Harry Potter One Shots (Vol. I)

When You Finally Notice (Justin Finch-Fletchley)

"Help?" I repeated cautiously, mouth still full. When he nodded, without even scowling at my lack of manners, I knew that he was serious. Merlin, I stilled; he could not be asking me what I thought he was.

"So will you help me?"

Swallowing forcefully, I wiped the syrup away from the corner of my mouth with my napkin. Scrunching at it between both hands, I pointedly ignored the look Zacharias sent my way that was warning me not to say what he knew I was going to say. "Help you with what?"

Zacharias dropped his heads into his hands with a heavy sigh, causing Justin to throw a curious glance his way. When he refused to speak a word, Justin looked back at me with hopeful eyes. "Will you help me with Lisa?"

"Help you do what?" I asked slowly, hoping that he would realise just what he was asking me. And Merlin, if he could realise how I felt about him and how what he was asking of me was secretly killing me inside, then he could have understood that it was an awkward question.

"I haven't liked a girl this much since – I don't even know when." His puppy eyes were like a dagger through my heart and I swallowed thickly. "Would you please help me by making her want to date me? Please, Gamble?"

My eyes drifted away from Justin's, avoiding the eager piercing intensity of his gaze and I found myself looking at Zacharias who had lifted his head. It was all there in Zach's stare; he thought I was an idiot. And I probably was. Despite knowing that, I ignored him when he shook his head slowly in a bid to get me to say no. Like an idiot, I ignored him.

"Of course, I'll help you," I said with a forced smile and when Justin hugged me in thanks, I returned it.

I waited until he rose from the bench to return to his usual space and it was only when he was out of eyesight that I let my smile drop. Turning back to my half-eaten plate of pancakes, I scowled at my loss appetite and pushed the plate away from me. As the chatter started back up around me, I reached for my mug of tea and tried to tune into the conversations happening around me. Only it seemed near impossible.

With a sigh, Zach pushed my plate back towards me. "You need to eat to keep your strength. You might be fucking stupid, Gamble but that doesn't mean you deserve to starve because of it."

Lifting my eyes to Zach's, I couldn't even sum up the courage to glare at him and instead looked back to my plate again. Picking up the syrup, Zach added even more to my plate and I cautiously met his gaze.

"Eat up," he repeated much softer this time.

**********

Apparently, I was quite the matchmaker. My help had managed to not only create a relationship between Lisa and Justin but to also start a hesitation flirtation between the pair of them. Apparently, my helpfulness had dubbed me the matchmaker of Hufflepuff house and I found myself being confronted with different members of my house that wanted some love advice. Helga, what were they doing coming to me for love advice? I certainly had no idea what I was doing.

As I sat crossed legged in front of the sofa, I couldn't keep my eyes from straying to the entrance to the common room. Zach, who was sitting directly behind me, would continue to nudge me gently with his shoe whenever I spent too long looking at the door. And because I was spending so long looking at the door, I could pin point the exact moment that Justin walked into the common room with a slight spring in his step. I already knew what had happened and what he was going to talk about. He had planned on asking Lisa out on a date today and from his reaction alone, I knew that she had said yes.

The rampant jealousy in my stomach had me rising from my seat to rush back to my dorm room before Justin could begin to talk about his big news. Zach was there to stop me with a hand on my shoulder, urging me to remain seated.