Lucy Potter: Harry's little sister

| Year 3 | Chapter 21: Friends we make for life

Lucy's POV:

It's only a short, tongueless kiss, thank God I guess, but everyone is whistling, giggling, cheering and howling (yes, howling) around us. I feel myself start to blush instantly. When 'Liana pulls away, she's blushing too.

She doesn't turn back to the rest at once, looking at me still. "Are we okay, Lu?" I nod lightly, and she lets out a breath she was holding in. "Please believe that I was being honest, Lu."

Of course you weren't. You just know everyone else knows they're beautiful. You just wanted me to think I'm the pretty one for once. It really is kind of you, truly, but I'll never believe that.

She turns to the others and bows dramatically, making all of us laugh. "Thank you, thank you! Okay... Fred, truth or dare?"

"I'll take a dare as well."

"I dare you to... ask out the hottest Gryffindor girl in your year! I do need to go to the bathroom right now, I'll be right back!"

She stands up and almost runs up the stairs to our dorms. But not before giving me a quick sign to follow.

"Well, you guys, I need to put this all back in our dorm, see you in a second." I could've waited a little, but it wouldn't have mattered, they all know what I'm going to do anyway.

"'Liana? Are you in the bathroom?" I knock on our shared bathroom. "Can you open the door please?"

She opens the door immediately and I enter. "No one followed, right?"

"Don't think so..."

"Look, I know you won't believe all of this, but I really meant it that way, okay? I wasn't pretending."

"I just find it hard to believe when there was 'Nessa and Ginny and Hermione around. But never mind that, you asked me to come here for a different reason, didn't you?"

"Well, partly, yes." She looks down at her hands. "You see, I've never really kissed anyone before..."

I am kind of shocked. Not that I was her first kiss, because to be fair, she was my first as well, but because she's acting all insecure about it. It's not- hing like the normal 'Liana would be.

"I haven't kissed before either."

"No, I mean, but it kind of felt... good. Did it feel good for you? Like, nice?"

Oh. "Well, I don't know, I didn't honestly register much else than the fact that it was my first kiss and that you kissed me."

"Right." She looks down at her hands again.

"You weren't a bad kisser, if that's what you're trying to say. But I think that's more to be established with a real kiss."

"I mean, is it supposed to feel nice when you kiss a girl?"

Right. That's what she's wondering, okay. "I don't know, to be honest. I've never even kissed a boy, 'Liana, I don't think I'm the right person to ask."

"But you're the only one I can ask!" 'Liana looks to me helplessly. "I don't know anything about this stuff! I don't know how to feel, or what to do, or... I don't know, anything!"

"It's okay," I try to calm her. When she doesn't, I put my arm around her shoulders for good measure. "Neither do I. And we are not the only ones, I'm guessing. Besides, we're younger than most people here, isn't it normal that we don't know much about this?"

"I hate not knowing what to do," 'Liana pouts and leans her head against my shoulder. "I hate being unsure."

At that, I can not do anything but laugh. "I know you do. So do I."