ashox
patreon
March 2024's Patron-Voted Story - Harry/Padma/Parvati - Love & Comfort Part 1
🕑 Added 2024-03-31 15:59:00 +0000 UTCAN: Hogwarts begins at 15, making Harry 18 at the start of this story.
Well, this story might have gotten a bit out of hand, lol. I found myself at a little over 6k words and realised that I hadn't quite hit the halfway point yet, so I decided to break up this story into multiple parts. I expect it'll only be 2 parts, but it might end up being 3 depending on how long it gets. Regardless, I'll get the next part(s) out as soon as possible!
PAGE BREAK
Harry felt like he was in a stupor as he left the Great Hall with Cedric. The older man clearly still didn’t believe Harry’s word that he hadn’t put his name into the Goblet of Fire, but at least he wasn’t being cruel about it. Instead, he was prattling on like they were mates, and he was giving Harry friendly jabs about how it looked like they’d still be able to compete with each other now that Quidditch wasn’t going to be around this year. He impressed upon Harry how important it was that he started studying now if he wanted to compete with the older students. He seemed oblivious to Harry’s state, but maybe he was just as nervous as Harry was about this whole thing and talking like this helped him through it.
Someone was trying to kill him, Harry kept repeating in his mind again and again. Every year at Hogwarts, there was some psychotic plot that ended up with him in grave danger. He knew that he could face it when he needed to, but it wasn’t like he actively wanted to risk his life more than he already had.
Cedric was right: Harry needed to study. He didn’t care much about competing with the other Champions though; he just wanted to stay alive. He’d need help if he wanted a chance at making it through the Triwizard Tournament and whatever complications would inevitably arise.
Harry’s heart nearly stopped as a realisation came to him.
Would anyone even help him if they thought he was just a glory-hound?
Hermione would, he thought. She was his friend and she cared about him just as he cared about her. Ron was another story. He could get terribly jealous and lost in a petulant state of mind, but Harry still hoped that he’d have his back throughout this.
He supposed that he wouldn’t truly know until he got back to the Gryffindor Common Room and spoke to them.
The corridors were completely deserted as Harry and Cedric walked them. It didn’t take long for them to reach the staircase that would lead up to the Gryffindor Common Room, but Cedric deviated over towards a nearby door.
“Looks like this is where we go our separate ways,” Cedric said as he stopped just before the doorway.
A part of Harry wanted to ask him to stay. He just wanted someone to be near him throughout all of this; it helped keep him grounded.
But he wished it was Ron and Hermione instead.
“Yeah,” Harry grimaced. “Err… good luck in the tournament, Cedric.”
Cedric smiled widely at him. “You too, Harry.”
He opened the door and disappeared quickly behind it.
With a sigh, Harry turned towards the marble staircase. He only made it a couple of steps before he heard another set of footsteps coming from up above.
“Harry?”
Harry frowned. At first he thought it was Parvati who’d spoken, but then he spotted the Ravenclaw insignia on her cloak. It was her twin sister: Padma.
“Hey,” Harry replied morosely as he started up the steps. He eyed her curiously as he passed her by, but she was just standing there by the railing watching him.
He’d nearly made it to the next landing before Padma spoke up.
“Are you alright?” She asked softly.
Harry turned his head to see her looking at him with genuine concern. He frowned a bit in surprise. Although he hung around Parvati often enough since they were in the same house, he rarely spoke to Padma, let alone spent much time with her. Why did she care if he was alright?
“I suppose,” Harry replied neutrally.
She grimaced at him. “That doesn’t sound very convincing.”
No, it didn’t.
“I saw your face when your name was called,” Padma continued. “You looked really shocked.”
“That’s because I didn’t put my name in,” Harry told her.
He was expecting her to not believe him like Cedric did. By morning, most of the school probably wouldn’t be on his side either. However, to his surprise again, she nodded her head in understanding.
“I’m sorry that it happened then,” she replied. “You never seemed to like your fame very much, so I didn’t think that you were the type to try to sneak your name into the goblet. If you were, you probably would have bragged to someone that you managed to beat Dumbledore’s age line.”
“Well, you’re one of the few that believes me so far,” Harry said. There was Dumbledore and Professor Moody, but that was about it. All of the other champions and their headmaster and headmistress seemed to doubt that Harry wasn’t trying to cheat the system in some way to get all of the glory for himself.
There was an awkward pause as Padma squeezed her hands together as she tried to come up with something to say.
“Look, I know it might not be much, but I can help you study in the library if you want,” Padma offered. “These tasks are supposed to be really deadly, and I already read about them and had some ideas about what the new ones might include…”
Padma trailed off, suddenly looking nervous and shy as though her offer to help him would be unwanted.
But Harry felt the exact opposite. For years now, he only ever had Ron and Hermione to help him out. Maybe he never tried to branch out as much as he should have if he wanted help from anyone else.
“I’d like that,” Harry offered Padma a small smile, the first smile he’d had since his name came out of the goblet.
Instantly, Padma’s entire face lit up. “Really?”
“I feel like I should be the one asking you that,” Harry chuckled. “I’d really appreciate any help you could give me. I’m a bit unprepared for this whole thing. You know… seeing as how I didn’t enter my name.”
“Right,” Padma chuckled along with him. “Well, how about we meet up in the library this Saturday after breakfast?”
Harry opened his mouth to tell her that he had Quidditch practice then, but then he remembered that he didn’t since Quidditch was cancelled for the year. It was going to be strange breaking a three-year-old habit, but maybe going to the library with Padma could be the start of a new one.
“That sounds brilliant,” Harry told her.
“Great!” Padma exclaimed. “I’ll see you then.”
With a wave goodbye, the two separated, and Harry felt more uplifted than he had in a long time. Even if he was being thrown into the muck like this, at least he had someone who was willing to try to help him out of it.
His good mood carried him all the way back up to the Gryffindor Common Room. The Fat Lady portrait door was cracked open, and a short, brown-haired head was peeking out of it. As soon as the young boy saw Harry, he disappeared behind the portrait and pushed it closed.
Frowning in confusion, Harry walked up to the portrait, but before he could say the password to let him through, the door swung open.
“Congratulations!” A bellow erupted from within as the entirety of his house stood there, applauding him. There were cheers and whistles and confetti thrown all around as Harry stepped through the threshold.
“How’d you make it past the age line?” A young girl asked him.
“Bet he dismantled it and then put it back in place,” someone in the crowd called out.
Harry grunted as a heavy hand patted him on the back, and then someone fell in step next to him and swung their arm around his shoulders.
“Brilliant work, Harry,” George grinned down at him.
“I didn’t do anything,” Harry told him sincerely.
“Right,” George winked and tapped the side of his nose. “A true prankster never reveals their secrets, but I thought that you’d at least tell Fred and me, mate.”
“I’m serious,” Harry said a bit more seriously. “I didn’t put my name in.”
“Come off it, Harry,” Angelina laughed as she pushed through the crowd to celebrate. “Come on! Tell us how you did it!”
“I didn’t put my name in!” Harry shouted.
He didn’t quite realise how loud his voice had gotten until the party fell silent around him. An awkward atmosphere filled the room as everyone stared at him. Harry was looking around everywhere for a friendly face, someone who believed him, but everyone was looking at him with that same look Cedric had given him earlier.
“Err, sure, whatever you say,” George grimaced as he let go of Harry. “But you’re still our champion, yeah? So, let’s keep this party going!”
Someone put the music back on and the party went back in full swing, but Harry still felt people’s eyes on him as he pushed through the party. He ignored the offers for food or drinks. All he really wanted right now was to see his best friends, but they weren’t anywhere to be found.
He’d made it halfway through the Common Room before Neville spotted him. He had a plate filled with strawberry Victoria sponge in one hand and a fork in the other. He’d been happily eating away beside Seamus and Dean when he leapt to his feet and rushed over to Harry’s side.
“If you’re looking for Ron and Hermione, they’re up in our room,” Neville told him through a mouthful of cake.
“What’re they doing up there?” Harry frowned.
Neville shrugged his shoulders and stuffed another forkful of cake into his mouth. “They’ve been up there since the party started.”
“Thanks, Neville,” Harry told him as he headed for the stairs. He had to squeeze through more clusters of Gryffindors, receiving more unwanted praise from all of them, and then hurriedly climbed up.
The party was still just as noisy up here as it was down below, but Harry tuned it out. He found the door to his room ajar, and when he stepped inside, he saw Ron and Hermione sitting side-by-side on Ron’s bed. Hermione had her arm around Ron and her head on his shoulder, like she was comforting him.
Ron’s head snapped up when he saw Harry, and it was a mixture of anger and jealousy that met Harry’s curious gaze. The look curdled on Ron’s face, and he pulled away from Hermione as he got to his feet. He looked angry beyond words, and all that he was able to do was get right up in Harry’s face, huffing and puffing.
“What’s with this then?” Harry asked, more coolly than he had intended. Ron wasn’t the type to get in his face like this, and Harry felt thrust onto the defensive.
“What’s with this he asks,” Ron let out a strangled sound as he turned to Hermione with an incredulous expression. Hermione didn’t quite meet Ron or Harry’s gaze. “I’ll tell you what this is: you’ve been a right prat.”
He jabbed Harry’s chest with his finger, making Harry take a step back. He’d expected that Ron might have been a bit upset, but nothing like this. Harry ensured that Ron’s hands stayed in the periphery of his vision just in case he suddenly decided to take a swing at him; he’d gotten plenty of practice dodging blows from his cousin growing up that he knew he could get out of the wave if need be.
“Am I?” Harry asked Ron rhetorically. “Because my name came out of the goblet?”
“Because you put your name in the goblet!” Ron raged, spittle flying out of his mouth. “I expected better from you. We both could’ve entered into the tournament if you’d let me in on how you got in! Was it your invisibility cloak?”
“I didn’t put my name into the goblet,” Harry told Ron as he bit back his own frustration. He didn’t want to have to defend himself from his friend like this; Ron should know that Harry would never enter his name into a stupid competition that could get him killed.
“Get one of the seventh years to do it for you?” Ron asked accusingly. “Or did you get Dumbledore to arrange the whole bloody thing?”
“I didn’t ask anyone to do anything for me,” Harry snapped. “I don’t even want to be in this tournament.”
“Right,” Ron rolled his eyes in disbelief. “You’re actually going to lie to me over this—”
“I’m not lying,” Harry interrupted him as his anger boiled over.
Ron shot him a disgusted look. “Sure you’re not, mate,” he said with a sarcastic tone. “Whatever. I’m done.”
Ron purposefully bumped his shoulder into Harry’s as he stormed past, leaving Harry and Hermione alone together.
A second passed, and then another, and then another. Harry was still caught up in disbelief at what had just happened, and he was looking to Hermione for any sign of support or reassurance that he wasn’t going crazy, but she was just avoiding looking back at him.
“Aren’t you going to say anything?” Harry asked her, feeling his emotions get caught up in his throat.
“I don’t know what to say,” Hermione murmured quietly.
“You believe me, don’t you?” Harry asked, his voice sounding strained.
“I… I do believe you, Harry,” Hermione answered after a moment’s hesitation. “I don’t think that you would have put your name into the goblet.”
Relief flooded through Harry. Even if Ron didn’t believe him, at least one of his friends did. He supposed that made two people now, Hermione and Padma, who were on his side. It was better than having no one.
“Thanks,” Harry told her sincerely.
But the awkwardness returned a moment later when Hermione didn’t say anything else. She shifted awkwardly on Ron’s bed and then got to her feet.
“I should probably go find him,” she muttered.
“Can’t you stay a bit longer?” Harry asked with a grimace. He really didn’t want to be alone right now. He just wanted to tell her everything that had happened and get some form of sympathy out of it. Maybe even a plan going forward. Someone had put his name into the goblet, and he didn’t doubt that they had bad intentions towards him.
“I’m worried about Ron,” Hermione replied with a grimace of her own.
“Why would you be worried about him?” Harry asked, flabbergasted. His anger returned as he continued to speak. “I’m the one who’s got his name entered into a tournament that’s going to try to kill me! It’s my life at stake again!”
“Don’t yell at me,” Hermione told Harry sharply, and he instantly felt bad for raising his voice at her. “I’m trying my best here, and I just want to help my friends out through whatever it is they’re dealing with.”
“What about what I’m dealing with?”
Hermione looked down at her feet. “The first task doesn’t start for a while yet. I’ll be around to help you through it, but Ron needs help tonight.”
“And I don’t?” Harry asked, feeling like he was going to be sick. Were both of friends really pulling away from him when he needed them most?
“You’re strong, Harry,” Hermione said gently. “I know you’ll be alright, but Ron…”
Harry turned away from her, feeling absolutely foolish. “Whatever. Forget about it. Go find Ron. I’ll handle everything on my own.”
“You know I didn’t mean it like that,” Hermione said weakly, but the damage was already done.
“I said go!” Harry shouted before he stormed over to his bed. He climbed in and drew the curtains around him.
A few seconds later, he heard Hermione’s footsteps leaving the room.
PAGE BREAK
“Are you alright there, Harry?”
Harry shook his head, snapping out of the daydream he’d been having. He was staring out of the window, imagining himself just picking up his broomstick and flying far away from here, over the rolling hills and mountains beyond Hogwarts until everything was behind him. It was a nice dream, only one that wasn’t possible.
“Yeah,” he muttered as he turned back to his companion.
Padma grimaced as she pulled the thick tome on the table between them closer to herself. “I know it's not what you wanted to hear, but at least now we know that there’s no way out of the tournament. You’re bound by magic.”
“Even if I blow the bloody goblet up?” Harry asked hopefully.
“Even then,” Padma chuckled softly. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” Harry brushed her words off. “It’s not your fault I’m in this mess; it’s just the way things are.”
“I can still feel sorry about it though,” Padma pointed out. “You don’t deserve any of this. Not being forced into the tournament… not dealing with your friends.”
It had been nearly a week since that night that his name came out of the cup, and as expected, he’d quickly become a social pariah. No one believed him that he didn’t enter his name, so he stopped trying to convince them.
Ron had alternated between avoiding Harry or snidely mocking him while he was around. Hermione was usually by his side, playing her part of the supportive friend. She’d tried to come and talk to Harry again but only when Ron wasn’t around. Harry kept turning her away; if she wasn’t willing to support him in the face of Ron’s anger, then she wasn’t really supporting him. There was nothing he could do to change it; all he could do was keep moving forward.
However, out of the bleakness came a newfound light in the form of Padma. She’d been nothing short of brilliant. Every single day, she came up and talked to him in front of everyone else. They spent plenty of time in the library just getting to know one another and starting to prepare for the impending first task.
Padma closed the tome and pushed it to the side. “I’ve been thinking about what we can do for the first task. From my reading, every task has involved magical creatures in some way. It used to be that you had to capture a magical creature’s child, but protesters put a stop to that back in the late 1500s. Since then, it just became about capturing something. The last tournament in 1792 went awry because the cockatrice that the champions were supposed to capture went on a rampage and injured three of the judges.”
Harry snorted, imagining a cockatrice running wild and yanking Dumbledore around by his long beard.
“If I had to guess, they might go with one of the tamer options from back then as the first task,” Padma continued as she flipped open a new book. She came to a stop a little over a third of the way through it and turned it around so that Harry could read it. “Look here. In 1719, the first task was to get a scroll of a Tebo’s back.”
There was a large image in the book showing an ash-coloured warthog. It had two long tusks, shaggy dark fur, and powerful hooves that were smashing into a wizard’s leg as another wizard was reaching out to grab one of the scrolls that was tied down to the Tebo’s back with a thick piece of twine.
“There are other tasks like this where the objective was to get something that a magical creature was protecting,” Padma told Harry. “There were fewer injuries during these events, but many of the spectators and judges found them to be boring compared to the more dangerous ones.”
“Knowing my luck, we’ll get stuck with a dangerous one,” Harry snorted.
Padma shook her head. “I don’t think so. Bringing back this tournament was a hotly-debated topic for decades now, and it only just barely managed to happen thanks to Minister Fudge really pushing hard for it. France in particular was worried about the tournament being too dangerous, so I think that they’ll stick to safer options for now.”
“Okay, presuming you’re right, I’ll need to steal something from a magical creature.” Harry hummed in thought. There were a lot of directions this task could go. The environment would matter a lot. If it was more open, it might be easier to use spellwork to subdue the magical creature so that he could get the item from it. But if it was more closed off, like in a forest, it might be easier to try to sneak up on the creature.
“I had an idea about that, actually,” Padma said with a little, shy smile. Harry found it cute how she always seemed so timid to share her insights with him like this, even though they were always brilliant. “Have you ever studied Ancient Runes?”
Ancient Runes? That was one of the classes that Hermione had started taking in their third year, but Harry and Ron had both shied away from it in favour of Care of Magical Creatures and Divination—the former because Hagrid taught the class and the latter because it was supposed to be an easy grade.
“Not really,” Harry admitted. “But isn’t that just a class about old languages that we don’t use anymore?”
“Yes and no,” Padma answered cryptically. “We do spend a lot of time studying the languages, but we also learn about how they were used to do magic. The spells we use today are a lot different from how magic used to be done. Before wands were common, people tended to use a combination of wandless magic, various focuses, and runes to cast spells and perform other magical feats. Runes are still used sometimes today to enchant items, make wards, and even sometimes cast spells, but the spells we use can replicate all of these things to varying degrees of proficiency.”
Harry nodded his head, following along so far, but he was still wondering where Padma was going with this.
“Most people who study Ancient Runes are curse breakers or scholars, but some enchanters study them too,” Padma continued. “They can sometimes make better enchanted items with runes than they could with spells. I think that we could use runes to help you in the tournament.”
“That sounds brilliant!” Harry exclaimed. “But, err… I don’t exactly know any runes or how to even get started with this.”
“But I do,” Padma beamed at him. “I’ll teach you runes while I come up with a series of them that we can embed in your robes. They’ll keep you safe from whatever comes your way, and you can focus on your spellwork to see you through the rest. I can make a generic set of protection runes for you, but it would be better if we could somehow find out what the task is ahead of time so that I can tailor the runes to it.”
Now, this was more of Harry’s style. His mind immediately raced to the invisibility cloak and Marauder’s Map he had hidden in his trunk back in his room. Sneaking around to suss out a secret sounded like something he could do.
“Keep your eyes and ears open for any hints about the task then, and I’ll do the same,” Harry told her. “They’ll have to set the task up in advance, so they’re bound to start bringing things into Hogwarts soon.”
It was still a couple weeks before the First Task, so they had time to uncover this mystery.
“In the meantime, you might want to start looking at spells that’ll help you deal with magical creatures,” Padma told him. “A lot of them have magically-resistant hides, enhanced speed, or a number of other tricks that’ll make them tricky to deal with.”
Harry couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re brilliant. I can’t believe that you’ve come up with all of this so quickly.”
Padma blushed lightly. “Well, I couldn’t just leave you to deal with all of this by yourself. Besides, it’s nice to have a new friend. My sister talks about you a lot, you know. She always thought that you were a bit too sheltered away from everyone else, but she felt awkward disturbing you and your friends.”
“Really?” Harry was surprised to hear that. Parvati always stuck by Lavender’s side during class and in the common room, and she’d never given him any indication that she’d like to be better friends with him. Although, maybe he’d just missed whatever signs she’d sent his way—it wouldn’t be the first time.
“Mm hmm,” Padma nodded. “And I guess all of that talking made me want to get to know you.”
Again, Padma blushed, and she just lifted one of her books to cover her face as she flicked through it.
Suddenly, a wave of realisation crossed over Harry.
Did Padma have a crush on him?
He picked up a book of his own—a book by a magizoologist on charms, jinxes, and hexes that helped her when dealing with magical creatures—and opened it up to a random page. He pretended to read, but really he was keeping his focus on Padma.
It didn’t take long for her to glance up at him, and Harry’s eyes instinctively looked up at hers. Their gazes locked for a second before Padma looked back down while a small, coy smile came to her lips.
While Harry would say that he was far from being practised in the art of romance, he wasn’t so oblivious as to not pick up on the signs. Honestly, given how much Dean and Seamus talked about trying to pick up girls in their dorm room, it would have been hard for Harry to miss a sign this obvious.
Was this why she wanted to help him? Well, it wasn’t exactly a nefarious reason, so he couldn’t chide her for that. In fact, it was a pretty sweet gesture.
As the minutes passed on, Harry reexamined his feelings towards Padma. Of course, she was a very pretty witch with her gorgeous black hair, brown skin, and dark eyes that had little flecks of hazel in them, but Harry didn’t know much about Padma beyond that. She wasn’t as giggly or fashion obsessed as her sister was, that was for sure. She always had books in her hands, and it was clear that she loved to study and do research from the way she was helping him out. She was quiet, except when it came to talking with him, but he could see just how perceptive she was of the world around her by those soft smiles that would cross her lips whenever she saw something that interested her.
She smiled at him a lot.
Harry never had much romantic experience. There was that muggle girl he’d kissed the summer before he started Hogwarts, the one who didn’t know about his horrid reputation because she’d just moved to Surrey that summer. The entire neighbourhood made sure that she was well aware of it over the course of the next few months, and by the time the next summer rolled around, she refused to be seen anywhere near him.
There was his Hogsmeade date with Susan Bones last year that was more awkward than fun, mostly due to Harry’s inexperience with dating in general. And most recently was his ill-fated date with Katie Bell’s friend, Leanne, which had ended abruptly after she tried to convince him to shag her under the Quidditch stands barely an hour into their walk around the grounds.
With both Susan and Leanne, things had failed because Harry just hadn’t been able to form an emotional connection with either of them in the short time they were together. But with Padma, he knew that he already felt something for her.
It wasn’t love, but it was a warm, fuzzy feeling that bordered on the line between friendship and a crush.
Could he push it over the edge into something more?
After an hour, Harry realised that he hadn’t read a thing. His hands had been absentmindedly flipping to the next page every few minutes, but none of the information had sunken in.
He glanced back out the window and saw the sun starting to dip lower into the sky. It would still be another hour or two before curfew set in, and quite frankly, he didn’t know if he could sit around and pretend to read until then. He wanted to know if his suspicions were right.
And what if they were? A small part of him asked.
“Do you want to go for a walk?” Harry suddenly blurted out, breaking the comfortable silence that had fallen between the two of them.
“Uh, sure,” Padma answered, sounding surprised. She’d clearly been in the middle of a passage or something because her eyes darted quickly back to the book as she memorised her place. “Just give me a second to mark down the page I was on.”
Harry closed up his book and placed it atop the stack they’d collected. Padma had the foresight to jot down all of the titles and the authors of the books she’d collected for them in advance, so he was fine to let Madam Pince put them all away at the end of the day. Once Padma added her book to his pile, he carried them over to the small cart where book returns would be processed.
“You looked like you were really deep in thought there,” Padma told him as he returned to the table. She slung her book bag over her shoulder and brushed a few stray hairs behind her ears. “Reading something interesting?”
“Not really,” Harry admitted as he collected his own things. “Just… thinking.”
“I get it,” Padma grimaced, misreading his obscured meaning entirely. “This tournament is a lot to take on, but you’re going to do brilliantly. I just know it.”
Harry smiled at her enthusiastic certainty. “Thanks.”
The two of them headed out of the library. For once, Madam Pince didn’t eye Harry with suspicion—maybe being with Padma had something to do with that, he figured.
While a walk around the castle was nice at times, what he really wanted to do was be outside. It would keep them away from nosy eavesdroppers, but more importantly, it would help him feel more free to express himself. There was something about being out in the cool, autumnal air that made Harry feel so much more alive.
So, Harry guided them towards the nearest exit. They made small talk as they walked, just little things about their classes and upcoming assignments. Padma was envious that Harry didn’t have any to worry about since he was a champion, and Harry was envious that she made them all seem so easy.
Despite the short time that they’d spent together, there was a quickly-growing familiarity between them. Harry felt at ease around Padma, and he liked talking and joking around with her. From the way her whole face lit up when she smiled, he thought that she liked it too.
Harry pushed open the doors and breathed in deeply as a gentle breeze washed over him. It was cool outside but not too chilly; still, Harry applied a gentle warming charm to both his and Padma’s robes.
“Thanks, Harry,” Padma smiled at him as she stepped outside with him.
Without a plan in his head, Harry led Padma where his feet took him, and that was down towards the Black Lake. The stony shoreline had trails lining in, making it an excellent place to take a long walk during the warmer months. Harry wasn’t planning on taking Padma around the entire circumference of the lake, just far enough away from the castle that he could work up the courage to ask her outright if she liked him.
They’d only gone a short distance before Padma closed the gap between them. She started walking close enough to him that their arms brushed against each other occasionally. It was another one of those cute signals that Seamus had declared meant that a girl wanted you to hold her hand.
The next time their fingers accidentally brushed against each other, Harry kept his hand against hers. He let his fingers snake around hers until their fingers became interlocked. Padma sucked in a deep breath and kept staring ahead as he did this, but she didn’t stop him either.
Hand-in-hand together, Harry slowed his walk down as they neared a great oak tree. It was a popular spot in the spring when the leaves provided nice shade from the sun, but that wasn’t why Harry stopped here. He did it because it seemed like the most romantic place nearby.
“Padma,” Harry began softly. “I wanted to ask you about something.”
He still hadn’t let her hand go, even when she turned to face him. She didn’t seem keen on letting him go either.
“Yes?” She replied, sounding a little out of breath.
She was staring at him with so much emotion in her eyes that he knew he wasn’t wrong about this.
“Tell me if I’m wrong, but you like me, don’t you?” Harry asked her.
“Of course I like you,” Padma replied with a nervous chuckle. “I mean, we’re friends—”
“That’s not what I meant,” Harry said a bit more bluntly. “I mean that you’re interested in me. Romantically.”
Padma opened her mouth like a fish out of water. No words came to her, and her cheeks turned a deep pink.
Harry cursed himself inside of his head. Maybe he’d gone about this all wrong. He didn’t want to put her on the spot like this.
“I think I might like you,” he told her quickly.
Padma gasped, staring into his eyes for any hint of deception. There was hope there and a deep-seated desperation that this wasn’t a dream.
“I like you too,” Padma replied shyly after a few seconds. “I didn’t know if you felt the same way…”
“Well, I do,” Harry smiled at her. He could feel it in his heart that this was the right choice.
Even now, Padma still looked like she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “That’s… good then.” As her words sunk in, she started to look overwhelmed. “Oh, Merlin.”
Harry moved a little closer to her, and Padma let out a quiet “eep” in surprise. She didn’t pull away though; in fact, her body instinctively leaned in towards Harry too.
“I know that we’re going to be spending a lot of time together studying for the tournament, but how would you like to spend a little bit more with me at Hogsmeade next weekend on a date?” Harry asked her.
Padma looked so flustered. It was adorable. “Well, yes, I’d like that. But I’d have to check my calendar and with my friends—we already made plans, you see—and… sod it. Yes, I’d love to go with you.”
Harry couldn’t help but laugh at her panic, and she hit his chest playfully in response.
“Don’t laugh at me,” she said, blushing even deeper. “You just surprised me is all.”
“Well, now that we’ve got the first one out of the way, how about another surprise?” Harry asked.
Padma’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. “If this was all some stupid prank—”
“It’s nothing like that; I wouldn’t do that to you,” Harry assured her. “In fact, I think you might like this surprise even more than the first.”
“I don’t know how I could like anything more than you asking me out, but—”
Padma’s words were cut off as Harry kissed her. Her eyes went wide with surprise, but she quickly shut them and melted into the kiss. Harry wrapped his arms around her back and held her to him, relishing in the warmth that flowed through him. Padma’s lips felt so soft against his, and the pounding of his heart and the sparks filling his entire body told him that this was going to be the start of something beautiful with her.
The kiss only lasted a few seconds, but Harry swore it had to be longer. He pulled away first and saw Padma’s lips still puckered as they had been when he’d kissed her. Then, her eyes opened, and she brought her fingers up to her lips. She pressed them gently to them as she looked up into Harry’s eyes.
“Wow,” she murmured.
Comments
Arctis_Shox
No problem! I'm glad to work on a prompt that's a bit different that the usual Harry/Daphne stories (got a bit burnt out of those over the last few months). Yeah, I tend to keep Ron and most of the Weasleys out of my stories because so many people have unbridled hate towards them because of the movies & how fanfiction often portrays them. In the books, Ron isn't that bad (he's just a teenager, really). Sure, he gets jealous sometimes, but he's also incredibly supportive of Harry. Unfortunately, most people don't see him as he is in the books. I will get a ton of hate if I write him positively (as I have in the past for a couple stories I wrote on an alt), which I don't always feel like dealing with. That's why he tends to get left out of my series. I do occasionally like to write Ron as the overly-jealous former friend to Harry, but only if it fits. In cases like these where Harry is becoming friends with new people, I think it works well enough as a plot device.
Joe Uchiha
Seems like the beginning to a great story. Love the build up. Thank you for doing my prompt again. Can't wait for the remaining chapter(s) and hope they come soon. I've noticed that Ron hasn't been seen in most of your stories, other than Attendants. I would love to hear your thoughts on Ron's jealousy leading to in a sense abandoning Harry when he needed him the most and his apparent forgiveness and return to the circle. Either way, looking forward to the first task and the Yule Ball. And definitely the ending smut, of course.
