Anything that rings a bell belongs to JK Rowling

Chapter Eleven: Late Night Flights

Statues… stone…sculptures everywhere. Green below and dark grey above. Eyes blood red, contrasting with the bone white flesh of his face. Snake like nose and thin lips. He spoke but no sound came out….

Ky shot up in shock, sweat dripping and hair in disarray; she looked around, the settings calming her racing heart. The Burrow, that's where she was. She sighed and lay back down. She looked out the window; it looked like it was still night, she couldn't know for sure. It was her own fault not owning a watch.

This is what you get for telling scary stories before bedtime. Mi's a great storyteller, and Ky had way too active an imagination. She tried to get back to sleep, but everytime she closed her eyes she saw it. The scariest feature of the Bastard who doesn't deserve a name. It wasn't his deathly pale skin or serpentine lips or nose…it was his eyes. And the problem wasn't the unusual scarlet…it was the lifelessness in it…

She stood, glancing at her softly snoring rommates and grabbed her wand, closing the door quietly behind her.

A few minutes later she collapsed on the soft grass. She thought a little fresh air would do the trick, but no such luck. She walked and walked and still the scarlet glowed. She looked up at the night sky. Like most of the things she liked, the orchard was simple. She guessed that's what led her there. It's funny how things looked alive when it was night time…like magic. Her thoughts were interrupted by a shadow that wrapped over her body like a blanket…

-x-x-x-

Harry closed his eyes for what felt like the tenth time and begged his brain to let him sleep. He tossed off the blanket and grabbed his broom. Psychotic as it sounded, he felt like fresh air would sedate him, and he wanted the kind thirty feet up.

He hit his palm to his scar, he had the same dream again but just like the last time the details had trickled away. He wished this annoying freaking pain would go away.

Harry reached the orchard in record time, was he running? He was about to head up when he saw a figure lying in the centre of the clearing.

He hesitated but then walked forward recognising the bed of dark locks; only one crazy girl would take a stroll in an orchard at one o clock in the morning. He reached her and looked down, scratch what he said earlier, the girl wasn't crazy, she was a raving lunatic. She was wearing nothing but a tiny pair of shorts and a t-shirt that was too small, and let's not forget that she wasn't wearing any shoes.

He looked up at the sky; she was making this whole thing very difficult for him. He had come to the decision that Kyrianna Thornton was what happened to him every year. She was new, she was mysterious, and she was trouble, and of course Harry Potter couldn't stay away from that trifecta. This year was going to be peaceful, normal, boring. No drama. The only thing he was going to worry about was homework and quidditch. Fine, maybe quidditch then homework.

Aside from being leagues out of his league, she was Dumbledore's granddaughter, and it felt wrong to even fantasize about dating her.

Dinner was awkward enough; he had to practically stare at the fifth brick to the right, fourth brick from the bottom of the Weasley's back wall to ensure he didn't stare at her. And try to play it 'cool' because he turned into a mumbling fool in front of her.

And then she laughed, and he had to turn and look at her. When she started talking about dragons to Charlie, Harry started eavesdropping on them like some lovestruck girl, barely listening to what Ron and Hermione were saying about Sirius. She was bad news; she did strange things to him, and he had enough of both to last him a lifetime.

So why the hell was he lying down next to her?

"It's 1: 21"

"What?" He said. They had been lying there in silence for a few minutes.

"The time, am I right?"

"Nope, you're one minute off."

"Oh, Sneeze bits, close but no cigar."

"Sneeze bits?"

"Snot."

"Of course. Watch?"

"Don't believe in them."

"Of course. Why?"

"I'm not of the opinion that time should govern our lives."

"And keeping a watch projects that?"

"You wouldn't buy meat if you were a vegan."

"Shoes?"

"Too lazy to reach under the bed. Broomstick? "

"Needed to clear my head. Ride?"

"Teach me?"

"Sure."

"You're not getting up."

"I'm waiting for you to get up and pull me up."

"You're the boy."

"And you're a girl and that's a tree and this is…"

"Smart ass."

"Thanks. I knew sitting on books would pay off."

"Lame." She said and jumped to her feet, holding her hand out for him. Harry grabbed it and let her pull him up. Her fingers were so soft, he felt self-conscious of his own which he hadn't moisturized in a while, but she didn't seem to mind, tracing the back of his hand with her thumb, not letting go. He swallowed, staring down at where his pale white met her lightly tan skin.

Ky let go of his hand, holding hers out for his broom instead.

"That's not how this works." He cleared his throat, which had become very dry for some reason, "I'm going to show you how to ask the broom…."

"Motorbikes."

"Really? You don't want to learn the basics? Just hop on and ride with me? "

"There are things in life you can learn and things in life that you feel. I feel like this is a feel moment."

He sighed; she was right. He didn't really learn how to ride a broom; it naturally came to him as he was on it. So, he hopped on and without any sort of shyness or hesitation she climbed on behind him and placed her hands around his middle and leaned forward.

The awareness of the fact that her tee was very thin hit him like a ton of bricks, but he tried to not let that weigh him down. She'd be shy about things if she was interested in him in that way, wouldn't she? Ginny had been like that when she had a crush on him a while back. So, Ky didn't like him? Oh well that just supported his whole 'stranger, danger, keep distance' motif he had going on. Somehow the thought didn't bring him joy. She leaned her head onto his right shoulder blade, as she spoke, he could hear her voice vibrate through him.

"Minnie was wrong, she said you can fly better than that Magpie Man, but you can't even get off the ground."

Harry chuckled, he didn't even know what that was supposed to mean but this girl may reign supreme on the ground with her dark hair, pink lips, and girly bits, but the sky… That was his territory, the only skill he could actually boast about. Seems like it's time for some well-deserved payback for that whole knee in the nads thing.

"You might not want to look down. And feel free to scream at the scary parts…."

With that he took off. Seeing as it was her first time and Harry wasn't completely evil, he stayed a little lower, skimming just the tops of the trees. He accelerated a bit, waiting to hear a scream. Nothing. He increased his ascension, still no sound. He accelerated and ascended, still silence.

The thought crossed his mind that maybe she fell off, so he whipped his head around and saw the most striking smile on her face. His tummy somersaulted and it had nothing to do with being fifty feet in the air.

Ky was staring down at the trees they passed thoroughly enjoying herself. No fear whatsoever. Well, he'd change that. He spotted the marsh that was near the Weasleys' orchard and started an accelerated descent, the water getting closer and closer in seconds and then he heard it. Not a scream, not a shout, a tinkle of laughter and just as he skimmed the marsh water with his trainer, he heard another sound.

Splash!

Harry turned around and his heart must have jumped into his throat because he couldn't breathe, Ky wasn't behind him. He landed his broom near the marsh and ran into it. He was waist deep, shouting her name, but she didn't respond. He couldn't see her anywhere. She can't have drowned… not in such shallow water…He was about to call out again but lost his voice as he was suddenly submerged.

Harry sprung up and turned around but before he could say anything he was again hit with another splash of filthy water.

That was it, this was war.

He splashed her back, again and again. They continued like that for a few minutes, he couldn't remember feeling that carefree…ever. They only stopped when she did; she looked at him for a second and then burst out laughing that manic tinkle of hers.

Ky approached him quietly, so slowly the water barely rippled. Harry was paralysed. He couldn't move. Fuck. He couldn't breathe. The water clung to her hair, and dropped slowly from it, as if not wanting to part from her. He didn't blame it. Her face was pale from the cold, contrasting with its usual glow. He was trying to be a gentleman, afraid to look down, aware that if the wetness so desperately clung to her hair, heaven knows what it was doing to her body. She reached him and he looked at her stormy greys and noticed the manic glint of mischief. Suddenly she raised her hands, and she launched onto….

A frog.

A frog that was on his head.

She was clutching it in her hands and smiling up at him, "Don't scowl like that, Emerald doesn't bite. Do you Emerald?"

He wasn't scowling at the frog; he was scowling at the Insanity holding the frog. He was scowling at himself for wanting Trouble to…he didn't know. He just didn't know.

Ky plopped her hands into the water and released the frog, smiling that serene smile as it swam away.

"Potter, if you don't get out of the water, you're going to catch a cold."

"You're one to talk. Who jumps into dirty marshes?"

"Oh, come on, don't act like you didn't want to. I follow my instincts."

"No. I didn't want to jump into cold, dirty water at two o clock in the morning; I don't think any sane person wants to do that."

They reached the bank, and she flopped down on the grass.

He grabbed his broom and flopped down too.

Next to her.

Again.

"Sanity is overrated." She looked up at the sky and he mirrored. Harry was never any good at astronomy, stars were just stars to him, but they looked particularly beautiful tonight. "Plus, glass houses Potter."

"I am perfectly sane."

She giggled, "Nope, you're not. What colour do you think his eyes were before?"

For some reason Harry didn't have to ask who she was speaking about. Even without context, who else could it be?

He lay there, listening to Emerald croaking in the distance. "What difference would it make? Blue, black, green…doesn't change what he became."

"You're right. I guess I'm just trying to find the human in him. What would make someone go to such lengths to distance themselves from their humanity?"

"No need to delve into his psyche, some people are just evil. They were grey, dark grey. Difference?"

"Were they still lifeless?"

"Yes."

"Which do you prefer?"

"What?"

"You heard me."

Harry stared up at the inky sky, deep in thought. Hermione must have told her about him. He thought for a second. "Red."

"Reminds you that he's not human. You're insane."

"Pot calling the kettle black."

"It wasn't an insult. Sane men don't put their life on the line repetitively. Sane men don't hunt down giant snakes with swords. Sane men don't rescue little girls. Sane men don't live. They exist. They want to go on existing forever."

"So, he was sane and I'm insane."

"Yes and no. He was not sane either. You were right, no need to delve into his psyche. He wasn't human. Not anymore. Not after all he had done. He made sure of it. I'd take insane over inhuman." Harry heard the crunching of grass, and the stars were blocked out by brighter beauty, her face above his. Her grey eyes looked down on him, lacking its usual mischievous glint, and his heart began to beat in leaps and bounds.

"I don't think you're brave for defeating him when you were one. That wasn't any of your doing, it just happened, and you got lucky. But when you were eleven and you stood up to him, that was brave. And when you saved Ginny, that was brave. You're not a genius wizard Harry, not like he was and not like my grandfather. But you're more powerful than both of them combined because your survival is not what impresses me, but the very fact that you went in there in the first place. And that makes you insane, that makes you human, that makes you brave and that makes you powerful." And just like that she flopped back down next to him.

Harry lay there, letting what she said sink in, feeling her words all over his body somehow.

"Potter?" he was back to Potter now was he?

"Thornton?"

"How many people are there on a quidditch team?"

He laughed out loud, and it echoed through the night. He could never guess her next move, could he? She acted and spoke without thinking.

She was insane.

And she was right, he'd take insane over inhuman any day.

So, they lay there till the sun started to hint at its arrival, basking in insanity.

A/N: Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed their cute little interaction.