Harry continued to wonder if he'd made the right decision in giving Damian the Marauder's Map in the days to come. What if it encouraged him to be more reckless? What if it lured him into a false sense of complacency? What if he took his trouble-making up to another level with the freedom it gave him to sneak around the castle?
But whatever the risks, it appeared that his gamble had paid off in the short term. He saw Damian out and about more often, attending classes and meals with his year, lounging on the grounds, and even once heading down the hill towards Hagrid's hut, surreptitiously checking the Map as he went. This has to be the better scenario, Harry reasoned. Pettigrew won't be around the school for long, but with any luck, Damian still will be.
Still, worry plagued him that he might have given Peter easier access to the Marauder's Map, which undoubtedly would help him achieve whatever he hoped to achieve in the castle. Whether that was killing Harry, or getting revenge against the Potters in general, or something else entirely, he just couldn't be sure. He just had to hope Damian remained vigilant and checked the Map often to prevent him from being ambushed again.
"You seem distracted," said Hermione, gently shaking his arm. "Are you feeling alright, Harry?"
"What?" Harry said, shaking himself out of his reverie; his mind had drifted as Hermione explained the latest Arithmancy homework to him in the library. "Oh, yes, fine. Just worried about my cousin."
"You're so kind for thinking of him," Hermione remarked. "I imagine he must be quite frightened here, all alone without his family for support."
"Yeah, probably," Harry shrugged. "I just hope he decides to stay...it would be a shame for him to lose access to a magical education just because of one madman."
"For someone from a wizarding family, you seem quite empathetic towards Muggle-borns," said Hermione. "Most students from pure-blood families wouldn't give a damn about us going back to 'where we belong'."
"Well, I'm a half-blood, not a pure-blood," Harry reminded her. "My mum got called the M-word plenty when she was in school. She and my dad taught me to never treat anyone different, no matter what family they come from."
At that moment, Cho Chang walked by with a gaggle of her friends. She spotted Harry sitting there, staring up at her, then whispered something to Marietta Edgecombe. Marietta guffawed loudly and whispered something else to the rest of the group; they all broke out into raucous, mean-spirited laughter as they walked away. Harry glared at Marietta's retreating back, certain she'd said something cruel about him. He still hadn't fully forgiven her for betraying Dumbledore's Army in his last timeline, and she didn't appear to be much better in this one.
But to his surprise, Hermione just giggled. "Is Cho still putting on that show around you?" she laughed. "Can she make it any more obvious?"
"You still think she fancies me?" Harry asked.
"Oh, Harry, she's practically announcing it to the whole world!" Hermione grinned. "She may not even realize it herself, poor girl. She just keeps making an ass of herself in an attempt to convince herself her feelings aren't real."
"Huh," Harry hummed thoughtfully. As always, Hermione's emotional perception far exceeded his own, especially when it came to girls.
"She can't seriously believe this is attractive behavior," Hermione said with a mirthful grin. "No guy would ever be interested in someone so openly hostile towards them."
"Yeah," Harry agreed easily. Though what he didn't admit aloud is that he did still fancy Cho, very much so, especially after hearing Hermione's theory. He noticed her giving him furtive glances more often, in the halls and during Quidditch practice, and wondered what she was thinking in that moment. What was he to do about it? Ask her out? What if she kept up the charade and laughed in his face? What if she told everyone about it and he became the laughingstock of Ravenclaw for it?
But what if she said yes?
That thought excited Harry like no other, and he was actually, insanely, considering it. Every time he saw her alone in the halls or walking back from the pitch he froze, wondering if now was the appropriate moment. It was like the Yule Ball all over again: he just couldn't muster up the courage to ask her. Would she wind up with someone else if he waited too long? The possibility of enduring that heartbreak two lifetimes in a row was a terrifying thought.
"Focus, Harry!" James shouted after yet another duel ended with Harry making a costly misstep and letting a blockable spell get through his defenses. "What's gotten into you lately?"
"Sorry," Harry groaned, pushing himself back to his feet. Even during his private lessons with his father his mind often drifted to Cho, her face, her laugh, her lips… Stop thinking about that, Harry chastised himself as he prepared for another round with James. It's not going to happen. Just put her out of your mind.
"This isn't going to get us anywhere if you aren't paying attention," James chastised Harry. "You're distracted, and you're making slopping mistakes."
"I know, alright?" Harry snapped. "Let's go again!" He forced himself to live in the moment, to focus only on the man squared off against him across the room. He'd been studying extra hard for today's lesson, and had a few tricks up his sleeve he wanted to try.
James sighed and dropped into a fighting stance, then resumed their duel. Within seconds they were both going at it in earnest, trading blows back and forth, prodding at one another's defenses. Harry remained cautious, waiting for an opening, hoping to spring his trap. The moment came when James paused to shift positions, and Harry made his move.
"Homunculi speculo!" Harry shouted, flourishing his wand. For a brief second he felt as though his mind was being ripped apart, then he saw a brilliant flash of white light before darkness crashed down upon him.
Moments later, he regained consciousness, spluttering from the water James was spraying in his face. "Rise and shine," James said sardonically as he helped Harry back to his feet. "Mind telling me what the hell that was supposed to be?"
"Body-Mirroring Charm," Harry muttered, clutching his head, which still felt like it had been split down the middle. "Read about it in a book somewhere. It's supposed to create multiple projections of your body so the other person isn't sure which is the real one."
"Ah," James chuckled in recognition. "Tonks has used that one against me before. Quite tricky to fight against, though also difficult to master. Took her some months to learn the spell during her training, and she's a grown adult...I wonder why you thought you could handle it at your age?"
"I can already do things I'm not supposed to," Harry shrugged. "The Patronus Charm, for one."
"True," James conceded. "But the Body-Mirroring Charm takes a great deal of magical energy to perform, and your magical core hasn't fully developed yet. I wouldn't try that again until you've grown older."
I'm older than you think, Harry thought bitterly. Saul Croaker had said it himself: his magic already recognized him as an adult, hence why the Trace no longer worked on him. But maybe there was truth to the idea that his physical body wasn't ready for such strenuous feats of magic, even if his mind was. He would have to ask Saul about that at their next meeting.
Harry wanted to resume the duel straight away, but James put his foot down, ending the session early and instructing Harry to go back to his dorm and rest. But Harry didn't feel like sleeping, heading instead to the library to read more about illusory magic. He was intrigued more now than ever to learn how it worked and how to adapt it to his own fighting style – anything that used so much magical energy must indeed be powerful. He considered writing Tonks to ask for her input, but figured she would just tattle to James about it, so he would wait on that front.
Harry did receive an unexpected letter a few days later, however, one that did not come from his immediate family. He grinned when he saw Sirius' scrawled handwriting on the envelope, pocketing the letter for later. "Not reading your own mail, Potter?" asked Terry Boot curiously when he witnessed this.
"Just my mum sending something I forgot at home over break," Harry lied. In truth, he had written to Sirius the week prior, taking him up on his offer of asking for advice on 'girl troubles'. He knew Sirius would be one of the few people to not mock him and not run off and tell James and Lily every scintillating detail. Harry had no intention of sharing his embarrassing thoughts with his classmates, so he waited until that evening to close himself in his four-poster and open the letter and hear what Sirius had to say:
Dear Harry,
I'm glad you chose to come to your coolest uncle with these questions! Your Uncle Remus would probably advise you to be a perfect gentleman and never dare make a move, your father would tell you to tease the poor girl back, while your Uncle Peter would surely suggest a love potion or Imperius Curse to get what you want. (Sorry, poor taste, I know!)
Joking aside, I think your friend Hermione's theory is correct. Girls can be fickle and difficult to read, but one of the surest signs they are interested in a boy is if they make a show of teasing them publicly. She must see you as quite the catch if she's willing to go to such great lengths to knock you down from the pedestal she's put you on!
My advise is to be straightforward in how you feel. Wait for an opportunity where it's just the two of you and make it clear where you stand and what you want. Blunt honesty is more effective than you think! It puts the Quaffle firmly in her court and forces her to make the decision. I know that's easier said than done, but believe me, it's the best way to get to the heart of the issue. If she does fancy you, she'll respect the confidence.
And if she doesn't, then good riddance! You're young and have plenty of time for love...eventually someone else will come along who recognizes what a catch you are and claims you for herself. Don't waste your time chasing after girls who play silly games with your emotions. You deserve respect, and the best way to earn it is to give back what you want to get in return. Think of it like Quidditch: don't play their game; make them play yours.
If you still don't believe that my advise is the best approach, ask your friend Hermione. She sounds like she has a good head on her shoulders, and she'd no doubt agree with me.
Your loving uncle and friend,
Sirius
P. S. - If you're still single at my age, I'll disown you! Unless that's your own choice, of course – respecting yourself is the first step to happiness.
Harry set down the letter with a smile on his face. As always, Sirius never failed to lift his mood and make him feel better about things. Whether it was girl troubles or helping him survive the Triwizard Tournament in his previous timeline, Sirius could always be relied upon to show him the way.
Harry knew he was likely right: the current situation with Cho would never go anywhere if he didn't act and draw a line in the sand. He had to tell her he liked her and demand to know if she felt the same way. But it was one thing to recognize that, and another thing entirely to actually do it! He was terrified of the prospect of such a conversation and dreaded the moment coming sooner than later.
Harry considered taking Sirius' advice to ask Hermione's opinion, but she was rather easy to set off as of late. As final exams approached, she was more consumed with her studies than ever, and any interruption to her careful lesson plans ran the risk of setting her off. In addition, there had been several snafus with the Time-Turner lately; it was no longer as reliable since the Halloween incident, sometimes taking them back only two or two and a half hours instead of the three they needed, making them late to class a couple times. Hermione never blamed Harry outright for the faulty Time-Turner, but it further contributed to her fragile temper.
Luckily, Harry was far too busy to worry about romance at this moment in time. In addition to the upcoming exams, the advent of May meant the season finale of the Quidditch season against Slytherin. Unfortunately for Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff had managed to pull off a come-from-behind victory against Gryffindor the week before, with Cedric making two clutch Snitch catches to scrape out the win. Roger Davies pushed the team hard all the way up to the match, unwilling to give up their chance at glory.
"Right, here's the situation," announced Roger in the locker room as he paced back and forth before the team. "If we win today we'll be tied with Hufflepuff for first place, but the tiebreaker is number of Snitches caught. Diggory caught six Snitches this season, and we have four so far. So Potter, you'll need to catch at least two for us to tie and share the Cup, or all three for us to win it outright."
"Got it," Harry nodded. He was confident he was the better flier than Malfoy, but winning all three Snitches was no easy feat in today's game. Only Cedric had done it in a match this season, and he was the first at Hogwarts to do so since Aidan Lynch two years prior.
"Slytherin have nothing to play for today, but they won't make it easy on us," Roger warned. "They fight dirty, and they'll want to bloody us up as much as possible to salvage their pride. So keep an eye on those Beaters and stay alert, even after the whistle is blown!"
Everyone nodded solemnly at this. They'd all seen what happened to Angelina Johnson earlier in the season, who was hit in the head by a Bludger several seconds after the final Snitch had been caught and spent a week at St. Mungo's recovering from it. The offending Slytherin Beater had merely been given a month's worth of detention, no doubt thanks to Snape lobbying on his behalf.
The team took to the air soon after, heralded by the cheers of half the student section. Harry spotted his parents and Sirius waving at him, as well as Dahlia, who for once was dressed in blue-and-bronze garb now that Gryffindor was out of the running. Most of Gryffindor was rooting them on today, in fact, while the Hufflepuffs were cheering on Slytherin, hoping for an upset win so they could claim sole possession of the Cup.
As Roger had predicted, the game got ugly as soon as it began. Slytherin racked up four fouls within the first five minutes for dirty blocks and late Bludger hits after the whistle, and Roger converted on each penalty shot, giving Ravenclaw a swift 40-0 lead.
But Harry knew the score didn't matter. Even if the Ravenclaw Chasers scored a hundred goals, it wouldn't matter if Harry couldn't beat Malfoy to the Snitch. He ignored the action happening below, circling the pitch, keeping one eye on Malfoy and the other on the field for the elusive Snitch.
The first appeared around the ten minute mark, hovering around midfield during a scrum near the Slytherin goalposts. Harry and Malfoy spotted it at the same time; they dove side by side, flattened against their brooms in a mad dash for the tiny golden ball. Malfoy had a slight head start, but Harry's Firebolt did its job, pulling ahead of the Nimbus 2001 just enough for him to swipe the ball out of the air and pull out of the dive to raucous applause.
"Potter's got the first Snitch!" Lee Jordan announced excitedly, clearly joining his Gryffindor mates in rooting against Slytherin. "Two more of those, and Ravenclaw will clinch the Quidditch Cup!"
Just two more, Harry thought to himself as play resumed. Two more Snitches, and we'll have the Cup. We can go back to the castle and celebrate, Roger will be tolerable again, and Cho might even treat me properly for once… But thoughts of Cho only proved to distract him, so Harry pushed them aside and focused once more on the pitch below.
Harry was flanked on either side by his two Beaters, as Roger had wisely instructed them to protect Harry at all costs. This succeeded in keeping the swarm of Bludgers away from him, but also left the Chasers and Keeper exposed to harm. Harry watched with growing concern as Roger and Cho were pelted from all sides by Bludgers, broom handles, and stray kicks to the head as the Slytherins buzzed around them like angry hornets, intent only on causing harm.
Luckily, the second Snitch made its appearance not long after, flitting in and out of view around the Ravenclaw goalposts. It was a short distance for Harry and Malfoy to travel, which gave Malfoy time to maneuver and block Harry from making a clean run at the Snitch. Harry swore; Malfoy may have the slower broom, but he had a knack for getting in the way and making life more difficult. He swerved to and fro, attempting to find an opening to get back the annoying blonde and outpace him to the Snitch.
"What's the matter, Potter, can't run away from your problems this time?" Malfoy taunted as he continued his antagonistic tactics. "All that speed and you're unable to out-maneuver me?"
Harry refrained from responding to the insults, focusing only on the golden ball just out of reach. One slip-up, one mistake from Malfoy would give him the opening he needed…
But it turned out not to be Malfoy's mistake that cost him. Harry saw a blur of green streaking in from his left just in time, and yanked up on his broom handle as a Slytherin Chaser swooped in – a bald-faced attempt to crash into Harry and take him out of the match. Instead he smashed into Malfoy, sending both green-clad boys tumbling to the pitch as Harry rocketed after the Snitch, his path cleared. He caught the Snitch and once more rose into the air to the adulation of the crowd.
"Ooh, poor attempt by Montague there to foul Potter!" Lee Jordan shouted with obvious glee. "Potter catches the second Snitch, and Ravenclaw extends their lead to 190-10!"
Harry smirked as he watched Malfoy and Montague re-mount their brooms from the ground, bickering intensely about whose fault the crash was. Let them fight amongst themselves, he thought. Better that they turn on one another than on us.
Harry realized that the second capture meant Ravenclaw had secured at least a tie atop the Cup standings! He felt a thrill of excitement knowing that no matter what happened, they would be champions. But he knew his teammates wouldn't see that as good enough. They wanted to beat Hufflepuff outright, not share the glory. So he stayed focus as the final period began, determined to deliver his team their first victory in nearly a decade.
Meanwhile, the game below had devolved into something beyond what Harry would consider normal Quidditch. Slytherin seemed to have given up on winning entirely, and were now dedicated to hurting as many Ravenclaw players as possible. Marcus Flint 'accidentally' crashed into Ravenclaw's Keeper; the Chasers were body-checking Cho Chang every time she caught the Quaffle; and Harry had to dodge an incoming Bludger roughly once every five seconds, even well after the whistle signified a stoppage.
"I mean, really now!" Lee Jordan scoffed after a particularly egregious collision between Roger Davies and two of the opposing Chasers attempting to knock him out of the air. "Another whistle from Madam Hooch, and she really ought to think about tossing these dirty players out of the damn game!"
"Language, Jordan!" McGonagall warned her student from nearby, but most of the crowd appeared to agree with Lee. Even many of the Hufflepuffs were joining in the chorus of boos; Harry spotted his cousin Damian in the crowd spewing epithets at Marcus Flint, making him grin.
Harry intensified his search for the Snitch, eager to just get it over with. At this point it was a matter not only of winning the Cup, but allowing his teammates to survive in one piece. Malfoy's heart didn't seem to be in it much...he was drinking in the misery of the other Ravenclaw players with glee...Harry could take advantage of his distracted play if he could just find the final Snitch…
And he saw it. Fluttering around the base of the Slytherin student section, not a soul around it. He had a clear path to it. Harry shot after the golden ball, heart pounding, the end of the match finally in sight.
"POTTER'S SPOTTED THE FINAL SNITCH!" Lee Jordan shouted with excitement. "Malfoy's miles away...he'll never catch up in time!"
Harry heard Malfoy swear loudly from behind him, struggling to keep up. But there was no way he would regain the lost ground. We're going to win, Harry thought in disbelief. We've won the Cup!
But something caught his attention in the corner of his eye. Every other player had stopped play to watch Harry's dive for glory, except for one Slytherin Beater, who smacked a Bludger hard out of frustration from yet another loss. It careened straight towards Cho Chang, who was not paying attention, and smacked her right in the chest, knocking her clean off her broom.
Suddenly Harry faced a difficult choice. The Snitch was just seconds away, well within his grasp for a clean victory. But Cho was falling from at least sixty feet in the air, a fall that could prove seriously damaging – if not fatal. Harry was the only one close enough to reach her before she hit the ground at terminal velocity. He had a split second to decide—
He swerved right, diving after Cho instead of the Snitch. Harry could see the panic in her face as she desperately clawed at open air, locking eyes with him, begging him to save her. He reached out and grabbed her arm a second before impact, pulling up hard on his broom to avoid smashing into the grass; he was quickly bucked off the Firebolt from the weight imbalance and tumbled across the pitch with Cho, eventually coming to rest beside her, bruised but okay.
"Are you alright, Cho?" he asked immediately, scrambling over to check on her.
"Think so," Cho groaned, looking down at her chest. There was a nasty dent in the breastplate of her uniform, but she was able to push herself up to a sitting position, clutching her ribs through gritted teeth.
Above them, there was a great roar from the Slytherin cheering section. "MALFOY CATCHES THE THIRD SNITCH!" Lee Jordan announced. "Ravenclaw wins the match, but they will tie Hufflepuff for joint victory of the Quidditch Cup!"
The Hufflepuffs in attendance began going wild as they realized what this meant. Harry's decision had possibly saved Cho's life, but cost his team sole possession of first place in the Cup standings. They were still technically champions, but it would be shared with Hufflepuff...a disappointing outcome when the alternative was within reach.
The rest of the Ravenclaw team landed beside the two to check on their condition. "Alright there, Chang?" asked Roger, kneeling beside Cho.
"I'll live," Cho muttered, brushing off everyone's attempts to help her to her feet, staggering upright of her own accord.
Roger looked next to Harry, offering no words of concern for his condition. He said nothing, and Harry could see the visible disappointment in his captain's expression – he knew that Harry's decision had cost them ultimate glory, even if they would still be considered co-winners.
Madam Pomfrey was running across the pitch towards them, and Harry knew she'd be able to patch up whatever injuries Cho had sustained in an instant. Pomfrey shooed the rest of the team away to the locker room as she tended to Cho, and Harry trudged off the field, unsure how he should feel. Had he made the right decision? Would his House mates be angry with him for giving up the win when it was well within reach?
It seemed that his teammates hadn't fully made up their minds about that themselves. Nobody spoke while they dressed back into their school robes – it was not a jubilant nor a dejected atmosphere, just maddeningly neutral. Harry took his time getting dressed, letting his teammates trickle out ahead of him, unsure if he wanted to face the potential wrath of his House when he returned to the castle.
"Oi, moron!" a voice called out from behind him. Harry spun around to see Cho marching into the locker room, looking unharmed but dreadfully angry.
"Cho…?" asked Harry tentatively. "Are you feeling better?"
"Better?" Cho scoffed. "You could have won us the Cup! Why on earth did you abandon the Snitch?"
"You could have died!" Harry protested. "I saved your life!"
"I wasn't in any real danger, you idiot!" Cho snapped. "The pitch is enchanted to absorb lethal impacts for our safety; d'you really think Dumbledore would let a student die like that?"
"I didn't know that," Harry muttered softly. He knew the game was brutally dangerous, but hadn't considered enchantments to prevent the worst from happening to them.
"You embarrassed me!" Cho huffed. "I'm a big girl – I can deal with a trip to St. Mungo's, but now you've stolen the Cup from me, which is even worse!"
"We still won, technically," Harry pointed out. "I just didn't want to see you get hurt, that's all."
"You...you…" Cho stammered, searching for the right words as she probed Harry's eyes. Harry noticed how close she was standing to him, their noses nearly touching, her flushed cheeks burning red with fury, or embarrassment, or perhaps—
Before Harry knew it, Cho had pressed herself against him, flattening him against the wall with a kiss. Harry staggered back in shock, barely comprehending what was happening. Cho grabbed Harry by the shoulders as she smashed her lips against his, in a wild, impassioned assault.
Harry quickly responded in kind, pressing back into the kiss with his own eager reception. This was madness, utter madness...Cho was all over him, and he was overwhelmed with the sensation...Harry placed his hands around her waist and pulled her closer, taking her in…
Then Cho abruptly pulled away from him, eyes wide. Harry stared at her, dumbfounded, at a loss for words. Cho's cheeks were tinged pink as she panted heavily, eyes racing across his face. And before Harry could say anything, she slapped him hard across the cheek, then stormed out of the locker room without a word.
"What the hell…?" Harry groaned, gingerly feeling his face. He hadn't even registered the pain, his face having lost all sensation by that point. It was by far the most bewildering, unexpected fifteen seconds of his entire life. Cho had kissed him! KISSED him! Then slapped him? What on earth was that about?
Harry trudged back up to Ravenclaw Tower in a daze, barely acknowledging the words of congratulations being thrown his way. He entered the common room, which unexpectedly erupted in applause at his appearance. People patted him on the back and offered polite words of encouragement: "Good show, mate." "Can't blame you for that one." "A tied win is still a win, eh?"
Roger Davies appeared to have gotten over his initial anger at Harry, and was now drinking something with his teammates that looked suspiciously like Firewhiskey. He met Harry's eyes and gave him a curt nod of acknowledgment. Ravenclaw did still win the Cup, Harry reasoned. That was his objective after all. It wasn't outright, but it still counts.
Harry declined the offers of goblets being thrust in his direction, scanning the common room for Cho. She was nowhere to be seen – had she disappeared up to her dorms, or was she avoiding him elsewhere in the castle? He was still stunned by what had happened in the locker room, and was dying to talk to someone – anyone – about it. He eventually sank into a sofa, staring blankly into the fireplace, replaying the moment over and over in his mind.
Someone sat beside him and slipped a cup into his hand. Harry looked down at it, expecting to see Firewhiskey; instead, crystal-clear water stared back up at him. "Thought you could use a proper refreshment," said Hermione. "You're looking a bit peaky."
"Thanks, Mione, you're the best," Harry said gratefully, taking a long gulp of the water, though it did little to quell the raging fire burning in his gut.
"Are you alright, Harry?" Hermione asked, frowning. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
"Yeah, fine," Harry muttered. "It's just...the strangest thing happened to me."
"Were you injured?" said Hermione, examining Harry head to toe. "Do you need Madam Pomfrey?"
"Nothing like that," said Harry. "It's just…" And it all came spilling out of him in a torrent, the encounter with Cho in the locker room. Harry explained the absolute elation, followed by sheer confusion, of the sudden shift in her behavior.
"...And then she just hauls off and smacks me!" Harry recounted, laughing in spite of himself. "I mean, that's mental, right? But you were right, Hermione: she had a crush on me all along! D'you reckon I should ask her out, or give her some 'girl time' or whatever other nonsense you ladies need?"
Harry looked expectantly up at Hermione, expecting her to look thoughtful at his revelation. Instead she stared blankly at him, looking stricken by what he had just said. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, as though about to say something, but held her tongue. She abruptly stood from the sofa, grabbing her bag and disappearing up the stairs to the dorm without a word.
Harry watched her go, completely gobsmacked. Here he was attempting to understand Cho's actions, only for Hermione to exhibit even stranger behavior! "What the bloody hell is going on?" he muttered to himself, drinking the last of the cup of water in his hand.
"Oh, Harry," giggled a nearby voice. "Must you be so tactless?" He looked up to see Padma Patil smirking at him from a nearby armchair.
"Sorry?" he said, confused.
"Do you have to torture the poor girl?" Padma asked. "Is it really wise to talk about fancying another girl to the girl you're already involved with?"
"Hermione?" Harry said, laughing at the sheer absurdity of the suggestion. "We aren't involved...we're just friends."
"That's not the impression the rest of us got," Padma smirked. "We've all seen you two sneaking off between classes. Parvati swears she saw you two exit a broom closet together once. D'you really expect us to believe nothing's happening between you two?"
"I…" Harry stammered. "It's not like that. Just a misunderstanding, honestly."
"If you say so," Padma shrugged. "Hermione sure seemed to act the part...she always looked so pleased to be spending time with you. You hadn't noticed?"
Realization was dawning fast on Harry, extinguishing the flame burning within him with a harsh, cold douse. He had been spending a lot more time with Hermione this year, far more than he ever had in his past timeline. Sure, they shared use of the Time-Turner and studied together, but he often found himself casually relaxing with her on weekends, not on purpose, but just because she was around. She'd been far kinder to him this year than last – he assumed this was due to her guilt over the diary incident, but perhaps it was something more…
"You don't reckon she fancies me, do you?" Harry wondered aloud in bewilderment.
"Of course she does, stupid!" Padma giggled. "How could she not? You're the only boy who gives her the time of day, you're good at basically everything, and you basically saved her life last year."
Harry couldn't believe he hadn't realized it before. He remembered her whole spiel about the reasons Cho liked him, and now understood that she knew them so well because they were the very same reasons she'd fallen for him too. What was it she'd said? "She's clearly attracted to you, but she also sees you as a rival...you're a great flyer, top of your class in everything, a gifted duelist…" She had been talking about herself all along. And when he asked what he should do about Cho, what did Hermione advise him? She told him to ignore it until she went away!
Merlin, what have I done? Harry groaned internally, sinking back into the sofa cushions. He'd just rubbed it in Hermione's face that he fancied somebody else! How awful of a person was he? But she didn't expect him to like him back, did she? They were practically siblings with all they'd been through!
But in this timeline, they hadn't been through everything they had the first time. Harry had kept his distance from her, letting her build a relationship with Ron and Neville first and foremost, only to revert to his old habits in third year and rely more heavily on her for emotional support. Had she mistaken that for affection? Had she developed feelings for him because of it?
What was Harry to do about this conundrum? He had difficulty seeing Hermione as more than a friend, but things were different now...it would not be as weird and awkward as it would have been in his first lifetime, would it?
But why was he even contemplating this? Cho had KISSED him! Surely she wanted him, too? Was he such a bad person for wanting to be with one girl when another also liked him? Would she take it badly if he let her down gently and admitted the feelings weren't mutual?
Women are so bloody complicated, Harry thought miserably to himself, excusing himself from the common room and heading upstairs to lie wide awake in his four-poster. Before today, learning that two separate girls fancied him would have made him giddy with excitement. Now he just felt sick with dread about it all and confused about how to proceed.
A/N: A few people have expressed concern about the relative age gap between Harry mentally and the girls he's involved with. Keep in mind that although Harry's brain is technically an adult, he still hasn't properly matured past fifteen since he had to revert back to first-year relationships rather than grow alongside his peers, so the ick factor ought to be less than it normally would be. I personally view him as mentally capped at 15/16 from an emotional maturity standpoint, but I understand not all will agree. Either way, this fic will NOT feature any underage s*xual activity, so don't worry about things advancing to that point.