A Summer Romance by unicorngirl22
Chapter Notes: Disclaimer: Still not mine, J.K's.
When Harry and Ari got to the playground, they sat on the swings. For a while, it was silent. Neither of them knew what to say. After about five minutes, the painful silence was broken.
“So, what was it like in Greece?” Harry asked Ari.
“It was nice. We lived in Athens. It was beautiful there. All the people were really nice,” Ari answered.
“Wow, that sounds really cool,” Harry said, amazed.
“It was, but enough about where I lived. What about here? What’s it like here?” she asked
“Well, it’s not that great here. Not for me, anyway. A lot of the people here don’t like me,” Harry answered.
“Well, I like you,” Ari said.
Harry blushed. “I like you, too,” he said.
“So, did you have any boyfriends in Athens?” Harry inquired.
“No. Why do you ask?” she asked suspiciously.
“I’m just curious,” Harry defended himself. Ari sent him a disbelieving look.
“How about you? Did you ever have any girlfriends?” she asked.
“No, I have liked girls before, though,” Harry answered.
Ari was silent. Maybe she’s jealous, Harry thought.
“Are there any girls my age around Little Whinging?” Ari suddenly asked.
“Probably. There’s none that I know of, though,” Harry said, looking around.
Suddenly, the quiet of the night was broken by voices. Harry and Ari looked and saw that Dudley and his gang were walking along the street.
“Hey, Dud, did you see the beautiful girl who lives across the street from you?” one of the guys, Piers Polkiss, asked Dudley.
“As a matter of fact, I did, and tomorrow I’m going to ask her to be my girlfriend,” Dudley announced.
Ari stood up. Harry tried to pull her back down onto the swing, but she wiggled free of his grip. Harry stood up, ready to defend Ari in case Dudley tried to do anything. When Dudley and his gang saw Harry and Ari, they grinned.
“Hey, Dud, looks like your cousin’s got a girlfriend,” one of the guys said. At these words, both Harry and Ari blushed.
“She’s not my girlfriend,” Harry mumbled.
“Well then, you wouldn’t mind if I asked her out, would you?” Dudley asked.
“Actually, I would, Dudley,” Harry said. Ari looked at him, but he didn’t notice. He was staring at Dudley, who was still grinning.
“Got yourself a crush, do you, Potter?” Dudley teased. Suddenly, Harry lost his temper. Harry jumped after Dudley, trying to hit him, but Ari held him back.
“No, Harry! Please don’t. He’s not worth it,” she whispered to him
Harry looked at Ari and saw that she had tears in her eyes. He grabbed her arm and led her away before Dudley could tease anymore, before Harry lost his temper and used his wand.
They went back to the playground and sat on a bench. Harry looked at Ari, who now had tears rolling down her cheeks. He put his hand up to her face and wiped the tears away.
“What’s wrong, Ari? You're not hurt, are you?” Harry asked.
Ari shook her head. “No. I was just afraid. I don’t like it when people fight.”
“Well, I’m sorry. I have a hard to control temper and when Dudley started teasing I couldn’t stand it,” Harry apologized.
“Thanks for defending me. It meant a lot to me.” Ari smiled.
“Yeah, well, I wasn’t about to let him ask you out. You deserve better than him,” Harry said, blushing.
“Well, thank-you. Nobody’s ever defended me like that before.” She blushed.
“Well, it’s getting late. I guess we had better start walking back now,” Harry suggested.
“Yeah, I guess we should.” Ari stood up and started walking home. Harry stood up and caught up to her.
“Did you have a good time? I mean besides what happened with Dudley,” Harry asked.
“Yes, I did. We should do something tomorrow,” Ari said.
“How about I come over to your house and we can hang out in your backyard?” Harry suggested.
“Sounds great,” Ari said.
They came to the alley way. They started walking to the other end, when they heard voices. Harry pulled Ari into the shadows. Dudley and his gang were headed home. As they passed, Harry heard what they were saying.
“You know what I think? I think that Dudley has some competition for that girl. From the sounds of it, Potter likes her too. Did you see the look on her face when he jumped after Dudley, trying to punch him? She looked terrified. I actually saw tears in her eyes. I say that she likes Potter,” Piers exclaimed.
“Well, if Potter thinks that he’s going to win her heart then he must be crazy. Who would like a weirdo like him?” one of the guys that Harry didn’t know asked.
“I hope she doesn’t. It would take a pretty long time for me to get her then,” Dudley said, looking nervous.
Finally, they were gone. Harry let Ari come out of the shadows. She looked terrified again.
“What’s wrong?” Harry asked.
“I’m afraid that they might hurt you,” Ari mumbled.
“Trust me, they won’t,” Harry said. Because Dudley knows that I have a wand, Harry added in his thoughts.
Harry put his hand on Ari’s shoulder. She was shivering. Harry took off his coat and put it around her shoulders. She looked at him, confused, but didn’t say anything.
They finally came up to Ari’s house. Ari went to take Harry’s coat off her shoulders, but Harry put his hand up.
“You can take it. I don’t really need it for now,” Harry said.
“Okay,” she said. She started to walk up to her house, and Harry turned to go. He stopped and ran up to Ari.
“Can I ask you something?” He turned her around to face him. “It’s important.”
She looked startled, but nodded her head all the same.
“Ari, I was wondering if- if you would like to-only if you want to-would you like to-” Harry was cut off by Ari.
“Harry, just ask me,” she said.
“Ari, would you like to-” Harry looked at Ari. She looked beautiful. Why was this harder than it should be? “Would you like to be my girlfriend?”