Slytherins, Kisses and Other Disasters
Copyright© 2026 by Caroline Stanton
Chapter 2: The Rumour
By breakfast the following morning, Victoria Crabbe had become the subject of the most ridiculous rumour Hogwarts had heard in weeks. She discovered this when two fourth-year girls stopped talking the moment she entered the Great Hall. That wasn’t unusual. Younger students often went quiet when Victoria passed them, particularly if Draconia and Georgina were with her. What was unusual was the way one of the girls looked at her, then glanced towards the Gryffindor table. Victoria followed her gaze. Harry Potter was eating toast.
She frowned.
“What are you looking at?” she demanded.
The two girls immediately turned away.
“Nothing.”
“Then keep walking.”
They hurried off. Georgina watched them go.
“Something’s up.”
“Probably just scared of Vic,” Draconia said.
“Good,” Victoria muttered.
They took their usual seats at the Slytherin table. Within ten minutes, Victoria had noticed three more people looking at her. One of them was a Ravenclaw boy who nearly dropped his cup when she caught him staring.
“What the bloody hell is wrong with everyone today?”
Georgina looked around. Then she grinned.
“Oh, this is brilliant.”
“What?”
“I think your little admirer has become public knowledge.”
Victoria stared at her.
“What?”
“Potter.”
Draconia looked up from her breakfast.
“Surely not.”
Georgina nodded towards the Gryffindor table.
“Look.”
Several students were whispering together. One glanced towards Victoria, then looked away when she noticed. Draconia slowly lowered her fork.
“Oh, Merlin.”
Victoria looked from one friend to the other.
“What?”
“Vic,” Georgina said, struggling not to laugh, “I think everyone knows.”
“Knows what?”
“That Harry Potter thinks you’re beautiful.”
Victoria stared at her. Then she groaned.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake.”
Draconia began laughing.
“You told us, Victoria. Did you really expect Georgina to keep her mouth shut?”
“Oi!” Georgina protested. “I only told a couple of people!”
“Which couple?” Victoria demanded.
Georgina considered.
“Well, there was—”
“Never mind!”
Draconia was laughing openly now. Victoria folded her arms and glared across the Great Hall. Potter was still eating his toast. The bastard didn’t even look embarrassed. Harry had become aware of the rumours before he finished breakfast. He’d noticed people staring at him as he entered the Great Hall, but he hadn’t paid much attention. People had been staring at him for years. Then Ron sat down beside him.
“Harry.”
“Morning.”
“Harry.”
“What?”
Ron leaned closer.
“Tell me something.”
Harry took another bite of toast.
“All right.”
“Have you gone completely mental?”
Harry looked at him.
“Not that I know of.”
“Then why is everyone saying you’ve been trying to chat up Crabbe?”
Harry swallowed.
“Oh. That.”
Ron stared.
“That?”
Hermione, sitting opposite them, put down her book.
“Harry, please tell me this is some stupid rumour.”
Harry reached for the marmalade.
“Depends what you’ve heard.”
“That you approached Victoria Crabbe yesterday and told her she was beautiful.”
“That’s true.”
Ron stared at him for several seconds. Then he turned to Hermione.
“He’s been Confunded.”
“Ron.”
“Seriously! Somebody’s done something to him.”
Harry smiled.
“I’m fine.”
“Fine? Harry, we’re talking about Crabbe. Victoria Crabbe!”
“I know who she is, Ron.”
“The one who nearly knocked your head off during the last Quidditch match!”
“She was playing Beater.”
“She aimed a Bludger straight at your face!”
“That’s what Beaters do.”
Ron opened his mouth, then closed it again. Hermione was watching Harry carefully.
“Harry, why?”
He looked at her.
“Why what?”
“Why would you tell Victoria Crabbe she’s beautiful?”
“Because I think she is.”
Ron made a strangled noise. Hermione ignored him.
“Harry, you know perfectly well what she’s like.”
“Yes.”
“She’s spent years bullying other students. She’s Draconia Malfoy’s best friend. She can be absolutely horrible.”
“I know.”
“And you still think she’s beautiful?”
“Being unpleasant doesn’t make someone ugly.”
Ron threw up his hands.
“Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. Next you’ll be telling us Georgina Goyle has a lovely personality.”
Harry laughed.
“That’s not what I said.”
Hermione leaned forward.
“Harry, I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
That made her pause. Harry set down his knife.
“Look, Hermione, I know Victoria can be nasty. I’ve been on the receiving end often enough. But have you ever actually looked at her?”
Ron stared at him.
“She’s enormous!”
“She’s tall, Ron.”
“She’s built like a bloody Quidditch player!”
“She is a Quidditch player.”
“That’s not the point!”
Harry shook his head, smiling.
“She’s got beautiful green eyes. Really beautiful. And that long black hair. And when she smiles—properly smiles, I mean, not when she’s about to punch someone—she’s gorgeous.”
Ron looked genuinely distressed. Hermione, however, had stopped arguing. She was studying Harry’s face.
“You’ve been watching her.”
Harry met her eyes.
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
“A while.”
Ron slowly lowered his fork.
“Oh, bloody hell.”
Hermione was quiet for a moment. Then she asked, “Harry, do you actually fancy her?” Harry considered the question.
“Yes,” he said.
Ron closed his eyes. Hermione sat back.
“You’re serious.”
“Completely.”
“But why her?”
Harry glanced across the Great Hall. Victoria was sitting between Draconia and Georgina, apparently arguing about something. She was gesturing with her fork, her long black hair falling over one shoulder. Whatever Georgina said next made her laugh. Not her usual mocking laugh. A genuine one. Harry watched for a moment before turning back.
“Because I like what I see,” he said. “And I’d like to find out whether I can like the person as much as the face.”
Hermione followed his glance.
“Harry, you might not like what you find.”
“Maybe not.”
“And she might not want anything to do with you.”
“That’s her decision.”
Ron stared at him.
“You’re actually going to ask her out?”
“If she’ll let me.”
Ron looked towards the Slytherin table, then back at Harry.
“She’ll kill you.”
Harry grinned.
“Probably not before the first date.”
Hermione couldn’t suppress a smile.
“You’re impossible.”
“Been told that too.”
She shook her head, but her expression had softened.
“Just be careful, Harry. She’s not exactly known for being kind.”
“I know.”
“And don’t imagine you can change her.”
Harry looked at her.
“I’m not trying to change her, Hermione. I just want to get to know her.”
Hermione considered that. Then she nodded.
“All right.”
Ron turned towards her in disbelief.
“All right?”
“It’s Harry’s decision, Ron.”
“But it’s Crabbe!”
“Yes, Ron. We’ve established that.”
Harry laughed and went back to his breakfast. Ron spent the next several minutes looking as though his best friend had announced his intention to marry a Hungarian Horntail. By lunchtime, the second part of the story had reached Slytherin. It arrived through the usual Hogwarts channels: a conversation overheard at breakfast, repeated in a corridor, embellished in a classroom, and eventually passed to someone who knew Georgina. Georgina found Draconia and Victoria in the common room.
She was grinning so broadly that Victoria immediately became suspicious.
“What now?”
Georgina dropped into an armchair.
“Oh, you’re going to love this.”
Draconia looked up.
“More about Potter?”
“Much more.”
Victoria groaned.
“Can we please talk about something else?”
“No,” Georgina said cheerfully. “Apparently Weasley and Granger cornered him at breakfast.”
Draconia smiled.
“Excellent. Did they tell him he’d lost his mind?”
“Pretty much.”
“Good.”
“But that’s not the interesting part.”
Victoria rolled her eyes.
“Get on with it.”
Georgina leaned forward.
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