A WIZARD IN STARS HOLLOW

CHAPTER SIX: WHEN HARRY AND RORY START DATING

Harry awoke the morning after Rory's encounter with Lucius Malfoy rather early because Rory called at exactly six o'clock in the morning and she sounded very nervous. "Calm down, Rory," he said. "Blimey, I'm going to have to Apparate over there and give you a Draught of Peace or something!"

"No, I'm just very nervous about starting school," she said a little shakily. "I'm actually pacing my room right now trying to keep calm."

Harry sighed. "What would you like me to do?"

"Please come and see me off?" she begged. "I'll do anything!"

Harry grinned and said, "Okay. In return for me seeing you off on your first day, how about you go out to dinner with me tonight after you get home?"

There was silence on Rory's end of the phone. "You mean like a date?"

"If that's what you want it to be." Harry said. He held the phone away from his ear as she squealed in delight. "I'll take that as a yes, then?"

"Of course it's a yes!" Rory nearly shouted. "Pick me up at six."

"Got it. I'll be outside in a few minutes. Let me get dressed." Harry said. "I'll see you in a few minutes, okay? Bye." He took a shower, got dressed and Apparated to the Gilmores' house instantly. When he got there, it was after seven in the morning and the Gilmore girls were rushing to leave. Rory was dressed in her Chilton uniform which was a navy blue blazer, white shirt and tie and a plaid skirt. Her long brown hair was down past her shoulders and Harry's heart skipped a beat. "Bloody hell!" he gasped when he saw her. "You look amazing!"

"Hey, you looked pretty snazzed up in your Hogwarts uniform," she said smiling as she hugged him. "Come on, Harry. Let's go!" She dragged him to their car and the three of them took off to Chilton in Hartford. When they got there, they got a map and walked around trying to find the headmaster's building. To Harry, it felt like trying to find Platform Nine and Three-Quarters all over again.

"Can I help you?" asked a man as they walked.

"We're trying to find the headmaster's office." Lorelai said. "I'm Lorelai Gilmore and this is my daughter Rory and her friend Harry."

"Headmaster Charleston's office is in this building right here and downstairs to the left." said the man smiling. "Are you sure she's your daughter? You look like you could be sisters."

"I'm sure." Lorelai said. "Come on. Let's go." The three went down to the headmaster's office where they met his secretary. "Rory and Lorelai Gilmore to see Headmaster Charleston."

"One moment, please," said the secretary rather snobbishly. She opened a pair of double doors and came out a moment later. "Mr. Charleston will see you."

The three walked in and saw a portly old man walking toward them. "Hello," he said cheerfully, "I am Headmaster Charleston. Please, come in."

"I wanted to talk to you about Rory's education here." Lorelai said as calmly as she could and then her attitude changed when she saw her mother there. "Mom? What are you doing here?"

"I came to talk to Hanlin about Rory's education as well," she said. "Hanlin and his wife are old friends of your father's and mine. I put in a good word with him for Rory."

"Now, let's talk, shall we?" said Charleston. "Rory, I want you to know that this school expects top results. Study hard, and you will succeed."

"Yes, sir," said Rory respectfully. "I will."

"As for you, Mr. Potter, I hope you will do the same when you start?" said Charleston.

"I'll do my best, sir," said Harry. "Honestly, I've never been to high school. I was at a boarding school in England for most of my childhood since I was eleven."

"Ah, yes, I saw that in your application." Charleston said with a smile. "You also added that you went to a primary school in England?"

"Yes, sir," said Harry. Charleston nodded and asked if he'd be able to start classes in two days. "Of course, sir. I would be happy to."

"Wonderful!" said Charleston jovially. "Welcome to Chilton, Rory and, Harry, you can buy your uniform with some help from Emily, if you wish."

"Oh, no, I can handle that." Harry said. "It will be a pleasure to attend your school."

Rory stared at him in awe. "Are you seriously going to Chilton now?"

"Possibly," he said. "Considering the school I went to for the past five years, I think it's right to say I need to brush up on my education. I mean, I can do most things, but I definitely need to get into the modern times. I'm getting tired of old literature."

"Speaking of literature," said Rory happily. "I loved the History of Magic book you gave me. I read the whole thing this morning and I can't believe all the crazy stuff that went on over the past few hundred years."

"Yeah, I wish I paid attention in History of Magic, though," said Harry. "I had to ask my friend Hermione to help me loads of times."

"Well, if you need any help in studying, I'm your girl." Rory said proudly. "I am very proud to be a smart girl."

"I bet you are." Harry said. "You remind me of Hermione in so many ways. You just look way better, though." Rory gave a nervous laugh and gave him a hug. "See you at six."

"What are we doing at six?" Rory asked.

"Well, if you want, we can catch a movie or go to dinner or something." Harry said hoping she'd catch his meaning.

She stopped and looked up at him. "Like a date or just as friends?"

"Whatever you want it to be." Harry said. "Just expect me at your house tonight at six and we'll go from there. You don't have to dress fancy or anything. Just be you."

Rory bit her lip for a minute and said, "Did you just ask me to be myself?" He nodded. "Well, you might want to expect clumsy and babbling a lot. That's what I do best when with a boy. I never shut up and...there I go again."

"Just go to class," he said squeezing her hand quickly. "See you later." She nodded and ran off. "Did I just ask your daughter on a date?" he asked Lorelai.

"Not officially, but, in a sense, yes." Lorelai said amused. "Wait until I tell Sookie about this. She's going to flip!"

"Wait until I tell Luke." Harry said dreading what his boss would say. "Well, I better get to work. Can you drop me off at Luke's?" Lorelai nodded and they drove back to Stars Hollow to Luke's Diner. Harry walked in and went behind the counter. "Hey, Luke." Luke nodded at him and, together, they served some customers.

"What's your plans for tonight?" Luke asked while they were on break a couple of hours later.

Harry shrugged. "Going back to the inn and change clothes. I'm going to dinner or movie with Rory tonight."

"As a date?" Luke asked surprised. "I didn't think she'd ever find anyone."

"She asked me the same thing, except for that last part." Harry said. "No, I told her it will be whatever she wants it to be and to be herself."

"Well, the best thing you can get her is a lot of coffee." Luke said seriously. "She and her mother are coffee-holics. They live off the stuff."

Harry laughed. "Yeah, I noticed when I serve them." The door opened and Lane Kim, Rory's best friend, popped in. "Hi, Lane. What can I get you?"

"A large cup of coffee and a bagel." Lane said. "So, how's Rory? I haven't heard from her in a while."

"She's fine. I hope you're not planning anything with her for tonight, though. She's busy." Harry said trying to sound as casual as possible. Lane looked confused. "I'm taking her to dinner somewhere."

"Oh." Lane said a little sadly and then her eyes got wide for a minute. "Oh! Harry! That's great! I always told her she needs a man in her life, but she always said she never has time."

Harry shrugged. "Apparently, she has time, now." Lane nodded. "Will your coffee and bagel be for here or to go?" Lane took the bagel and coffee after paying and went off to school. During the whole day, Harry was wondering how Rory's first day at school was going. He wanted really badly to see her and ask how she was doing in school until he was actually there himself.

After work, Harry showered and dressed in a nice button-down shirt and some dress pants. He Apparated to the Gilmores' house right at six and knocked on their door. Lorelai let him in. "Is she ready?" he asked.

"Almost," she said. "Give her another five minutes." Harry waited patiently, remembering how long it took some of the girls back at Hogwarts to get ready when the Yule Ball was going on in his fourth year. "Ah, there she is." Lorelai said five minutes later and Harry's jaw dropped in a mixture of awe and surprise. Rory was standing a few feet away wearing a shin-length blue dress and had her hair in a bun.

"Bloody hell!" he gasped as she walked toward him. "You look beautiful."

"Thanks," she said. "You look pretty handsome, yourself, Harry." She grabbed his hand and they walked through the town to their destination: a nice Italian restaurant. "By the way, you'll like Chilton. I already have a rival."

"Oh?" Harry said amused. "And who is this rival?"

"Her name's Paris Geller." Rory explained. "She's smart like me and stops at nothing to discredit me on anything that happens at school."

Harry snickered. "Sounds like Malfoy when I was at Hogwarts. You remember that time in my first year when Malfoy got Ron, Hermione, myself and him in detention for seeing a dragon?" Rory nodded. "After that, he tried everything to make my life miserable. Sometimes it worked, but other times he just messed things up for himself." Rory laughed remembering the memory he showed her and Lorelai a day or two ago. "Don't let this girl get in your head. She's probably just jealous of you."

"Why would she be jealous?" Rory asked. "I'm not popular, and I stay to myself. There's this boy named Tristan who always gets my name wrong. He calls me Mary instead of Rory and I hate that!"

"I never had that happen, but I can tell you that there are many people who get called the wrong name, so don't let it get you down, okay?" They got to the restaurant and sat down. A waiter gave them a menu. Harry ordered a pasta carbonara with a side of risotto and a hot cup of tea. Rory ordered the same thing and they ordered tiramisu for dessert. "Do you always dress like this on a date?" he asked.

"This is actually my first date...if this is what it is." Rory said trying not to ramble on about things. "I told you that."

"Yes, you did," said Harry. "The last time I went on a date, it didn't go very well. I was dealing with a teacher who hated children and took over as the headmaster of my school at the time, so she created a group of students who would be able to pretty much do anything they wanted and not get in trouble. I, on the other hand, was teaching a bunch of students how to defend themselves if they ever ran into Death Eaters at the time and that teacher knew about it because the girl I was dating ratted me out thanks to a potion that makes the drinker tell the truth. Needless to say, I ended it with her."

"I would, too, if that happened." Rory said. "Can I tell you something?" He nodded. "I actually liked you since you got into town. I saw you once and thought you were extremely cute."

"And I thought the same of you, Rory." Harry said. "Still do, honestly." He scratched the back of his head nervously. Their food arrived and they ate. Harry paid for the dinner and they walked back home. "I'm very proud of you."

Rory looked taken aback. "For what?"

"Not rambling." Harry said with a grin. "You said that when you're near someone you like, you start to ramble and don't shut up, right?" She nodded. "Well, you didn't."

"You're right!" Rory said. "I think it's because I'm so used to being around you. I mean, we hang out all the time and, well, you're so good at talking to me."

"That's because I've been around people that are nervous when it comes to new people." Harry explained. "Trust me, I was the same way for a while, only I was really shy. There was this one time in my fourth year when the school was holding this huge dance for the three schools to mingle and get to know one another. When I found out about the dance, I was trying to get a date and could barely talk to any girls at all. I was talking to my friend Ron while walking and I asked why the girls always traveled in packs. When I saw a few girls nearby I practically hyperventilated and, when I finally asked the girl I wanted to ask, it didn't even sound like a question."

"So, basically, you're saying you have trouble talking to girls like I have with boys?" asked Rory. Harry nodded and she smiled. "Glad I'm not the only one. At least I'm not talking all about books and stuff."

"Like I said before, you sound like Hermione. Whenever something strange was happening, the first place she went in school was the library to research, or she'd start studying for lessons right after getting homework. I, on the other hand, didn't really get to studying until almost the last minute."

Rory laughed. "Looks like I'm going to have to tutor you in homework, Harry." Harry laughed, too. The two finished eating and they paid for the food before heading out and walking around to settle their stomachs. "Walk me home?" Harry gave a nod and they held hands as they walked through town. "So, what's your old school like?"

"Huge." Harry answered. "My old school is in a huge castle in the Scottish mountains. I miss it a bit, but I have a feeling once this whole war is over at home, I'll be able to live my life here."

"I would love to travel the world." Rory said in a dreamy voice. "I've always wanted to visit Europe and see everything."

"I wish I could take you to the magical spots, but you're a Muggle so I can't really do that." Harry said making her look a little sad. "Look, you look really tired, so let's get you home so you can go to bed." Rory nodded and they walked back to her place. When they reached the porch, they stood there awkwardly. "Good night," he said. She smiled and wished him the same. He turned around to walk away when she grabbed his arm and he felt her lips press against his own. The kiss only lasted a few seconds but it felt like hours for him. "Blimey!" he whispered when the kiss ended.

"Sorry," she said turning red. "I..."

"No, it...it was great." Harry said also turning red. "I...I actually wanted to do that for a while." Rory gave a giggle and went inside leaving Harry standing on the porch dumbstruck. After a moment to clear his head, he Apparated back to the inn and went to his room.