Chapter- 37 : Fire and Fury Part - 3

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"Tell me about yourself," she repeated her earlier words, though this time she sounded genuinely interested instead of angry and commanding.

"Well, I'm 18-" he started, only for her eyebrows to shoot up.

"Really? I'd thought you were older with all the..." She gestured vaguely at his face.

For a moment he didn't understand what she was getting at, but then his heart sank as he remembered the scars. "For a moment I'd actually forgotten about them," he said bitterly. "They're a recent addition."

She winced. "My fault for bringing them up. Sorry."

Harry was surprised by the lack of condemnation in her voice. "They don't bother you?" he asked, wary and surprised.

"Looks have never bothered me," she said, airily waving her hand. "Between glamours, potions and transfiguration you could be a ninety year old hag for all I know. Showing them openly is surprisingly honest, actually." She gave him the evil eye. "You're not a ninety year old hag, are you?"

"I'm not a ninety year old hag," he dutifully assured her, still a little thrown by her instant acceptance. "Not many people are quite as tolerant. I know I'm bothered by the scars."

"Like I said, I don't care about looks," she said before adding darkly, "except when someone uses me for mine."

It was Harry's turn to wince. The choice of words alone was telling, but combined with how stunning she was it painted a rather ugly picture.

"The boyfriend?" he guessed hesitantly.

Amanda scowled menacingly down at the bar. "He agreed to lend me to someone else. Needless to say that ship has sailed and sunk and is currently infested with grindylows." She shuddered and forced herself upright. "I really don't want to talk about him."

"Right," Harry nodded before his mouth dried as he had no idea what to say now. "Um, so I'm really 18. Far be it from me to ask a lady her age-"

"But luckily for you I'm not a lady. I'm 23." She smiled wickedly. "So, what's a guy like you doing in a place like this?"

Despite the sheer cheesiness Harry couldn't help himself and blushed faintly again. "Seriously?" he sputtered. "That's the line you're going with?"

She nodded innocently, eyes wide like a child hoping to be showered with sugary treats for doing something really, really good. "I could use another, but..." She leant in close and whispered breathily in his ear, "After you made me so hot I breathed fire I didn't think I needed an ice breaker."

A warm, wet touch tickled his ear, and Harry shuddered involuntarily. Then he realised that she had actually licked his ear and he squeaked and jumped and would have fallen off his stool if it hadn't been for his dead-grip on the bar.

Amanda grinned at him with a smile from ear to ear, showing off pearly-white teeth.

"Oh Merlin, kill me now," he groaned and smacked his forehead on the polished wood before covering himself with his arms.

"Oh come now," she said cheerfully, lightly running her hand over his shoulder, leaving a trail of goosebumps. "Surely you're not giving up that easily?"

His blush was strong enough to make him feel light-headed, but the challenge was strangely exciting and he really didn't want to let her win.

Harry took a deep breath and then sat up to purposefully leer at her. He ran his eyes over her bare legs and stared long and hard at where they disappeared in her denim shorts.

"I'm sorry, I can't let you win that easily. You're not wearing enough pants to be in charge of this relationship."

Tempted as he was to mimic her by running his hand across that bare expanse of skin or alternately swat her on the bottom he wasn't quite bold enough and settled for meeting her eyes. Her skin was slightly flushed as well, but her smile was shining with approval.

"Nice comeback."

"Thank you," he murmured. "I've never really done this before."

"I can tell, but you're a quick study," she said happily. "A little unusual, though. Typically you'll want to imply that the other person would be better off wearing less clothes instead of longer pants."

Harry swallowed thickly but didn't back down. "So I should have offered to help you change instead?"

Her eyes widened slightly and then she laughed uproariously, pounding her fist on the bar as tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Merlin, I needed that." She sighed happily. "Shall we call it a draw, then?"

Harry nodded instantly, knowing that she was being exceedingly generous as she could effortlessly flirt him under the table.

"I'll get you back though," she promised. "Still, you never answered my question. What brings you to the Three Broomsticks?"

Huh. Well, that was probably not supposed to be a loaded question, but there were a million ways to answer it. Harry went with the cheerful explanation. "I'm actually celebrating getting a new job."

"Really? Congratulations!" She lifted her glass in a toast. "Tell me about it."

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If you're eager to delve deeper into the story, consider joining my Patreon for exclusive content and early access to new chapters

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