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“Thank you, have a nice day!”
Harry let the smile on his face linger for a little while longer, before sighing. He wiped his hands on his apron, seeing the soft green fabric covered in flour. He nibbled on a croissant he had kept hidden below the countertop, unwrapping it from the napkin that hastily wrapped it up in when he saw her walk in.
You see, for the past couple of weeks, Harry had absolutely become smitten with the woman who had just walked out. Hermione was her name, and Harry swore she had to have been a combination of Athena and Aphrodite. She was as smart as a whip, and as beautiful as the sunrise. She’d come by every day, ordering coffee and a strawberry pastry, and study quietly at a table that she had unofficially taken over. On his breaks, they’d chat, about school, life, anything really.
Just the way she smiled at him made his stomach do backflips and made him feel all warm inside.
He chastised himself slightly, before turning to see his parents looking at him with smirks on their faces.
“You’re completely head over heels for her.” James’ voice rumbled out, and Harry could almost hear the laughter in his voice. His mother elbowed him, taking his face in her hands, a soft grin on her face.
“Oh shut up James, it’s adorable! And it’s not like you were any old Casanova.” He heard his father squawk in indignation, and he laughed at the look of disbelief on James’ face. Lily patted his cheek, whispering to him. “Don’t tell your father, but I had a crush on him since grade school, but since he was a bit of an arse, I didn’t give him a chance until he smartened up.”
Harry couldn’t hold his laughter back anymore, and watched as his father wrapped his arms around Lily’s waist and dragged her close, his mother letting out a shriek of laughter as James peppered her cheeks with kisses. He had long since given up on being embarrassed by his parent’s displays of affection.
He just wished one day that he could do that. Preferably with Hermione.
“Why don’t you make a move?” His father looked at him, and he knew he meant nothing disrespectful by the look in his eyes. James truly wanted his son to have his own happily ever after, and he was curious as to what was holding him back.
Harry sighed, trying to gather his thoughts. “Well, it’s hard, you know? I’ve spent my whole life building an image of how I want my relationship to go based off of you two, and she walks in and fits the bill perfectly? What’s to say that she isn’t already taken? Who’s to say that she’s even interested in me?” His voice slipped into a whisper, and Lily and James both saw the sadness in his eyes. “Who’s to say I can even live up to her?”
The two parents stepped forward and engulfed their son in an embrace. Lily spoke softly, her voice holding nothing but love in it. “Oh Harry, anyone would be lucky to have you. You’ve been nothing but an amazing son to us, and any girl would be happy with you. That girl won’t know what hit her.”
James piped in, slapping his son’s back. “And come on, you have the Marauder charm behind you too! There’s no way that she won’t fall for you.” Harry watched with a smile as Lily’s hand flew to smack the back of James’ head, and watched as his mother proceeded to jokingly attack her husband for “saying such ridiculous things.”
“Umm, is this a bad time?” Harry’s eyes widened and spun around, seeing Hermione stand there with a shy smile on her face. He immediately began to push his parents into the back room.
“No no, not at all! This is a perfect time actually!” He could hear his parents snicker quietly, and he shot them a glare as he slammed the door behind him.
James and Lily stood in the bakery’s kitchen, looking through the small window into the main hall as their son leaned in closer to the girl he was smitten with, both sharing soft smiles.
“10 bucks says she asks him out first.”
James scoffed, before firing back. “20 bucks, and whoever loses has to do opening duties for the next month.”
“Easy money.” Lily immediately started rubbing her hands, and James began mumbling underneath his breath.
“Come on son, do your father proud...” Both their eyes widened as Hermione grabbed their son’s hand, and pulled him over the counter, kissing him. Harry’s eyes widened, before fluttering shut.
“YES! I KNEW IT!”
“GODDAMN IT!”