From the Daily Prophet of 30 August, 2000
From Russia with love
Potter goes out with Puddlemere team-mate
By Erato Steele
LONDON -- It seems Harry Potter found himself more than just a job Monday.
Only hours after being named to a place with the Puddlemere United Quidditch Club, the Boy Who Lived was spotted on Diagon Alley in the company of team-mate Ekaterina Petrova. The pretty, young Russian with high prospects on the runway and on the pitch confirmed their evening out Wednesday, announcing the formation of what is sure to be one of the most talked-about couples in the wizarding world.
"I had a wonderful time," Petrova, 17, told the Daily Prophet. "Harry showed me around Diagon Alley and we had a nice dinner together. … He was an excellent host. I hope we can go out again soon."
When approached after Puddlemere's practice Wednesday, Potter refused to comment. In response to requests for an interview, his agent George Weasley said, "Harry will not discuss his private life, so don't even bother asking."
That doesn't mean Potter's public dalliance Monday wasn't catching eyes all over wizarding London.
"I was coming out of the apothecary and there was Harry Potter," said Velma Regan, 43, of Diagon Alley. "Of course, seeing him is reason enough to pay attention but I couldn't help noticing the girl walking with him. He was wearing nice robes, but she had on an extremely short, extremely low-cut black dress. It was like she wanted to be noticed. It made them impossible to miss."
"He bought her an ice cream at Florean Fortescue's," another observer, 29-year-old Rob Parsons, said. "Can't say that I blame him though. I wish I was in position to buy that girl an ice cream."
Indeed, Petrova's been attracting a lot of attention ever since she arrived in Puddlemere to begin training with United. With long blond hair, an athlete's lean build and blue eyes so radiant they could make a Veela jealous, the teenager looks far more like the model she could become than the Quidditch player she already is.
"She is gorgeous," Parson added.
The native of Rybinsk (a city of 250,000 about 150 miles north of Moscow) is also sure to be the envy of most of Britain's witches. In a month, she's done what no woman has been able to accomplish in years -- win over Potter.
The Boy Who Lived, recently voted the country's most-eligible wizarding bachelor by an overwhelming majority in Witch Weekly's annual poll, has largely spurned the social benefits his celebrity could bring him. Though he went out with a number of girls at Hogwarts -- including up-and-coming Wizengamot member Hermione Granger -- it's believed he had not been romantically involved in the more than two years since he left school.
Then, at the beginning of the month, Puddlemere began training and he met Petrova. The vivacious teen apparently made a quick impression.
"Being around so many famous players -- it made me very nervous at first," said Petrova, who honed her Quidditch skills and her English by spending the last three years at Australia's Swan Hill Magical Institute. "Harry was very nice to me and that helped a lot."
Though she did not elaborate on how their evening out came about, the Russian did say it was the first time they have spent time together "away from the team."
"Seeing them together was quite a shock," said Doris Crockford, 77, who was in the Leaky Cauldron when the couple passed through. "That girl's definitely a pretty face but I thought it would take more than that to win Harry over."
However, those who have seen her on the pitch know there's more to Petrova than just good looks.
"Ekaterina's definitely a pretty girl but she's also a very talented Seeker," United manager Glenn Watson said. "She's very agile up there; she can make moves a lot of other players can't. That gives her an advantage, even when the Seeker she's up against is a lot stronger physically."
She best displayed those deft flying skills in Puddlemere's exhibition match against the Moose Jaw Meteorites this month. Though United lost the game, her rolling move to catch the Golden Snitch was one of the team's highlights of the preseason. That result, coupled with consistent, skilful effort in practice, impressed Watson enough that Petrova beat out two Seekers with first-team experience for a place on the roster.
"She deserves to be here," Watson said. "She's got a lot of potential."
In that regard, she's like her boyfriend. In addition to being team-mates, Potter and Petrova are both Seekers learning to deal with the high expectations that come with playing Quidditch at its highest level. When Watson announced his side Monday, they were each added to a professional roster for the first time.
Said Petrova, "We both had reason to celebrate. So I think it makes sense that we went out and had a nice time together."
Despite their public display on Diagon Alley, the couple seems to have done a fine job keeping their budding relationship hidden at Nimbus Arena.
"Harry and Kat are seeing each other? You could have fooled me," fellow first-year United player Joel Feinberg said when questioned Tuesday. "Sure, they get along all right -- they have to because all the Seekers fly together in practice every day. But they've never looked particularly close to me."
"I don't believe it for a minute," Puddlemere Keeper Oliver Wood added.
Scepticism aside, it should come as no great surprise that the Boy Who Lived has become involved with another Quidditch player. His penchant for other Seekers stretches back into his Hogwarts years when he, a Gryffindor, went out with Ravenclaw counterpart Cho Chang.
The greater debate is sure to be over whether Potter's new love can last in a way none of his previous relationships have. It's too soon for there to be a clear answer. But Petrova seems to have the trappings of a stardom of her own, qualities that should make it easier for her to fit in a high-profile life with the wizarding world's biggest celebrity.
A number of noteworthy companies in the fashion and Quidditch-equipment industries are already rumoured to be courting the sultry teen as a potential model for their products. With her success on the pitch and her name linked to Harry Potter, more interest is sure to follow.
"She could be really big," said Gladrags executive Winston Tailor, who confirmed his company has been in negotiation with Petrova's representatives about a modelling contract. "She's got that look every company wants. Not only is she beautiful, she also has an energy and a presence about her. In a year or two, it could be her face you see in ads for robes, brooms, sweets and any number of other things."
"It's all very flattering and a bit overwhelming," Petrova said of the attention. "For now, I'm trying to think about Quidditch instead."
Presumably, she's thinking about Harry Potter too. Even with her good looks and her bright future in Quidditch and modelling, it's the 17-year-old's love life that is sure to draw the greatest envy.
"I'm a lucky girl, I guess," Petrova said.
No one will argue that. With just about every unmarried witch in Britain wishing to capture Potter's heart, Petrova couldn't have spent Monday with him without good fortune on her side.
Whether lady luck will continue to smile upon the wizarding world's hottest new couple is anyone's guess. But for now, at least, a pretty, blonde Seeker has snatched up the Boy Who Lived.
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Erato Steele is the Daily Prophet's gossip columnist. Her weekly column, Charmed Hearts, runs in Tuesday's editions. Owl her at thedpreporting(at)yahoo(dot)com.
A/N: Okay, everyone feel free to flame away. I've probably earned it. But perhaps you should take a look back at my Article 1 author's note first.
My betas, Chi, Nancy and R.G., deserve the usual credit for hard work and astute comments. However, they had nothing to do with the content of this chapter, so the blame is all mine.
On another note, I'm honoured so many of you voted for me in the recent Best of Phoenix Song Contest. I know I should be happy -- I received the award I had a realistic chance at -- but I can't say that I am. Why? Because I won an award while so many vastly superior authors with vastly superior stories did not. Serendipity, Aibhinn, Musings, Delylah, Myth and Legend, Kokopelli, Imogen, Tarkas and Calixa (to name a just few of many) all deserved a place alongside the other winners much more than I did. So, if you haven't already, pick one of them and check out his or her stories (and leave a review!). You wont' be disappointed.