𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐗 ☽ Harry Potter

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐱

     "Definitely," said Harry.

     "Harry and I full heartedly promise to put off any near death experiences for after the house cup," said Iphigenia. Harry rolled his eyes at his friend, but smiled when she gave him a flattering wink back.

     Full of determination, the team started training sessions, three evenings a week. The weather was getting colder and wetter, the nights darker, but no amount of mud, wind, or rain could tarnish the Gryffindor team's wonderful vision of finally winning the huge, silver Quidditch Cup.

     After one particularly tough practice, Harry had waited for Iphigenia outside of the locker room. It was true that, thanks to Quidditch restarting, Iphigenia had slowly but surely been coming back to herself. Just that morning, Harry had watched as his friend bantered with the Diggory's about Quidditch plays, the eldest of the siblings being the Hufflepuff captain.

     But there was a part of Harry Potter that was selfish. The same piece of him that shared a special connection with Iphigenia. A bond that had been forged by being house mates, Quidditch teammates, and growing up with a distasteful pairing of an aunt and uncle. In an odd sort of way, Iphigenia and Harry understood each other at a much deeper level than the boy had ever experienced with either Ron or Hermione.

     Which was why, lead by his selfishness to have some alone time with Iphigenia, and in hopes to get her back to herself, Harry waited out in the cold. His dirty Quidditch robes stuffed into his school bag as we waited for his friend to appear from the locker room.

     Thankfully, he didn't have to wait too long. An added bonus was Iphigenia walking out alone. Her hair was already dry, from one of the advanced drying charms she always seemed to have handy. She wore an old hoodie of Harry's — that he definitely had been looking for since last Easter — and some wool leggings, her feet warm in a pair of Muggle winter boots.

     "Hey, Wonder Boy. Ready to head up?" Iphigenia asked, a tired smile on her face. Despite the two of them having cleaned off the mud and sweat from practice, they were both still cold and stiff.

     "Actually, I was wondering...didn't you say that you only had the Astronomy star chart to finish tonight?" Harry asked, a bubble of nerves filling his gut.

     Iphigenia hummed in answer, her heart shaped face nodding.

     "Me too, and I know the perfect place to do it," Harry said and grabbed her much smaller hand, leading her back into the castle.

     Instead of heading up the staircase to Gryffindor tower, Harry lead Iphigenia up toward the Astronomy Tower. All Hogwarts students had been taking Astronomy since their first year and the route was familiar.

     "Harry, we're at the tallest tower of the castle in the middle of October," Iphigenia argued once they landed on the final step. She wrapped her small arms around her to fight off the wind chill, while taking in the empty circular room.

     "Oh — right — hold on," Harry said while digging a hand into his school bag. He pulled out a jar and, pointing his wand at it, muttered a spell he learned from Hermione. A large flame appeared inside the jar, producing only a small amount of heat enough for the two of them.

     "Is that all?" Iphigenia huffed. Reaching into her own school bag, she pulled out her school cloak. With her own wand, she muttered a spell Harry hadn't learned yet and the cloak transfigured into a woolen blanket. Quickly, Iphigenia wrapped them in it, holding the jar for more warmth.

     "You're amazing, you know that?" Harry breathed, no longer feeling the cool air from the comfort of the blanket and the closeness of Iphigenia next to him.