Celia advised making a move out of nowhere. Witch Weekly advised making subtle motions and charming him over. Teens on Diagon advised becoming his friend and gently pushing into his group and life.
Needless to say, Susan was quite confounded when it came to actually winning Harry over. Where are the rules? Susan pondered. What are the rules?!
Susan sat in Charms, her chin resting on her left palm, her right hand flicking her wand lazily. They were supposed to be reviewing various charms in time for the finals, but Susan was most definitely distracted by her thoughts of Harry. She was overly pleased that she had ended things with Roger “ was that even allowed in the post-break-up world? Roger had very obviously thrown off his usual amiability and into a state of irritation and grouchiness. Every time Susan saw him in the common room or in the corridors, he would sneer at her and then leave with his friends.
Susan sighed. The leaf of parchment in front of her fluttered with her breath.
“I just don’t understand, Lia,” Susan said to Celia, who was on her right. She was completely focused, her lips pursed in concentration.
“Mmm.”
“How am I supposed to get…him?” Susan whispered in fear of Harry overhearing her. He was sitting between Ron and Hermione on the other side of the room. Harry was just as focused as Celia, but he stopped frequently to have a laugh with Ron, much to Hermione’s dismay.
“Can we talk about this later?” Celia’s charm failed as she turned around the glare at Susan. Susan stopped moving her wand and looked at Celia.
“Yeah “ but I really…never mind.” Susan angrily flicked her wand and sent the ink she was supposed to be charming to change colors off her desk. She sighed again, now bothered that she to clean up the ink mess. Susan gave one last furtive glance at Harry, who was again laughing. Her heart jumped and she smiled to herself.
-/-/-
Several days passed. Susan’s mood was still slightly gloomy due to her lack of understanding of how to become Harry’s girlfriend. She tried to focus her energies on the upcoming exams, but, because Harry was in several subjects with her, calming her heart enough to get through class proved to be worthy of the Triwizard Tournament.
“Y’know, Sue, you could just ask to study with them,” Celia suggested off-handedly one day after Susan had given a look of despair at the trio as they sat at a table nearby in the library.
“You know what? I think I will,” Susan said firmly. She shut her Potions book and gathered her things in her bag. Susan smiled at Celia, who was obviously taken by surprise at her friend’s sudden assertiveness.
Susan walked confidently over the trio’s table, her heart thumping in her chest. Her smile was definitely genuine “ no magic involved. Quite honestly, Susan was surprised in herself; she was proud that she was going to make the first move.
“’Lo, guys,” Susan peeped with a bright voice. “Are you guys working on that Potions’ essay?” Susan offered a smile at Harry, who was sitting on Hermione’s left. He smiled back.
“Yeah, actually,” Hermione returned warmly. “Would you like to study with us?”
“Of course!”
“Here, sit next to me, Susan,” Hermione said, making room between her and Harry for Susan. Susan pulled up a chair from a near-by table and moved into the space. She smiled softly again at Harry, whose cheeks turned a slight pink.
So far, so good. I haven’t made a fool of myself…yet.
Susan’s heart continued to thump as the quartet studied, though the thumps became softer. Hermione and Susan compared notes and questioned each other on various topics, whereas Harry and Ron mostly discussed Quidditch. By the time things were starting to slow down it was time for dinner. Susan could hardly believe that the time had passed.
“Do you want to eat with us, Susan?” Ron asked.
“Yeah! It’d be great,” Hermione seconded.
Susan looked at Harry, who was busy looking at his shoes, his cheeks still a tad pink.
“I’m sorry, but I told Celia I’d eat with her tonight. But maybe some other time! We could go to Hogsmeade together next weekend or something.” Susan adjusted her bag over her shoulder.
“Yeah, that’d be great!” Hermione chirped.
“Definitely,” Ron agreed.
“It’d be great to see you there, Sue,” Harry said with a smile.
“Alright, it’s a date. Why don’t we meet in the Great Hall at nine o’clock, then? Well, I’ll see you guys later.” She waved at them and began to walk off, her heart racing.
Susan met Celia in the Great Hall.
“So?” Celia implored. “How’d it go?” Celia slung her arm over Susan as the two sat down at the end of the Ravenclaw table. Luna sat across them, engrossed in The Quibbler.
“Well, we studied and talked about how Professor Snape’s nose appears to be getting larger with each passing day.” Susan laughed to herself. “Harry said, ‘He probably put a growth charm on it to impress someone.’” Susan smiled, filling her goblet with water. “It was a great laugh.”
“A-a-a-a-and?” Celia said, her eyes glowing.
“And what?”
“Did you tell him?” Celia asked excitedly.
“Tell him that I fancy him?” Susan replied dryly.
“Yes!”
Susan looked Celia, who was smiling broadly and expectedly.
“…You’ve spent too much time in Divination,” Susan said as she grabbed an apple and put it on her plate. “Are you bonkers? Of course not. Why would I want to spring something on him like that?” She smiled. “But, the four of us are going to Hogsmeade next weekend,” Susan said slyly.
“Oh, that’s so great, Susan!” Her best friend gave her a hopeful smile. “I hope this will set things off.” Celia winked at Susan.
“Did you know that the sting of a Billywig is used in Fizzy Whizbees?” Luna sang as she looked up from her magazine.
My Magical Romance by MrsDanRadcliffe27
Chapter Notes: With the new-found freedom from a pressing relationship with Roger Davies, Susan is ready to make the right move with Harry Potter. But, are the mixed emotions and complexities of post-break-up hindering her chances?
Chapter Endnotes: Bahahaha Snape's nose makes me happy.