Prologue

She had seen him. Of course she had. After all, what girl hadn't noticed him? When they were eleven he was cute and sweet, possibly down right adorable. And as the years passed that adorableness had adjusted into what would potentially be described as an abundance of handsomeness. And although she hadn't told anyone, but sometimes when she looked at him the only word that came to mind was "beautiful."

Maybe that was better. That's really what he was.

His lips were full for a man and he had a strong nose which paired perfectly with his defined jaw, making him appear slightly older than the other seventeen year old boys she'd met. His hair was dark and often fell into his face but that did nothing detract from his appeal. If anything, it added to it. That, mixed with the fact that he always seemed to have something off about his uniform made his look seem effortless, a fact that she had heard was incredibly frustrating to other boys in the school. Jealousy, it seemed, was rampant within the male population, despite the fact that any boy she spoke with usually seemed to have quite the high opinion of himself.

When she first began liking boys she started to see him in a different light. At the time she didn't know why her eyes would linger on him and not the other boys but as soon as she came to a certain age her fascination with his looks really made sense to her. She'd constantly wished that she'd had the guts to walk up to him and start a conversation, but the closest she'd really gotten was the previous year, when by chance she ended up paired in potions with one of his best friends. Remus and him spoke often during class but most of the time they didn't involve her in the conversation. But at the time that was enough. She thought it would sound depressing if she ever told anyone but she found she was quite content just listening to him speak.

On top of his good looks she found his voice very soothing beyond belief.

During the previous school year she had wanted to rejoice when he voluntarily helped her gather some books that had been knocked from her person. She hadn't realized it was him at first until she saw his eyes. They were grey and deep and if she hadn't been so focused on not becoming flustered she could have gotten lost in them.

"Thank you."

She just about frowned when he said nothing in response but by the look on his face he seemed as if he was having difficulty speaking. She'd wished she had been the reason for that but she gathered he was distracted by something else. Still, the thought made her smile and not wanting to risk making a fool of herself she stepped away from him quickly, leaving him where he was standing.

She watched him sometimes during the meals. He was loud and mischievous, always chatting with this small group of friends, constantly smiling. She wanted to know what they talked about. What his interests were. What he looked for in a girl.

For a while after that she entertained the idea of maybe asking him out, or at least seeing if he might like to spend a bit of time with her. But she chickened out. She always did.

The last time she took a risk on love it turned out dreadfully and she felt like such a fool. She didn't want to risk that again. Not with someone that she knew she would fall completely in love with, faster than she could turn her head. She just couldn't.

Over the summer she'd made up her mind. She couldn't risk getting hurt. Not again. Not like that.

But what did it matter anyways. He'd never even spared so much as a second look at her.

He had noticed her. He'd always noticed her. Ever since third year when he really started to notice girls for the first time. Most of them seemed the same. Different hair colour, maybe different body types, but they all seemed the same. Except for her. She stood out. At first he couldn't quite put his finger on it, he couldn't tell what it was about her that made her stand out so much to him.

She was quiet, usually kept to herself unless she was with her friends in the great hall. He'd hardly said two words to her since they'd both started at Hogwarts six years before. It's not that he'd never wanted to, but there was something about her that made him terribly tongue-tied. It took him years to figure out what exactly it was that made him unsure of himself when he was around her. At first he thought maybe it was the coldness that she gave off, but after meeting another girl named Marissa who he'd had a fling with in fifth year who gave off the same attitude, he knew that couldn't be it.

It wasn't until the beginning of sixth year that he finally realized what it was. Someone had run into her at the bottom of the astronomy tower, knocking her books all around her, leaving without so much as an apology. She didn't even get angry, she just gave a little sigh and bent down, reaching for them. Without even thinking about it he joined her on the floor, grabbing her textbook for Muggle Studies into his hands and held it out to her, waiting.

She saw the book first, then the hands, then the person who was holding it. He couldn't be certain but he thought he saw her breath hitch as she looked at his face. Or maybe that was just his.

He couldn't believe that it had taken him five years of knowing about this girl to realize her eyes. They'd shared almost every class together since they were eleven years old and not once had he ever looked at her so closely. He felt like an idiot, it was incredibly obvious.

Her left eye was a deep blue while her right was amber and bright. He'd never seen anything like that before. That had to be it. He found himself staring at her, looking from one to the other before she reached out and grabbed the book, accidentally running her fingers along his before pulling back.

"Thank you."

He couldn't even so much as utter a simple "you're welcome," back to her, his fingers tingling from where they had touched. That was new.

She looked at him expectantly before a piece of hair fell into her face and he struggled with the urge to push it back for her. She stood up and watched him stay on the floor for a few more moments before he returned to his proper form and nodded. He'd really wanted to come up with something else to say, to give her some reason to stay and talk to him but nothing came to mind.

She clutched her books to her chest and bit her bottom lip, trying to stifle a smile before she walked away from him, but he saw it. And every day after that he tried to catch a glimpse of her, hoping to see it again.

He hadn't told anyone but the way her smile lit up her face was breathtaking. It completely changed her demeanor and he found himself hoping to see it every day.

His friends had, at some point, noticed that he kept a close eye on a certain girl who sat not far down the Gryffindor table, and just who happened to be paired with Remus during potions, but they had all decided not to say anything to him. It wasn't like him to be this obsessed with stealing little glances at a pretty girl and they thought it best to leave it.

He couldn't leave it though. It got the point where he thought about her all the time, whether consciously or subconsciously, she was always there, her image at the back of his mind while attempting to concentrate on his school work - not that he did that too often, regardless. He couldn't help himself. He started talking to Remus more and more during classes, hoping that either she would insert herself into the conversation or perhaps he would find a way to include her. He desperately clutched at any idea of how to break the ice with her but he always froze, something he found to be extremely frustrating.

He'd never experienced this before. He could talk to any other girl in the school, whether she had been older or younger than him, it didn't matter. He knew what his charms were and he used them to a "t" to make any girl he had wanted at the time fall for him. It was easy. So why was this so hard for him?

By the time the start of their seventh and final year rolled round he'd mind up his mind. He was going to talk to her and he was going to get to know her, hopefully in more ways than one.

Now all he had to do is gather his nerve.