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HP471- Engagement
🕑 Added 2025-07-20 22:18:43 +0000 UTCThe next day at Longbottom Manor, the mood was lighter but no less grand. The sprawling hall had fewer guests than the Potter Yule, yet somehow the event felt bigger. Neville and Fleur’s engagement had drawn together an interesting sorts of people.
Harry stood near the side of the room, glass in hand, flanked by Petunia on one side and Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel on the other. Daphne and Tracey drifted in and out of their little group, Tracey smirking as she plucked a tiny canapé off a passing tray.
“Who knew Neville had it in him,” Susan murmured, nudging Harry lightly as she passed. “I was convinced he would keep dancing around the poor girl until she hexed him into proposing.”
“He still might’ve,” Harry said, faint amusement in his tone, “but Fleur is too clever to waste time waiting for that.”
Hannah grinned from where she and Astoria were speaking with Blaise and Megan a few steps away. “She probably gave him the look. You know, the one that says, ‘Decide now or I am deciding for you.’”
Astoria twirled in her new dress robes, the pale blue satin catching the light. “I like Fleur. She is all sparkly but sharp underneath. Like a dagger wrapped in ribbons.”
Tracey arched a brow at her. “Merlin help us when you start dating.”
Astoria crossed her arms and fixed Harry with a stubborn glare. “I am dating this year. No more excuses. Last year, you said I was too young, but I am the same age Ginny and Luna were then, and you kissed both. I want my kiss.”
Tracey choked on her drink, coughing into her napkin with barely concealed laughter. Daphne raised a brow, though the corner of her mouth twitched as if she was fighting a smirk.
Harry shot Cyrus and Helena a look that said plainly, Your daughter is the one pushing this, not me.
Helena gave a long sigh and muttered, “You took Daphne, and now Tori is after you too.”
Cyrus pressed his lips together, looking like a man trying very hard not to grind his teeth. “She is relentless. You have no idea how stubborn that one can be,” he said, though his voice carried the weary resignation of a father already outmatched.
Harry’s mouth quirked into a smirk. “Seems to run in the family.”
Tracey burst into laughter. “Oh, he is not wrong there. Daphne and Astoria might act differently, but Merlin help you if you try to say no to either of them.”
Astoria placed her hands on her hips and fixed Harry with the sort of look that Daphne had perfected years ago. “Don’t try wriggling out of this one, Harry. You owe me.”
“I owe you?” Harry raised a brow. “Pretty sure I already danced with you three times last night. That got to count for something.”
“Doesn’t count,” Astoria shot back, her voice prim and full of certainty. “Those were just warmups. You didn’t even twirl me properly.”
Daphne shook her head. “You are making a scene, Tori.”
“Good,” Astoria said airily. “Maybe then he will stop dodging and take me seriously.”
Twins chuckled at that. “Want to slip a love potion into his drink, Tori?” Fred asked with a grin.
Astoria tossed her hair over her shoulder. “No need. I will use my charm.”
“Oh, dangerous words,” George said, wagging his finger playfully. “You don’t know what you are up against.”
“I will manage,” Astoria replied confidently, fixing Harry with an exaggerated flutter of her lashes.
Harry snorted and took a slow sip from his glass, meeting her gaze with a faintly amused look. “Go ahead then, Astoria. Show me this charm of yours.”
Before they could do anything, Neville strolled over with Fleur on his arm, Gabrielle trailing behind her sister with a bright grin. Fleur raised an eyebrow as she glanced between Harry and Astoria.
“Are we certain this is our engagement and not Harry’s love quarrel?” Fleur asked with a chuckle.
Harry smiled at both, stepping forward to embrace them. “Congratulations,” he said. “Though I can’t promise your party isn’t more entertaining this way.”
Neville smirked faintly, his arm still looped around Fleur’s waist. “If she keeps stealing the spotlight, mate, you are welcome to steal some of our thunder.”
“Cheeky,” Fleur chided, swatting Neville’s arm lightly before turning her bright eyes on Harry. “And you, always in the middle of mischief, non?”
Astoria piped up at once, standing her ground. “It is not mischief if he is avoiding what is owed.”
“Oh, he owes you something?” Fleur teased, raising a brow as she glanced between Harry and Astoria.
“A proper kiss,” Astoria said firmly, lifting her chin like a little queen declaring war.
Harry sighed dramatically and crouched slightly to meet Astoria’s level. “You are really not going to let this go, are you?”
“Not a chance,” she said, her tone stubborn but her eyes dancing with mischief.
“Fine.” Harry straightened and glanced at Daphne briefly, who only gave a small shrug as if to say she is your problem now.
“Happy now?” Harry bent to press a quick kiss to Astoria’s lips, but before he could pull back, the little Greengrass seized his face with both hands and kissed him like she was claiming a kingdom.
Harry gave a soft sigh against her mouth. Leave it to Astoria to turn what was meant to be a fleeting peck into something more. When she finally let him go, there was a faint glint of triumph in her eyes.
“Better,” she said primly, smoothing down her dress robes as if she hadn’t just ambushed him in front of half the room.
Ginny burst out laughing from behind her glass. “Merlin, Tori, you got nerve.”
Daphne shook her head slowly, though the corners of her mouth twitched as if she was holding back a smirk. “This is exactly why I told you he spoils you.”
“Says the one he spoils more.” Astoria shot back, folding her arms.
That earned a snort from Pansy, who sidled up beside Hermione. “Merlin, I think she is worse than you lot combined.”
They all turned to glare at Pansy like she’d just declared herself Minister for Magic. “You’re the worst of us,” Hannah said flatly.
Pansy, unbothered, flicked a speck of lint off her robes. “Oh, please. You are just jealous I am the queen of the Potter harem.”
That earned her a round of snorts and eye rolls. “Dream on,” came the collective reply, like a well-rehearsed chorus.
“Keep telling yourself that,” Daphne added, giving Pansy a sidelong glance.
Ginny let out a bark of laughter, folding her arms. “You are not even second in command, Parkinson.”
“Oh, don’t act like you wouldn’t leap at the chance to wear a crown, Weasley,” Pansy shot back, arching a brow. “You Gryffindors are terrible at hiding ambition.”
“Not my fault you lot wouldn’t know loyalty if it hexed you between the eyes,” Ginny said sweetly.
Hermione sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Can we not do this right now?"
Harry raised his hands. “Right, it is Neville and Fleur’s engagement. Let’s try not to turn their big day into another Potter circus, shall we?”
Petunia chuckled beside him, “Good luck with that, dear. You are outnumbered.”
While Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel exchanged amused looks.
The ceremony began before Harry had a chance to retort. Conversations died down as everyone turned toward the front of the hall. The musicians in the corner struck up a soft tune, filling the room with a warm hum.
Fleur stood tall near Neville, her silvery robes catching the winter light from the tall windows. Gabrielle fussed over her train until Fleur waved her off with a playful swat.
“Don’t fidget,” Fleur said lightly as she glanced at Neville. “You will make me look nervous too.”
Neville straightened his shoulders slightly, though the corner of his mouth tugged upward. “Don’t worry. I’ll leave all the nervousness to you.”
That earned a ripple of chuckles from the crowd.
The ceremony itself was simple but elegant. Fleur’s mother dabbed discreetly at her eyes as vows were exchanged. Neville’s grandmother watched with a hawk-like gaze but shed tears when the rings were slipped into place.
As applause filled the hall, Harry felt a hand clap his shoulder lightly. Turning, he found Draco standing there, his expression relaxed but faintly amused.
“Tell me Potter,” Draco said, “are we going to be roped into another round of dancing later? Or is this one of those sedate affairs where old ladies pinch your cheek and lecture you about grandchildren?”
“Why not both?” Harry shot back. “You’ve got the charm for it. Might as well let them lecture you while you’re on the dance floor.”
“Not happening.” Draco smirked, but before he could say anything more, Harry had already grabbed Andromeda Tonks by the arm and steered her toward Draco.
“Your nephew here got some opinions he is dying to share,” Harry said with a straight face..
Andromeda laughed, her eyes lighting up as she reached for Draco’s arm. “Oh, does he now? Tell me, dear nephew, what pearls of wisdom are you keeping from me?”
Draco shot Harry a sharp glare that promised payback, but Harry only waved him off, laughing as Andromeda whisked him onto the dance floor.
Tracey came up behind Harry, shaking her head in amusement. “You are terrible, you know that?”
“Probably,” Harry said with a shrug. “But admit it, watching him squirm is worth it.”
“I will admit nothing,” Tracey replied, though the smirk tugging at her lips said otherwise.
Across the hall, Draco was moving stiffly in Andromeda’s hold, clearly trying not to look like he’d rather hex his way out of the waltz.
“I almost feel sorry for him,” Susan murmured as she strolled up, a plate of petits fours balanced neatly in one hand. “Almost.”
“Almost doesn’t count,” Pansy said from behind her, a teasing lilt in her voice. She brushed past Harry, snagging one of Susan’s pastries without waiting for an invitation. “Draco deserves this. He was bragging about dodging grandmothers earlier.”
