𝗷𝗮𝗻𝗲, harry potter

˗ˋ 34

CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR
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-: fourth year :-

── IN WHICH SURPRISE
GUESTS ARRIVE

. . .

"Now step back with your right foot." Jane instructed, tapping the end of his shoe with her foot, smiling as he did that, joining him as she stepped forward with her left foot. "Back sideways with the same foot, and bring your right foot to your left foot."

Harry had a smile on his face as his feet met once again and Jane clapped. "There we go! Now you just keep repeating that." The Everleigh girl finished. Upon returning to the lawn, Flora had managed to get music playing, and soft, classical tune became backing music.

Jane and Harry had been, very carefully considering their clothes, tying the cushions to the seats of the now organised chairs. She had really been trying her best to ignore the music and the thoughts back to the day where Harry had told her about his inabilty to dance.

But eventually she had given in and dragged a rather surprised Harry around the corner and out of view of Flora, announcing her wish to teach him. He had accepted, all memories of the lessons he had from McGonagall the previous year for the Yule Ball long forgotten in the chaos of preparing for the second and third task of the Triwizard Tournament.

"So left foot forward first?" Harry asked, his glasses almost falling too far down his nose as he looked at their feet, one hand clasped with hers and the second midway between her waist and her back.

"Left foot, yes." Jane confirmed, letting him go through it slowly, then gradually speeding up to match the music. "And there you go! See, you can dance."

"Hardly." Harry replied, his hand sliding from her waist and taking her other hand, letting them swinging between them. "It might sound weird.. but thank you for teaching me.. and spending the summer with me.. and telling me about that stuff earlier."

"Well there's no harm in telling anyone." Jane shrugged, hands still connected and swinging between them. "Sometimes it's nice to share with people, y'know? I figured you could know, we're one and the same after all." It wasn't hard to understand her meaning - one and the same; left by parents in one way and another and ending up in situations nobody particularly desired.

"My parents, they died when I was younger." Harry explained. Jane's eyes flickered with surprise and he shrugged, raising his hands were hers. "I figured you should know" - she smiled when she recognised the words she spoken seconds earlier - "seeing as you told me, and you've known for ages that I live with my Uncle and Aunt... but that doesn't matter." A smile appeared on his face to try and push away any negative feelings, letting go of one of Jane's hands.

The ginger-haired girl let out a shriek as he gently pushed her away, spinning her and pulling her back, catching her easily. "Hey!" She exclaimed, easy laughter spilling from her lips.

"Jane, dear?" Flora appeared around the corner, pushing past some rogue branches into the small clearing. "I'm sure Harry appreciates the dance lessons but there are some guests that need greeting."

"Oh, of course." Jane looked confused for just a moment - she knew that whilst she and Harry had snuck off people were arriving, but she wasn't aware that she needed to greet them as they came in. "Harry?" She turned back to him as she reached the small passage way into the main part of the garden, only to find that he was right there. "Oh.. good." She smiled, a sight that made his heart jump just slightly as he continued to follow her down the lawn.

Flora had already begun speaking to people, smiling as she gestured over at the boy and girl passing by. The Everleigh girl suspected she might want to introduce her to her friends later on, but for now she had a job to do.

Amongst the guests and many seats and tables was all the food that Angela had prepared - and by God there was a lot of it. Harry could see the impressed expression on Jane's face as they passed, the girl carefully snatching two of the bite-size treacle tarts she specifically requested to be made, passing one to Harry as she skipped past people, into the much cooler kitchen and into the hallway.

"We're supposed to take them through the side gate." Jane twisted around to Harry as they reached the front door. "So you go through first and I'll make sure to close it first."

Harry nodded, doing as she suggested and leaving the manor, stepping down onto the steps as Jane slipped through a gap made in the door that was barely big enough for her to get through.

She tugged the door to a close and fiddled with the handle for a couple of seconds, just to make sure it was closed before twisting around, stepping down onto the step beside Harry.

"But.. there's no one here?" Jane looked confused as she looked around the driveway - there were cars on the gravel around the front door and all the way down the drive, but unless Florence was talking about the people who were coming up the drive - and she couldn't, considering there was no way for her to see or know that they were there, it was completely empty.

"Maybe they already got to the gate?" Harry suggested, barely even reacting as Jane took his hand and dragged him down off of the step - that action seemed to be incredibly normal now.

"Maybe." Jane agreed, passing the rows of bushes and blooming flowers, around the side gate in which all guests were directed. "Hm.." She looked around, continuing through them pathway until she came to a stop, hand letting go of Harry's and clamping over her mouth.

"There's our Janey!" A man exclaimed, and the two women beside him turned, as did the crowd of children around him.

It seemed that Flora had sent her to greet some very special guests.

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a/n
the last of daily updates,
i'm afraid, but knowing me
they'll keep being frequent as
they can be