Keep Calm and Conjure a Patronus Charm (boywizard) wrote in afic,
Harry had read Romilda's comments but he'd been at a complete loss as to what to say. He was a male after all, and sometimes the intricacies of female insults were just a bit above his head. He did want Hermione to be happy and he didn't want her to be stuck with him and Ron if she didn't want to be (and lately, at least in regards to Ron, it was pretty obvious she hadn't wanted to be).
But he didn't want to embarrass either of them and speak up about as much, or about the fact that he thought she was pretty. He wasn't sure when it was that she'd become so pretty. There had always been moments, of course, like at the Yule Ball, or when they were sitting alone in the tent on those quiet nights, wondering about the future. He'd never been interested in her---not like that. They were friends, best friends and that was all. But, he did think she was pretty, and he didn't think she needed Romilda Vane, or anyone else's advice on the subject.
And bloody hell, who was Rolmilda Vane to critique Hermione even if she had been using Imperio on him to land him as a boyfriend--really wasn't that much better than drugging someone up with a ridiculous love potion, as far as he was concerned.
He looked at the wine glass in his hand and thought, for a moment, about the fact that he'd been drinking a lot lately, before tipping it in Hermione's direction and tapping it against her glass.