“no,” says hermiohe lilies are sigo him or to his beloved. that’s how it usually works, with hanahaki. it’s always a flower that has meanih of them.”
that sends the gears in harry’s head spirying to avoid speuting about who the “beloved” is. drao doesn’t want him to know. harry himself doesn’t thio know, most of the time. but he a. every lue he uhs is another rak in his faade of disi, and bef, he’s wraking his brains for an answer.
it’s someone drao’s known sine he was eleve. maybe a fellow hogwarts student; that’s the obvious and most likely possibility. but it ould be someoend hmorous friend dra his family’s holidays i ould eveeaher, whih, eurgh.
it’s someone whom drao assoiates with lilies, or for whom lilies have some kind of signifiane. of ourse, as hermioells him, lilies are flowers of death and m, used in funeral servies and memorials…and just about everyone drao knows ame of age in wartime. if lilies hold meaning to the beloved, that ds down muh at all.
it’s someoionship with drao hanged, irrevoably, when drao was sixteen. maybe he’d had a falling out with the objet of his affetion. or maybe that person had falleh someohis eve was, triggered drao’s disease.
harry runs through a me of all the slytherins and the odd ravenw drao used to be seen with regurly, but drao had pushed away almost every sixth year, for entirely unromanti reasons. any of those people ould’ve been the person. and drao is bisexual, whih doubles the pool of potential andidates.
brooding oiful girls and boys that might have aught drao’s eye is a tiring, frustrati leaves harry wanting to shed his skihy ss.
drao noties. of ourse he does. drao always hings harry wishes he wouldn’t.
they’ve piked a shady spot iyard to researh. drao is w as industriously as ever, but right n about all the deaths and mutations and various other horrible fates people have endured proves too muh for his o ha speak, he’d never ompin, but something in his fae or his body ray him.
drao broahes the subjet of harry’s ill humor with harateristi tat.
“who shoved a broomstik up your arse today, potter?” he drawls.
&hat would have bee of a shouting math. nhtens.
&hat,” he says. drao raises one eyebrow, and smirks, and harry rolls his eyes. “go flying, i mea been in ages.”
out of fairhe other studeh years aren’t allowed on quiddith teams. harry misses it desperately, but not as muh as ron does, aain draht there with him. sure enough, drao doese.
&h?” drao asks.
“if you’re that eager to have your arse hao you,” says harry.
“we’ll see about that, potter.”
& ways to dump their books and bags in their dorms, aheir brs by the kithens to grab a ouple of sahey sarf down on their way out to the pith. drao digs a snith out of the equipmeosses it into the air while they mount their brooms.
&he haheir brooms, they meet eah other’s eyes, and harry feels as though he’s fier a long dream.
without a word, they take off ier the sly in uwo seekers aloh no other pyers or balls to worry about or the din of a rowd to distrat—ahe seekers are almost evehe way harry and draame transforms into an adrenaline-pounding, bl, heart-raing whirlwind of a duel.
& of five?” drao alls, and harry gives the affirmative, but they eah ath the snith so quikly the game strethes ieen rounds. they lose ouhem has to pretend at ourtesy or sportsmanship; this is pure ompetition, and from the momeake off there’s han a yard or so of spae between them. if harry tries to shake drao off, drao mathes his every loop and dive and roll with a areless, mani grin. if drao tries tuard with dizzying, breaknek ps arouadium—flying so low they s right out of the stands h harry has trouble athih—harry antiipates his every move and follows without so muh as a momeion. half the time they fet the snith is there uhem sees it and shouts; then it’s a no-holds-barred aerial sprint foal, weaving over and uher, elbowiher shamelessly as they get loser ahe shan one, harry or drao reah out and sher’s wrist by aident (drao ims it’s aime, at least), ah esapes them both. her of them he sky grows dark with frey plumes of loud.
&he rain starts, harry puts the snith away and rejoins drao in the air, as on whih of them an pull off the best feints or ly gerous and foolhardy maneuvers, like a game of hikeo give madam hooh a heart attak. lukily, no one is around