*✧･ﾟ:* DEAD TO ME *:･ﾟ✧*
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HARRY WAS NERVOUS. Which, on it's own, wasn't much of a phenomenon, considering Harry was nervous with about 60% of the things he did, especially when they involved Indiana. But when she had told him she wanted to host for all of her friends... he hadn't even known what to do.
"Oh, c'mon, we're not in school anymore," she had told him in a fruitless attempt to soothe his worries. "They're not gonna treat you badly. Not if I'm there. And Draco would bring Astoria so she'd keep him in line."
"It's Malfoy," Harry had deadpanned. "And Zabini. They hate me."
"Blaise does not hate you," Indiana corrected him defensively. "After the whole trial thing, he's warmed up. Draco, he... oh, can you please just tolerate him for like five hours? I promise I won't leave you alone with him... oh! I can invite Hermione and Weasley... oh, but Weasley and Draco in the same room is never good..."
They had went back and forth about the affair for a very long time, indeed. In the end, they had settled for this: Ron and Hermione would come over, along with Blaise, Theo, and Nancy. Theo had just returned home from Bulgaria for Ministry business, so he'd be late, but Draco had to stay home with Astoria due to an illness she had picked up.
They had invited Simon as well, but he said he had a very special date that he didn't want to miss. Indiana told him if he didn't go on the date, she'd kill him. God knows that boy could use some romance in his life.
"Woah, this is some place!" Nancy had said in awe; she had been first to arrive. The thick, British accent that usually held her words had melted into a very faint American one, due to the many years she had spent in the United States with her father. She had traded her glittery eye makeup to classy, black eyeliner, and when she showed up, she was sporting a red lip and holding a delicate looking hand bag.
"You look hot!" Indiana told her with a grin. Nancy waved a hand dismissively, although her plump lips curled up into a knowing sort of smirk. "Shit, Nance!"
"I look hot? You look hot!" Nancy flung her arms around Indiana's shoulders and pulled her tight; the two girls swayed back and forth with the force of the hug, holding their places in one another's embrace. "You're gonna be such a MILF, I swear."
"Oh, you little —" Indiana whacked her on the arm, pulling away. Nancy grinned behind her, where Harry had just entered the foyer.
"Potter!" Nancy exclaimed brightly. Harry smiled. "You look... taller? Somehow?"
"He's a late bloomer, he's only just catching up!" Indiana teased, nudging his shoulder as she and Nancy brushed by him. He turned scarlet and scrunched his nose up.
"You've been the same height since fourth year, you've got no room to talk," Harry mumbled, following them into the kitchen, where Indiana was pouring a glass of water for Nancy. "How're you?"
"Oh, I'm okay," Nancy shrugged. "The States is sort of a mess right now, but... it's good to be home!"
"What happened?" Indiana asked. "Something Muggle related?"
"Yeah," Nancy breathed, pursing her lips. "The Twin Towers were attacked back in September... and then a war in Afghanistan started... just a lot of stuff. Nothing Wizard related, though, just Muggles."
"That's... awful," Indiana said lowly. "Well... who else have you seen? Just us?"
"I visited Parkinson yesterday," Nancy shrugged as though she didn't care to tell the whole story. "She's no different than she was before the war. Don't think I'll be going to see her again, though... she just wanted to go clubbing and I was already recovering for a hangover and jet lag. I'll never use Muggle transportation again, that's for bloody sure. D'you have wine glasses for this bottle?"
Ron and Hermione came next. Hermione and Nancy hugged each other tightly, happy to see one another, and Harry could see that Indiana was relieved that there was zero tension between the two girls. It had been nice to see Ron again (even if he had just seen him the week before), and Harry was happy he'd be there, especially if Blaise and Theo would be there.
Blaise and Theo came last, both at the same time. Theo said he finished work earlier than expected, and just so happened to apparate in the front yard at the same time as Blaise. Blaise didn't look different, minus a newer and lighter demeanor; he seemed less intimidating and more... what was the word? Happy?
Theo was practically the same as Harry remembered him. Tall, broad shoulders and dusty brown hair, but the same mousy face and just slightly timid demeanor. He, however, had gained a new found confidence; his chin was higher in the air and he seemed to speak a lot more. Harry actually quite liked Theo after speaking to him for a bit.
The Slytherins were drinkers. Indiana always had insisted on keeping wine in the house, but both Nancy, Blaise and Theo had brought a bottle of wine with them (Blaise red and Nancy and Theo white). Hermione had a glass, and between she and the four Slytherins, they finished them all entirely. Ron and Harry had simple watched in awe.
"Planning on a proposal soon?" Blaise had asked Harry when the latter had brought the former inside for a glass of water. Harry almost choked, blinking at him. "Well?"
"Well — well —" Harry blinked at the smirking man, before his eyes shot nervously to the door. Harry then dug into his pocket and stepped closer to Blaise to show him. "Here. I'm sort of... waiting..."
"Waiting for what?" Blaise asked him curiously. "She'll say yes."
"Will she?" Harry grimaced, shoving the ring box back into his pocket. "I mean... what if she —"
"No, Potter," Blaise said pointedly. "She will say yes. Don't doubt it, okay? Cause the more you doubt the more you'll procrastinate it and sooner or later it'll be sitting in the bottom of your drawer."
Harry gave him a deadpan look and said, "Thanks."
"I'm serious," Blaise raised his brows. "Merlin, I never would of thought I'd say this — but... you two are kind of — made for each other? Maybe that's cheesy of me to say, but I'd be disappointed if you don't seal the deal. I'm sure Nancy would agree."
"You think so?" Harry glanced at the door. To his shock, Blaise placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I know so," He said. "Let's go back in."
✧✧✧
THE HOUSE
2002
"HOW BIG D'YOU reckon we should make this?" Indiana asked loudly, her back facing Harry as she stared out at the rather large backyard they had made for themselves. Harry, standing a little while behind her whilst fiddling with something in his pocket, blinked thrice and shrugged. "It's got to be big enough for Quidditch, of course, so I suppose we can just keep extending it..."
Harry kept fiddling his hand in his pocket. While Indiana was so distracted by her intense focus on the backyard, Harry turned around and took his hand out; opening his palm, he sighed at the small black box that stared back at him. Glancing behind him to make sure she wasn't watching, he lifted his other hand and opened up the box: a white-silver ring with two white diamonds on either side of a rather large emerald. He couldn't believe he had spent so much money on such a small piece of jewelry. Good thing Indiana wore rings.
"How's this?" Indiana's voice rang out, and he hastily slammed the box closed and stuffed it into his pocket before wheeling around. Indiana's hair was tied back into a rather untidy looking bun... or maybe it was a ponytail? He couldn't even see the tie in her hair. She turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow. "This is big enough for Quidditch, right?"
"Suppose so," Harry shrugged, feeling his chest start to get warm as his hand continued to fidget with the black ring box. Indiana pursed her lips, humming to herself, before extending her left arm out.
"Accio broom," She casted, swishing her wand absentmindedly. She paused for a long second before a sort of whooshing sound engulfed them, and the new-edition Firebolt broom shot right into her open palm. Winking at Harry, she swung her leg over it and took off, soaring higher and higher into the cloudless blue sky until she was merely a speck.
Harry stared at her for only a second longer before he, too, casted "Accio broom," and mounted his own broom. He whizzed up into the air after her, a tight hold on his pocket with the hand that wasn't clutching onto the body of the broom stick. Indiana was stretching her torso to peer down at the large field they had enchanted to be behind the house they had recently moved into.
"It's big enough," Indiana nodded to herself, a satisfied expression on her face. "Reckon it'll do just fine."
"Yeah," Harry breathed, running his tongue over his lip. "Hey, can we talk?"
"Uh oh," Indiana sent him a single look. "What happened?"
"Nothing! It's nothing bad!" Harry said frantically, shaking his head fervently, his hand clutching the box. Indiana tilted her head to the side, both her hands gripping the length of her broom to hold her steady as she kept her eyes on him, her brows furrowed in light confusion. "I just — you know, I just wanted to talk to you about something important —"
"Okay," Indiana said slowly. "Shoot."
"We've been together for — what, three years now? Four?" Harry said sheepishly, and in response she only nodded her head slowly, still staring at him as he struggled to find words to say. "And — and this is the second time we've moved in together. And we've yet to have a single fight since Hogwarts, did you know that?"
"That's..." Indiana paused and blinked once. "Wow. Yeah. You're right."
"Yeah," Harry breathed, staring at her. His green eyes trailed around her, over the hairs fluttering off her face from the wind and across the two deep, dark eyes staring back at him. He took a very deep inhale, letting the cold oxygen fill his aching lungs before he began to speak, "We hated one another for years. I don't either one of us expected to end up the way we did, but I'm bloody thankful for the turnout."
Indiana's lips curled up into a smile, and she said nothing just yet.
"You were... a Slytherin, and a Pureblood, and sort of a bully, but I supposed there was always something about you that drew me in," Harry went on. "I mean, you were trying to annoy me at the Yule Ball and the entire time I was just... ogling at your dress."
Indiana snickered and quipped, "I remember."
"The happiest I'd been in years was the day we made things official," Harry admitted. "Ask Ron, or Hermione, or anyone else. I stayed up all night cause — cause I just — I couldn't get you out of my head, y'know? And it's been like that almost every night since — I mean, obviously I sleep, but — but — you know what I mean, right?"
"Yes, Harry," Indiana gave a breathy laugh, her eyes soft. "Where are you going with this?"
"These few years living with you, Indie, they've been..." he paused, pondering his next few words. "I don't think I've ever been happier. And — and now, whenever I cast a Patronus, the memory always ends up being you.
"What I'm trying to say," Harry took the box out of his pocket but kept his fingers clasped around it to hide it from her. "Is that you're — you're everything. To me. And — if there was a way I could guarantee this to never end, I would take it. So... so what I'm trying to get at..."
He fumbled with his hands a bit, legs locking around the ankles to hold himself tightly onto his broom without toppling over. Indiana's lips parted in unprecedented awe as he watched him flip open the ring box, turning it around to face her so she could see the ring; the jewels glimmered under the beaming sun, and Harry could see the sparkling reflection of them in her dilated iris'.
"I want to spend the rest of my days with you," Harry told her. "I need to. Would you — will you — christ, Indiana, I can't get the words out when you're looking at me like that —"
"I'll spare you," She blinked furiously, her lips stretching into a grin. "My answer's yes, you — you — oh, I can't even think of an insult! Yes, yes, yes!"
Harry, fingers still fumbling, plucked the ring out of the box and grasped onto her extended left hand; his eyes flickered up to meet hers (they were welled up, but she'd never let him know she was about to cry) as he slipped the ring perfectly onto her ring finger. She held up the ring to the sky and beamed at it.
"Fly to the ground," she said hastily, hastily turning her broom around to soar towards the grass. "I can't snog you if I'm fifty feet above ground!"
Harry has sure he had never flown faster in his entire life.
SHE SPEAKS!
hi everyone! sorry for the late update! i've been so busy with work, and then my bloody power went out so i had to wait for that to come back before i could update it. this is sort of a short chapter, but i didn't have much time to write. also this chapter is kind of not edited at all. please lmk if you see any grammar or spelling mistakes i am way to tired to go back and edit!
one chapter left. that's crazy! i started this on a total whim and i never thought i'd finish, let alone have a whole ass plot that i actually enjoyed working on! thanks for all the support!
any last wishes for the last chapter?
thanks for reading <3
-s