Disclaimer is on chapter 1

Saturday morning seemed to take forever to come around for Isaac. Even when it did come round, he had found himself waking up before five am and unable to get any more shut eye in the fear of waking up well after he was supposed to meet with Penny. Unfortunately, he felt too wound up to brush up on some studying for his O.W.L.s to pass the time which was quite the irony since this was meant to be a day for both Penny and himself to unwind.

He suspected Penny was having similar problems when he made it down to the Great Hall for breakfast hours later. While most of the students there were all excited and chatting over the upcoming quidditch friendly, Isaac could not see the familiar head of braided blonde hair in Hufflepuff robes trying as he was to have something to eat before they went to Hogsmeade together. He did however notice Tonks head off with a napkin full of toast- which she promptly flung all over the place when she suddenly tripped and fell, no doubt over her two feet, forcing her to get a fresh napkin of toast before disappearing hopefully back to her dorm to deliver Penny breakfast. Providing she didn't drop it again en route that is.

The fact that Tonks was taking care of Penny did little to calm Isaac's own nervousness about the day ahead as he headed to the courtyard. While they had both agreed that this was just a 'trip as friends' there was no denying this had all the telltale signs of a first date for the two. Had things been different, Isaac would probably be feeling excited although still nervous about today. He couldn't help but smile at thinking of how Penny would be reacting if things were different: full of excitement and buzzing as if on a massive sugar rush, or had just come up with an idea for a new potion she could not wait to attempt.

So lost in his thoughts, Isaac failed to realise he had not only reached the courtyard but also that Penny was already there waiting for him.

"Hi, Isaac." Penny called out to him, bringing him out of his musings.

"Oh, Penny, hi." Isaac greeted her automatically before pausing as he finally took a good look at Penny.

Ever since first meeting her, Isaac had only seen Penny wearing her Hogwarts uniform with the Hufflepuff colors, probably because the uniform was more resilient to potion and spell mishaps unlike regular clothes. Seeing Penny wearing casual clothing, Isaac couldn't help but feel a touch mesmerized by how pretty she looked.

"Is…something wrong?" Penny asked, her cheeks warming from Isaac's constant staring.

Realising he was just staring at her, Isaac averted his eyes to somewhere else while mentally scolding himself.

"No, nothing's wrong. I just…haven't seen you not in your uniform. Although I notice you're still wearing your house colors." He added seeing she was wearing a yellow skirt.

"I couldn't help it. It's my favorite color." Penny smiled, fighting down the urge to twirl round like she had done many times in front of the mirror last night in her dorm room as she tried to pick out what to wear for today.

"Well, the color definitely suits you. And you do look…" Isaac struggled to look for the right word. Pretty or beautiful would imply he believed they were on a date but just okay would be a huge understatement. "...Nice?"

For a moment, Isaac thought that Penny would get upset for not getting such a good compliment. Luckily for him, Penny's smile widened and even giggled a little. And did her cheeks turn a little rosier?

"Thanks. You do too." She said, returning the compliment. "So then…shall we get going?" She asked shyly. Even while knowing that this wasn't a date, her heart was so wishing that it was. If it were, she was certain Isaac would have called her pretty, beautiful even. Just thinking about it was causing her to blush harder causing her to start heading towards the carriages so that Isaac wouldn't see her face. She just hoped he didn't take it the wrong way.

Luckily, by the time Isaac caught up, he didn't seem to be upset and just matched pace with her so that they were walking together in a comfortable silence. A comfortable silence that lasted all the way through the carriage journey to Hogsmeade.

"So then…?" Penny began unsure as to what they should do now they were here, looking anywhere but at Isaac.

"Yeah…" Isaac agreed, scratching the back of his neck . "How about…we grab some butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks then…just…walk about…see where our feet take us?"

"I…guess…" Penny agreed, twirling a lock of her hair round one finger.

The pair glanced at one another. The moment their eyes made contact, they burst out laughing. How could they not? True, this trip was different compared to all the other times they had come to Hogsmeade yet the way they were acting, as if walking on eggshells around each other, was so comical that they couldn't help but laugh about it.

"I hope we're not going to be like this the entire time we're here." Penny said as they calmed down. It was all funny now but, if it kept going like this…

"It's just because of…well, you know…" Isaac tried to explain, referring to what happened last week in one of the greenhouses. "If I hadn't said…that. If I had just said something else instead then…maybe this wouldn't be so awkward for us."

"Would it?" Penny asked curiously as they made their way towards the Three Broomsticks. "I mean, sure I wouldn't know that you like me. But that won't stop you from knowing that you like me and that could be making this just as awkward even if it is just for you."

Isaac nearly stopped walking as he mulled over Penny's words. That was quite the possibility now that he thought of it. But he would think about that at another time rather than now.

"I thought you were only smart when it came to potions." He joked.

"But would you like me if that's all I was good at?" Penny threw back as she stepped into the Three Broomsticks leaving Isaac outside for a moment to ponder if she had just flirted with him. Intentional or not.