Winging It (Interactive Love Story)

2. The Quidditch Pitch

January 29th, 1996

The next morning Harry pushed off the maroon covers of his bed and sat up. He was not at all a morning person, but was in a surprisingly good mood today. His mind felt cleansed and clear in a way that only a good, deep sleep could provide. Harry could only dream of having such a tranquil slumber every night. A good night's rest was rare for him, after all.

'Good morning, time to start the day,' Harry idly thought to himself as he put on his glasses—one of the key features to his appearance—and stepped out of bed. The floor felt cold to his bare feet, but the recently awoken Gryffindor didn't have the wherewithal to care and payed it no mind. While glancing around the crimson coloured room, he spotted three out of four of his roommates; Neville, tying his shoelaces, and Dean and Seamus, conversing at the door. A certain redhead was nowhere to be seen.

"Good morning," Harry mumbled to his roommates. He covered his mouth with one hand and stretched out the other with a wide yawn. Seamus and Dean abruptly stopped talking and turned to face him. "Morning mate. Finally awake, I see?" Seamus remarked with a grin. "We were just about to head out."

"Already?" the raven-haired Gryffindor commented with a tone of surprise in his voice. "Without me?"

"We considered waking you up," Dean chimed in, "But you looked so peaceful in your sleep, so we decided to let you rest. We figured you wouldn't mind us getting breakfast without you."

"Speaking of which..." Seamus gave Dean a sidelong glance, who looked back at him curiously. "Oh, right," Dean mentioned, "We'll be heading out now. See you guys later."

The two boys left for the Great Hall, leaving Harry and Neville alone in the dormitory.

"Good morning, Harry," Neville said, breaking the momentarily silence. "Did you sleep well?"

The Golden Boy nodded his head, wiping a loose strand of hair from his face. "Yes, I did. I'm feeling surprisingly fit this morning."

Neville gave a smile that could not be described with any word other than wholesome. "I'm glad to hear that," he mentioned, then unexpectedly changed the subject, "By the way, Harry, have you decided when you're going to help me study for Herbology?"

Neville looked up at Harry, who stared back confused. "What?"

"You promised you would help me study, remember?" Neville reminded him, oblivious to Harry's confusion.

'I did..?' Harry didn't verbalize the thought. The Golden Boy gave his friend a skeptical look, but he wasn't joking—his eyes were shining earnestly. Harry was sure it was possible that he did, in one of their many conversations where he subconsciously went along with whatever Neville was going on about. The raven-haired boy felt an insatiable curiosity rise inside of him, and hesitatingly asked his question aloud, "But I thought you were pretty good at Herbology? Why need my help?"

"Well, uhm," Neville sheepishly turned his face away. "You're not wrong, but I just needed some extra help is all... Besides, isn't it much more fun to study together?"

Harry could've sworn he saw a light blush on Neville's cheeks, but didn't press him on the matter. "Well, that is true... I'm probably free this weekend, does that work for you?"

Now it was Neville's turn to nod. "Great! Thanks a lot, Harry." he commented cheerfully. Harry could tell he was excited. Perhaps even a little too excited, as it was just Herbology. It really wasn't that interesting. "Oh, we should probably head to the Great Hall soon," Neville remarked with a shy grin. "...Want to go together?"

Harry waved his hands no, declining the offer. "You can go on without me. I'm going to take a quick shower."

"Are you sure?" Neville asked, his eyes soft with concern. "It won't be long until class begins. You might not get to eat breakfast, then."