𝗷𝗮𝗻𝗲, harry potter

˗ˋ 22

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
✧
-: fourth year :-

── IN WHICH SOMEONE FALLS

. . .

The fish and chips were long gone by the time either of them began to think of moving. Despite the looming time allotted for Jane's appointment with the woman that Flora had sent her to see, the Everleigh girl and Harry had settled on the grassy bank beside the stream. 

Jane had convinced him - and it hadn't taken a lot - to relax a little and join her in dipping her feet in the stream. It was still a considerably hot day, even if they weren't in Little Whinging as the usually were (it actually seemed warmer in the town then it did before), and the water was at a temperature much lower than that.

"Cake?" Jane offered, extracting the small box from under her bag, pulling open the lid. Inside was a couple of cupcakes, what looked like brownie or chocolate cake (the angle was funny and Harry couldn't exactly tell), and miniature treacle tarts. "I wasn't sure what you liked, so I took a guess." 

"A guess?" Harry repeated, his eyes filled with a certain wonder as he looked at her. "You make very good guesses. I love treacle tarts."

Jane grinned as she pulled one out of the box and placed the silver tin case on his hand. The top of the tart was dotted with tiny pastry stars, which was then surrounded by slightly melting whipped cream. 

"Good, I thought you would do. I think I'll have one as well." She took one out for herself. "Is it bad I've never had one before? When the Home had puddings it was always that sponge and sticky icing with sprinkles.. and when I had something else it was one of those strawberry tarts - you know the ones with the sticky syrup that tastes a bit like medicine?"

Harry did know. "Yeah.. I think my aunt fed me them once. Or half of one at least.." He thought back to the time, wrinkling his nose at the bad memories. "But these are good though, nothing like the shop-bought stuff."

"Right? And seeing as you like them, I'll find a recipe." Jane continued, her voice having this interwoven gentleness to it that seemed just as sweet as the tart Harry was biting into. "And we can save the others - you can take them for when you have a particularly bad meal maybe. It isn't healthy - but it should give you something."

Before he could reply in protest, claiming that she didn't need to do bake him treacle tart even if it brought him such an inner-warmth or that he didn't need to take the remaining brownie and cupcakes, a splash and a wail echoed through their ears, the pair cringing at the noise. 

Looking over their vision was filled by the sigh of one of the children now sat in the water, clutching their knee and crying. The other kids gathered around them, voices overlapping. 

Glancing across the road, Jane saw none of the group assumed to be their parents moving, and with a sigh she placed her treacle tart down onto the lid of the box and pushed herself off of the bank. 

Her bare feet hit the bottom of the stream, and just for a moment her hand was on Harry's knee to steady herself. "Jane-" Harry began, watching as the bottom of her yellow dress deepen in colour as it hit the water. She glanced down, shrugging before making her way over to the child. 

"Hey - hey, what happened?" The girl asked, crouching down beside the little girl and getting even more of her dress wet, the material flowing out around her. The child was crying too much to get an answer out, goosebumps covering her arms as she sat in the cold water. "Did you slip?" Jane continued, in a honey-sweet voice that didn't seem sticky or sickly, clearly filled with kindness. 

The little girl nodded, sniffing harshly. 

"Come on then." Jane smiled, holding out her hands. "Do you know where your mummy is?" She asked, as the little girl took her hand, struggling to her feet. 

Shaking her head no, Jane looked around at the other children. "Are your mummys and daddys sat over there?" She asked, looking towards one of the older boys, who nodded. "Oops!" The girl exclaimed as she felt the little girl's hand slipped and she darted to catch her before she fell again. "Is it okay if I carry you?" 

The girl nodded and sniffed again, Jane placing her hands under her arms, finger almost catching on the pink puffy sleeves of the girl's shirt. With an almost practised ease, she lifted the girl and balanced her on her hip, the soaked lower half creating a damp patch over her waist. 

Harry watched with wide eyes as Jane moved out of the water, not bothering to fetch her shoes as she stepped onto the pavement, looking both ways before crossing the road and making her way to the pub. She didn't even wince at the much harsher landscape. 

"Hi - I'm so sorry to interrupt, but I was just sat by the stream and someone slipped." Jane interrupted the conversation between the table full of adults, nodding up at the little girl. Her tears had subsided a little, head full of dark curly hair tucked into Jane's neck. 

"Oh Ellie!" One of the women stood up, looking incredibly similar to the little girl and dressed in very vibrant colours. "Thank you so much for bringing her over - I'm so sorry about your dress." She was instantly apologising as she reached for Ellie, taking her out of Jane's arms. 

"It's fine - oh, and would it be alright if I gave her some of our cake? I think it would cheer her right up." Jane smiled, glancing across at Harry, meeting his eyes across the distance. "We got them from the fish and chip shop just now, and I think the buttercream on the buns will melt before we get to eat them."

"Of course, if you don't mind." The woman seemed a little shocked to see her offering - it seemed she had experienced a lot more teenagers like Dudley. Jane beckoned Harry over, the Potter boy scrambling to his feet and taking the box that she pointed to with him. 

"You're too kind." The woman smiled as Harry opened the box, Ellie looking over with interest and reaching for it. "Hey there, El - just wait a moment. The bun? Is that alright?" 

Harry realised Jane was looking at him and confusion filled his eyes, until he realised her words from earlier about them being his. "Of course - yeah that's fine." Harry balanced the box on his arm as he pulled one out, presenting it to Ellie with a smile that matched Jane's kindness far too well. 

And after exchanging a few more words, Jane glanced through the door of the pub, catching the time written across the corner of the small tv as it played the one o'clock news and excused them, her and Harry rushing to collect their stuff and head off to the apartment.

Jane's dress had already begun to dry in the sweltering sun of that July. 

✧

a/n
letting everyone know
i have a new james fic up
on my acc! you can really 
tell i love the potters 

oh and if you dk what buns
are, theyre basically cupcakes

also the timeline in this fic is really iffy?
like i dont really know what date im
on here? i know that it started on the 1st
and i know that harry's trial is on the 12th of
august, so idk