Harry’s Hapless Girlfriends…Or Maybe It’s Him
#1: Kissing Cho Chang
Cho is a Ravenclaw seeker and the ex of Cedric Diggory.
She’s a little taller than Harry, and very pretty. Her long, black hair is silky and smooth, her eyes are wide and sweet, and her smile is soft.
Harry’s head over heels in love with her, and it’s the first time he feels love for someone.
One night, when both of them stay longer in the Room of Requirement after the D.A meeting, magic happens.
Mistletoe hangs from the ceiling and before Harry even registers what’s happening, they’re moving closer.
When Cho kisses him, it’s a soft press of the lips.
Unfortunately. Harry isn’t particularly enjoying the kiss, as wet snot is dripping between the gap of their lips, Cho is sniffling, and he just tastes steak, remnants of the night’s dinner.
After a while, Harry’s legs are sore from standing and he’s almost suffocating from the lack of air.
In short, it’s his worst kiss yet, and he’s only had one.
Harry leans back and Cho seems to get the idea, as she leans back and starts wiping at her face with her sleeve. It’s obvious that Cho isn’t in a talking mood, but what is there to talk about?
Hey, so I kissed you, what now?
He opens his mouth, but no words are coming out, so Harry flees, and the next time they see each other, Harry asks her on a date to Hogsmeade.
On their date, they go to Madam Puddifoot’s, a flowery cafe that’s too girly for his tastes.
Halfway through, Cho suddenly cries and runs off, and Harry is left there, wondering what he did wrong.
The next time they meet, they have a normal conversation and Cho suddenly says, “I’m sorry, Harry, but I don’t think it’s going to work out between us. I’m truly sorry,”
She gives him a hopeful smile, a token of friendship, and he returns it with a cold stare, so they part on lukewarm terms.
When they see each other before the battle, he’s cordial and far too polite. The coldness between them is like a big chasm.
After the war, they become somewhat friends and he’s invited to her wedding.
The card is white and decorated with lace. The silvery words spell out “Cho Chang and Cormac McLaggen welcome you to their wedding!”
He spends the day at home, drunk, and vows that he won’t go.
But, in two month’s time, he’s sitting in a plastic chair, clapping as Cho and Cormac kiss. He’ll never forget that image of her: Cho, glowing with happiness, in a gorgeous lace dress, her luscious black hair loose and her eyes sparkling.
After he drinks himself to obliviousness, he registers a feeling of emptiness, as Cho is off to a bright future and he’s in the past, always looking back.
All he can think about is that one line:
“I’m sorry, Harry, but I don’t think it’s going to work out between us. I’m truly sorry.”
~
#2: Kissing Ginny Weasley
Ginny Weasley, his best friend’s sister, is absolutely beautiful, with a long sheet of red hair, bright eyes, and filled with pleasant, light laughter. She’s vibrant, sassy, and has a hot temper, which is as fickle as flames. Her presence brings a smile on his face, though Ron grouches in the background whenever Harry makes conversation with Ginny.
When Ginny and Dean get together, Harry feels blinding jealousy and he feels a wave of relief when they break up, like a douse of water over a fire.
There’s a Quidditch match and they win.
When they celebrate in the Gryffindor common room, Harry kisses Ginny and he smells her flowery fragrance all over him.
Ginny reciprocates the kiss just as eagerly and the kiss becomes heated.
Harry feels as light as a cloud, though he isn’t sure of it’s because of kissing Ginny or winning the game.
They keep kissing anyway, and Harry convinces himself it’s the best feeling on earth.
Afterwards, Harry and Ginny visit the Room of Requirement and Ginny sits there, a bright, dazzling smile on her face and a puffy lip.
“So, what did you think of the kiss?” Ginny asks shyly, covering his hand with hers.
Harry gives her back a smile and pulls her in a kiss.
Apparently, when he kissed her, that was some kind of universal girl sign that he wasn’t aware about. He didn’t even know that they were dating when Ginny introduced him to some girl called Matilda and called him her boyfriend.
When they start officially dating, it’s nothing special to Harry. They just hang out in his room, talk about Quidditch, and occasionally kiss.
It’s like having a friend with benefits.
Unlike Ron and Lavender, he doesn’t feel the need to kiss Ginny every second. It’s mostly Ginny kissing him.
Again, the kisses feel like perfume and lips, but aren’t kisses supposed to taste like that?
Soon after, Dumbledore dies and they break up.
Afterwards, Harry feels oddly empty; wrung dry of all feelings, but he’s isn’t missing Ginny.
When Ginny kisses him on his birthday, he still feels nothing. He still remembers the moment:
”That was the silver lining I was looking for,” Ginny tells him and leans in.
Their lips touch again, and he feels Ginny’s perfume float up.
Harry only remembers that it was rather uncomfortable and he was almost relieved when Ron barged in, his face red and mouth bursting with unsaid words.
Later, he’ll tell himself that he was just wrapped up in his search and didn’t mature enough.
Ginny pushes them over the brink when she sends him a letter with only two words on it:
Bye, Harry
The next day, she travels somewhere faraway to train for the Holyhead Harpies.
When he’s 23 years old and fresh as a daisy, his light saddens dims when he feels left in the dark as he sits in the pub, watching Ginny, freshly returned as the new Chaser for the Holyhead Harpies, and Luna, a professional magizoologist, laughing together and entwining hands. He can’t stand that feeling of wild envy that he isn’t included in that happiness so he guzzles down more butterbeer.
Ginny and Luna’s relationship progresses and soon, Ginny flashes a shiny ring on her finger, her face filled with joy and her tinkling laughter fills the air.
While they’re surrounded by celebration, Harry goes off and buries his depression into some random girl he picked up.
Indeed, it was a farewell.
~
#3: Kissing Hermione Granger
Hermione and Harry are best friends, and that’s all they’ll ever be. He can’t even imagine engaging in anything with her, least of when she’s engaged with Ron.
When he looks at Hermione, he feels pride and love for her.
Hermione has come so far from the buck-toothed, bushy-haired nerd in her first year at Hogwarts.
She’s matured in her twenties and is now the Minister of Magic after years of hard work.
Of course, he and Hermione are just friends, and when Hermione presses a kiss to his cheek, he feels affection for her, as a sibling.
He’s genuinely happy for her when they announce their engagement and pregnancy.
Of course, he delivered a kiss to her cheek and a hug to Ron when they made him godfather to their first child, an adorable baby called Rose.
“I know you’ll be the very best godfather to her. I trust you better than anyone else.” Hermione had said, giving him a smile. Ron had nodded beside her, muttering, “You deserve it, mate,”
~