Warnings: A lot of Dementors

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Harry barely had time to drink the hot chocolate before Reborn descended on her, in perfect tandem with the swooping of her stomach.

"Are you alright?" he demanded.

Harry set down the mug and took his hands before he started patting her down.

"I'm fine. Luce, she…she protected me from the dementors," she said. Her voice was even. It did not waver. "She was amazing."

Luce, so still and so pale in the hospital bed, passed out due to the exhaustion of holding back three dementors all by herself while Harry was uselessly cowering behind her, assaulted by the memory of her mother screaming.

Harry felt awful.

"Thank the First," Reborn breathed out. He wrenched his hands out of hers and engulfed her in a hug.

She felt stiff and fragile. And most of all, a fraud. Ron got hurt in first year because of her. Hermione got petrified solving the Basilisk problem in second year. And now Luce, keeping her safe and almost loosing her soul in the process.

How could Reborn say that?

"How could you say that? Don't you hate me? Luce is your cousin, Reborn. She was brilliant and I was just behind her, not even helping. She almost lost her soul!"

Reborns hands on her shoulders were wonderfully warm. He shook he a little to get her attention and his eyes were serious. They were that rare color of blue so dark it looked black. His gaze was so intense they could put a hole into her.

"No, how can you say that?" he said irritably. "I don't hate you. I could never hate you. That's the problem. Because Luce knows I like you and she did her best to make sure you're not hurt." Then, he seemed to realize what he'd said and his eyes went wide. A faint flush rose up his cheeks.

"What?" she gasped. "Reborn?"

He scrubbed a hand over his face. "Damn it."

Because Reborn was not the type not to mean what he said, she didn't ask him to repeat himself. Her ears were working well, Madam Pomfrey just checked her over five minutes ago.

"You like me," she repeated, mostly to herself. "Alright."

His hands were still on her shoulders and he realized that belatedly, pulling his hands back like he'd been burnt. Harry's quick, seeker reflexes kicked in and she grabbed one before he could stuff them back into the pocket of his robes.

"Finally," croaked a voice from the bed, making both of them jump. "It took three dementors to make you confess."

Luce's ocean-blue eyes were opened to slits, but she was smiling at them crookedly.

"I hope I don't have to do more extreme measures for your first date," she continued.

Harry's receding blush returned with a vengeance.

"Luce!" she cried out, part exasperation and worry. "It's too soon to make a joke of it."

Reborn wasn't fazed at all by the teasing. "Yes, Luce. Listen to Harry. And when you're better, we can go for a meal in the kitchens."

Their blood relation showed up when Luce smirked, looking exactly like Reborn. "Of course. And I'll conveniently get lost on my way to the kitchens. Leaving both of you alone."

Both of them gave Harry an expectant look and she wanted to groan. Leave it to the Slytherin's to ask her on a date in the most oblique, roundabout way possible.

But still…

"Yes, I'll go on a kitchen date with you," she sighed, already resigned. "Oh my god, both of you can stop your hypothetical scenarios."

.

Yes, both Luce and Reborn are cousins that are both in Slytherin. And Harry is a Gryffindor. How did that sort of friendship happen? They met on the train and...you really just don't say no to Luce, even when sorted to different houses.

Reviews pls.