James, Sirius and Peter were continuously harassing him to at least secure a date for the event and even when Harry pointed out that it was the same day as the trials they dismissed his reasoning as simple avoidance, something that began to annoy Harry to the point that when the ball was mentioned he would leave the vicinity immediately, not wanting to discuss the thing.
It had been playing on his mind but for him it felt more than a little strange. He noticed that there were a few girls that seemed to be around him a little more than usual, seemingly waiting for him to ask one of them to the ball, but he simply couldn't bring himself to. Whenever he considered it he would receive a gentle reminder that these girls would grow into the parents of who used to be his classmates and friends, a thought he could not shake.
He had almost convinced himself that by avoiding the conversations about the event he could bypass it altogether, but the rest of the Marauders would not let it be. They had all secured their dates, even Peter who was escorting a seventh year Hufflepuff and kept on at him whenever possible that he should do the same. It didn't even help that Remus would not be going as he would be recovering from the full moon and even the werewolf encouraged him to pick someone to take.
The only respite he seemed to get was when he spent time with Bellatrix a couple of evenings a week, having added an extra slot to their training at her request.
This part of his life was the one that had surprised him the most.
The girl had proven herself to be a very worthy student and the two had grown closer during their time together over the last four weeks, something that seemed to just happen naturally.
Harry found his time with her both relaxing and challenging as she improved immensely during their lessons but never once tried to interfere in his personal life or ask too much of him. He observed that she was less needy than the others he spent time with and the two seemed content to just be around each other, something that Harry was now getting used to. There had even been times that they didn't duel and they studied together and completed their homework.
There was no doubt in his mind that the two of them had formed some kind of friendship, though it was certainly different to any other friendship he had. They would laugh and joke together, be very serious when they were dueling and Harry found that this was the only time he truly felt relaxed, strange as that seemed to him.
He found that he began looking forward to spending time with the girl and that seeing her succeed and the subsequent smile she wore warmed him slightly as he could see how much it meant to her.
She hadn't mentioned the patronus charm since their first meeting and he figured that she was having difficulty with it, but he knew that she was very stubborn and wouldn't ask him to help her further until she couldn't take it anymore. He didn't know why or how he could feel so relaxed around her but one thing had become clear to him: This girl was not the same woman he had come to hate.
She was very intelligent with a dry sense of humour, similar to his own and she was very witty. On top of that she was ambitious and as determined as he himself was to succeed, something he could certainly respect. Above all else though, she seemed to be the only person who had no expectations of him. She would talk with him about the most normal and mundane things and he would find himself lost in her words as she would talk about the things she was most passionate about, even admiring such a thing from someone who could seem so cold at times, something he learnt she was not.
The girl was an introvert, there was no doubt about it, but that seemed to slip away when she was with Harry and he would get a glimpse of who she truly was and he really respected and liked what he saw.
He was currently making his way down the third floor corridor, heading towards the potions class when he was stopped in his tracks by a crashing sound coming from a cupboard on his left.
Thinking that someone was in trouble he flicked his wand towards the door to open it, his eyes going wide with realisation as he saw what was happening in what he now knew was a broom cupboard, but it was one of the occupants that had him feeling a little shocked.
"For merlin's sake Andromeda", he hissed irritably.
"Harry", the girl shrieked in surprise, as she extracted herself from the boy she was sharing the space with and began covering up the small amounts of flesh that had been exposed. "Don't you know how to knock?". "I thought someone was being attacked", Harry huffed.
"You're not far off", the other boy interjected quietly, causing Andromeda to turn an impressive shade of red.
"Shut up Ted", she whispered furiously.
Harry stifled the laughter he felt emerging as he noted who the boy must have been and fond memories of a pink haired auror surfaced.
'Ted Tonks', he deduced.
"Have you not heard of locking and silencing spells?", he asked the pair.
"We got a little carried away", the other boy admitted.
Harry shook his head in amusement and began walking turned to walk away to give the pair their privacy. "The statue of the one-eyed witch on the fifth floor, tap it with your wand and say dissendium, I'm sure you'll get all the time you need there", he called.
"Harry, wait", Andromeda shouted urgently and approached him, adjusting her robes as she did so.
"Please don't say anything", she pleaded. Harry understood what she meant and held his hands up to calm her.
"I didn't see a thing", he shrugged.
"Thank you", the girl whispered gratefully. Harry again shook his head in amusement as he turned away.
"Have you found a date to the ball yet?", she asked.
Harry groaned and dragged his hand through his hair. "Not you too", he complained. "Sirius and the others keep going on at me", he grumbled.
Andromeda smirked.
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