He buttoned the jacked he had worn to Bill and Fleur's wedding. True friendship had always been a rare commodity for Harry, maybe that was because people saw him as a legendary figure before. Now only one person truly knew who he was, and she didn't have the context to be distant. Being attached was pleasant but with it came a constant anxiety, like tonight. Luci was fishing for something she couldn't catch, and he was badly afraid of disappointing her. At least with Lily watching them like a hawk there was hope of keeping things light and friendly.
Involuntarily his thoughts went to Luna, remembering her from the wedding and Slughorn's party. They never found out what happened to her. Not that it should matter now, but it did to him. There were some people who just deserved that little bit of respite and happiness. Her and Luci couldn't be more different, and yet he felt the same about them. Protective, maybe that too was selfish. He shook his head trying to think clearly.
As he arrived at the common room his anxiety lifted and his mouth turned to a smile. She was standing prominently in the center of the room, beaming in her blood red billowing dress. The frilly hem ran in a spiral from her left knee to her bosom, the whole cloth was held up by a single strap at her left shoulder. Her pencil lead black shining hair hung wavy around her face.
Some of the unlucky Slytherin who didn't get invited jealously regarded them from the chairs by the fire. He held out his arm to her, holding his end of the bargain, she took it. "You did well so far, Harry. You look pretty dashing."
"You look pretty nice yourself, Luci."
She pulled him closer and he noticed she was wearing ballet flats, her head barely stuck out above his shoulders. The party was being held in an unused classroom on the 5th floor. As they slowly walked there in silence Harry could see something was on her mind.
"What are you thinking about?" he said.
"I don't want to spoil things so early."
"You won't."
After a moment of deliberation she quietly posed her question. "Does Lily know, what I asked you… that day on the quidditch pitch?"
"Yes."
She tensed slightly before the marble of the Grand Staircase. "You must have a pretty good relationship if she's fine with you taking me then."
He laughed. "I guess, although half the reason was so everyone would stop bothering us. She's the one who suggested it."
"Really? You could've said no."
"Maybe. It's not like I dislike spending time with you."
"Care to rephrase that?" she said lifting an eyebrow.
He grimaced uncomfortably as he still felt like walking on eggshells around her. "I like spending time with you. Is that unfair, for me to say that?"
"I'm not a porcelain doll. I won't forgive you if you keep tiptoeing around me like that."
"Sorry."
"I like spending time with you too, if there ever was any doubt."
He awkwardly looked to her and she laughed a breathy whisper. Some of the portraits gave them flattering remarks, Luci took them in levity and Harry relaxed somewhat. Perhaps he had been too quick to try and shield her. At the very least he could spend a pleasant evening leaving his awkwardness behind. Whatever she felt, she was still his friend.
"We'll be meeting my future employer today. His name is Gerard Waldgänger."
"That sounds familiar."
"He co-authored one of our school books, 'Magical Vines and Crawling Flora of Europe'. He got an Order of Merlin third class for it."
"Isn't that unusual for non-British wizards?"
She nodded enthusiastically. "He's quite a character, did a lot of traveling in his youth."
"Sounds like you'll be in good hands."
"Hm."
When they arrived the doors were open and light chamber music was playing from the inside. Animated bells hung in the air from which hung red satin ribbons. The same themes were present on the inside, but largely overpowered by the gaudy decorations speaking to a misguided refined taste. Gold ornaments and red sheets and draperies hung around the previously abandoned room and many well dressed guests were already chatting champagne in hand.
Slughorn's eyes lit up at their entrance and he excused himself from the center of attention.
"Harry," he said gregariously shaking his hand, "good to see you here. Miss Talkalot, I remember when you attended last year. Such a shame you'll be leaving the country, Gerard is lucky to have you. He told me his portkey got delayed but he'll get here in a bit."
"A pleasure, Professor." she said.
"Well, feel free to partake in food and beverages and mingle. We're still waiting for the rest of the guests to arrive," he said with a wink, "I'd be delighted to catch up later, but I was right in the middle of something. Enjoy yourselves."
They shared a look as Slughorn returned talking to a gaggle of Ministry types.
"Is that Gary Leaving?" Harry said pointing to a younger man with brown shoulder length hair. Leaving was the star chaser for the Australian national team.
"Yeah, apparently Slughorn knows one of his cousins."
Harry noticed they weren't the first students and chuckled. Helena and Severus were chatting in a corner.
"Let's go say hello." he said.
"Is that?"
"The Ravenclaw Captain? Yeah. I don't know how long it's been going on, but they tried to keep it quiet. Until now I guess."
As he walked to them with a grin on his face, Severus tried to maintain an air of nonchalance. Helena on the other hand was looking over to Luci, who had won the wardrobe battle uncontested. Compared to Luci's lavish gown, her green sundress looked quite plain.
"Hey Sev, how's the party?" he said with a smug grin.
"Fine, thanks. Lucinda."
"Severus."
"Boy, when you clean up, you clean up well, don't you?" Helena said to Luci.
"I had a big date." she said smiling to Harry, who shook his head.
"Harry, why don't we go get some drinks for our dates?" Severus said with a pointed look.
They walked to the other part of the room behind some red curtains and as they got to the beverage tables Severus stopped him. "This isn't going to end well, you know."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean she's obviously interested in you." he said, handing him two cups of champagne.
"I'm surprised you noticed, you're the only one. But it's all right, she told me, I told Lily."
Severus' frown created wrinkles that shouldn't appear on a 17 years young man. "And she still insisted you take her?"
Harry shrugged. "Yeah, I mean I told her it was a dumb idea, but you know how she gets."
"Better than you. You should be careful, I don't think Lily was really aware of what she was saying at the time."
Harry sighed. "You know, maybe it's time she learned her lesson. Let her stew for a bit, perhaps next time she won't make it her mission to fix everyone's lives."
"That's a dangerous game."
"Whatever, lets' get back. I actually do want to drink this champagne before it gets warm."
When they got back Luci was having a friendly talk with Helena and the both of them seemed to be in good spirits. There seemed to be a kinship there, no doubt precipitated by their choice of dates and Helena's recent interest in their group. Luci took the cup lightly between her short nailed dexterous fingers and sipped at it. She seemed relaxed and he relaxed with her.
Another happy sight came through the door catching him by surprise. In a playful black dress, hair tied in wild pigtails came Melissa, hand in hand with Remus in tow wearing blue dress robes. When they came to the foursome they carried with them an exhilaration that spread to the others, mixing with the buzz of the champagne.
"Fancy seeing you here, Remus." Severus said.
"I didn't want to spoil the surprise." Remus said to Melissa, who excitedly laughed.
"Did you see Lily?"
"I saw her storming to the dungeons earlier because Regulus wasn't dressed well enough."
"You're kidding," Harry said, and Remus shrugged, "never mind."
Luci squeezed his arm, still lightly holding him. Girls talked girl talk and the guys followed the conversation, enjoying the company of their dates. Over the span of minutes more and more people started to filter in, greeting, shaking hands and exchanging hugs. The more his cup drained, the more he was taken with his date and the friends around him. He saw a man with a camera standing in the corner, checking film rolls. There were two galleons in his pocket he didn't even know why he brought, but they would come in handy.
-sSsSsSsSs-
"Where did you go?" Luci asked as he returned with a grin.
"Had to ask someone a favor. Nothing much really." Her eyes narrowed at him in suspicion.
"Hey look who finally made it." Remus said pointing to the entrance.
Lily was at the entrance, gesturing outside, when Regulus came in with a look of annoyance on his face. She was wearing a blue strapless dress, hair in a knot falling backwards at her neck. As she turned she revealed the cut in the back reaching almost too dangerously low. Grabbing a protesting Regulus by the hand, her heels clicked in their direction, an awkward smile on her face.
"Sorry for being late." she said, unsuccessfully trying to not stare at Harry and Luci.
Regulus sighed and seized up when he noticed Luci's dress. "Wow. You look, really good."
"Thank you Reg, I did my best. It's not like we'll have many more parties like this."
"I guess it's nice. One last big hurrah." Helena said.
"Tell them." Severus said to her.
"You were right," she said to Harry, "Puddlemere scouted me, depending on how the match against Gryffindor goes I might have a spot as second in line for their seeker position."
"That's incredible!" Luci shouted.
"Congratulations," Harry said ginning, "you'll look good in blue."
"Now we know why Slughorn had his eye on you." Remus said.
"Oh!" Luci tugged on his arm to get his attention. "Mr. Waldgänger is here, let's go say hello."
"Okay. Excuse us." he said to the group.
Walking away he caught a glance of a clearly flustered and disappointed Lily. She had taken to crossing her arms, which was never a good sign. Hopefully Regulus wouldn't hate him after this. A bit further he caught sight of a group of wizards talking. A younger man with curly hair and glasses, a tall and slender one with slicked black hair and one more who stood out wearing a muggle style formal suit and jacket, monocle at his breast pocket.
"That's him." Luci said, nodding to the man in the suit.
The man gave a warm smile as he spotted Luci. His hair was medium-short combed to one side and he seemed to bear a few fading scars on his shaven face. There was an air about him that made him seem older than he looked, a wisdom beyond the developing wrinkles on a middle-aged face.
"Lucinda, what a nice surprise. I didn't think I would meet you here by what Horace told me. Did he change his mind on the invitations?" He spoke in an English that made his accent impossible to place, bowing consonants and slurring words together in a smooth manner.
"My friend invited me, it's good to see you, professor."
"Gerard, if we are to work together soon. That goes for you as well, young man. Any friend of Lucinda's is a friend of mine." he said extending a hand.
"Pleasure to meet you. Harry Peltier." Harry said, meeting a firm handshake.
"I've heard much about you, you've made quite the impression on my young to be assistant."
"Please don't embarrass me." she said.
"What's to be embarrassed about? Making connections is an important part of a witch's studies, I can easily see you two have made such a connection."
They shared a look of fondness and a glint of nostalgia appeared in Luci's eyes.
"You shouldn't worry about goodbyes just yet," Gerard continued, "ours is a very small magical world. One in which it is difficult to grow apart."
"It was good to see you," he said nodding to them with a smile, "you both enjoy your evening. It would be a waste to stain it with more talk about work."
They stepped away to a quiet spot, a waiter passed with more cups of champagne and they took some.
"He is something special." Harry said.
"Isn't he? I swear sometimes it's like he can read your mind."
"He seems nice."
"Yeah. Do you mind if we stay by ourselves for a while?"
Harry shook his head and Luci hesitantly took his hand, relaxing when he didn't recoil. They snacked on warm oven-heated pastries and sausages as they waited. Luci got him to try an oyster, promising it was worth it. The briny taste overwhelmed his palate as his face twisted from doubt to satisfaction. For a while they made small talk until the empty words ran out.
"Sorry about tricking you again." she said.
"What do you mean?"
"Forcing you to act like my date."
Harry sighed and looked her over wondering if he could really be honest. "You said you didn't want me to go easy on you, are you sure about that?"
She nodded, a tinge of anxiety on her features.
"Well… I like spending time the two of us. I know that's not what you imagined... but I still care. You didn't have to trick me into anything, and I'm really going to miss you when you leave, I just wanted to have a good – uh, Luci, did I say something wrong?"
Tears were streaming down Luci's face faster than she could dry them with the back of her hand and her voice sounded something between sobs and fits of laughter. Seconds passing her eyes turned puffy red and her face grimaced in a carousel of emotions.
"Sorry, please don't cry." he said holding his hands around her sides trying to contain whatever was happening.
"But – you say – such nice things – and – and – Oh, Harry."
He was grateful for the decorative handkerchief he found so annoying to fold into his pocket and presented it to her. She took it with a muffled thanks and pressed it to her face, blowing her nose with a big toot, bright eyes looking at him with a laugh.
She caught his apologetic stare and shook her head. "I'm glad you said it. It's just – I'm going to miss you too."
A grin sprung up on him. "I guess I'll have to finally buy an owl."
"An owl?"
"Well I can't write you if I don't have one, those school owls tend to get lost sometimes."
She punched him in the arm and giggled at his surprised cry.
"What was that for?"
"Just give me a hug."
Her head pressed into his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her. When he rubbed his hand on her back her embrace tightened for a few seconds to suffocating and her tremulous breath spread through his chest.
"You're a good friend, Harry." she said in a much calmer voice through the fabric of his jacket.
"So are you, Luci."
Pulling back she brushed the fabric she had been nestled in, frowning at a wet patch, provoking a chortle from him. She straightened herself and patted down her dress.
"How do I look?"
"Like you're suffering from a terrible bout of hay fever."
"Well, whatever. Let's just go back."
Hand in hand they returned to the group of six, catching a few worried and curious glances as they did. After a moment Regulus broke the silence.
"What happened? Are you all right?"
"I am. It's just hay fever." They both laughed at their inside joke prompting more curiosity from the others.
A few moments later Slughorn commanded the attention of the room for the group photo. As they took place Harry glanced at the photographer with sandy blonde hair who he gave him a thumbs up and wink back. Harry smiled. With guidance and a countdown a few flashes immortalized them to be probably put on Slughorn's famed shelf.
Dishes of salmon and fruit were brought in. They sat down for dinner at scattered round tables the eight of them together each next to their dates. Harry became very aware of how fast time was flowing from then on, like he had climbed the crest of a roller-coaster and there was nothing he could do to slow it down. He saw what was at the bottom, a winding rail with twists and turns and up-side-down rolls, ready to make him sick. He tried very hard to imprint every detail of the quiet evening in his mind, providing his own note of conversation to complete the harmony.
Lily's scowl she had worn the whole evening turned to tiredness and Regulus beside her, too was slumping as desert was served. Luci was tired as well and half-leaned into his shoulder. Harry met eyes with Lily who rolled them at the sight, but smiled and shifted her head in her hand, elbow on the table.
Helena said something about quidditch practice in the morning and they decided it had been enough fun. Bidding good night to professor Slughorn, the boys accompanied their dates to their respective dorms. Remus walked ahead of them, chatting with Melissa, Luci was quiet. They were alone in the common room and she sat down on the couch. Harry sat beside her. She rested her head back and closed her eyes.
"Went by fast, huh?" he said as if to condense the air of the room in one sentence.
"Hm. It was nice."
"Are you dreaming already?"
She giggled at his suggestion. "Just trying to make sure I remember."
"There will be more times to remember."
"You don't know that."
"I guess not. I hope."
"Me too."
A breath escaped her as the sound of creaking leather signaled his departure. Footsteps came to rest next to her and he kissed her cheek. "Good night, Luci."