𝗷𝗮𝗻𝗲, harry potter

˗ˋ 70

CHAPTER SEVENTY
✧
-: fifth year :-

── IN WHICH HARRY
GETS HIS WISH

. . .

Harry had decided he didn't mind if Jane didn't want to speak to him.

He could deal with it; she did help him not get expelled after all. He was grateful he had even seen her despite them not getting a chance to speak. One day she would get her well-deserved apology and Harry could let the hope of seeing her again after that rise.

But it did make the celebration that greeted him once he returned to Grimmauld Place incredibly bittersweet.

He had never wanted to tell Fred, George and Ginny to shut up so much before - Harry knew their chanting was well-intentioned, but it was getting incredibly repetitive and ringing in his ears and he could hardly hear what Ron or Hermione was saying to him, couldn't react to Sirius's slightly disappointed expression or even begin to answer the many words that Mrs Weasley was throwing at him.

All Harry wanted to do was to go up to his room and wallow away the rest of the day. He knew going back to Hogwarts was something to celebrate, but the sensation of that being confirmed quickly faded when he left Courtroom Ten to see if Jane was waiting only to see she was gone, and Mr Weasley looking especially guilty around the corner. 

Maybe he wasn't alright if she didn't want to speak to him - because he so desperately wanted to speak to her. Not only to apologise, but to tell her everything about him that he couldn't before, remedy the lies he had to create because of the statute protecting others like him, and because really, Harry felt as if he had found someone that would understand.

There was a level Jane was on that nobody else could reach. He was still working on not placing her up on the pedestal and remembering her flaws, but it was hard to when she was so understanding and just... nice. 

This wasn't a problem he could have prophesied. And all of a sudden Harry found himself thinking of Professor Trelawney and the prediction she made during his third year. Maybe she could've given him some heads up not only about his inevitable looming death but his first time falling in love was fast approaching.

Harry's tightened fist smacked against the table top, interrupting Mrs Weasley's question of whether he would preferred mashed or roasted potatoes with his lunch. "Sorry." The Potter boy blinked, forcing a smile on his face despite the panic that rose inside of him.

"Hey - Dad." Across the table Ron seemed to be able to tell exactly what Harry was thinking about, and his gaze turned towards the top of the table, where Sirius and Mr Weasley were sat, discussing lowly their run-in with Lucius Malfoy. Arthur looked up, spectacles drooping over his nose. "You saw Jane, right? Is she real?"

"Yeah." Fred chimed in, eyebrows wiggling. "Has Harry been lying to us the entire time? Is she just a mirage of his forever creative mind or-" He laughed as he saw Harry roll his eyes. "Come on - you've got to hand it to me, it sounds like you're having us all on."

Mr Weasley shook his head. "She's real alright, and gave an air-tight witness statement that Fudge found it hard to even poke a needle through it. Took a stance against Squib rights, practically threw a drink in Undersecretary Umbridge's face. Granted, after what happpened to Wendy and Edward he could hardly dismiss her and.."

"Arthur." Mrs Weasley interrupted her husband. "I doubt the poor girl has any idea what happened to her parents herself." She had decided on mashed potatoes, and was busy instructing the metal muggle utensil to crushing them. "There's no need to worry Harry about this, I'm sure he tells nothing but the truth." There was deeper meaning there, something about Fred and George's business that Harry didn't have enough energy to pick out. "Besides, I don't believe you'll have reason to very soon."

There was a knock on the door, Mrs Black began wailing from her portrait.

Harry shot up in his seat, bad mood lifting and returning to how it had been for a split second following the verdict. There was no way he could be wrong about this. 

"I thought I told people to not knock." Sirius grumbled, Harry only just hearing as the group made their way out of the kitchen, Mr Weasley joining him to help pull the curtains over the portrait of his mother.

"I'm glad I put in the extra portions." Mrs Weasley bustled into the dark shadow of the corridor towards the front door, the group of teenagers peering out behind her as a strip of light appeared with the door opening, a rather large, bulky silhouette shuffling through. Low voices could be heard, quietly discussing something before beginning to move forward.

Harry knew he was in trouble when his heart started to pound quicker and quicker with everyone footstep taken and the group approached, Mrs Weasley leading them through. This couldn't just be some random visitor - everyone seemed to know this.

Or had guessed it, at least. It would be cruel, wouldn't it, if it wasn't her? All Harry wanted was to make sure she was okay, in her own words rather than just an appearance at his bloody disciplinary hearing. Granted, that appearance did prevent him from getting expelled, and somewhere in Harry's mind he added 'thank her' to his mental list of what to do when he saw her again.

But when the group emerged into the light, Mrs Weasley stepping to the side to prove that Jane was very much real - much to the shock of Fred and George - and accompanied by Florence Adley, words failed him.

He couldn't apologise, he couldn't thank her, he couldn't explain anything. The immense feeling of relief of over a week's worth of worry washed over him, and in several quick strides, he had crossed the entrance hall and was hugging her, arms wrapped tight around her middle.

"Hi Harry." Her words were soft, comforting, a tone that Harry never knew he could feel so different without hearing everyday. "I missed you."

✧

a/n 
fun fact, i wrote this chapter
before i wrote 68 and 69

also in this one we see a
bit more of harry's overthinking
following his trial. he was worried
before without even seeing her, but
that was only elevated by her quick
exit after making her statement. and 
lets not forget - he's a teenage boy
and like he said, it is his first love
so if it's all over the place, that's just
representative of his thoughts