Author: Lyta Padfoot
Category: General, Angst
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Harry Potter is the property of J.K. Rowling. Characters and situations are used without permission, no infringement is intended.
Summary: Terry has an ephiphany, five minutes too late.
* * *
Though in the same house and year, Terry and Padma moved in parallel tracks. It wasn't until their involvement with the D.A. that those paths intersected. Shared secrets linked them. At first, Terry drifted into her company because his friends were too involved with girlfriends to spend much time with him. He was lonely, she enjoyed his company. It seemed so simple.
He ought to have realized he was falling in love. All the classic signs were present. Terry, the most unobservant of males, noticed the little things about her. The new shoes she received for Christmas, the way she bit her lip when vexed, the golden light in her eyes when she smiled. He remembered her birthday and the way she preferred her tea.
Despite all evidence, it wasn't until the end of term, when they said good-bye for the summer that he understood. She leaned forward and kissed him. A friend's kiss on the cheek. It was only then, as they parted, that he realized his feelings for her ran deeper than he'd ever imagined.