Midnight Rain ☂ APOLLO BLACK

⛭ four ⛭

LARA JEAN WAS having the time of her life. It was the first time she was fully drunk. Sure, she had been tipsy so many times before but she was never fully drunk. She was dancing wildly with Heather and figured nobody knew. Everyone else was drunk anyway! Plus she knew her father and brother hid secret hangover potions in the bathroom cupboard. She had tossed off her pumps somewhere near the back table and wasn't even paying attention to who she was dancing with.

Which happened to be Apollo. She couldn't stop running into him, could she? But alas, the alcohol kept her from making any remarks and she kept dancing without a care in the world.

Meanwhile Apollo was super confused. Why was Lara Jean acting so wild? She was always pristine and calm and never lost her temper, but now she was dancing like a madwoman. Not that he didn't enjoy dancing with her, he really did, but it was a bit odd. He just observed her for a while longer and noticed how her eyes were glazed over and she was overly giggly. He sighed, ran a hand over his face, and gently put a hand on her back between her shoulder blades.

"Sunshine, let's get you to bed. You're bloody plastered." She let him guide her through a few dancers, whining about leaving.

"But why? I'm having so much fun..." She whimpered. He laughed at her whining, and led her past the group of parents hanging by the windows. James then caught sight of his daughter, and yelled over.

"Lara Jean! The letters are here! Kids, come open them!" All the kids walked over, grouping around the drunk Lara Jean. She was now bouncing up and down excitedly while Apollo's hand moved to her shoulder to keep her from knocking into people. James then passed out each letter, making sure Lara Jean got hers last.

Meanwhile, Lara Jean's head was a jumble of loud music and color floating behind her eyelids. She was so excited for no reason besides getting her letter. She wanted to be Head Girl so bad. She was bouncing off the walls in both nerves and excitement. She hadn't even noticed Apollo's warm hand on her the whole time.

Her father handed her the crisp envelope and she immediately tore it open, reading through the book list and filing through the envelope bottom to see the shiny pin, in all its powerful glory. She lifted it out of the envelope carefully and had her jaw dropped, not believing she actually did it. She, Lara Jean Marlene Potter, had done it. She was Head Girl. LJ then started to jump up and down while shrieking, leaving everyone watching the girl freak out with a pin in her hand.

"MUM! DAD! I DID IT! I'M HEAD GIRL!" Now everyone was celebrating with the girl, Lily especially. The two jumped up and down in each other's arms. The two redheads were the most ambitious people there; they knew what they wanted, and got it. Plus, LJ's happiness was Lily's too. As long as her daughter was happy, Lily was too. But Lily did notice the smell of firewhiskey that clung to her daughter and the far off look in her eyes. She just shook her head and walked off to talk to James again. LJ was now smiling so wide her mouth hurt and everyone was either ruffling her hair or complimenting her on how amazing she was.

The praise felt so good. All her hard work had paid off. And she was probably drunker than most of the adults there, but she only felt overwhelming happiness. She was being praised for not just being a Potter kid, but she was being praised for something she worked on. Something she was able to do on her own. All the late-night studying and the ink stains on her hands were worth it.

Apollo was also proud of Lara Jean. He felt the happiness radiate off her in waves, and he knew he would forever be happy for her. He saw the effort she put into all of her studies and talents that had now paid off. Hell, he was even so happy for her he forgot to open his letter. He also was super proud of his cousin Leo, who was just entering his fifth year, with his emerald Prefect badge. Violet, Hermione, and Ron had already been Prefects for the past two years.

After the celebration had died down a little, Apollo opened his letter. He read through the boring book list and the welcome letter and finally felt something cold and smooth at the bottom of the envelope; he pulled it out and saw a shiny red Head Boy badge in front of him. He stared at it in shock. He was picked to be Head Boy? Siriusly? Had Dumbledore finally gone off his rocker? Apollo just held the badge in his palm, letting his thumb move over the words 'Head Boy.'

Then he thought of the benefits. He would have his own dorm room, access to the Prefect's bathroom, control of events and Hogsmeade dates, and he'd have excuses to leave classes early. And, as a plus, he'd get to spend lots of time with Lara Jean. He knew the Head Boy and Girl shared a dorm along with a Common Room and private bathroom. He'd get to see her when he woke up and before he went to sleep. Just like he wished.

At the same time he was at war with himself. He had to have the dangling carrot be closer to him, but she was still unreachable. Plus he knew deep down that Lara Jean was waiting for this moment for the longest time. He didn't want to spoil her excitement by storming in and telling her he's Head Boy. Would she still want the role if she knew what it entailed? This was Lara Jean's ultimate goal and he could sour the whole thing. He'd just have to keep his new role a secret for a while. Yeah, that could work. Apollo formulated the whole plan: he'd not tell anyone, show up with the badge, move in with LJ, woo her with his charm, then swoop in and find a way to propose after a while of her agreeing to date him.

It was the perfect opportunity. He could make her breakfast, or run her a bath, or maybe even sort her books in the way she liked them. (Which was by genre, color coded. He checked.) He figured he could do small things, then ask her out in one big gesture after a month or two. He knew his earlier tactics of asking her out relentlessly hadn't worked, so he took his Uncle James' story and put it to good use. He'd do everything James did in their seventh year to get the same outcome. He'd be LJ's friend first. Her best friend.

Then just like James and Lily, Apollo and Lara Jean would end up married in a big house with at least four kids, so he could have a quidditch team of his own. And at every anniversary he'd take her someplace nice. Apollo had planned it out since second year. He just didn't really know what to name the kids. He'd figure it out later. But those thoughts aside, he made his grand plan and put it in motion. He'd be her friend. He'd put his feelings aside and man up. He'd make Lara Jean love him for him, and she'd finally see how much he really cared.

As he watched Lara Jean being dragged up to bed by her mother, he knew that he wanted to make her the happiest girl in the world. And he would, even if it wasn't with him.