It lives! There is nothing left to say!
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Anyway. Harry had a wee bit of a Moment, after which several weeks that the author didn't particularly want to write about passed (but rest assured, they were chock full of eye-bleedingly long coddling descriptions, embarrassingly dragged-out thought processes, and wretched recaps of things that never happened) Catamalina became good friends with Hermione very quickly: Once Hermione realized she has met her intellectual match she was rather jealous and competitive, but Catamalina's charm won her over, as it had so many before her. Harry's close little group of three became a group of four, still inseparable and not at all awkward. It was even an improvement, really, thought Harry one cold clear day in January as they sat near a window in the common room. As before they had been able to tell each other about anything with little fear of not un being un not taken un- seriously . . . er . . . In any case, Catamalina, or Cat as she was now called, was not only understanding of the small group's problems but helpful - she always knew just what to say and what to do about everything. And the way she spoke . . . ! Like bells, or sirens, enticing you to heed her word. He might have been suspicious, had her word ever led him astray . . .
Still, there was one occasion that confused Harry somewhat. He had asked her about what to do about Cho, who for the purposes of this story was apparently still lusting or the underage equivalent thereof after Harry. He even wondered if her still liked her, but - *at this point the author has lost interest in her own work. Please imagine the sappiest, lamest dialogue about teen romance angst and identity crises that you can possibly handle. Do not blame me. *
Cat had hesitated, and watched him with a completely different expression than she ever had. Her incredible, amazing eyes flashed gold over deep, blue-green like the sea. Was it sadness he saw? Hope? . . . Fear? She told him that he should let her go, let her learn to let go of him, to move on. Maybe talk to her about that. He'd done so, of course, and after Cho had more or less finished crying, she'd smiled. Later she was seen with a Hufflepuff 7th year, looking happy and at peace. Cat had been very happy to hear this. Almost in an odd way, though Harry chose not to read into it.
He did know, though, that Hermione must have thought he fancied her, and maybe the other way round, as well. He could tell from her dramatic glances and near infuriatingly knowing looks that she was sure of it. But was he? Maybe he did fancy Cat . . .
Back in the temporal present, he heard a voice. A nice voice, yes, familiar and earthy, but with impatient overtones.
"Well?" Hermione was saying.
In an attempt to save face, Harry reacted automatically, responding in a nonspecific answer.
"I disagree," he said passively.
"You disagree?" Hermione exclaimed incredulously. "Harry, are you serious? You've been on - "
Catamalina broke her off. "He just wasn't paying attention," she said understandingly. "What were you thinking about, Harry?"
He didn't think, just responded, "Well, you."
Cat blushed slightly, a rose glow dusting across her cheeks, adding color to her beautiful ivory face, but her crystalline blue eyes sparkled. Hermione looked amused.
The girls next to each other looked odd, like one or the other was out of place: Catamalina's angelic, ethereal appearance compared with Hermione's average, earth toned normalcy. Looking at her like this, he noticed that Hermione was considerably more attractive than her gave her credit for, but he just didn't think of her that way.
He suddenly realized he was expected to say something.
"Nothing like that," he said, taking a stab in the dark. It turned out to be more or less on target, and they returned to discussing Draco Malfoy's latest escapades as related to Voldemort's latest activities.
Somehow, despite the subject matter, Harry felt safe in his friends' company.
---------------
There will be no H/Hr shippiness, I tell you this now. None. And again, that's all there is to say besides uberthanks to the fabulous Beth for reviewing, and to you who went and read it. 3!
Anyway. Harry had a wee bit of a Moment, after which several weeks that the author didn't particularly want to write about passed (but rest assured, they were chock full of eye-bleedingly long coddling descriptions, embarrassingly dragged-out thought processes, and wretched recaps of things that never happened) Catamalina became good friends with Hermione very quickly: Once Hermione realized she has met her intellectual match she was rather jealous and competitive, but Catamalina's charm won her over, as it had so many before her. Harry's close little group of three became a group of four, still inseparable and not at all awkward. It was even an improvement, really, thought Harry one cold clear day in January as they sat near a window in the common room. As before they had been able to tell each other about anything with little fear of not un being un not taken un- seriously . . . er . . . In any case, Catamalina, or Cat as she was now called, was not only understanding of the small group's problems but helpful - she always knew just what to say and what to do about everything. And the way she spoke . . . ! Like bells, or sirens, enticing you to heed her word. He might have been suspicious, had her word ever led him astray . . .
Still, there was one occasion that confused Harry somewhat. He had asked her about what to do about Cho, who for the purposes of this story was apparently still lusting or the underage equivalent thereof after Harry. He even wondered if her still liked her, but - *at this point the author has lost interest in her own work. Please imagine the sappiest, lamest dialogue about teen romance angst and identity crises that you can possibly handle. Do not blame me. *
Cat had hesitated, and watched him with a completely different expression than she ever had. Her incredible, amazing eyes flashed gold over deep, blue-green like the sea. Was it sadness he saw? Hope? . . . Fear? She told him that he should let her go, let her learn to let go of him, to move on. Maybe talk to her about that. He'd done so, of course, and after Cho had more or less finished crying, she'd smiled. Later she was seen with a Hufflepuff 7th year, looking happy and at peace. Cat had been very happy to hear this. Almost in an odd way, though Harry chose not to read into it.
He did know, though, that Hermione must have thought he fancied her, and maybe the other way round, as well. He could tell from her dramatic glances and near infuriatingly knowing looks that she was sure of it. But was he? Maybe he did fancy Cat . . .
Back in the temporal present, he heard a voice. A nice voice, yes, familiar and earthy, but with impatient overtones.
"Well?" Hermione was saying.
In an attempt to save face, Harry reacted automatically, responding in a nonspecific answer.
"I disagree," he said passively.
"You disagree?" Hermione exclaimed incredulously. "Harry, are you serious? You've been on - "
Catamalina broke her off. "He just wasn't paying attention," she said understandingly. "What were you thinking about, Harry?"
He didn't think, just responded, "Well, you."
Cat blushed slightly, a rose glow dusting across her cheeks, adding color to her beautiful ivory face, but her crystalline blue eyes sparkled. Hermione looked amused.
The girls next to each other looked odd, like one or the other was out of place: Catamalina's angelic, ethereal appearance compared with Hermione's average, earth toned normalcy. Looking at her like this, he noticed that Hermione was considerably more attractive than her gave her credit for, but he just didn't think of her that way.
He suddenly realized he was expected to say something.
"Nothing like that," he said, taking a stab in the dark. It turned out to be more or less on target, and they returned to discussing Draco Malfoy's latest escapades as related to Voldemort's latest activities.
Somehow, despite the subject matter, Harry felt safe in his friends' company.
---------------
There will be no H/Hr shippiness, I tell you this now. None. And again, that's all there is to say besides uberthanks to the fabulous Beth for reviewing, and to you who went and read it. 3!
