#harry's threads.

harry  had  debated  with  himself  on  whether  to  even  attend  tonight's  festivities,  knowing  who  the  party  was  dedicated  to  and  the  fact  that  the  prat  would  definitely  be  there,  but  harry  just  couldn't  resist  a  party  (  and  an  opportunity  to  piss  malfoy  off. )    not  that  alphie  would've  let  him  skip  it  anyways,  but  still.  he's  loathe  to  admit  that  it's  actually  been  pretty  fun  so  far,  the  little  dragons  a  fantastic  party  gift,  and  giving  harry  plenty  of  entertainment  thus  far.  he's  currently  attempting  to  toss  a  little  piece  of  prosciutto  into  his  little  dragon's  mouth,  cheering  when  the  creature  dives  through  the  air  to  catch  it,  a  breathless  grin  still  spread  across  his  face  when  he  notices  someone  near  him  watching  the  display.   “  y'know,  these  little  lads  almost  make  me  wish  i'd  gone  into  dragonology  instead  of  auror  training,  ”   he  sighs  as  he  takes  the  dragon  into  his  palm,  inspecting  it  as  it  chews  on  the  snack  he  gave  to  it,  before  shaking  his  head  fondly  as  it  begins  to  look  up  at  him  expectantly.

it doesn't take harry long to figure out where hermione's gone; despite classes not starting until monday, harry knows that he's bound to find hermione tucked into a quiet corner of the library, already digging into readings for their coursework. he's not disappointed when he finds them doing just that, being able to spot their curls from halfway across the room, causing a wide smile spreading across his lips as he shakes his head fondly.  “ how did i know you'd be here? ”  he greets as he plops down next to them, brandishing a book between the two of them with a raise of his eyebrows.  “ been missing something? ”

“ y’know,  i  thought  it  was  a  joke  that  you  couldn’t  bring  drinks  on  the  ice, ”  harry  muses  from  his  place  on  one  of  the  benches  overlooking  the  pond  that’s  serving  as  the  ice  skating  rink  for  the  festival.  he  can’t  help  the  disgruntled  huff  that  escapes  him  before  he’s  taking  a  sip  from  his  mug  of  butterbeer,  staring  out  at  the  skaters  longingly.  “ an  elf  actually  escorted  me  out.  nearly  stole  me  butterbeer!  can  you  believe  it? ”  he  may  or  may  not  have  already  had  a  few  spiked  butterbeers  with  ron  earlier  that  had  led  to  his  sudden  keenness  for  skating  —  not  that  he’d  admit  to  it.

“ is  it  just  me,  or  is  the  food  way  better  than  last  year’s? ”  harry  mumbles  as  he  finishes  munching  on  a  grilled  cheese  slider,  immediately  reaching  for  a  crostini  and  shoving  it  into  his  mouth,  giving  a  hum  of  satisfaction  as  the  irresistible  array  of  flavors  hit  his  tongue,  each  dish  somehow  better  than  the  last  and  leaving  the  gryffindor  itching  for  more.  “ i  think  maybe  ron’s  rubbed  off  on  me,  because  i  just  can’t  stop  eating. ”

after two encounters with a few overly eager ( and frankly, overbearing ) first years, harry's made the executive decision to take a break from the festival, despite him only being just over an hour into it. he's just stepped out of the courtyard and into the entrance of the viaduct bridge when he spots gabrielle, nearly running into her in his haste to get away, and only catching himself from sending them both tumbling to the floor at the last second.  “ merlin, ellie, we've got to stop meeting like this, ”  he jokes with a grin as he steadies her, giving her forearm a gentle squeeze before he pulls his hand away. it's been about a month since he last saw her in italy, and while he's happy to see her again, he has mixed emotions about the situation — clouded with uncertainty on how exactly he should proceed, given the complex nature of his feelings at the moment.

harry  only  briefly  catches  a  glimpse  of  gabrielle  as  she  walks  in  arm  in  arm  with  weston  burke,  but  the  sight  sparks  an  odd  feeling  in  the  pit  of  his  stomach,  leaving  him  wondering  how  she  would  look  on  his  arm  instead.  he  tries  to  push  the  thoughts  from  his  mind,  instead  focusing  on  his  own  date  and  mentally  preparing  himself  for  the  scavenger  hunt.  he’s  just  heading  back  over  to  the  refreshments  table  to  refill  his  empty  drink  when  he  sees  gabrielle  not  far  away,  the  sight  causing  his  pulse  to  quicken  as  he  assesses  his  options.  he’s  in  the  midst  of  wondering  if  he  should  approach  her  when  he  loses  his  footing  suddenly  and  he’s  bumping  into  the  closest  person  to  him,  which  just  so  happens  to  be  gabrielle,  leaving  him  grasping  onto  her  forearms  as  he  steadies  both  of  them.  a  flush  rises  onto  his  cheeks  that  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  two  mugs  of  spiked  butterbeer  he’s  consumed  so  far,  and  he  gives  her  an  embarrassed  grin  in  greeting,  reaching  up  to  tug  on  his  left  ear,  abashed.   “ you  know,  one  of  these  days,  we’ll  meet  under  normal  circumstances  instead  of  quite  literally  running  into  each  other, ”  he  chuckles  with  a  shake  of  his  head,  taking  a  moment  to  take  in  her  appearance,  the  cream  fabric  draped  over  her  frame  in  such  a  way  that  makes  harry  immediately  torn  between  wanting  to  slip  beneath  it  and  take  it  off  entirely.   “ you  look  incredible,  by  the  way.  wow. ”

the  news  of  the  attacks  came  as  a  shock  to  harry,  despite  the  warnings  from  the  prophet,  but  it  doesn't  hold  a  candle  to  the  shock  he  feels  after  hearing  about  selene  being  involved  in  the  attacks. he's  almost  paralyzed  by  fear  when  he  first  hears,  but  relaxes  infinitesimally  at  the  reassurance  that  her  injuries  are  minimal,  feeling  comforted  by  the  fact  that  she  knows  how  to  handle  herself  around  werewolves  (  who  he  assumes  is  behind  the  attacks,  given  the  evidence  ). as  soon  as  he  sees  her,  he  immediately  wraps  his  arms  around  her,  making  sure  not  to  squeeze  too  tightly,  feeling  almost  overwhelmed  by  his  relief  that  his  pseudo-cousin  is  alright.   “  sel,  ”   he  greets  with  a  relieved  sigh,  his  hands  coming  to  rest  on  her  shoulders  when  they  pull  away.   “  how  are  you  feeling?  ”

the  sight  of  ginny  knocks  the  breath  out  of  harry,  leaving  him  feel  almost  dizzy  from  how  relieved  he  is  to  see  she's  okay. he  almost  immediately  hurries  over  to  her,  clearing  his  throat  to  bring  him  back  to  himself  and  stop  him  from  pulling  her  into  his  arms. he  rests  a  hand  on  her  shoulder  instead,  giving  it  a  gentle  squeeze  in  greeting,  lingering  for  a  moment  before  pulling  away.  “  hey,  you  alright?  ”   he  asks  with  a  slight  furrow  in  his  brow,  creased  with  worry.  “  have  you  been  to  see  alicia  yet?  ”