MILLIES POV
Dear Mr Donovan,
Hello, sir. I don't really know how to start this - all I know is that I need to tell you. I asked some friends to help me write a letter, but I scratched the one we wrote completely. I did this one privately instead.
As you know, Millie and I have been best friends for a while now. Despite our jokes and bickers, your daughter always manages to make me smile. I would literally tell her anything, and she's always been there through everything. That's what best friends are for, right?
But then I began to feel something more. I have to admit, it was hard. I was scared. Scared because I thought that if I tried to do anything about my feelings towards her, our friendship would never be the same. But every day, every time I see her smile, see her run up to me in the corridor, see her bite her lip when she's working in class, see her scrunch her nose when she yawns, the wall that was stopping me telling her grew weaker and weaker, until I couldn't take it any longer. I don't want to worry you or anything, but Millie is one of, if not the, most popular girl in our year. Seeing other boys flirting with her, well, I think that's what made me realise for sure.
I kissed her, Mr Donovan. And I'm not apologising, because I genuinely couldn't hold my feelings in any longer.
Just know that Millie and I's friendship means the world to me, and I would never, ever do anything that would hurt her, I promise.
You were right, Mr Donovan, in Diagon Alley, two years ago, when you said you could see the way I was looking at her. Merlin, now I can barely take my eyes off of her.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I think I'm falling in love with your daughter.
Yours respectfully,
Harry Potter
I must've read the letter at least ten times over, taking in new things Harry had said in it every time. '...would never hurt her...make me smile...falling in love...'
Harry James Potter was an idiot. He annoyed me more than I ever thought possible. Yet I still wanted to spend every irritating moment with him. I liked him. I liked him so much it pissed me off. All this time, all the insults, all the jokes - I now realised that that was my way of getting his attention.
I glanced down at the letter again, biting my lip. My heart melted as I read it over and over, knowing that these were all his own words. I finally folded the parchment up and tucked it back into my pocket, burying my face into the sleeping bag, my mind only seeing one person. A boy with messy brown hair, emerald-green eyes and a cheeky grin, that made me so warm inside. I couldn't help but curve my lips into a small smile as I thought about him.
Once every hour, a teacher would reappear in the Hall to check that everyone was quiet. I had tried my best to get some sleep, but had soon given up; the adrenaline pumping through my veins from my thoughts of Harry kept me alert and awake, while I fingered the letter in my pocket. Around one in the morning, when many students had finally fallen asleep, including Mione, who was quietly breathing next to me, Professor Dumbledore came in. I watched him looking around for Percy, who had been prowling between the sleeping bags, telling people off for talking. Percy was only a short way away from me, so I quickly pretended to be asleep as Dumbledore's footsteps drew nearer.
"Any sign of him, Professor?" Percy asked in a whisper.
"No. All well here?"
"Everything under control, sir."
"Good. There's no point moving them all now. I've found a temporary guardian for the Gryffindor portrait hole. You'll be able to move them back in tomorrow."
"And the Fat Lady, sir?"
"Hiding in a map of Argyllshire on the second floor. Apparently she refused to let Black in without the password, so he attacked. She's still very distressed, but once she's calmed down, I'll have Mr Filch restore her."
I heard the door of the Hall creak open again, then more footsteps.
"Headmaster?"
It was Snape. I kept quite still, listening hard.
"The whole of the third floor had been searched. He's not there. And Filch has done the dungeons; nothing there, either."
"What about the Astronomy Tower? Professor Trelawney's room? The owlery?"
"All searched..."
"Very well, Severus. I didn't really expect Black to linger."
"Have you any theory as to how he got in, Professor?" Snape asked.
I raised my head very slightly off of my sleeping bag to free my other ear.
"Many, Severus, each of them as unlikely as the next."
I opened my eyes a fraction and squinted up to where they stood; Dumbledore's back was to me, but I could see Percy's face, rapt with attention, and Snape's profile, which looked angry.
"You remember the conversation we had, Headmaster, just before - ah - the start of term?" said Snape, who was barely opening his lips, as though trying to block Percy out of the conversation.
"I do, Severus," Dumbledore replied, and there was something like warning in his voice.
"It seems - almost impossible - that Black could have entered the school without inside help. I did express my concerns when you appointed-"
"I do not believe a single person inside this castle would have helped Black enter it," said Dumbledore, and his tone made it so clear that the subject was closed, that Snape didn't reply. "I must go down to the Dementors," Dumbledore continued. "I said I would inform them when our search was complete."
"Didn't they want to help, sir?" said Percy.
"Oh, yes," said Dumbledore coldly. "But I'm afraid no Dementor will cross the threshold of this castle while I am Headmaster."
Percy looked slightly abashed. Dumbledore left the Hall, walking quickly and quietly. Snape stood for a moment, watching the Headmaster with an expression of deep resentment on his face, then he, too, left.
"What was all that about?"
I went to let out a scream, but Harry clapped his hand over my mouth before I could release any sound. I quickly grabbed his hand and pulled it away, looking at him in shock.
"What the bloody hell are you doing?" I hissed, taking in the fact that Harry was kneeling beside me.
He grinned. "Come with me."
I blinked in surprise, my eyebrows drawing together. "I don't - what are you - why can't it wait until tomorrow?"
He shook his head firmly. "No, it has to be now, right now."
"But Percy-"
"I managed to get over here all right," Harry whispered reassuringly. "We'll be able to leave the Hall, too."
I just stared at him, shaking my head disbelievingly.
"Oh, come on," he grumbled. "It'll be fun. Don't be boring-"
"I'm not boring," I scowled, pushing myself up. "This better be worth it, Potter, or I'm coming straight back here."
"Oh, it will be worth it," Harry replied cockily, offering his hand out to me.
Despite my hammering heart, I let out a small chuckle, before slipping my fingers into his palm.
Harry began guiding me past everyone's sleeping bodies, sliding against the wall so that Percy wouldn't be able to see us. Harry was not stealthy at all, tripping over people's legs the whole time.
"Oh, shit...sorry, mate...ouch...well, he's going to wake up with a bruise...fuck-"
"Shut up, Harry," I hissed, shaking my head at his clumsiness.
We finally made it out of the Hall, and Harry instantly broke into a run, dragging me along with him.
"Are you going to tell me where we are going yet?" I asked, smiling as he laughed to himself.
"Nope," he replied smugly. "You'll find out soon enough. Patience, Mills."
"And what do you plan on doing if Sirius Black jumps out in front of us with a knife?"
Harry scoffed, turning a corner. "You heard Dumbledore, he's long gone. Anyway, I could take him."
I silently thanked Merlin that I had my wand tucked into my robes. With a disapproving shake of my head and a small shove, I pushed him further along the corridor. He was wearing a smirk, the usual mischievous glint present as ever in his emerald eyes.
We soon reached the bottom of some stairs, which I knew led to the Astronomy Tower.
"Right, get your wand out," Harry said, gesturing to me. I slowly reached into my robes and pulled it out.
"Your not planning to throw me off the top of the Astronomy Tower, are you?" I asked quietly, raising my eyebrows when I noticed the look on his face. Was Harry Potter...nervous?
He chuckled softly. "No, of course not." He gently took my wand from my hand and pointed it at me. My eyes widened as he parted his lips. "Obscuro."
I instantly felt a blindfold land over my eyes, preventing me from seeing. I went to pull it off, but Harry grabbed both of my hands. "Trust me."
I nodded, biting my lip as he slowly pulled me up the stairs. A sudden wave of cold air hit me, and I knew we must've made it to the top. Harry released my hands, and I felt him go behind me.
"Ready?" he whispered, and I nodded again. I felt his fingers brush the back of my neck as he pulled the blindfold off me.
I gasped.
The balcony was decorated in gentle fairy lights, giving off a warm light as they glowed in the night sky. I looked up to see millions of bright stars in the sky, making my heart swell.
I couldn't stop looking around, my hands covering my mouth in surprise as I felt my stomach flip pleasantly. "Harry..."
Harry cleared his throat, running his hand through his floppy hair. "Do you like it?"
I whirled around to face him, a huge smile painted on my lips as I laughed. "I love it!" I launched myself forward and threw my arms around his neck. "Thank you," I breathed, as Harry squeezed me gently.
I pulled away, making my way over to a bundle of blankets in the centre. Harry followed me, sitting down just close enough that our shoulders were touching.
HARRYS POV ( A/N - bet you weren't expecting that, haha ;) )
I stared at her. How could I not? Her hair shimmered under the moonlight as she beamed that breathtaking smile of hers. At this angle, with the stars shining directly on us, I found Millie to be at her most beautiful moment. She was always gorgeous, but there was something with the way she illuminated under the brilliance of the moon as she grinned. She shone brighter than a Christmas tree, glowed fiercer than any of the stars above us, and never had I found her so lovely.
"Why?" Millie spluttered suddenly, glancing at me. "Why have you done this?"
I took a deep breath in - it was now or never.
"Mills," I began, turning my body so that I was facing her fully. "There was a reason I haven't asked you to be my girlfriend yet. It was because I was waiting for the right moment. You deserve the best, and so I wanted to ask you in a way that you would remember. Merlin, just looking at you makes me happy, Mills. Remember I said I needed to talk to someone the other day? Well, I spoke with Elwood. Poor bloke nearly keeled over when I walked up to him, but we talked and he agreed to keep you in Hogsmeade for as long as possible, so I could set this up. I gave him the letter that I wrote to your Dad, too, so that you could read it. I meant every word, Mills. I really, really like you - even if you are a git at times-" Millie slapped me lightly, not taking her eyes from mine, "- I'm going to be honest with you, I'm really shit at romantic things like this normally, but I'd honestly do any-fucking-thing for you. I don't want to hurt you, Mills, and I've already done that in the last few weeks. I just want to punch every boy in the face that tries to flirt with you, but even more than that, I want to kiss you every time you bite your lip, or smirk - Merlin, stop doing that, Mills!"
With a weak laugh, she stopped biting her lip. She only did that when she was nervous - I smirked at the thought.
"It's stupid, isn't it?" Millie whispered, and I furrowed my eyebrows. "That best friends start to have feelings for each other?"
"I hope you're not saying Ron is secretly in love with me," I teased, winking. She snorted, rolling her hazel eyes. "But seriously, I've waited too long to ask you this. Sooo...will you be my girlfriend?"
I ran my hand nervously through my hair as I waited for her response.
But I didn't recieve one.
Instead, Millie crashed her lips to mine, catching me off guard. I placed my hands on her waist and pulled her closer. This kiss was different than before; it was almost as if we'd finally worked everything out - we'd finally got each other. Her lips were soft and moved in an uncanny synchronisation with mine. The slow and tender kiss became rough and passionate in a matter of seconds, with both of us eager and desperate to feel closer to the other. We pulled away after a long moment, gasping for breath.
"Yes," she said hoarsely, grinning and shaking her head. "I will be your girlfriend, you git."