"Sue is in luuv, Sue is in luuv", chanted her grinning friend.
Sue hit her over the head with her arithmancy book and grumbled, "Shut it, Debbie. I'm not in love with him."
Deborah's grin only widened. "Ah, but you do know whom I mean", she teased. "Though I don't understand what you see in him. All right, he's pretty, but you've never even spoken to him."
"He's not pretty, he's handsome", Sue objected with a dreamy look in her eyes. "He's such a great flier and his hair looks so soft! I'd love to touch it and to have him look at me with those deep blue eyes …"
"He has a pimple right on his nose."
Sue glared at her, arms on her hips. "So have you."
"Hey!" Deborah exclaimed in mock outrage. "No need to insult me."
"Then don't insult Stu!"
"Fine, fine. If you're really smitten with him you should ask him to go to Hogsmeade with you", Deborah suggested.
A desperate look crept into Sue's eyes. "I don't know how to ask him. I'll just ruin it."
Her friend shook her head. "Look, if you ask him, he might say no. But if you don't ask him you have no chance at all", she advised reasonably. "You'd better ask him when he isn't with his friends, though – boys can be pretty stupid when they think they have to prove something."
Sue nodded and embraced the other girl. "Thanks, Debs, I'll do that."
Breakfast passed by almost without her notice as she watched Stu and tried to decide what to say to him. When she saw him leave the great hall she braced herself and followed him.
"Stu?" she addressed him and hated how her voice quavered.
The Gryffindor boy turned and looked at her. "What?" he snarled with an air of annoyance.
"I … uhm … Well, would …" Sue stammered. Taking a deep breath she tried again. This time her words came out in one rush. "WouldyouliketogotoHogsmeadewithmenextweekend?"
"What?" he repeated.
A blush crept up her cheeks. "Would. You. Like. To. Go. To. Hogsmeade. With. Me. This. Weekend?" she enunciated carefully.
Stu stared at her aghast. "You must be dreaming", he said disgustedly. "Go play with some other little girl and leave me alone."
Sue swallowed and felt her eyes tear up. "You … you." The words would not come.
"Well? What are you waiting for?" he demanded.
She sniffed. "Bastard", she sobbed and turned on her heel, tears streaking her face as she fled the scene of her humiliation.