Harry could be patient. His crush on Tom had never wavered since second year, not for a single day. There was plenty to admire about Tom from afar, after all, while he waited patiently for Tom to come around. He liked how Tom always had the most interesting answers in class. He admired Tom’s quiet charm and confidence, so unlike Malfoy’s loud and obnoxious bragging. And he thought Tom’s cutting responses were really funny—underhandedly clever but also bold enough that he could very well have been a Gryffindor instead.