Disclaimer: The world of Harry Potter does not belong to me.
A/N: This is for the "In Memorium" challenge; I've claimed Colin Creevey. The prompt was "romance".
This was a horrible idea, he thought as he straightened his collar in the mirror for the third time. Simply horrible. Despite being a Saturday, Colin Creevey had the entire fifth-year boys' dormitory to himself – partly due to the raucous game of exploding snap that was currently taking the dormitory downstairs by storm. The empty room left him alone to fuss over the tentative plan he had mistakenly confessed to his brother.
Dennis'll never let me live it down if I back out now. He bit his lip and examined his reflection.
He wasn't absolutely disgusting-looking, he reflected passively. He was no Seamus Finnigan by anyone's terms, but not utterly repulsive. Curly hair. Ordinary brown eyes. Robes that he had finally grown into half way through fourth year. Nothing special.
He noticed his reflection's hands compulsively tapping his sides, and clenched them into fists. They itched to hold the familiar weight of his camera, but Dennis had confiscated it half an hour ago. Something about not wanting him to 'walk up to her, panic, and make some stupid excuse about wanting a snapshot'. Clearly, his brother knew him far too well.
In one uncharacteristic burst of self-assured bravado and bluster, Colin propelled himself down the stairs, through the Gryffindor dormitory (closely avoiding getting his fingers singed by a stray snap card), through the portrait and into the hallway. He made it half way to his destination before he began to second-guess himself.
She's a year older than me, he worried, wringing his hands as he toddled apprehensively through the familiar halls and down the staircases. She's clever and pretty and has a really nice smile and there are about a million other blokes she could – he froze. He had been so involved with his internal anxiety that he hadn't even realized he'd reached the door. With one steadying breath, Colin straightened his robes for the last time and pushed open the door to the outside.
She was perched on the large set of stairs that led down to the lake, long black hair tumbling onto whatever book she was reading. He'd known that she'd be there, of course: following Harry Potter around for a good portion of his first year had left him very capable of memorizing other peoples' timetables. He gulped rather loudly; alerted to his presence, she turned around.
"Oh, hullo Colin," said Many Brocklehurst, the sliver of her Ravenclaw tie glinting in the sun. She smiled, perfect rows of white teeth peeking from between her pink lips. His stomach flip-flopped. "Come sit with me." He complied, hesitantly stepping toward her and lowering himself down. She had flipped her book closed when she noticed him, giving him a clear view of its title.
"The Hobbit?" exclaimed Colin excitedly, nervousness temporarily forgotten. "I've read that – my dad gave it to me. It's a Muggle book."
She let out a quick laugh, then glanced down at the book's cover contemplatively. "My mum lent me this. She's a Muggle, and I was raised by her. My dad was a wizard, but he died when I was quite small." Mandy's voice had grown quiet, and her long black hair had fallen to hide her profile. She snapped out of her daze and shoved it behind her ears. "Sorry, Colin. Didn't mean to get into my life history," she said jokingly.
"No, no!" he replied hastily. "I-I think it's interesting." He mentally scolded himself for stuttering, a habit he'd thought he'd left behind in fourth year, and continued slowly. "My mum… left… when I was young, too, so… I understand."
She shot him a smile, then looked down at the book again. "I love reading stories like these, with Muggles' ideas of wizards and magic. The cute little hobbits don't hurt, either," she added in a teasing tone.
He blushed bright pink and stared straight ahead, avoiding looking at her at any cost. It was now or never. "Um, Mandy, I know you must hear this a lot, but. I was wondering if… and there's a Honeydukes weekend coming up, and I was thinking – not that you have to! But, um. If you're not going with anyone, maybe you wouldn't terribly mind…" He stopped, unable to continue.
He felt a warm pressure on his cheek, and his eyes widened in shock. Colin turned to see Mandy's retreating face with a wide smile splashed across it.
"I'd love to. Meet you in Honeydukes." She hastily got to her feet, black hair once again hiding her profile. "I'll see you then." And she was gone.
Moments passed. Colin tentatively raised two fingers to where her lips had touched his cheek. He grinned impishly.
"YES!" he bellowed, pumping both arms into the air in an expression of delight. He shot to his feet and dashed off to find Dennis. He needed a photo of this moment of triumph.