𝗷𝗮𝗻𝗲, harry potter

˗ˋ 47

CHAPTER FORTY SEVEN
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-: fourth year :-

── IN WHICH SHE ESTIMATES

. . .

A hand circled around him and took him by surprise, turning around on the wobbling bridge. Jane was looking cautious, eyes turned down towards the stream flowing beneath.

"Sorry." Jane mumbled, barely glancing up. "Lost my balance."

Harry smiled at her, reassuring her that it was perflectly fine. Because it really was - Harry was, in fact, rather happy to let her use him as her balance. He had becoming willing to do most things for her over time, pretty memories playing back every single time he glanced at her.

Happy memories that he would dwell on every single day once the summer was over. Because when the 1st of September came or at the very least neared, he was whisked away to Hogwarts or the Weasleys in a sudden return to the Wizarding World after practically being ostracized since the last day of term at Hogwarts.

It was always a shock to the system to return and be so busy after doing nothing for days on end, but this summer was so much different. He had been doing something almost every day with Jane, whether it was on a walk or up at the Manor.

But now, they had traipsed away from the home that felt so welcoming to the two teens and made their way down the road to the stile, climbing over it and continuing down a dirty, stone-littered path with Jane following the map just like she had done so many times before.

Unlike their previous journeys, this path took them through into a woodland area instead of rolling fields of green. It was a definite change, but one that they welcomed; the canopy of leaves above them provided a lot of shelter in the burning sun.

The sound of a stream accompanied the many sounds of the forest, but it wasn't until the reached the edge of the cluster of trees, where the slight thinning of trees allowed a lot more light to pass through, that the stream dropped down into a much bigger crater, and rather helpfully, someone had arranged several planks of wood together to create a bridge.

A bridge that Jane didn't seem too comfortable crossing, but had feigned a smile and suggested that she go first. Of course, Harry hadn't let this happen and instead crossed first. Jane followed behind, holding his hand.

Harry pulled her onwards, turning at the last moment catching her in his chest.

"Harry!" Jane gasped, hands grasping at the fabric of his t-shirt and not even daring to glance down. It wasn't even that big of a drop and it wasn't that which bothered her really, it was more the creaking wood beneath her feet.

"Jane!" Harry repeated her words back to her in the exact same tone, watching as she was unable to hide a smile any longer. "There we go." He grinned down at her as the bridge wobbled once more.

Several more footsteps and Jane was off of the bridge, as was Harry, and the connection between their hands wasn't severed as they walked onwards.

"This map is a little newer.. so there isn't the usual symbol for train tracks." Jane frowned, she glanced around them, before her eyes landed on Harry once again. "Would you mind just letting me lean on your back just for a moment?"

"Of course." Harry nodded, shifting the strap of his backpack and letting it slide to his front.

He couldn't help the ripple of goosebumps that arrived as Jane carefully straightened out the wrinkled material of hiis shirt, flattening it with a run of her hand. There was a small amount of disruption to the quiet atmosphere as Jane adjusted the paper so that the section she needed to see.

At one end, a hand held up the end of the map whilst nestled in the nape of his neck, brushing over the shorter hair there. The other was holding a pencil and tracing something on the paper.. Jane was silent for a few moments, her head occasionally popping into the view Harry got by twisting his head an almost uncomfortable amount to the side, surveying the path in front of them.

"There." Jane pulled away.

"Did you manage to find what you needed to?" Harry asked, turning around and watching as she folded up the map so that the small section she had drawn on was the only one visible.

"I think so." The Everleigh girl looked worried for a moment before brightening up, confidence returning to her eyes. She edged closer to Harry, their shoulders brushing as she pointed out the grey trail she had drawn. "If we follow this path.. and turn down here in about five minutes.. then it should only be another five minutes until we get there. I've estimated really, but the bridge should be about here."

"If there's one bridge.. shouldn't there really be more?" Harry asked, a little confused on the focus on just this one bridge.

"Well yes.. you see I was getting some of the ingredients for the croissants late last night because Flora wanted to pick up some of those specially flavoured herbs from the nearby shop and asked if I wanted to get anything." Jane slipped away from the point a little as they walked. "And I was in the condiments aisle when some older womens were walking by."

"They were talking about the old train tracks and how the second to last bridge was being filled in - her husband's working on it. Apparently this one was really old and practically falling to pieces ." Jane continued. "Then her friend asked about the last bridge, which was in between Whinging Woods - which we just went through - and the canal. Then the first woman said it was perfectly safe and made up new, and walkers liked to pass through in colder weather."

"So where we're going is safe?" Harry checked. It wasn't that he didn't trust Jane, it was just that from the souunds of it, the old train track bridges could be rather dangerous.

"Perfectly so." Jane nodded.

And as if to reaffirm her point, she gave his hand a little squeeze.

✧

a/n
sorry for the later
update, my mum just
got back from hospital
and i've been helping out!

anyways, after next chapter
it is harry's birthday and i'll
admit to having had this
planned since the beginning
of the book, so get ready for that
soon!