A few days later, in the afternoon, after classes had finished, Elsa was sitting under a tree on the grounds, reading her Arithmancy textbook. She heard someone walk up next to her, so she glanced up. It was Astrid.
"Hey Elsa," said the Gryffindor.
"Hi," Elsa managed, then inwardly cringed. She wasn't getting anywhere being timid. She cleared her throat and tried again. "Hi Astrid," she said, smiling up at her. Was it Elsa's imagination, or did Astrid's cheeks get a bit pinker?
"So, um, I really need some help with Transfiguration, and I heard you were the person to ask for tips?"
"You heard right," Elsa replied. She scooted over to make room for the other girl. Astrid took a seat. After helping her with a few problems, Elsa plucked up her courage and said, "Hey, can I ask you something?"
"You just did," Astrid replied with a grin, and she shoved Elsa's shoulder playfully.
Elsa grinned back. "I'm going to ask you a different question. First, though, you should know that I've kinda been, um, into you, for a while…" she trailed off, and looked away as she said, "So I was wondering if you might want to go out with me."