[For Harry]

[halfscarlet]

With Teddy's arrival, Billy's barely had time to think of anything else; he's skipped a day of classes already, and it occurs to him that he should probably tell someone what's going on so they don't think he's gone. There are those who know, of course, and he'd sought Alexis out as soon as possible, but he knows just as well as anyone that the

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[seek_to_end]

With Billy and Harry's heads as full as they were, it was no wonder that the boys didn't notice each other. Harry had a one-track mind when it came to food himself, second only to Ron's sense of priority in regards to eating, so if he had realized Billy's failure to greet him, he wouldn't have held it against him.

But Harry hadn't lifted his head from the paper in front of him for a good fifteen minutes, a feat unheard of in the Gryffindor common room. Only one thing could keep his attention this long. Well, one thing on paper. He tilted his head back, giving his eyes a break from deciphering his own scrawl, and zeroed in on the back of Billy's head. Harry knew it well enough by now.

"Billy," he hissed in that tone reserved for cross-classroom communication. Harry leaned forward, resting both elbows on the table. "What's a not ridiculous island mascot?"

[halfscarlet]

Always a good place to start, Billy's maneuvering a plateful of cookies out of the fridge, half of one already in his mouth when he hears someone call his name. When he straightens out and turns around, he gives Harry a smile and thinks about the question as he finishes chewing and swallows.

"Uh...maybe some kind of dinosaur?"

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Harry's nose wrinkled slightly as he considered this. "I don't know any dinosaurs," he admitted. He had known some of them once, but Hogwarts hadn't emphasized biology or evolution and the knowledge had gotten lost somewhere. "Other than.. T-Rexes. Are you gonna eat all of those?"

It was a pretty clear invitation for Billy to come sit with him.

[halfscarlet]

Billy shrugs and takes the plate over to the table, setting it down and picking up a handful of cookies before sitting down himself. "Not T-Rexes, once you think about how tiny their arms are, they stop being terrifying. What about raptors?"

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Taking up a cookie, he shoved nearly all of it into his mouth as he thought about Billy's point. He nodded slowly, then picked up his pen and scribbled "raptors" down on the paper. It looked like a shopping list that had been gone through thoroughly, dozens of items crossed out heavily.

"Thanks. I'm apparently really bad at thinking up Quidditch team names," he admitted. He finished off his cookie, let his pen drop and grabbed another one. "How're you?" he asked.

[halfscarlet]

Billy makes a note to try to come up with names to help out, but he think Cap might disapprove if he convinces Harry to call one of them the Avengers.

"I'm...good." Harry has to know something of what he's going through with Ginny's arrival, but he'd chosen to stay with Kate in the end, and Billy wonders what that makes him. "My, uh, boyfriend from home showed up two days ago."

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Harry nearly choked on his mouthful of cookie. It didn't help that he had chosen to fit the entire cookie into his mouth this go around, but the shock didn't help things either.

"What?" he coughed. Far from really choking, he covered his mouth with his hand as he tried to talk and chew at the same time. "Your.. your boyfriend. From.. Is he from your time or the future or the past?"

[halfscarlet]

Billy almost feels bad for nearly making Harry choke, but he just smiles and nods at the question. "He's from a little bit in my future, but not too far, I think."

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"Wow," Harry muttered. He recovered quickly, having enough practice at being caught with his mouth full, and swallowed down the last of his cookie. He didn't reach for another, not yet.

"You're smiling, so.. I guess it went over well?"

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"Not at first," Billy admits, and he picks up another cookie. "It was...I want to say awkward, but that doesn't really cover it."

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"No," Harry said, but his tone said that he agreed with Billy. "Merlin, when Ginny first showed up..."

He sighed and slouched back in his chair, rubbing at the back of his neck. "I was so happy to see her, it didn't matter at first. But everything else catches up to you right quick, doesn't it?"

[halfscarlet]

Billy nods, Harry barely needing to complete his sentence for him to get the gist of it.

"It really does." It'd taken Billy only a few hours, and his head still spun when he thought about it -- which was often. "But you just kinda...knew what you had to do, right?"

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Harry huffed out a very dry laugh, not actually amused.

"No?" he said, looking up at Billy. "Yes? I mean, I think I did the right thing. Kate hadn't done anything wrong. We're good. I.. I'm happy when I'm with her. But when I'm with Ginny... All I want is for things to go back to the way they were."

[halfscarlet]

That had been kind of what Billy had felt about Teddy showing up again, even if he'd gone about it all wrong and hurt feelings when he could have kept from doing so.

"Yeah, that's... kinda how I felt with Teddy. Like...how could I do anything but be with him, when he was here?" It's a question Billy keeps asking himself, and the answer is always the same.

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Harry considered that, raising his eyebrows. But his current state proved that Harry at least could do something other than be with Ginny. It hurt sometimes, but less than it had to begin with and it was a long, long way from all bad.

"But.. things aren't as they were," Harry said tentatively. He didn't want to disagree with Billy exactly, only he didn't see it that way anymore. "Even with the war, with living on the island, I'm not exactly the same as I was before. I'd like things to be the same but.. things change. Maybe without Kate we would have fallen back into place but that's only maybe."

[halfscarlet]

Billy nibbles on a cookie as Harry talks, taking in what he's saying as something to think on. He isn't sure either of them are right, but he doesn't see anything wrong other than his complete inability to factor Tony into any decision he'd made, and for that, he still feels guilty. "I guess so."

He sighs, and gestures at the notes Harry is taking. "How about dragons?"