Star-crossed

"Did you get sleep?" Harry asked him curiously.

Rigel smiled dryly, "I got enough."

Harry glared at the boy, knowing the truth all too well, "Are you serious? You brewed all day with me yesterday. And that was after you came home looking like a wreck fished out from the gutter."

Rigel winced at her imagery, but managed to look a little apologetic.

Harry rolled her eyes at him before setting up the rest of the ingredients. Rigel looked at her expectantly, and a second later, a fire was lit below the cauldron.

He stared at the fire for a few minutes almost sadly, "It's beautiful, your magic," He breathed.

Harry looked at his hands for a second. She knew he was still getting used to trusting his magic, which had been locked away by that nasty suppressor, while she had had all year to make peace with hers. She knew that if she were in his place, she'd probably have acted the same way. But Harry's only possible way of using magic was the wandless magic she'd become accustomed to, and using a suppressor would have stopped her from that.

Rigel, on the other hand…

He'd suppressed his magic, causing it to almost rebel against him, and she hadn't even known until that idiot had shown up at her apartment in the middle of the school year with a cauldron of masked polyjuice in its brewing stage. He wouldn’t say how it was possible for him to be here at this time of the year— she suspected he couldn't —but he expected to stay for a week.

And it had still taken her a day to realise.

But she'd insisted, especially when her magic whined its discontent at her friend's treatment of his own magic. She never insisted.

And he'd never seen her that troubled before, so he'd relented with that closed off expression of his she knew masked agitation.

"It's not you," he admitted when she asked him about it, "It's Riddle. He pressured me into removing my suppressor. I just… don't like to be reminded of it."

His magic had swirled around furiously at first, even damaging things, but she'd managed to soothe it a little. She'd wondered if this was how it had been for Lily and James.

Now it was his third day here, and he'd barely refrained from putting the suppressor back on again.

Still, he was slowly beginning to see how she and her magic had come to an accord after some trial and error, so she had hope.

"I'm going out," Harry told him, "Leo's free today, so I'll get in some freeduelling practice before noon."

Rigel looked at her strangely for a second before wishing her luck.

Harry left through the floo just a second too early to watch him run a troubled hand through his hair.

After sprawling across the floor of the Dancing Pheonix to the general amusement of Solom, she made her way to the courtyard.

"Leo," she smiled at the boy sharpening his knives there, "You have a leaf in your hair."

"Harry," Leo said, grinning boyishly, "It's nice to see you. And I'm not falling for that one anymore."

Harry reached out as if to pluck something from his hair, and he immediately raised his own to catch the offending leaf. That was, nothing.

Harry laughed, "What were you saying, again?"

"We'll see how much you laugh after a spar or two, lass," Leo pouted.

"You'd best hope you haven't gotten rusty, Your Highness."

She spent several exhilarating hours sparring with him, though a part of her remembered that Rigel was now home and she could duel with him, too. She missed that. But it would be too dangerous. He most certainly wasn't supposed to be here at this time of the year.

Well, we are brewing a cauldron of Polyjuice, she told herself.

Rigel would have a heart attack, doing something so risky. Harry loved the idea already.

I still have to get him and his magic along first, she reminded herself. It was a unique twist of fate that they were both passionate potioneers with sentient-like magic that had at one point been upset with them. Freaks of nature, really.

When she came in through the floo, it was to some surprise. Rigel was lying down on the couch, sleeping soundly.

"Idiot," She muttered fondly, remembering his insistence at getting enough sleep.

"I heard that," he mumbled.

She laughed, "Sure you did. Since you're awake, how about you shift to the bed?"

He shifted, "I'm fine. Was planning on getting up anyway. You're going to Potter Place now?"

"I'm supposed to be a school, silly," she said.

"Oh, right. I forget that it isn't summer. That's the only time we meet."

And the only time we ever will, she realised suddenly.

"Rigel," she said, "What happens after the ruse? I mean, after you and Archie have completed your education?"

Rigel swallowed, "Then… I guess you two take your rightful identities."

"And what about you?"

"I…I'll go my separate way."

"What does that mean?" Harry said, even though she knew perfectly well what that meant. He'd leave. And she'd have nothing but these memories.

"What do you mean, Harry? I thought we knew this," he said uncomfortably.

She took a deep breath. He was right. She did know this.

So why was it hurting?

"You won't— we can't keep contact?" She asked, "with you in your real identity?"

Rigel's expression flickered, she saw it, "No, we can't. It's too… dangerous."

There was an uncomfortable lump in her throat, and she really had to give it to him; his mask was impeccable. She couldn't imagine having such a calm expression while discussing something like this.

"How exactly are you going to hide after all this is over?" She said instead, "You don't believe for a second that a potions prodigy knowing all that the Black Heir should have emerging after Archie has supposedly lost all of that very knowledge will be believable, do you?" She swallowed, "Riddle wants you. Master Snape respects you. Your friends love you. How exactly do you think Archie is going to evade them? And if, somehow, the truth comes out? Do you think they won't search for you?"

Rigel had his head in his hands, "I don't know! Stop pushing this, Harry. I don't know. What do you want from me?"

The words cut, but she brushed them away.

Instead, she softly stood up from where she'd unconsciously sat on the floor.

"I want you to tell me where we'll stand, after all this is over," Harry said quietly, "And if you can't do that, then let me."

Rigel said nothing.

Harry took a deep breath and left the hall.