Sincerely, Harry -h.p

Chapter 8

I barely got any sleep, as I was up all night thinking about my date with Harry.

After a while of creating cute scenarios in my head, I eventually got up and saw that Ginny was still sleeping, so I let her be.

I threw my outfit on, and put some makeup on as well. I always enjoyed getting ready for things, I could just never find the motivation to do it.

As I was walking down to the entrance of the dining hall where Harry told me to meet him, I ran into Luna.

"Hello, Jocie," Luna spoke softly.

"Oh, hi Luna," I replied.

"Wow, you look lovely."

I started to giggle as I looked down. Luna was so kind, I found it so upsetting that people thought of her as a weird person.

"You really think so? I'm going on a date with Harry," I grinned.

"Oh, well I don't want to make you late, have fun!" She said as she skipped off.

Once I got down to the dining hall, I saw Harry waiting for me, holding some daisies. I thought that it was so sweet, considering I've never been on an actual date before.

"Hi Jocie, these are for you."

He handed me the flowers and I couldn't help but notice that he seemed rather nervous, but I thought it was adorable.

"These are beautiful, thank you Harry."

He smiled and we started to sneak off towards hogsmeade. It was so easy to not get caught, especially with Harry's invisibility cloak.

"Where do you want to go first?" he asked as we took the cloak off.

"I was thinking the three broomsticks, I'm in the mood for some butter beer," I responded.

As we walked in, I was immediately filled with warmth. The three broomsticks never failed to impress me.

"I'm going to go order our drinks," he said as he took his jacket off.

I smiled at him and sat down at a table, but shortly after I heard the bell on the door ring. I turned my head to see who it was and my jaw almost fell to the floor. It was Bella Anderson.

Bella Anderson was a rich and attractive slytherin. We used to be friends until I realized how much of a bitch she was. She was the best at backhanded compliments, and she was just a bad person in general, but many boys didn't seem to care. All that mattered to them was how attractive she was, and she was here now, while I was on a date with Harry.

She looked over at me and gave me a disgusted smile.

"You here alone, Parker?" she hissed.

"No, actually. I'm on a date with Harry," I replied confidently.

"The Potter boy? Not too bad for a girl like you," she snickered.

I opened my mouth to reply but she walked over to Harry before I could say anything. I was already feeling my anxiety creeping up on me.

"So Potter, I see you've got yourself a girlfriend," she smirked.

I could tell he was caught off guard by the way he looked at her, and that only made my heart pound faster.

"Uh- yeah- well no- it's just a date."

My heart dropped. I couldn't believe he had the actual audacity to say that, especially how he literally told me he wanted to be with me just the other day. It was absolutely absurd.

"Ah, I see. So you're still single?"

"Uh-I-ye-"

He stopped himself and looked over at me but I quickly looked down at the table. I didn't need him thinking I was jealous, as much as I was.

"I should probably get back to my date," he hesitated.

"Right, of course! Don't have too much fun!"

He flashed an awkward smile at her and walked over to me with our drinks in his hands.

"Thanks," I mumbled.

He smiled at me and I didn't smile back. What was I supposed to say?

After 10 minutes of sitting there in awkward silence, we both finished our drinks and I finally looked up at him. I searched in his eyes for any clues about what he was feeling or thinking but was unsuccessful. He looked emotionless.

"I used to be friends with Bella."

I pursed my lips, realizing what I just blurted out.

He cleared his throat and looked at me.

"Oh yeah?"

There was no way out of the conversation now.

"Yeah. But I cut her off after realizing how bad of a person she is," I stated.

"What did she do to you?"

"She uh- she did a lot of things. She made fun of me all the time, teased my little brother, and she made jokes about my moms death."

"Oh, I didn't know that. That's horrible. What were the jokes?"

I looked up at him in disbelief. There was no reason for him to ask that, especially when his parents are dead as well. I would have assumed he would understand, but I was clearly mistaken.

"I- um- I- I don't really remember, I tried to block out the memories. Um- but I do remember when I asked what she was doing on Mother's Day, and she replied with, 'Giving gifts to my mom because she's still breathing.' That one really hurt. She just constantly made fun of my mom, and her little servants thought it was the funniest thing ever."

"That's- that's horrible. I didn't know she could be so mean."

"Yeah, well that was pretty obvious," I snapped.

"What- do you think I fancy her or something?" he scoffed.

"How would I know, Harry. It's just when you said that this was "just a date," really hurt. Especially when you told me you wanted to be with me last night. Why did you act so weird around her?"

"I- I don't know. I'm sorry, I didn't think you would take it that seriously."

"Really? That's funny. You know what Harry, it doesn't matter. Thanks for the drinks."

I got up and walked out the door, feeling suddenly cold, as it was snowing.

"Jocie!"

I felt Harry grab my hand and spin me around. He suddenly pulled me into a kiss, with his on the back of my head. The feeling of his warm lips made a million butterflies form in my stomach. He then took both my hands and looked deep into my eyes.

"I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have said that, none of it. You've always been the only one I fancy."

I looked at him and smiled. I wrapped my arms around him as I put my head on his chest. His heart was beating really fast, and I felt his arms tighten around me as he let out a deep breath. The coldness of the snow and the warmth of his hug was the best combination.

"I'm sorry too, Harry. I was being dramatic," I said with my head still buried in his chest.

"You have nothing to apologize for," he responded calmly.

I eventually let go of him, and looked down at the ground.

"We have about 2 hours till we have to be back at hogwarts. Where to next?" he smiled.

I beamed at him, grabbed his hand and ran into another shop.