Whispers of a Raven by TheBlack'sResurgence

Chapter 19

"It is finally nice to meet you, Miss Black," Edgar offered. "Harry is always speaking about you, and now I finally get to meet the woman who has been lumbered with the git."

Harry shot the redhead a challenging look that Edgar ignored, his amused eyes remaining firmly on the smirking blonde.

"Someone has to bear the burden," she sighed. "Honestly, I'll be grey before I'm thirty at this rate."

Edgar chuckled and Harry shook his head.

"I already am from spending time in his company. You have my condolences," the former replied dramatically.

"You're grey because you're an old bastard," Harry returned, eliciting a belly laugh from his friend.

"I'm twenty-nine," Edgar pointed out.

"And you look thirty-nine," Harry countered. "You've not even known me a year. Give it a few more when you look sixty, then you can blame me."

"Oh, I will, Peverell," Edgar snorted, "and Ellie here will know just who to blame for my untimely death."

Edgar's fiancé raised an eyebrow at her intended.

"If you think I will blame Harry for your shortcomings, you have another thing coming, Edgar Bones," she quipped. "You bring it all on yourself, and besides, it's your own fault for associating with him."

Harry didn't know if he should feel proud of the woman or insulted. Regardless, he laughed at Edgar's pout.

Ellie Goldstein was the woman that Edgar had been courting for the past several months, long enough for him to decide she was the woman he wished to marry.

"Aww, poor Ed, does the truth hurt?"

"It does," Edgar said thoughtfully. "I was under the impression that marrying you would mean you're on my side."

The woman cupped his cheek and shook her head slowly.

"You have so much to learn about me, Ed."

He pouted again, and Harry and Narcissa watched the back and forth between the two with amusement.

"This is your doing, Peverell," Edgar accused. "She was a nice girl."

"You do it for yourself, Bones," Harry retorted. "You're not as charming as you think you are."

"That's probably true," Edgar conceded with a sigh.

The two Lords had gotten into the habit of meeting up over the past months, striking up an easy friendship through a shared interest in Quidditch, being on the Wizengamot together and exploring the food on offer in various establishments in Diagon Alley. They had visited each eatery more than once, though this was the first time they were being joined by Narcissa and Ellie.

Narcissa was usually working when Harry and Edgar met, and Ellie had admittedly been nervous about dining with the Lord Peverell and one of the infamous Blacks. She had come round to the idea, however, and seemed to be enjoying herself.

"Edgar tells me that you harvest ingredients for potions," Harry prompted the woman who nodded enthusiastically.

"I always enjoyed Herbology and Care of Magical creatures. I kind of just fell into the job," Ellie explained.