Written for the Hacey Discord server's monthly Drabble. Fluff( I hope so, at least.).
To be honest, she'd thought dosing Harry with a truth potion was a perfectly fine notion. How could she not do it? After all, she was investigating the fate of her ice cream. It had certainly seemed practical until she realized how Harry acted under pressure, extremely anxious and garrulous.
She scarcely had the opportunity to lament the series of events occurring on that day that had led her to that moment as his green eyes(rather very dashing, not that she'd ever admit it in front of him) opened as he woke up groggily.
He quickly glanced all around the space in front of him, a bit shocked at the change of landscape. It looked kinda familiar, but his brain was racing at the possibilities of how he had reached here and put aside all efforts at trying to recognize the place.
She quickly pushed aside the vial and prepared for the task at hand.
"Ahem." She coughed intentionally, trying to gather his attention.
His eyes widened at her voice and immediately whipped his head in her direction, his unruly hair mirroring the movements of his neck.
"Trace, umm…where am I?" God, she hated that nickname and remembered a younger version of herself crossing her arms over her chest in frustration every time her parents called her that. However, it did nothing to dissuade them rather it encouraged them even more, much to her chagrin. But surprisingly, hearing it from him didn't feel even half-bad.
"My dorm. I'm sorry I was just…"
"Oh my God…oh my God…It must be the firewhiskey from Slughorn's Slug Club. I knew those meetings were trouble. We didn't err…" His face turned beet red as he twirled his hands to gesture the implication "sleep together". She had to refrain from laughing at the expression on his face.
"No we didn't. Actually, I just…"
"Oh, thank God. Not 'thank God' as in you're repulsive. You're far from that, you're literally the personification of beauty for me. I honestly thought you were way out of my league and still wonder why you ever gave me a chance. Everything about you is perfect, like your hair, for instance… "
"Harry!"
"Speaking of your hair, it's so smooth and delicate and when we embrace, I hold on to you a bit longer so I can smell it, I love how you smell."
Her lips tug into a ghost of a smile when she shook her head as he rambled on.
"Harry!"
"Not just your hair, everything about you is just flawless. I…I like you a lot, I love you but I'm too much of coward to say that. Wait, I just did, didn't I?"
Harry proceeded to stuff his head into his hands with a boisterous moan.
Just how strong was the serum? She wondered to herself before glancing at the empty vial.
"Harry?"
"Mhm."
"You alright?"
"Yeah…I'm just…I'm so glad that we're together. Truly, ever since that Slug Club party where we both danced together. Never thought I'd be grateful towards Slughorn for something." He laughed nervously which prompted her to nod slowly. Definitely not what I meant but works for me, she thought to herself.
"At first, I thought you were a screwball. Always saying off brand things, so carefree, with little to no care towards social norms…"
"Harry, you being my boyfriend won't stop me from punching you."
Harry immediately halted, the expression on his face suggesting that he hadn't meant it as an insult.
"But slowly, those were the things I grew to love in you. I fell in love with your weirdness, I fell in love with the way your face lights up every time we go to meet Buckbeak. And even though you try to hide it, I love the way you always show me support during my Quidditch matches." He laughs a bit as his cheeks tinged as shade of pink from the blush which appeared on his face when he realized what he had just said.
God, he's such a lovable dork, she smiled inwardly. My dork, she added as an afterthought.
"Harry," she starts slowly. "Not that I don't find this entertaining and adorable but I think I'll move on to why you're actually here."
His eyes slowly look up to meet hers.
"Do you know what happened to the ice creams I had stored for this month? His eyes widened considerably as he blanched in fear, knowing how much she loved her ice creams.
"Err…You remember last week, we were having a moment when Daphne came to inform you that Professor Flitwick had called for you. I was just goofing around when I found your ice cream collection."
"And…" She gripped her wand and thought of a thousand ways in which she would proceed to punish him if her suspicions were true. Harry blanched in fear.
"And two…two days ago when we were having a party after winning the Quidditch Cup, they had forgotten the desserts so I kind of borrowed from your collection." He mumbled the last part as she got up from her seat, her wand in hand.
She waved her wand and the effects of the truth potion vanished as she jumped onto him and started tickling him mercilessly with a cry of "Prepare for retribution."
"I'm sorry…I'm sorry." He gasped between tears of laughter and said, "I promise I was planning to buy them for you again on the next Hogsmeade weekend." The second part was mostly incoherent as she continued her onslaught.
"Should have thought about that before taking my ice creams." She yelled, grinning victoriously as Harry feigned helplessness, very secretly, enjoying it a little.
At night, before proceeding to slumber peacefully, Tracey marvelled at how even in such unexpected moments, the beginnings of adoration and fondness are manufactured and trusts from everything Harry had said in his potion induced haze, he felt something similar to what she did.