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Lacerta hissed when the cold air of February greeted her. She'd never been fond of the cold, or the dreary colours that always came with it. The only enjoyable part of the season was the food and drink, and on occasion the Yule celebrations. They'd been far more enjoyable with Harry's presence, even if the tradeoff was less time with Father.
She suspected he'd never come to like Harry as much as she or her mother did. He didn't need to either, so long as everything remained civil and without issue. Mother had seen to that — she'd done more too, given how comfortable Harry felt around her. She imagined a conversation had been had, but her mother hadn't opted to share the contents thereof, maddeningly enough.
"Lacerta's day-dreaming about Harry again."
As soon as those words came from Tracey's mouth, the girl in question shot a glare her way. "I am not day-dreaming about Harry, I'm thinking about the match. If Harry's team wins, we have to beat them next week to keep the best record."
Daphne and Tracey looked unconvinced. But surprisingly enough, the oft quiet Blaise took up on her behalf. "Lacerta's right," he said, his voice quiet and measured as it always was. "Though I'd say it's not a matter of 'if' they win, but when — Ravenclaw sucks, and Hufflepuff's only carried off the backs of Cedric and that seventh year beater."
Lacerta immediately nodded, pleased the sole boy amongst them had taken up her cause rather than that of Greengrass or Davis. "See?"
"Sure," Tracey was grinning at her, a knowing look on her face. "Whatever you say," she picked up the group's pace as they started towards the pitch, but she wasn't content to let silence reign. No, she looked Lacerta's way once more with that knowing grin still present. "That scarf doesn't look as strange as I thought it would on you, by the way. It makes you look like a Muggle Christmas person, all that green and red. Harry will probably find you adorable."
Daphne sighed, exasperated. "Tracey."
"It is adorable — did you see how cute he was when he handed it to her too? I thought I was going to cry," Tracey shook her head and made a show of wiping her eyes.
Lacerta raised a brow at Daphne, waiting for the answer from the other girl. Prompted as she was, Daphne shrugged. "I thought it was rather… sweet of him, yes. Now, why don't you stop teasing Lacerta before she sends a stinging hex your way?"
That was surprising… enough so that Lacerta's cheeks went red at what the pair were insinuating. It wasn't like she was dating Harry. She might — and only might — fancy him, but they'd not officially come to any form of agreement as was expected of something, well, official.
Not yet.
The four were in the stands, Gryffindor coloured as they were and full-up with those of the aforementioned group, and it was entirely too rowdy. All of them were entirely too boisterous, especially with their chanting and the jostling around — even tucked in the corner as they were, the stands shook thanks to the jovial attitude of the Gryffindors.
Tracey was the only one having fun, which Lacerta supposed wasn't remotely surprising.
"Come on! The team's about to come out, let's join the chant!" Tracey had to yell over the crowd to be heard by Lacerta and the others, but when they heard what she said, none of the three seemed to think it was worth listening to.
Lacerta simply exchanged a look with the others, and then turned her head back to the pitch. Unlike her team, the Gryffindors felt no sense of urgency in coming to the pitch. It was like they didn't have a fixed schedule and order of operations like that of her team.
"Lacer—"
"No." If Tracey asked her to join that annoying Gryffindor chant one more time, it was very likely that she'd leave the stands they were currently in, and move to that of the Ravenclaws even if she wore a Gryffindor scarf thereto.
"I was gonna say I see Harry, but fine, be that way," Tracey made an exaggerated show of pouting, but Lacerta didn't mind that in the slightest.
She stood up like the rest of the crowd had already been doing, with Daphne and Blaise following suit, and waited for Harry to pay her a visit. Lacerta had given him the pleasure of seeing her ride past at her game, after all, so it was only right he did the same. That way, he could see she was wearing his scarf; it'd be a source of teasing for a very long time.
Sure enough, he did as she desired, and rode past… but he didn't do so just once. That'd have been too normal for Harry to ever do. Instead, he did one lap after another, each time having the most pleased, dorkish look on his face as he took her in. That Gryffindor scarf flipped errantly about thanks to the breeze, and each time it fluttered in the breeze, she felt shier than the last.
He was calling entirely too much attention to them. But that didn't seem to be a problem to Harry.
She brought the scarf up higher, and pulled her hat down lower. Lacerta hoped the two combined would do the lion's share of hiding her blush.
Mayhaps she fancied Harry more than she'd originally thought.
"We're going to win." Harry spoke those words with the utmost confidence, as if it was a sure thing.
Lacerta, in response, folded her arms. Like always, a Gryffindor was overconfident. "You can think whatever you'd like. That's not how things will go when we play."
Blaise seemed to like that as well, considering the little snicker that came from him. Daphne and Tracey were too busy whispering to one another for Lacerta to catch their reaction, if they'd even heard the words exchanged; she doubted it, considering they were whispering and giggling.
Harry, however, shook his head with a smirk on his face. "I thought I asked you before, but what are our two teams' records head to head in the past few years?"
Both Blaise and Lacerta frowned at him then. All of them know who'd won more games than the other; the latter spoke up. "The past few years are indicative of exactly that — the past," Lacerta raised her nose and sat up prim and proper, her hands folded her lap as she looked at Harry with all the aristocraticness that one could. "When we win, I'll make sure to remind you of that."
"You can try," Harry didn't seem to doubt his team's capabilities one bit. That win they'd just had again the Ravenclaws said as much. "Don't reckon it'll go too well for you."
Lacerta opened her mouth, but then Daphne and Tracey rose from their seats and started towards the doors that'd see them out. When they did as much, instead of retorting back his way, she asked where the two girls were going. The answer they gave was back to the dorms — Daphne had gotten Tracey to agree to study early in the day in return for not pestering her about it later that night.
That left Lacerta, Blaise and Harry, and Blaise, well, he looked at the pair, shook his head, and said that he'd be off to the pitch with two of the others from Slytherin's Quidditch team. There was something else too, but neither Lacerta nor Harry could make out exactly what the words had been.
The two simply shared a look, and then Lacerta grabbed his hand as she oft did when she desired to lead him somewhere — it was always that or she'd loop an arm through his like her mum did to her dad — and rose from her seat. Harry followed suit, and then, she pulled him right along until they too were out of the Great Hall.
"Any reason we're going so fast?"
Lacerta shook her head. "I simply didn't wish for us to be jostled around in the crowd as others made to leave," — she certainly wouldn't tell him it was the stares of so many watching the pair of them that made her expedite their leaving — "That's all."
Harry shrugged. "Right."
An awkward silence fell over the pair, and after they turned a corner, their path essentially aimless, an idea struck Lacerta. One that saw her finally have a location in mind. "You're pants at potions, isn't that right?"
"Merlin, that's a harsh way of saying that, isn't it?"
Lacerta stopped and arched a brow at him, perfect as everything else was about her. "Can you claim otherwise? I've seen our class's marks… yours leave much to be desired — but if you were to say, agree in aiding my wand work, I'd be very grateful. Enough so to aid you in potions and take you as my partner."
If this was denied, mayhaps she'd have to offer assistance sans any sort of return and claim she still felt very indebted to him; it'd not be too large a lie. Her mother had said before that a life never loses value. She just wished for more time with him, and a benefit for the pair of them; it made sense.
"You want help in DADA?" Harry almost sounded like he couldn't believe it. It did much for her ego, him thinking that she was fine.
Mayhaps in some part she was too, she certainly wasn't failing, but she could do better. Her mother had been very good with a wand in her time at Hogwarts, and it was her mother who oft taught her a spell here and there for assistance. If she improved to be amongst the top of her year, she'd make her mother very pleased.
"I'd appreciate it very much," Lacerta tried her hardest to look as cute and pleading as one could… whilst also maintaining a certain matter of decorum as any respectful Pureblood might.
And so naturally, with that vague look of pleading — and superiority — a pair of Harry's friends appeared. In an instant, Lacerta's face went to one of neutrality, but even if Weasley didn't notice, she was certain Granger had. That'd do much for her intimidation factor.
"Harry," Granger's eyes shifted to Lacerta. "Ma— Lacerta."
Weasley greeted Harry verbally too, but he simply gave a nod to Lacerta.
As for Harry, he returned their greetings and then gave an answer. "Deal."
"Deal?" Lacerta parroted the word, for she could scarcely believe he'd so readily agreed. She recovered a split-second later and stood taller. "Deal. Good. I'll leave you to yo—"
"Why don't you stay?" Harry's eyes went past her to his friends that were still standing idly near the corner which they turned. "We could work on Potions or DADA in an hour or something."
Lacerta's eyes darted to his Gryffindor friends. Granger could be tolerable, if the other girl didn't give answer after answer endlessly, and all because she memorised the pages in a book, but Weasley, he didn't like her. It wasn't hard to imagine why, and the feeling was mutual, but she knew conflict with Harry's friends was a poor way to win his h— friendship.
"I wouldn't wish to impose." Lacerta figured a diplomatic solution would work well enough.
Granger took a few steps closer, finally, and spoke with her eyes flickering between Harry and Lacerta's persons. "You wouldn't be imposing. Harry wants you to join us — you don't have to if you don't want to."
Those words might be polite, but Lacerta took them as something of a challenge. Especially since they came from Granger; that beat her dislike of Weasley for certain, and so she looped her arm through Harry's. "I suppose I'll stick around. You've spent a fair bit of time with my friends, so I can only do the same if we're to be fair."
Harry grinned.
The butterflies in her stomach annoyed her.