𝗷𝗮𝗻𝗲, harry potter

˗ˋ 39

CHAPTER THIRTY NINE
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-: fourth year :-

── IN WHICH THEY STARGAZE

. . .

In the glow of the amber garden light, Harry could still see the shimmer of tear tracks running down Jane's cheeks. But the tears were long gone, and their imprint was the only thing that remained of their existence. 

He felt the urge to wipe them away, but instead he hurriedly looked away as Jane turned towards him, the miniature telescope in her hands. She was laid beside him, currently propped up on her elbows as she fiddled with a couple of the knobs in the half-light, pretty features crumpled in concentration. 

"There." She held out the telescope to him, watching as he held it almost uncertainly. "Here." The second word followed as she laid back down, her head resting on his shoulder and using her limited view through the lense of the eyepiece to guide him to place. 

Gently, her hands over Harry's she readjusted his positioning of the telescope, squinting just slightly until she found the right location. "There." She repeated, and Harry looked towards her, only to freeze.

Their faces were incredible close - so close that even in the darkness Harry could make out the faded freckles that were slowly coming to life during the days of sun. He was so glad that light couldn't betray him, because his cheeks were certainly heating up. 

But just as she had been whilst cutting his hair that very morning, Jane as confident as ever, the glint of mischief in her eyes returning after the upset. It was like seeing blue skies after a storm and Harry was ever so glad to see it. 

"I swear you do these things on purpose." Harry had no idea what else to do and just let the first thing on his mind free. "You were doing it this morning as well." 

"You keep blushing." Jane replied, shaking her head slowly before resting it on his shoulder once again. "I can't help it if I find it cute."

Harry couldn't quite believe that it was darkness that had betrayed him this time and not the light. His hands shook slightly as Jane's left his on the telescope. "I suppse you can't." He mumbled in a quiet tone, hoping that he wasn't embarassing himself. Harry lowered the telescope down to his eyes, his gaze instantly drawn to the brightest star in the vision. "So which one is this?"

"Sirius." Jane's reply came and Harry almost shot up to stare at her, but he managed to keep his reaction to a minimum and hesistate, just a little. "I remembered you mention that your Godfather was called it.. and you spoke of him rather fondly." 

"I.. did." Harry's throat was a little dry and he swallowed quickly. Suddenly, he wished he could have read Sirius's letter and found out the advice on what to do if she was to take him stargazing. "I wrote to him and.. might have mentioned you." 

"Only good things, I hope." The response was cliché, but Jane really did hope Harry only had positive things to say about her. It just wouldn't do if there was something negative and it had Sirius's opinion of her tarnished. If Harry had heard any of the worry she felt then he might have gone crazy - he couldn't think of one thing bad about her. Perhaps at the start he might have mentioned just how friendly she was and how it seemed almost overwhelming, but he had soon learnt that it was just her personality, and settled quickly into finding it comforting.

"Of course." Harry nodded, moving the telescope away just a little bit before bringing it back. "What.. other stars do you know." 

"A lot." Jane reached her hand up and adjusted it. "That's Polaris - the North star. The brightest star in Ursa Minor - the Little Dipper. Which you can see better if..." Jane pulled the telescope away from his eyes and in the dim light Harry followed the silhouette of her finger, watching as she pointed out the constellation in the shape. "And not too far from it is Ursa Major - the Big Dipper."

"I've taken Astronomy since I was eleven and I can't remember any of this." Harry had a look of wonder on his face. "I could tell you about Jupiter though - we learnt a lot about Jupiter and if I'm honest... I just copied Hermione's star chart."

"So what lessons do you like at your very strange school?" Jane asked, her voice clear in the night air.

"Well.." Harry was panicking, but he was trying not to let it show. "History was good.. but the teacher is quite literally a ghost he's so old." There - he wasn't lying about anything and relating it to something that Jane liked. 

"I love History." Her voice was soft and Harry knew he had hit the nail on the head by mentioning it. "What was your favourite topic to learn in it - I always find it so interesting to see what others like. Flora likes the Tudors, I liked Ancient Greek and Rome, Angela didn't pay enough attention but loved Baroque and Rococo art." 

"I.." Harry searched to find something that both muggles and wizard studies. "Witch trials - Salem and Pendle." He finally said. 

"Oooh." Jane cuddled up to him a little as a breeze ran across the top of the hill. "I always found those so sad. Most of the accusations were based on stupid things."

"Yeah.." Harry nodded. Most of his knowledge came from stories of witches and wizards from that time and the horror they had felt. "What other stars do you know about?" 

"Well.. when's your birthday?" Jane asked him, and although confused, Harry gave his answer. "July 31st? Oh, so really soon then... we should go into that town again." She continued, seemingly lost in thought.

"You don't have to do anything." Harry panicked a little - she had already done so much for him and really didn't need her to do anymore. "Really, I'm used to it."

"Mhm.. okay." The Everleigh girl replied absentmindedly, before blinking back into focus. "So July 31st - your zodiac sign is a Leo and... that is your constellation." She fiddled a little bit with the telescope and zoomed it out, directing him towards it. 

Harry stared in almost wonder up at the sky, following Jane's finger as she connected up the nine stars in the constellation. "Which one is that one?" He asked. "The brightest one?"

"Another one of the brightest stars in the sky - Regulus." Jane smiled up at it. "Regulus appears as singular, but is actually made up of four stars arranged in two pairs." 

"And when's your birthday?" Harry asked, really hoping that he hadn't managed to miss it amongst the many days they had spent together. 

"8th of March, making me a Pisces. Which is..." Jane paused, scanning the night sky until she found it. "There." 

Harry's hands were enveloped in warmth once again as Jane adjusted the positioning of his hands. "I never really thought about it.. but it's pretty cool that depending on our birthdays, we have a constellation alongside it." In fact, he found the entire idea of what was up in space cool - he had found a book on space after Dudley had chucked across the room in a fit of rage. Harry had assumed that Aunt Petunia was attempting to make him somewhat smart, although it definitely didn't work. 

"You really didn't listen in Astronomy at all, did you?" Jane laughed, adjusting her head position and tucking her head into the curve of his neck once again, just like how she had done so when she was upset. "You know you're actually pretty comfortable." 

Harry's cheeks were on fire again, but a smile was settling on his face. 

Maybe he didn't need Sirius's advice after all.

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