Summer: Ice cream

Harry stood, his eyes wide, as he took in the girl standing before him.

The first thing he noticed about her was her hair. It reached her waist and was a rich dark brown in colour. There was a messy, 'out of control' look about it. But the most beautiful thing about it was the way it curled into soft waves and framed her face.

The next thing Harry noticed was her eyes. They were the same dark brown colour as her hair, but they were twinkling.

She had the same smooth, russet coloured skin as the woman he Harry had talked to in the morning.

This was January Singh.

'Soon to be January Potter.'

"What?" Harry thought in a daze as he continued to stare. She seemed to be saying something to him. But Harry was more preoccupied by the way her lips moved rather than the noises that were coming out of them.

"You'll see. What's she saying? Pay attention!" the voice chided him.

Harry forced himself out of his daze.

"- I wasn't looking where I was going! I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" she said with a worried look on her face. Her voice sounded like Christmas morning, Harry thought happily.

January poked his shoulder.

"Hello?" she asked uncertainly. She looked warily at him. "Maybe you hurt your head…" she muttered. "That's why you can't hear me…oh, crap! I made you deaf!" she wailed.

"Uhh…" Harry finally found his voice. He hastened to reassure her. "No, no need to worry about it." He said "No harm done." He smiled at her.

She looked unsure.

"No, really. I'm fine." He said again. "It was my fault too. I wasn't looking where I was going either."

January smiled at him, with an apologetic look on her face. "Well, if you're sure…"

"I am."
" Right. Well, sorry again!" and she started walking away.

"What? Wait- Hey!" Harry called after her. January looked back at him with curiosity.

"You're January, right?" he asked her as he walked closer to her. He noticed that her head didn't come past his shoulder.

"Um, yeah. I am." She said, looking at him in surprise.

"Hi, I'm Harry." Harry held out his hand. January took it. "You hosed me from behind when you were here last." He said grinning, enjoying the feel of her skin against his.

"Oh my god!" she cried out. Her face flooded with colour. She looked down at the ground. "That's so embarrassing! I remember you now! You were the boy in the garden! I-"

"No, don't apologize!" Harry interrupted her. "It was funny, now that I think about it!"

January looked at him and smirked.

"I wasn't going to." She said. "I was going to say that I had been aiming for your fat cousin. I was embarrassed because I missed. But I laughed anyway because of the look on your face."

Harry blinked.

Phwoar. Marry her!

Harry smiled down at her.

"You want go for an ice cream or something?" he asked. "To make it up to me for the accidental hosing?"

January looked up at him for a few moments.

"Sure." She said finally. "I'd love to."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"I cannot believe that I managed to miss him!" January laughed, as Harry and January walked down Privet Drive, arms linked. They both held ice creams in their hands.

Harry laughed too." I know!" he teased. "How thick do you have to be if you managed to miss a target as big as Dudders?"

"Hey!" she gave him a mock frown. "I'll have you know that I've passed out from school two years early!" she said proudly. "I am not thick at all!"

"Oh, yeah!" Harry remembered his conversation in the morning. "Your aunt told me that this morning!" he looked at her.

"You know, for someone who's supposed to be a genius, you do some pretty dumb things, Jan."

January, or Jan as Harry had taken to calling her in the last hour, swatted his arm playfully.

"So, anyway." Harry said, his laughter subsiding.

"What are you going to do now? Now that you've finished school I mean?" he asked her.

"Oh, well I don't really know." Jan said slowly. "I don't think I want to go to college right now. I mean I studied a lot to graduate early." She said with a laugh.

"I don't want to get back to the books right away!"

"I can imagine!" Harry replied smiling. "But what do you want to do anyway?"

"I haven't really thought about it." Jan said, frowning a little. "I've been focusing so hard on getting out of school that I didn't really give much thought to what I could do afterwards. I suppose, though, "She pondered out loud. She licked her ice cream thoughtfully.

Harry tried not to get distracted by her tongue.

"-I've always wanted to get a job restoring paintings and old artefacts, you know." She admitted.

"My grandmother's house is full of old paintings." She said wistfully. "When I was little, I used to love walking around the house and spend the day just looking at them."

Harry licked his ice cream. "What's stopping you from doing that?" he asked.

"My mother thinks that it's stupid, to spend my life restoring paintings." Jan said rolling her eyes. "And since she's the one who pays for my tuition, it's sort of hard for me."

Harry almost burst out saying that he would pay for her tuition. And anything else she desired.

Steady there, my knight in shining armour. Let's keep the creepy to a minimum, shall we?

"Why" Harry thought. "I've got enough money in Gringotts to pay for it!"

Yeah, but lets not make it seem like you're trying to buy her off. Okay, mate?

"Fine…" Harry muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" Jan asked him.

"Oh, nothing." Harry replied quickly. "So, that must be hard for you." He sympathised with her.

"Not being able to do what you really want just because of the money."

"Yeah, it is a bit." Jan said. "But I've got time to make them change their minds. And I'm their only daughter. "She said with a smirk. 'There are certain perks!"

The couple approached No.7.

"Well, "Jan said with a smile. "It was great talking to you, Harry! I had a lot of fun today!"

"Yeah, it was." Harry agreed. "How long are you here for?" he asked.

"Oh, I'm here for the summer, maybe longer." She replied, running her hands through her hair. She chucked the ice cream cone into the rubbish bin on the sidewalk.

"My parents have decided to celebrate their twenty-fifth anniversary by taking the year off, and going on a cruise. "She said with a slightly disgusted expression on her face.

"So they've dumped me on my aunt and uncle for a while." She grinned.

"That's great," Harry said, grinning back at her. "We can hang out a lot then!"

Not a lot, Romeo, you're leaving with the Dursley's soon, remember?

Harry's disappointment must have shown on his face because Jan touched his arm and asked; "what's the matter?"

"I'm leaving tomorrow, with my relatives." Harry said quietly. "We're going on…eh, a holiday."

Jan's face fell. "That's too bad." She said gently. "When will you be back?"

"Uh, in a month, maybe two. My relatives, "Harry said clearing his throat. "They own a house there. So uh, it's going to be a long holiday."

"Well, I'm here for a long time." Jan said, her face brightening a little. "A whole year, if I ask my parents. We can hang out then, Harry!"

"Maybe not," Harry said with a small smile. "I'm not a genius like you, "he teased her. "Some of us still have to go to school with an average sized brain!"

Jan laughed. "Well, we still have tomorrow, Harry. Let's make the most of it!"

And before Harry realised what she was going to do, Jan reached up and kissed Harry on his cheek.
"I expect to see you tomorrow morning at eight sharp, Harry" Jan called as she turned and walked up the stone path to No.7.

"No excuses!"

"Never!" Harry called back, smiling like a mad man. His cheek had a pleasant tingly feeling which was slowly spreading to the rest of his body.

Harry watched as she opened the door to No.7 and with a last parting smile, went inside.

Harry stood in the same spot for a while, grinning madly at the closed door.

Not to be a spoilsport, Romeo, but don't you have another date?

"What the hell do you mean?" thought Harry, as he relived the entire kissing scene in his mind. She had extremely soft lips, he remembered. It had seemed even softer against the stubble on his face. He'd forgotten to shave in the morning.

Mrs Figg! It's almost six now! You're supposed to meet Dumbledore!

Harry cursed loudly, and looked at his watch. It was five minutes to six. He cursed again. He had completely forgotten about his meeting!

No shit. Now hurry over there!

Harry only paused to mentally shout a few curses at the voice, before turning and running towards Mrs. Figg's house.

He had to meet Dumbledore.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

January lay down on her bed and looked at the ceiling above.

She still had to unpack her things out of her suitcases, but right now, she had other things on her mind.

Harry. Harry Potter.

She smiled at the ceiling, and closed her eyes for a nap.