Redemption [h.s]

eighteen

A soft knock on my door.

I stood up from the couch, putting the book I was reading on the floor, and went to open it. It was Harry, of course.

"Do you want to come in?" I asked him, moving to the side so that he could step in.

He did and stopped in the middle of the corridor, waiting for me to close the door.

I did, and he cleared his voice, getting my attention on him once again.

"I heard you helped my sister to get into my house illegally."

"She told me you would've come around to talk about that" I said, amused.

"I think I almost had a heart attack when I found her into my house." He looked at the little objects on the shelf in the small hallway. A picture, and a small container, with some hair ties inside.

"Oh, so that's what that long, high-pitched scream was for" I replied jokingly.

He glared at me. "Very funny."

"What can I say, I'm just hilarious" I said, surpassing him and going to the kitchen. "Do you want a cup of tea?"

"Yeah, please" he said, following me.

I put the water on the cookers to warm up and he leaned on the table, looking at me as I stood on my tiptoes to reach the shelf where the cups were stored. Once the water was warm enough, I got our cups ready and put them on the table as we sat down.

"So, I met your sister" I said, even though it came out more like a question, and his face lit up at her sole mention.

"I know."

"She seems nice" I continued. "Even though I didn't really expect her to know how to pick a lock."

"I guess she's always full of surprises. She's quite inventive."

"That's impressive." I looked down into my cup, and saw that the tea was ready. I put my tea bag on the little plate in the middle of the table, and he did the same.

"I'll get some sugar" I said, standing up and opening the cupboard. I heard the scratching of Harry's chair on the floor as he did the same. "How many?" I asked him turning around, only to find out that he was right behind me.

He put his hands on the counter, cornering me, and I instinctively retracted a bit from the sudden closeness. "What are you doing?" I asked him, as he lightly pulled a strand of my hair taking it between his thumb and index finger to get my attention. As if he didn't have it already.

"I was wondering if I could get another..." He said, getting closer, "kind of sugar" he completed, whispering in my ear.

I felt the heat rush to my cheeks as I started blushing. "I..." I started to say, but I found myself at a loss of words.

He pressed his body against mine as he reached up behind me. "Here" he said, "I've always preferred cane sugar."

I stared at him as he walked back to the table, a little smile on his face because of my reaction.

I glared at him to cover up the embarrassment I was starting to feel. I couldn't believe he'd just done something like that.

"Do you need help to reach the sugar?" He asked stirring his cup tiredly, that little smile not leaving his lips.

"Are you implying something about my height? Because if you are, you might want to take it back right now" I replied, catching up.

He gave me a small laugh. "I wouldn't dare" he said, and stood up, walking to me again. "What kind of sugar do you prefer?"