Harry
Harry went up to his common room with Maria to find Ron waiting up for them.
"Hey. How did it go?" he asked as they sat down. Harry twirled his wand around his fingers, having just got it back from McGonagall.
"It was... weird." he said finally.
"Are you going to specify?" Ron asked, rasing an eyebrow.
"We-eell, we had to shelve a shitload of books in the library, no magic allowed." Maria started. Ron grinned.
"Hermione would have loved that kind of detention." he said.
Maria nodded and continued. "True. So anyways, Malfoy was there too, and he and Harry got all pissed at each other, almost started a fist fight, but I stopped them, and... that's about it." she finished.
"Wow. Sounds lovely. Well, now that I know that you guys are safe an dsound, I'm heading up. Coming Harry?" Ron asked, yawning. Harry nodded and turned to Maria.
"Pretty thing, she is. I don't stand a chance in hell." he thought. He put on a bright smile.
"G'night Maria." he said.
"Night, you silly boy." she said, tapping his nose lightly before going up to the girl's dormitories. Harry watched her go, wishing he could join her...
"Oi! Harry! Let's go!" Ron called. Harry shook his head to rid it of his disturbing thoughts, and went up the staircase leading to his dorm. Ron was already changed and tucked snugly in his bed.
"Poor bloke you are." he said, stifling a yawn. Harry pulled off his clothes and changed into his pyjamas.
"Why's that?" he asked, climbing into bed.
"You're falling for Maria. You're going to have a lot of competion. Eyes follow her in the hall you know." he said, closing his eyes. "I'll leave you with that disturbing thought. G'night." Ron said.
Harry groaned. "Bloody berk. How can I sleep with that bit of information on my mind? Time to step up the game plan. Time to have a talk with Hermione." Harry thought. He glanced at his watch. It read, 1:32.
"Yep, no time like the present." Harry said quietly, jumping out of bed and grabbing his invisibility cloak and the Marauder's map.
"Booksmarts." Harry whispered in front of a portrait of a pretty girl, no older than seventeen, with black hair and blue eyes. She looked around suspiciously, but then her expression cleared.
"Oh, Harry Potter, sneaking around again?" she gigglied, and opened up to reveal Hermione's private common room. There was a fire roaring in the fireplace, and Harry made out a figure sitting in a chair, eyes closed, and breathing slowly.
Harry went to sit down across from Hermione, grinning.
"Falling asleep in front of the fire again, eh Mione? he said loudly. She gave a start and looked around wildly.
"Oh, Harry! You gave me such a fright! How many times have I told you not to sneak up on me?" she said, yawning.
"It's important though!" Harry whined. Hermione's eyes opened slowly.
"Let me guess. You fancy Maria, but you think you don't stand a chance in hell." she said boredly. Harry opened his mouth, but Hermione interupted. "I know I'm right, there's no use in denying." she said.
"I wasn't going to." Harry said heavily. Hermione's gaze softened.
"Oh, you are such a silly boy." she sighed.
"She called me a silly boy today." Harry said, not knowing why he was telling Hermione that. She smiled.
"Oh, it's so cute and infuriatingly annoying to see you like this." she said, laughing a bit.
"What am I going to do?" Harry asked.
"Don't you think that you should be the one to figure this one out?"
"No. Of course not. I'd butcher it!"
"You make a good point." Hermione replied, looking thoughtful. Harry held his breath, looking at her hopefully.
"Please, please, please, Hermione, please!" he said, making his puppy dog face. She laughed.
"I'm not one of your lovesick admirers Harry, that doesn't work on me! But I will help you, because you're so much more bearable when you're not in a state of depression." she said, smirking. Harry grinned.
"Thanks."
"Okay, so here's the thing. Maria likes you." Hermione said. Harry's eyes lit up.
"Hypothetically speaking, Harry. Okay, so she likes you right? What would you do?"
"A victory dance?"
"No."
"A triumphant jig?"
"No!"
"A winner's boogie?"
"Harry, shut up! I'm trying to help you!" Hermione snapped, but Harry saw the corners of her mouth twitching upwards.
"Alright. Different question. Do you know what body language a girl gives when she fancies someone?" Hermione asked. Harry shook his head.
"Of course you don't, you dolt." Hermione sighed. "She'll try to make and keep eye contact. She'll laugh and smile around you a lot more. She won't cross her arms, unless she feels insecure. She might brush up against you, or rest her hand on your arm. All these things are an example of positive body language. Keep your eye out for those signs."
"Wow. That's a lot to remember." Harry frowned.
"It' common sense Harry. Also, pay attention to what she says, and how she says it. And for Merlin's sake, make the first move. I know you're chicken, but Maria doesn't strike me as a forward girl. Now get the hell out, I need to sleep." Hermione said, patting him on the leg. Harry grinned.
"Ooh, that's positive body language Miss Granger!" he teased.
"Shut up and get out Harry." she grinned, getting up and heading to her bedroom. Harry smiled and left, feeling very tired, now that his mind was at ease, for some reason. Hermione hadn't really answered anything, but somehow, he felt better.
Harry woke up early the next day, feeling refreshed and determined. He was going to make a move today. The sun wasn't even risen yet, the sky was a pinkish-mauve colour. He pulled on jeans and a sweater.
"Ah, Satuday. The best day of the week." he thought contentedly. He wandered down to the common room, expecting it to be empty so that he could have some time alone to think, but to his surprise, delight, and horror, Maria was standing by a window, looking outside dreamily.
"Maria? What are you doing up so early?" Harry asked, standing a ways away from her. She turned around, her eyes wide.
"Oh! Harry! Good morning. I woke up early and I just couldn't get back to sleep." she said. Harry nodded, his thought spinning in his head.
"I wasn't expecting to make a move so early! I could do it later... no, that would just be stalling. Oh, she's so beautiful..." he thought, blushing at his last one that just sorta popped out of nowhere.
She was wearing a pair of faded jeans and a gray zip-up sweater, her hair tied in a simple pony tail. No make-up, no showy clothes, no intricate hairstyles... just Maria.
"Erm- do you want to go for a walk?" Harry blurted out. Maria looked at him for a moment, and Harry held his breath, thinking, "What a stupid idea. She doesn't wan't to go for a walk with you!"
"Sure." she replied simply, cutting Harry's thoughts short.
"Great! Let's go!" he said happily. They left the common room quietly, trying not to awake the inhabitants of Hogwarts. When they finally emerged from the school, they each took deep breaths of fresh air.
"Nice out." Maria said as they walked through the grounds.
"Let's go this way." Harry said, motioning to a path that he'd never taken before.
"Alright." she said. There was awkward slience for a while.
"Damn. What are great idea. Let's take a walk! Good going, Harry." He thought to himself, mentally kicking himself.
He cast sidelong glances at Maria, smiling in a silly way. Her eyes were looking straight ahead, and she seemed to be lost in thought. Harry noticed in dismay that her arms were crossed. "Insecurity alert!" Harry thought, then blushed, because Maria had glanced sideways at him, catching him looking.
"What?" she asked, almost shyly. Harry looked back at her, determined not to look away first.
"Just looking at you." he said. She blushed, looking at him skeptically.
"Why?" she asked.
"Well, you're easy on the eyes." Harry said. Now he was blushing. "What am I saying?" he looked away.
"Um... okay." she said, looking down, her cheeks pink.
"Ouch. What was that supposed to mean?" Harry thought.
"So... you're on the quidditch team?" she asked awkwardly. Harry nodded, glad for something to say.
"Yeah." he said.
"And?"
"And what?"
"You don't have to be modest."
"About what?"
"Okay... not modest... stupid maybe?"
"Hey!"
"Alright, alright! You're a genius!"
"What are you getting at Maria?"
"Well, you're captain of the quidditch team."
"Oh, that. I don't want to brag."
"That's sweet." Maria said, and Harry grinned, feeling himself glowing with the praise.
"Well, we have an open spot on the team, chaser." Harry said, trying not to sound too pleased with himself.
"Oh?" she said.
"Yeah. You ever play?" he asked her.
"Actually, I played chaser back in my old school." she said.
"Brilliant! You can try out!" Harry smiled. She shook her head.
"I'm not that good though. I don't want to make a fool out of myself." she muttered. Harry didn't reply.
They had reached the top of the hill, and the sun was just rising. Maria sighed.
"It's so beautiful!" Maria sighed. She took out her wand and transfigured a rock into a soft, flannel blanket. She sat down, leaning back on her forearms. She patted the blanket.
"Have a seat." she said. Harry sat down beside her tentatively. The didn't speak for a while, the sun was now inching above the horizon.
"You know, if you played quidditch back in Canada, you're probably good enough to play here." Harry said abruptly.
"Well, I dunno. I told you, I don't want to make a fool out of myself. Especially in front of you." she said, then turned pink. Harry grinned.
"I won't laugh. Promise. C'mon Ria. Please?" Harry asked, looking at her pleadingly. She smiled.
"Oh, alright. When are the tryouts?" she asked.
"Today." Harry replied. She sighed.
"Great." she said. It was quiet for while. Suddenly Maria turned to look at Harry.
"You called me Ria. No one's ever given me a nickname before." she said, beaming at him. Harry shrugged.
"Well, now you have one." he said, shifting to get into a more comfortable postion. He leant back onto her forearms like her, then he accidentally rested his hand on top of hers.
"Sorry." he mutterd, pulling his hand away in embarrassment. Maria was blushing again. It was suddenly tense again, and Harry didn't know how to fix it. SUddenly, he felt a soft, warm hand on top of his.
"I'm not." Maria said quietly. Harry turned red, but he was smiling foolishly.
"Right." he said. Now, was this one of the signals that Hermione was talking about?
"So beautiful." Maria yawned. Harry looked at her as her eyes closed slowly, freshly minted sunlight washing over her face. Her head drooped over onto his shoulder, and Harry didn't dare to breathe.
"Yeah. Beautiful." he said, resting his head on top of hers, and feeling sleepy and content.
A/N: Okay, I'm open for suggestions now, suggest away! If anyone is reading...lol! And review!