beautiful - harry potter

chapter 28

Luckily enough for them, both of them were drunk off their asses. 

Thalia was one of those drunk girls who gets really giggly and laughs at every single thing that comes out of someone's mouth. Harry was one of those drunk guys who told stories about everything that's happened in his life.

"A-and then h-he goes," Harry said in between wheezing laughter, "Potter! N-no, he does that thing! He doesn't even say my name right!"

Thalia didn't respond, she only laughed. Harry continued to laugh because Thalia's laugh was so infectious and the Slytherin rested her head on his shoulder unintentionally. Harry didn't even notice and he just laughed, trying to calm down so he could finish his story.

"H-he does that, that thing!" Harry said while shaking his pointed finger. "H-he goes 'Pottah!'"

"That was good!" Thalia giggled. "He does sound like that!"

"Pottah!" Harry repeated jokingly. They both broke out into laughter once again and Harry had to grab his stomach because it hurt too much. "God, if I were sober right now, I would definitely hex you. S'not personal or anything."

"I would hex you too," Thalia said, removing her head from Harry's shoulder to stare at him. "I miss you."

"I miss you too," Harry admitted while slurring. "Miss our cuddling sessions."

"Yeah. You were warm," the brunette commented. "I bet you're still warm."

"I bet you're still warm too," Harry replied.

"How much do you want to bet?"

"I've got like 100,000 Galleons in my vault. So, I'd bet..." Harry trailed off and stroked his chin in thought, pretending to have a beard. "1 Galleon."

"1 Galleon saying that I'm still warm," Thalia decided, "and I'll bet a Galleon that I'm not warm." Neither of them had any idea what they were saying but Harry pulled Thalia down so they were laying across the couch and Harry hugged her tightly, like a giant teddy bear.

"You're a bit warmer than warm," he noted. 

"That means I win," Thalia said with a small smile. "Come on, pay up." She held her hand out and Harry dug into his pockets, pulling out a Galleon. The bespectacled boy put it into her hand and Thalia closed her hand around the coin, not bothering to check it.

They both stared at each other for a few minutes, blocking out the other few voices left in the common room. Thalia brushed the strands of hair out of Harry's face and tucked it behind his ear, smiling after she fixed it.

She put her hand back to her side and let out a sigh. Harry could smell the Firewhiskey in her breath and he hated it, but he wasn't one to judge when his breath smelled like vodka. 

"You would have such a bright future, Harry," Thalia predicted. "It's such a shame that the Dark Lord's going to kill you."

"Why do you think he'd kill me? I think I'll have a good chance of surviving," Harry admitted. Thalia let out a quiet laugh and she rested her forehead on Harry's chest.

"Harry, it's the Dark Lord. I do have faith that you'll fight back, but it's so unlikely that you'd win that battle," Thalia replied. "I don't want to love a person with a terrible fate."

"Everyone dies eventually, don't they?" Harry asked. "Wouldn't make much of a difference if I died a few years from now, compared to forty years from now."

"I don't want to die," the brunette mumbled sadly. 

"I'd protect you." Thalia's head perked up and her green eyes pierced Harry's soft doe eyes in a way that sent tingles down Harry's spine and sent his hairs on his arms up. 

"You wouldn't," she frowned.

"I would."

"You'd be doing much more complicated things and probably trying to save the world instead of having to spend your days protecting me and babysitting me-"

"I'm not a babysitter, but I'd protect people I care about," Harry cut in, "and I care about you." 

Thalia's green eyes skeptically scanned his, looking back and forth between his soft eyes, as if she were looking for something deeper. Harry only stared back, not bothering to take back his words somehow.

The Slytherin leaned in and kissed his lips slowly, just feeling it out and testing her boundaries instead of going for a snog. The kiss lasted for long seconds and Harry found himself kissing back, ever so gently. He enjoyed the kiss much more than Thalia did and he enjoyed the fact that he was kissing Thalia, not just some random person.

Thalia suddenly felt Harry's lips leave hers as she was pried off the couch. "Absolutely not!" Dean yelled. There was little to no one in the common room, except for Dean and Ron, who were holding her arms.

"Are you bloody insane, woman?!" Ron interrogated. "Harry seems to be getting over a no-good evil Slytherin like you and now you've kissed him! Are you bloody insane?!"

"None of us are sane here," Thalia whispered, reminiscing her mother's words to her over the summer. When the Dark Lord had returned, Death Eaters filled Thalia's home and her mother had warned her. Thalia supposed that because she was surrounded by the insane, she couldn't possibly be sane.

"What the bloody hell are you talking about?" Ron huffed. Thalia shook off Rons' and Dean's hands and looked at both of them with a bewildered look. She'd been in her own little world for the last couple hours but now she was back and she realized what kind of world she lived in.

"None of us are sane here." She pushed past them and exited the common room, causing Ron and Dean to turn back to Harry.

"Are you alright, Harry? She didn't try anything, right?" Dean asked worriedly.

"She doesn't have to try," Harry said dreamily. "She tried to steal my heart again but she doesn't have to try, because she still has it."

"Oh bloody hell."

And just like that, Harry fancied Thalia Forthing again.