DISCLAIMER: All the characters you see here that are in any of the Harry Potter books belong to JK Rowling and I am not her. I am simply taking them out to play.

Author's Note: PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!

Embarrassed

Looking back on it he would never know what had possessed him. He supposed he'd lost him mind for a moment. He had been walking down the third floor corridor with his best mate, Dean Thomas, on their way to the dungeons for potions and she had been passing him with a group of her friends. She was always surrounded by a group of her friends. That was part of the problem with liking a popular girl. He desperately wanted to ask her to the Yule Ball, even though he was sure she'd say no, but he didn't want to ask her in front of them. They would probably laugh at him and that would make her rejection worse. But she never seemed to go anywhere alone. It had been a week and he was getting rather desperate about it. He had been watching her tuck a strand of shiny brown hair behind her ear and listening to her melodic laugh as she moved toward him when she looked over at him and they locked eyes. He was struck dumb immediately. He wanted to say something but she broke their eye contact quickly and kept walking. He watched over his shoulder as her long shiny brown hair flowed behind her as she walked away. Then something in him shouted, "Do it now!" and he was shocked to feel himself wheel around and hear his own voice shout, "Bell!" much too loudly. Everyone in the corridor stopped and looked at him. He wished he could sink into the floor and disappear but she had stopped and turned around to look at him too. Mustering his courage he muttered, "Meet you in class," to Dean, whom had stopped by his side, and rushed down the corridor to where Katie was waiting for him with a curious expression on her face.

"Finnegan," she said with a kind smile but there was suspicion written all over her pretty face.

"Do you want us to wait for you Katie?" asked Tyler Pritchard, one of Katie's close friends. The other Gryffindor fifth years were looking at Seamus curiously.

"No," Katie smiled at him and shook her head, "I'll be along in a second."

"Ok," Tyler still looked suspicious but he and the others continued in the direction they were headed before Seamus had interrupted them.

Being virtually alone with her for the first time was nerve-wrecking. She was about his height, he had maybe an inch on her and up close she was prettier then he thought she was from a distance. He had, of course, seen her a thousand times in the four years they'd gone to school together and shared a common room but he had never actually talked with her one on one. She was always surrounded by people and though he'd thought about it night and day he couldn't come up with a casual conversation to have with her. He'd schemed and plotted over the years to get close to her but none of it had ever worked. Dean had laughed at him on more than one occasion when he'd told his best mate of his growing obsession and how desperately he wanted to talk to her. He was actually a little embarrassed about the whole thing. There were a million things about her that made her absolutely fascinating to him.

"Why are you trying so hard?" Dean had asked a few months ago when Seamus had come into their dorm and complained about how his plan to talk to her had been foiled yet again.

"What do you mean?" Seamus had asked wearily.

"There are plenty of girls in this castle who would go out with you if you asked them," Dean had replied sincerely.

"That's easy for you to say," Seamus had retorted grumpily. Dean was only fifteen and almost six feet tall. While Seamus didn't consider himself short, his five foot nine (and a quarter) inch stature just didn't compare. Plus Dean didn't have the skin problems Seamus did and he was much more naturally athletic, not to mention smart and funny. Dean could have practically any girl in their year or below and maybe even a few of the fifth years. Seamus just wasn't as lucky.

Presently Katie was looking at him with an amused expression in her bright blue eyes. He swallowed difficulty, "Bell," he began and then realized he sounded too formal, "er - Katie, I mean ..."

She raised her perfect eyebrows at him but didn't say anything.

" ... I was wondering," he continued rather shakily, he felt so stupid, "if ... er ... if you've got a er - a date for the - er - the Yule Ball-" he swallowed roughly again, "- yet?"

She bit her lower lip and her eyes softened. Then she shifted awkwardly on her feet and began wrapping a strand of her long hair around a finger, "No, not yet."

Hope swelled in his chest, "Would - er - would you - that is - doyouwanttogowithme?" The last came out as one big word but at least he got it out.

She looked down at her feet, "I'm sorry," she said quietly with a little shake of her head, "I'm sort of hoping someone else will ask me."

"Oh," his heart sank into his stomach. He felt deflated but he tried his best not to look it. "Ok." He couldn't think of anything else to say. They stood there awkwardly for a moment. He knew he should walk away but his feet just wouldn't move.

"It's just," she paused for a moment, "you're only a fourth year," she said quietly as she glanced up at him and then back down again with an apologetic look on her face, "and-"

"No," he cut her off, "it's alright. I get it." He really didn't want her to list the reasons she was rejecting him. He didn't think he could bear that. Hearing the reasons she wouldn't like him from Dean was bad enough. Hearing the actual reasons why she didn't like him from her own mouth would have been too much.

"I am sorry," she said quietly.

"No worries," he replied and forced himself to laugh. He knew it sounded false, "I've got to get to class, or Professor Snape'll kill me. See you around?"

"Yeah," she nodded a little sadly, "see you."

With that he turned and walked away as quickly as he could, pretending that his hurry was due to being late for potions when he knew that they both knew that wasn't true. His face was red and he felt a sting in both his eyes and his chest. He felt stupid and ridiculous but most of all he was just … embarrassed.

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