An Eye-Catching Jewel
Harry was standing in front of a house with a lopsided roof and strange plants growing around it. The house was painted with odd colors, and was small, with a large garden. To any passerby, it would seem insane to ever own such a house, no matter how strangely homey and alluring it was, but Harry couldn’t be happier standing in front of it, knowing that the owner was just as alluring and mysterious as the odd house.
He decided he should probably enter, as his friends Ron and Mermione had gone inside almost 20 minutes earlier, and he had arrived before they had, but he took in a deep breath to take it all in, to really feel like he was back in England.
He knocked on the odd door, only for it to open almost immediately revealing the owner of the home. A lovely young woman in her early twenties, with flowing platinum blonde hair stood in the doorway. She had beautiful gray eyes that appeared silvery at times, and carried her usual strange colorful glasses, which was also reflected in her odd multicolored outfit and the flats she carried on her feet. She may seem odd, but she could easily be the best friend one could ever make.
“Harry! So glad to see you could knock on the door, you’ve been standing out there for ages!” she exclaimed happily, in that strange airy voice that only she and her father possessed.
Ah, yes. The other feature she possessed, the ability to make you feel as if you understood nothing, even when she said nothing at all. She saw the world through colored lenses, and everyone only saw it it black and white. She was truly a wonder to be around.
“Sorry, I just had to take it all in. The house is lovely.” Harry replied, smiling once again.
“Come in, everyone is missing you.” she said, quickly bringing him inside.
Just as he remembered, mismatched fabrics adorned the place. There were several paintings on the floor, and a few on the ceiling. He also noticed that she had added some more strange objects to the surfaces of her shelves, which Hermione seemed highly concerned about, so he was going to avoid the area. He also quickly took in everyone in the room. Neville was here, so were the Weasleys, and Angelina, and the Patil twins, and Dean and Seamus, and Lavender, and Lee, and Hannah Abbott, and Susan Bones, and Parkinson and Zabini strangely enough.
He decided not to comment on it, as he had heard from Ginny that they had both changed for the better after the war, Parkinson even opening her own boutique, which had peaked in popularity, as she had one in France as well. He was also aware that Zabini had moved to Italy, but was blatantly unaware of anything relating to him, besides that he was dating Parkinson. But just because they had changed, didn’t mean they had to like each other, after all, they had made his school years much harder than they had to be.
He quickly went over to congratulate Neville, whom he knew had gotten the position of being the Herbology teacher at Hogwarts, which he was pretty sure was the real motive behind the sudden reunion party.
“Congrats mate!” he told him, smiling like an idiot.
Neville grinned back, looking like he was about to cry from happiness, which he probably was, seeing how the boy had always been a tad emotional.
“Thanks Harry, you have no idea how much this position means to me! I‘m happy to see you back in England for a bit, how has France been treating you?” Neville replied, voice quivering slightly from excitement.
“Th express hasn’t been as pushy, and I can finally breathe without being on the Daily Prophet for it!” he said excitedly. It was true, since the French press hadn’t seen him as much as the English one, they didn’t really recognize him upon seeing him, so he could get a breather from being The Boy Who Lived Twice for once. Also the food was really good.
“Life’s been good mate. Happy to be back though, can’t be bothered to learn the language.” Harry replied guiltily, knowing Hermione had been trying to get him to learn French for the past four years that they had lived there.
“Good to know! Make you visit sometimes though, we’ve missed you these past years!” Seamus interrupted, the typical happy glint in his eyes as present as ever.
“You vanished mate, you need to show us signs of life every so often. Send an owl or something!” Dean added, his presence completing their group, except for Ron who was wolfing down everything on the table as his mother shrieked at him to slow down and that he was going to choke.
“I will, sorry for disappearing.” Harry laughed, not feeling sorry in the slightest.
The get-together went insanely well the entire time, and by the time the sun had set, Harry found himself more and more glad that he had accepted the invitation. Even Parkinson and Zabini had been tolerable enough to have a short conversation about her boutique. He also found himself in a deep feeling of nostalgia as Hermione argued with Luna about the Crumple-Horned Snorkack’s existence, Luna saying that it was obvious that they did, and claiming that the horn on her shelf was the horn of one.
Everything was going perfectly, and then there was a knock at the door. Harry quickly scanned the room, seeing if anyone was missing that may have gone out, but everyone was present. He also noticed how no one else reacted to the strange knock, though Arthur looked slightly dismayed, and seemed to ask Molly a silent question, which she replied to with a stern look.
Luna went up to the door as everyone paid no mind to anything, though Parkinson seemed slightly happier than she had been, as if the someone behind the door was her friend. When Luna opened the door, she went outside before letting the stranger in, which caused both Parkinson and Zabini to deflate slightly. They both knew this stranger then? He then realized that neither of his friends had questioned who was at the door, so went over to them to ask who it was.
“Who’s at the door Hermione?” Harry asked, embarrassed that he was so out of the loop.
Hermione gave him her most unimpressed look yet, which was most impressive and infuriating, as he realized he was clearly supposed to know the person, or at least who they were.
“Did you not read the invitation? She wrote that it was friends and family, which is why the rest of the Weasley family is here, and Neville’s grandma, and Susan’s aunt, and my parents, and Zabini’s mother, and many others.” she said irritably, though none of this information answered his question.
“So, who's at the door?” he asked again.
“What an idiot. It's her cousin.” she said, clearly willing to go over it again in a more simplified version for dummies, which he was not going to do. He also now vaguely remembered Luna mentioning having a cousin once, back in their seventh year.
“Thanks.” he said, walking away quickly before she exploded with anger and irritation.
Luna had a cousin? What were they like? Were they nice? Did they possess that breathy voice that she did? Where were they from?
Almost as if on queue, Luna and a stranger entered the house, which let Harry process who her cousin was for the first time, or at least what he looked like.
The man was of an average height, and had a rather slender build. The man possessed Luna’s platinum blonde hair, which cascaded down his back in long,thick strands, stopping near the small of his back. He had striking silver eyes that seemed to catch the light perfectly, making them appear to be rare jewels that glittered constantly, even in the dark, which were framed by long lashes that were just as pale as his hair. He had very fair skin, but instead of making him look strange because of how pale his entire body appeared to be, it brought his whole appearance together, causing him to have a rather ethereal and alluring appearance. The only hints of color on his body were his pink lips, which looked softer than clouds. He was the most gorgeous person Harry had ever laid his eyes on.
Harry was dumbstruck. He was completely stupefied. Shocked to the point of no return. He had no idea a single man could hold so much beauty! He probably looked ridiculous, like a fish out of water.
Luna walked her cousin around, introducing him to their friends, some of which looked just as shocked as he was, and others that seemed more used to his presence. After what felt like hundreds of years, Luna seemed to reach him.
Up close, he could see that the man was even more gorgeous than he had seemed from far away. His hair was so light, so was his skin and his eyes… those eyes, he could get lost in them, as they carried the entire world in them, and more.
“Harry, this is my cousin Draco.” Luna said airily, clearly uncaring that he was gaping at her cousin like some idiot would.
“Hi! I’m-”
“You are Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived Twice, The Chosen One, The Saviour of the Wizarding World. I am quite aware of who you are.” the man interrupted, revealing an incredibly thick French accent, and a voice with an airy quality, not unlike Luna’s, though it was heavily overshadowed by said accent.
Harry could only stare in shock, realizing that he had probably walked past him at some point, and just couldn’t remember. Luna seemed to not care that Harry was slowly becoming more embarrassed by the situation, and just smiled.
“Draco is a marvel to be around, I think you will enjoy his company,” she said. “And you will probably be seeing him a lot more, as he is moving to the area where you live soon.”
Another way to give Harry a mini heart attack! Tell him he will be seeing the most attractive person in the world on the regular, and has no say in it, and has to attempt to act normal around them! Great!
He managed to squeak out a quick ‘marvelous’, before being forced to excuse himself, as he couldn’t possibly be allowed to be around such a beauty.
He beelined over to Neville, who appeared to be silently laughing at him.
“That’s her cousin?!” he whisper-shouted at him, not wanting to bring any more unnecessary attention to himself.
“Yup. Draco Malfoy, the only heir to the Malfoy family, which ran off to France as soon as the Dark LOrd fell the first time, to be able to control their business better. I believe he lives in Paris, but I heard he was moving to Versailles soon.” Neville commented. He was definitely laughing at him.
Ron walked over to them, several plates on one hand, and Hermione on the other, who just looked at him with an amused look in his eyes.
“I invited you to go to Paris that one time, but both you and Ron said no. A true shame, as that is when I met Draco.” Hermione said dramatically, grabbing some Chocolate Frogs off of Ron’s many plates and eating it.
Dean and Seamus looked at him amused, clearly both knowing that the Blonde had captured his attention, something which they had thought was impossible, as he had never once felt any true romantic attraction after the Second Wizarding War.
Not like he had time to try, between the annoying press, taking care of Teddy, and planning the move, and then having time to relax for the first time in his life, he hadn’t really focused on romance, which is what had caused Seamus and Dean to conclude that he was hopeless and would never find a girlfriend to keep him company, as Hermione and Ron now had their own home in Sevres.
That is why he couldn’t wrap his head around the feelings in his heart, or why it was speeding up. He had seen plenty of attractive people, and he had never reacted like this!
“I think Harry is experiencing something called, I Think They Are Attractive And I Want To Date Them BUt Also Want To Get To Know Them First But I Can’t Approach Them Because They Are So Attractive But I Won’t Be Able To Date Anyone Else Because They Are Too Attractive.” Dean joked, causing everyone to laugh, as they didn’t know that was exactly what was going on!
Harry gleaned over at Draco, and saw him talking with Parkinson and Zabini, which suddenly caused him to realize that they were friends, and they didn’t like him, nor did he like them.
He also seemed to snap out of his thoughts upon realizing that time had suddenly passed, and that it was dark, which meant that everyone was starting to leave, Ron and Hermione leaving first due to Hermione having work the next day and Ron not wanting to stay without his fiancée telling him what to do and what not do, as to not cause any unwanted accidents.
And them leaving caused him to realize that it was already 9:15 where he lived, and the babysitter he had hired had only been hired until 9. He quickly rushed out the door, rushing through his goodbye’s, and apologizing to Luna for having to leave so abruptly.
But before he Apparated away, he glanced back at Draco, who was staring right back at him, amusement clear in those eyes.
The last thing he saw before he left was seeing that angelic face breaking into the most breathtaking smile to have ever existed.