Chapter Seven: Love Potion #9 (Well, Sort Of)

The wheels in Hermione's head were obviously at work. Then her face lit up and she grabbed Ron and yanked him out of his seat. Harry and Ava looked up, stopping their debate on which Quidditch team was better: the British team or the American team.

"We have to go to the library for Professor Binn's project," Hermione said.

"But it isn't due for another two weeks," Harry said.

"Well…er… it never hurts to get an early start," Ron said awkwardly. Now Harry knew they were up to something. Ron hated to get an early start on any schoolwork. He was always the one who was scribbling hurriedly on his parchment the day before the work was due. They rushed off together. Harry stared at them in complete puzzlement. He was going to find out what they were up to. But he would do that later. Right now he had to finish his debate with Ava. Britain's defense was better and he knew it.

Ron was out of breath from rushing out of the Great Hall like that. He stopped running to catch his breath. "Hermione, slow down. Quidditch tryouts aren't until this Saturday. It's Wednesday. We have three days to come up with a plan."

"Ron, that is just the kind of lazy attitude that we can't have. They like each other so much. Do you see the way he looks at her? He never even looked at Cho that way. As a matter of fact, he seems to have completely forgotten that Cho exists. This has to work."

"This has to work? What exactly is this?" Ron wasn't really sure he wanted to know. Hermione was brilliant, but she could be quite the nutter.

"It's simple really. They both love Quidditch. We'll send Harry something that has to do with Quidditch and say it's from Ava. And we'll send Ava something and say it's from Harry. Piece of cake."

"Don't you think that it's a bit wonky?"

"No. Not if we execute this carefully. Plus, Ava needs to get Dinah off of her mind for a little while. Harry seems to make her happy. Her face positively lit up when he asked her if she wanted to try out for Quidditch," Hermione gushed. Ron grinned.

"Hermione, have you gone mental?" The faraway look in her eyes faded and she looked at Ron.

"No. I just can't seem to get any romance in my life. So it wouldn't hurt to play matchmaker. Even though Quidditch isn't what you'd call romantic," Hermione said, bristling slightly at the look on Ron's face. She stalked off to the library.

"Well, if it's romance she wants, it's romance she'll get," Ron said to himself as he watched Hermione walk away.

The next couple of days passed by uneventfully. Harry seemed to spend all his spare time, whether it be in the common room or in class, with Ava. He was always seen escorting Ava to her classes, even if they didn't have the same class. It made Harry late to Potions class on one occasion, which caused Snape to take 10 points from Gryffindor. Harry, however, did not care whatsoever. Not even Snape, the ugly git, could ruin this. He even went so far as to tell Sirius about her. Sirius, having had his name cleared last year, was now working at the Ministry. He wrote back to Harry telling him to ask Ava out to the Yule Ball. But Harry thought it was too early to ask her. There was 2 ½ more months to go. He didn't want Ava to think he was a prat. The day of Quidditch training dawned bright and clear. The perfect conditions for Quidditch. Harry hopped out of bed and put on his glasses. He had about 3 hours of sleep and yet, he was wide-awake. He could think of nothing but today when he would see Ava. When he spent his time with her, he was the happiest he'd been in a while. She was always on his mind. He walked over to the mirror to look at his reflection. His looks never bothered him before, but lately he had been fretting over his hair and the very thing that made him famous: his scar. He tried to tidy his hair but it wasn't working. As he tried unsuccessfully to flatten it, he heard a tapping at the window. There was a lovely tan owl sitting on the windowsill. Harry recognized it as Athena, Ava's owl. She had a package tied to her legs and she was waiting patiently at the window. Harry ran to the window, butterflies dancing in his stomach. Why would Ava send him a package? He opened the window and let Athena in. She stuck her leg out and let Harry untie the package from her leg. She nuzzled his hand before she flew away. The package had his name written in big loopy letters on the front. He opened it and a note flew out. He opened it and his heart jumped.

Harry-

I thought you might like this a lot. See you at practice.

Ava

He grinned as he opened the package. A thick black book fell out. It had a handsome leather cover. Harry turned it over and read the title written in silver, "Quidditch Moves and Tactics, A How-To Guide For Any Quidditch Player". Harry opened the book to a page explaining how to execute the Wronski Feint complete with a picture. Harry was stunned. How did she know he wanted it? He woke Ron up fiercely.

"Ron! Ron! Wake up now! Look at this!" Ron groaned at looked at him.

"What is it Harry?" he muttered thickly. Harry thrust the book at him. Ron looked at it strangely for a split second before he said, "Bloody hell Harry. She must really like you. These things are sold out everywhere!"

"Yeah, I know" he said, grinning. "I wanted it to use for the team."

"Wicked! We're going to crush Slytherin if we use some of these moves," Ron said flipping through the book. "You know Harry, I think you really should ask her to the Yule Ball now."

"I think I will," Harry said, his hands shaking at the thought. "Today."

Ava was sitting on her four-poster canopy bed writing a report when she saw a snowy white owl flying towards her window. She recognized it right away as Harry's owl Hedwig. Her curiosity piqued, she walked to the window and opened it. Hedwig soared in and landed quietly on the bed. There was a package tied to her leg. Ava's heart fluttered in her chest as she untied the package from Hedwig's leg.

"Thanks Hedwig," she said as she stroked the lovely owl. She let Hedwig fly out before she looked at the package. Why would Harry mail her a package? She opened it and a deep red book fell out along with a rose. She looked at the title, written in large, gold letters. "Famous Female Quidditch Players: Who Says Girls Can't Play?" She smiled as she opened the book to a picture Angelina Johnson, the youngest female to play professionally. She walked downstairs to the common room to fetch Hermione. She saw her talking to Ron on the squishy sofas. Harry was by the fireplace engrossed in a thick, black book. Ava smiled and started to walk over when Hermione stepped in front of her.

"What's going on? Your face is all flushed," Hermione said.

"I've got to show you something," Ava said, forgetting about talking to Harry. She grabbed Hermione's hand and led her up the stairs. She opened the door to the dormitory and gestured to the bed. Hermione walked to the bed and picked up the book.

"Who sent you this?" she asked casually.

"Harry. And look what else he sent." She walked over and picked up the lovely rose. She handed to Hermione, who grinned.

"Was there a note?" she asked.

"No, but I know it was from him." Hermione frowned for a second but she regained her composure.

"Wow, he really must like you. That's a very thoughtful gift."

"I know. I like him so much and now I know he feels the same way," Ava said, plopping down on her bed.

"What are you going to do now?" Hermione asked, sitting down next to Ava and handing her the book.

"Tell him how I feel," she said as she ran her finger down the handsome red cover. "Today."

Harry got ready for practice. He put on his scarlet robes with trembling hands and almost tripped over the bench in the locker room. Ron was already dressed and flipping through the book that Harry had received earlier. He had tired of watching Harry stumble around. "So where's the rest of the team?" Harry asked Ron.

"Well, Parvati and Ginny are still getting ready, I think. Seamus and Dean walked out with Ava. They're giving her tips for her tryout." Harry's stomach jumped at the sound of her name.

"Okay, let's go," Harry said. He walked out onto the field and saw Seamus, Dean and Ava, sitting on the grass. Seamus was giving her tips on how to dodge Bludgers. Parvati and Ginny were on their broomsticks soaring around the stadium. Before Harry got to reach Ava , she had hopped on her broomstick, a Firebolt of course, and kicked off to join Ginny. Everyone was astonished with her maneuvering of the broomstick. She weaved through the goal posts and then dived. She then flew near to the ground and as she flew past Harry, she gave him a smile that made his knees turn into jelly. She touched ground gracefully and called to Harry. "Harry, could you come over for a minute? I want to talk to you." Harry's knees wobbling, he walked over on unsteady legs. She motioned him behind the stands. He was terrified that he would fall flat on his face before he even reached her. Every step closer he took to Ava, her grin became shyer and she started blushing. Harry felt his cheeks turning red too.

"Wh-what is it Ava?" Harry inwardly kicked himself for stammering. He had faced Voldemort three times in his life with minimal fear and he couldn't even face a girl without going to pieces?

"I, um, I wanted to thank you."

"Thank me? For what? I should be thanking you. That book was… excellent. I don't know how you knew I wanted it but thanks." Harry faltered when he saw the blank look on Ava's face. His stomach dropped to his feet. "You didn't… you didn't send me a book?"

"No," Ava said slowly. "I was going to thank you for the book and the flower that you sent me." Harry just stared.

"I never sent you anything, Ava." He wanted to punch himself when he saw the disappointed look on Ava's face.

"Then, if you didn't send it to me, who did?" she asked Harry. Just as he was about to answer her that he had no clue, he heard two arguing voices coming their way. The voices belonged to Hermione and Ron. Hermione seemed angry with Ron about something. So Harry pulled Ava under the stands, where they would be hidden from view. He wanted to know if they had something to do with this. His answer was confirmed when he heard Hermione.

"At least I sent the package with a "hand-written" note from Ava. All you sent was a rose and the book." Hermione sounded indignant.

"Well how the bloody hell did you want me to get a note like that from Harry? I couldn't just say 'Harry, could you write a note to Ava for a gift you don't know you're giving her' now could I? How did you get that note from Ava anyway?"

"I just copied her handwriting from some of her notes from class with my wand. Then I transferred it onto the paper. It was easy." Harry looked over at Ava. Her mouth was agape. She looked very surprised. Then they were both shocked when they heard what Hermione said next. "Harry and Ava should be together. You see the way they look at each other? They're both too shy to make a move so we're just giving them a little push. It's not like it's wrong," she said.

"Well, you just better hope they don't figure it out on their own," Ron said. "Did you see the way Ava hooked Malfoy?" He shuddered, which made Ava burst into silent laughter in the stands. "Wouldn't want her mad at me." Ava smiled broadly. She grabbed Harry's hand and led him down the length of the stands, to get a little distance from Ron and Hermione. She then led him out of the stands and put her arms around his neck, blushing slightly. He was so happily shocked that he didn't even ask what she was up to. He placed his arms around her waist a bit awkwardly. He heard Hermione and Ron coming closer and he realized what she was trying to do.

"I like you Harry," she whispered. "I like you a lot." This brought a smile to his face.

"Me too. I-I mean I like you too," Harry stammered slightly. Ava laughed softly and all he wanted to do at the moment was kiss her. So that's what he did. When Harry's lips touched Ava's, it was like fireworks were lighting up the sky around him. It was wonderful. He felt electricity flowing throughout his whole body. Then he heard a squeal and a hoot. He pulled away and looked around to see where it came from. Apparently, not only had Hermione and Ron walked in on their moment, but the whole Quidditch team, searching for the two runaways, had walked in on them also. Harry felt his ears grow hot as everyone just grinned. Then Seamus whistled and everyone started clapping.

"Brilliant, Harry. Bloody brilliant," said Seamus clapping Harry on the back and shaking his hand.

"It's about damn time."

"Yeah," Dean piped up. "When were you going to tell us about your secret affair?"

"It's not an affair," Harry said blushing furiously. "Go on, it's time for practice."

"Yeah!" Seamus yelled. "We can see you were practicing, you minx!"

End Chapter Seven