Her Tulip Heart | R.J. Lupin

Chapter 21

'You've never been ice skating before?' Alethea asked Harry in disbelief. Once again, she was back in the hospital wing, lying in Harry's bed with him. Keeping him company, talking about anything and everything that came to mind. It was his last few hours in the hospital wing, as Madam Pomfrey had told him he could be discharged that very afternoon.

Even when Harry argued that he'd be fine on his own, Alethea didn't listen and stayed with him anyway. Mainly because she knew he was still worried about this "Grim" he saw in the sky, that he had apparently only told her about. She didn't think he believed her when she tried to convince him it may only be a large, black dog instead of an omen of death.

'You really think the Dursleys would take me ice skating?' Harry asked her incredulously, quirking an eyebrow at her. They had long moved on from the topic of the Grim.

Alethea clicked her tongue, 'right yeah...sorry.' She mumbled. Biting her lip in thought, she snapped her fingers in revelation, causing Harry to flinch slightly at the sudden hand movements.

'How about we do it during Christmas Break if Mum tells me I'm staying?' She asked him excitedly. His eyes shining brightly at the thought.

'I'd love that!' He exclaimed giddily. 'Wait...' he paused, furrowing his brows in deep thought. 'Where will we do it?' Harry then asked Alethea curiously, to which she just smirked at him lightly, already having it all planned out.

'Ahhh why must you doubt me Harry Potter?' She sighed out, ruffling his hair.

'Hey! Stop it!' He said whilst swatting her hands away from his head. 'I'm sorry for doubting you Thea...but it's just—the fact that there's no ice rinks near Hogwarts.' He spoke honestly, watching as she started to laugh madly.

'No official ice rinks you mean.' Alethea corrected him with a mischievous grin. Clearly, Harry wasn't understanding what she was getting at as he continued to look at her bewilderedly.

She rolled her eyes at his daftness. 'Reason 53 as to why Harry Potter isn't a Ravenclaw!' She said dramatically. This time it was Harry's turn to roll his eyes, Alethea had been counting the amount of times he did something "dumb" and "un-Ravenclaw" since his first year when they met.

'I'll push you off this bed in a minute if you don't hurry up and tell me!' Harry threatened teasingly, turning on his side to face her so he could pretend to push her off the edge.

'You wouldn't dare!' Alethea gasped in mock seriousness.

'Three...two...' Harry started counting down.

'Alright, alright!' She put her hands up in surrender right before swerving them into Harry's hair again, messing it up even more than it was. Again, Harry's hands were smacking Alethea's away as she laughed loudly, and soon enough he was laughing along too.

'I think you should invest in a comb Harry, do you ever attempt to part your hair?' Alethea asked him teasingly, Harry didn't appreciate the tease and shot her a glare. Seizing her laughter, Alethea settled for a small smile as she reminisced in a memory she was going to recite to Harry.

'When I was in fourth year, I had to stay at Hogwarts for the Christmas Holidays.' She started softly with a wistful look in her eye. Harry turned toward her once again, giving her his undivided attention. He loved hearing her stories about Hogwarts prior to him starting there.

'I remember I really didn't want to stay here by myself, because I knew that no other Ravenclaw's nor any other fourth years were staying that year.' Alethea paused, watching as Harry nodded his head along with her story.

Seeing he was engaged, she continued. 'I was moping around for days leading up to the departure of all my friends. I was fully prepared to spend everyday with Minnie in her office, and ready for the awkward dinners each night.' She huffed out a small laugh at the memory.