>>1040433I keep thinking about that interview where Madoka answered "what would your perfect boyfriend be like" with "someone cool, like my mom"
So here at their first meeting we have Madoka basically thinking "A cool Homura would be nice"
Then after Homura gains a few levels in Badass, Madoka's reaction on meeting her changes from friendly/interested to shy/blushing (and dat stare turns her into a complete sub)
Madoka was a little more confident in the first timeline, but as her wish wasn't to be more confident as we first guessed, her character was fundamentally unchanged. So the difference is remarkable and could certainly be attributed to that "perfect boy(?)friend" answer.
And I couldn't help but remember that question in ep11 when Madoka's mother berates her for exactly the same reason as Homura did when she broke down at the fountain. Even using the same wording (correct me if I'm wrong)
More support for the assertion that Madoka's feelings were definitely romantic.