Written for Writer's Month 2022. Prompt #10: Kiss.
Happy reading!
Harry woke up from a restless sleep. His life hadn't been great before, sure, but in the past few months it had grown steadily worse. During the summer he was attacked by the Dementors and almost expelled from Hogwarts. The majority of the wizarding world considered him an attention-seeking liar. Hogwarts was being controlled by an evil toad-like witch from the Ministry. The secret defence club he ran with his friends had been discovered last week, and disbanded, forcing Dumbledore to leave the school at the same time. All in all, things were pretty bad.
He raised his head and slowly got out of bed. He was in a foul mood, like he usually was these days. He had a group of friends who were willing to stand by him, of course, but they no more had a way to make any difference. After all the effort they all put into fighting for the right thing it was all for naught, or so it seemed. Harry was quite disheartened – if all of them together couldn't make a difference, if Dumbledore himself had been chased out of the castle by the Ministry, what chance was there for things getting better?
Harry put his glasses on his face and began looking around the room for his uniform. While sweeping the vicinity of his bed with his gaze he noticed something out of the ordinary. There was a box of a sort laid on his trunk, with a letter on top of it. Harry came closer and took a look at it. The box was a heart-shaped one, wrapped in pink wrapping paper with light blue glittering hearts dancing over it. The letter was a cream-coloured one, and Harry took it in his hands and opened it.
He was surprised, and a little excited to see the letter came from Cho, the Ravenclaw girl he had fancied for the past year. The two of them even shared a kiss after one DA session; however, ever since the DA had been disbanded, thanks to Cho's friend Marietta, the two of them hadn't talked to each other. Harry understood it was difficult to stay in contact under Umbridge's watchful eye, and he even understood Cho was a bit angry with the DA leaders, namely Harry, Ron and Hermione, for making Marietta break out in awful pustules on account of her betraying them all. Still, he had been a bit hurt at the complete lack of contact, and was happy to get word from her once again.
He looked at the letter in his hands, admiring Cho's neat, but still a little swirly, handwriting.
Dear Harry,
I'm sorry we haven't talked since the DA stopped meeting. I needed to work through some things, but now it's all done. I'd love to see you again. Meet me at Myrtle's bathroom today after lunch?
Sealed with a kiss,
Cho
P. S. Enjoy the chocolates – I believe white chocolate with cherries is your favourite kind.
He smiled at the letter. It was short and sweet, just like most things Cho said were. He laid the letter on the bed next to him and took the wrapped box of chocolates in his hands next. He carefully unwrapped it, savouring the moment. The box turned out to be one of Honeydukes products and, just as she wrote, it was the white chocolate with cherries – his favourite. He took one in his mouth and enjoyed the taste, thinking about meeting her after lunch.
Munching on the chocolate, he dressed, wore Ron up and gathered his stuff for the day. He waited a moment for Ron to get ready and they went down the stairs. Just like every morning, they came down to the sight of Hermione waiting for them at the foot of the stairs, looking mildly annoyed at the amount of time it took them to come down.
- Good morning, Hermione! – the two of them greeted their best friend.
- Good morning! Come on, we need to hurry, else we won't have enough time to eat and get to the Greenhouse in time for our first class!
Shaking their heads at the bushy haired girl's constant hurry when it came to classes and school in general, they followed her to the Great Hall. The walk down took a long time, as usual – after all, the whole school was headed down for breakfast at the same time. The trio had to take one of the staircases that had the habit of moving at the most inopportune of times, and it ended up shifting at the very moment they were on it. Harry got a bit woozy from the movement, which usually did not happen to him, but he brushed it off as being a bit sleepier than usual.
A few minutes later, after taking the longer way due to the staircase taking them off their route, they arrived at the Great Hall. Harry looked at the Ravenclaw table, hoping to see Cho – however, as usual, the Ravenclaw table was almost empty, most of them, including her, having eaten earlier in order to have the time to review their notes before the first class began. The found a place to sit and began eating. Hermione took some porridge and a glass of juice while Ron, as usual, shovelled food as if it were his first meal after weeks of starvation. Harry took a piece of toast and nibbled on it; however, he was feeling a little nauseous.
Of course, the fact that Harry wasn't eating didn't escape Hermione's attention, and she was quick to ask him what was wrong. He told her that he was just feeling a bit peaky that morning, after which she, thankfully, dropped the subject.
Having finished their breakfast, the three friends headed over to the Greenhouses for their Herbology class. The walk wasn't a particularly long one; however, they had to walk quickly in order to get there in time. Professor Sprout wasn't very stern, but she would still take points for tardiness, and they wanted to avoid that.
A little while later they arrived at the Greenhouse, and were even left with a few minutes to spare. Harry was a bit breathless – nothing serious, but he felt more drained than he should be after a walk from the castle to the Greenhouses. He contemplated the possibility of being sick, but quickly dismissed it – after all, going to the Hospital Wing would mean risking the possibility of seeing Umbridge along the way, and he was definitely going to avoid that.
Soon enough, the class began, and he spent the next hour tending to the various plants they were studying this year. Harry didn't have anything against Herbology, but still, he wasn't really all that thrilled by the work – frankly, despite the usefulness of the art, he considered it a bit boring.
After pruning one of the many deadly plants used for various healing potions (the irony of magic never ceased to amaze him), the class was over and the three of them headed back to the castle. Harry turned to go to the Dungeons for the Potions class with Snape, only to be called back by Hermione.
- Where are you going, Harry? We have Transfiguration next.
Shaking his head a bit he smiled at her and turned in the direction of the Transfiguration classroom.
- Of course, Hermione – sorry, I got a bit lost in my thoughts.
Harry started climbing the stairs, missing the worried look his two friends exchanged behind his back.
The Transfiguration class passed in a way it usually did these days. The way in which McGonagall ran the class was much the same as it was since they started Hogwarts; however, the atmosphere was much more sombre and subdued than before. The class came to an end quickly, and the three of them went to the Great Hall to have lunch before their afternoon classes.
When they entered the Great Hall Harry once again looked at the Ravenclaw table, trying to get a look at Cho – however, once again, she wasn't there. Figuring she decided to skip lunch in order to have more time to meet with him, he ate quickly and headed for the Gryffindor tower. He planned to change his books for the ones he'd need for his afternoon classes and then head for Myrtle's bathroom to see Cho. He opened his mouth to tell Ron and Hermione he'd see them in Hagrid's class after lunch but, to his surprise, the two of them stood up from the table and followed him to the Gryffindor tower.
Harry took his books from his dormitory and went back to the Common room. He headed for the portrait door, only to sway a bit halfway. A moment later Hermione was next to him, pushing him into an armchair.
- Harry, are you alright?
Harry looks at her, his vision a little blurry.
- I'm fine, Hermione – just got a bit disoriented, that's all.
He made to stand up and head out of the Common room once more, but she and Ron stopped him.
- No, Harry, stay there – you haven't been yourself since you woke up.
Hermione was looking at him with a stern but worried expression.
- Yeah, mate, you're acting all funny.
Ron added his own opinion, looking at him seriously.
Harry tried to brush them away and leave anyway – after all, he couldn't leave Cho waiting for him in vain, could he? However, once he tried to walk away from them his vision swam, making it difficult to stand upright. Ron took him by the shoulders and helped his stand, while he and Hermione talked in worried voices, sounding to Harry like they were underwater.
- What do you think is wrong with him? Did he eat something?
Ron looked at her worriedly, trying to think of anything strange.
- We all ate together, both at breakfast and lunch, I guess noth-... Wait, there was the box of chocolates!
Hermione looked at him in surprise.
-What box of chocolates?
Ron turned around and went to their dormitory. A few moments later he came back, carrying an opened box of chocolates and a letter.
- He got these this morning, and I think I saw him munch on the chocolates before breakfast.
The two of them looked at the box and the letter, while Harry was sitting in the armchair, still looking a bit unsteady.
- Looks like it's from Cho... Sealed with a kiss... That's rich, coming from a girl who hadn't spoken to him in so long... Look, they were supposed to meet right now – I guess that's why he was so adamant to leave, despite feeling unwell...
The two of them were looking at the chocolates now, noticing there were two missing from the box, when they saw Harry sway even more and almost fall out of the armchair.
- He's getting worse! Ron, I don't know what's going on, but you need to get McGonagall!
Ron ran off as quickly as he could while Hermione stayed with Harry, helping him not fall and murmuring nonsensical words of comfort. A few minutes later Ron arrived with McGonagall in tow.
- Professor! He's getting worse – he can't even sit upright on his own anymore! We don't know what's wrong. We thought it might be something he ate – he got these chocolates this morning – but I don't know if that's the reason why he's feeling unwell...
McGonagall came closer and took a look at Harry, and then at the box of chocolates. She took out her wand and waved it a few times, and then conjured a Patronus.
- Severus, a student has most likely been poisoned. Come to the Gryffindor common room as soon as possible.
The silver animal ran away, and McGonagall looked at Harry once more. Ron and Hermione stood next to her, terrified.
- Professor? Harry was... poisoned? Will he be alright?
The stern woman looked at her favourite student.
- I can't say anything, Miss Granger. I don't think his life is in danger at the moment, but I'm no expert on poison – we must wait for Professor Snape.
Just as she said that, the Potions professor came. He took one look at Harry and the chocolates, sniffing them for a second, and took out a few potions vials from his robes, as well as a box with a stone Hermione recognised as a bezoar. He made Harry first swallow the bezoar, and then fed him a few potions. A few minutes later Harry was stable once more, and his eyes were focused. He turned to thank the professor for saving his life.
- Professor, thank y...
The Potions master interrupted him.
- Who gave you these chocolates, Mister Potter?
Harry looked at him.
- I – they came with a letter from Cho Chang.
The two professors looked at each other. Ron piped up.
- Yeah, here is the letter that was on the box.
He gave it to McGonagall, and she and Snape read it together. McGonagall looked at Harry with a severe look on her face.
- Mr Potter, if this really is Miss Chang's doing, she'll face serious consequences – who knows what would have happened had your friends not alerted me in time, and had Professor Snape not been there to heal you. Anyway, I strongly suggest you don't consume things of suspicious origin – there are many who would like to hurt you, and it would do you good to be more cautious. Take care, Potter.
With that, she and Snape left the common room, leaving the three friends alone. Hermione, relieved that he was well again, gave him a hug, and Ron patted his back. Trying to diffuse the tension, he cracked a joke.
- Harry, I think girls might beat You-Know-Who to your demise if you're not careful.
Expectedly, Hermione smacked him for that, while Harry laughed a bit.
- Yeah, guess you might be right.
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