Can't Help Falling In Love - Harry Potter (Book Two)

Best Day of My Life

Thursday, 7th of August 1995

A further two unsettling hours passed the residents of Grimmauld Place before any disturbance came from the entrance.

The door could be heard opening, and before you could blink, the kitchen doorway was crowded with bodies, all eagerly awaiting news from the young man who stood before them, an unreadable expression on his face.

"I'm not expelled," He stated simply, before his face broke out into a grin.

Hermione was the first to reach him, throwing her arms around him, reiterating over and over again how she was certain he would get away with it, and how they had no grounds to expel him whatsoever.

One by one everyone in the house breathed a sigh of relief, hugging Harry so tightly one would think they believed he would never return.

"Blimey, for a house full of people so sure I'd get off, you all seem really chuffed for me," The sarcastic comment caused everybody to laugh, a renewed sense of joy and hope flooding through each person, as though they had finally remembered you could be happy in this dark world.

Harry managed to fight his way through the swarm of people, until he finally caught the eye of the one person he had been wanting to see all day, and he could finally relax himself.

"You've been sweating," Was all she said, and he furrowed his brow. "I can tell, because the hair on the side of your head is lying flat,"

She smiled, then, and Harry couldn't stop himself from throwing his arms around her, burying his face into her shoulder and soaking in the scent of her perfume. Vanilla.

"I'm so happy for you," She whispered, as she held him close, not caring who was watching. It felt good, to finally have confessed how she truly felt to somebody else, to have spoken it out into the world.

"I missed you," He couldn't quite bring himself to let go, and he hoped she would cling to him for the rest of his life. However, when Mrs Weasley clapped her hands, Ariana broke away from him, and he noticed how he felt empty.

"Well! This calls for celebration I should think!" Mrs Weasley declared. "Let's all meet in here at six, put on your best dresses, and we'll have a little party to celebrate Harry's victory!"

————

Harry Potter was stood in the bedroom he had been sharing with Ron, in front of a floor length mirror, attempting for the thirtieth time to do up his tie. Ron had given up on his and descended the stairs almost twenty minutes ago, but Harry wanted to get this right. He was far too stubborn to just give up.

He heard footsteps above him, and the creak of the staircase, as he groaned to himself, ripping his tie away from his neck for the thirty-first time. He couldn't understand it, he wore ties for school, so why wasn't he able to do this one?

"I see that temper is flaring up again, Potter," The sweetest voice he had ever heard sounded from the bedroom door, and when he turned to look at her, he swore the world stood still.

"Ana," He swallowed thickly, trying to control his heart rate as she smiled up at him. She leaned against the door frame, arms folded across her chest, smirk on her face. Her dress was silver, and it lightly grazed the floor, hugging her figure in every perfect place. He wished he could take her into his arms there and then, make sure she knew without a doubt that there was nobody on the planet who came close to making him feel the way she did.

But he didn't.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Thought I heard one of those trademark Potter temper tantrums and thought I'd see what was happening," She smiled, one of those smiles that made everything else in the world seem completely insignificant.

"Can't do up my tie," He looked away from her, nodding in the direction of the discarded tie, and she laughed. She walked over picked it up, rolling her eyes.

"Fifteen years old, and you can't even tie a tie. Tell me, Potter, when will you stop needing me?" She grinned, as she began to do his tie for him, her nimble fingers working at lightning speed, so that he could hardly make our individual movements.

"I'm not sure that day will ever come," His breath caught in his throat as she stepped back, her task complete, and the light caught her beautiful eyes.

Ariana noticed how his eyes flickered towards her lips, and her stomach came alive. She was almost certain that he was leaning in, closing the gap between them, and time was just a concept, the world was moving around them but they were the only two people who mattered.

"Come on lovebirds," And then, the gap widened, the atmosphere cleared and reality returned, as the two teenagers turned, finding Sirius Black in the doorway of the bedroom, a knowing smirk on his face, as he leaned against the very same doorframe Ariana had vacated only moments earlier. "Before Molly has a coronary,"

Ariana mumbled an apology and scuttled from the room, and Harry sighed as he listened to her footsteps descending the staircase.

"Thanks, Sirius," He grumbled, and his Godfather chuckled.

"Your Dad did that to me plenty of times, I consider this repayment,"

————

"And you said he ignored you? As in, completely blanked you?" The moment shared between Harry and Ariana in his bedroom had been long placed in the back of their minds, as the hours of partying had passed them by. They found themselves sat in the garden, surrounded by laughter and music, sat beneath a tree, discussing Harry's trial.

"It's like I said, he appeared, defended me, and he left," Harry shrugged. "I called for him, when the judgement was read out, but he just kept walking,"

Ariana's brow furrowed. She was certain her Grandfather wouldn't have ignored Harry without good reason, but she couldn't fathom what the reason could be.

"I just wish he would communicate," Ariana sighed. "Just not in bloody riddles. I'm sure he thinks I'm a Ravenclaw,"

Harry laughed at this.

"You're the furthest thing from a Ravenclaw,"

"Hey! That's rude, and also hypocritical, you've got the least common sense of everyone I've ever met," Ariana retorted, and Harry placed a hand over his heart.

"That hurt me, Ana, right there," He patted his chest, and she laughed once again.

"Truth hurts, so they say,"

"Thank you for always being here for me," Harry looked her in the eyes, and she tried to ignore the way the world seemed to fade away once more. "You're a great friend,"

There's that word again - friend. The word which got thrown around so carelessly, but caused so much pain in her chest. The word which caused her to truly doubt Harry could ever possibly feel the same way she did. And so she did what she would have to train herself to do, cover it with a smile, and pretend he wasn't slowly breaking her heart.

"Always,"