The Firefly and Dragon Restaurant

Fragile

Draco flopped onto the deep jade-green sofa in Harry's apartment above the restaurant, not quite willing to Floo back to the Manor yet despite desperately needing his bed. He'd kicked his shoes off, his soles aching, and he decided he needed to invest in something more comfortable before the following Friday when they opened properly. He had laughed dismissively at Harry for wearing 'Crocs' in the kitchen.

'What the fuck are they?' he exclaimed.

'Comfortable,' Harry replied, unabashed.

'No! No-no-no! You can't wear them.'

'They're shaped and massage simultaneously. Every professional chef wears them behind the scenes. They're the best option when you're on your feet all day.'

'Good grief!' Draco sighed when he saw both Antionette and Marcus, the kitchen assistant in them too. 'Well, no one is to wear them beyond this line!' And he magicked a black line between the kitchen's serving counter and the doors into the main restaurant. 'I've hexed it,' he said triumphantly. 'If any of you step beyond it in those awful shoes then they'll explode.'

Harry and Antionette had tried to coerce Marcus to try it out, but he didn't dare so they set up a small shoe rack by the line and Harry set up a Ward so they didn't overstep the mark by mistake when they were distracted.

'Are you stopping a while?' Harry said, raising an eyebrow at Draco's bare feet. 'It's just I need a shower. There's a bottle of fizz in the fridge or you know where the Firewhiskey is. I'll be back in a sec...'

Draco watched Harry disappear up the open stairs to the second floor of the apartment and heard the shower being switched on. It wasn't long before he heard the dulcet tones of Harry singing quietly in the shower and he rather wished he could join the man.

He sighed and made his way to retrieve the bottle of champagne and two glasses from the kitchen, now perfectly familiar with his way around Harry's apartment.

Harry had insisted on holding a small dinner party with Draco, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Hannah, Ginny, and Luna the previous weekend. He said it was a prefect idea, not least because he wanted to re-introduce Draco into everyone's lives, seeing as they were going to be working together. He also said it provided the perfect opportunity for Draco to practice his 'schmoozing'. Plus, he wanted to try out the menu for the press launch. And all that besides, he wanted to have a small house-warming. Draco had mustered all his courage and accepted. And he schmoozed to the highest degree... he impressed even himself! An hour into the evening, after several sincere apologies and some professional schmoozing, Hermione, Hannah, and Luna were positively flirting with him, Neville was treating him like a long-lost friend, and even Ron had relaxed a bit. Ginny was still distinctly untrusting. By the end of the evening, Draco decided he'd actually thoroughly enjoyed himself and regretted all that stupid animosity at school. He found Ron rather funny, Neville and Hannah were heart-warmingly sincere, Hermione incredibly intelligent and fascinating to talk with, Ginny was inspiring, and Luna... odd, but surprisingly astute.

Draco opened the bottle and poured two glasses which he set on the coffee table. They'd already shared a celebratory glass downstairs with Antionette, Marcus, Merlin, CiCi, Austin, and the two House-Elves that Draco had persuaded Harry to hire. Mimi and Samson didn't drink but Merlin fixed them each a fabulous passionfruit and mango cocktail with a splash of grenadine. Mimi had joined the waiting staff and Samson was in charge of cleaning. Draco had found it particularly amusing to see the two small elves, barely able to dangle their legs off the barstools they were sitting on, while Merlin, who looked rather like Lurch from the Addams Family, passed them two enormous glasses that were nearly as big as their heads and decorated with a pineapple slice and a glacé cherry on a stalk like something out of 1970s cocktail book. Mimi and Samson looked like all their birthdays had come at once.