I CAN PLAY QUIDDITCH

Chapter 6

"Ask her out?" Harry asked a little shocked. "Was I really that obvious?" Harry thought to himself. "No, she must be talking about someone else, right? Yeah, think positive Harry. Wait, why am I talking to myself?" He shook his head and asked, "wait, ask who out?"

"Ask who out, come on. It was totally obvious! Even I noticed it!" Ron exclaimed.

"Yeah, it was pretty obvious Harry. Like Ron said, even he noticed it and usually he's completely oblivious to other people's feelings." Hermione said.

"Oi! I'm not completely oblivious..." Ron said indignantly.

"Yes you are." Hermione replied.

"No, I'm not!"

"Yes, you are!"

"Not!"

"Are!"

"Not!"

"But I still don't know who you're talking about!" Harry lied, interrupting their argument. "Please don't say her name, please don't say..."

"Lia, of course!" Hermione said exasperatedly.

"Lia?" Harry asked. "Damn, I must have been really obvious... Especially if Ron noticed."

"Yes, Lia, the girl who was in here before and you were making goo goo eyes at her. Don't tell me you've forgotten her already. No, you couldn't have, you loooove her!" Ron was laughing his head off by the end. Hermione looked at Ron like he was crazy as he rolled around on his seat clutching his stomach.

"Anyway, you like her, don't you? I can see the way you look at her. And I can see the way she looks at you as well." Hermione said, looking straight into his eyes.

Harry quickly debated to himself whether he should tell his friends or not about his feelings for Lia. Since they were his best friends, he decided to tell them.

"Well, was I really that obvious though? Do you think she realises?" Harry asked nervously and rubbed the back of his neck and ruffling his hair a little. A habit he did every time he was nervous.

"You were extremely obvious, well, to us anyway and no, I don't think she has realised yet." Hermione replied. "I think she just thinks it's a passing teenage phase or an infatuation 'cause you're the 'Boy-Who-Lived' or 'Chosen One'." She used air quotes at his nicknames.

"Well, that's good then. But I don't think it's a passing phase for me. I really like her but I don't want to scare her off or something." Harry was still nervous. It felt weird for him to discuss his feelings with Hermione and Ron. They didn't usually speak about their feelings, they were either too busy with school or trying to stay alive most of the time.

"Well, I've seen the way she looks at you. I think she has some feelings for you... maybe it'll grow into something more, who knows?" Hermione contemplated.

"I think you should ask her out on a date, mate." Ron included.

"Yeah, I agree. Wow, I can't believe Ron had a good plan!" Hermione said impressed.

"Hey! I have good plans!" Ron said indignantly. Hermione and Harry both raised their eyebrows at him. "Sometimes..." He reasoned. Hermione and Harry still looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Fine! On rare occasions!" He grumbled.

"That's better! Anyway, how do you suppose I should ask her out? It's not like our schedules mix." Harry asked.

"Well, I think you should ask her to sit with us sometimes and when a Hogsmeade weekend comes up, ask her to go with you!" Ron said. Harry and Hermione looked at each other and then at Ron. They wore shocked expressions as if they didn't believe what they were hearing.

"Ron, that's actually a pretty good idea." Hermione said, still a little shocked.

Ron wore a smug expression as he replied, "told you I had good ideas."

"Hey, who are you and what have you done with Ronald Weasley?" Harry jokingly asked. The rest of the train ride was relatively normal as they joked and discussed what might happen in their fifth year at Hogwarts.

Meanwhile, once Lia left...

After Lia left Harry's compartment, she thought about the look he was giving her while she was laughing. He was staring at her the whole time with a funny expression on his face. "Maybe I had something on my face. That would be totally embarrassing!" Lia thought to herself on her walk back to her compartment. "Yeah, that was probably it. But maybe he has some feelings for me? It would be completely awful if he found out about my schoolgirl crush on him! He's the Boy-Who-Lived, for Christ's sake! I'm just Lia Diamond, no one special..."

She walked back into her compartment with her friends and quickly put on a bright smile.

"Hey Lia, where have you been? The trolley lady came past and we got you some chocolate frogs and Bertie Botts' Every Flavour Beans. We know they're your favourite!" Francie asked with a smile and handed them over.

"Hey guys! Sorry I took so long and thanks. I met some of our friends and dropped in to say hi, and I reached Harry's compartment and he introduced me to some of his friends and then, while at the bathroom we had a run in with Malfoy!" Lia said this all very quickly before they could ask any questions.

"Wait, Malfoy? Draco Malfoy?" Yasmin asked.

"Yes, the one and only: Draco Malfoy." Lia said with a weary expression.

"Merlin what did he do? He didn't do anything bad, did he? He was bugging me in the common room for months until I threatened to cut his hair off. He really does like his hair..." Yasmin said sniggering a little.

"Hey! You never told us that!" Francie exclaimed.

"Well, I didn't think it was very important... Sorry." Yasmin said with a regretful face.

"Oh well, it's fine, it's in the past now." Lia said, trying to keep the peace.

"Anyway, so what did he do?" Yasmin asked, curiously.

"Well, I was actually getting changed in the bathroom when he came but, he was talking to Hermione. You know Hermione right? Harry's friend. Anyway, so when I came out he was all aggro and speaking to Hermione like he was threatening her. So I got all angry and I was about to hex him but he left. But he threatened me first." Lia added as an afterthought.

"He threatened you? What a jerk!" Yasmin cried.

"Yeah, that was what I called him." Lia said with a satisfied smile.

"I can't believe he threatened you. You should probably tell a teacher or something, aren't you scared? He's a Malfoy, they have a lot of power over the Ministry, they could do anything to you." Francie said worryingly.

"Don't worry Francie. It was probably just an empty threat. Nothing to worry about." Lia said, calming down her friend. They didn't know that inside, Lia was worrying her head off. "What could he do though? Yeah, nothing to worry about, everything will be completely fine." Lia thought, giving herself a mental pep talk.

"So, Francie," Yasmin said with an eager face, "tell us about your holiday. You went to France, didn't you? Did you meet any french boys?" She asked with a suggestive wiggle of her eyebrows.

"Oh yeah, you went to the 'city of looove'! Please tell me you have some juicy gossip to tell us?" Lia asked with a desperate face.

"Well, actually, my parents and I went to all the historical sights. They were really fascinating. Being in Paris at night is really magical." Francie said with a dreamy face.

"What?" Lia said. "No boys?" She added with a whine.

"Well, there might have been one boy..." Francie replied with a mysterious air, not telling them a thing.

"Really?" Yasmin squealed excitedly. "Tell us more!"

"Ok, well, his name was Jacques and he was so sweet! We met at the top of the Eiffel Tower and..."

The rest of the train ride continued on while Lia and Yasmin questioned Francie about her holiday to France. If one were to pass by their compartment, they would hear several squeals and excited giggling every few minutes. The train came to a slow stop and before they knew it, they were at Hogwarts, ready to begin their fourth year.