You Get What You Deserve

On the last day of the holidays, I found myself walking around Diagon Alley with Ron and Hermione, who was looking very brown from her holiday in France, and her brown hair still as bushy as it had been a couple of months ago.

We dropped our bags at a table outside Florean Fortescue’s Ice-Cream Parlour and Ron and Hermione sat down while I went inside and got the ice-creams. Inside the store was brightly light, and everything was brightly coloured. There were squashy chaired booths and square tables with chairs around them.

The only people inside was a couple who were sitting close together in a booth and a group of guys, who I recognised to be fourth years from Hogwarts. Amongst them was Chase Hendricks; a guy with longish, messy hair and grey eyes, who I had met last year.

Some of them looked up at me as I walked in, making the little bell on the door chime happily. Chase, however, was the only one who instantly beamed at me. I waved at him, and started making my way over to the counter, where there were one or two people ordering their ice-creams.

Chase quickly got up and walked over to me. As soon as he was in my reach, I flung my arms around him, my heart skipping a beat, and I smiled into his shoulder.

“Hey,” he breathed into my ear. “How are you?”

“Good,” I said, pulling away a bit so I could see his face, and smiled. “You?”

“Same,” he said nodding. “Did you get my last letter?”

I nodded, biting my lip a little. We’d been sending Calandra, my owl, and Achilles, Chases’ owl, back and forth all holidays. In his last letter, he’d said he’d been wanting to ask me something, but had wanted to wait to do it in person.

“So, I was wondering if you wanted to, maybe,” Chase started, starting to stumble over his words, and his eyes on his feet. “If you wanted to go out with me?” He rushed over it so quickly, I had to think about what he was actually saying for a second.

When I had worked out what he had actually said, I felt my checks burn crimson red. I normally didn’t get embarrassed, but it felt like everyone was waiting for me to reply, like everyone knew. I didn’t like feeling so open. I quickly nodded, not trusting myself to open my mouth and speak.

He beamed at me again, and I did, too. I gave a small, nervous giggle, and gave him another hug.

“I have to go,” he said, after we’d pulled apart again. “I’ll see you tomorrow, on the train?”

I needed, and, lightheaded, I walked back outside, falling into my seat.

“Where’s the ice-cream?” Hermione said, looking at my smiling face.

“Mmm? Oh, the ice-cream,” I said, shaking my head to clear it. “Sorry about that.”

Just then, a thin boy with messy black hair and round glasses came around the corner.

“HARRY!”