Bridging Differences

Harry popped another piece of candy into his mouth as he continued to write. It was breezy and chilly outdoors but he wanted to enjoy the sunshine while it lasted. The library or the common room would have been much warmer but the cold air was nice in its way. He knew with winter rapidly approaching, the days would be cold and dismal so the sunlight was welcome.

He saved the wrappers of the candies. He liked the varieties of candies that he had tried so far. They were so different compared to Muggle candy. Not just the obviously magical ones like the bubbles blown from gum that floated through the air or the candies that made your ears smoke and turn bright red. Even the small wrapped chocolates tasted incredibly different. Some more so than others.

"Hey, Potter."

He looked up and saw Pansy standing there. He hurriedly swallowed the chocolate and coughed a little. "Hi," he said back.

She looked at him, her face a mixture of curiosity and reluctance. She opened and closed her mouth a few times before she finally spoke once more. "Thank you. For the muffin and the handkerchief." She held her hand out and revealed the handkerchief. "I've been meaning to give this back."

"Oh, you're welcome. You can keep it if you like. It's my first time sewing in a really long time so it's a bit rough," he said awkwardly.

She closed her hand around it. "Thank you," she repeated. She coughed and cleared her throat. "The muffin was really good."

"I'm glad," Harry said, his happiness at her words making his awkwardness at her words fade just a little.

"You really made it?" she asked.

"Yup, in Household Charms club."

"So you really do know how to cook?"

He nodded.

"Huh. Why?"

"It was a chore but I came to really like cooking," Harry said.

She blinked at him. "You did chores?"

He blinked back. "Yeah. Always did, as long as I could remember."

"Oh." She looked very confused. "You didn't grow up in a magical family?"

Harry shook his head. "I didn't even know about magic until like a week or so before school started."

She stared at him with disbelief. "How did you make the muffins then?"

"By hand without magic. Like I always have. I'm starting to learn a few charms and things that can help in club but I've always cooked without magic."

"I can't believe that," she said with wonder.

He frowned slightly. "I'm not lying. Like I wasn't lying about knowing how to cook."

Pansy colored a little, feeling slightly shameful for some reason. "I didn't mean to call you one. It's just hard to believe."

"Okay," he replied and the awkwardness returned in full.

"Were… were you really nice to me because I was crying?" she whispered. When he nodded, she looked at him directly. "Why? When I helped Draco be mean and rude to you. You could have just ignored me."

"Because you looked so upset," he said, rubbing his neck. "I really don't like hearing people cry and yeah you weren't nice but it doesn't do to hit someone when they're down."

"I've heard my father say that's when it's easiest to hit someone," Pansy said dryly.

"I guess?" Harry said, unable to keep his voice from rising in a concerned lit that made Pansy giggle. She looked shocked that she did that in front of him and he looked equally shocked. "In any case yeah, I could have ignored you but it would've bothered me. If I could help but didn't, that would upset me."

"Oh," she said quietly. "Uhm, thank you." She looked like she was about to say something else before deciding against it. "I'll… talk to you another time," she said. "Bye." She turned and walked away.

"Bye," Harry said after. He watched her walk into the castle, disappearing from sight. "That was weird," he muttered to himself.

.....

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