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Harry paced in his room at the Dursley home. He was meant to 'sneak' out to Diagon Alley today, and he'd do so with the help of his good friend, Dobby. It was still very funny how well the two got along after Dobby's 'help' years earlier, but in truth, Harry would never find it in him to replace the little house elf. Especially when he proved so helpful… after a conversation about help and what it meant. For example, he wouldn't try to seriously hurt Harry when assistance was needed, instead, Dobby would aid him via other means. One, for example, was that of today. Dobby would take him via the magic that house elves had away from the Dursley home and to Diagon Alley, where Harry would meet with Cenedra and hopefully later, visit her home as she'd requested.
He still felt strange around her, obviously. They'd shared a kiss, well, others might not count a kiss on the nose but he did. It was only normal that they do as she said, that being to go on a date; he didn't know the details, she'd planned it. Harry was just all too happy to get away from the Dursleys for a bit of time. Who wouldn't be?
"Ready, Harry Potter?" Dobby asked as the house elf appeared from out of thin air. His ears were flapping about and those eyes, big and expressive, were looking into Harry's own as Dobby extended a hand.
"Ready, Dobby," Harry agreed with a large grin on his face. "Thanks again, Dobby. You're a good friend, really."
Dobby smiled wide, wider than any human could, and so much so that it was nearly ear to ear. "Dobby is happy to be Harry Potter's friend. Very happy! Harry Potter has to hold on now, Dobby will take you to Diagon Alley, but you mustn't let go."
Harry had heard about that before. If you let go, there was no telling what happened to you, especially since you weren't the one using the magic in the first place. He wouldn't do so, obviously, and since he didn't quite know how to apparate himself, he was all the more attentive when it came to holding onto Dobby. He couldn't have defeated Voldemort all these times just to be done in by letting go of Dobby's hand.
In the span of a few seconds, seconds in which Harry had taken hold of Dobby's hand tightly and with a firm grip, he felt a pulling sensation and then in nought but the blink of an eye, his senses were assailed by the smells and noises of a pub; alcohol, foods, voices, chairs being scraped, mugs sloshing around… everything that was typical.
Harry couldn't help himself. He grinned. "Thanks, Dobby," he said again as he patted the elf gently on the shoulder. "Is there anything I can do for you? Anything you need? More socks, maybe?"
Dobby emphatically shook his head. "Harry Potter is Dobby's friend, and friends help each other," the house elf said with that same smile on his face. "Dobby will always help Harry Potter. Harry freed Dobby, and treats Dobby like a person."
With those words, Harry smiled, though it didn't entirely meet his eyes. He couldn't believe the hate that his fellow wizards and witches fostered deep in their hearts to mistreat creatures like house elves… Merlin, even the term creatures didn't sit right with him.
"Harry!"
He jolted, and in the blink of an eye, Dobby was gone at the same time a hand was pulling on his shoulder.
"Why, don't you look all spiffed up," it was Cenedra, and after she'd turned him around, she'd given him an appraisal-filled once-over. "I suppose you can clean up from time to time, you just like looking wild, don't you?"
"Is this about my hair?"
Cenedra nodded and wrapped one of her arms around his shoulders, pulling him along with her as she led them back to an empty table with two mugs atop it. "Every witch in Hogwarts thinks your hair's a touch too wild, even us witches that play Quidditch — you don't see ours all messy and out of order even when we're on the pitch, now do you?"
"You use magic to keep it looking fine. Besides, my father had the same hair and it worked for my mum," he retorted with a cheeky, playful grin as Cenedra sat down and he did the same, the two sliding into chairs that were next to one another.
"Please, everyone knows Lily would have preferred if he kept his hair neat. That's what my parents tell me," Cenedra took a swig of whatever was in her mug, grimaced for all of a second, and grinned at him when she set it down. She leaned in a bit more towards him too, putting her back to the outside world. "How's your summer been so far? Thinking about this date the whole time?"
"I still can't believe it's with you."
Cenedra huffed and punched him in the shoulder, and when he made a show that it hurt, she pouted her bottom lip. "Softy," she said with a huff, and then she smiled at him. "Just you wait until the Prophet finds us — you'll be the talk of Hogwarts."
Harry nearly made a comment in jest, but this time, he refrained. Cenedra may be a bit too sporting for some wizards, especially the Slytherin crowd, but he knew the vast majority thought of the fit witch as beautiful and playful, the latter quality especially appealing. There were few witches that played Quidditch, and fewer still that were as good as she was, and her kindness, it was a thing of renown back at Hogwarts.
"Nothing cheeky to say, or are you as sad as I am that I won't be able to teach you a thing or two on the pitch this year?"
"You?" Harry scoffed, though there was a flicker of sadness at the realisation; Cenedra truly wouldn't be at Hogwarts. It would make for a weird change, and Hufflepuff's team would be far easier to best on the field now that her presence would be gone from their team. Truly, Cenedra had been the best player and a very solid Seeker. "I think it was me that taught you a thing or two, especially when it came to just flying."
"Oh?" Cenedra looked him up and down, her smile grew in size, and then she procured a paper from a pocket and slid it over to him. "Take a look at that and tell me if you still think the same."
Harry furrowed his brows but did as she said and picked up the sealed letter. He recognised the stamp immediately and looked back up at Cenedra, who looked very pleased, but there wasn't an ounce of smugness or arrogance, she seemed hopeful and happy with herself, and that was all.
"Really?"
Cenedra nodded. "I thought it'd be better than working at the Ministry with my father. I'd be able to go my own way for a few years and then go and work with him, you know?"
"I'm happy for you, really," Harry slid the letter back over to her and leaned forward just as she did, and the two hugged for a span of a few seconds. Cenedra, as weird as it was to think, smelt very nice and was soft as ever. He felt like Ron, Seamus and the others, but by Merlin, Cenedra was an amazing witch.
He pulled back and Cenedra's smile was, as it'd been since first they saw one another, present as ever. "Thanks for that. My father wasn't too pleased and a few of my friends were wondering if it was a good choice too, but… it's Quidditch, right? How could I turn the offer down?"
"You couldn't! Like you said, it's just a few years to see how it goes too — just long enough for me to join a team and beat you like the old days, it's perfect," Harry couldn't help himself, and based on Cenedra's roll of her eyes before they narrowed at his challenge, he reckoned the comment had found its mark.
"We'll see who beats who," Cenedra said with a jab at his ribs, the action causing him to let out a bit of involuntary laughter. "You can't forget I'm older, and I'll have more years against people that aren't outrageously good for their age when it comes to flying."
Harry smiled as he danced away from her ticklish, wandering hands. "Thanks," he got out whilst escaping her.
Eventually, after that revelation of her playing Quidditch, the two had a lul in conversation and contented themselves in sipping and making small talk. During that time, he learned that her father had been cross, and still remained a bit peeved at her choice of career. He'd come around, she claimed, but it was clear to him that she was thankful for a distraction and his support after she'd shared the information with him.
In his mind, how couldn't he support her? Cenedra had done much for him during the tournament, and he'd be the epitome of a bad bloke if he didn't return the favour. She was his friend — his crush too — and a person he still looked up too… not that he'd tell her that.
"So… ice cream?" Cenedra asked as she set down a mug, no longer any swishing noise resonating from it.
He blinked at her. "Got a bit of a sweet tooth even after eating a slice of cake?"
Her answer was a grin. "I love sweet stuff. It's why I'm spending the day with you."
Harry couldn't help but look away as a tug of embarrassment got to him. Cenedra's nickname for him was brought to the forefront of his mind then too, back after the Moody impostor had been revealed and she'd kissed him and called him a cutie. He knew she didn't have a crush on him, it was impossible, but he could hope and sometimes, it even felt like she did.
"Come on," he mumbled as he stood up and tossed a few galleons on the table before she could reach for her coin purse. "Ice cream."
Cenedra's chair made a noise of protest as she all but sprang out of it and reached his side in the span of seconds, her arm once more snaking its way around his shoulders as they made to leave the establishment.
"Did I embarrass you?" she teased, her voice coo-like as her hand massaged the shoulder opposite of her body from its position around him.
"Nope," he answered. He hoped it sounded convincing.
"You're a bad liar, cutie," Cenedra said, the lattermost word whispered for only the two of them to hear.
Harry swallowed, his heart was racing, and his mind was practically sounding an alarm; she does like me… she does like me… she does like me.
"There's the shop," he pointed out lamely, and when he couldn't think of what else to say.
"There's a crowd, and that's a bad attempt at distraction — you're better on the pitch at fooling me than you are when we're walking all cuddled up," Cenedra said with a tut as she pulled them into the queue. "Come on, Harry, you know what I'm getting at, don't you?"
He shook his head. If she was teasing him, he woul—
"I wanna try and," Cenedra looked around, a sudden dusting of red on her cheeks before she leaned in to whisper directly into his ear again. "... maybe, date you? Date you, date you, I mean. Not go on another date."
At this point, his heart was beating so fast he thought he might be having an attack of some sort, and when she stayed draped around him and peeked from his side to look into his eyes, that blush on her cheeks ever-present, he swallowed.
"Yeah."
"Yeah?"
Harry nodded, Cenedra smiled, and the two spoke again, this time, in unison.
"Yeah."