Present Day
Paris was cold.
Then again the wonderful thing about European weather was that it was horrible. Harry absently munched his eclair's while staring out the window. When Draco had asked him to tag along with him to France for the holiday, Harry did not know what to expect but he surely didn't expect this.
Draco's apartment building in Paris was a lot different from the one in London. It felt more lived in. It was smaller and the decor was not nearly as edgy and minimalistic as his penthouse. Rather, the whole place was done in warm earth tones. The floorboards were made of oak and littered randomly with little plush rugs. There were paintings of all sorts hanging around the wall and to top it all off, there was a cream coloured grand piano in the living room.
There was a certain softness to this place, this was Draco's space. It showed in the little things. Like the shelves so heavy with books they seemed to be spilling out. Draco's signature on some of the paintings that hung on the walls. The blankets thrown over the soft beige couches where Draco's scent was practically engrained into the fibres. The little snacks stashed at random places all over the apartment.
The window seat were Harry sat gave him a beautiful view of Paris, lightly covered in snow. The omega was surrounded by the scents of books, campfire and turpentine.
Harry had never felt as close to Draco as he did in that moment.
Draco had been out for most of the day as it always seemed. The blonde seemed to be planning something. Exactly what he had no idea, but he knew it kept the alpha out until odd hours of the night.
Harry bit his lip in thought. They had been here for a few days already. Harry had not gotten to sight see just yet because draco was so occupied doing heaven knows what. He wanted to see Paris. It's not like he wouldnt be safe anyway. Crabbe and Hoyle had unsurprisingly made the trip as well. The could tag along with him while he walked around.
Now set in his decision, he got up and pulled on his coat. He wrapped his thick muffler around his neck and shoved a beanie on hso head. After a brief mental tussle with himself, he grabbed the keys to the apartment, his wallet and stuffed his phone into his pocket.
Just like he predicted, Crabbe and Goyle were already outside waiting by the door, their expressions as stoic as ever. Smiling, he waved at them cheerfully. While Harry would not describe them as friends, he knew they were more than strangers now. The both alpha's offered Harry light smiles that were much warmer than the expressions they gave him at the beginning of their work. They did not say it, but they had grown to care for the omega their boss was entranced with and took their job of protecting him very seriously.
"Crabbe, Goyle! I would like to go outside, if you don't mind of course. I want to do a little site-seeing before Draco comes home."
Goyle smiled a little wider and bowed his head, "Of course, Mr. Potter, shall I tell the driver to get a car ready?"
Harry tsked and shook his head, "No worries, we are not that far off from the canal are we? I just want to have a little walk around."
The bodyguards nodded in affirmation as Harry took the lead, a slight skip in his step. They of course made sure to inform someone else to take their place in guarding the apartment while they were gone.
**************
Harry happily trotted down the quiet road. He sighed peacefully to himself, watching as his breath formed clouds of mist in front of him. He wriggled his nosed a bit when a snowflake landed on the tip of his nose. He face was probably red from the cold and his glasses were fogging up but he was enjoying himself immensely.
The streets by the Canal Saint-Martin were quiet and subdued compared to most of Paris where people always seemed to be in motion. The trees now bereft of leaves swayed gently in the evening breezez their dark bark piled high with snow that created a beautiful contrast. The canal itself was still, a mass of slowly moving dark blue water crawling at its own pace. There were very few people around, the few that were, were bundled up with steaming cups of coffee in their hands.
The setting sun provided barely any light but Harry found that he liked the ambience of the entire place. It was quiet, it was peaceful. For a person who had moved at a fast pace his whole life it was a nice change.
Crabbe and Goyle stood several few places behind him as watchful as ever and yet Harry felt like he was truly alone.
The omega smiled, he decided he needed a treat. There were several shops around. Humming to himself, he decided to visit one of the smaller ones. It was small. It didn't even have a door. Rather the shop had a large window, almost like a food truck and had a colourful little awning. Display cases of different pastries glinted in the weak sunlight. The window allowed Harry to see into the space where the pastries were baked and a little stand in front of the shop showed all they offered. The quaint shop was honey and Harry was pulled in almost immediately.
There was a man standing there already, leaning over the little counter to peer at the treats. Harry could not make out much except for his shaggy blonde hair.
The omega weakly stepped forward, his green eyes ran over the variety of pastries while deep in thought. He was about to order, but then stopped. He could not speak French, if Draco were here it would be fine but the chances of the person over the counter actually speaking and understanding English weren't high. His dilemma must have showed on his face because the blonde man, Harry now identified as a beta cleared his throat.
"I take it you are not from around here. Not to worry, Marie is pretty fluent in English so you will have no trouble with your order." The man said gently.
Harry froze. Shock gripped his body so tightly he could barely take in his next breath. He knew that voice. He was sure. His ears were not deceiving him right? It couldn't be who he thought it was.
" Personally, i'd recommend the treacle tart. I haven't had it better anywhere else. It was a favourite of my godchild's so you should know I've eaten a lot of it."
If Harry wasn't sure before, he was sure now. He spun around to look the other man in the face. It had been nearly eight years, but Harry would recognize him anywhere. It seemed the man hadn't yet had a proper look at him and was instead staring at the treacle tarts on display with a soft yet gloomy expression on his face.
Harry didn't need any help to recognize the scar and those soft eyes.
"Moony?" He whispered.
Heyyy *waves nervously*,
Urmmmm, I am well aware I have been AWOL for a while now🤧 and believe me when I say it wasn't my intention 🫠.
I have been really busy for the past few months. I have mentioned previously that I got into uni, well the part I didn't mention was that it is pre-med🤫.
That's right, this writer is working on being a doctor💅. And while I am aware that I have a loooonggg way to go, it's also a huge milestone for me.
So yeah, I've been otherwise preoccupied 😅. And yeah, I did REMEMBER I was writing this and I WANTED to update. But usually by the end of my day, I'm too drained to write anything😭😭😭. Which is sad because I've been itching to finish all my books. So yeah, I'm on break now (after the most exhausting test week of my life. I swear I got like 10 hours of sleep in tops for seven days) which means I have more time until my finals begin in January ( pray for me).
So yeah.
That's basically it
Hope you enjoyed this chapter!!! Lotsa loveee!!!
Alenny13 ❤️
