Glory |A. Potter|

Fifty-Six

Jane told Ramona about her date with Albus the moment she saw her. The squeal she let out in return would have been frightening if she didn't already know the reason for it. Somehow, when they told Scorpius a while later, his own squeal was even more frightening than Ramona's. It was safe to say their friends were pleased, and in the next couple of days, they proceeded to tease Jane and Albus even though they had yet to fulfill their date. When it was finally the weekend, Jane was half convinced the whole thing was a dream.

Ramona insisted she wore something fancy, something different, but Jane had nothing of the sort and she wasn't all that satisfied with the idea of getting dressed up when Albus had seen her in her best and her worst already. She won against Ramona, managed to convince her to let her wear what she usually would—an oversized dark grey jumper with black leggings underneath, black combat boots on her feet—and set half of her hair up, in her regular updo. She refused to wear her make-up differently as well, to Ramona's disappointment. She kept insisting she dressed as she would if they would just be taking a walk around the castle, as if it weren't a date, but Jane didn't see a reason that was wrong. And when she met up with Albus in the courtyard a while later, she was glad she hadn't listened to Ramona.

Albus seemed to have had the same thoughts as she did, as he had gotten dressed the way he normally would have if they didn't have a date, dark hair a bit more combed than usual, glasses in place. He was dressed in plain, blue jeans and a simple green shirt. The moment he saw her, he smiled in a manner that could only express relief.

"Thank Merlin you didn't dress up," he breathed as she reached his side. "Scorpius kept on saying you would and I would be underdressed, and even though when he said so I told him there was no reason for that, the more I waited the more I realised there's a chance I should have seen this differently."

Jane couldn't help but laugh at the blatant relief in his tone. "Ramona told me the same thing but I said there's no reason for that, no need to make things more complicated. You've seen me at my best and my worst already, anyway."

"That's exactly what I told Scorpius," he beamed over at her, and vaguely, Jane realised he hadn't smiled so much in such a short time ever. Their smiles remained the more they looked at each other, silence enveloping them both. Jane allowed herself a while to look him in the eyes properly, take in the swirl of colour inside, the faint lines tinted with brown starting from the outer side of the circle closer to his orb, breaking through the endless green. She was lost in the vibrant tone for a moment before his voice brought her back.

"You look beautiful."

She blinked, averted her eyes in a sudden show of shyness, "I didn't do anything special."

"You look beautiful everyday."

She couldn't help but laugh as she looked up at him once more. "What is this, I thought you got shy with compliments! Are you trying to make me say you look good by complimenting me? Is that it?"

Albus spluttered, "N-No-"

"What's got into you, then?"

A light blush formed on his cheeks, "I was just being honest."

Her expression softened, "I believe you. Thank you." He averted his eyes, falling silent, a smile blooming on his lips, even though it was shy. Jane never thought she would see a day when Albus got shy, but there she was. With an endeared smile, she took a step to the side, closer to the way they would take to reach the Black Lake. He looked up at the movement. "We should get going."

"Yeah," he nodded, no objection in mind. Jane sent him one more smile before she walked forward, Albus following beside her.

They were quiet in the first few minutes of walking along the path to the Black Lake, the silence slightly tense as both of them thought of the reason they were with each other. It felt as if they needed to do something, say anything, and if this hadn't been called a date prior, they would have most likely have found something to talk about by now. But they had labeled their outing as a date. Automatically, they couldn't really bring themselves to think of anything good enough to say. It wasn't until they had reached the Black Lake that Albus found the courage to speak up.