SILENT [1] || HARRY POTTER ⚡️

forty-six ; professor, shut up

a/n: pretty long chapter!1!!!!111

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Harry gazed at Darcy from afar, not knowing how to feel about her, or his attitude towards her. He felt bad, that was for sure, but also a different tingle that sent sparks up his body. And watching Darcy leave, with Gemma, Theodore Nott, and Hermione following after, really made those sparks intense.

"You alright, Harry?" Ron asked. "I know Seamus this morning really put a damper on your mood..."

When Harry said nothing, Ron continued with caution. "But the way you acted towards Darcy was very unlike you... And I really don't think that being mad at her for nothing in particular is the best--"

"Why, Ron," Harry snapped, "just because I was foul to her, doesn't mean you have to as well."

"Well, I--" Ron stuttered. "I know that! It's just--uh--it as very unlike you."

Harry only stared at his friend, and then realized what was happening. "You like her, don't you?"

Ron's face flushed redder than ever and he shook his head. "I don't see how you got that."

Harry guessed that maybe that was why Ron was so flustered at Grimmauld. He was always red around Darcy, and now that Harry had called his best friend out on it, it was clearer. Though, that tingle still lingered, and Harry couldn't help but feel even more bitter. Of course, Darcy had grown out of her shell in the two years she spent at Hogwarts. She could now speak, permanently hopefully, and it gave her a boost of confidence that Harry often envied and adored about her.

And Harry liked her. He liked her this morning, and the night before, and the day they spent together the beginning of summer. Harry liked how she smiled, and liked how it was them two that really understood each other, and were left out together. He liked that when she talked, she was so sure and just of her voice. 

The Yule Ball, when she pretended to step on his feet whenever he tripped, just to share the embarrassment. He hadn't felt it fully then, but as he thought of it, his heart would trip over itself. 

He liked that he saw her grow up (granted, everyone did). He especially liked the evening before the Quidditch game in fourth year, and how she had said to him: "I feel closer to you sometimes. Like we can tell each other anything." 

Yes, Harry liked Darcy, and he assumed Ron did too--who already felt like he was the second. Harry couldn't...He didn't how to feel about that. He could tell Ron, but that would lead to Ron backing down, and a potential remake of last years fight... 

 And did Darcy not look at Harry, earlier the morning, differently? He saw the expectant look in her eyes. Did she think differently of him this year, just as he had?  

A little note in the back of Harry's head sang not to put himself down like that--to let go of Darcy...But he  looked levelly at Ron. "If you like Darcy--"

"It's not about Darcy--blimey, Harry!" Ron interrupted, shoving his shoulder. "I'm talking about you, mate. You've been foul since we got here."

Harry frowned at him. "Then why do you get so flushed around her? At Grimmauld place--"

His best friend turned an incredulous eye at him. "Have you not heard what I just said? The topic is on you, mate."

This time it was Harry's face that turned beet-red. He shook his head--feeling rather silly, because Ron was right. Harry was too caught up with his thoughts of Darcy, that he used that as a defense against speaking about what he really felt.