─── ･ ｡:ﾟ♡: *. Señorita .*♡ :ﾟ. ───ˊˎ˗

❝Chapter Three❞
                                                   ━━━ Love: Falling In or Out. . .?

Deer Dad,
That was on purpose, yes.

Prongs admits, 'I'm proud of you, son but truthfully, I'm ashamed of you, son.'

Thanks, Dad! Anyways, today's headlines: I'm going on a fake date with Mad Hatter. I really hope this makes Cho jealous because if this doesn't, what will? Besides, I saw her staring at me in the Great Hall a couple of times and I believe she might have finally started to like me. . .

Prongs says 'Never get your hopes up, son. Dampen 'em for you might find love in unexpected ways.'

I wish I knew what you mean, Dad, but I s'ppose I'm just too young for it.
'Youth is Good' Harry ;0

Dawn broke early with clouds bearing frost crowding into the vast skies. A cold breeze circulated through the grounds, chilling the students to their bones. Harry shivered, his teeth chattering, and crossed his arms over his chest. Despite wearing a hoodie, he was feeling numb.

"Is i-it re-really n-necessary to g-go t-today?" he stuttered in the cold. The girl beside him rolled her eyes.

"Oh, c'mon Potter. It's barely cold!" she exclaimed. "Look, I don't even have a sweater on!"

"Y-you are r-really br-brr-brave, S-Señorita," Harry responded, truly meaning his words.

"Glad you finally admitted it. And to answer your question, we must. Lest the dream of my brother and Hermione getting together fades away," she replied, crossing her arms and smirking. Harry shrugged and thrusted his gloved hands into his pockets.

The four friends got down in front of Zonko's after a five minute ride. Harry met Ginny's gaze and, with set determination, they dragged Hermione and Ron inside Zonko's. The souvenir shop was heavily crowded. Prank products of different sizes, purposes and colours were lined on huge shelves. When Ginny gave the signal, a thumbs up, Harry retreated to the exit. Ginny followed him a few seconds later.

"Great. They are alone right now and we can part as well," Harry said, checking the wristwatch Remus gave him. Ginny agreed with him the next instant. "Goodbye, Señorita. I hope I never see you again today!" He waved his hand at the redhead.

"I am so ecstatic that I can finally get rid of you, Haddock. Smell ya later!" Ginny did not even mind waving back. She set off almost spontaneously, skipping towards the cobbled streets and mingling in the crowd. Harry shrugged before walking down the alley, a train of thought running alive in his mind.  He could not decipher what his father really meant. Wandering the streets in solitude never helped him to understand the true meaning of wise words, that is, if they really contained wisdom.

Time seemed to be quite happy that day as it skipped away. Harry found himself standing near Honeydukes when it was late afternoon. His stomach growled in hunger. Why not get myself a snack to munch on?  With that thought, he marched towards the shop's door but, alas! There was a huge crowd of people standing, waiting to be let in. Harry could not understand why the sweet store was welcoming such a complex crowd.

"Potter?"

"Weasley?"

"Hissarold."

"Mad Hatter."

"Haddock!"

"Señorita!"

"Shut it!"

"Well, shut up!"

Harry could not take it any longer. He burst out laughing, his laughter coming out quite hoarse. He heard Ginny's chuckles as well and assumed her to have joined him in letting off the steam. He had no idea how he stumbled paths with her but was glad he did. It felt strange, though, and was an inexplicable feeling to have laughed with her of all people after a particularly hard day of overthinking.

"I'm here to get the Green Bolt Lolly that H-Honeydukes has recently r-released! Unfortunately for me, today is the shop's silver jubilee anniversary," Ginny explained when Harry joined her side. "And I've got no b-better things to do. Besides, I'm alone, so I thought I'd rather wait and get the treat."

"I felt hungry, given that I didn't have lunch. I supposed I would stop by to grab some sweets to munch on," Harry stated. "Being alone really made me think about some stuff and I never really stumbled upon Cho, not that I know of."

"T-that's sad, I guess," Ginny sympathized. Harry smiled in defeat, then noticed her shivering lightly, so he hugged her without a thought. Feeling her weight slump against his chest, Harry began to get his revenge for calling out on him earlier that day.

"Feeling cold, are we, Señorita Weasley?" he smirked against her hair. Her head barely reached his chest.

"Brr. . . no," she mumbled against him.

"Well then, you won't be needing this hug." The black-haired boy made to back away but Ginny clung onto him like a helpless cat in the blizzard, causing his eyes to soften.

"No. . . I need it," she whispered. Harry smiled smugly to himself before tightening his grip around her midriff. It felt like several cold days spent in front of the fireplace with a loved one. Wait, what? She's my frenemy!

Harry's mind loved to disagree the moment Ginny looked up at him with sparkling brown orbs filled with gratitude and passion. No, no, no! Stop it, Potter! You like Cho and Cho alone! Ginny is just a friend and you are only fake dating her!

"We are. . . friends, right?" Harry asked unsurely. His voice sounded really desperate to prove his question wrong and he definitely did not like it. Ginny backed away from him, a pink colour tinged her cheeks.

"O-of course. . . I-I don't think frenemies w-would ever w-want to be h-helpful t-towards t-the other," she responded, looking down and fumbling with her hands. Harry found the action quite cute. No!

His mind had apparently gone insane. He just knew it.

"Y-yeah. You are right," he agreed half-heartedly. It was not the complete truth, was it? Maybe he was just deprived of attention. That should probably be the reason for wanting to be more than friends with Ginny.

After getting high on sugar and a nice warm Butterbeer at The Three Broomsticks, Harry found himself absolutely delighted. He had gotten onto conversation terms with Señorita and enjoyed them. They talked about Quidditch, Hogwarts, the Weekly trips, and what not? Cho's sudden appearance was icing on the cake for Harry, but he did not know that it would end just as soon as it started.

"Mind if I sit here, Harry?" the dark-haired girl enquired, causing butterflies to fly wildly in Harry's stomach. He was about to respond but then Ginny interjected.

"I do mind if you want to grace us with your presence," Ginny interrupted bitterly.

"Ginny!" Harry hissed. She shot him a glare, forcing him to silence.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Cho responded. "I just wanted to have a word with Harry, but never mind. We can talk sometime – sometime later."

Harry's face fell when she left in a flurry of tears. "Why did you do that for?" he asked Ginny in a low tone.

"I–I was trying to make her realise her feelings for you. . . She would now realise your worth and how truly great you are. . ." Ginny whispered. She looked quite unsure as Harry's eyes searched her. Perhaps she was only trying to help. Besides, I don't think Cho would miss an opportunity to talk to me because of this. . .

"Sorry for lashing out at you, Señorita, but when I call you Mad Hatter, I really mean it. You are crazy, girl!" Harry tried. Ginny smiled lightly but that was all until they left the Three Broomsticks with the hope of having more fun.

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Thank you for reading!

Miyoko x