Barnaby Lee x Reader - Years 3&4

Meeting Barnaby Lee

After searching through the pages scattered across the floor of the room, Lana thought she'd found something.

"Tulip! I think I found something! This note must be from Jacob. It says 'The book opens the way.'"she began, "The book...wait a second! Last year, inside the Cursed Vault, we found my brother's broken wand and a book. I almost forgot about it because because it seemed useless - it must somehow open the next vault!" she exclaimed.

"Excellent. Meanwhile, I think I have a solution to our Merula problem..." Tulip started, "You know that boy who was helping Merula look for the vaults? Barnaby Lee?" she asked.

As soon as that name left Tulip's mouth, Lana's heart skipped a beat. She'd been secretly crushing on the tall Slytherin for a while now, stealing glances at him whenever she could.

"Yeah I do - he's certainly not the brightest wizard I've ever met, but he does seem really nice." she snapped back to the conversation, "Too nice to be working for Merula." she added.

"He's also strong. Probably the toughest wizard in our year. On top of all that, he knows Merula better than anyone!" Tulip said.

Lana was hoping that Tulip would suggest bringing Barnaby on the team, but hid her excitement.
"Sooo...what are you saying?" she asked the redhead.

"I'm saying that you should persuade him to join our cause. We could use his help, and it will make it easier to stay one step ahead of Merula." Tulip answered.

"How do I do that?" Lana wondered, slightly worried that she'd have to talk to the most intimidating boy in their year.

"I know firsthand how tiresome it gets when Merula is ordering you around all day. I'm sure Barnaby is getting sick of it too..." Tulip mischievously said. "You're also very pretty, Lana Riviera, so he wouldn't mind staring at you whilst you talk." she joked, causing Lana to blush slightly and chuckle.

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This was it. Lana was stood outside the Great Hall about to meet Barnaby inside. She was nervous, but determined to reach the next vault before Merula did. So, after quickly running a hand through her long brown hair and putting on a layer of lipgloss in an attempt to look more appealing, she confidently walked into the hall.

She saw him standing about 10 metres away from her, his eyes wandering all around the room as he waited to meet the Gryffindor. Breathing out quickly, Lana continued to walk over to him, and as soon as he laid eye on her, his eyebrows raised and his jaw dropped ever so slightly. Lana noticed this and blushed, but continued her walk.

"Barnaby Lee?" she asked shyly, snapping him out of his trance.

"I smell like a Dungbomb." was the response that left him.

"I appreciate the warning." Lana chuckled lightly.

"I've had more baths since I got hit with that Dungbomb than I've had in my whole life, but I still stink!" Barnaby continued, slightly annoyed. Lana did feel sorry for him, but she still found it quite funny.

"I'm sorry that happened..." she began to apologise, but didn't get a chance to finish.

"Tulip promised me a box of Peppermint Toads if I talk to you. What do you want?" he firmly asked,
disregarding her apology and leaving Lana feeling a bit hurt. So she begun to work her magic.

"Do you like working for Merula?" Lana started, locking her chocolate brown eyes with his vibrant green ones.

"I don't work for her. We're partners." he confidently answered, although slightly lost in her eyes.

"Has she ever let you make a decision? Does she ever share her plans with you? Has she ever thanked you for anything?" Lana  continued, still making strong eye contact.

Poor Barnaby was a bit lost at this point, having so many questions fired at him at once whilst having a beautiful girl in front of him was quite hard.

"No...No...and I forgot what the last thing you said was." he sheepishly grinned, rubbing the back of his neck in slight embarrassment, which sent Lana's heart crazy. Regaining her mental composure, she confidently resumed her persuasion.

"I want you to work with us instead of Merula, Barnaby."

He was slightly shocked, but also relieved at her proposal.

"Why do you think I can help you?" he asked the Gryffindor girl. Lana chose her words carefully so as to convince Barnaby to join her side.

"I know how hard it is to find and enter a Cursed Vault. I've heard you're the strongest and most powerful wizard in our year." she flirted slightly. The tall boy just stared into her eyes and blushed slightly, surprising her.

"Are you ok?" she asked him.

"I'm thinking about your words..." he managed to say. Lana felt like she hadn't said enough, so she continued.

"I won't boss you around, I won't call you names - I'm not like Merula. I just want your help, Barnaby. I need to find my brother." she kindly finished.

Barnaby felt sorry for the girl, and her voice was so soft that he couldn't resist.
"I like you, Lana." he smiled at her, causing her to smile back and blush slightly.

"Great!" she replied with a giggle.

"We should fight!" Barnaby announced, a little too enthusiastically.

"What?!" Lana asked, shocked. Barnaby noticed her worried expression, so he explained himself.

"I need to prove that I'm tough enough to help you, and you need to prove that you're tough enough to be my new partner." he started, "Meet me on the Training Grounds. If you beat me in a duel, I'll ditch Merula, and help you enter the next vault." he finished his deal. Lana was a bit surprised, but agreed to meet the Slytherin boy for a duel.

"Ok," she said giggling, "and by the way, I don't think you smell that bad." she started as he began to walk away.

Barnaby turned around to look at her again, smiling playfully.
"Thanks, Curse-Breaker," he began, "and I forgive you for the whole Dungbomb thing. I couldn't stay mad at you." he winked, then walked out of the hall, leaving a blushing Lana by herself, unable to process what just happened.

hiya! so that was the first chapter of this book! thank you so much for reading :)
I'm really sorry if there were any mistakes or whatever but I hope you enjoyed it :)
also with this whole coronavirus crisis going down I really hope everyone and their families are all safe and well :)
with that said, hopefully I'll see you in the next one <3