The Art of Coquetry

By PepsiAngel

Chapter 2: Plan A

"Hey, Harry," Parvati Patil purred as she sidled up next to him.

He didn't glance up at her face but was studying his arm fixedly instead. On closer look, one could see that he was actually gazing at her long, slender fingers, which were resting rather delicately on him.

She tapped him lightly with her French tipped nails and murmured, "Are you afraid of a little contact?"

He gulped and his face, he noticed, had begun to feel extremely hot.

"Er, well, no," he mumbled. She had begun to caress his arm softly now, which was the reason behind his awkward stuttering.

"Good," she sat down next to him, still stroking his arm gently and smiling widely at him. "I wouldn't want to make you uncomfortable."

Harry, who couldn't remember ever feeling so uncomfortable in his life, shook his head hastily. His eyes, in a motion that was almost automatic, darted around the room as if searching for someone.

"If you're looking for Ginny she isn't here," said Parvati quietly. "She is completely out of the way."

Something about this statement made him pull his arm away swiftly, as if burned.

Or, you know, it could have been the slight wink she had thrown at him.

Maybe she was just blinking, he thought hopefully. Out of one eye? Yeah right.

Chuckling, Parvati told him, "There's nothing to be nervous about. We're just being friendly! Ginny wouldn't object to that, now would she?"

A part of his mind screamed at him that arm stroking was not something friends usually took part in but he simply said, "No, I suppose not."

She scooted closer still, until she was nearly sitting on poor Harry's lap. He gave a little jump.

"Oh, darling," she said and her voice held a hint of amusement. "She's got you wrapped around her little finger, doesn't she?"

He nodded, a bit sheepishly. He didn't mean for his devotion to be so blatant but the more time he spent with Ginny the more transparent his adoration for her became.

"We could change that, you know," she informed him with a gentle giggle. She was in his lap now and had started reaching out, in a way that implied she was going to cup his face in her hand.

Ginny, from her spot in the shadows atop the staircase leading to the girls' dormitory, flinched visibly.

Well, Harry seemed to be stopping Parvati, therefore, there was no need for her to march down the stairs and start a catfight. Though, she was prepared to if it came to that. She had encouraged harmlessly flirting not outright attempts to kiss him!

Sure enough, at this point he had all but flown to the other end of the lengthy couch. His face, he imagined, was red but he didn't care much at the moment.

"Parvati are you trying to . . . seduce me?" he demanded.

If possible, his face turned an even deeper shade of scarlet.

She looked downright affronted at this accusation. "How dare you! Of course not."

They both jumped to their feet at the same time, faces flushed. While Harry's was a crimson that did absolutely nothing for him, Parvati's was a light pink that was offset nicely by her striking raven hair.

Nobody should be capable of making blushing look good, Ginny decided. It's terribly unfair to the rest of us.

"I'm sorry," muttered Harry, not able to meet her eyes.

She apologized for her outburst and looked as if she would like to be anywhere but there.

"I'll be going then," he added as an afterthought and she waved halfheartedly.

As Harry walked up the steps into the boys' dormitory, rather quicker than usual, Parvati made her way over to his girlfriend, still looking distressed.

She furrowed her brow as she sat down in one of the comfortably worn armchairs that were sprinkled around the Gryffindor common room. "I don't think that went very well."

"We did learn that you aren't Harry's type," offered Ginny helpfully as she walked over to her fellow Gryffindor. "No offense; I just think you're a bit too . . . forward for him."

"I know you are the master of coquetry or whatever," she continued. "But does subtlety mean anything to you?"

Parvati stared at her in blank confusion.

"Apparently not," she sighed. "Subtlety is-"

"I know what it is," snapped the older girl irritably. "I just choose not to practice it."

Ginny nodded as if this made perfect sense. "That would definitely explain a lot."

"You make things really difficult," retorted Parvati and angry spots of pink made their way back onto her cheeks.

She raised one eyebrow coolly. "I make things difficult? Well, that's rich."

"I don't know what kind of prat you take me for but I am not an idiot," pointed out Parvati.

The redhead feigned shock. "You aren't? You've fooled several people then," she replied in sheer amusement.

Her only answer was the indignant sound of attempted speech and then the click of Parvati's shoes as she marched away in a huff.

Well, that was certainly interesting, she thought to herself with a smirk.

However, her smugness faded slightly as she briefly entertained the thought of Parvati letting her plan slip to Harry as some sort of twisted payback.

Even Parvati would not give me away, she decided at last.

As soon as she had reassured herself, it was back to putting plan B into action. First, however, she needed her new partner in crime.

"Hey, Neville," she called over to said partner. He looked up from the book he had his head buried in just long enough for her to get his attention and beckon him over with a sly grin.

As he approached, she announced in a hushed tone, "I have a job for you."

*

Author's Note: I have resurrected this fic from the dead. I actually liked this chapter too! Well, hopefully Cordelia (my muse) will keep being so sweet to me. Now you're free to review!