Chapter Text
Hedwig flew in lazy circles overhead. Harry would have half a mind to fly up and join her if he wasn't so comfortable. The early mark to enjoy the sunshine had been gifted to them by Professor Sprout under pretense of distributing a deterrent to an algae which could become harmful to the Lake's Bladderwort plants and lead to overpopulation of water fleas and eventually to the fall of all mankind from the way she was talking. He was protected from the cold ground by the conjured picnic blanket but, even with the warming charms, it wasn't quite enough that he didn't want the robe he'd foolishly discarded thinking it would grow uncomfortably hot. Still, it wasn't a bad sort of cold. He could almost nap.
They were lying under a bare branched tree a good distance apart from most of the other groups, so it was quiet enough that the steady slide of Ron "skipping" rocks across the frozen lake, the occasional bird, and the hushed whispers of his friends saying nothing important were the only real noises. Harry had his head in Neville's lap with his legs draped over Hermione, who was leaning against both the tree and Ginny, who was also sitting up against the trunk with one leg stretched over to Harry and the other on the far side of Luna, who was resting her head somewhere in Ginny's knee joint with the rest of her draped over Harry, a bare foot resting near Harry's head. Their entanglement was only missing Ron now, self excluded by his new hobby.
Harry figured some of them probably were napping. He envied their ability. He needed to know his entire space and what was in it before he could sleep. While the cavernous, empty feeling didn't exist in many places in Hogwarts anymore, especially with all his late night wandering, he still couldn't imagine falling asleep in the Great Hall without all the teachers watching over them to make sure they weren't murdered, or the hospital wing if he wasn't bone tried and injured.
Hedwig flew another hypnotic circle. Watching her was almost enough to make Harry forget his normal habits. It was getting easier to do that these days. To simply relax and enjoy what was happening around him rather than waiting for it to be over so he could breathe. The friends surrounding him now had helped him through the worst parts of himself over the years. He hoped his friendship was worth the effort.
Ginny poked at him with her foot. Harry stretched his leg towards her, moving just enough to make the position not awkward and uncomfortable, But it wasn't a "love me" poke. It was a warning.
"I apologise for the interruption, but I wonder if I might have a moment to speak alone with your Harry." Dumbledore's voice addressed the group from above him, his shadow blocking the sun. It wasn't like he could politely refuse so Harry reluctantly untangled himself and let Dumbledore lead him a little further away from the others, well out of earshot.
"Here should do nicely. It's such a nice day out I could hardly ask you to suffer going inside. How are you, my boy?"
"Well, Sir. And yourself?"
"Yes, I'm quite alright. What about this secret admirer of yours? Do they seem well?"
"Yes, Sir. I think so." Harry said, fidgeting at his fingers as he braced for more interrogation.
"And do you love this person?"
"I don't know, Sir. I'm keen to find out."
"Have they sent anything else, a secret message perhaps?"
"No Sir." Harry lied before he realised what he was doing. Lying to a skilled Legilimens was only about the dumbest thing he could do and as understanding as Dumbledore was of slip-ups like this he was bound to get a stern talking to now. He chided himself for ruining such a good day.
"Wonderful!" Dumbledore all but shouted, clapping his hands together. "A secret admirer is always so much more fun when the sender stays a secret."
"Sir?"
"Of course there is only so far one's heart can stretch without knowing the sender's identity, but all of this exciting mystery and guessing is something you simply cannot get back." A reminiscent glaze settled over the Headmaster's eyes for just a moment before he continued. "Miss Granger has concerns, as do we all in these times, but I have reassured her and now you that the staff of Hogwarts as well as a handful of select powerful witches and wizards, spent the summer strengthening the wards. Anything intended to harm will find itself unable to pass through."
"T-that's... good." Harry stammered as he tried to process what exactly was going on.
"Love is such a special thing, Harry. A truly magical experience which no person should deprive themselves of. I can only hope the threat of war does not stop you from diving in head first and embracing its wonders." He took advantage of Harry being too stunned to speak and reflected for a moment. "Though of course it will be difficult to fit much dating around your new training schedule. I hope you will forgive an old man his distractions, but this is the true reason I have sought you out today." He said, passing a piece of parchment to Harry.
Even at a glance the list of dates and times was long, confusing, and without pattern. He saw a few names he recognised but most he did not. There were various symbols littered about in an almost threatening manner.
"We had to be flexible in our arrangements, as your trainers are very busy. Some have requirements for prior study or revision, some have requests for your diet, or your attire, they're all clearly noted. For those which take place during class time you will need to make up the classwork."
Harry'd had special training in fifth year with Snape for Occlumency, and 6th with various Aurors when they could manage. He'd never thought agreeing to increase his training would mean... this. He could feel his free time withering away as he looked dumbfoundedly at the parchment, so he looked into Dumbledore's twinkling eyes instead. "Yes, Sir."
"Wonderful!" He replied at a reasonable volume. "I'll let you ask Miss Granger for a study schedule, and to enjoy the rest of this beautiful day."
"Thank you, Sir." He couldn't tell if he'd kept the grimace out of his voice or not but he had tried and that should count for something. He felt himself wander back to the group.
He attempted to brush off his friends curiosity by claiming it as unimportant, but Gin wasn't having it.
"My nose is tingling, and I saw a secret note that you were reading in front of him. I smell romance. Give it over, Potter."
"It's tingling 'cause it's cold out." Ron declared, finally plonking down with the rest of them."Harry's stalker isn't passing notes through Dumbledore."
"Professor Dumbledore has far better things to do than pass along love letters."Hermione agreed.
"Not a letter through Dumbledore. A letter from him." Ginny emphasised carefully.
"For fucks sake! Not this again!" Neville exclaimed. Harry hadn't known Nev could swear, but quite agreed.
"It is a bit much." Luna said kindly.
Ginny ignored the both of them. "Give it over!"
Harry did.
She quickly grimaced and checked the other side just in case. "There is no Romance here. 'Specially not the bit where you're supposed to "refrain from masturbation" for a month."
"I'm supposed to what?!" He said at the same time Ron accused her of making it up. He made a grab for the parchment but she just handed the note over to Hermione. Neville and Luna seemed to have decided none of Ginny's nonsense was worth their time and were making lovey dovey eyes at each other instead.
"Shit, mate. It's true." Ron said, reading over Hermione's shoulder. "And you're vegan in May! No bacon, no cheesecake, no eggs"
"No chocolate." Hermione added.
Ron grew visibly pale. "That's just torture."
"It figures you'd be more appalled by that than the lack of masturbation." A voice far too posh to be anyone other than Malfoy drawled.
"That's not a big deal." Ron waved his hand "You could have someone else do it for you"
"Fits into your fantasies about Potter crawling into your bed late at night then?" Malfoy skillfully dodged the blow aimed at his chin. Any other attempts were stopped by Harry holding the red faced Ron back.
"What do you want, Malfoy?"
"To see if we've won. I saw the exchange and heard yelling about masturbation. Is it really Dumbledore?" The last question he directed at Ginny.
"No proof yet." She said "But I'm still with you. Dumbledore or bust."
Harry loosened his hold on Ron "What? You too?" He asked, sure he didn't want to know in the slightest.
"Gen and I are the only two on team Dumbledore. One woukd assume with such a large betting pool there would be a little more creativity that just "Lord Voldemort""
"It's Gin." Said Ron.
"It's a nickname. Short for Genitalia. She calls me CoCo." Draco said with a smug grin.
Hermione crinkled her nose in distaste. Harry tightened his grip on Ron again, just in case.
"Stay away from my sister." Ron growled.
"And my love life! Both of you!" Harry said, glaring between them.
"We're just brothers in arms, Weasel. Two against the world. I don't know what you're so worked up about. It's not like I'm trying to court her." Draco stepped closer to Ron, clearly putting too much faith in Harry's ability to hold back someone much bigger than him.
"I put my money on Voldemort." Luna said happily.
Harry let go of Ron to point accusingly at Luna, unintentionally providing Ron the perfect opportunity to shove an equally distracted Malfoy into the cold mud. Without having the good grace to stop looking so superior he said "I'd have put my money on the red ape here if I thought he had the balls to do anything."
"Have all of you placed bets?" Harry asked, appalled.
"Voldemort. To support Luna." Neville said.
"That Ravenclaw boy who was always staring at you. The Voldemort group was pretty overcrowded " Hermione admitted.
Harry stared at Ron. The only one left.
"It's not like it means we think you'd actually go with them. Just that they're sending letters."
"Who?"
"Lockhart."
"Ron!"
Harry stormed off to find a nice, calm place to mentally reassure himself that was not Dumbledore, not Voldemort, and very definitely not bloody Lockhart!
It only took Harry a few days to forgive them all, apart from Ginny and Malfoy who he learned were sending increasingly grosser "fan fiction" to each other. He'd almost immediately gone off Hermione again when she handed him his study schedule. It wasn't her fault, but even though she had made the sanest schedule she could while fitting in his extra training, normal study, quidditch obligations, and sleep, the thing was downright cruel.
It did soften the blow that Hermione (and by extension Ron, but not very hard) was studying alongside him, following the guide to the letter and beyond to learn whatever she could to help. It was only another two hours until the library closed on their third study session, both a blessing and a curse. The thick book in front of him: "Advanced Shielding Techniques and Their Implementation" was great. Not too hard, explained itself well, actually pretty interesting, but he kept catching himself reading the same paragraph over and over. No matter how hard he tried to just move on something seemed to be stopping him. Writing it down helped a bit, but by then he'd lost 10 minutes to the paragraph, and it kept happening again within a few pages. Hermione had gotten way ahead of him, which she would have even if he hadn't been struggling to focus, and now his idiot brain was busy trying to guess how much and if he could keep up which just made reading harder. He was grateful when felt Hermione's magic giving off that little flair that made her curls puff. Usually it meant she had been interrupted from deep concentration, which meant a break. Sure enough he looked up to see a dark haired Hufflepuff girl who he recognised but didn't know by name.
"Hi!" She waved awkwardly as she approached their table. She turned to Harry. "So, yeah, I am asking you out on a date. You're probably going to say no, but, like, shots you don't take, right?"
Harry smiled, somewhat appreciative of the direct approach "Right! Thanks, but I have someone I like already."
"Thought you might. Good luck!" She waved again as she bounced back to her own group across the room.
"That you like?" Ron said once she was out of earshot. Shit. He was really hoping Ron would get over his jealousy before he slipped up like this.
"I... yeah, I guess. I mean they seem nice and all."
"Yeah, all the stuff she sends you does seem nice".
"It's more the care and kindness that goes into choosing them that I like, and all the nice stuff in the letters" Harry said, picking up his book again.
"She's a sugar mommy who's going to coddle you. You're the last person who needs to be wrapped up in cotton wool."
Harry's skin prickled as Ron continued "We've done everything ourselves since we were 11. We have each other. We don't need outsiders."
Harry kept his eyes resolutely on his book "Good thing we're not dating them then."
"You're not dating the daft bint either, you don't even know who they are."
"Then there's no reason to be so bloody weird about it is there?"
"You're the one being weird!" Ron said through gritted teeth before grabbing his things and storming out. He would have shouted it back before he was dating a lover of libraries who might just murderer of him should he put her in bad standing with any librarian.
Harry held the text tightly in his hand, intent on focusing again once he'd calmed down, but once he had he was able to notice something was off. Hermione hadn't turned a page in a while. He chanced a glance at her.
"You are getting in a little deeper. I don't mean to beat a dead horse, but with everything that's been brewing, you need to be careful."
It was Harry's turn to grab his things and storm off. He threw a "You're both impossible!" Over his shoulder for good measure before trying his best to pick whichever direction Ron didn't go.
He found himself in the owlery a few hours later soothing the harsh words with Hedwig's soft feathers, letting her nibble his finger every so often during the unusually long pat session. Where to pat based on where she nibbled came as naturally as breathing, but then she was his first friend. Before Hagrid could really be called one, before he met anyone else, he had her. She knew more than anyone how much he'd needed one. Maybe it was natural that things were easy with her and no one else.
The door opened. He moved as soon as he saw the Hair, making his way past Hermione and starting down the tower steps before she could get a word in.
"Harry!"
He didn't stop.
"Harry, wait!"
He could hear her shoes on the stone, following him down. He sped up a little
"There's a new gift! It's here!" She called breathlessly.
He stopped in his tracks, allowing an obviously miffed Hermione to catch up to him. She handed him the bare letter. She'd opened it. Now they were both miffed. Harry set his invasion of privacy aside for now and read the letter in front of her, assuming she had the gift held hostage in her pocket too.
"Harry,
My admiration of the hypnotic quality of your beautifully vibrant eyes is all too often followed by the thought that no one would have checked your prescription in quite some time. I intend to rectify this ill so that you may, at the very least, see my face clearly when we meet. I have taken the liberty of making an appointment on your behalf for the next Hogsmeade visit at 2:15pm, The All-Seeing-Eyedoctor (Awful name!), Brikle Street.
You are to select anything which takes your fancy without consideration to price. As the in-store selection is somewhat limited I will specifically note that this includes anything within their catalogues. Multiple pairs are encouraged, a sports pair and one for everyday at the very least.
P.S. As you must suffer a long wait for your gift this week I hope you will also accept this small token of apology. It was not originally part of my grand plan for seduction but I saw it in a shop window today and thought of you, so naturally had no choice but to include it."
Thankfully, Harry was "free" that day aside from the constant insurmountable mountain of studying.
"I'm worried it's an ambush." Hermione said firmly. Of course she was.
"Of course you are." Harry said flatly.
"I don't think you should go alone"
"I wasn't planning to."
"You shouldn't go at all! All these political moves and masked get togethers, it's only a matter of time before they try something bold and announce Voldemort's return. What better than your kidnapping? Or murder?"
"Did you bring the gift as well?" Harry tried to keep any intention from his voice.
"Oh Harry, I'm just trying to- you need-"
"I AM! I am being careful! What have I done besides not completely reject them that makes you think I'm some idiot that doesn't care about my own life?"
"Nothing recently. I just- I don't want you to get hurt."
"And I don't want to get hurt. Not by whoever this is" he brandished the letter "and not by my friends."
"Harry..." There were tears forming in her eyes now.
"Dumbledore's fine with it!"
"Professor Dumbledore is fine with an awful lot of things that were not fine at all."
Well, he couldn't argue with that. 'Specially while his age and experience were giving him new perspectives on just about everything.
"I'm being careful." He reassured her gently. "I really do like how they make me feel and I do like them and want to get to know them so long as they're not trying to harm me, but I am being careful. Please just trust me."
"Alright." Hermione sniffed. "I'll try. And I'll try to stop being so overbearing. It doesn't have to be me but..."
"Don't go alone. Yeah, you said."
"I'll go with you, if you'll let me." She reached into her pocket and held a bundle of wrapping out to him.
He took it. Inside the sea of paper was a tiny, glistening statue made of coloured glass. An owl perched elegantly on a branch attached to a stump. Whenever the owl, which was unmistakably a snowy just like Hedwig, moved each feather would shuffle individually giving it a lifelike quality that was almost real enough to be a little creepy. Tiny mushrooms decorated the trunk, giving a little cuteness to balance it out.
Someone would probably tell him that this thing cost more than a small country -Gods he hoped a country wasn't an upcoming gift- but the real gift was that Mr Romantic, his probably boyfriend, had thought about him. He just happened to be on his probably boyfriend's mind. Belatedly he performed the safety spell, just in case. The owl looked annoyed to be subjected to it. He desperately wanted to show her to Hedwig, but she'd be off on a fly by now.
"I'll think about it. Probably won't bring Ron."
"He's mostly worried too. He's just not great at showing it."
That they could agree on.
Harry had been on edge every day since the letter arrived and the appointment was only one sleep away. There was no one in Hogwarts he could ask for help, even after Ron had apologised, and it was his own damn fault for keeping the secret for so long that it was now well into awkward territory.
But there was someone outside of Hogwarts.
Tonight was his weekly call with Sirius and he was going to spill every detail one could to polite company. Sirius had always acted interested but didn't make it all he talked about which was both more than most people had managed and exactly what Harry needed in this moment. He'd found and silenced an out of the way alcove just for the occasion.
Calmly, as he refused to let himself feel any nerves at all calling his Godfather of all people, he spoke Sirius's name into the mirror.
Nothing. Probably busy.
He decided to leave it for 10 minutes before he tried again to be polite, but at 8 minutes and 37 seconds the mirror began vibrating. Harry picked it up right away.
"Somebody's an eager beaver." Sirius's face beamed out to him, he looked just as eager as Harry did.
"Yeah, I have something to tell you. Are you alone?"
"I can be. Give me a sec."
There was a lot of rustling as Sirius moved. "Hi Remus!" He shouted out as he spotted his ex professor's hair in the background.
"Hi, Harry" Remus called, already out of view. He sounded muffled, like his eyes hadn't left the book he was likely reading. They rarely would until he was invited into the conversation.
Harry could hear Sirius going up the steps as he got a view of the ceiling, then the top edge of a doorframe, before finally Sirius tilted the mirror to show his face.
"Alright. I'm all alone in my well warded room. What's up, Prongslet?"
"You cannot under any circumstances tell anyone what I'm going to tell you." Harry said, his voice almost heavy with seriousness. "I need advice, badly, but I also need to keep this secret for reasons that will become obvious. Can you do that?"
Sirius put up a hand as if swearing an oath "So long as it doesn't put you in imminent danger I will always keep your secrets to the grave."
Harry was very, very appreciative of this. They had built a lot of trust since they first met, and Harry knew Sirius would rather die than break his word, even if it was only something small like his favourite colour.
Harry double checked the spells on the alcove he'd settled into before starting. "So, I've actually been sending letters to my secret admirer for a while now. The parchment he sends is enchanted, he writes on one side and I reply on the other. I know he's definitely a bloke. I am no longer questioning if I like men that much or not because I very, very much do. I like him a lot and think he's brilliant.
He's made an appointment for me in Hogsmeade to get my eyes tested and some new glasses. Hermione and Ron are freaking out that I might die if I go because he might be there and might be evil and I obviously want to go because he might be there and might be amazing. Should I go do you think? Or play it safe and politely decline?"
"Well, te-"
"He won't mind if I don't go. He's so considerate and just really nice. He always tells me that my being comfortable is the most important thing. He'll just say it'll be a gift he'll save for if and when I'm ready and send me something different to make up for it, plus he already suggested leaving it for later if I want something custom."
"Tha-"
"But I REALLY want to go and to meet him. Ok. I'll stop. I'm sorry. Please talk now?"
Sirius hesitated just to be safe before he asked. "What do you know about him?"
"He's older than me, probably by quite a bit from what he's said but I don't know for sure. He is in some fancy job where he gets to lord over a bunch of people, it's not in the ministry but he's got enough influence that he could harass people for me if I wanted. He's an orphan with a terrible childhood, same as me. He did really well in school and he's really smart. Anything I mention learning on this new training schedule-"
"Oh yeah, how's that going?"
"Slow and painful. But whatever I learn if I mention it to him he'll already know and have book recommendations. I had to threaten to never open another gift to make him stop."
Sirius smiled at that. "Sounds like a smart bloke. Has he mentioned or hinted at a catch to the gifts?"
Harry shook his head vehemently. "He's always said that all he wants in return is my happiness. And maybe to sketch me. He's a great artist."
"He send you something?" Sirius smiled devilishly
Harry nodded, somewhat unsure if he should have mentioned anything at all.
"May I see?"
"No?"
"Ah ha!" He yelled victoriously, clapping his hand against the one holding the mirror for emphasis "A dick pic! I knew it! That's how you know for sure he's a bloke: A girl would never send a dick pic."
"I- Well, yeah? They don't have dicks."
"You'd be surprised, Harry."
Harry thought back to the sketch of the person in the skirt and blushed.
"And does this suitor of yours have a name?" Sirius asked.
"I only know his initials. T.R. I, uh, call him Mr Romantic."
Sirius mock gagged, predictable as ever. "Sounds like you two saps are made for each other."
Harry grinned at him. "I just... he likes me. Me. Just Harry, none of the “Boy Who Lived" nonsense. What if no one else does? I have to take this chance, right?"
“You are loveable, Harry. If this bloke, who does sound nice, doesn't work out there will be so many more who will be able to love the real you. I sure do. Just because you've got more chaff to sort through than most doesn't mean it's not there." He paused in thought, head bowed while Harry tried very hard not to interrupt. "I say you go. Take Hermione with you, then if he's there you can show her he's not evil. Win-win."
"Thanks. I mean it."
"Was that the only private thing you wanted to discuss?"
Harry nodded, and Sirius slipped back downstairs to get comfortable again. They talked for a while about the usual stuff and a bit of nothing in particular before Sirius suddenly called behind him "Oi, I'm going to ask Harry now."
They both waited in anticipatory silence for Remus, who Harry assumed was finishing the page and marking his book. As soon as he sat down Sirius spoke.
"As you know, we're getting married. And married people go on honeymoons together."
Harry did know this. He'd been privileged enough to hear most of the details of their planning, a symbolic and magically recognised ceremony of their own making and not the pureblood traditions Sirius still hated with a passion.
"We're going to travel around Europe. For just under a month."
Harry opened his mouth, ready to be very excited for them, but Sirius held up his hand to indicate this was not the announcement.
"It will be after graduation and we would love to take our Godson with us, if that would be alright with you."
Harry didn't allow himself to feel anything yet. It was probably only a politeness invitation and he should decline.
"But it's your ho-"
"None of that." Remus said firmly. "Yes, it's our honeymoon, but that means what we want it to mean."
"It's celebrating our family finally being legally whole. You're an important part of that." Said Sirius, putting his arm around his partner "For both of us" Remus added. Though the impact was somewhat lessened by Sirius saying "If this were in person I'd have my godfatherly arms around you instead" over the top of him.
Sirius seemed to know that Harry was going to try and politely refuse again because before Harry could get himself under control enough to do so he said "You'll be doing me a favour, really. Otherwise it'll be nothing but museums and quiet nights in."
"Alright." Harry said tearfully. "I'll save you from museums."
"You'll be saving me from his complaining as well. Can you imagine what I'd have to put up with if I didn't go out and party?" Remus said.
Harry spent the rest of the call trying to control himself while Sirius and Remus went through what travel plans they'd made so far and encouraged Harry to choose things he wanted to do. They were going to book all the accommodations so they wouldn't be sleeping rough, each pick out some fun things, but plan nothing and just do what they felt like on the day, which sounded perfect to Harry, who still couldn't quite believe he was asked. He had no idea what he'd enjoy doing while on holiday, having never gone off on one before, or even where to start looking for suggestions he could make. Mr Romantic had mentioned travelling before, maybe he'd have some suggestions. He'd have to ask, once he could think about it without tearing up again.
The problem with being allowed to choose your own frames, Harry found, was that it was a struggle to see what they looked like on. He couldn't see what he looked like in the mirror without wearing his glasses because by the time he could see he was too close to get a good view. He couldn't bloody well try them out over his old glasses either. He was just about to feel upset he hadn't brought Colin and the new camera he was bragging about along when he was informed by the clerk that he could tap the mirror with his wand to freeze his reflection! Amazing!
His eyesight had gotten worse since childhood, not by too much but left longer his current glasses would hurt more than they helped, and he had developed a slight astigmatism they would try to correct. Harry was just glad it was getting fixed now because, if he was being perfectly honest, he wouldn't have thought to get checked out if left to fend for himself. Would have blamed the headaches on Voldemort and the eyesight on the headaches.
He tried on almost every pair in the shop after that, even the ones he didn't like, just to see what suited him. He'd picked out a pair of red and gold quidditch goggles with leather wrapped arms that reminded him of a broom handle easily enough, but what would he wear every day?
"Can you imagine how mad Snape would be?" Dean asked, handing Harry a pink tinted star shaped pair.
"These are just my normal glasses, Sir." Harry said innocently once he'd got them on.
"Detention, Potter" Dean laughed. "And 500 points from Gryffindor!"
"And get those ridiculous things off your face." Hermione added.
He put them down with an exaggerated frown and studied his "yes" section again. It wasn't much, only a handful of pairs. One was quite similar to what he already wore, if a little nicer looking. One was a sort of rounded rectangle shape with a thin navy blue frame, and the other was an angled rectangle shape with a thick black frame that sported gold detailing on the side. They all looked good on him for different reasons. After some consideration he put the pair that looked like his old ones aside. He wanted a change. Blue or black? He tried them on again.
"We'll miss curfew if we're not careful." Hermione warned, waving away the tempus charm she had cast.
"Why do the black ones say "example" on the side?" He asked the shopkeep who had been very, very patient with them.
"They can be inlaid with a name. Some people prefer to have a phrase instead. Up to 50 characters can be accommodated."
Harry gasped. "They're really nice and will make Snape angry. Perfect!"
""Boy-Who-Lived" would drive the bat battier than your name though." Dean pointed out.
""Harry James Potter" on one side, "Better than everyone" on the other?" Harry suggested
Hermione gasped.
"What? Asked Harry, half fearing he was to be scolded for disrespecting a Professor again.
"You can't use these for jokes, Harry. Have you seen how expensive these are?" She stared at him, eyes wide.
Harry shrugged. "Not supposed to."
"1,300 Galleons! It's almost four times the price of the navy ones!"
It was hard not to balk at that, particularly as that wouldn't include his lenses which he'd already gotten some expensive options on and he'd gotten every quidditch-legal spell on the sports pair, though he did try. "They've sent me loads of expensive things. I'm sure when they insisted not to worry about the price they really meant it."
"Maybe so, but you can't take advantage. This is too much!"
"If it's Voldemort or Death Eaters doing this isn't it better to take advantage so they have less in the war fund?" Dean asked. Harry could hug him.
"But if they're not, then it's better to be more responsible. Four times the price just to have your name on them?"
Harry groaned. Why did she have to start believing in Mr Romantic's good intentions now?
"It's real gold" interrupted the shopkeep.
That did it. Harry couldn't ask to have real gold in his glasses. He just couldn't. It was too much. He didn't want to be thought of as greedy and selfish, not by someone he admired. Golden glasses were for snobby gits like Malfoy, not him.
"Hermione's right." he admitted begrudgingly. "I'll take the navy ones." Harry said, this time directed to the shopkeep. She took measurements of his face and his pupils and told him when they'd be ready. She looked somewhat relieved to see them go. Harry couldn't blame her, they'd made a real mess. He would stay and help if it wasn't so close to them being due back. Instead, he gave her an apologetic smile as he left.
"You're gonna look great, Harry." Dean said cheerfully. "Once everyone sees the new you, you'll have more than one admirer to worry about."
They trudged back to the castle in amicable silence, Harry walking just a little slower than he otherwise would just in case Mr Romantic decided to dramatically reveal himself after all. Not that Harry thought he'd actually show up, he'd made it clear they wouldn't meet until after all the gifts were exhausted, but he had been hoping. Just a little.
The crunch of footsteps through the snow, running towards them brought him out of his thoughts before Greengrass' perfume hit his nose and his arm was taken hostage.
"Come, Potter. We need an expert." She said breathlessly, dragging him backwards towards the Slytherins. "Someone has been leaving Astoria poems and we need to figure out who it is."
"I don't even know who mine is." Harry protested, though he made no effort to release himself, his nose already tingling with mystery.
He fell into step with the Slytherins, who were also walking up to the castle while Hermione and Dean carried on without him. Harry could hear some comments about the quality of the poem, the similarly to the talents of the Weasly family was making Ron a suspect. He was glad his friend wasn't there to hear it.
"They're every morning." Daphne explained. "Delivered by one of the school owls. No name, just 'One of your many admirers.'"
Harry shifted to Astoria, who pulled a piece of parchment from her bag and held it so he could see, but did not pass it to him. He adjusted himself so he could see it through his actually quite scratched up glasses.
"Oh, fair Astoria, how I wish I could say more of ya!
Though nothing could properly do justice to the elegance of your wrists,
Nor to the beauty of your hair while you're eating a pear,
Nor the slimness of your waist which make me feel unchaste,
Nor the perfection of your lip when disgusted by Blaise enjoying a chip,
Nor the way you happily clap when speaking to Headmaster Black"
Everyone giggled, Harry chose not to join in. "It must be very difficult to write a poem every day. I can tell you appreciate the sentiment."
Astoria relaxed. She hadn't allowed herself to look anything that could be called wary or annoyed, but the change in her was instant. "I do." She said simply.
Harry was thankful it had brought on such a change in her. It really was the only polite thing he could have said.
Malfoy huffed in disbelief somewhere behind them. Arsehole probably thought Dumbledore was behind this too. Harry was somewhat proud that he didn't turn his head, and even prouder when he managed to make his "Ignore Malfoy face" look like he was just thinking.
"They're probably a seventh year who thinks this is their last chance. If not Slytherin, they've likely been in the common room at some stage."
"How'd you figure that out?"
"They're talking about the bust of Headmaster Black in your common room, right?"
"How do you know that?" Malfoy asked accusingly, pulling Harry to a stop by his robes.
"Gin knows what he looks like from visiting me at Sirius's house. She's been mates with Harper and Marcus for a while now, and has been in the common room a couple times."
"And the boys dorm, knowing her." Daphne said derisively "You pass, Potter."
"As if I wouldn't have a good cover for my misdeeds" Harry said smugly, successfully baiting Malfoy into an outrage that lasted until the entrance hall where he declared Harry a liar and stormed off.