I do not own Harry Potter, the Wizarding World, or any canon characters.
Extended Family
Chapter 17 – AU: Hard work, Tenacity, Awesome. Part 2
Takes place after the first Quidditch game during Harry's fifth year.
"Thanks for sticking around to help, Rabbit," Angelina said. "Not like those others that abandoned us."
They had just finished practice and Angelina told the team that they would not have another until they came back after the winter holiday. While she enjoyed practice and exercising to a degree, she and her fellow seventh years needed to study for N.E.W.T.s and Harry and Ron needed to work on O.W.L.s. Alicia had left to catch up on studying and Katie had been pulled away by Lyla. The twins and Ron ran off the second they could. Harry stayed to help tidy up the practice equipment and locker room.
"No problem. I'm actually doing pretty well on studying for O.W.L.s. Hermione made a nice study guide timeline thing and I'm on track."
"That's good. Trust me, I'm not the most studious of us but you do not want to feel overworked on the other side of the holidays. O.W.L.s are awful. Even though I'm taking less N.E.W.T.s, it still feels like a lot."
"Yeah I bet." After they finished putting things away, Harry dithered on the spot, looking nervous. "I actually stayed behind to chat with you. Do you have some time?"
"For you? Of course." She sat on a bench and patted the space beside her. "What's up?"
He sat beside her. "I want to apologize to you."
She looked confused. "For what?"
"I haven't been…right to you," he said. "I haven't treated you like you deserve to be."
She understood. "You mean what you and I were or are. Ever since the Ball last year."
He nodded. "I had such an amazing time with you at the Ball, and we never really talked about it after, then Crouch happened. I sort of…didn't talk about it with you all summer and the beginning of the year until Halloween happened."
"It really has been one big thing after another," she said softly.
At first, she wanted to talk to him about it. She took the lack of awkwardness after the Ball for granted. They did not need to talk about it at the time. They had slid right back into their comfortable routine of being around each other. Their displays of affection, the hugs and cuddles, had a different undertone after the Ball, but it was a nice one. A warmer one that she had been afraid of defining.
Then the terror of Crouch happened and the long time it took for Harry to recover. She had no desire to inflict more stress on him and had whole-heartedly been fine with helping him feel better first. They had seen each other over the summer a few times and then he always felt reserved. She knew it was not to her, he was like that to everyone. He had something weighing heavily on his mind and she knew he would have shared what it was if he was able to.
Then Halloween. Her heart had nearly stopped when he showed up that night: mentally dead with a hand dripping of blood and glittering of glass. The explanation he gave that night broke her near-dead heart. How Voldemort had lived on through Horcruxes, how he had tried to kill him over a prophecy. How that night they had ended the threat of Voldemort once and for all.
How Harry felt completely empty and broken after.
It had taken weeks for Harry to slowly come back to them. He had come to a terrible precipice and one wrong thing would have sent him somewhere he could not return. Yet slowly and surely, he had come back. Sometimes he would still stare blankly off, retreat into himself, but those times were far and few between thankfully.
It was not a swift recovery, nor an easy one. However, it was truly a recovery.
She smiled sadly at him. "You've gone through a lot, Harry. I'm proud of you though. You're still here and you're still trying. That's something."
He smiled softly. "Thanks. I had a really good conversation with Katie the other day. She told me that what might help me is finding something worth living for, to make up for how I felt after the Horcruxes were destroyed. I felt all my life I was meant to only do that and after it was done, what more did I have to do? What could I do? She said I should look for things that I want to do."
He looked up at her. "And I thought of you."
She smiled. "You want to do me?" She laughed hysterically at his look of extreme panic. "I'm so sorry," she coughed and gasped. "I couldn't resist. I ruined that moment."
He laughed too, trying to will away his bright red cheeks. "Well, uh," he coughed awkwardly and she laughed again. "I mean, I thought of you and how I really liked going to the Ball with you. And, I really care for you and I've told you before how safe I feel around you, how you make me feel. I want to take care of you like you take care of me. I'm really hoping I didn't ruin things by not talking to you about things and if you don't feel the same way, I'm okay with it."
"You really would be, wouldn't you," she said softly.
"Yeah. It's my fault if things got ruined. I wouldn't want you to be unhappy because of me."
"I'm willing to blame Crouch and Voldemort before I blame you," she said wryly. "While I would have liked knowing…well. No, I think I would have been in a huge panic for months if you told me honestly. Part of me wishes I knew so I knew what was going on, but not knowing was probably better for me too."
She looked into the distance. "You know, before the Ball, I never thought of you as anything other than like a little brother. Someone I wanted to protect and help. I adored you more than my actual brothers because they're honestly terrible people." She smiled at his chuckle. "Then you asked me to the Ball and a part of me was worried that things would change between us. And well, something did change but I…liked it.
"I like how I feel around you Rabbit. I don't have to pretend to be a tough girl, or to be anything else but me. You accept me for who I am. I still remember you comforting me after that fiasco with Bradley. You showed me it was okay for me to be me."
She looked down at him. "Seeing you after the duel, seeing you after Halloween, it really showed me how much you mean to me. I knew you meant a lot to me, but seeing you hurt, seeing you like that, really showed me just how much."
"Sorry," he said sheepishly.
"Don't be," she said gently. "You have nothing to be sorry about. Actually, knowing how much I care about you is a good thing. I've always wanted to see you as happy as can be, to make sure you are taken care of. Just, I guess I never imagined it would be like this. And…I want to. I want to be with you. I want to take care of you." She smiled shyly. "I want you to take care of me and make me feel like I do when I'm with you."
He blinked. "Really?"
"Really."
"If you're saying that to mess with me again, that's super rude of you."
She snorted and flicked his nose. She giggled and sighed when he wiggled it at her. "From now on, even if it means it will upset and panic me, I want you to tell me what's going on. I don't want to feel helpless around you. I want to help as best as I can."
"Deal! If you do the same for me."
"Deal!" She hesitated, "I've never had what I'd consider a decent relationship. Looking back at what I had with Bradley, it was kind of terrible."
"I've never been in one at all," he said as if it was a grand secret and she laughed. "How about we just do what we think is best and we communicate a lot?"
"Sounds like a good plan to me." She held her hand out and he took it happily. After a moment their fingers threaded themselves together.
"Would you like to go to Hogsmeade with me this weekend?" he asked.
She hummed. "Depends on practice I suppose."
He gave a mock groan. "Please don't tell me you're going to hold my Quidditch performance against me."
"Hey, just because you're dating the Captain, doesn't mean that she'll take it easy on you. If anything, she'll be even harder on you."
"That's abuse of position," he smiled.
"Yup. Should have thought of that before asking. Any regrets?"
"None, it'll be worth it."
She cooed. "Well, just think of it this way: if Captain Angelina is being super rough then dating Angelina will just have to make up for it won't she?"
"So is that a yes to Hogsmeade?" he asked with hopeful eyes.
"I guess so," she smiled.
-0-
"I swear, I'm going to short-sheet her bed tonight and hide all her right gloves and left socks," Alicia grumbled. "She started practice early, ran it hard, and then buggered off without an explanation!"
"Why are you hiding her right gloves and her left socks?" Katie asked.
Alicia stepped her way around a large pile of snow in the street. "Her favorite gloves are the right ones and her favorite socks are the left ones."
"That's odd," Katie giggled. "Still, I wonder why she changed practice on short notice. I don't mind it early really, gives us all day to do stuff."
The pair wandered down the street. Hogsmeade in winter was beautiful and they enjoyed the falling snow and the picturesque vista. The air was fresh with pine and smoke and cinnamon. Bells jingled pleasantly from around them and the sound of happy chatter filled the air.
"Mmhmm. Not to mention she just disappeared after practice, not even saying anything." Alicia frowned. "Well, we're studying together later this afternoon so I'll lambaste her then I suppose."
"How about now?" Katie pointed. "She's over there."
"That wench! She came without us?! Ooh I'm going to give her a piece…of…my mind." Alicia's jaw dropped open as she saw Angelina fully come out of the store, her hand in Harry's. The couple walked onto the snowy street carefully, laughing together over something.
"Oh. My. Goodness," Katie breathed. "Did it really happen?!"
"It looks like it," Alicia said. She smiled. "Oh, it does me good to see it."
"They're so cute together!" Katie squealed. "Hey, where're you going?"
"Following them of course," Alicia said as she tried to look nonchalant.
"Shouldn't we respect their privacy?" Katie asked, clearly torn.
"We could," Alicia admitted. "Or we could follow them for a bit and then jump out at an opportune moment to tease them horrendously."
"That does sound like fun," Katie grinned.
"Come on then!"
-0-
Angelina was enjoying herself immensely. Coming to Hogsmeade with Harry had been a lot of fun. It was strange. She had gone to Hogsmeade plenty of times and a lot of those times were with Harry. But now that they were dating, it felt different and intimate. It added a new dimension to the visit and it was something she liked very much. Things were not awkward between them. Sure, they held hands now in a different way than before, and she was more aware of him in certain ways, but she found herself immersing herself into the feeling with delight.
It felt nice to her. It felt right.
Her good mood evaporated as she felt someone bump into her from the side, pushing her into the booth. "Hey, excuse me-oh shite."
Alicia grinned maliciously as she forced Angelina over. "That's a rude thing to say to your best friend. Move over so we can share the booth."
"There's other tables and booths!" Angelina hissed, looking around.
"You don't want to sit with your friends and team mates?" Katie gasped as she nudged Harry over in his seat. Harry was grinning and shaking his head, moving over without complaint.
"Why didn't you wait for us?" Alicia sniffed. "We could have come over together after your early practice."
Harry chuckled as Angelina glared at Alicia and Katie.
"Oh, did you want to sit next to Harry?" Katie asked with faux concern, purposely misunderstanding her glare.
"They do that enough," Alicia sniffed, "I'm feeling neglected."
"Your face is neglected," Angelina hissed.
"That doesn't even make sense," Alicia said. "Are you okay? You're not making sense."
"So what have you two been up to since practice?" Katie asked, acting a touch too innocent.
"Are you ill? You look rather warm and you're far too quiet," Alicia asked, pretending to inspect Angelina carefully. She saw the way Angelina ground her teeth and eased out of the booth. "On second thought, maybe we should switch Harry. You seem to have a calming effect on Angelina."
They shuffled around a bit and Angelina could now glare at the other half of the booth without turning her head. Harry sitting beside her was nice though. Especially when he grinned at her and patted her hand.
"See? Much calmer," Alicia said placidly.
"Why aren't they pissing you off?" Angelina asked Harry.
He shrugged. "They were going to find out anyways. You teased the heck out of Alicia when she and Captain started dating."
"Always the voice of reason," Alicia said proudly.
Angelina sighed ruefully, accepting the predicament. While she was hoping to spend some time along with Harry, it was still fun to be with the others. After the subtle teasing in the beginning, it was fun to chat and relax before some more studying. As they relaxed, she took Harry's hand and leaned against him. Katie and Alicia's reactions were to smile broadly with bright eyes but they made no further comment. Until the end.
"So, now that you two are dating, we should establish some ground rules," Alicia said without preamble.
"Ground what?" Angelina and Harry said at the same time.
"You know, rules to abide by," Katie said unhelpfully.
"Now is a very important time period. We're going into our tests and you cannot spend too much time snogging and staring into each other's eyes lovingly," Alicia said sternly.
"We'll work out a schedule that'll allow for dates and other romantic excursions," Katie said.
"Though honestly, you might need a chaperone for propriety," Alicia mused.
"What? I wouldn't do anything improper!" Harry exclaimed with a bright red face. "I know how important N.E.W.T.s are and I'm working hard on O.W.L.s!"
"Oh we know baby bird," Alicia soothed. "You're a perfect gentleman. None of that was really directed at you despite you being a boy. No, I was talking mostly to Angelina. You know she's one to…over-indulge so to speak."
Alicia and Katie looked down at the table. It was a very large and heavy table, made from dark wood. Angelina had both hands braced on it and was pushing it closer to the other girls. It slid slowly across the wooden floor, eliciting a low scraping noise.
"Look at the time we better go see you two lovebugs later byeeeee," Alicia said in one breath, pushing Katie in front of her.
"I can probably keep her back for maybe 30 seconds," Harry said with a smile. "That's all the head start you'll get."
"Thanks Harry!" Katie called and she and Alicia ran out of the Three Broomsticks squealing.
"I'm going to kill them," Angelina growled, trying to climb over Harry. "I'm going to cut a hole in the ice over the Lake and push Alicia into it, head first!"
Harry hugged her around the middle and kissed her on the cheek.
She froze, torn between wanting to snuggle Harry and to enact righteous revenge. She hugged him back and kissed his cheek. "Don't make me choose," she pleaded.
He laughed. "Don't hurt them too much. You know they tease because they care. I'll pay for lunch. See you later!"
"You're too good to us," Angelina sighed and kissed him again before running out of the pub in hot pursuit.
Harry used his wand to move the table back before walking up to Rosmerta, handing her the coins to pay for their meals.
"She's not wrong," Rosmerta said with twinkling eyes. "You do seem to have a calming effect on tall and scary."
"She's not scary," Harry protested, laughing. "Well, not to me I guess."
"I adore that girl and I'll say she's plenty scary but you're right, not when she's with you." Rosmerta winked. "Simply adorable you two."
"Thanks! I'll tell her you said so."
-0-
"Say Harry, I heard something interesting," Seamus said with a grin as he walked up to him.
"Did you now?" Harry replied blandly. He sighed a little when the rest of his dorm mates circled around them. "Is it actually interesting or is it only a little interesting but you're really bored and desperate?"
"He's always desperate," Dean joked.
"Ha bloody ha," Seamus said, rolling his eyes while the other boys laughed. "A little bird told me something salacious about you."
"Hedwig would never," Harry said.
"Nothing little about that bird," Ron said. "Appetite or attitude."
"See, told you he'd be deflecting," Seamus said.
It was Harry's turn to roll his eyes. "You know I'm usually not one to talk about my personal life. Other people talk about it enough." He stopped at a junction between halls, stepping into a small dead end. "Alright then, out with it."
"Angelina's your girlfriend now?" Seamus asked.
"I don't know actually," Harry said. "I should ask her. We're dating but don't you have to go on a few dates before you're boyfriend and girlfriend?"
"You're the only one in a real relationship so you'd be the authority," Dean said.
"Neville and Ginny are seeing each other," Harry said.
"Sort of, not really," Neville demurred, sliding to Harry's side away from Ron.
"And Ron and Hannah are kind of interested in each other," Harry continued, cutting through Ron's indignation.
"We…haven't really dated," Ron confessed with a red face and ears. "Just sat together here and there. I've gone to the library with her."
"Wow, you must be interested then. Hermione can't get you to go to the library," Harry said and the boys howled with laughter.
"Prat," Ron said, pushing Harry.
"Just surprised you'd be dating a girl like Angelina," Seamus said when the laughter subsided.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Harry asked with narrowed eyes.
"Yeah, what does that mean?" Dean asked with a very serious tone.
"Oh come off it," Seamus said, face red. "I don't mean that, don't put words in me mouth. I mean that she's taller than you and more muscular than you, and really intense."
"Oh that. That doesn't bother me," Harry said. "Those things make Angelina…well Angelina. Besides, loads of people are more muscular than me. If that was a criterion against, I'd be in loads of trouble."
Dean snorted and shook his head. "I mean, Harry and Angelina has always gotten along, ever since our first year. It's not that much of a surprise, is it?"
"Just saying she's intimidating is all," Seamus said. "I don't know if I could fancy a girl that could pick me up all easy like."
"I think you're just jealous," Neville said to their chuckling.
"I mean, she is pretty intimidating," Ron said. "You think she's scary in the common room? When she's on the pitch, she's terrifying."
"As a captain, or to play with, or play against?" Neville asked.
"Yes," Ron said.
Harry snorted. "Yeah, well, again that's just how she is. She's passionate and that's cool. We're all passionate and care about something. Ron has Quidditch. Dean has art. Neville has herbology. Me I guess it's Quidditch and cooking. Seamus…you like fire."
"I don't like fire," Seamus protested weakly as they laughed, "I'm just good at it. Sometimes accidentally."
"I'm kidding, mostly. I know you like music a lot." Harry shrugged. "Point is, we all have something we care about that makes us who we are. I like Angelina and all the stuff that makes her, her. I'm sure I have qualities that others wouldn't like in a boyfriend or whatever."
"You are pretty short and scrawny," Ron said.
"A little too considerate," Neville remarked.
"You can be right scary too, I remember the defense club duel last term," Dean said seriously.
"Okay that wasn't permission to have a go at me," Harry said indignantly while the others laughed.
"Point made." Seamus smiled sheepishly. "I was just curious. Didn't mean to come off rude."
"You're just being you," Dean said.
"Yeah, exactly," Seamus said.
"Mate, that's not necessarily a good thing," Ron laughed.
"Wanna come with us to dinner?" Neville asked Harry.
"I might join you lot later. I want to drop something off at the tower." He waved as they walked off towards the great hall and he continued on towards Gryffindor tower. As he walked past a tapestry of flowers, a hand darted out from behind it and pulled him within the hidden alcove. He whooped with surprise, hand going for his wand before he realized who pulled him into the private space.
"Oh hi Ange-" he gasped when he felt her lips against his. Her lips felt impossibly soft against his. She tasted of strawberries and honey, decadently sweet and rich. Her breath was hot and it seemed to fill his lungs, leaving him exhilarated and buoyant. When she finally broke away, he stood there dumbly, blinking at her.
"Harry?" Her voice was uncharacteristically soft and shy. She waved a hand in front of his eyes. "Are you okay?"
"That was amazing," he breathed out finally and she laughed, cheeks pink.
"I heard what you said," she admitted. "I came around the hall and heard you talking and well, I didn't mean to eavesdrop but I did." She hugged him to her, holding him tighter than tight. His arms snaked around her sides and he hugged her too. "Thank you, Rabbit," she said. "I really appreciate you saying that."
"I meant it too," he said fervently. "I really do like all that about you."
Her smile lit up the alcove. "And I like how considerate and kind you are." She nuzzled his forehead with her cheek. "I also like being a little taller than you so I can snuggle you just right."
"I like that too." He looked hopeful. "If I get a kiss like that every time I stand up for you, I'll go do that to everyone in the common room right now."
Her laughter rang off the stones. "No, you'll get a kiss like that for being amazing." She smiled warmly. "And yes, I'm your girlfriend."
"And I'm your boyfriend," he said, his smile matching hers.
Her warm smile turned heated as she pushed him gently into the corner of the alcove. "Now then, where were we," she murmured before her lips found his again.
-0-
Angelina buried her face into her hands, doing a terrible job of trying to shrink and hide. She could hear and feel Katie doing an equally terrible job of holding in her laughter. The other girl was sitting beside her and shaking from the effort, fighting a losing battle against her merriment.
"What in the world is going on?" Alicia asked as she walked up to them. "Why is Hermione lecturing Harry? Not only that, why does she look like a tomato?"
"Don't you tell her," Angelina growled at Katie.
"Uh, well, I, uh," Katie lost the battle and started laughing hysterically.
"Now I have to know. Spill!" Alicia said eagerly.
"Remember when Harry caught Angelina snogging her then boyfriend in the alcove behind the tapestry of flowers?" Katie managed to say between laughs.
"Yes, why-NO!" Alicia stared at Angelina. "Again?!"
"That alcove is cursed!" Angelina shouted. "It's not funny," she whimpered while Alicia and Katie howled with laughter.
That made them laugh harder.
"How did you get caught?" Alicia gasped.
"She claims that she could hear us and that the tapestry was moving but I think she's a perv," Angelina growled. "Also, it was nowhere near curfew so she shouldn't have been patrolling anyways!"
"She could hear that it was you two?!" Katie coughed.
"Well no because when she pulled the tapestry back she almost keeled over from embarrassment." Angelina tried to leave but the other Chasers kept her pinned between them.
"I don't know what makes her the most angry: catching Harry, Harry breaking the rules as a prefect, or being embarrassed that it was Harry," Katie laughed.
"I think her reaction is reasonable," Alicia said. "I don't know what I would do if I caught you defiling baby bird-AAAAAH!"
"This is the day," Angelina muttered, smothering Alicia with a pillow. "I'm actually going to kill you today. I'm surprised I managed to make it to seventh year without actually trying my hardest."
-0-
They laid together on the grass, enjoying the sunlight. Angelina's heart was happy but heavy. It was the end of the school year and things would be changing. There were only a few scant days after their championship game and their exams and she was making the most of them, spending them with Harry in irresponsible bliss.
The future loomed over them and it cast a cold shadow over her happy warmth.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked eventually. His head was lying on her chest and he turned a little to look up at her.
"What makes you think something's wrong?" Angelina asked lightly.
"I heard your heartbeat change."
Her face warmed. "Oh. I, well, just thinking," she said lamely.
"About the future?" he asked.
"Yeah. Kinda scared."
"Me too," he admitted.
She sighed. "You know, for the longest time I couldn't wait to be done. Ready to run off and not worry about homework and tests and stuff. Now I wish I had more time to spend here with you where we'd be together all the time and stuff."
He nodded. "That would have been nice," he said softly. "I mean, things will be different, but that doesn't mean bad right?"
Angelina slapped her cheeks gently. "No, you're right. Different isn't bad at all. We can get through this. It's not like we won't be completely cut off. We'll exchange letters regularly."
"You'll have to be nicer to Hedwig," Harry grinned.
Angelina snorted and rolled her eyes. "If I must. Bloody snowy chicken."
"See, when you say that, it doesn't sound like you're trying all that hard," he teased. He wriggled away from her poking fingers. "Yeah, plenty of letters. And of course we'll make plans on breaks."
"If I have a free weekend during one of your Hogsmeade weekends I'll come over," she said stoutly. "I might have a lot of time if I don't get signed on."
"Pfft," Harry huffed. "You will! You got invitations to Tutshill, Portree, Appleby, and Kenmare. No way one of them won't have you on."
She smiled. "I'll miss having you around as my personal cheerleader all the time."
"You'll just have to carry your bunny with you all the time," he said. "It's only two years anyways. You'll be a super cool Quidditch pro by the time I get out and hopefully we'll be on the same team and we can play together."
"That's the dream," Angelina said softly. She hugged him tight, kissing him hungrily. "Thanks Rabbit. I needed to hear that."
"We'll be fine," Harry said, trying to sound confident.
"Yeah we will," Angelina said with conviction.
-0-0-0-
alix33 - The twins are rather dramatic of course.
LifeIsAGreatAdventure - Somethings I consider to be keystone moments. Despite them not ending up together in AUs, I feel like Katie should still be in that moment because it was a big defining point in their relationship together, even if it isn't a romantic one. I still want them to be incredibly close, Harry and Katie, and they can still be that way even if they aren't together. That's how I see it anyways.
DOOOOOOM Lord of Waffles - A little yeah and while it won't be the same, I think the scenes that I come up with will make up for it. I appreciate it but I'll grow a thicker skin and just focus on the nice people. Thank you.
Imaginer.012 - I'm glad. I also just finished a your chapter so look out for that.
Urgwaew - It was a bit of a surprise how long it took for that deadpan joke to appear wasn't it? I tried to change things to fit but not be radically different. I thought it would be fun to show how small changes can really make things feel that much more different. I still wanted the Crouch moment to be with Katie because it was a moment that doesn't mean they would be together, but help Harry and Katie have a close relationship, even if it doesn't become a romantic one. It's still important in my mind. Wishing you the best.
