*✧･ﾟ:* DEAD TO ME *:･ﾟ✧*
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"DOES THIS LOOK okay?" Harry, both hands swiping through his hair frantically, asked in a panic as his wide green eyes stared back at himself in the mirror. On the other side of the bathroom, leaning against the doorframe, was Ron, looking unbelievably tired. "Does it?"
"I think you look like a twat, actually," Ron teased. Harry blinked, before huffing frustratingly. "I'm kidding. It looks fine."
"How m' I supposed to trust you know?" Harry complained. "What if it looks awful and you're lying to me?"
"Quit fussing over your hair and come down to the common room, will you?" Ron's voice sounded further and further away as he exited their dormitory. Harry could hear the thundering of his feet down the stairs, and he only sighed and glanced at himself again. He had tried to flatten his hair, but it just looked like he had fallen asleep with a book on his head, getting rid of all its shape. "Harry!"
"Coming!" he called, ruffling his hair again before slipping through the bathroom door and jogging down the steps. His hands found the sides of his shirt, tugging at it as though to rid himself of the imaginary wrinkles, but just as he began to fuss again, Ron whacked him on the shoulder.
"Quit it! You're fine!" Ron told him exasperatedly. "It's gonna be fine. You've been through worse situations than a bloody date. You've fought a dragon."
"I'd take the dragon right about now," Harry murmured anxiously. Before he could say more, there was a sharp banging on the portrait entrance. He could hear the Fat Lady complaining. "Oh, god, d'you think that was her?"
"Who else would it be?" Ron asked rhetorically.
"Oh, wait! I forgot something!" Harry said, practically tripping over his feet to get back up the steps. "Hold on a second!"
"You want me to tell her you're not ready?"
"Yes!"
Ron, sighing, turned around and dragged his feet to the portrait entrance. He paused for a moment before swinging it open, poking his head out to see Indiana leaning against the railing of the staircase, lower lip pulled between her teeth. She snapped her head to look at him, but seeing that it was him, she pursed her lips.
"Well?" she said expectantly, fiddling with the sleeve of her shirt, and it was then that Ron noticed she was wearing a blue sort of flannel shirt. One that he had seen on Harry's trunk many, many times. "Did he die in there?"
"He says he's not ready," Ron told her. "Forgot something in his dorm."
"Oh," was all Indiana said. Ron spied her fidgeting hands, seeing her twiddling her thumbs, as well as her dark eyes anxiously shifting up and down and left and right.
"He's really nervous, y'know," he told her. Her eyes snapped to him again. Blinked.
"Really?" she said unsurely. Ron had the thought that she hadn't been this unsure about anything in her entire life.
"Yeah," he nodded, offering a sheepish look. "Running around... switching clothes... he tried to flatten his hair."
Indiana made a face. "Tell him to just keep it like normal, will you?"
"That your only message?" Ron asked, taking a step back into the Gryffindor common room. Indiana feigned a look of thought for a moment before nodding.
"Yeah, I think so," she said. Before he could close the entrance again, he turned his head and was met with Harry bounding down the steps, stuffing something into his pocket. He raised his eyebrows at him before slipping by and hopping out through the portrait hole.
"Indiana!" he said brightly once he caught sight of her. Harry felt his chest lift at the sight of her wearing his flannel. It was way too long on her, but she managed to rock it anyway. "Hi!"
The young woman clicked her tongue at him, one of her dark eyebrows twitching up at him before she took two strides forward with her arms raised. She brought her hands to his head and ruffled his hair around rather aggressively; he squinted as she did so, and only when she brought her hands down did he run a hand through his hair to fix it.
"There," she said with a hint of satisfaction to her tone, although he wasn't sure if she was joking or not. "Much better. Are you ready?"
"You messed it up," Harry frowned, fussing over his hair again. He probably looked like a mess; he wondered what she must be thinking. God, his first date with her and not only was he late, but he looked bad.
"I made it better," she told him bluntly, to his surprise. "Don't go gelling it or flattening it. It looks nice like this."
"Oh," Harry breathed out, the tips of his ears tinging pink. He wondered if there would ever be a day when even the smallest of compliments from her wouldn't prompt a reaction. "Okay."
"Okay," Indiana shot him a grin, flashing her white teeth, before glancing behind him at Ron and saying, "I'll have him back by no later than four in the morning?"
"Sounds good," Ron, to Harry's shock, smiled at them.
"Bye," Harry waved as he felt Indiana link arms with him, beginning to tug him down the staircase of Gryffindor Tower.
"Took you long enough," Indiana said teasingly, nudging him. "Y'know, Weasley isn't so bad."
"Oh?" Harry raised an eyebrow, an odd twisting in his chest. "That's... good..."
"Don't give me that. You've nothing to worry about," she reassured him. Scoffing, she said, "As if I'd ever show interest in a Weasley."
"Don't be mean," Harry scolded as they descended down another moving staircase, both of them subconsciously avoiding the trick steps. "They're like family."
"S'not mean, just preference," she smirked. "I'd date a Potter over a Weasley any day."
"Well — I mean —" Harry clamped his mouth shut and just timidly smiled at her. "Thanks."
"Don't thank me. S' just the truth," she shrugged, tugging him closer. "Okay. What did you have planned?"
✧✧✧
CHARMS CLASSROOM
1991
WHEN HARRY FOUND that his new Charms seat was directly beside Indiana Jones, he was initially frustrated. Ron was sitting only three rows behind him, and Hermione was across the classroom, leaving him with none of his friends to talk with. But after a good bit of thinking, he was sure he could make good of it.
"Hi," he said very quietly when he slipped into his seat. The young girl was sitting with her arms crossed over her chest, legs partially spread, eyes trained forward. She shifted her dark iris' to face him, and a chill practically ran up his spine; god, if looks could kill!
"Potter," she greeted under her breath, not looking very pleased to have him next to her. "You won't blow things up like Finnegan, will you?"
"I hope not," Harry said lightly, trying to sound like he wasn't intimidated by her. "Are you... er... good at Charms?"
Indiana scoffed, shaking her head just enough for a coil of dark hair to fall down from where it was tied up into a ponytail. Not looking at him, she said, "I'm good at everything."
Harry pursed his lips and refrained from the urge to roll his eyes. Boy, was she difficult. He wondered if there would ever be a day that he could have a conversation with her without her seeming like she wanted nothing more than for it to be over.
"I'm sure there's something you're not good at," Harry muttered to himself, slumping back into his seat defeatedly. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Indiana's brows furrowed, her head slowly turning to look at him.
"Try me," she said dangerously, glaring daggers into his green eyes. Harry glanced back over to her, ignoring the feeling of his glasses sliding down his nose. He silently thought for a moment, wracking his brain for something she couldn't circumvent from.
"Cooking," he blurted. She blinked. "With no magic."
She scoffed. "Nobody cooks without magic. Except —"
"Muggles," Harry smirked. "You can't do anything that Muggles can do. How's that feel?"
"Why would I want to do something a Muggle can do?" Indiana raised a brow, the corner of her lip twitching up in a cocky way. Harry paused for a moment before shrugging.
"Not that you want to do it," he went on. "But it's just the fact that you can't do it. And you'll probably never be able to."
"Whatever," she muttered. "Muggles are stupid, anyway."
"If you say so," Harry said smugly, watching as Professor Flitwick scurried across the narrow classroom and hopped upon his stack of textbooks so he could be visible. Indiana huffed. "Just know you can't be good at everything."
✧✧✧
PRESENT DAY
THE LAST DAY of classes felt oddly surreal. Harry wasn't sure if it was because the rest of his life was beginning or if his entire childhood was ending. It was saying goodbye to the place he called home for eight years, as well as saying hello to a brand new chapter. Either way, Harry felt weird. There was something about walking up and down the corridors and knowing it would be the last time that made him sort of want to cry.
Indiana had been spending a lot of her time with Nancy Woods — apparently, the Halfblood girl was moving to the United States to live with her father and continue her magical studies there. Indiana wasn't sure when she'd see her again, so she had explicitly told Harry to "wait his turn" because she needed time with the other girl. Harry, disappointed, respected this nonetheless and complied. That didn't mean he couldn't see her in the middle of the night, though.
Harry had taken Indiana's idea to heart and began to wonder about what it would take to become a teacher at Hogwarts. Perhaps he could be the one to break the curse of the Defense Against the Dark Arts position. Indiana was officially going to be joining the Holyhead Harpies once she graduated (she'd have to learn to get along with Ginny Weasley), and Harry wondered how they'd keep their relationship going now that they wouldn't see one another every day. Unless...
"Hermione?" Harry asked aloud, laying upside-down on the Gryffindor common room couch, his head mere inches from the scarlet-carpet on the floor below him. The girl hummed, Crookshanks sleeping in her seat and a thick book in her hand. "Should I ask Indiana to move in with me?"
Hermione, at this, lifted her head to look at him. Her brows were furrowed, and after a very pensive look, she swiped hair out from her dark cheeks and pursed her lips.
"Well... I suppose you could," Hermione mused. "But do you think she'll leave Simon with their father?"
"Won't she have to?" Harry wondered. "I mean, she's not going to live with her father until Simon graduates. I just figured... I was gonna stay in Grimmauld Place until I found a place to live, but... do you think she'd want to stay with me?"
"It's a little fast, Harry," Hermione warned him. "Look, I think it would be wonderful. But you've only just started dating. I'm just saying that you need to be prepared for her to potentially say no."
"I know," Harry frowned. "Just an idea."
"Ask her tonight," Hermione offered. "Whenever the two of you meet up in the wee hours of the night."
Harry thought about the prospect of living with Indiana for the entire rest of the day. He had never spent more than twelve hours with her, nor had he ever slept in the same bed as her, but there wasn't any part of him that was worried he might not enjoy it.
The idea of sleeping with her was more exciting than nerve-racking, and he couldn't think of anything that might prevent it from going harmoniously. Except if she wanted to invite someone like Malfoy or Zabini over. Even then... he could get over it.
"Can I ask you something?" Harry whispered to her gently that night. They had opted for the Astronomy Tower that evening rather than the kitchens, considering the elves were hopping all over the place, making the kitchens a bit too noisy for them to do what they usually did: talk, snog, and — occasionally — smoke.
"Anything," Indiana whispered back softly. From where they were laying closely side to side, he could feel her hair brush the side of his face. There was a smoky aroma off of her that made his brain go fuzzy, but beneath all of it was something sweet, like lavender and lemons from the shampoo she used. "What is it?"
"Move in with me," Harry muttered, fishing around for her hand, and linking fingers together when he found it. "After school's done."
"Like... actually?" Indiana said quietly. "You have a flat?"
"I've got Sirius' old house," Harry said. "But... it would be there until I found a place. Somewhere in London, or something, I haven't thought about it. I just know I want you nearby."
"Okay," Indiana hummed. He blinked and turned his head to the side.
"Actually?"
"Yeah," she smiled. "I'd like that."
"Brilliant," he said, stomach fluttering. "Okay."
✧✧✧
ON THE EDGE of the Black Lake, five students in green and silver ties sat with legs crossed or dangling into the water, bare hands pressed against the plush grass, digging into the rich soil. The setting sun casted a blithe filled orange glow across their bittersweet faces, each of which covered in scars as unique as the next, whether they be internal or external.
Indiana turned her head to the right, slowly, leisurely, to lay eyes on Blaise; his eyes were trained blankly at the murky Black Lake ahead of him, face uncreased and expression youthful. Next to Blaise was Theodore, who's mousy brown hair was being feathered around by the breeze, and had his hands knotting blades of grass before tossing them into the lake like meaningless pieces of string.
She turned her head to her left; Nancy was laying on her stomach, her face in her palm while the other hand dipped her two fingers into the lake, staring lightly at the circular ripples her hands caused like she had seen nothing like it. Next to Nancy was Draco, leaning onto the backs of his hands with his head tilted up to the sky, his pale eyelids closed — for once in his life, Indiana thought, the boy looked at peace. They all did.
It was the last day of school. She had meant to spend it with Harry, probably snogging in some empty and abandoned corridor, but something within her had told her to spend it with her friends instead. She had spent eight years of her life with these people; each just as interesting as the next, and even though sometimes they annoyed her to no end (cough cough Draco), they were her favorite people in the world. The thought of leaving them to carry on the rest of her life made her want to cry and scream at the same time.
"You okay?" Blaise muttered, breaking her out of her bittersweet headspace by a small nudge of his knee. Indiana gave him a genuine smile and nodded her head. "Penny for your thoughts?"
"Just... thinking about school," Indiana sighed out. On the end of their line, Draco opened his eyes and peered over silently. "Hogwarts kind of sucked sometimes, but... it's been home, hasn't it?"
"It is home," Theo said. "That sounds kind of awfully cheesy to say, but it's true, innit? We've lived here for how long?"
"We're not related, but we are family," Nancy told them. Draco scoffed.
"Speak for yourself," he said teasingly. "All Purebloods are related in some way, so we all technically are family."
"We're all incest babies," Blaise deadpanned, to which Indiana and Theo burst out into hysteric, hyena-like laughter. "Minus the birth defects."
"Wish we could have another party," Draco mused aloud, white-blonde hair being pushed back by the breeze of the Black Lake, his pale eyes trained thoughtlessly on the large, purple-blue tentacle that rose from the murky waters. Indiana wondered innocently how long the Giant Squid had been alive for.
"Why, so you can become a cocaine addict?" Nancy sassed, and Blaise let out a loud Ha! in response. Draco pursed his lips but chuckled either way, too happy to even twist his lips into a scowl. "It's not like we'll never see each other again... you lot can visit me in the States."
"It's so far," Theodore whined. "How're we supposed to travel across the country?"
"We're magic," Indiana said bluntly. "We can apparate. Or floo."
"Well, still," Theo huffed. "Too far. Wish we could have another year at school."
"Our time's up," Blaise said, a hint of sorrow to his tone. "Everything good must come to an end."
"Drama queen," Nancy coughed, and Blaise reached across Indiana just to shove her by the shoulder. "No, you're right. I suppose we need to grow up. I mean, we've all got a plan, haven't we? I'm going to the States to go to University, Ana's playing Quidditch, Draco's going into Alchemy — what're you doing, Theo?"
"Gonna work for the Ministry, probably," Theo shared. "Being an Auror sounds cool, doesn't it? What're you doing, Blaise?"
"No idea," Blaise told them honestly, his lips upturned. "Maybe I'll take a year off. Mum's got enough money for three lifetimes."
"You Pureblood," Nancy teased, sending him a look. Indiana sighed, leaning forward and resting her two palms against her warm cheeks, staring contently out at the setting sun amongst the horizon line.
There had been plenty of horrors at Hogwarts, whether it be putting up with her boyfriend almost dying every year, or her mother literally dying in her arms on school grounds, but among it all, it had shaped her entire childhood, as well as her future.
And you know what? She had gotten everything she wanted. A chosen family, a really attractive boyfriend, and — the most important — the bloody Quidditch Cup. She knew Slughorn was right in making her Captain. The year would've gone a very different way if she hadn't been.
SHE SPEAKS!
sorry if this chapter was kind of all over the place. i had no idea what to write and i still have no idea what to write for the next chap. i want to have a nice closing at chapter thirty, so... only three more chapters to go, really! pls give suggestions <3
i haven't much time to write, since my work literally goes from 8 am to 6 pm. i'm outside working with children ALL FCKING DAY. i am so drained rn. my feet hurt. i need to shower. and make out with someone (any volunteers?).
in the meantime, while you wait for another chapter, i wanted to share some fun facts about dead to me that i thought were kind of cool!! (you can ignore them if you want, i just wanted to share them)
1. my original plan was to give quidditch teams cheerleading teams. indiana was supposed to be captain of a sort of dance/cheer squad for slytherin, but i thought making her beater was an easier idea!
2. for those who didn't understand: indiana and draco are really good friends. during seventh year they fooled around a bit because they were both going through so much shit that they found solace in one another for a short period of time. there's no romantic feelings between them AT ALL.
3. in the original drafts, i had a love triangle for indie! the first draft i had her, draco, and harry, and in the second draft it was her, hermione and harry. in the end, i dropped the draco plot and gave the hermione plot to nancy!
4. nancy is halfblood and indiana was actually really mean to her for a while before they became close
5. indiana had a crush on harry in her first year before he turned down she and blaise's offer of friendship!
6. the original title was opposing teams but i changed it cause i thought it was kind of boring :/
thanks for all the love. you guys are amazing and i love reading all of your comments. thanks again for reading!!!!
-s <3