Padma

My name is Padma. I love singing and reading and dancing and even breathing in and out. Every day starts a new adventure and experience! I like reading and knowing and making friends. My sister still tells me that I'm stuck up and look kind of lonely. I just smile softly and go back to reading my books. She really doesn't understand. After we were put in different houses and never saw each other, we drifted apart. She doesn't believe that I can be this enthusiastic about life. But you'll keep my secret, won't you?

I never used to be like this. I was your practical, if a little over enthused with studying, Ravenclaw. That was before I knew Harry. Oh, of course, I'd met him before. He was in my year and he took my sister to the Yule Ball, but I didn't really know him. I knew Harry Potter, Boy-Who-Couldn't-Die, not the Harry who loved flying with a passion to rival the fire of a thousand suns. Not the Harry who worried incessantly for his friends' safety, and certainly not the Harry who would sweep me off my feet at the end of fifth year. No, I had never really met him. But I'm so glad that I did.

It had been the last Quidditch match of the year, and like the good sister I was I let myself be dragged off to watch the final. The game this year was Hufflepuff vs. Slytherin and all were amazed. The Hufflepuffs were euphoric; this was their time to shine. They hadn't been involved in the finals in over one hundred years. Even now they were ahead of all the other teams by a good fifty points.

I was pulled to the Gryffindor section and would imagine I looked a little out of place to the average passerby. I was the streak of blue in the never-ending sea of red. The game began and I do believe every single non-Slytherin on the pitch was cheering for the Hufflepuffs. The game was one of the longest in Hogwarts history, only surpassed by the Gryffindor-Hufflepuff match of the same year. One thing to be said for the Hufflepuffs, They weren't ones to gloat. They respectfully waited until the defeated Slytherin team had cleared the edge of the lake before breaking into tumultuous applause.

Even the other houses were elated. The Hufflepuffs deserved it and had beaten them fair and square. The Gryffindors, whose parties were always the best, threw a victory bash in the tower that night and anyone from the three houses was invited. I hadn't wanted to go, but my sister insisted. So I went.

The Gryffindor team stayed back a few minutes as planned to congratulate the Hufflepuff team. When they finally got back to the tower it was getting dark and the torches had been lit. It was strange, but I think when I saw him walk into the Commons that night, that was when that tiny crush I'd always had on him evolved into something more. Don't get me wrong. I wasn't in love with him or anything even close to that. But the fire was lit, and when Parvati introduced me to him, I couldn't help but swoon.

It wasn't like he was especially handsome, but he had something. Whatever it was, it didn't matter at that moment, because the music started, and with a little nudge and a meaningful look from Parvati, he asked me to dance. It was amazing. I hadn't thought it was possible, up until that time, for someone to smell of autumn. It was strange though; he seemed to pull it off with no trouble at all. When the music was almost over I was slowly starting to wonder if I could get him to dance with me again.

I didn't have to. After sitting out about two dances, he approached me and asked me if I wanted to go with him down to the kitchens. He said his friends were so tied up in each other that they couldn't go with him. But wont we get caught, I asked him. No, we can't, he replied, and held up his invisibility cloak. I was nervous as I'd never broken curfew before, but a little urging from Harry was all it took to get me to follow him out the portrait hole. I noticed my sister smiling at us as we left. I hated it when she did that! She was always trying to set me up. Although that night it didn't seem to affect me as much.

He whispered, as we walked, about all the times he'd been volunteered to go down to the kitchens before, and that I shouldn't worry. If anyone caught them he would just tell them he kidnapped me. I giggled at this before replying. Or, I told him; we could always say I found you traipsing around the corridors when I was on prefect duty. He pretended to gasp. A Ravenclaw lie to a teacher! Never happen. Hey! I said, aren't Gryffindors supposed to be honest and true? He bantered easily. Yes, but we know how to have fun. By this time we had reached the entrance to the kitchens and I turned to him after he had opened the portrait by tickling the pear. I know how to have fun.

He stared wide-eyed at my shameless flirting before motioning me into the dark kitchens and shutting the door. And how would that be, he asked. What did you expect me to do? I walked closer to him and kissed him lightly on the cheek, but before I could pull away or reply He pulled me even closer. I realized, in the short space of time before he kissed me, that he was only a few inches taller than me.

It was nothing short of amazing. I do believe my practical little head was on overdrive. He pulled away and rested his hands on my hips and his forehead on mine. I realized I'd been playing with fire but wasn't about to back down now. So I kissed him. And when we drew back, I knew that we were going to need to do some serious talking, this Harry Potter and I. But for now, we just finished grabbing stuff for the party and trudged back up the stairs.

When my sister saw us come back inside, she just nodded. I love it when she's right.