Written for:

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry: Creative Collection
Character - Sirius, Paired Character - Harry, Prompt - "You don't have to pretend to be someone else."

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry: Insane House Challenge
Location - The Great Hall

In Front of His Face

Characters: Sirius, Harry

Voldemort never existed but Jily still dies

xXx

Harry sat slumped in his chair. The Great Hall looked so festive, but he couldn't enjoy the Yule Ball, not when Cedric Diggory's date was the girl Harry really liked.

A giggling witch, on the arm of his godfather, caught his attention. Normally, Harry would be humiliated. Not only was his guardian there as one of the Ministry of Magic's representatives, but he was having a better time than Harry as well.

He was too busy feeling sorry for himself.

'It's not fair! Why did Diggory have to ask the one girl I like? Diggory can have any girl he wants. Why did he have to ask Cho?'

Sirius sat in the chair next to Harry's, interrupting his inner rant. "What's up, Kiddo?"

Harry glared at him.

Sirius arched an eyebrow. "What's with the look?"

Despite himself, Harry's eyes traveled to the dancing pair. "Ahh, you're feeling a little bitter that Diggory got the girl, huh?"

"Maybe if I was more like Cedric, Cho would be my date right now."

Sirius shook his head. "You don't have to pretend to be someone else."

"Cho likes that someone else."

"Well, I don't think you want to be with a girl that doesn't like you for yourself, do you?"

"Cho's so pretty and smart. And she's a Seeker like me."

"That's fine, but you shouldn't change yourself to be with a girl."

"You told me Dad changed to be with Mom," Harry accused.

"He matured. There's a difference between maturing and changing your personality to attract a girl. And if you open your eyes, you might see a girl likes you for who you are."

Harry tilted his head in confusion. "Really?"

Sirius pointed out a bushy-haired Muggle-born.

"Hermione? She's my best friend."

"Sometimes, the best relationships are built on a strong foundation of friendship. Think about it."

"You think she likes me?"

"She keeps looking over here and appears quite bored with her date. Look beyond Cho, and you might just be surprised."

Harry licked his bottom lip. "I never really looked at her as if she was a girl, but she does look really pretty tonight."

Sirius grinned. "Exactly!"

(word count: 359)