Full Circle(Tomarry)

Chapter 14.

"Thank you," Luna said, a few days into her and Ginny's friendship honeymoon. "I won't ask why, but I know you don't feel comfortable around her. So it means a lot to me having her around with us."

Harry looked at her, unsurprised at her strange capacity to see what everyone else didn't and gave a wry smile. "I'm not about to keep any of you from being friends with other people. My feelings aside, if she makes you happy then who am I to get in the way of that? She was your friend first."

Luna looked at him, uncharacteristically serious, before she gently smiled. "Marvolo is lucky to have you."

They were words that he's heard in many iterations, many times, in many lives. But somehow, the way Luna said it made Harry a little bashful. In a rare moment of truthfulness, he admitted "I wouldn't know what to do without him."

The blonde second year patted his cheek. "Oh Harry," she said sympathetically, "You're soulmates. I don't think he'd know what to do without you either."

.

On Friday, the day before the Valentine's Day Hogsmeade weekend, Cormac McLaggen approached their group during lunch.

Harry was never friendly with McLaggen in his first life, and barely interacted with him this time around. He distinctly remembered him being a pompous ass though. Hermione could write an essay about his shortcomings after taking him as a date at one of Slughorn's parties. Still, he had maybe said two words to McLaggen these three years, and they were "Excuse me" while passing each other in the loo.

So it came as a surprise when McLaggen cockily smirked down at Harry and asked "Would you like to go to Hogsmeade with me tomorrow, Potter?"

"What?" Draco coughed, barely catching himself from choking on his food. Ron, who was taking a drink, wasn't so lucky and sprayed pumpkin juice all over his plate to everyone's disgust.

"You're asking Harry out on a date?" Ron wheezed.

"It's none of your business, but yes," McLaggen rolled his eyes before giving Harry a piercing look. "What do you think, Potter?"

"I'm flattered and all," Harry said slowly, very aware at all the eyes watching the scene because Hogwarts was full of nosy as fuck teenagers. "But I'm going to have to decline."

McLaggen frowned, "Why?"

"He really doesn't have to explain himself to you, McLaggen," Neville frowned back.

"And he doesn't really need his friends to speak for him, Longbottom," the older Gryffindor bit back. "I'm just asking, as someone who's interested in you," McLaggen pointedly said to Harry, "Why I'm not being given a chance."

Everyone knew McLaggen was an asshole, and that was enough of a reason for anyone to decline a date from him. But also, Harry was the Boy Who Lived on the throes of puberty and really, he should've seen it coming when the speculation about his 'type' started. People were interested in his love life and while the plan was to wait until fourth year to reveal anything, maybe Harry could get away with a little preview.

"I can't go on a date with you because I'm already spoken for," Harry nonchalantly said, pretending he didn't notice the way the other students thoughts turned at his words. "And they would be very upset if I went off on dates without them."