Chapter 13
On Monday morning, Harry woke up excited and full of energy: today was the day they'd finally start dueling in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Despite the war, Defense Against the Dark Arts was still his favorite subject and he was eager to learn. He pulled himself out of bed and got dressed. All the other boys except Seamus were already awake and were getting ready as well.
"Should we wake him?" Ron gestured lazily towards a sleeping Seamus, his voice still groggy with sleep.
"I'll do it," Dean said, already making his way towards the bed. "You know how he can be when he first wakes up."
He sat on the side of Seamus' bed and pulled the curtains around them. Ron shot Harry a quizzical glance but Harry merely shrugged and the boys continued to prepare for the day.
Harry walked over to the mirror next to Neville and started to tie his tie. Neville gave him a warm smile that Harry returned.
"Neville?" Harry began, spotting a crimson stain on his friend's collar that looked suspiciously like red lipstick. "What's that?"
"What's wh-" Neville glanced down and his face became almost as red as the mark in question. "Oh. That. Er- well... you see..."
"So the rumors are true then?" Ron said as he waltzed past them. "Word on the street is that Neville's become quite the ladies man."
"Well I wouldn't say-"
"Really? I can't say I'm surprised," Harry said honestly. From the many conversations he'd overheard, Neville was considered to be Hogwart's most eligible bachelor, following Harry. He couldn't blame the girls; Neville was a hero, and the fact that he had grown six inches and gained about twenty pounds in muscle mass over the past year certainly helped.
Neville didn't respond, but his face turned from red to a deep scarlet.
"Dean, we're heading down. You coming?" Harry called. Dean was still sitting on Seamus' bed, the curtains drawn.
"We'll be down in a minute." Seamus was the one that responded, rather breathlessly.
"Alright, but don't stay up here too long, or Ron will finish all waffles and they'll be none left."
"Hey!" Ron elbowed Harry in the side.
Harry, Ron, and Neville headed down to the Great Hall together, where they found Hermione already sitting and engaged in an intense conversation with Ginny.
"-and Michael and Dean? You liked them, didn't you?" Harry overheard Hermione say as he sat down.
"Yes, but I also like-" Ginny's eyes drifted over to Harry and she closed her mouth. "Hi Harry."
"Did we interrupt something?" Ron wrapped an arm around Hermione's shoulder and glanced between her and his sister. Hermione looked like she was about to answer before Ginny interjected.
"No, not at all." She gave Ron a smile and took a bite of her scrambled eggs.
"Are you ready for dueling today?" Hermione asked them, changing the subject.
"Yes," Harry said at the same time that Ron said "no."
"Of course you're ready. You're the best Defense student Hogwarts has ever seen and you don't have to duel bloody Malfoy," Ron groaned. Harry had forgotten Malfoy was Ron's partner; evidently, Ron had not forgotten this fact.
"Well, I have to duel Zabini," Harry offered, shrugging. Zabini wasn't nearly as bad as Malfoy, but he was still a Slytherin.
"That'll be easy. He'll probably just pose and try to distract you with his good looks rather than actually fighting." Ginny snorted.
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Harry Potter and The Boy Who Had No Choice
Fanfiction"Face it Malfoy, you're a bloody coward." Harry's smile was gone, replaced by a menacing scowl. While he was talking, he had made his way back to Malfoy, who was now standing in front of him, seething with anger. "I. Am. Not. A. Coward," Malfoy sa...
