She can remember her first impression of him.
A thin, black-haired boy, not unlike Severus in that respect, but the similarities end there. He is loud, immature, annoying and much more, everything she loathes in a person.
A couple of uneventful years go by. She's always either with her Slytherin friend or the rest of the girls in her dormitory, while he spends his days with his small gang of miscreants; they only cross paths when it comes to his favourite hobby, bullying her quiet friend. She glares at him then, admonishing him. He simply quirks an eyebrow and grins at his friends. He pretends not to hear her; her words are of no importance to him. She is nothing to him, the slight redhead with bottle green eyes.
It's fifth year.
An interesting year. His friendships strengthen while strain appears between her and the Slytherin.
Then she sparks his interest. It had been gradual, but had not registered with him until then. He sees her in a new light, and he wonders why he hadn't noticed her beauty before. She's certainly stunning; her cherry red hair is like a siren's call to him, and he finds that he cannot get enough of the fathomless depths of her eyes.
He asks her out.
In that he receives his first crushing rejection. He is utterly shocked, a substantial blow to his equally substantial ego. He cannot comprehend the reason behind his rejection, for everyone liked him - did they not? Telling himself that she merely needs to be convinced of whom he was, he goes after her a second time.
And so the chase begins. The coyote pursuing the ever elusive roadrunner, cat and mouse, playing a game with each other. She is always out of reach, a scowl on her face whenever he is near, a biting remark flung at him the minute he opens his mouth. And yet he still hounds her. She is truly brilliant to him, a blinding light, an untamed lioness. He loves her and hates her; hates her with all the force his mind can muster yet loves her with all his heart. She is everything to him, the slight redhead with bottle green eyes.
The months pass by.
It's time for OWLs. She finds it difficult to study, her mind forever lingering on her fractured relationship with the brooding Slytherin. He finds it difficult to study, his mind forever lingering on her fascinating eyes.
Another incident. This time by the lake. She's used to it by now, but that doesn't stop her from giving him all she's got; vitriol-coated insults flung at him with gusto. Yet he seems immune, and it irritates her to no end that she has no effect on him; but unknown to her, the words that were used begin to have an effect on him. He changes; too little to be noticed by everybody yet enough to be noticed by someone.
There is something different about him.
She notices, yet she cannot put her finger on what it is that has changed. He is still annoying, she notes. He still pulls pranks with his friends, he still ruffles his hair in that infuriating way and he still winks at her and makes suggestive remarks involving broomsticks and closets; but his repugnant nature has been removed. But she does not whether to be glad or not, for she starts to get used to him, more so after she winds up as Head Girl and he as Head Boy.
They become friends.
They start spending more and more time together. A lot of time. She begins to miss him sometimes, or think about him whenever she finds something amusing or something that reminds her of him. He has a marked change on her life, though she is forever in denial about it to her friends, who are baffled by the situation. She tries to explain it to them, but they stare uncomprehendingly, and she realizes that she can't even explain it to herself. He has gotten under her skin, and it looks like he's staying there for a while, if not for good.
She likes him.
She notices a change in her whenever he's around. She blushes with alarming regularity, and happens to notice an electric current running over her skin every time they make bodily contact. When he smiles, her heart contracts, and when he frowns, she is compelled to do something, anything, to make it go away.
It comes to her one night, when she is meditating in bed, waiting for sleep. A sudden epiphany. She. Likes. Him. It cannot be true, yet there it is. And she feels no horror, only happiness and the inexplicable urge to run into the common room to declare her feelings for him and kiss him like he's never been kissed before.
She bides her time, waiting for the perfect moment to tell him. Several come and go, but she does not grasp the opportunity. She is scared. Scared of the most absurd, irrational situations. What if he rejects me? What if I'm too late? Will he laugh in my face?
It is late.
They are the only two in the common room. The fireplace emits a cozy glow, bathing them in warmth and dim lighting. It appeared as though some supreme being had created this situation.
He notices that there is something wrong with her. For the last two weeks, she has been jumpy, distracted, and prone to dropping or knocking things over in his proximity. She is hiding something from him, but he cannot fathom what it is. She is fidgeting now, and it is driving him crazy.
He asks her if there is something the matter, but she will not answer him. Gently placing a finger under her chin, he lifts her face and forces her to look at him. She is hiding something for sure, and he wants to know what it is. He asks her again, and this time he gets an answer, though one he would have never expected, not in a million years. She presses her lips to his in a moment of weakness - and insanity, surely, he thinks, before the wealth of emotions attacking him drive all other thought out of his head.
It only lasts a moment, though it feels like eternity to him.
She pulls away, and is enveloped in sudden shyness, her courage having been drained from the previous set of actions.
"What do we do now?" She asks softly, looking at him with an unfathomable expression on her face.
"We live happily ever after," he replies, pulling her into his arms.