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Harry woke up with the very same look he'd gone to bed with the day prior, that being one of the largest, goofiest smiles plastered on his face he reckoned he'd ever had. He reckoned he looked like an idiot, a right and proper idiot, but he couldn't help himself — how could he?
After months of indecision and over a year of harbouring a crush on her, Harry had finally gotten the courage to ask Katie out, and she'd shocked him stupid when she said yes in an instant. It was like when somebody answered a bit too fast after a question, and you reckoned they were guilty because of that; such was the speed of her reply.
To be fair, he'd heard from somebody that she might have a bit of a crush on him, indirect as it was. It was why he'd finally given asking her out a go. He owed that person a hundred galleons for their help in his mind.
He tossed aside the covers and all but leapt from his head, the cold air of the morning was scarcely felt before he was off, to the showers. In and out took him no more than ten minutes, and so thoroughly dressed and washed, Harry descended the stairs to the common room. It was far earlier than he'd usually wake up, but he knew she'd be awake, he'd seen her before on past bad days of his… and sure enough, that routine of hers didn't disappoint. As he cleared the final step, he saw that dark hair of hers near the fireplace, and bundled up atop a chair with a blanket covering her person and cup of steaming hot tea beside her.
Vaguely, he registered what seemed to be blizzard-like conditions beyond the stained glass of the Tower, but he didn't mind it. His attention was solely on the most beautiful witch in all of Hogwarts — the witch that, for some reason, had said yes to him.
Even now he still reckoned he'd wake up in the Hospital Ward.
But when that failed to happen and he reached Katie, her attention diverting from the fire to him as a smile grew, that worry melted away.
"Harry," her voice was soft, and the look of comfort was downright adorable, especially her eyes as they remained only just open enough to see him, constantly fluttering. She extended an arm after her greeting, the covers falling away as she clutched for him. "Cuddle me?"
No bloke could refuse such a request. Harry climbed in beside her, lifting her body when she made to do so and helping her settle again partially in his lap as she was. It was an awkward arrangement considering the couch was made with one person in mind, but one the happy couple quickly made work. It wasn't as if personal space was something either desired all that much of.
Harry was all but touch-starved throughout much of his life, and Katie even just as a friend had always been quick to hug, poke or otherwise interact with somebody. As for the cuddling, that was a special permission only he was granted, though based on the equally as goofy grin that Katie wore, it wasn't only him that benefited.
"You're lovely, you know."
"Oh?" Katie arched a brow at him, that smile of hers only growing. "Say I don't know, will you tell me more?"
He snorted and brought his arms around her centre, and Katie answered by moving back so as to rest her head on his shoulder. With her face turned to his, the two were inches from kissing without so much as effort spent to remain upright; it'd be the laziest snogging he'd ever had.
"I like your hair."
"My hair?" Katie seemed amused, but pleased, a hand running through it and allowing the dark strands to fall free. "What else?"
"Merlin," he said, swallowing as he looked at her as best he could. "Everything."
She pouted out her bottom lip. "That's not a very fun answer," she prodded his side, her pout growing. "Please~" the sing-songy quality of the final word made him laugh, and so he acquiesced to her request.
"Your eyes," he said. "I'll never get tired of staring into them, you know."
"Good. I think they'll be staring into yours for… a very long time," Katie seemed to change her sentence mid-way based on the stumble, but he didn't mind it any when she stopped her pout, adjusted herself in her seat and threw her arms around his back. "Stay with me until it gets too busy down here?"
"You don't have to ask. There's no place I'd rather be."
Katie's smile this time, unlike that of the one earlier, was filled with so much warmth and affection he felt his cheeks colouring. He never thought he'd receive such a look from anybody, least of all the witch he'd had a crush on for well over a year.
As for the others in the room, when he cuddled her, hugged her, kissed her, he didn't mind them any. Katie was finally his girlfriend, and hate PDA as some might, he reckoned all was fair; besides, it was mostly just the single people mad.
When next the couple got together, Katie's behaviour was, well, rather strange. They'd not been dating for very long, granted, but he liked to think he knew her well enough even before then. They'd been teammates since his first year, really, and so when she saw him in the Tower late in the day, he picked up on something.
The warmth that almost always radiated from her eyes, whilst present, was joined with something else. He could make out the worry, nervousness or whatever it was to some degree; he knew it wasn't anger, and it wasn't anything positive either. But when he tried to ask her about it, she insisted nothing bothered her. He asked a second time before they separated and went off to bed for the day, but again, nothing came as a result of his question.
He was lost, well and truly, at least until a third-party came to offer him some degree of guidance. The very same third-party that'd told him about their crush being mutual.
"Harry, now that Katie's asleep, I w—" Angelina stopped speaking abruptly, and waved a hand before his eyes a few times. "Morgana, you were spacing out, weren't you?"
Near the base of the girls' stairs as he was after walking Katie up them and receiving his nightly kiss, he'd zoned out something fierce. He'd not even heard Angelina's words, not really. They'd gone in one ear and out the other.
"Yeah. Yeah, I was. Sorry," he offered up, blinking himself back into a state of awareness. "What were you saying? Something Quidditch?"
Angelina scoffed. "Quidditch this late at night?" wordlessly after that, she swung an arm around his shoulders, pulled him into her side and walked them over to the fireplace, where she pushed him down in the chair and sat in the next one over. Further away from the remaining housemates of theirs that were still awake, she whispered to him. "I wanted to talk to you about Katie."
That immediately piqued his interest. "What about her?" he got out in an instant with more words following those up shortly thereafter. "I mean, I know something's wrong with her, but she won't tell me what it is. I want to help her. It's maddening not being able to help a friend."
"You've always felt that way, haven't you?" Angelina's soft question seemed more so for herself, for not even a second after she'd asked it, she shook her head and spoke again. "I'm surprised you could read her so well. Most blokes don't know a thing about witches… well, except George," she coughed when he blinked at her. "And you, now, of course."
"Right."
Angelina ignored him with a pointed cough, and spoke again, her tone as hushed as before. "Katie's worried about your status. You understand?"
He shook his head to indicate he didn't, and then he scrunched up his brows. Harry really didn't have any clue as to what she meant; he didn't pay much attention to much of the Magical world's happenings, if he were honest .
"Really?"
This time, he shrugged and nodded, pulling an expression that matched his lack of knowledge.
Angelina snickered for a second, and then promptly shook her head. "I suppose you not reading Witch Weekly makes sense," she said, allowing him that after an appraising sort of look which she shortly thereafter shook off before speaking again. "Katie's nervous — don't interrupt when you hear why either — that because you're the most eligible bachelor in all of Magical Britain, that you'll be stolen away by other witches."
"Most eligible bachelor in all of Magical Britain?" he nearly snickered, at least until he saw Angelina's expression. When he did, he schooled his features and shook his head. "She doesn't have anything to worry about. I'm dating her, I picked her, I don't give Witch Weekly so much as a thought — or any other witches."
The answering smile that came from Angelina was nearly as wide and pleased as the many affectionate ones he'd receive from Katie herself. All three of them, Angelina, Alicia and Katie, acted like sisters.
"I know that, silly," Angelina said, smiling and messing his hair up worse than it had already been. "But I'm not the one that needs to, am I? You're sweet and adorable, so I'm sure you'll figure something out now that you know something's bothering her, won't you?"
Harry offered a nod. He would take her to Hogsmeade, or Diagon Alley over the Christmas break itself; that was coming up soon, after all. Maybe he could take her to some fancy restaurant, and then out shopping somewhere. This was her last year of Hogwarts, after all, so the pair of them had to make the most of it.
Merlin, he'd been stupid, waiting as long as he had.
"You look like you've got an idea, perfect," Angelina rose from her seat, but not before further ruining the state of his hair with a sinister sort of laugh. "I'll see you in the morning. I'll offer whatever help I can — her favourite chocolate comes from a place called Lu Fudgerie, by the way. That wouldn't be a poor place to start when you return to your dorm and think it over."
Harry offered a smile of thanks to Angelina before she departed up the stairs he'd seen Katie up some ten minutes ago.
As for himself, he remained before the fire for another thirty minutes after his second teammate had gone off. He was too deep in thought to move, his mind working faster than ever it had in Potions as the many options he had came and went.
One thing remained, however; his drive to ensure Katie had the best day that he could give her. The Potter vaults would surely, finally, see a dent made in them… probably.
Harry's heart was racing as he looked in the mirror. Sirius had given him the second largest room with an adjoining bathroom and parlour room, small as the latter spot was, and this was truthfully the first time the younger boy was making full use of the space. He'd gotten some tips from Angelina on Katie's favourite foods and spaces, and a bit of help from Lavender with style.
Something that cost him practically nothing. She was all too happy to help in exchange for one chocolate frog and an exchanged, conspiratorial sort of look with Angelina.
Still, he was nice and rightly dressed up, his hair was finally doing what he wanted it to, and Ka—
He heard his parlour room's Floo open, and with wide eyes and hands still fussing over the few wrinkles he spotted, he paused… before promptly racing over.
Sure enough, there was Katie.
His heart returned to the fast pace it previously had, only his anxiety was replaced with wonder as he looked her up and down.
She was wearing black pants with knee-high boots, a thick-looking white blouse with a vest on over it, and a large, white-blonde fur jacket. Her hair, long and beautiful, fell down the back of the jacket and continued until it rested mid-way down said back.
Even in winter, she managed to leave him left dumbstruck with her beauty.
"Merlin."
Katie smiled tentatively at him. "That's a good thing, isn't it?"
He nodded. "You're beautiful," he said so casually, and rushed, but he was still just looking at her.
When the tentative quality dropped from her smile, wide and affectionate as always, and her hand grasped his, he knew he was in for a wonderful day.
Merlin, had he been right.
Harry and Katie had gone through the first few shops with relative ease and speed, but that all stopped when the couple found themselves in the chocolate shop Angelina had told him about. As soon as they entered, much to Katie's wide-eyed delight, she grasped his hand and raced them upstairs without so much as acknowledging the few classmates of theirs they saw.
Somebody had said something about him going off to some alcove to snog her in. He wasn't sure who, but he'd leave them to their whinging — besides, it wasn't as if they were wrong now, was it?
They'd have a snog, buy all the chocolate and truffles and fudge and the like they wanted, and be off to the next shop sometime later. In Harry's mind, a better time, there was not; sweets were just as fond a treat to him as they were to Katie, after all. Especially since the place had treacle tarts.
He was almost tempted to invest in it to make sure it stayed afloat.
"Oh Morgana," Katie gasped, her free-hand — the one not currently grasping one of his — covering her mouth. "It's marvellous. Thank you, Harry."
The sweet kiss on the cheek he received from her was a wonderful reward… even if he didn't exactly know what it was that she was thanking him for. That took him a fair few seconds, until he saw it after she edged closer; a chocolate fountain, or rather, a series of them with labels and items you could dip therein.
He looked at the witch that was working beside it, saw the cost written beside her, and promptly tossed her five galleons for the pair of them, another five a second later. "Close it off for ten minutes?" he asked.
Immediately, the wide-eyed witch nodded and ran off, leaving the couple to their delights.
Katie, meanwhile, watched the witch run-off from before the middle fountain. That strange quality that he now knew as insecurity was present as she worried her bottom lip, but then, it fell away altogether.
"I really like you, Harry."
He grinned and approached, settling his hands on her hips. "I really like you too," he stole a peck. "You're the only witch for me."
Katie answered with a fierce, chocolatey snog; it was tasty.