A Tale as Old as Time (Harry James Potter x OC)

Chapter 2...The Ruined Skirt

Before Rose could utter an apology for her sarcasm, the boy looked up,  green eyes meeting blue for the first time — but certainly not the last — and thoroughly ogled her upon noticing her beauty.

His eyes traced down the curvature of her high cheekbones and her small nose. But it was when he saw her deep blue eyes that he knew he was truly done for. It was as if some cosmic connection had finally snapped into place — like she was what he had been waiting for all his life. She was exactly what he had been living for all along, and yet he had never even seen the girl before five seconds ago.

A lock of her golden blonde hair curled around her soft jawline and stuck to her chin, which was just below her soft lips he longed to part. With an unsteady hand, he carefully brushed the stray wisps away, still in awe of her otherworldly beauty. "Gods," he muttered. "You're beautiful."

Rose stared at him blankly. Wait, wasn't this Harry Potter? she wondered. Regardless, one thing Rosemary Stevens could not stand more than anything was being made to feel like some prize goldfish in a tank at a bloody carnival. And so, with flushed cheeks, her anger got the better of her, patience never being her forte despite her status as a Hufflepuff, and she sent him a menacing glare. "And you just ruined the only skirt left in this shop in my size."

Gathering himself, Harry reminded himself who he was — the Boy Who Lived — and turned on the old Potter charm for the pretty blonde. Ignoring her words, he offered his hand, "Hello gorgeous, I'm Harry Potter; you may have heard of me. I'm, you know, the defeater of all evil; no need to thank me." When Rose didn't pull back her hand, he took hers and intertwined her fingers with his.

Rose was not impressed. Looking him up and down in disgust, she snatched back her hand and rolled her eyes. "One, weren't you a baby? 'Doesn't count if you were still wearing diapers." Harry's jaw dropped. A handsomely man who looked to be in his early thirties with long black hair started guffawing behind her, to which a redheaded woman growled at him. "And two, don't touch me without my permission."

The Potter boy stood aghast for a moment — no one ever talked to him like this! Usually, everyone aside from his family simply fell at his feet. But Harry decided he liked her fiery attitude. It almost made him feel like a normal teenager for a second. It made him feel alive.

He smirked cockily and tried to lean back against a shelf coolly, resulting in products flying down onto the ground. He paid no mind in hopes that Rose wouldn't notice, but she scoffed at him as she observed his actions. How could any one person be so incredibly destructive and arrogant all at once? Rose snapped at him, "You are unbelievable, honestly."

"Why thank you, love. Now tell me, when's our first date?" he said hopefully. Sirius Black and James Potter, the names of the two men Rose had deducted by listening to Harry's mother lecturing them, started cheering and jumping up and down behind him.

"Get her, Harry!"

"You have her right where you want her," James Potter, who looked just like Harry minus the green eyes he inherited from his mother, called out in support.

Rosemary stared at Harry in disbelief. Was he being serious? "Right after I find a new skirt because you destroyed the only one in this shop."

Harry, who was not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed, did not, in fact, recognize the sarcasm dripping from the girl's voice and perked up at her words. If he just found her a new skirt, she'd agree to go out with him! But what did she mean when she said that skirt was "the only one in this shop?" This store was full of clothes! "Don't fret, gorgeous. There's many more where that came from," he gestured to the ruined skirt in her hands. "You could try them on for me, if you'd like," he winked with a wide smirk.

"I would not 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦," she puffed out her cheeks. "You are beyond vile." Rose threw the skirt in his face and stomped to another aisle with her two friends, both silently giggling at the interaction.

Harry frowned at her figure, but held an adoring gaze all the same. Looking to his right, he began frantically searching for skirts in her size after checking the tag on the one already in his hands. Oh yes, these would do! Holding about ten different skirts piled up in his hands, he found the beautiful blonde once again. "Here you go, love," he handed them to her, causing her to stumble slightly at the sudden weight, but he quickly caught her with an arm around her back. "Now how about that date?"

Rosemary checked the price tags and looked at him incredulously. "You can't be serious."

"No, I'm Sirius, darling," one of Harry's family members chortled, to which Harry shot a glare.

"What do you mean, gorgeous? They're all in your size. I checked and everything." He furrowed his eyebrows. What was wrong with these skirts? Sure, he may have selfishly chosen the slightly shorter ones, but they seemed to be in pretty good condition.

"Yeah, but certainly not in my price range," she laughed hollowly. "I don't have enough galleons for this."

Potter lifted the corner of his lips. Money. Now that was a problem he could solve. "Not to worry, love. I'll pay for all your expenses."

Rose glanced at her wallet defeatedly before meeting his gaze again. "I'll let you pay for the skirt you ruined, seeing as you were the one who destroyed it in the first place, but that's it." The Potter boy started to object, but she refused to sacrifice her dignity. "I don't take handouts from anyone. Not even the Boy Who Lived," she said sternly.

And with that, Rosemary Stevens walked out of the shop with her two friends in tow pondering where she could buy fabric to lengthen her too-short skirts at home.

As the doorbell jingled, Harry James Potter wondered two things: What is that beautiful girl's name and how the hell could he make her his future wife? Watching as the Potter boy stared longingly at her retreating figure, James Potter and Sirius Black shared a knowing smirk, while Remus Lupin and Lily Potter groaned in annoyance and grueling anticipation.

This was going to be a very long year ahead, indeed.

***
Authors note:
Hi guys,
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. In this story, Harry will act just like James when he was younger and obsessing over Lily. Please note, this is a Harry fan-fiction, so there will be a lot of Harry and Rose scenes. However, their love story will be a bit of a slow burn — on Rose's end, but certainly not Harry's.

Please let me know if there is anything in particular you all would like to see. I'm always up for new ideas! I've been meaning to write this story for years now, so I am super excited to get started on Rose and Harry's story.

See you all next chapter! I will be updating very frequently, so do stay tuned.

Much love,
Elle <333