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

Chapter 5...Mrs. Potter

Once Harry found his friends on the train and told them excitedly about his interaction with his girl, he revealed that he had finally learned her name.

"Oh, she just has the most infectious laugh, you wouldn't believe it. And she was funny, too!" Harry rambled. "OH, OH!" he recalled, "And I finally learned her name: Rosemary. Rosemary Stevens."

Ron and Hermione's eyes widened in shock. The brunette slapped Harry's arm. "Harry, how did you not know who Rosemary Stevens is?!"

"What do you mean?"

Hermione narrowed her eyes. "What I mean is she is only my biggest academic rival!" she exhaled. "I've been talking about her for ages. How did you not know who she was?"

"To be honest, Mione, the minute you start talking about school and grades I usually start zoning out."

Hermione glowered at the boy before leaning back into her seat. "Humph. Well you should just be glad you're courting someone known for her intelligence. Beauty truly lies in one's brain," she mused.

Ron, who was wearing a shit-eating grin, cut in, "That's not what I know her for."

"You know her, too?!"

"Yeah, duh. It's Rosemary fucking Stevens. She's the hottest girl in our year. Everyone knows her. Well, except you, apparently," he chortled.

Hermione and Harry glared at the ginger, a tinge of jealousy in both of their eyes, though for different reasons.

Ron put his hands up in self-defense. "'Not my words. But she was first on Fred and George's list of Hogwarts' hottest girls last year, and she was only in second year."

Hermione groaned in discontent at the existence of such a list — how degrading!

Turning to the girl, Ron remarked sassily, "Lists don't lie."

Snorting rather loud, Hermione crossed her arms. "Maybe not, but that doesn't make it right!"

"You're just mad you're not on it!"

While his friends bickered, Harry got lost in his thoughts. How did everyone but him know who Rosemary Stevens is? Surely he would have noticed such a beautiful girl. Something — or rather, someone — must have been stopping him from encountering the beauty.

Abandoning the thought, Harry frowned at his annoying friends and snapped his fingers together to get their attention. "Hey, you two, I need more information. Has she dated anyone else before?"

"No," Ron answered. "Cedric Diggory and Adrian Pucey asked her out last year, but she rejected them." Harry smiled triumphantly. "Lots of guys have crushed on her and thought about asking her out on a date, but most have been thwarted from even getting within five feet of her by —"

The trolley cart full of candy interrupted Ron's thoughts. Taking note of this, Hermione chided, "Ronald, this eating addiction of yours has gone too far. You can't even finish a proper sentence."

"Honestly, Ron. You're supposed to be helping me win the girl of my dreams," Harry agreed but Ron was already too far gone. Eyes glazed over, he waved his friends off and snagged a chocolate and pumpkin pasty from the cart.

Letting his knees give out from under him, Ron fell down onto his seat heavily and stuffed his face with candies. While Hermione stared at Ron in revulsion, Harry looked at Ron quizzically for a moment before a lightbulb lit up in his head.

"Wait, Ron, you're brilliant!" Harry exclaimed.

"I am?" Ron questioned. "Right, I am," he said confidently, the ginger puffing out his chest proudly as he pushed more chocolate down his throat. He started choking on the corner piece, so Hermione diligently pulled out her water bottle and offered it the boy. Needless to say, he gulped it down.