Harry Potter One Shots (Vol. I)

Learning to Love (Louis Weasley)

"What is it?"

"Do you see that boy in the middle?" she questioned quietly, leaning in towards me, "The handsome blond one in the middle? The tallest one?"

"What about him?"

Looking at the small group of Ravenclaw boys, my eyes settled onto the one in the middle who stood a head taller than the others. He was smiling at something of the other boys said, blue eyes sparkling in amusement as he began to laugh fully. The blond boy reached out to slap one of the other Ravenclaws on the back, eyes drifting slightly. We made eye contact suddenly and I hurried to look away, startled and a little embarrassed to have been caught staring.

"That's Louis Weasley," she paused before adding, "and he's heading this way."

"You better be lying Emily," I muttered under my breath, cheeks turning red in mortification. Helga, only I would be caught staring at a boy and have the misfortune of the boy deciding to take offence with it.

Only she hadn't been joking and we found ourselves being forced to stop in our step as the boy - Weasley - stood to block our path. Trying to hide my embarrassment, I raised my eyes to the boy who was smiling warmly.

"You're Alder, right?" he questioned, after looking between the two of us. His eyes settled onto mine finally and I struggled to stop my eyes widening in surprise; he knew who I was.

"That's right," I said after receiving a sharp elbow in the side from Emily. "And you're a Weasley."

"I prefer Louis, but yeah that's me." He glanced briefly over his shoulder at his friends who stood by the open doors of the great hall. The heckled him to stop his flirting and I watched him flip them off before he turned back to me with an apologetic smile, "Sorry about them, they sometimes forget they're not second years any more. Did Professor Longbottom talk to you?"

"He did. You're tutoring me?"

"I am." He grinned when his friends called out to him again, growing impatient, "How about we meet tomorrow in the library? By the herbology section?"

"Sure," the word was quiet as I was left reeling from sight of his grin.

"See you then," he called out over his shoulder as he hurried back to his friend's side.

"Helga," Emily whined once he and his friends had entered the great hall and were out of earshot, "You're one lucky cow."

**********

The next day I hurried into the library, running late because the girls had refused to let me leave the dorm before they'd talked to me. Apparently, the fact that I was being tutored by Louis Weasley had managed to circulate around the dorm and they felt the need to instruct me on how to behave around him, lest I face the wrath of his fan club for getting too close to him. I had assumed that they were joking and were using the opportunity to tease me, but I had been very wrong. Alice Longbottom had announced that she was one of the members of his fan club and so I needed to treat him well.

I had shared a single incredulous look with Emily before hightailing it out of the dorm and running towards the library. Once I reached the library, I took a moment to compose myself before stepping into the large room and navigating my way to the Herbology section. Searching each of the tables for the older boy, I spotted him sitting and waiting for me with his nose buried in a book.

Slowly approaching him, I cleared my throat. He looked up at the sound, smiling when we made eye contact. Gesturing for me to sit down across from him, he placed his book back into his bag and I pulled out the chair and sat down.

"I'm sorry I'm late," I apologised quietly, watching as he pulled out some parchment and a quill from his bag.

"Don't worry about it," he insisted with a roll of his eyes, retrieving an ink well too. "I knew you were probably doing something important." He looked up briefly, raising an eyebrow. "Right?"