𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐒𝐄𝐃 | harry potter

⏤ 11. hogwarts high inquisitor

Ria rubbed Harry's arm comfortingly. "It's okay.. You were only trying to make me feel better." she answered. But deep down, she felt guilty about not telling him. He shared every single thing with her, and her keeping secrets didn't feel like it was fair.

Ria rested her head on his shoulder again, while Harry leaned his head on hers. But to her, something didn't feel right. There wasn't that optimistic aura she received from Harry every time. Instead, it felt like he was cowering under some burden, wanting to get out, but not knowing the way.

"What's wrong, love?" asked Asteria, her voice of concern. Quickly, Harry sat up straight and looked at her in shock, almost as if she had done some kind of miracle. The action did scare Ria to some extent, but she didn't show it on her face.

"How do you do it?" asked Harry helplessly, making her give him a questioning look. "How do you know—" he waved his hand exaggeratingly in the air, "—literally everything about me? You push me when it's needed, you back away when it's not! I— I don't even have to say a word! And then there's me! I mess up after every next step!"

Ria stared at him in blatant shock. "What?"

"I— just— I— I try to do the right thing— I try to make you feel better, and then end up making you feel worse. I then promise I won't do it again, and guess what? I fucking do it again—"

"Woah— wait!" Ria interrupted, "is this what it's about? No.. no!" she chuckled, "Harry— who told you that? You're perfect!"

"Don't lie.. Please." Harry requested, and Ria couldn't help but feel pity for him. Merlin, how he always tried his best..

"I'm not." she said sincerely, cupping his face in a comforting way. "Harry, you're the best I could ever get. You're one of the few people that make me realise my mistakes, and that's a good thing. You bring out the best in me."

"And you know what's the one thing I like about you the most?" She asked. "Whenever something happens that concerns me.. you try, and try, and keep trying. But you never give up on me. And that means a lot more than you realise." she confessed, her voice slightly breaking.

Harry's eyes softened at her loving gaze. He knew somewhere in her mind, the thoughts of her father were nagging her while she said that. And that certainly was true. 

She didn't want anyone else to give up on her the way Daniel Edwards had.

"You're enough, Harry. You're more than enough. And don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

The amount of relief Harry felt in his heart was indescribable. The light Ria was bestowing upon him was working loads and loads more than she realised it was. 

He had never heard those words before.

The world had its expectations from Harry Potter; which included his 'family', the Dursleys expecting him to be 'normal', his school and the Ministry expecting him to 'speak the truth', his friends expecting him to 'be fine' even after everything he had experienced, his own godfather expecting him to 'be more like his father'... And the words 'you're enough' felt like a warm hug on a cold, harsh winter night.

"Okay but, seriously, you know what? If we want our relationship to work.." she interrupted his thoughts, wanting to lift up the mood. "we gotta establish some ground rules." She said, sticking her nose up in the air playfully, which made Harry chuckle.

"Ground rules?" He asked, and she nodded. "Like..?"

"Like.. um.." she trailed off, thinking. "Like no unnecessary apologising." She gave him a challenging, playful smile.

"That applies to you too, you know that, right?" Harry smirked.

"I said 'unnecessary'."

"Yeah, exactly." He emphasised, making her roll her eyes.