Hell's Princess {H. Potter}

Chapter 9

"Hey, El! Watch this!"

Eleena glanced up from the book she was reading just in time to see Harry race past her on his broom, blowing her hair back with a strong gust of wind. Smiling fondly, she set her book aside in favor of continuing to watch her soulmate fly around to his heart's content. Her little research project could wait for later. Harry took priority over everything else, and if he wanted her attention, he would get it.

Once he was sure that her eyes were firmly fixed upon him, Harry began performing a series of sharp twists and turns all around the Quidditch pitch in an act to impress the older Ravenclaw. He succeeded, of course. Eleena had it bad for him. Any action, no matter how simple it was, would be enough to make her swoon. Salem would most likely tease her for being so easy if he was present, but who was he to judge? He acted the same way around Cedric. The hypocritical bastard really had no room to speak.

"He sure is fantastic on that broom." Eleena pondered aloud with a grin, earning a bark of agreement from Bruce.

"He can probably keep up with me, can't he? I'd love to fly with him someday in either of my-Harry, watch out!"

With his gaze focused on Eleena's bright expression, the distracted Harry nearly crashed into one of the three goal posts. Eleena's warning luckily reached him before the collision could take place, causing him to swerve and miss the post by mere inches. Now too embarrassed to continue flying, he went straight towards the stands where Eleena and Bruce were and abandoned his broom to sit beside them. Eleena offered him her handkerchief for him to wipe the sweat off his face with, purposely ignoring the reddish tint to his cheeks.

"...Can you pretend you didn't see that last part?" He sheepishly requested.

"Didn't see what? I have no idea what you're talking about." Eleena replied, acting confused.

"Thanks." Harry laughed.

"There's nothing to thank me for." Eleena assured, "Are you done for the day?"

"Yeah." Harry nodded, "Sorry I took so long. You're probably bored."

"Bored? Never, not while I'm with you." Eleena purred.

Leaning close, she pecked Harry's cheek, further deepening the blush he already sported. She giggled at the display, loving how she never failed to elicit such an adorable reaction every time she showed even the tiniest bit of affection. Still, as much as she loved seeing her soulmate all flustered like that, she didn't want to tease him too much lest he burst a blood vessel. With this in mind, she moved away from Harry's personal space and lent her attention back to her book, allowing a comfortable silence to settle. It was peaceful. At least, it was until Eleena noticed the way Harry kept stealing glances at her, looking as if he wanted to say something to her.

"Is there something on your mind?" She curiously asked, "You know I'll listen."

"Well..." Harry trailed off.

That was new... Eleena didn't like that. Harry never hesitated around her anymore, not since the night he shared his life story with her. She thought that surely they were close enough to be way past the point of keeping things from one another. Secrets on his side, at least. It filled Eleena with guilt, having to hide her true identity for so long, but it had to be done. Harry had too much on his mind at the moment. Eleena didn't want to add on to his stress, especially with the tournament's first task coming up. The right time would come eventually. Eleena would just have to stomach the guilt in the meantime. Although, it seemed like Harry was currently trying to get even with her.

"Never mind, it's nothing... W-we should back."

"...Alright, if say so."

Harry determinedly avoided any eye contact as he and Eleena walked back to the castle, leaving the Ravenclaw to wonder what was wrong. As far as she knew, she hadn't done anything to warrant Harry's anxious behavior. Maybe he had another vision about Voldemort? But no, that couldn't be it. Harry would have been more scared, and Eleena could only sense nervousness tinged with worry and a little bit of fear. It was familiar, actually. Eleena sensed that same mixture of feelings from the admirers she had to reject on a regular basis. It always happened when they were on the verge of...asking her out...