Like Father, Like Son [Harmione]

Chapter 2

Chapter 2 — Irresistible

Harry flashed one last grin at Hermione and had just enough time to see her roll her eyes before he had turned around. She was beautiful when she looked annoyed.

Harry stepped out of the train with a smirk and a swagger, knowing all the girls were checking him out and all the younger boys were watching him with admiration. Ah...school.

Harry was the king at school. His fellow students loved him. The professors loved him. Everyone loved him...well, everyone but Hermione, Draco Malfoy, and some of the Slytherins. Most Slytherins were alright, but some of them were real nutcases about the purity of blood.

A person getting of the train bumped into him, almost knocking him to the ground. Harry didn't even have to turn around to know who it was. "You better watch out, Potter," a cold, superior voice said. "Father wouldn't like it if he knew you were assaulting me."

Harry laughed as a circle began gathering around them... his and Malfoy's fights were always worth watching. "Pathetic," Harry said. "Seventeen years old and you still go running to daddy to fight your fights."

"Why...you," sputtered out Malfoy, whose face was growing redder by the second.

"I know," said Harry triumphantly, the smirk on his face growing wider. He spotted Hermione stepping off the train, her face buried in a book. She still had ears though. "It's because you don't have any brains. I mean, look at you, you can't even come up with a good comeback properly let alone get in a fight without your father's assistance. "

Hermione just shook her head as she continued reading while weaving through the crowd. Harry found, even while he was verbally sparring with Malfoy, that he was impressed by her multi-tasking skills. He was suddenly propelled off his feet, flying back a few yards before landing on the ground. Seems like he should've paid attention to Malfoy after all. But it was worth taking a spell in the chest to look at Hermione.

A hand entered his field of vision, and he grinned as he took it. "Come on, mate. What were you looking at, Malfoy was right in front of you! You got that look on your face like you were eating the most delicious pumpkin pie..." Ron trailed off as his brain made the connection. "Granger?" he asked simply, already knowing the answer.

A goofy grin was on Harry's face. "Yeah," he said dreamily.

Ron shook his head as he led Harry into a carriage that would take them up to the school. "Harry, Harry. When are you going to learn that Granger is a lost cause? She just doesn't like you. I thought you would've grown up and noticed that now that you're seventeen. "

"Ron," said Harry disbelievingly. "I won't give up my quest for Hermione's heart until she gets married to another. I'm telling you, man, she's the one for me."

Ron slapped his face with his palm, trying to calm his urge to yell at Harry while shaking him back and forth. That just didn't seem to be very effective when trying to make someone see sense, no matter how appealing it seemed to him. He should've known better than to have tried to make Harry see what everyone else saw. Instead, he said, "Don't get all sappy on me, Harry. There's no way I'm going to go through another year listening to the love poetry you were going to serenade Granger with."

"I'm done with that," said Harry, waving a hand at his best friend. "It was a bad idea from the get-go. I don't think she'd like something that cheesy.. .maybe some secret admirer letters this year?"