He had felt like this once before, the sensation of his stomach flipping uncontrollably as he glimpsed the profile of a pretty girl.

Before it had been Cho, and, well, it hadn’t worked out quite how he had hoped. He reckoned their failure was due to a combination of poor timing and unresolved traumas.

And now? Harry assumed this, too, was over before it even began.

Undoubtedly, she was much too pretty for him. Her long, curly blonde hair shimmered in the sun when she moved swiftly around her desk to cast her spell. The wand in her hand swished elegantly as she transfigured her water goblet into a fountain. A melodic laugh left her when Zabini’s own goblet did nothing but roll off the table following his incantation.

The lesson ended, her housemates enveloped her in a sea of silver and emerald, and he was once again reminded of just how unattainable she really was.

The group of Slytherins began exiting the Transfiguration classroom, while she lagged slightly behind. With a small glance over her shoulder, blue eyes met green. Then, a quick smile. Harry responded with a lopsided smirk of his own.

Maybe there was still hope yet.