Chapter 3 – Arguments and mistakes

"What-time-is-it?" slurred Noelle, as Hermione shook her awake in the morning.

"8 o'clock!" Hermione replied happily.

Noelle groaned.

The scene was similar in the boys' dormitories. Having waited 10 minutes for the boys, in the common room, Noelle and Hermione marched up the stairs to the boys' dorms, passing Neville, Dean and Seamus on the stairs.

Hermione banged on the door, shouted

"We're coming in!"

There was no reply. Noelle rolled her eyes at Hermione, and gestured at her to open the door.

They walked into the room. Both Harry and Ron were firmly asleep.

Hermione ran to Ron's bed and started cooing in his ear, trying to wake him up. Noelle mimed throwing up, and then slouched over to Harry's bed, yawning. She shook his shoulder, trying to ignore the kissing scene now taking place on her left. Harry rolled over onto his back. He opened bleary eyes, and smiled sleepily up at her. Noelle's annoyance, that he had made her late, melted away and her heart softened. He looked so innocent.

"C'mon, wake up" she said gently, shaking his shoulder again. Harry sat up slowly, blinking and rubbing his eyes. Noelle couldn't help smiling as she passed him his glasses.

"Morning sleepyhead, don't look at Ron an Hermione, it's sick" she muttered, grinning.

Harry grinned back.

'This is something else!' he thought 'Waking up with Noelle bending over me!' he glanced at her glossy black curls, pulled up in a ponytail, and her deep brown eyes and long lashes... he shook his head, trying to think clearly again.

"OK," he heard himself mutter, clambering out of bed, deliberately not looking at Noelle, so to avoid another staring fit.

'Why can't I make eye contact with her without staring?' he mentally punched himself, grabbing a bar of soap (Imperial Leather, Noelle noticed) and a towel, and headed towards the showers. He shouted over his shoulder.

"I you two can detach yourselves then come and have a shower, Ron"

Noelle snorted with laughter and dragged Hermione out of the dorm, saying

"C'mon 'Mione, we'll never get breakfast if we wait for those two, they need to do their make up remember? And their hair of course..."

"What are you talking about?" laughed a bemused Hermione.

Noelle shrugged, eyebrows raised. She had been feeling a little light headed ever since they had woken the boys up.

Laughing, they headed down to breakfast.

When Harry and Ron did arrive, they couldn't understand why the girls were laughing so much.

Their last lesson of the day was Transfiguration. As Noelle slouched into the classroom, feeling a little delicate now from lack of sleep, and very irritated with Malfoy, who had just followed her down a corridor shouting very crude insults about her and Harry, in front of a whole load of gossipy 3rd years, she spotted some parchment on the table. Feeling bad tempered, she vanished the parchment, and leant back in her seat, cursing people who left litter, and wondering where Ron, Hermione and Harry were.

Ten minutes later, they came into the classroom, Harry looking confused and running his hand through his hair in exasperation. He slid into the seat next to her.

"Where've you been?" she snapped, feeling cross and tired.

Harry looked shocked at this unusual hostility from her.

"I was looking for my notes, I came in here earlier and put them down, and now they're not here..." while saying this, he glanced under the desk and around the classroom in a vague hope they might reappear before him.

Noelle blanched, what if the parchment she'd vanished had been Harry's notes? Why hadn't she checked what it was? Noelle felt a hot surge of guilt, and mentally slapped herself for not thinking when she found the parchment.

"Do you know where they – what's up?" Harry asked, turning back to her and noticing her white face.

"I... erm..." Noelle broke off, feeling angry with herself.

"What?"

"I sort of... erm... vanished them..." Noelle muttered

"You WHAT?" Harry gasped, "I spent ages on those over the summer"

Noelle felt irritated, although she wasn't sure why, it was probably anger with herself... but it had to be let out somehow... she tried to restrain her voice from raising in irritation.

"Well you shouldn't leave them lying around then should you?" Noelle snapped, 'Damn it,' she thought 'why am I angry with him? It's not his fault... he's just so... grrrrrr! I can't believe this'

"How was I supposed to know that someone would vanish them?" Harry retorted, feeling angry.

"If I hadn't, Peeves would have nicked them"

"Oh yeah?" Harry sneered, wondering why Noelle was in such a bad mood.

"Yeah!" Noelle yelled back, her hair coming out of its ponytail,

Harry opened his mouth, speechless. Ron and Hermione were watching the argument, along with the rest of the class, flabbergasted.

Noelle stood up, and stormed out of the room. The drama of this action was marred slightly by the fact that she had to return to the classroom, fuming with anger, to retrieve her bag.

Harry ran to the door, and after her. He returned to the classroom 5 minutes later, scowling, and flung himself into his chair.

Ron and Hermione tried to talk to him, but he wouldn't listen to a word.

After Transfiguration, the three of them returned to the common room, Harry still not talking.

As they climbed through the portrait hole they spotted Noelle by the fire, streaks of eye liner down her pale cheeks. She stuffed something into her bag when she saw them, and shut her book with a snap. She turned her head away, when Harry approached.

"Oh for goodness' sake!" Harry yelled, as she studiously avoided his gaze.

"What?" she yelled back, her head suddenly snapping around so her eyes could meet his.

"Why are you so angry with me?" he barked, "It was my notes that you vanished"

"OH SHUT UP!" Noelle screamed, standing up right in front of him, and looking up at him, eyes blazing. Their faces were centimetres apart, both trying to stare the other out.

Ron and Hermione exchanged glances, wondering what had got into them. They had both been fine in the morning.

"What is your problem?" Noelle was shouting

"My problem?" astounded, Harry sounded like a parrot, repeating Noelle's words.

"You know what my problem is?" Harry said loudly.

"Noelle opened her mouth to reply, but Harry got there first, he grabbed, and kissed her. Smack on the mouth.

At first, Noelle kissed back... but then she remembered how furious she had been only seconds before. As she pulled back, her mouth was still open in astonishment. Harry looked just as amazed, as if he couldn't quite believe what he had just done. Almost simultaneously they ran away from each other, and up to their respective dorms.