L'Effet

summary: Portia loves Ignatius madly, ferociously, platonically.

Portia is obsessed with the late nineteen twenties. She plays jazz and makes Ignatius waltz across her spacious pink and grey bedroom. She drags him along when they cut off eight inches of her curly brown hair to shape it into as close to a bob as she will allow, gripping his hand the entire time. She wears cream t-straps and eel black mary janes. For Christmas, Ignatius buys her a very long strand of pearls, one that drops down past her navel and clinks gently from beneath her blouse, where she tucks it every morning in its expensive loops.

During summer break before third year, the Prescotts go to Paris and take Portia along. Mr. and Mrs. Prescott insist they remain in the Wizarding quarter, so of course they sneak off the first chance they get. Ignatius buys her Chanel lipstick and Portia leaves Lotus Rouge kisses all over his face. Shopping bores them as they run out their quickly exchanged francs and Ignatius won't let her bewitch any employees. They are refused entrance at every club they try, but some skinny twenty-somethings in slinky dresses take pity on them and buy them a bottle of wine. Portia thanks them in her practiced French; Ignatius expresses his gratitude in German, a language he knows thanks to a recently deceased grandmother from Hamburg.

They make their way back to the hotel and trade sips on the steps. The bottle is a very pretty dark green-black with a label Ignatius can't read. Portia doesn't like the taste, but after six or seven mouthfuls she thinks she might start to. They don't get drunk, or even tipsy, but Portia giggles uncontrollably as Ignatius does impressions of every teacher they've ever had and even some of the students in their years. Portia kisses him, laughs at his Lotus Rouged mouth. It is a first for both of them. They don't discuss it and they don't discuss it and they don't kiss again, instead falling asleep curled together against the railing. They are woken by Mrs. Prescott's shouts but are not punished; she finds their sore necks and backs punishment enough.

Most of Hogwarts thinks they're dating, which is a great joke to Portia. Portia loves Ignatius more than anyone save for Baxter - more than her parents, more than her cat, more than her first cousin twice removed named Delphinium, who promised Pansy her fourth wedding dress from nineteen twenty-eight. Portia loves Ignatius more than anyone she has ever known (almost), but she would never want to be his girlfriend. Ignatius is many wonderful things, but a boyfriend is not one of them.