𝗷𝗮𝗻𝗲, harry potter

˗ˋ 61

CHAPTER SIXTY ONE
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-: fourth year :-

── IN WHICH DUDLEY
TEASES

. . .

They had managed to find the trail with ease, and as the day came to a close Harry and Jane were making their way back down to the village, which had seemed so small once they finally reached the top of the walk they had chosen.

The sun was beginning to go down and their hands hung between them as the moon first became visible, Harry hardly even looking where he was going as they approached the playground - he was too busy watching Jane stare up at the moon, glancing forward every now and again to make sure to guide her around any obstacles in the road. 

"It's so clear tonight." Jane murmured, her face tilted upwards. Harry followed her gaze, and behind his glasses green eyes reflected the pale orb of the Earth's only natural satellite as it hung in the purple sky. "You know, it's larger than any dwarf planet."

"I did actually." Harry surprised himself with that. He did love Astronomy classes at school, but he almost never remembered things due to the class being so late at night. "Yeah - and that includes Plu... oh Merlin." 

"Merlin?" Jane repeated, moving her gaze away from the moon and to the boy beside her. Harry had looked down before her, and his eyes had landed on a group of people approaching them. "Who is that?"

"My cousin, Dudley." Harry pulled Jane closer to him, further into the shadows created by the wall they were walking past. "And his friends..." There was a squeak from the group and a small silhouette ran from between them, laughs echoed around the group, and they began to disperse. "And the poor ten year old they bullied."

"Oh." Jane watched as most of the group left, leaving one sole figure behind. "I.. that's not right." If it had been anyone else, Harry suspected she would be right up there and interfering, but with it being Dudley - who was a sight bigger than her and related to Harry, even though she knew for a fact he didn't like him - she didn't feel as comfortable.

Harry pulled her along as they followed Dudley into the tunnel below the train tracks, and even though Jane wasn't confident in it, he was - he always had been readily available to tease his cousin, who was, admittedly, rather dumb and very easy to wind up.

"So who've you been beating up tonight?" Harry asked as he approached, his grin that had stuck on his face fading as he did so, Jane stood behind him. Dudley's eyes flickered down to her, then back to Harry. "Another ten-year-old? I know you did Mark Evans two nights ago-"

"He was asking for it." Dudley snarled, his eyes darting between each of them again; considerably shocked to see the girl

"Oh yeah?" Harry asked.

"He cheeked me." 

"Oh yeah - the ten year old deserves beating up." Jane muttered, Harry squeezing her hand momentarily as Dudley finally looked at her for more than a second.

"So, you're getting your girlfriend to stand up for you now?" Dudley scoffed. "How have you managed that?" He shook his head. "Does she know about it then? Seeing as you spend the night together so much these days."

Harry hestitated, glancing towards Jane for a  moment. "What are you talking about?" He asked cautiously. 

"I heard you last night." Dudley replied breathlessly, tone triumphant as he realised he had something over him. "Talking in your sleep. Moaning." He laughed at Harry's expression, then turned to Jane. "You'll have heard it as well - 'Don't kill Cedric! Don't kill Cedric!' Who's Cedric - your boyfriend?"

Harry's eyes widened, and something in Jane's stomach sunk. He glanced at her, and he knew she had heard it - but yet she hadn't mentioned it - why hadn't she mentioned it? He swallowed. "I - you're lying -" Harry replied automatically. 

"'Dad! Help me, Dad! He's going to kill me, Dad! Boo-hoo!'" Dudley jeered, looking towards Jane again. "You've heard him, haven't you? Moaning about Cedric in his sleep." 

"Dudley." Harry's tone had changed, and he pulled his hand away from Jane as he shook slightly in anger. He was trying to keep calm - but it was too much, the nightmare about the graveyard had returned the previous night and it was all too much. "Shut up, Dudley, I'm warning you!" 

Jane was a slight confused. She knew Dudley was a bully and a little shit of a cousin, and she had heard Harry muttering about a Cedric in his sleep - but she hadn't heard anything about Cedric being killed. Perhaps that was why Harry had suddenly gotten so defensive - no, that certainly was why. 

"'Come and help me, Dad! Mum, come and help me! He'skilled Cedric! Dad, help me! He's going to-" Jane's jaw dropped as Harry stepped forwards in an instance, pushing Dudley against the wall of the tunnel.  "Don't ever talk about that again." Harry snarled. "D'you understand me?" 

Whatever Dudley said next was disregarded by Jane, who - despite the warmth - suddenly felt a chill run across her body, goosebumps sprouting from the skin below her sage green dress. It was strange - she hadn't been cold all day, even when she stepped into the tunnel and out of the setting sun. 

But just as suddenly, the curved walls around them flooded in the orange glow of the sunset any more. The moon was gone, the sky almost black in colour. Above them, they could no longer hear the muffled sound of an approaching train, and the sound of the bypass further away was gone completely. 

Jane's eyes travelled over the grimy insides of the tunnel; the buzzing light at the other end had gone out, the graffiti behind where Dudley was pinned up seemed to be losing it's colour. Harry had fallen silent, Dudley to. They were surrounded by total, impenetrable, silent.

Something was telling her to turn around, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up as she felt a presence there, chilling her, sucking any of the happiness out of her with such abruptness it was like she had dreamed the entire day. 

She turned slowly, her eyes widening as she took a step back.

"Harry... do you see it too?"

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