Operation: Potential Breakup

Abigail watched Harry nod slowly; his gaze on her grew more and more bemused with every bob. She smiled skittishly as she scratched the back of her neck carefully. The butterflies in her stomach became more violent with each passing second. What was she going to say? What could she say?

“So… er… are you going to answer it?” Harry pressed politely, forcing a nervous laugh.

Biting her bottom lip gently, Abigail took a deep breath. It was now or never, she told herself over and over again. Her eyes locked with Harry’s before she noticed that he was still holding her wrist. The knots in her stomach worsened at the sight! Harry James Potter – the boy of her dreams – was still (technically) holding her hand… she was doomed for thinking she could sweet-talk her way out of this one. She scolded herself mentally for thinking she could even talk at all!

“Well, Harry Potter,” Abigail choked out, still scratching the nape of her neck. She knew she needed to come up with an explanation that did not raise more questions, but was that possible? “Ya’see, I was… I left…”

Harry’s bewildered stare did not falter as Abigail attempted to lie her way out of his grasp. Though she adored being held by Harry, Abigail had hoped they would be holding hands in a different way and under different circumstances. And while Harry continued to grip her left wrist, Abigail went on scratching the back of her neck with her free hand.

“I was up here earlier,” she replied. “And I…. left my wand on Ronald’s bed.”

Great, she thought to herself immediately, now she would have to explain what she was even doing on Ron’s bed in the first place! She watched as Harry’s face twist in more confusion; Abigail could feel the stress inside of her build up as he dropped her wrist.

“Oh,” Harry sighed, sending Abigail a half-smile.

Abigail knew that, although he was still confused, Harry really couldn’t prove her wrong; in fact, she wasn’t exactly lying to him, right? She had been in Harry’s dorm earlier. And she had sat on Ron’s bed while she had been there! … but Abigail would never leave her wand lying around. Ever.

“Sorry about the hostility,” Harry sighed sincerely. “It’s been a long day.”

Abigail rolled her eyes, not doubting Harry’s statement for a moment. She sent him an understanding smile before shrugging nonchalantly. “Hey, shouldn’t you be at dinner?” she asked, a lot less nervous than she had been before. “I was just about to head down to the Great Hall myself; we could walk there together if you’d like!”

Where was this perky personality coming from? Abigail was shocked to hear the words escape her lips – especially in the tone in which they came out. She could feel the butterflies in her stomach getting worse and worse. And though she hated to admit it, Abigail actually liked feeling this way.

Harry let out another sad sigh, dragging himself past Abigail. Plopping himself on his own bed belly-first, he groaned. “I would love to,” his voice muffled through the thin sheets of his bed, “but I don’t think my girlfriend would appreciate it.”

Raising her eyebrows, Abigail smirked. So there was trouble in paradise! Sure, she had heard it from Ron and Caitlyn, but now she was hearing it from Harry too! She inched her way toward Harry’s bed, leaning against the corner of Ron’s bed. With her sinister smirk growing wilder, Abigail watched as Harry fidgeted around in his bed.

Flipping on his back, Harry sat up to face Abigail; her smirk had quickly transformed into a concerned frown. He groaned once more, running a stressful hand through his messy head of hair. Harry sighed, shook his head and then looked up at Abigail.

“I didn’t mean to blurt that out like that,” he replied apologetically. “I just – it’s been a long day.”

Abigail nodded sympathetically. It had been quite a day, she told herself. From running into Caitlyn in her dormitory to failing to escape from the boys’ dormitory, Abigail recounted the events of the day and applauded her efforts. How she hadn’t collapsed into bed and slept through the rest of the day was a shock to her!

“I’m really am sorry,” Harry said. “You probably think I’m a terrible boyfriend to my girlfriend now, don’t you?”

Funny, a handful of people thought things were the other way around, Abigail thought to herself. Shrugging in reply to Harry, she pushed herself off the bedpost. Abigail now towered above the Boy Who Lived before sitting down beside him. She looked into his eyes and honestly replied, “Usually don’t take sides in relationships – especially in relationships where I personally don’t know both parties or their sides to the story… but I really think you’re doing the best you can. And, to me, that’s all that truly matters.”

“At least someone thinks so,” Abigail heard Harry mutter to himself. Had Harry Potter finally snapped? Was Caitlyn Moore’s all-mighty reign coming to its end? Abigail broke away from Harry’s gaze, letting her focus meander from one corner of the room to another. If all the answers to her question were ‘yes’, then she knew that the intervention Hermione and Ron planned would be easier than they all thought!

Abigail jumped off of Harry’s canopy bed before shooting him a sincere smile. “On that note,” she said, motioning toward the exit, “I’ll be on my way.”

Although she was enjoying Harry’s company, her stomach was beginning to beg for any type of edibles. And rather than risk being with Harry when the uncontrollable growling began, Abigail figured she would spare herself the embarrassment. Smiling, she slowly made her way to the door.

“Wait!” Harry called out, grabbing for her hand once more. Abigail felt the knots in her stomach intensify. How many times was he going to do this before she could actually leave the room to swoon over his presence? “I don’t even know your name.”

The blonde Gryffindor facepalmed herself inwardly. She had spent their entire conversation calling him by name, and yet she hadn’t even introduced herself to him! She had forgotten that he hadn’t remembered her from their past encounters. Maybe she just needed to remind him.

“Oh,” she said effortlessly, bringing herself closer to Harry, “we’ve met before.”

Abigail could see the panic unfolding from behind his emerald eyes. She began to wonder if that was a reflection of what was occurring in her own eyes or if Harry was panicking himself. Either way, Abigail could feel the awkwardness bloom from her statement.

Harry scratched the back of his head nervously. “We have?” he asked. If she could have knocked herself senseless, Abigail probably would have; she had already had this conversation with Harry earlier! Why was she starting it up again and changing the original reply? She would have hexed herself into oblivion if she could.

“Yeah,” she continued confidently. Where in Merlin’s beard was this composed, flirty attitude coming from? “Once upon a dream…”

If she wanted to hex herself into oblivion before, Abigail wished she could just disappear off the face of the Wizarding World at this point. What was she even thinking when those words left her lips? That’s right; she wasn’t thinking!

However, she watched Harry’s facial expression go from trepidation to calm. A smile tugged at the ends of his lips as he let out a heartfelt laugh. Great, Abigail scolded herself, he was probably laughing at her lame attempt to flirt with him. She shot him a nervous half-smile before staring at the floor below her.

“That’s right!” Harry remarked.

Abigail’s head snapped up – her eyes locking with Harry’s. Had he actually understood her? He wasn’t laughing at her?

“You were my partner in Divinations the day we studied dream interpretations,” he laughed. “Abby, right? Abby Crenshaw?”

It was official: Abigail wanted to disappear into complete nothingness. Abby. He knew her as Abby? Things couldn’t possibly get worse, could they? Abigail scratched the back of her neck before smiling at Harry.

“That’s me!” she feigned satisfaction.

Harry let go of Abigail’s wrist and nodded. “I remember you now,” he said, delighted with himself. “You’re also one of Caitlyn’s friends, right? She mentions you from time to time.”

Nope, things could get worse – and they already had. It did, however, explain why he knew her as Abby. Unfortunately for Abigail, it didn’t make her hurt any less. And now he thought she and Caitlyn were actually friends? Just perfect! Still faking a smile, she stifled a forced laugh.

“All good things, I hope,” she replied, folding her arms across her chest. Now she was curious though. What had been Caitlyn saying to Harry about her?

“Of course!” Harry replied. “She’s mentioned you a couple of times, but it’s usually just the same, old thing about how the two of you have known each other since you were kids. That’s about it though.”

Abigail groaned to herself. How was she a complete nobody when Caitlyn talked about her to other people? Unless, of course, she made her look like a helpless loser in all of the stories she told. That wasn’t exactly unlike her to say things like that…

“Well, then,” Abigail said. “I’ll see you around, Wonder Boy.”

Harry raised an eyebrow toward Abigail. Perhaps that nickname was only okay to use in his absence, she thought. That thought, however, had immediately left her mind the moment Harry shot her a genuine smile – as though thankful for the label.

“See ya, Abby.”

Wincing internally, Abigail flashed Harry a fake smile and turned to walk out the boys’ dorm. She had quite a story to report back to Hermione and Ron.