How You Get the Girl |Harry Potter|

Chapter Eleven

Harry was kicking himself all last night and into the following morning. He had went against Hermione's instructions, and they probably wouldn't even work now. He kissed Elizabeth! Ron, despite his grumpiness, congratulated Harry. (So did Krum. And George. And a few faces with names he did not recognize).

It was breakfast time and he could barely eat his porridge. He spent most of the time spinning it around in his bowl with his spoon.

"Harry, are you even listening?" Hermione asked him.

"He's too busy worrying about what his precious 'Lizabeth' thinks of him now," George said, only half teasing. "You kissed her. You should be proud."

"I still can't believe you kissed her," Ron shook his head with a smile clear as day on his face. "Nice job, by the way." He extended his arm for Harry to give him a highfive.

"Not nice job," Hermione cut in before Harry could even lift his hand. Ron dropped his arm down in confusion. "Malfoy and that Davis girl was asking what happened. When he finds out he will hex you into next week!"

"No one would tell on Harry, he's among friends here," Ron defended, reaching over the table to give Harry an awkward, far-away pat on the back.

"At the Yule Ball you weren't among friends," Ginny pointed out. The trio turned to her and stared until she continued. "There were plenty of people who could've seen what happened or even heard about it from someone who was impressed by Harry finally making a move."

Harry was unsure of how to respond. He hadn't really thought about any of this when he did it. Merlin, he wasn't thinking anything at all. He really did need to get better at containing his emotions.

From across the hall, Harry noticed that Malfoy was standing up and leaving without his friends. Harry glanced towards the neighbouring Ravenclaw table to see that it was lacking a very important person.

"Where's Elizabeth?" Harry asked while continuing to look up and down the table, just in case he missed her.

"She never came down," Hermione replied. She frowned, "I saw Padma come down and grab two plates of food before leaving. Maybe she's too tired to get out of bed."

"Or she's injured," Harry said nervously. "I saw Malfoy leave without his friends."

In his anxious state of mind, he jumped from his seat and began briskly walking towards the exit of the Great Hall before anyone could protest. (They still did protest though, they just had to yell it).

Ron sighed and shook his head at his leaving friend. He considered following Harry, but then looked down at his still full plate. He decided that he would follow after he finished eating. After all, how much trouble could Harry get into in the next ten minutes?

ϟϟϟ

At the pace Harry was walking, he made to the Grand Staircase in no time. He didn't hesitate to step on the first staircase he saw.

The stairs shifted, sinking down like Harry was too heavy, before lifting up and twirling in the air. It was a well performed acrobatic act, if stairs could do acrobatics. They spun Harry around, making him hear many snide remarks from the portraits that lined the walls. He figured that they must be tired of the students being at school, this was the only year that most of the kids did not go home for Christmas.

Finally, the stairs stopped lifting and stopped at the fifth floor. Harry stepped off and continued his fast walk down the corridor. He could walk the path to the Ravenclaw tower in his sleep. During his first and second years, he spent most of his free time trying to memorize where Elizabeth was at every hour of every day. Not that he was a stalker or anything.

He was oblivious to his surroundings, so it came to no surprise that he ran into something.

"Ah!" Harry exclaimed, rubbing his shoulder where he had collided.

"Potter," Draco's voice sneered at him. "I was wondering when you'd show up."

"Feel blessed by my presence, Malfoy?" Harry snapped his head to glare at Draco, his green eyes narrowing and his mouth turning into a scowl.

Draco flashed a sinister smile before pointing his hawthorn wood wand at Harry's neck.

It rubbed against Harry's adam's apple as Draco began to speak. "Aren't you just a blighter? I don't take lightly to having filthy half-bloods like you getting close with my friends without permission."

"Permission?" Harry raised his eyebrows in mock question. "Are you seriously saying that I need to ask permission to be with Elizabeth?" Harry grinned before continuing, casually ignoring the wand that was digging into his throat, "May I kiss Elizabeth? Oh... Don't answer that. In case you haven't heard, I already did."

Draco couldn't decide whether to cringe in disgust or to hurt Harry as much as possible before he gets caught. He looked at the wand that was at Harry's throat and made his decision.

He pulled his wand away, making Harry almost sigh with relief, before yelling a stream of hexes. "Engorgio Skullus! Densaugeo!" were just a few of them that were sent in glowing lights towards Harry.

Harry struggled to get his wand out with the aching headache that shook through his head. He casted, "Protego!" The spell shielded him from the string of hexes that didn't seem to end.

Draco finally stopped, panting and out of breath. His wand was still pointed at Harry, who at this point in time felt like his head was going to explode and his front teeth were digging annoyingly into his bottom gums.

There was thumping of footsteps as Ron and Hermione ran to join Harry's side.

"Malfoy! You bloody git!" Ron shouted, putting his arm in front of Harry, shielding him. "What is wrong with you?"

Draco just shrugged, "Potter got what was coming to him. And he will get a whole lot more if he doesn't back off."

"Like hell he will!" Ron yelled.

"There's such a thing as free will, Harry can do whatever he pleases," Hermione scowled, even though inside her head was dying to say 'I told you so, Harry.'

"Come on, let's get you to the hospital wing," Ron said, pulling Harry with him as he turned away.

Draco glared at the leaving trio before whispering to himself, "So can I, mudblood."

A string of light jolted from Draco's wand, hitting the back of Harry's head. Harry would've fallen over if it wasn't for Ron gripping his arm.

"Harry! You alright?" Ron asked worriedly as he noticed his friend was having trouble breathing and beginning to swell up.

"What's wrong with him?" Hermione asked worriedly. She glanced back to see a smirking Draco, but she didn't make out what spell he had casted.

"Don't recognize it, mudblood? Here I thought you were the cleverest witch of your age," Draco taunted. "It's the Stinging Jinx. Takes hours to go away if treated. I can promise that Potter will get much worse if he bothers Elizabeth again."

Draco watched the trio as they didn't retort back, Harry mainly not saying anything because of all the damage from the hexes.

He grinned to himself in victory. That solves that. Elizabeth won't miss dealing with him.

ϟϟϟ

After arriving at the Hospital Wing and being treated by Madam Pomfrey, Harry lay barely awake on one of the egg white beds. Hermione and Ron were planning how to get back at Draco when he spoke up.

"Don't do anything. It was my fault, I should've waited until Elizabeth came to me," Harry mumbled just loud enough for his friends to hear.

Ron gaped at him, "Are you sure you don't want us to---"

"Positive. Just leave it alone, just as I will leave Elizabeth alone," Harry said gloomily.

Hermione and Ron exchanged worried looks, Harry had never given up on anything. Ever.

But maybe, they thought hopefully, he knows something they don't.