.
"But honestly, I don't want to stay a cook either, it is getting boring and tedious, after three years, I can tell you that," Harry confessed.
"True, you have done way less cooking than you did before, and I also would prefer if your cooking belongs only to me," Draco agreed readily enough.
"Draco," Harry admonished, voice stern.
"Fine, you may even cook for your friends and my mother on special occasions," Draco rolled his eyes.
"So how was your day so far?" Harry asked, as he started to clean up the kitchen- with magic. The mess was simply to huge for one single person.
"Same old, same old: Ran into a Wizengamot member that told me I will never see the cord, aced another exam, got all my alleged colleges to mock me, and got one step closer to become an advocate," Draco waved his hand and took a candy from the candy-bowl on the counter.
"Oh Draco, I'm sorry," Harry sighed, and turned to Draco.
"What for? I feel great. Three more exams, and only one I'm a little bit worried about. I went all the way, and then they have to accept me, and with all the extra hours I had to put in, as training due to regulations, they can't hold me back. I got the hours, the exams, and the knowledge. They might not like it, but next year, I'll be in that courtroom," Draco grinned at him.
Sometimes he marveled at Draco, seven years of the same stupid stuff, of old man making some rules, of exams which were suddenly cancelled, because Draco was the only one who wanted to take it, of envious colleges, and the harsh reality, that besides their friends no one wanted to see Harry Potter with Draco Malfoy. And Draco was still here, and apparently had a good time.
"You know I'm very proud of you, right?"
"You can be proud all you want," Draco said trying to hide his blush at the simple statement, "but you will throw me an amazing party, and you will buy the best cake money can buy", Draco smiled, before he stepped over to Harry for another quick kiss. Harry was surprised when he felt the sweet on his tongue. He had thought Draco already ate it.
"We will kiss some more, once you taste better," Draco grinned, "I shall get the sounding board ready again, at least today we get to cross two jobs off, that will make the list smaller."
"Not really, but thanks for the try," Harry sighed. The sounding board, at least that was what Draco called it, was generally just a board with a huge list of jobs. Jobs Harry could imagine himself doing. So far they crossed off gardener- it reminded him too much of his time with his aunt, and let him relieve quite some bad memories, musician- he had no talent for music, and today they were going to cross off cook, though he at least finished that education, and confectioner. So today, after two and a half years, it was time to choose a new job.
When the kitchen was spotless again, Harry joined Draco with two cups of tea.
"Ah perfect timing. I thought today we shall do it differently," Draco came and took his cup.
"Differently how?" Harry asked suspicious.
Somehow the longer Draco stayed in training the worse his arguments and discussion with Draco went. How one was supposed to discuss something with a professional argument-twister was a course he would really like to take. But on the other hand, he dared not to bring it up, because he had the strong suspicion that most of the time, Draco went easy on him. He didn't need to find out what the hard mode would be like.
"Yes, I'm too tired to sit with you here all night and once more discuss each and every job on that list, especially giving with our busy day tomorrow, so today you will throw this dart on the board and where it lands is the job you are going to try out next," Draco said, and put the dart in his hand.
"What? I can't decide my life that way. That's stupid," Harry rejected the idea outright.
"Harry, please listen to me, and listen to me carefully. We have discussed each and every job on that list so often, I know all your arguments for and against each job on that list by heart. I will not go though the same arguments again," Draco said decidedly. "So, take that bloody dart and shoot," he commanded as he sunk down on the couch.
"How can you even know them, when I have forgotten half of the reasons I put certain jobs there?" Harry wondered.
"I simply have a better brain than you, or I use mine better, or I'm a genius. Most likely all of the above. Now throw the dart. Let's get this over with," Draco watched the board and took a sip from his cup.
"All of those, definitely all of those," Harry grinned and threw the dart.
"Well, Potter let's see how you will do in the design- business," Draco first grinned, then giggled and then full on laughed.
"Fuck. Why did I put that up there again?" Harry looked horrified.
"I- I- I couhld tell youuuh," Draco was laughing even harder, "but I can't breaththethe" he put his arms around his stomach laughing some more.