Chapter Text
Grace left her father about an hour later. After the deep, and emotional, conversation they had about him and her mother, she decided to lighten the mood up a little and showed him the pictures she had of the Yule Ball. There were only two. One was of when her and Harry first walked in, and the second was of when her and Harry danced the Champions waltz. Each of the Champions received those two photo's, and for her birthday, Harry had made a copy of them and framed them.
"You look absolutely stunning, little star," Sirius whispered, smiling at the photo of her and Harry dancing. They moved the same basic steps, and then Harry had held her waist and lifted her in the air, spun, and they resumed the basic steps, then the photo looped over again.
When she returned to the castle, she didn't go to the Gryffindor tower straight away, instead she headed to her favorite spot by the Black Lake. There was still another hour until dinner, but she wanted a little more time alone. She hadn't spent time at the lake by herself yet that year, and she missed it. This was her sanctuary, a place that she could let all of her walls down and just be... free. She was able to sit and listen to the world around her. She could hear the rustling of the trees, the sounds of the animals, the buzzing of insects, the water ebbing and flowing with the occasional splash from the Giant Squid. It was peaceful, it calmed her racing thoughts and she could clear her mind.
She sighed, resting her head on the tree trunk and closed her eyes. There wasn't anything she could do regarding her parents and she knew that, but she still couldn't help the heavy feeling she got in her stomach from it. She so desperately hoped that they could work things out, that they could all be a family but she couldn't let herself hope anymore. Because when she hopes, she's always let down and left disappointed.
So that left her with her thoughts on Harry, and her feelings for him. She didn't know what to do. She wanted to forget about them, and get over them... but just the thought stung. She didn't know what hurt worse: the thought of letting her feelings for Harry go, or Harry choosing Cho. Letting her feelings go meant that she was closing the door on them completely and sealing it shut; but having to do that she knew was going to be so difficult and she didn't know if she could do it and still be around him all the time. Then the thought of not even being around him, being his friend as she did this hurt even more because she can't imagine her life without Harry in it. Even now when she was distancing herself from him as she tried to figure things out, she was still around him because she couldn't not want to be around him.
So that left the thought of watching him with Cho, and even though that crushed her and made her feel sick to her stomach – there was still that part of her brain that told her: if it doesn't work out, there was still a chance. But did she want to be the girl Harry dated second? Could she be that second choice? But she wouldn't be a second choice, not really... because that's what dating was about. Not everyone married their first relationship, most usually don't. Her and Harry might not even be compatible romantically... but they also could be. Did she really want to completely miss out on that chance and later wonder: what if?
There was also the tournament to think about. She understood that the tournament should come first, and she shouldn't jump to conclusions about Harry's feelings... but that still didn't mean what she saw didn't still hurt. Grace went into her bag and pulled out the photo of her and Harry dancing, and watched it. She felt herself starting to smile at it. She wanted to hold onto the feelings she felt that night forever and never let them go. She wanted to feel them again, experience them again with him. So, she was going to give Harry until the end of the tournament, and then she was going to make the first move; and if he tells her he likes Cho despite Cho still being with Cedric (that's all assuming that Cho and Cedric will still be together by the end of the tournament), she was going to accept it. She was going to find another boy to date and have fun with until Harry makes the next move.
"Hey..." Grace gasped as she jumped and turned to see Harry sitting beside her with his knees up to his chest and his hands stuffed in his jumper pocket.
"How'd you find me?" she asked confused, because she knew that Moody had the Map.
"This is your favorite spot," he answered with a small shrug. "You like to come here to read, or when you're upset, or when you just want to be alone..." Grace's heart thumped loudly in her chest while the butterflies fluttered. "I figured I should check here first before searching the rest of the school."
"Right," she nodded, holding the framed photo to her chest, and shoved a rock awkwardly with her foot.
"I'm sorry," Harry said to her in a soft, quiet voice. "I don't know what I did, and I know that probably makes it worse... but I've been racking my brain for the last week trying to figure out what I did or said that could've upset you and I've come up with nothing. I've been so angry thinking that you were mad at me for no reason, or that you were mad because I waited to make sure all the hostages were safe –" Grace grimaced and looked out at the lake. "So, I thought that if you're going to be a tosspot about it, then so will I," he continued with a shrug. "Then I noticed today in that cave that... you weren't wearing your necklace. You always wear it, so I knew that whatever was going on really bothered you."
Grace turned to look at him, and she found he was already looking at her. He then pulled his hand from his pocket and held up her necklace. She smiled smally as she reached for it. "I'm sorry, Grace," he whispered, leaning against the tree, "for whatever I did, I'm really sorry."
"You didn't do anything," she said as she ran her thumb over the golden wings. "When I heard that you stayed to make sure all the hostages were collected, I thought about how you wanted to save Cho, and saw how Cho kept looking at you, and how you kept looking at her... I got jealous," she confessed. Harry's brows frowned as he looked at her confused. "I thought... I thought that if it was me down there, that you would've gone to her first because... because you picked her and didn't realize it..."
"What?" Harry's face scrunched as he looked at her. "You're being –"
"Stupid," she finished, finally looking at him, "I know. It just...hurt seeing you look at her like that, and knowing that you wasted coming in first for her – to make sure she was safe. Even though, I know you're that kind of person because you did it for Fleur's sister too and that's one of the many things I like about you Harry," she continued, and Harry tried not to smile at the 'things I like about you'. "It still hurt knowing that if I was down there that... that you'd probably go to her first because your first thought is he-"
"You," Harry finished for her. She blinked and stared at him, lost for words. "I'd go to you first because I would've noticed you first," her cheeks flushed as her heart skipped in her chest. "You don't need to be jealous of Cho, there's no reason for you to be –"
"Like there's no reason for you to be jealous of Justin?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Harry frowned as he shook his head.
"No, that's different. Justin likes you, he asked you to the Ball and he's –"
"Harry," she cut him off. "I said no to Justin."
"Yeah, but –"
"I told you that I was waiting for you to ask me to the Ball because I wanted to go with you," she said slowly. "You have no reason to be jealous of Justin because I don't like Justin... I think it's clear on who I do like..."
"Oh," Harry frowned, pondering over her words, then his eyes widened in realization. "Oh..." she nodded slowly and looked away from him and to the lake.
"So every time you look at Cho, every time you get flustered and stutter around her... I get jealous," she said quietly, "because I want you to look at me like that." Harry's mouth went dry and a ball caught itself in his throat as he stared at her, lost for words. "I understand that you're preoccupied with the tournament, and that should come first, so I'm fine being just friends right now until you've figured it out, or even until you're ready; and when you are, I'll be here waiting for your answer, whether you have feelings for me, or for Cho."
"And....and if they're for Cho?" he asked after a few long, silent, minutes.
"Then I move on," she answered, turning to look at him. Something twisted in Harry's heart at her words, and he wasn't sure he liked them. "We're still going to be friends, Harry... nothing is ever going to change that, so even if you want to pursue Cho, I'll still be cheering you on because you're my friend and you'll always be my friend, and I'll always be yours."
Suddenly, Harry didn't like the idea of them being just friends. Being just friends meant that things would be different. Being just friends meant that there wouldn't be those small glances across the common room at night. It meant that there wouldn't be Grace's warm hugs. It meant that he wouldn't feel Grace's hand in his, or her arm looped with his... It meant that there weren't going to be anymore secret smiles, or meaningful looks. There wouldn't be anymore private talks, or getaways to the Black Lake. It meant that there wouldn't be anymore of the things that made them special to each other anymore; and that twisted something in Harry that he didn't like. He didn't like the idea of not having Grace around like she is now.
Harry looked at her, and she was looking out at the Lake, watching the last bits of the Sun's rays shine from behind the clouds. The colorful hues of the sky covered her, the wind blowing her hair out of her face. He was breathless... because in that moment, she was the only thing in the world.
He wanted more of this. He wanted more moments like this: sitting at the lake, with her.
After the tournament ends, he was going to tell her: it's her.
When Grace and Harry arrived at dinner together, everyone at the Gryffindor table was relieved. It seemed that peace had finally came to Gryffindor house after a very tense week and everyone could relax. Even those who weren't Weasley's or in fourth year had been feeling tension between Harry and Grace all week. It wasn't just the Gryffindor's that seemed to be relieved, their teachers were too – especially McGonagall, and Hagrid.
"Nice teh you two finally talkin' again!" Hagrid exclaimed happily as they arrived to Care of Magical Creatures. Grace ignored Hagrid's words and beamed brightly at him.
"Are those –"
"Sure are. They're old enough now," he smiled and Grace's smile grew as she started bouncing up and down, tugging on Harry and Ron's arms.
"Oi, ge'off!" Ron huffed as he tried to free his arm, but Harry didn't mind. After seeing Grace be mopey and miserable for a week, he was glad to see her smile. Grace finally let them go, and then took off both of her necklaces, stuffing them in her school bag before racing off to the crates.
"Hello, little ones!" She greeted happily as all the little nifflers huddled to the side of the crate she was leaning against. "Hello Jo, and Franny," she smiled, petting the two softly. "Yes, yes, hello Duffy," she laughed.
"Er," Harry said as he looked into the crate as Grace picked up a pitch black creature.
"Hello, Bo," she coo'd, holding it close to her.
"These're nifflers," Hagrid said as the class gathered around the crates. "Yeh find 'em down mines mostly. They like sparkly stuff... there yeh go, look." Grace only stroked the top of the Bo's head. He was a bit of a runt. While all the others varied in shades of navy, dark brown and almost black, he was pure black. Even his snout and paws were black, but his eyes were a grey color and not beady black like the others. Bo had become attached to Grace, and she had a soft spot for him.
"Useful little treasure detectors," Hagrid told them happily. "Thought we'd have some fun with 'em today! See over there?" He pointed to a large patch of freshly turned up earth. "I've buried some gold coins. I've got a prize fer whoever picks the niffler that digs up the most! Jus' take off all yer valuables, an' choose a niffler, an get ready ter set 'em loose," he instructed, then he turned to Grace, who was smiling at Bo. "Takin' a guess yer pickin' Bo?"
"More like Bo's picked me," she grinned as Bo crawled up her arm and hid in her curly hair. "Oh, Harry that's Lola!" she told him as he picked up a dark niffler with a long snout. She smiled as Lola sniffed his face and his ear happily.
"Who have I got?" Neville asked as he held picked up a small brown niffler.
"That's Romulus, he's a sweety," she answered. "Hermione's got Florence," Hermione was holding a grey and black niffler, laughing as it started burying it's snout in the collar of her shirt. "And Ron you've got... you've got Ron."
"You named a niffler after me?!" Ron exclaimed as he held the dark navy-black niffler in his arms.
"I was running out of names," she shrugged as she pulled Bo out of her hair and sat on the ground. "Go on, Bo," she said softly, setting Bo on the ground. Bo turned and looked up at her, tilting his head curiously before diving into the ground.
Today was the most fun they've had in class since, well... since Buckbeak. Grace was hoping that Hagrid noticed how much fun everyone was having and learning about their nifflers, and hopefully they'll have more classes like this. Grace sighed as she took yet another shiny thing that Bo had found. He only found a few of the coins, but ended up finding lost earrings, old necklace's, bracelets, and charms in the ground that was outside of the area where Hagrid had hid the gold.
"Can you buy these as pets, Hagrid?" Ron asked excitedly as niffler Ron dropped some more gold on his lap before diving back into the ground.
"Yer mum wouldn' be too happy abou' tha' Ron," Hagrid answered with a smile. "They wreck houses, nifflers. I reckon they've nearly got the lot, now," he added as he glanced over the patch. "I on'y buried a hundred coins," he shrugged. "Alrigh', let's check how yeh've done!" Hagrid announced. "Count yer coins! An' there's no point tryin' ter steal any, Goyle," he added, glaring at Goy. "It's leprechaun gold. Vanishes after a few hours."
Niffler Ron ended up finding the most gold, and Ron ended up receiving a large slab of Honeydukes Chocolate as his prize. Grace pulled Bo off her shoulder and went to put him back in the crate, but the niffler scurried back up her arm.
"I'm sorry, Bo, but you can't come with me," she said softly as she pulled him from her robes again. "I'll come see you soon, I promise," she smiled, setting Bo back down into the crate. He made a little sound as he stared up at her. "I know... I'll miss you too," she stroked the top of his head before standing back up.
"That was such a fun lesson," Hermione commented with a smile as they made their way back to the castle for lunch. "They're quite cute, aren't they? Nifflers."
"And dead useful," Harry added. "They're really good, aren't they Ron?" he asked, turning to look at Ron, who was frowning at the chocolate he won from class. "What's the matter? Wrong flavor?"
"No," Ron replied shortly. "Why didn't you tell me about the gold?"
"What gold?" Harry asked.
"The gold I gave you at the Quidditch World Cup," Ron answered frustratedly. "The leprechaun gold I gave you for my Omnioculars. In the Top Box. Why didn't you tell me it disappeared?"
"Oh," Harry said, finally remembering what Ron was talking about. "I dunno, I never noticed it was gone. I was more worried about my wand, wasn't I?"
"Must be nice," Ron said abuprtly, as they entered the Great Hall. "To have so much money you don't notice if a pocketful of Galleons goes missing," he huffed.
"Listen, there was a lot going on that night and I had other things to worry about," Harry said impatiently. "We all did!"
"I didn't know leprechaun gold vanishes," Ron muttered, "I thought I was paying you back. You shouldn't've given me that Chudley Cannon hat for Christmas..."
"Forget it, alright?" Harry griped.
"I hate being poor," he spat, glaring at his food. Grace, Hermione and Harry all shared a look. "It's rubbish," Ron continued, "I don't' blame Fred and George for trying to make some extra money. I wish I could. Wish I had a niffler..."
"There's nothing wrong with being poor," Grace said gently.
"Easy for you to say, you've got a giant vault full of gold."
"But I didn't know that until recently, now did I?" she retorted, "besides, Remus is poor. He's been poor my whole life, but that doesn't change anything. There's only been a few gifts my whole life that Remus got me brand new, everything else has always been second or third or fourth hand, and they've always been some of my favorite gifts. Gifts don't have to be fancy or expensive, they just have to be thoughtful," she told him and Ron still glared at his plate. "Oh stop with that! If Harry hadn't bought you the omniocular's then I would have! You wouldn't be giving me this would you?" she asked, and he shook his head. "Then chin up. Money isn't everything," she reminded him and stuffed her face with her sandwich.