Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.
Harry McGonagall - Chapter 26 - Beginnings
After Professor Flitwick had finished telling the Ravenclaw students about Sirius Black's attempted break-in to Gryffindor Tower, Harry, along with all his housemates, hurriedly prepared for bed in silence so that five minutes later the large group of children in bedclothes were following their head of house to the Great Hall. The whole time, Harry was thinking only one thing - `Black knows I'm here, but like last time, he doesn't want to just kill me. He wants to kill Brianna first.'
"I know what you're thinking…" a familiar whisper pulled him out of his musings. He turned to see his best friend, Hermione Granger, looking pointedly at him. She continued quietly, "…but you're wrong. Black wasn't after Brianna. It's just a coincidence."
"But," he began to protest before being cut off.
Hermione whispered firmly, with Padma between them and any potential eavesdroppers, "The Potters were all in Gryffindor and so was Sirius Black. If he is after Harry Potter, that's where he'd look for him." She paused. "It does seem strange that he doesn't know the Boy-Who-Lived never showed up here, though." She shrugged. "But that's the only possible explanation of why he came here. She's the wrong gender and wrong year."
"So you're saying Brianna's probably safe. He'll just kill Neville instead, thinking he's the Boy-Who-Lived."
Hermione nodded with a concerned expression. "Or possibly Seamus Finnegan. I don't think he'd mistake Ron Weasley for Harry Potter, and certainly not Dean Thomas."
"What about the twelve innocent people he killed beside Pettigrew?" countered Harry, starting to raise his voice until Hermione alerted him to that fact. He quietly continued, "He doesn't have any problem killing bystanders, so Brianna is still in danger."
"No more danger than any other Gryffindor," she replied. She then added, "We're here."
She was correct; they had arrived in the Great Hall, which was currently filled with sleeping bags. The Gryffindors were already settled in for the night while the other houses were arriving. Harry scanned the group of `lions' with his eyes until he found the one he was looking for amongst the first-year girls. He made a beeline straight for his sister, with Hermione and Padma staying behind with the other Ravenclaws, figuring they should be alone.
When Harry approached Brianna, he saw that she was unusually pale as she lay in her pink sleeping bag, with just her head sticking out. She was in between two other girls - one of whom was her friend, Lily. They were all wide-awake, and Lily blushed slightly when he walked up to them.
"Hi, Brianna," he said and nodded to the other girls. "I wanted to make sure you're alright."
"I'm fine," she replied quickly. "You didn't need to bother."
"There's no reason to be rude," chided Lily. "I wish my brother cared enough to check on me."
"Fine," she said with a sigh and turned to Harry. "I'm sorry. Thank you for your concern."
Harry knew his sister too well to be convinced by her brave face. She was scared and upset. The worst part was probably that she didn't have anybody who knew why she'd take this visit by Sirius Black personally, so she had to act like she didn't. However, he didn't think that telling her so would help this conversation any. So, he decided to be polite and say, "That's alright. I'm glad you're fine. You know where to find me if you need anything." He squeezed her shoulder reassuringly for a moment before saying, "Goodnight," and walking away.
After he found his Ravenclaw friends and briefly told them what happened, he claimed a blue sleeping back and tried to sleep.
--HP--
Over the next few days, the assault on Gryffindor's portrait by the notorious Sirius Black seemed to be the only thing anybody could talk about. Lupin seemed especially distressed to Harry. In fact, he seemed quite ill when they had him in class on Thursday and was too sick to teach the next day, according to Cho Chang, who had DADA on Fridays. He was still too ill for their Patronus lesson the next day. Harry wondered if he'd gotten himself sick worrying about Sirius or if he just was chronically ill, since he'd also been sick the previous month.
Harry was surprised the next day to see that Lupin hadn't been well enough to watch the first Quidditch match of the year, considering the stories he'd been told about James Potter - Harry's other dad - being on the Gryffindor team. Of course, the weather - storming terribly - might have contributed to that decision. Harry, Hermione and Padma were in the stands with their fellow Ravenclaws, waiting for Lee Jordan to start his justifiably biased commentary on this match.
"Welcome, everyone, to the first Quidditch match of the year!" his voice, aided by magic, boomed out to the crowd. Harry joined in the cheering. "Today's match is GRYFFINDOR!" He paused to allow applause. "Versus Slytherin. Here come the Gryffindor lions. Captain and Keeper - Oliver Wood!"
He kept introducing the teammates, all the way to Ginny Weasley, who had kept her position as Seeker. Harry grinned as he glanced over to the Gryffindor section and saw Brianna loudly applauding her. It seemed to him that Ginny had taken his sister under her wing, and for that he was grateful. It was good to know someone in Gryffindor tower was looking out for her.
Harry looked back up at the players and saw that he'd missed jeering the snakes. The two captains who clearly hated each other performed the stupid tradition of trying to break each other's hands, more commonly known as shaking hands, and Madam Hooch released the balls. Harry was once more glad he'd gotten contact lenses. He wouldn't have been able to see anything through his glasses in this heavy rain.
What Harry did see was not Quidditch at its best. To go along with the freezing rain was powerful wind. Together, those factors affected everyone's ability to fly. Harry could see that the chasers were having difficulty flying straight, as well as passing the Quaffle, but both teams were bravely pressing on and occasionally making goals, causing the fans to cheer. When he'd glance at the Seekers, he noticed that they were mostly staying in the same spot desperately looking for the Snitch. He also observed that Ginny in particular was shivering from the cold.
About forty-five minutes into the game, Harry was watching Angelina Johnson put the Quaffle through the right Gryffindor goal when Lee announced, "It looks like Ginny Weasley has spotted the Snitch! She is flying upwards, followed closely by Terrence Higgs. I think I can see it! She's getting closer, closer. Come on, Ginny! She's reaching out her…oh no! What are they doing here?!"
Harry didn't have to ask what Jordan was talking about as he felt a chill much worse than anything the weather could produce run through his body. As he began to hear a faint cry of a desperate woman pleading for her baby's life in his mind, he glanced up to see a swarm of Dementors. "New Sparks!" he said, summoning his wand out of his holster while he used his Occlumency to force his memories back. He knew it wouldn't help if the attackers got closer to him, but for now, it was sufficient enough so that he could concentrate.
"OH NO! She's falling!" shouted Lee Jordan the moment Harry noticed the streak of red slip off her broom and plummet toward the ground. He got up from his seat, pointing his wand and wondering what to do. He tried to move forward to get close enough to help his friend, but the crowd was now in a state of panic as everyone was trying to run away from the Dementors. He desperately looked around for a way through the crowd and noticed Hermione next to him, doing the same.
Harry sighed with relief when he spotted his aunt, Headmistress McGonagall, perform the familiar swish and flick necessary to catch Ginny with a levitation charm just in time. His friend was floating unconscious a few feet above the ground when Madam Pomfrey ran toward her. In the meantime, Professor Flitwick cast his Patronus, which appeared to be a large mouse, toward the invading Dementors.
Once Ginny was safely on a stretcher, Minerva was able to add her silver tabby cat to the fight. For one ridiculous moment, Harry wondered if the two Patronuses would fight each other instead of the Dementors, but both of them attacked the monsters that the Ministry claimed they could control, and were soon joined by others, presumably from other staff members, and the invaders finally began to flee. Harry wished he were far enough along in his training to have a corporeal animal to send at the evil beasts, but he knew the best he could do is shield himself and those close to him, and he was staying alert, prepared to do just that. A quick glance at his companions told him they were ready as well, although for some reason Hermione, who was still next to him, was holding her wand in her left hand.
He was relieved when the effects of the Dementors left him as they fled the group of Patronuses, and finally noticed that Ginny was now awake, but still on the pitch, with Madam Pomfrey looking her over. He saw her open her right hand, which had been closed in a tight fist, to see a tiny golden ball with wings begin to flutter. Ginny, although looking pale, grinned as she re-caught the tiny object.
Lee Jordan, who'd stayed at his post, announced to the small crowd that hadn't left the pitch, "I don't believe it. Ginny Weasley managed to grab the Snitch before she fell. Gryffindor wins: 230 - 60!" It was only when he'd started to clap his hands that Harry realized that at some point he had grabbed Hermione's right hand with his left.
--HP--
The next few weeks went by quickly. Ginny Weasley, who had fully recovered, having merely fainted from the Dementors right after grabbing the Snitch, was enjoying being the heroine of Gryffindor Quidditch. Unfortunately, her broom had been destroyed by the Whomping Willow after she'd fallen, but at Brianna's suggestion, C.A.R.E. raised enough money from the members to surprise her at the next meeting.
"Attention, everyone," said Harry once the group had discussed how many new memberships they'd gotten and any new ideas they had for recruiting or promoting house elf rights. Besides getting new people, not much had happened with C.A.R.E. since they had that law passed and the Malfoys were convicted of abusing their elves, therefore having them confiscated. A few other rich families had also lost elves due to the law, but C.A.R.E. wasn't directly involved with the cases. They also were no closer to finding the book that explained the house elf enslavement contract than they were two years before. They knew many places it wasn't located, but not where it was.
Harry continued with a small grin, "As most of you are aware, one of our members suffered the loss of her broom, due entirely to the extreme stupidity of the Ministry in assigning Dementors to terrorize, I mean guard, Hogwarts." He saw Ginny's face turning red before she began closely examining her shoes. He knew the Weasleys would never be able to afford a new broomstick for her, since they'd squandered all their winnings from the previous summer on a vacation, but made it a point not to mention that. "We'd like to honor Ginevra Weasley for her extreme Gryffindor courage and determination, in catching the Snitch despite those foul creatures. You are a credit to your house." If possible, what he could see of Ginny's face got even redder. Harry turned to his sister. "Brianna, if you will?" Harry sat down.
The girl, with a large smile on her face, pulled a long package from under the table she had been sitting at as she got up and carried it to the spot where her brother had been seated. "Ginny, come up here." The redhead slowly rose from her table and walked across Hagrid's old hut as Brianna continued. "Ginny, you've been like a big sister to me these past few months and we were all very sorry about your broom, so, um, I thought it would be good if we…" she indicated everyone in the room, "pulled our resources and replaced it."
Harry could see that Ginny was near tears when his sister presented her with the package, which she proceeded to tear open with abandon, revealing a brand new Nimbus 2001, and he knew they'd done the right thing. Hermione had quickly squeezed his hand and let go while they were watching the presentation.
Brianna continued, "For Gryffindors like me, you've been a great inspiration, displaying the courage that our house is known for." She then added with a smirk, "Not only are you displaying our colors in your hair, but your face is Gryffindor red as well." This brought chuckles all around the room before Brianna continued. "You're an inspiration to all of us, regardless of house, and we hope you'll fly this broom in good health…and grab the Snitch right from under my brother's nose when you play him this February." This brought more laughter as Harry got up.
"I think your speech is done, Brianna," he said with a smirk, and then turned to the crowd. "Let's hear it for Ginny Weasley, the second-best Seeker at Hogwarts."
"Hey!" protested Ginny as the crowd cheered.
--HP--
Aunt Minnie had argued and argued with Fudge, but the Dementors were still nearby. The Minister's assurance that the monsters wouldn't cross Hogwarts' boundaries again didn't make her feel any better about it.
The attack did, however, inspire her to announce the next day that the school would be giving weekly Patronus lessons to all interested students. Harry was told that his group would simply continue practicing at those sessions in the Great Hall at the same times they were already doing so. Professor Lupin would give the lessons unless he was too sick to teach, and in that case, either Flitwick or Minerva would handle the lesson. Aunt Minnie admitted to Harry that Lupin had a chronic illness that, although not life threatening, did sometimes interfere with his ability to teach.
The next Quidditch match, which was Ravenclaw versus Hufflepuff, came up very quickly. Both teams had new captains - Roger Davies and Cedric Diggory respectively - and this would be both their debuts. It would be the last match before winter break and Harry was grateful that this game had much better weather than the previous one. It was cold, but it wasn't raining (or snowing). Aunt Minnie had assured her nephew that she had taken precautions against the Dementors.
--HP--
"Welcome, everyone, to the second Quidditch match of the year!" announced Lee Jordan. "Hufflepuff versus Ravenclaw!" As the teams flew onto the pitch, he announced each player. Davies and Diggory shook hands (in a much friendlier manner than Wood and Flint had for the previous match) and Madam Hooch released the balls.
Harry zoomed straight up and looked around for the ever-evasive golden Snitch. As he was scanning the area, he noticed a wizard who was destined to stand out in any crowd, be it magical or mundane, with his colorful robes and long, white hair and beard. Although Harry didn't think Dumbledore was a good headmaster, and didn't always have the best judgment, he was glad to see the old wizard. He had kept Harry's identity secret, and was a powerful warlock. The Boy-Who-Lived-In-Secret was certain that the retired professor would be able to cast a powerful Patronus, should the need arise. He wondered if his aunt had invited him for that purpose as one of her precautions.
He continued to scan the pitch and noticed Cedric doing the same. The Ravenclaw Seeker flew around in a seemingly random pattern, which he felt actually allowed him to scan the pitch more efficiently. He had just glanced at his best friend when she caught the Quaffle.
"Davies passes the Quaffle to Granger," said Lee, "and she flies toward the other end of the pitch."
Harry grinned until he noticed both Hufflepuff Beaters moving into a position that would give them a clear shot at Hermione, who was seemingly oblivious to them as she avoided the opposing Chasers. Whether she was or wasn't aware of them, Harry felt he should do something to help. Without a moment's hesitation, he leaned into his broom and shot toward the ground, making sure to get between the Beaters and Hermione, thus delaying their ability to take aim.
"McGonagall shoots toward the ground! Has he seen the Snitch? Diggory flies right behind him, trying to catch up! They're both closing in on the ground. McGonagall pulls up; it was a feint! Diggory follows! Both without touching the ground." He paused for a moment before adding, "Granger gets the first goal of the game - 10 to 0 - Ravenclaw!"
The crowd cheered. Harry grinned as he saw her do a quick loop in celebration. `She looks so cute like that,' he thought for a moment before shaking his head. `I do NOT think she's cute,' he tried to reassure himself, though even his thoughts didn't sound convinced.
The game progressed with both teams scoring about equally. Roger Davies and Sean Bradley both made more goals than Hermione, but she did get one more. About an hour into the game, Harry finally saw what he was looking for - a glint of gold right near the Ravenclaw goal hoops. Realizing that he couldn't fool Cedric twice in the same game, he simply shot at the Snitch as fast as he could make his broom go. Diggory was a bit closer than he was, but had hesitated just long enough to give Harry the advantage. He barely registered that he'd flown right past Hermione as he stuck his fist through a hoop.
"Granger gets another goal and McGonagall grabs the Snitch! The match is over! Ravenclaw wins - 250 to 110."
"Yes!" Harry shouted, pumping his fist in the air. He turned around, and seeing Hermione, he put his arms around her. She returned the hug for a moment, and when they started to separate, they found themselves face to face, with their mouths less than two inches apart. They stared into each other's eyes for an eternity that lasted about five seconds.
"I guess the best man won," came a voice, pulling the two back into reality. Harry blinked before turning to see Cedric Diggory with his hand outstretched. "You beat me fair and square, again. Congratulations."
Harry shook the opposing Captain/Seeker's hand and muttered, "Thanks," before flying toward the ground, not sparing a glance back to his best friend.
Cedric looked between the two of them for a moment. "I didn't interrupt anything, did I?" he asked with a concerned expression.
"No," Hermione answered emotionlessly. "Nothing at all." She then flew down as well.
--HP--
Unlike all the previous awkward moments between them, this time Harry and Hermione weren't able to just pretend it never happened. At the party in Ravenclaw Tower, when they saw each other, they both blushed and looked at the floor, and then went to opposite sides of the room. The next day, they continued to hang out together with Padma, but hardly spoke directly to one another. It was obvious to anyone observing them that they weren't angry with each other, but that something was wrong between them.
"What's up with you and Harry?" asked Padma. She had approached Hermione after a few days of this.
"Nothing," answered Hermione quickly.
"You're not speaking to each other," she countered.
"We sit together."
"Without saying a word to each other," replied Padma. "You won't even look at each other, and I want to know why."
Hermione sighed. "We haven't had a fight, if that's what you want to know."
"You haven't been acting right since that Quidditch game. If you didn't fight, then what happened?"
"We…nothing."
"Come on!"
Hermione's ears turned pink as she took a deep breath. "Fine. Right after Harry caught the Snitch, he hugged me."
"So?"
"So, when we started to separate, he looked in my eyes." Her face flushed. "I think he could tell I wanted him to kiss me."
Padma grinned. "What happened next?"
"Cedric Diggory interrupted us to congratulate Harry, and then he flew off. I think Harry is worried I think he wants to kiss me." She sighed sadly and examined her shoes. "I know better." Hermione looked up when she heard her best female friend begin laughing. "It's not funny!" she said defensively.
"Yes, it is," replied Padma. "Don't you see? You're one of the smartest students at Hogwarts, but you can't understand your best friend at all."
"What do you…"
"What has Brianna been saying about you and Harry since the day you met?"
Hermione blushed. "That we'd end up dating."
"And what has always been Harry's reaction to that accusation?"
Hermione looked down once more. "He'd get upset and vehemently deny it."
"Exactly. So, how do you think he'd react if he found himself having those kinds of feelings for you?"
She looked up. "He'd deny it, try to fight his feelings."
"Add to that the fact that he doesn't know how you feel about him and is probably worried about ruining your friendship."
"He's driving himself crazy. What can I do about it?"
"You have two choices. One is that you can go after him and ask him out…"
"I can't do that!" she said indignantly. After a few moments, she added, "Not unless the situation gets a lot more desperate."
"Then you have to wait for him to come to terms with his feelings. Make him come to you." Padma smirked at Hermione. "Of course, you can encourage him along."
--HP--
The next day, Harry was waiting as usual in the common room to walk to breakfast with Hermione and Padma when they walked up the staircase from the girls' dorm. "Morning, Padma," he said cheerfully. He glanced at Hermione for a moment and said, "Hi," before looking down as his ears turned pink.
"Good morning, Harry," Hermione said enthusiastically, putting her hand on his shoulder for a moment. The blush reached his cheeks.
"Let's go to breakfast," he said quickly as he turned around and walked toward the door, not noticing the amused glance the two girls exchanged behind his back.
And so it continued that throughout the ensuing days that Hermione would occasionally put her hands on him in a manner that could be interpreted as either flirtatious or platonic, causing Harry to blush and get nervous. Fortunately, Padma had talked to Brianna, giving her a stern warning not to interfere in this in any way, shape or form, so the girl made no insinuations about them when they talked, which was usually once every day, during one of the meals. Harry felt it was important to make sure his little sister was doing alright, especially since they weren't in the same house.
--HP--
One night, Harry was alone in the common room sitting near the fireplace when someone sat down next to him.
"Hello, Harry," said a feminine voice that was familiar to him. It seemed distracted and far away, but that was just the way that girl usually sounded.
"Hello, Luna," he answered with a grin. "How are you doing?"
"The nargles have been staying away from me so far, but they often return around Christmas, when mistletoe gets hung," she replied.
"Um, I'm glad you're alright."
She looked at Harry for a few seconds before smiling as her eyes got back out of focus. "I see the grufpents are beginning to leave you."
He looked confused. "What?"
"Grufpents. Remember I told you about them last Valentine's Day. They've been stopping you from realizing how you feel about Hermione Granger."
"I, I don't," he stuttered as he looked flabbergasted.
"I see there are still a few more grufpents affecting you, but you should fight them off, otherwise you'll end up missing what you want most. Good night." She then got up and walked away, leaving Harry alone to sort out what she'd said.
--HP--
It was Saturday night, precisely one week before the next Hogsmeade trip, which took place the day before they'd go home for the Christmas holidays, and the trio was walking out of Professor LaVelle's French class. They were half way to Ravenclaw Tower when Harry cleared his throat, "Um, Hermione," he said nervously.
"Yes, Harry."
"Could we talk, um, alone?" He then glanced at their other companion. "If you don't mind, Padma."
"Oh, I don't mind," she said with a small grin. "Bye." She then walked off.
Hermione could feel a swarm of butterflies gathering in her stomach. "Er, well, what do you want to talk about?"
"Could we…step into that classroom, er, instead of standing in the middle of the hall?" he asked nervously.
"Alright," she said, walking into the empty room he'd indicated. He joined her and closed the door.
He cleared his throat again, and was nervously moving from foot to foot while examining the floor. "Well, you see, the thing is," he began.
"What is it?" she asked, gently placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Well, you know that next Saturday is Hogsmeade?"
"Yes," she said, excitement building up inside her.
He looked up and gazed into her expectant eyes. "Wudugowthme?"
She blinked and forced down her laughter. She knew what he was trying to say, but was determined to make him say it. "What was that?"
He took a deep breath and carefully articulated each word as his whole face turned pink. "Would you like to go to Hogsmeade with me?"
"Oh," she replied, deciding to get a slight bit of revenge for him making her wait so long. She purposely misunderstood. "This time you want to go with Padma and me? Shouldn't you ask her, too?"
"I mean," he said, now examining his shoes closely, "that I want it just to be the two of us, you know, like a…" He trailed off.
"A date?" she enquired.
He once more lifted his head and gazed into her eyes before swallowing. "Yes," he managed.
Rather than do a happy dance like she wanted to, she gave him a slight grin. "Yes, I believe I would like to go to Hogsmeade with you."
He grinned broadly. "Good. Great." He asked her, "Are there any specific places you want to visit so that we can, y'know, plan it out?"
She grinned again, happy that he wanted to make sure she had a good time. "Well, last time, I didn't get to see…"
After a few minutes of discussing that, they'd planned out most of their day. Harry looked nervous again. "Um, I hope you don't mind, but, I'd kind of like to make sure that Brianna doesn't find out about it…until after." She narrowed her eyes a bit. "I just don't want her teasing us."
After a moment of contemplation, she replied, "Well, I suppose I could do without that as well. So, I guess we'll have to tell Padma, but that's it. The less people who know, the less likely it is that she'll find out, until after our date."
Both of them were grinning broadly when they got to their common room.
--HP--
Both Harry and Hermione were still in high spirits the next day when they were in Animagus practice with Padma. They had told their best friend and sworn her to secrecy until Christmas break, which began the day after their first date. Harry and Hermione weren't specifically doing anything that showed they were dating, such as holding hands, but both were smiling uncontrollably. Padma, too, was grinning.
"Well," Aunt Minnie said, "you three do look happy today. Any particular reason?"
Harry blushed while Hermione looked down. Padma simply held her smile. Harry said, "Um, we're just excited about Christmas break coming up."
"After the exams you're having this week," added Minerva, although she seemed to be looking between Harry and Hermione with a small smirk that most of the students would not have recognized. "I do hope you are studying for them."
"Of course," said Hermione, almost sounding offended. "At least two hours every weekday and six hours on weekends."
"Very well," she replied, "Now let's get to our lesson."
They began by clearing their minds of all distractions, which took a bit longer than normal, and concentrating on their right index fingers. After about an hour, they began having their first measurable progress since they began this process.
"I've done it!" exclaimed Hermione. Everyone looked and saw that her finger had a dark brown fur on it, and her fingernail had grown into a claw. Within just a few seconds, it returned to normal. Hermione frowned.
"Excellent," said Minerva encouragingly. "You're making good progress."
Over the next hour, Hermione had been able to get those results once more, while Harry and Padma were able to change their fingers once - both to a claw with black fur. Everyone in the room realized that Harry's black fur matched his true hair color instead of the dirty brown it had been changed to, but no one commented on it.
"You've all made remarkable progress," Minerva said at the end of the lesson, "and should be very proud. Now, I've got a lot of parchmentwork to do, and I'm sure you don't want to spend all day with an old woman…"
"Aunt Minnie," protested Harry.
"Now, run along and enjoy the day."
"Bye, Aunt Minnie," he said before quickly hugging her.
"I'll see you later," she said with a grin. Just as they were leaving, she added, "Harry and Hermione, do enjoy yourselves in Hogsmeade."
--HP--
At long last, the long-awaited Hogsmeade weekend arrived. The trio was sitting at breakfast, with both Harry and Hermione barely touching their plates as they nervously stared at the table. Harry was wearing his bottomless backpack so that he could easily carry anything they purchased.
"So, Padma," said Harry, "You'll be alright once we separate?"
"Yeah," she replied. "I'll catch up with Parv and Lav."
"Good," said Hermione. "I'd hate for you to…"
"Good morning!" came a voice from behind them that Harry would recognize anywhere.
"Hi, Brianna," he said, unenthusiastically. He truly hoped she didn't know he was going to Hogsmeade alone with Hermione.
"I've got another shopping list," his sister said as she held out a piece of parchment with a list that consisted mostly of Honeydukes products, along with a few items from Zonko's.
"Do you have the money?" he asked.
"I was hoping you'd forget that," she said with a grin as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a sack of coins and handed them over.
"Fine, I'll see you tonight. Don't get caught breaking rules."
She feigned being offended. "How could you even suggest such a thing? I never get caught breaking the rules."
"See that it stays that way, sis. Bye."
Once Brianna was out of earshot, Harry asked, "Padma, could you do me a big favor and pick up this stuff? I really don't want to think about Brianna today."
Giggling, Padma answered, "Sure, Harry. I hope you and Hermione have a wonderful time."
It was less than half an hour later that Harry and Hermione parted ways with Padma, to begin their first date.
They began walking side-by-side without touching or saying a word. Harry finally broke the silence after a few minutes. "Well, I suppose we should visit Honeydukes first. Um, pick out whatever you want and I'll…"
"Harry," she interrupted, "I think we're both too nervous and need to calm down before doing anything else."
He shrugged his shoulders and sighed. "You're right. It's just; I want this to go right and…"
"Me, too. Why don't we find someplace private to sit down and talk?"
"Good idea. Let's go near the Shrieking Shack and find a spot to sit down."
A few minutes later, Harry pulled a picnic blanket out and laid it on the ground for them to sit.
"You really came prepared," Hermione commented with a smirk.
Harry's ears turned pink. "Well, I sort of wanted everything to be perfect, y'know."
"I know," she said, putting her hand on his. "I want this to be perfect, too." She sighed. "I really like you, Harry."
He couldn't help the huge grin that formed on his face. "You do?" She nodded. "That's good because…" He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. "I really, really like you, too." He sighed again, not noticing the smile on his date's face. "It's just, I've always told Brianna that I didn't, and now she'll be proven right and…" He trailed off when he finally looked at her face. "You have such a pretty smile," he said before he could stop himself. She blushed.
"I don't," she argued. "My teeth…"
"When you smile," he interrupted, looking her straight in the eyes, "your whole face lights up, even your eyes, and anyone who sees that has no choice but to smile, too." He now blushed. "Um, and you look really cute that way."
"Thanks, Harry," she said while her face was still red.
"For several months I've been thinking about you more and more…like that…and been trying to act like I haven't." He took a deep breath. "Anyway, I realized that I'm making myself a lot more miserable than Brianna by pretending I don't have feelings for you, so I plucked up the courage and asked you to be my date so I could find out how you feel."
She managed to look him in the eyes. "I'm glad you did, Harry, because I feel the same way."
He paused for a moment before asking, "Do you want to move a bit closer?"
"Um hm," she mumbled as they both crawled closer together on the blanket until they were face-to-face.
He swallowed nervously. "The last time we were this close…"
"This isn't last time, Harry," she interrupted softly.
He tilted his face and moved it toward hers while she did the same thing while closing her eyes. Luckily, he hadn't closed his because they would've bumped noses. He gently put his hand under her chin as he'd seen his dad do a few times with his mom and their lips met.
That first kiss lasted only a few seconds, but it seemed like a lot longer as Harry experienced sensations he'd never imagined before. He knew he'd wanted to kiss Hermione, but didn't know he'd feel this way. He knew he'd never be able to describe his first kiss, but he'd always remember it.
When they broke apart, both teenagers had a dazed expression on their faces. "Wow," he said at the same time she muttered the same word. They looked into each other's eyes for a moment, each seeking permission from the other, and their lips met once more.
About a minute later, a drawling voice caused them to break apart and draw their wands as they stood up.
"Two little mudbloods sitting in a tree…"
"Shut up, Malfoy," yelled Harry. Draco was, as always, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle, who were snickering at his joke.
"I suppose you're not technically a mudblood, just the son of a squib, but if you're kissing a mudblood it's no different."
Harry's expression darkened and he spoke very calmly. "It's none of your business, anyway, so get out of here before you get hurt."
Malfoy looked afraid for a moment, but glanced at his bodyguards and sneered, "Unless your stupid care organization is hiding here, you're outnumbered."
"Maybe you three should form an organization of your own, Malfoy. You could call yourselves the Community of Revolting, Annoying Prats, CRAP for short, or better yet, the Society of Helpless, Irritating Troublemakers."
"Harry!" interrupted Hermione, "Let's get our stuff and go."
"Oh, no you don't!" said Malfoy. "I like that blanket." He then stepped on it to prevent them from taking it.
"Accio, shoe," Harry quickly muttered, causing Draco's foot to come up. Harry quickly released the spell, causing him to fall on his rear.
"Petrificus Totalus!" yelled Hermione putting Crabbe in the full body-bind.
While Hermione did the same thing to Goyle, who was still reaching for his wand, Harry performed a hex on Draco that made everything between his waist and his knees extremely itchy. While Malfoy was scratching, Harry grabbed the blanket and held out his hand for Hermione to take. "Just remember, Malfoy, if you try to get us in trouble, I'll show the headmistress my memory of this. I'm sure you remember her punishment for using that stupid M-word you love so much." Hand-in-hand, the new couple walked off, laughing at the plight of the Slytherins.
--HP--
The rest of the day went very well as the new couple went from shop to shop holding hands. They stopped at a few other places to practice their newly acquired kissing skills, and both were positively beaming with happiness by the time they arrived in the Great Hall. Padma was the first to notice their intertwined hands as they entered the room, and she looked ecstatic. The second person was Harry's sister, who took one look at their joined hands, smiled and said, "I knew it!"
--HP--
Please review. Thank you to those who have.
You may recall that in PoA, the first match was supposed to be Gryffindor versus Slytherin, but due to Draco's terribly painful fake injury, the Slytherins were able to switch games with the Hufflepuffs. In this story, Hagrid's not the CoMC teacher and didn't introduce the class to hippogriffs, which left the snakes with no excuse not to play in the foul weather.
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