𝗷𝗮𝗻𝗲, harry potter

˗ˋ 11

CHAPTER ELEVEN
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-: fourth year :-

── IN WHICH SHE FALLS

. . .

"Left or right?" Jane asked, looking back at the dark-haired boy.

Ever since Harry had finished his breakfast, the pair of them had been walking. Jane had tucked away the map into her bag and hadn't touched it since, the two teens deciding where they were going purely on whichever direction they wanted to go.

"Um.. right." Harry replied, and so Jane set off in that direction. Harry was almost convinced that Jane had decided they should go on walks that held more adventure to them just so that she could ease him into making more decisions.

Because every single walk that they had gone on off of the map had been Jane's decision, and she had listened to him and his thoughts on not choosing the walk. Of course, Jane had thought about this impacting him, but her main purpose for going off of the map was just to have fun.

Although she couldn't help but smile everytime she proposed the question to him. It was so simple, a snap decision between two options. And Jane could see that Harry had no trouble making them, in comparison to picking out the walks from the map.

It really seemed that he wasn't used to having the freedom that he currently did. Just the idea of that made Jane feel awful, and she had decided that by the end of the summer, she wanted Harry to make the decision of what walk they were going on. 

And if she got that far, then she would even try and ask him to plan what food he wanted them to have. She assumed that if he rarely had the freedom to choose where he wanted to walk, it was rather simple to figure out that he lacked the decision of what food he wanted to eat, just taking what food he was given.

"Oh - good choice!" Jane exclaimed moments later, as the path had narrowed as they passed over a stile and into what seemed to be a small woods. The path beneath them was transitioning from an intentionally marked out paving, fading into a dusty, textured floor. Grass and brambles were spilling into the sides, but it wasn't the path that Jane seemed to be complimenting.

Harry felt his jaw drop as she saw what he was looking at - right down the path were a group of rocks, and a clear pool of water. "Come on!" Jane sang, barely even looking as she pulled Harry along, almost stumbling over as she ran along.

"Careful." Harry found himself warning as they approached the group of rocks, the paths clearly leading up them, a corner melting into the overgrown sides and stones jutting out. Jane barely even heard him, the sound of water rushing in her ears.

Harry didn't even need to say anything, Jane pulling herself up with a sort of elegance ease that Harry should have expected from her. He heard a gasp leave her lips, and hurried to get up beside her.

His eyes widened as he set on a calm pool of water, the sound of water having come from the waterfall that tipped from the edge of a small cliff. It was almost magical, the sun reflecting on the waterfall and casting rainbows down onto them.

"Do you think it's deep?" The bag on Jane's shoulders slipped off without her even pushing it off, but as it fell onto a rock, Jane didn't bother to pick it up. She approached the edge of the water, peering in as Harry followed her, eyes wide behind his glasses.

"Deep?" Harry repeated, Jane nodding and the Potter boy musing over it for a moment. "It looks fine - but by the waterfall the tides might be strong and a bit deeper." He replied.

"Perfect." Jane was kicking off her shoes, and pulling up her skirts at the waist as she stepped in, her bracelets swinging around the slightly tanned skin of her wrists, Harry somehow noticing a triangle of freckles behind the green thread.

"Is it cold?" Harry asked, settling his stuff down by Jane's bag, pulling off his own shoes and rolling up the bottom of his jeans, making his way over to the edge. 

"Not at all." Jane looked back at him, the smile of pure content on her face making him forget how to breathe for just a moment. And Jane was venturing forward, and he winced as he saw her wobble slightly, jaw dropping when she suddenly slipped, the wobble having turned into something much worse.

Concerned filled his mind and Harry moved forward, pausng when he began to hear laughter. Jane was sat almost up to her neck in water, hair floating around her like a lowered halo. It was a tinkling, pretty sound, and it echoed in her eyes.

"Have you bumped your head?" Harry asked, a lot more cautious as he approached the spot where Jane had slipped, the water moving far past where he had rolled his jeans to - not that he minded. It was slippier, and he could feel moss on the rocks. 

"I don't think so?" Jane's laughter had subsided, but a smile was still on her face. "I might as well just get my entire head wet now.. my hair would look awful if it was unbalanced." In a split second, she had dunked her head under the water, moving the ginger strands from her eyes as she emerged. "I didn't plan on going for a swim, you know?" She looked up at Harry, smile dropping. "Are you laughing at me?" She asked, voice incredulous.

"Definitely not." Harry replied, although he definitely was. "Come on, let's get you out." He said, holding out his hand. Jane's head tilted, and a moment later, Harry realised his mistake.

But it was too late, and Jane was pulling him into the water as carefully as she possibly could. He landed with a small bump, and although he tried to be annoyed, he really couldn't.

Harry was beginning to think he could never be annoyed with her.

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