ghost stories - h. potter

Twenty

Now, Belle was settled in front of the fireplace with a mug of hot cocoa in her hands curled up with a book next to Hermione as Harry and Ron played a game of Wizard's Chess. Harry, unable to beat the red-headed man after six rounds, was struggling terribly. Poking her eyes over the top of her book, she leaned in close to Harry, who was sitting on the floor in front of her, and murmured 'move the bishop'.

Glancing up at her with a raised eyebrow, she only sent him a subtle smile before settling back into the couch and returning to her book. She was reading one of the new ones she had been gifted on magical creatures and Nixie, who didn't seemed to be enjoying the moving illustrations, would raise a paw every so often to bat at the girl's book.

"What!" Ron exclaimed loudly, only to have his three friend shush him loudly. Everyone else had gone to bed and they didn't want Mrs Weasley coming down to chastise them for staying up.

"How did you - Belle, you helped him!" Ron complained. The corner of Hermione's lips turned up in a smile as Belle glanced up at him from over the top of her book, raising an eyebrow.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," she said airily.

"You leaned down to whisper something to him before!" He replied and Belle set her book down on the cushion beside her.

"Yes, to tell him that he looked very handsome today," she said casually. Hermione rose a hand to her mouth to stifle the giggles that had burst from her throat at how red Harry had become. Belle promptly avoided all eye contact with him as Ron spluttered. From beside her, James was laughing uproariously and Fred was grinning, proud to see that his mischievous ways had rubbed off on her. Even Lily herself was laughing, unable to contain her laughter at the look on her son's face. She locked eyes with the translucent woman and her lips rose into a slight smile before she turned back to Ron, who hadn't noticed the odd exchange .

"Are you sure?" Ron interrogated the girl and Belle glanced down at Harry.

"Am I telling the truth?" She asked. Unable to string two words together, Harry simply nodded and Ron huffed.

"I demand a rematch."

"Oh, come on, Ronald. You've beaten him six times and he's only beaten you once. It's getting late, we should probably head to bed now, so you can have your rematch tomorrow." Hermione said as she closed her book labelled 'Mythology: Fact or Fiction?'.

Belle scratched behind Nixie's ears as the black cat stretched herself out on her owner's lap, purring happily. Jumping down from the couch, she landed just next to Harry and started pawing at his jeans, before climbing up onto his lap and settling down, the end of her tail curled around her little nose.

"Fine," Ron grumbled.

"Are you coming, Belle?" Hermione asked from the foot of the stairs and Belle gave her a small smile.

"I'll be up with you in a second - I just need to wash my mug and give Nixie some milk." With a nod, she and Ron bid the two goodnight before disappearing up the stairs together. Harry and Belle were left alone in the peace of the fireplace. The flames in the brazier had died down to nothing but glowing embers.

"Sorry about her," Belle apologised as Nixie attached herself to Harry.

"If there's other people in the room, she'll make sure to curl up with one of them instead of myself," she said, earning a slight chuckle from Harry,

"She's a lot cuter than Hermione's old cat - but don't tell her I told you that." Belle pushed his shoulder gently, earning a laugh from him.

"I'm sure Hermione's cat was just as good looking as Nixie. Don't mention that around her when she's awake, though, she'll never come near you again. Vain thing." Belle shook her head at the black cat who had settled contently on Harry's lap and was now fast asleep. Pushing herself off the couch, she headed into the kitchen to wash out her mug and was greeted by the sight of a grinning Sirius and smug Fred.

"I think we've had a good influence on her, Fred," Sirius said, referring to Belle's earlier cover-up to stop Ron from thinking that she had helped Harry win chess when that was exactly what she had done.

"Shut up," Belle murmured quietly, though heat rose into her cheeks which only caused the expressions on the two men's faces to widen.

"Did you have a good Christmas?" Fred asked as she turned the tap on and Belle nodded, sending him a small smile.

"Thank you for encouraging me to talk to George," Belle replied softly, so that Harry wouldn't hear her.

"That was all you, Belle. Thank you for putting him at ease - it's nice to see him around the family again."

"I'm just glad I could help," Belle replied as she turned off the tap and set the mug down to dry and conjured up a bowl so she could fill it with milk for Nixie.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow - say hi to Cedric, Remus and Tonks for me?" She asked and Fred nodded, knowing that she was going to be heading off to bed.

"We're glad to see you happy, Belle," Sirius said.

"I hope you're all happy, too," Belle replied and Sirius smiled at her.

"We are, thanks to you." With a final goodnight, the two disappeared with a pop, leaving Belle alone in the kitchen. She filled the bowl with milk and set it down, calling Nixie's name. The jingling of her collar was audible in the quiet air and she hurried into the kitchen a second later, heading straight towards the bowl. Belle ran her fingers through the cat's soft, black fur before standing up and dusting off her hands. She took a step forwards, her eyes still trained on the cat and ran straight into something slightly solid. Belle looked up, blushing deeply as her eyes fell on Harry who was looking down at her.

"Sorry, Harry," she said quietly.

"I didn't see you there."

"I just thought I should say goodnight - I'm going to head to bed now," Harry said, pushing his glasses up on his nose and Belle sent him a small smile.

"Well, goodnight then. Sleep well."

"You too," he said. He hesitated for a moment before he reached out and took her hand, squeezing it gently. The two stared at each other, not moving. The silence was only broken the sounds of soft mewling from Nixie and Belle broke the eye contact, only to see that Nixie had finished drinking.

Harry slid his hand away from Belle's and turned to head upstairs, leaving the tension in the kitchen with Belle.

"Hey, Belle?" He called out just as he begun to ascend the stairs. She poked her head around the door to the kitchen and looked up at him.

"You looked beautiful today."

With that, he left Belle alone in the kitchen with a hammering heart and a silly smile on her face.