Crashes are heaven for a sinner like me [Harvey]

There was a voice in the back of Harvey’s mind that kept on telling him that he shouldn’t be doing this, that he shouldn’t be going away with Elaine for the weekend and that they shouldn’t keep spending the night together the way they had been ever since that very first kiss in the middle of the Slytherin Common Room just a few days ago, but that voice was one that Harvey just couldn’t bring himself to listen to. He knew all too well the reputation he had around Hogwarts, he normally had his fun with one girl and then moved on to the next and that was what everyone expected of him. According to those around him he was a player, a bad boy and to most a suspected member of the Enlightened. There were probably plenty of people around Hogwarts who thought that he was also unhinged but then none of those people had ever taken the time to get to know him, not like Elaine had. For the most part he was happy to play along with what they all thought of him because it was easier that way and he had learned the hard way a long time ago that when people saw good in him then they expected good from him and that was something that he couldn’t live up to a lot of the time. He had fought with the other students too many times over his time at Hogwarts, very few of which were fights that he had instigated mind you, and he often found himself in detention for one reason or another. There were very few people in the school who would ever think that he could do anything even remotely good and if he was honest he had no idea how he had been allowed to stay at Hogwarts this long or how his quidditch privileges hadn’t been revoked. He wouldn’t be surprised if some of the faculty took bets on how often he would end up in detention but there were some who saw that he wasn’t the one who started the fights and he had a feeling that that had probably helped his cause.

There were still plenty of students who expected him to be like his parents, though, and the truth was that Harvey didn’t want to be anything like them. His parents were sick and twisted and they had wanted to kill their own son just because he had been sorted into Gryffindor rather than Slytherin and in doing so he had dishonoured the family name. Harvey hadn’t told his brother about that awful moment during their first year when he had overheard their parents plotting to “dispose” of him as they had called it and the truth was that the weight of that secret had been taking a toll on him ever since. Harvey wouldn’t be surprised if that was where his anger issues came from in the first place but he hadn’t told anyone about what his parents had been willing to do and he was starting to wonder if it was a secret that he would have to take with him to the grave. Needless to say he had grown used to wanting to feel something and his dalliances had given him just that even if only for a little while. He never felt anything more than brief lust towards the girls he spent the night with and he never had done but Elaine was different. She was his best friend and it already meant so much more to him and even though they hadn’t really talked about what was going on too much other than to say that they both wanted a repeat performance as often as possible,

Getting through the rest of the week so they could have their weekend away wasn’t easy for Harvey but finally Friday rolled around and it was time for them to go. An Auror had offered to escort them, probably thinking that they were just heading into Hogsmeade for the evening, but they quickly waved him off and Harvey felt a smirk form on his face as Elaine grabbed hold of his shirt and kissed him once they were out of sight. Without even thinking about it his hands found her waist and he pulled her closer to him as he kissed her back. “You wouldn’t hear any arguments from me, you know patience has never been one of my virtues,” he chuckled, stealing another kiss before taking her hand in his and giving it a squeeze as she reached for the portkey. As Elaine slipped her arm through his, Harvey reached for the portkey as well and soon enough they were on their way. It was Harvey’s least favourite way of travelling but neither of them could apparate so it was the only way. It wasn’t long before Elaine was lying on top of him and Harvey’s smirk returned at her comment. “You like it on top, I’ll remember that,” he grinned as he kissed her back before getting to his feet. Harvey was happy to follow Elaine’s lead as they made their way to the hotel and it wasn’t long before they were checked in. It was a magical hotel they had gone for so they wouldn’t have to worry about hiding who they were and occasionally Harvey caught the odd looks that those around them were giving him as soon as they heard his surname but he simply squared his shoulders and stood up straighter, putting on the mask he often wore while he was around his parents which said that he would curse anyone who so much as looked at him in the wrong way. Sure enough they quickly averted their gaze and he and Elaine were left to head in the direction of the lift alone. As they waited to reach their floor Harvey couldn’t resist the urge and pressed Elaine’s back against the wall as he kissed her passionately, only pulling back when the lift came to a stop and the doors opened. Taking Elaine’s hand in his they made their way to their room and he couldn’t help but laugh as she jumped onto his back once the door was open. “Of course I can. Who do you think I am, Frankie First Year?” he smirked, moving his arms so they would help support Elaine before grabbing their bags and carrying both Elaine and their bags into the room before kicking the door closed behind them. It was only when they were by the bed that he let her down and turned to face her. “Now, where were we?” he asked, bringing his hands up and letting his lips meet hers once again.

ELAINE MACKENZIE WARRINGTON

Harvey couldn’t believe that he and Elaine were actually doing this. She had been his best friend since their first year and they had always flirted but she was the one person that he hadn’t wanted to have become just another of his conquests. Normally he had his fun with girls and then moved on when the night was over or, on the odd occasion when it lasted for more than one night, when he grew tired of them. Elaine wasn’t like that though, he wasn’t just someone that she would sleep with and then brag to her friends about hooking up with a bad boy, she genuinely cared about him and that was something that he hadn’t thought that he would find. He had seen the way that his parents were together and there were times when it seemed more like a business transaction than an actual marriage. They would do whatever it took in order to uphold the family name but the truth was that Harvey couldn’t think of anything worse. He was so used to people judging him because of his last name and there were times when he had used it to his advantage, that much was true, but for the most part he was just trying to find his place in the world the same as everyone else his age. He had no idea what his future was going to hold once his seventh year came to an end and he didn’t know what this thing with Elaine was or how long it was going to last but he knew that he wanted to find out. She was the only girl he had ever slept with that he had genuinely cared about and she had stuck with him this long so he knew that there was no way that they were going to tire of each other now. They had already agreed that they were going to prioritise their friendship and Harvey intended on sticking to that promise but he would be lying if he said that there wasn’t a part of him that wondered if this thing between them could end up being something pretty great.

“Now you’re just being cruel,” Harvey teased, glad that it wouldn’t actually take them that long to get there. It was strange how one kiss could change everything but Harvey was already starting to wonder whether it would be possible to go back to being just friends if this didn’t work out. He knew that they would have to find a way but he and Elaine fit together so perfectly and she was the only girl he had ever been with who could keep up with him. They knew each other now better than they ever had before and if he was honest Harvey was glad about that. This would have been much easier if one of them knew how to apparate but they were both taking the class that year and hadn’t taken it before so that just wasn’t an option. Instead they had to go for the portkey and he found himself smirking up at Elaine as she said that they could always go over it again. “I’m a quick learner when it comes to things like this but it never hurts to be thorough,” he chuckled as he got to his feet and they headed to the hotel together. Harvey was more than happy to let Elaine take the lead once they got there since she’d made the reservation but he could see that there were some people who seemed to recognise him and he had a feeling that word of their weekend away would end up getting back to his parents but the truth was that Harvey didn’t care. This wasn’t about his parents, it was about the two of them and he wanted to have the chance to have a weekend with Elaine away from prying eyes.

“Oh please, second years are terrified of me,” Harvey chuckled, not missing a beat as he carried Elaine into their room. This was a side of her that he wasn’t used to seeing but he couldn’t deny that he liked it. It wasn’t long before she was pulling him close and his arms wrapped around her in return as they kissed. “Ah yes, how could I forget?” he breathed, his hands finding her waist as she moved them back towards the bed until they tumbled onto it together and got lost in each other once again.

---

When they were done they lay together and Harvey wrapped his arms around Elaine as she rested her head against his chest. This wasn’t like him, he didn’t normally keep coming back for more with the same girl but Elaine wasn’t just any other girl. She didn’t know everything that was going on with his family but then again no one did. Harvey had kept what had happened when he had overheard his parents talking about Cory after he was sorted into Gryffindor to himself and even though there was a part of him that wanted to confide in Elaine about that and finally get some of that weight off his chest, at the same time he knew that he didn’t want to ruin their weekend so for now he knew that he had to keep his mouth shut. “I’m not going to lie, room service is really tempting,” he admitted. “We do have the whole weekend though so we should probably pace ourselves,” he said, knowing that while both of them had great stamina they were going to need to take some breaks along the way as well. “Perhaps we should go out and get something to eat instead, maybe see some of the sights while we’re at it as well?” he suggested, not sure whether Elaine had been to London before or not.

ELAINE MACKENZIE WARRINGTON

Harvey wasn’t used to things going right in his life. Cory was the one out of the two of them who got the better grades and Harvey was the one who spent more time in detention than he did out of it. He knew that his parents had high expectations for him and when he was around them he had to put on the act of being the dutiful son but the truth was that he absolutely hated it. He couldn’t wait until he could get a place of his own and get away from their influence once and for all but something told him that they weren’t going to make it that easy for him. The only way he had been able to get them to agree to leave Cory alone was by going along with everything that they wanted him to do so he knew that when the time came he would just have to make sure that Cory moved out with him. There weren’t many people that Harvey cared about but his brother was one of them and Elaine was another. He hadn’t thought that things would end up going like this between them but he already felt like he was addicted to her presence and to the feeling of her lips against his and it was something that he knew that he was never going to tire of. Truth be told Harvey was just waiting for the moment when he would screw this up, that was the last thing he wanted to have happen but it was the way that things always went for him. That was why he had resisted acting on the way he felt about Elaine for so long but now she had taken that leap and Harvey knew that he couldn’t go back to the way things used to be, nor did he want to. She was still his best friend but she was so much more than that and had been for some time if he was honest so he knew that he just had to hope that this would work out between them.

It was tempting to stay in bed all weekend and forget that the outside world even existed but at the same time he knew that it would do them both good to get out for a while so Harvey suggested that they head out for a bit. As Elaine spoke, Harvey kissed her back before his expression turned thoughtful for a moment. Normally the word date would have him running for the hills but this wasn’t just any girl, this was Elaine and for the first time in his life it didn’t put him off. “What if I am? Would you accept?” Harvey asked at last, leaning forward and stealing another kiss just because he could before letting his hand rest against Elaine’s cheek. Harvey had no idea what he was doing right now, most of the time he was acting on instinct when he was around her it seemed but now something was shifting between them and Harvey finally felt like he might just be ready to embrace it. Elaine was far too good for the friends with benefits arrangement and if there was anyone that he would consider changing his ways for then it was her. Getting up from the bed once Elaine had moved away from him, Harvey pulled some clean clothes out of his bag before a smirk formed on his face when Elaine asked if he wanted to test out the shower pressure with her before they went. “I thought you’d never ask,” he chuckled, his hands finding her waist as he drew her to him and kissed her passionately before they moved into the bathroom together.

Getting dressed once they were done, Harvey nodded as Elaine said that she was ready if he was. “Let’s do this,” he nodded. He had his wallet and phone and Elaine had the room key so he knew that they were all set. It was Elaine who had mentioned the word date but Harvey had no intention of letting Elaine pay for anything while they were out. It didn’t take them long to reach the lift and when they did he couldn’t help but smile as Elaine pulled him in for another kiss. Harvey wasn’t afraid to admit that he was addicted to the feeling of her lips against his own but it looked like he wasn’t the only one and he wasn’t sure that that was a bad thing. Unfortunately an old couple decided to join them in the lift and normally that wouldn’t have been enough to burst their little bubble but the perfume the woman was wearing definitely did and he couldn’t deny that he was glad to be out of there. “You and me both, that was awful,” he agreed. As Elaine linked their arms together, Harvey let his hand rest against hers as they headed outside, glad to get some fresh air. “Let’s go this way, there are some nice restaurants along here so we can take our pick,” he said as he started leading her down the road. “We can have a look around after we’ve had something to eat,” he added, knowing that getting something to eat was the first thing that they needed to do right now. As they walked, Harvey’s expression turned thoughtful for a moment. “If this really is going to be a date then I need you to know what you’d be letting yourself in for with my family,” he sighed as he turned to look at her. “Did you mean it when you said that I can talk to you about anything?” He hadn’t talked to anyone about what he had heard his parents planning before but if they were really going to do this then he knew that he didn’t want to have any secrets from Elaine. He knew that it might make things awkward between her and Cory but he hoped that she would find a way to process it and stay close to his brother just like he had although he also knew that it might finally explain why he was so protective of Cory.

ELAINE MACKENZIE WARRINGTON

Harvey had spent such a long time trying to ignore the way he felt about Elaine. She was one of the few people in his life that he genuinely liked and considered a friend and he hadn’t wanted to risk throwing that away by having her become just another one of his conquests. He knew the reputation that he had around Hogwarts, most of the time he ended up having one night stands with girls at best but he did have the occasional fling that lasted a few days occasionally as well. It had never been anything more than that so moving from being friends to lovers with Elaine had come as a surprise to Harvey but it was definitely a good one. She had been the one to make the first move and he was glad that she had done but the truth was that he hadn’t really thought too much about where this was all going. It was only when she’d asked about a date that he had realised that for the first time he perhaps did want to go down that route and the words had slipped out of his mouth before he could stop them. Dating wasn’t something that he ever really did but with Elaine he knew that he wanted to do things right. If there was one person he could see himself actually wanting to be with then it was her and he couldn’t see that that was going to change. He would be lying if he said that the thought of losing her altogether if things didn’t work out scared him but at the same time he knew that it would be a shame to stop this from becoming something great. He genuinely liked her and that was something that he had never felt before. Elaine hadn’t run for the hills at the suggestion and neither had Harvey. Truth be told he was glad when she said that if he was asking her out on a date then she was accepting and he felt a smile touch his lips as he kissed her back. “Then it’s a date,” he nodded, not wanting to leave any question hanging in the air between them about whether or not he wanted that. As Elaine spoke again, Harvey couldn’t help but laugh. “Normally I’m not but things are different this time,” he chuckled. She was different than anyone that he had ever been with before and there was a part of him that already knew that he wanted this to work out.

Heading into the shower together meant that they ended up heading out later than they otherwise would have done but Harvey knew that it didn’t matter and it had definitely been worth it. It was easy for him to kiss Elaine back once they were in the lift and he could have quite happily carried that on but they were soon joined by an old couple and the way the lift suddenly started filling with the smell of perfume was enough to make him wish that they could have continued the ride down alone. As it was Harvey wrapped his arms around Elaine as she moved closer to him and they got out of there as quickly as they could. It wasn’t long before they were outside and once they were, Harvey felt a smile touch his lips as Elaine linked their arms together. “I know I don’t have to try to get you into bed but I thought we might as well make the trip worth it by getting some good food while we’re here,” he said, an amused smirk forming on his face as they walked. They could have stayed cooped up in the Room of Requirement all weekend but they hadn’t done. Instead even with the threat of the Enlightened they had headed to London and Harvey knew that they might as well make the most of it. It had been Harvey’s suggestion that they make this a real date but now that it was actually happening he knew that he needed to be honest with Elaine about what was going on rather than have her find out later and regret getting involved with him anymore than she already was.

Even though she had offered to listen, he had still needed to make sure that she’d meant it before really opening up and he nodded as she spoke again. “No one knows what I’m about to tell you, not even my brothers,” Harvey breathed, unlinking their arms and taking Elaine’s hand in his to keep him grounded as he shared something that had been weighing down on him for the last seven years. “You know my parents were angry after the Sorting Ceremony. They sent Cory so many howlers and they threatened to sue the school but the Sorting Hat’s decision was final. There wasn’t anything they could do to change what had happened and they were so ashamed that their son had been sorted into Gryffindor that they decided to do something else about it,” he explained, doing his best to keep his voice steady as he spoke. “When we all went home for Christmas that first year, I overheard my parents coming up with a plan to kill Cory. They had it all figured out, they had been waiting for us all to come home for Christmas and they were going to make it look like he couldn’t take it and that he’d run away,” he continued, letting out a shaky breath as some of the weight he had been carrying around for such a long time finally began to lift. “They had no idea I was listening until I made my presence known and I told them that if they got rid of Cory then they would lose me too. I’m the oldest so I’m the one they’ve always wanted to continue the line and in the end they decided to leave him be. I know there are rumours going around about how crazy my parents are but no one has any idea what they’re really like or how far they’re willing to go to maintain their perfect image,” he finished, coming to a stop and letting his eyes meet Elaine’s as he turned to look at her. “You’ve always meant a lot to me so I needed you to know what you’d be letting yourself in for with my family if we really decide to do this,” he said, his eyes locked on hers as he spoke. “I know it’s a lot so if you’d rather keep this casual and not have this be a date, I’ll understand.”

ELAINE MACKENZIE WARRINGTON

There were very few people in the world that Harvey had ever considered friends but Elaine definitely fell into that category. They had met on the Hogwarts Express at the start of their first year and they had been friends ever since then. Harvey had felt an attraction towards her for a long time but he had always refrained from acting on it until Elaine made the first move that day in the Common Room. From there the floodgates had been opened and it had been a whirlwind ever since then but he knew that he wouldn’t have it any other way. The idea of this being a date was so far out of his comfort zone and normally just that word would have had Harvey running a mile in the opposite direction but not this time. This wasn’t just any girl and it wasn’t just a random hook up, this was Elaine and Harvey knew that the last thing he wanted was to end up screwing up their friendship. Now they had started he just couldn’t seem to keep his distance, though, and it looked like the same was true of Elaine. They spent most nights together these days and even though they hadn’t defined what they were it already felt like they were starting to venture into something more. That said, this was their first proper date and Harvey knew that he should just try and enjoy that but the truth was that everything that had happened during his first year had been eating away at him ever since then and he knew that he needed to talk to someone about it otherwise he was in danger of exploding and that wouldn’t do anyone any good.

Over the years so many people had tried to get to the bottom of why Harvey ended up getting into so many fights and had the anger issues he did but he had always remained tight lipped about it. In the end he’d had to give up playing as a beater for the Slytherin team because he had developed a reputation for putting too many other players in the Hospital Wing and he had done his best to find other ways to channel his anger. He hadn’t planned on bringing the mood down by coming clean to Elaine but she had said that he could talk to her about anything and he knew that if this really was going to be a date then she needed to know exactly what she was letting herself in for. She already knew what his parents were like to an extent but she had no idea what they were really like, no one did, and it wasn’t long before the words came tumbling out. In a way it felt like a weight had been lifted now that he had finally admitted the truth to someone, he had been carrying that around with him since he was eleven years old and he knew that it had shaped him into who he was today which wasn’t all bad hit there were still times when he found himself wondering if things might have been different if he had spoken up before. He wouldn’t have blamed Elaine for breaking things off with him there and then but instead she squeezed his hand and her words were enough to leave him stunned this time. “They’re not just crazy, they’re monsters and they say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” Harvey shrugged. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t worried that others might think of him as a monster like his parents when the truth came out considering that he was their son and he was the one who was expected to carry on their bloodline but then Elaine was pulling him into an alleyway and those worries melted away the moment her lips found his. Harvey’s eyes found her waist as he kissed her back passionately, pouring everything he had into that one kiss. “Only four times, huh?” he smirked, unable to stop himself. That smirk didn’t last for long, though, and his expression softened as Elaine kissed him again. “You’re incredible, you know that?” he breathed. “I’m glad you still want this to be a date, I just needed you to know what you’d be letting yourself in for,” he said gently. “I probably should have said something sooner rather than letting them screw us all up the way they have done but it was the only way I could make sure we stayed together,” he shrugged. It was true that he wasn’t that close to his youngest brother or his sister but when it came to Cory and their other triplet he was close to both of them and he knew that he would have done anything to keep them all together while they were growing up. Heading back out of the alley, Harvey looked over at Elaine as she asked if he ever planned on telling Cory. “I can’t keep this to myself forever so I’m going to have to tell him but I want to wait until after we turn eighteen. For years now I’ve been taking some money out of mum and dad’s vault at Gringotts every month and putting it into a vault they know nothing about. I haven’t taken enough in one go that they would ever notice but I’ve been doing it for so long that I’ve built up quite a bit and I’m planning on finding somewhere for us to live away from our parents. Once I know we’ve got somewhere to go, I’ll tell him,” he explained, hoping that Elaine would understand why he couldn’t tell Cory yet. If he did and Cory said something to their parents then it would only put his brother in danger and Harvey didn’t want that, he had been working so hard to keep his brother safe and he knew that he wasn’t going to stop doing that now.

ELAINE MACKENZIE WARRINGTON

Harvey had been carrying that secret around with him ever since his first year and the truth was that it had been taking a toll on him since then. He knew that was why he struggled to keep his temper under control and it was also why he was so protective of Cory but he just couldn’t help it. He hadn’t felt like he could talk to Cory about it even though he could talk to him about everything else, his brother had already had to deal with being the only one of them who was sorted into a different house without adding that pressure to him as well. Instead Harvey had ended up carrying that weight alone and he hated it but it had honestly felt like that was the way that it had to be. Sooner or later he knew that he was going to have to tell Cory but the truth was that it already felt like a weight had been lifted now that Elaine knew what had happened. As Elaine said the apple fell pretty far from the tree, Harvey felt a smile touch his lips. “I’m glad you think so,” he admitted. “Things haven’t been the same with them since then, I have to be the dutiful son when we’re out in public but everything they do these days feels wrong somehow,” he added with a shrug. Truth be told Harvey wouldn’t be surprised if they were wrapped up with the Enlightened and he knew that there were students who thought that he was true but that couldn’t be further from the truth. He wanted nothing to do with any of that and that wasn’t going to change. Harvey hadn’t known how Elaine would take it when he told her but it didn’t look like anything had changed between them and he really was glad about that. This was only meant to be some fun but the truth was that he wasn’t seeing anyone else and hadn’t done ever since their first kiss. Elaine was one of the few friends he had and she meant a lot to him so he knew that he didn’t want anything to ruin that.

“If you say so,” Harvey chuckled, rolling his eyes playfully as Elaine hit his arm. He was trying so hard to be different from his parents and he knew that there were always going to be those who thought that he was just like them but the truth was that he wasn’t and he was glad that Elaine could see that. His aunt Bellatrix was crazy and the same was true of his parents but Harvey had no interest in following in their footsteps. The Lestrange name brought with it a certain amount of fear and that was something that he was happy to use to his advantage but otherwise he needed to be his own person. He didn’t like to let people see any good in him because then they expected good but Elaine was an exception to that rule. “You know me, I’m not good at letting people get close to me,” Harvey shrugged. There was a good reason for that, he didn’t want anyone else ending up in his parents’ sights but when it came to Elaine and Flick he knew that the two of them could handle themselves and their families were ones that he knew his parents wouldn’t want to mess with. “Besides, with the amount of rumours already circulating about my parents and Cory I didn’t want to add to it. They’re awful people but at least keeping it to myself meant that my siblings got to stay together,” he added. He was certain that they would have all been separated if he had told someone and that wasn’t what he had wanted. He wasn’t that close to his younger siblings but that didn’t mean that he didn’t still want to protect them.

He really was glad that Elaine still wanted this to be a date and he knew that he wanted to make it one to remember. Normally he had his way with girls and then ditched them when he got bored but it wasn’t like that with Elaine and he knew that it never would be. She was different and that was something that he had realised on the train to Hogwarts at the start of their first year. As Elaine asked if he was going to ever tell Cory the truth, Harvey already knew what his answer was going to be but it wasn’t going to be easy. “It won’t be. I haven’t left him alone with our parents since it happened so I’m sure he knows something changed but he has no idea what,” he shrugged. He had wanted to tell Cory so many times so that his brother could be wary around their parents and watch his back but he hadn’t been able to bring himself to do it. As Elaine spoke again, Harvey felt a smile touch his lips. “That’s what I’m counting on. Even if they do realise what’s going on then it will be too late for them to do anything about it, if they try to stop us then I’ll tell the world what they were going to do,” he admitted. Things were different now, he and Cory were old enough to take their other siblings with them if they needed to so he knew that it would work out. “Don’t be silly, you look beautiful,” Harvey assured her. “There’s a place nearby that does great food and isn’t too fancy. It’s more of a hidden gem. How about we go there?” he suggested although he knew that if Elaine did want to go somewhere fancy then he could come up with somewhere like that for them to go as well.

ELAINE MACKENZIE WARRINGTON