ghost stories - h. potter

Twenty-Six

When it came down to homework, Harry Potter was not a good study partner. Belle was finding it incredibly difficult to get any work done with the boy around and was seriously struggling to finish off her Charms homework.

"Please?" Harry asked and Belle groaned for what felt like the seven-hundredth time that evening.

"Harry!" Belle cried quietly, in the hopes that Madam Pince wouldn't kick them out. She had already come past them three times, a suspicious look on her face at the two students who had their pockets full of candy - something that was forbidden by the librarian.

"Try it!" Harry urged the girl and she groaned, looking down at the yellow jellybean that sat in Harry's palm. He had slowly pulled her away from her Charms homework through the use of chocolate frogs, sugar quills and now, Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans.

"But I don't want to try it - you've only given me the bad flavours so far, or did you forget tinned spaghetti?" Belle asked and Harry snickered.

"I can't tell what flavour they are, you just have incredibly bad luck," he replied and she gave him an offended look.

"Bad luck," she scoffed, before taking the bean and popping it in her mouth. As she begun to chew, the urge to spit it out on the table in front of her or pull a face became stronger and stronger.

"Mm," she hummed, one of her eyes twitching slightly.

"What flavour?" Harry asked as Belle swallowed, a forced grin on her face.

"Pineapple," she replied, her voice an octave higher than usual. Harry rose an eyebrow.

"What flavour?" He asked again.

"Boiled egg," she replied. He had to duck under the table as he begun snorting with laughter. Madam Pince came hurrying around the corner and frowned heavily at Belle.

"Sorry Madam Pince," Belle apologised, wiping her nose as though she had just sneezed.

"Allergies."

The librarian gave a humph in reply and walked off, her feather duster gripped tightly in her hands.

"Allergies?" Harry repeated as he emerged from under the table and Belle frowned at him.

"Well I had to come up with some reason as to why there was a honking noise coming from over here. We're the only two in this area, in case you haven't noticed!" Belle replied, shoving Harry gently as he grinned at her.

"Are you going to make me try any more horrible beans, or can I get back to doing my homework?" Harry sighed and popped a jelly bean in his mouth once he was sure the librarian wasn't around. Belle nodded in content and clicked her pen, continuing to write her essay on the uses of the Aguamenti charm.

Harry, unknowingly, found his gaze wandering out of the window behind him and out to the empty quidditch pitch, where patches of burnt and blackened grass remained from the Fiendfyre that had brought down the stadium. He missed flying - he really did. Though it was in order to save his, his friend's and Malfoy's lives, he would never forget the adrenaline rush that he had received when he hopped on a broom for the first time in a year in the room of requirement. He missed the excitement that came with the inter-house quidditch tournament, such as the screaming in the stands and the parties that came afterwards.

He couldn't believe he was admitting it to himself, but he even missed Oliver Wood's early morning training sessions, because it meant he got to fly. He was hardly allowed to fly now and with the limited time he had as exams were coming up in only a few moths, he had no time to find a broom, either.

Belle looked up after realising that Harry hadn't tried to distract her from her homework and noticed that his gaze was set on the Quidditch pitch that was still being rebuilt.