Consequences Of The Heart.

Chapter 15: Orientation Express.

Date night. 

I hadn't been on a date with a girl since Mary  MacDonald -one of Lily's friend- last year who was incredibly rude and homophobic the entire time, so that wasn't exactly ideal. But I prayed that Miss Proveaux was different. Speaking of, it didn't occur to me when I asked her out, to get her first name, which meant I had to find out tonight. Awkward.

I ran out after her; she left first fed up with everything related to Herbology. She seemed upset but hopefully that didn't impact her decision. The sun had dimmed, credit to the clouds so I didn't have to squint. Whatever shred of confidence I had was mustered into one blob to ask one question. She was a fast walker, and since she didn't have robes to get snagged in any bushes, she had a massive head start. 
"Hey, wait up!" She turned thankfully and caught my eye much to my satisfaction. She had really good hearing. She stood in place, clutching what few materials she had close to her half visible brassiere. She tapped her foot in amused anticipation and the edge of her mouth had perked up sideways. She was clearly enjoying having me pine after her and she wasn't afraid to show it. I stopped right in front, out of breath for the most part and I failed at trying not to rest with my arms on my knees. From then, I realised I also had to say something and not just stand there like an idiot like I had originally planned. So, I stood up; the last of my leftover adrenaline being put to use. "You have really good hearing, wow. But anyway, I was um- w-wonder wondering if you wanted to-uh. Go on uh a-uh d- date sometime? Maybe? If you want to?" I can't even remember the last time I had stuttered. Thankfully, she was the only one there to witness me in my moment of weakness and hopefully she wouldn't tell a soul. She giggled and my clumsiness. Her laugh was beautiful and it gave me goosebumps. She managed to control her chuckles to get out her answer.
"Sure. I'll owl you."

In addition to me not knowing her name, I was also freaking out. We had decided to meet on top of the Astrology Tower. It was common date night territory among Gryffindors but I ensured no one else would be using it. And just to make sure it went well, I packed a small picnic because that is apparently my go to. It was small because I threw it together last minute after internally panicking for two hours. The next think I was freaking out about was what to wear. Usually, I was on top of this part of the 'getting ready part' of the evening but I had actually had to get Lily to help him with his wardrobe. Like honestly. Sirius had better fashion sense. I settled on my newest maroon jumper: a classic. Hopefully she found me nerdy-hot or something. Here's hoping.

The time we had set was eight in the evening which was perfect actually. But I had to leave early to set up the food and candles to help with the darkness. She arrived a bit later. Her pleasant surprise -if it was existent- was very well hidden. She hadn't actually changed her clothes either, she still wore her shirt and insanely short skirt with the same oversized yellow bow. There was one thing that was different about her though: she had a cat. It had oak brown fur with faded black stripes. I seemed incredibly attached to Lady Proveaux.

"Hey Remus. This is Lady Proveaux." Lucky coincidence. I tried to strike a conversation but whatever small confabs I struck, she shut down completely. In fact, she was acting all awkward and stiff and just overall weird. Lady Proveaux just roamed around, slinking in between us and seeking attention. She even jumped into my hair at some point, probably thinking it was a nest it something.

Anyway, after any remote idea I had for a convo was diminished, a silence dominated the room. I stared at the grounds below trying to fill the time. It was clear there was some kind of sport going on in the Quidditch pitch; it looked like Muggle football but the only person I could identify successfully was Frank. I never understood his obsession with Muggle sports, being a pureblooded wizard and all.

I stared into the blank darkness once more, scavenging for a new topic to occupy my thoughts. A little closer to the Forest, in the pitch dark, I saw Lily and Severus. They sat in the damp grass, talking or arguing or something. I couldn't tell. 

"Okay, this is kind of embarrassing but I kinda never caught your name." My question was very it of the blue but she remained calm. She looked at me, with an amused smile.

"I was waiting for you to ask. My name's Harriet Helga. Named after the founder herself." I stared at her in bewilderment. Harriet Helga? "No what you expected huh?" I shook my head in slight shame. "I get that a lot."

"It's a compliment." She smiled again, making my heart flutter.  

"I actually need to tell you something. There's a reason I said yes to your offer of a date and it wasn't to start a relationship." I didn't know what to feel. I was intrigued, but I was also scared in some way? "Listen, remember your last Potions Class?" Yeah. "Well, I was there. Don't ask why." Okay? This isn't helping extinguish my fear. "And as you know how I know French and I heard you're little conversation with your little red head friend. Well, I said yes because I'm gay too." I forced out a faux laugh but 'how the hell is she gay and how the hell didn't I notice?!' Damn my non-existent gaydar.

'Woah. Wasn't expecting that. But just to be clear, I'm bisexual. I actually liked you." She chuckled. We had been doing that a lot lately. Which I had taken as a good sign but maybe she was just mocking my broken gaydar and my feeble attempts at flirting. Talk about a bad date.

But. hey at least I made a new friend...

...because I didn't already have enough.

Though, she would be the only gay friend I had -bicuriosity excluded for obvious reasons- and it would be great to have one. No offence to Lily.

Word Count:- 1100

Love, Kale.