oscpiastri81

[oscpiastri81]

The Double Date

Sirius Black x fem! reader

Summary: Sirius is sick of James’ whining about Lily and y/n is sick of Lily pretending she hates James so they devise a plan to get them together, little do they know it works out well for them too

Warnings: Swearing, kissing, Remus being an adorable klutz, slight snape slander

A/n: 6.5k words, this oneshot is based off of this request sorry for the delay i got caught up with uni work x I hope you enjoyed it I loved writing this!

Navigation | Sirius Black Masterlist

“Ugh, he’s just so annoying” Lily complains as you both walk into your dorm “I mean why doesn’t he just give up already” she huffs, placing her bag down before taking a seat on the front of her bed

You sighed, shrugging off your robe, dropping it along with your bag on the floor before proceeding to collapse backwards onto your bed, ready to hear yet another rant about James Fleamont Potter. You loved Lily, you really did, but every day without fail she would complain about him. To start it was justified and usually only happened when he did something that really pissed her off but over the last few weeks she would just go on and on about him every chance she got.  

You weren’t even listening to her as you stared up at the celling, whatever she was talking about you’d probably heard it a million times already. It was times like these you missed Snape, he would listen to her complain all day, of course he was obsessed with her much like James, although, you had to admit James’ obsession was more endearing than your ex friends. His love was lighter, purer, while Snape’s was borderline terrifying with the way you would and still do catch him staring at her from across the room. Not to mention James would never ever call Lily a mudblood, nor would any of the other marauders, you may have thought some of their pranks were a bit extreme but at least they were all good at heart.

One marauder did grow on you the most, even more so as you both shared one class alone together and were partners in said class. You hated it, falling for him like every other girl had done before you but you couldn’t stop yourself, Sirius was dreamy, handsome and to your surprise could be really sweet. You knew you had no chance with him, no matter how close you might have gotten, he was a natural flirt and he had never made a move so you concluded he must only see you as a friend. Despite that fact, you couldn’t help but daydream about the boy.

“Y/n?” Lily looks up to see you laying on the bed staring into space “I could say anything right now and you wouldn’t hear me” she tilts her head a bit thinking before testing that statement “There’s a spider on your bed and its crawling towards your face” no response “I saw Alice kiss Frank on Tuesday” still nothing “I’m in love with James”

Lily peers forward surprised not even that got your attention. Wow, she’s really is in her own little world, she thinks as she moves to get some of her homework out of her bag, deciding to do that while she waits on you snapping out of whatever daze you’re in. As Lily starts writing and you continue to daydream, a similar conversation occurs in the boy’s dorm.

Keep reading

[oscpiastri81]

𝟷.𝟿𝚔 || 𝐎𝐔𝐓-𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐌𝐄𝐃

♡ ︎ꜱᴜᴍᴍᴀʀʏ: You ask Sirius if he’d still love you if you were a worm.

♡ ︎ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢꜱ: None

♡ ︎ꜱʜɪᴘ: Sirius Black x fem!reader

The Gryffindor common room was alive with its usual evening buzz. The fire crackled in the hearth, casting a warm glow over the scattered armchairs and sofas where students unwound after a long day. Yet, something was distinctly different about this particular evening, and it wasn’t just the sight of Remus Lupin trying to hide a smile behind his book.

Sirius Black—usually the life of the party, the source of everyone's laughter—was pacing the room with the expression of a man who had just been told he was being disowned (again).

The reason? You, his usually forgiving and smitten girlfriend, were sitting on the opposite end of the sofa, glaring at him with the intensity of a thousand howlers. The tension was thick enough to cut with a knife—or at least thick enough for Lily Evans to finally take notice.

“What’s going on with you two?” she asked, setting down her Muggle novel and looking between you and Sirius with a raised eyebrow.

James perked up immediately. “Yeah, Pads, why do you look like a puppy that’s been kicked? Did you finally tell her that awful joke about the werewolf and the moon?”

Remus shot him a look. “Don’t even think about it, James.”

But Sirius was too busy grovelling to engage in their usual banter. “It wasn’t a joke! I was just being honest!” he exclaimed, his voice tinged with the kind of desperation that made Peter look up from his sweets.

You scoffed, crossing your arms over your chest and shooting him a look that could have curdled milk. “Honest? You call that honesty? You could have at least pretended to be romantic!”

Peter, munching on a chocolate frog, looked between the two of you in confusion. “What did you do, Pads?”

Lily leaned in closer. “Yeah, what did you say that was so terrible?”

You finally looked up from your magazine, fixing Sirius with a glare that could melt the snow on the highest peak of the Forbidden Forest. “Do you want to tell them, or should I?”

Sirius opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened it again—like a fish out of water. “It’s not that bad…”

“Not that bad?” you scoffed, slamming the magazine shut. “I asked him a simple, hypothetical question—”

“A trap,” Sirius interjected quickly, holding up a finger. “A trap disguised as a question.”

You ignored him, continuing as if he hadn’t spoken. “I asked if he would still love me if I were a worm.”

A beat of silence.

Then, James erupted into laughter, nearly toppling out of his chair. “A worm? You asked him if he’d still love you if you were a worm?”

Remus was struggling to keep a straight face, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he looked between you and Sirius. “And… what did you say, Sirius?”

Sirius looked pained. “I… I said no.”

James fell out of his chair for real this time, clutching his sides as he howled with laughter.

Lily, however, looked scandalized. “You said no?”

Sirius nodded helplessly. “But—”

Lily cut him off with a look of pure betrayal. “Why would you say no? She asked you if you would still love her as a worm, Sirius! The correct answer is always yes!”

“I know that now!” Sirius exclaimed, looking around the room as if begging for backup. “But at the time, I wasn’t thinking about the emotional implications! I was thinking about the logistics!”

James was gasping for air, tears streaming down his face as he tried to compose himself. “Oh Merlin, this is too good. Padfoot, mate, you’ve really done it this time.”

“What logistics?” you demanded, crossing your arms over your chest. “It’s not that complicated! Would you still love me or not?”

Sirius threw his hands up in the air. “But you’d be a worm! How am I supposed to know it’s you? What if I accidentally step on you, or you get eaten by a bird? And what would we even do together? It’s not like we could… I don’t know, go on dates or—”

You rolled your eyes so hard you could’ve seen the back of your skull. “That’s not the point, Sirius! The point is that you didn’t even hesitate to say no. I could’ve been anything—a cat, a dog, a bloody flobberworm—and you just shot me down!”

Sirius threw his hands up in the air. “Well, yeah! I mean, how am I supposed to love a worm? It doesn’t even have a face! Or a personality! It’s just… squirmy and gross!”

You shot him a withering look. “So that’s it, then? You’re only with me because I have a face?”

“Wha—no!” Sirius spluttered, eyes wide. “That’s not what I meant at all!”

Remus, barely containing his amusement, decided to chime in. “Pads, I think what she’s trying to say is that you should’ve said yes, no matter how ridiculous the question was.”

Sirius looked like he was having an existential crisis. “But it’s a worm! How am I supposed to kiss a worm? Or hold hands? Or—”

You cut him off, your voice icy. “Oh, so that’s all I am to you? Someone to kiss and hold hands with?”

Sirius’s eyes widened in alarm. “No! That’s not it at all!”

James was now thoroughly enjoying the show. “Sounds like it to me, Pads. You’re only in it for the snogging.”

Peter, ever the peacemaker, tried to step in. “I’m sure he didn’t mean it like that…”

But you were on a roll now, standing up from the sofa and glaring down at Sirius, who was still kneeling in front of you. “If I were a worm, Sirius, I’d have a heart, even if it’s small and squishy! But apparently, that’s not enough for you!”

Sirius, now in full panic mode, reached for your hands, trying to make you sit back down. “But I don’t want you to be a worm! I love you as you are—human, beautiful, with a proper face!”

You yanked your hands back, crossing your arms again. “So you only love me because I’m not a worm. Not because of who I am.”

Remus snickered behind his book. “You’re in deep now, mate.”

Sirius shot him a desperate look. “Not helping, Moony.”

Remus decided to step in. “Sirius, you have to understand—these questions aren’t about the actual scenario. It’s about the sentiment behind them. She was looking for reassurance that your love is unconditional.”

Sirius threw his hands up. "But it was a worm! I thought honesty was important!"

You finally looked up, narrowing your eyes at him. "Honesty? You just admitted you wouldn’t love me if I was a worm, Sirius. That’s not honesty, that’s cruelty!"

Peter piped up, "But… how would he know if the worm was you?"

Everyone turned to Peter, who shrinked slightly under the attention. "I mean… if you were a worm, how would Sirius know? And… does a worm even have feelings?"

Lily shakes her head, still laughing. "You boys are impossible. The worm is a metaphor, you idiot!”

Sirius rubbed the back of his head, still looking confused. “A metaphor for what?”

You sighed, leaning back against the sofa cushions. “For love, Sirius. For whether or not you’d love me no matter what.”

Realization dawned on Sirius’s face, and he looked genuinely horrified. “Oh… Oh. I see now.”

James, having finally caught his breath, piped up, “Well, it’s a bit late for that, isn’t it? You’ve got to make it up to her now, Padfoot.”

Peter nodded sagely. “You really messed up this time, Sirius. Girls don’t just ask you if you’d love them as a worm for no reason.”

Sirius turned to you, eyes wide with desperation. “Okay, I get it now. I was wrong. I should’ve said yes. I should’ve said I’d love you even if you were the slimiest, wriggliest worm in the world.”

You raised an eyebrow, letting him squirm under your gaze for a moment before speaking. “And why should I believe you?”

“Because,” Sirius said, his voice softening as he took your hands in his, “I love you. And I don’t care if you’re a worm, or a dog, or a… or a Blast-Ended Skrewt. I love you for who you are, not what you are. And if you were a worm, I’d find a way to make it work. I’d carry you around in a little jar, and I’d protect you from birds, and… and I’d even learn what worms like to eat!”

But you weren’t having it. “Too late for that, Black. You’ve already made your feelings clear.”

James leaned back in his chair with a smug grin. “You know, Pads, if you’d just said yes in the first place, you wouldn’t be in this mess. But now, she knows your true feelings.”

Sirius turned back to you, his expression one of pure, unadulterated pleading. “Please, love, I’m sorry. I was just being stupid. You know I’d love you no matter what, even if you were… I don’t know, a Blast-Ended Skrewt!”

You blinked at him. “A Blast-Ended Skrewt?”

Sirius nodded earnestly. “Yes! Anything but a worm!”

Remus couldn’t hold back his laughter any longer. “And you think that’s better?”

Sirius groaned, running his hands through his hair again. “Okay, bad example. But you get what I mean, right? I’m sorry. I love you—worm, human, Skrewt, whatever.”

You paused, staring down at him as he knelt before you, looking thoroughly pathetic. The room was silent, all eyes on you as they waited to see what you would do next.

Finally, you sighed and sat back down, though you still kept your arms crossed. “Fine. I forgive you. But you’d better start thinking before you answer stupid questions in the future.”

Sirius beamed, his relief palpable as he quickly scooted closer to you on the sofa. “I promise! No more stupid answers!”

James leaned over, whispering to Remus. “Bet he’ll say yes to anything she asks now.”

Remus smirked. “No doubt about it.”

Sirius, now fully back in your good graces, wrapped an arm around your shoulders and pressed a kiss to your temple. “So, just to be clear… I’d love you no matter what, even if you were a worm. A very cute worm.”

You couldn’t help but smile at that, though you tried to hide it. “Good. Because if you ever hesitate again, I might just have to turn you into one.”

Sirius laughed, pulling you closer. “And I’d still find a way to love you.”

James, watching the two of you, sighed dramatically. “Merlin, if this is what love is like, maybe I’m better off single.”

Lily rolled her eyes, nudging him playfully. “Oh, please. You’d have said the same thing if I’d asked you.”

James grinned, leaning in to whisper in her ear. “You wouldn’t have to ask. I’d love you no matter what.”

Lily blushed, playfully shoving him away. “You’re ridiculous.”

James smirked. “So, Sirius, if she were a Blast-Ended Skrewt—”

“No,” Sirius said quickly, “We are not going down that road again.”

Hope you all liked it!

[oscpiastri81]

Stacked Against You

Summary: You confront Spider-Man about his true identity, manila envelope style (literally).

masterlist

Goosebumps rise all over your body as the cold wind from the now-open window brushes past your exposed skin. You don’t need to look up, you know exactly who it is. “Sorry I’m late, some idiot tried to rob the pizza place on 13th Street.” The sound of his voice was deeper than normal, something he did when came to visit you like this.

“Romeo’s? They have some of the best pizza I’ve ever had. Are you hurt?” You can hear his footsteps approaching you, causing you to glance up at him. “Nope,” he pops the ‘p’ as he speaks. He sits beside you on the bed, “Tonight was really calm aside from the robbery attempt towards the end, I helped an old lady carry her groceries home, and she gave me one of those strawberry hard candies.” 

“The ones with the filling, because those are so good.” You can see him nod his masked head out of the corner of your eye. “How was your day?” 

You fall back onto the bed, “It was fine, I’ve been going back and forth about doing something.” He mirrors your actions and falls back too, “What’s got you so lost in your thoughts?” You sit upright, taking a deep breath before exhaling the word ‘you’. 

“What?” The eyes of his mask furrowed, further expressing his confusion. “You’re Peter Parker.” 

The eyes of his mask widened, “Wh-What?” You repeat yourself, “You’re Peter Parker.”

“No! Why would you even think that? Who even is that?” His voice was laced with panic as he sat up. You move off the bed and towards your desk, opening the drawer. Your back is turned to him when you say, “I’m glad you asked,” turning around with a manila envelope in hand, his name-his real name written in thick black marker. 

You start by pulling out old pages of a newspaper containing photos of Spider-Man, “Peter Parker is a close friend of mine, but more importantly, he’s a part-time photographer at the Daily Bugle. In fact, he’s their best photographer, because he’s the only person that manages to capture you on camera well,” 

“Oh, so you think I’m some photographer? I can assure you I’m not,” he crosses his arms over his chest. 

“I don’t think, I know. The angle these photos are taken can only be taken by one person, you. No normal person can take these. Do you honestly expect me to believe these weren’t taken with a self-timer? This one is literally a close-up of you scaling the side of a building,” you shove the pictures in his face. 

“And don’t even get me started on the videos of you fighting or all the times I’ve patched you up and Peter just so happened to have a bruise or scar in those exact spots?” you interrogated. 

“That’s just a coincidence,” he’s trying to reason with you. 

“No, Pete. Once is a chance, twice is a coincidence, and three or more times is a pattern. Then your voice-”

“What about my voice?” 

“You always try to make it deeper but it never holds, it always falters. You always end up actually sounding like yourself, always!” 

“I have no idea what yo-” 

You step closer to him, shaking your head, “No, none of that. There’s no use denying it…the evidence is stacked against you, Tiger.” 

Peter’s glad his mask is still on to hide his flustered face at the nickname. He lets out a nervous laugh and takes a deep breath before grabbing the back of his mask and pulling it up, revealing a bashful smile and fluffy hair. 

You can’t help but grin at him, “I knew it!” 

“You’re not mad?” 

“Mad at you for being a superhero? Absolutely not. Worried? Definitely. I mean, Pete, you are the only person I know who runs toward danger. I’ve always worried about you and your safety, even before I knew, back when you were just Peter.”  

He lets out a sigh of relief, “Really? I know this is a lot to take in, I don’t want you to think I didn’t trust you enough to tell you.” 

You stand between his legs and place your hands on his shoulders, “I know you trust me. You wouldn’t come to me when you get hurt if you didn’t.” 

One of his hands rests on the back of your thigh, and the other plays with the edge of your shirt. “Can I ask what really tipped you off?” 

You smile down at him before opening your mouth, “There were a few things I kept a close eye on like you running off in the direction a siren was coming from. The places you had bruises and scars, as you, would match up with the videos of where Spider-Man got hit in your latest fight or an area I helped you ice or stitch up. And then your moles, you have a million of them, it’s not hard to miss when I’m cleaning your bloodied chest. You’re also in skin-tight spandex, I recognized your frame.” 

“You know for being just a friend, you sure do pay a lot of attention to me, honey.” There’s a smugness to his voice. 

Your cheeks heat up at his words, focusing your gaze on the wall behind him, “I’m just an observant person.”

“Uh-uh, that might be true but that’s not just the case now is it?” His gloved hand slips under your shirt, thumb drawing circles against your skin. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” 

Peter’s smirk grows, “I think you do, baby. I think you-” his voice falls into a whisper “- I think you love me.” You turn your head to meet his eyes and exclaim “What!” 

“You love me, you’re in love with me.” His confidence is beyond visible. 

“I am? That’s quite the accusation, I’d ask to see your evidence but I’m almost certain you don’t have any.” You were trying to hold your own but it felt like he could see right through you. 

“Well I don’t exactly have the same kind of proof as you but I know I’m right.”  You give him a skeptical look, “Oh, do tell.” 

He starts running the hand he has on the back of your thigh up and down. “You do that,” he says. 

“What do you mean?” There’s a wicked look on his face, “Your heart starts racing when I touch you.” It was true, your heart was pounding against your ribs, but there was no way he could know that…right?

It’s as if he could read your mind because he continues speaking, “When I got bit, I didn’t just become super strong, my sense heightened. Including my hearing, especially my hearing. And right now, and every other time I touch you, your heart races.” 

You didn’t know the full extent of his powers, you knew he had super strength and a sixth sense but you felt dumb not even considering the fact he could have super hearing. “So the time you held my hand-”

“When we were crossing the street and your heart skipped a beat and you held your breath for like twenty seconds, yeah I heard that.”

“Oh, my god.” Your cheeks were now burning. 

“You also always have your hands on me, not that I mind, I really like it.” You open your mouth to contest his statement but he cuts you off before you have the opportunity, “Before you deny it, I would like to point out you’ve been stroking my cheek this entire time.” You were, hadn’t even realized you were doing it, you begin to pull your hand away from his face when he leans into your touch. 

He pulls you closer, causing you to straddle his lap. “I love you. I know you love me too, you can lie to my face but your heart will give you up every time.” You bury your face in the crook of his neck, he loves you, and hearing him say that makes you melt. 

“I love you, I have for a while now,” you whisper against his neck. “I know you have, honey,” he presses a kiss to your cheek. 

“Do you really listen to my heartbeat?” You asked, you had to know, the idea made your heart swell, and you wanted it to be real. “Of course, I do. It’s my favorite sound, I love hearing that I have the same effect on you that you have on me.” 

“Oh, Peter, you’re truly something else.… gimme me a kiss, please?” You close your eyes and pucker your lips waiting for his lips to meet yours. A warm feeling takes over when you feel his lips press into you. The kiss starts off delicate, the both of you were so giddy that you’re grinning against each other. The giddiness doesn’t go away but minimizes when your eagerness takes over, turning the kiss from sweet and gentle to heated and a bit sloppy with Peter’s tongue slipping into your mouth when you let out a small gasp after he gives your ass a squeeze. Your fingers work their way through his hair, tugging at it slightly, smiling when he groans into your moan. 

He pulls away and rests his forehead against yours, “You’ll be the death of me, honey.” 

[oscpiastri81]

i miss u open the door pls :3 | tasm!peter parker x reader

"Babe, be serious. Let me in!" his pleading was half joking. You smiled despite yourself at his antics. "Let me hold your hair back. It'll be romantic!"

"Nothing about this is romantic," you said unhappily.

"You're being very obtuse right now," Peter said.

summary: you get food poisoning. peter parker is a loving dork [2.2k]

warnings: fluff, slight hurt/comfort heavy on the comfort, does get a bit steamy, idiots in love, sick/throwing up, she/her pronouns used for reader, fem reader

On your fifth ever date with Peter Parker he took you out for Chinese food. He walked the 20 minutes to meet you at your apartment and then another 20 minutes to the restaurant and didn't complain once.

"All this walking," you said shyly, looking down at your place setting, "you must be so tired."

There was something mischievous in his eyes when he said, "I get around quick, bub."

"I still feel bad. You could've just met me here."

"And have my best girl walking alone at night? I don't think so."

You felt you face heat further and averted from his playful look. When he asked what you wanted you said, "I'll have what you're having."

"You don't like what I'm having."

You tried not to smile at the fact that he'd remembered. "Anything else, then."

He pestered you for something specific. You ignored him, stretching your hand out between you both to stroke the skin of his knuckles with your fingertips. You could've sworn they looked very red and a little bruised beforehand, but now they seemed perfectly fine. Must've been the lighting.

He stopped his suggestions to quirk a smile at your small actions, turning his hand upside down to offer it to you. You accepted. He twined your fingers together and squeezed them tightly, as if in confirmation.

The very tops of his ears were turning pink. He cleared his throat and turned back to the laminated menu in his hands, peppy as he listed things he thought you'd like.

"I'll have anything," you said again.

He looked at your face, at your joined hands and then quickly at your face again. "Fine, but if you don't like it you know who to blame."

"You?"

When the food came out it looked amazing. It smelled even better, and you were only marginally disappointed when Peter let go of your hand to start eating because you wanted two hands for your own meal too.

Why dates happened in restaurants, you had no idea. It had always felt so awkward to eat in front of other people, especially when you were trying to make that other person like you romantically. Peter didn't get this memo, as he ate like the food was going to run away. You wished you had it in yourself to be disgusted, but he was still polite enough and so earnest that you were pretty sure everything he did at this point would endear you to him.

He shoved prawn crackers on the edge of your plate pointedly and smiled to himself when you ate them. You weren't sure he even knew himself that he was smiling.

When you finished he would hear about going halfsies. You grinned like a maniac behind your hand when he said, "Pretty girls don't pay."

"That's not very feminist of you," you told him, brushing yourself down for crumbs. He'd already shrugged his jacket on and leaped up to help you into your own.

"I'm super feminist. How about you pay for the next one?"

You rolled your eyes: that's what he'd said last time.

"You can call me pretty without paying for dinner," you told him bravely, letting him lead you by the hand out of the warm, fragrant restaurant and into the cold clutches of the New York streets.

It wasn't raining now, though the streets evidenced a wet spell through the day, shining black from the headlights and streetlamps.

"Okay, pretty girl. I'll hold you to it," he said. He pulled you into his side as closely as you could get and you began down the sidewalk to your home.

Ever the gentleman, Peter made small talk whilst somehow finding ways to throw you little compliments and flirts throughout. By the time you reached your apartment you were warm in the chest and believed yourself half in love with him if you hadn't already been before.

The final straw had been when you came to a pause outside your apartment building. He'd taken both your hands, rubbed his thumb carefully over your knuckles and seemed so intently dedicated to them you'd felt butterflies in every part of your body.

"I love spending time with you…" he said, voice unusually shy. "Thank you for coming out with me tonight."

It was the way he kissed you, chaste and sweet, bringing his hand up to the side of your face - specifically that, was the final straw.

You pressed your hand over his and tried to catch his gaze. He was looking distractedly at your mouth.

"Peter," you said, voice lilting, his name like lyric in your mouth. "Do you want to come upstairs?"

He beamed and kissed the corner of your mouth. "Whatever you want."

"I'm trying to tell you- I want you."

You held your breath, almost afraid of his reaction to your blatant flirting. It was more outgoing than you usually were, and in your right mind you never would've said it. You were content and full-bellied, love drunk and feeling it in your veins. Peter was so nice and pretty and magnetic, and he liked you. So you forgave yourself for the vulnerability and invited him in and only felt mildly sick in the elevator after he said yes with a quirked up smile.

Peter seemed like the kind of guy to ruin you passionately where you stood, whereas you were so shy you couldn't order yourself a coffee without stuttering. You knew he took this into account and was softer, more careful with his pursuits, and figured he would never have made this move, so you'd made it for him.

In your apartment he was calm. He looked around at your things curiously as you fought with the zipper on your coat. He glanced over his shoulder from the living room at you still in the doorway, expression softening, drifting back to you to help you out of your coat. He hung it up on the hook next to his, visibly perturbed at your shaky hands.

He rubbed his hands down your arms. "Don't be nervous. We won't do anything you don't want to do. We can sit on the couch all night."

You nodded and kissed the line of his jaw. "I asked you up here, Parker."

His hands found the skin under your ears. He held you in place, head turned up, to gaze into your eyes. "You're beautiful, you know?"

You broke out of his hold, fleeing to the living room to escape his seduction for a moment. "You're such a womaniser."

"The insults are coming out of you on scooters tonight," he remarked, settling down on the couch next to you, though he faced you where you faced the small TV. His fingers found your skin again, flesh of his palm on your cheek. He pressed the very tips of his index and middle finger to the corner of your eye and stroked gentle semi circles. "You have nice eyes."

You closed them in response.

"Hey,"  he said, laughing through the word, "open up."

"No," you denied him, scrunching your eyes even further shut.

"That's too bad," he said, lips at your ear now, words quiet.

He shifted your head to bare your neck, and you stilled in anticipation of his mouth. Then, open mouthed, he scandalised your neck, hot featherlight things that ended at the collar of your shirt.

"Peter," you said, giggling madly as his free hand fiddled with the button at your neck.

"What, baby?" he asked, distracted.

"Will you kiss me?"

He happily fulfilled your request, catching your lips with his own. You grinned into his kiss, ticklish as his hand found your thigh and held it like you were something precious.

Your stomach slowly dissolved from butterflies into a dull ache. You couldn't help it as your eyebrows pulled together.

Peter retracted his hands immediately. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." You pushed in for another kiss.

He reciprocated, startled. His hands were tentative to return to your skin, so you took his hand and pressed it to your leg where it had been before.

Another roll of sickness. You grimaced, breaking the kiss to lean your head on Peter's shoulder. You looked down at his lap with your eyes wide.

"What’s the matter?"

You felt an overwhelming sense of nausea and knew at that moment you would throw up. You clambered out of his grips and barreled for the bathroom doorway, almost slamming the door shut. You locked it without thinking and then you were emptying your stomach, a horror on white porcelain.

"Hey, Y/N. Y/N! Are you alright?"

"Yeah!" you said, and then heaved again. You could hear him fiddling with the door. When it didn't open he knocked against the wood.

"What's wrong?"

"I- threw up."

"I could hear as much. Are you okay? Was it…"

"I think it was the food," you said miserably, blinking stressed tears from your eyes. You sat roughly on the ground, hands on the toilet seat, swallowing in attempts to ease your nausea.

It didn't work. You chucked up again.

The door handle rattled more. "Let me in," Peter said, his usual easygoing drawl tinged with worry.

Was he crazy? He wasn't even officially your boyfriend and he thought you'd let him see you in this state? No way.

"Maybe," you swallowed, pressed your forehead to your hand, "you should go home."

"Babe, be serious. Let me in!" his pleading was half serious. You smiled despite yourself at his antics. "Let me hold your hair back. It'll be romantic!"

"Nothing about this is romantic," you said unhappily, though you could've used his hands. You spit bile into the dirty water and felt another bout of sickness. You struggled to your feet to flush the toilet.

"You're being very obtuse right now," Peter said.

"Obtuse!"

"Unkind," he amended.

"Go home, Peter."

"No, I don't think I will. Let me in though?"

You heaved again. Not much came up besides spit.

The door handle wiggled again. "Peter, go home, please. I'll call you when I'm not disgusting."

"You're not disgusting! You're literally sick!"

Of course that was the bit he would focus on. "Please, I'm begging you to go home."

"Can't I just wait out here? I'm not going until I know you're alright."

You heaved. He took this as an answer, and you heard his footsteps retreat into the kitchen. You were too focused on the toilet bowl to listen in on what he was getting upto.

You felt deservedly depressed. This was the opposite of sexy. You'd been looking forward to intimacy with Peter tonight. Now the thing getting ruined was your relationship instead of your underwear.

You pushed the hair out of your sweaty forehead and thanked God that at least you were only chucking up. It could've been worse, you realised, laughing under your breath.

A sound from the doorway, Peter had forced a post it note through the gap. You peered at it wearily. A second joined the first.

What's funny? :0 said the first.

i miss u open the door pls :3 said the second.

You laughed wetly. "Pete, you can just talk to me."

u wont listen to me :(

"What? Peter-" you were interrupted by the sound of him ripping a post it note off.

let me in!!!

"No, I don't want you to see me."

Angry scribbling ensued.

have u considered i don't care what u want?? i am selfish let me in the bathroom

"Peter… if you see me like this you won't like me anymore, I promise you."

I promise you I will! unlock the door pretty girl

You felt so sick and miserable and he was so nice and he liked you and it was a lot. You felt tears come to your eyes, pressing your hand over your mouth to sob. It wasn't a completely unhappy sob, more an overwhelmed keen.

"Please go home," you said.

You heard sighing from the other side of the door, and then Peter getting to his feet. You sighed in relief that he was finally leaving and you could be grim in piece when the door handle was rattling again, a quick snapping sound and then the door was opening.

"Was that always broken?" Peter asked, the copper door handle in his hand.

You looked at him with unbridled horror. He held his hands up in surrender.

"I'm sorry! It was loose, I swear!"

You covered your face with both hands.

Peter walked toward you, leaning down to put both of his hands on your head. He pressed your hair down gently. "Hey, why are you so upset, huh? You want some water?"

"I really don't want you to see me like this," you whispered, your traitorous body relaxing under his touch. You knew the room smelled of sick.

"Unlucky for you, I want to see you all the time. Told you I was selfish."

You moaned and pressed your face into his legs, wrapping your arms around him. "This isn't how I imagined tonight going."

"Yeah? And what did you imagine?" he asked. You knew he was smirking.

"Have you ever seen Silence of the Lambs?"

His laughter was roaring.

[oscpiastri81]

spot the difference

tasm!peter x fem!reader | fluff

summary: tired of seeing you pining after your best friend, gwen decides to help you by googling seduction tricks. while nothing useful came up, it starts a chain of disastrous events anyway.

Peter noticed you being weird all day. While he didn't know the explicit reason why, he assumed you found another obsession; maybe with a fictional dead character. It wouldn't be the first time.

But when he came over to your house and you insisted on complaining that he was too early, he knew you were up to something.

In your defense, Gwen was talking to you just moments before and who's to say Peter didn't hear what she was saying? Annoying as it was, you knew he had super hearing powers.

-

"Look I'm just saying, you need to tell him that you like him," she had said sharply.

"I don't need to. Or have to. This is a silly crush. It'll disappear soon."

"If you say so. Or you can try to uh, sit up straight and do not lower your chin. This makes you look confident about your body. Men tends to find- wow okay that article is bullshit."

Your gasp could be heard through the phone. "Are you looking up flirting tips?"

"Seduction ones actually," she replied grimly. "WikiHow is more clueless than we are."

"This is stupid. I'm just going to play it cool, shush."

"I support you being stupid. Or you can dress up and surprise him—"

"Stop looking at WikiHow!"

-

After Gwen had hung up, you heard Peter's knocks. Luckily, he didn't seem to have heard any of it, but you were still frustrated.

"You didn't have to be this early," you repeated, folding your hands.

"Uhm, sorry? Will these flowers make up for it?" He took some petunias out of his jacket. "I found these while I was swinging here."

"Oh," you accepted them with a slightly opened mouth.

Why, oh why did my best friend have to be this charming?

"Y/N?" he called. "Are you going to let me in or?"

You shook yourself out of your thoughts, realizing that you were staring at him. "Yeah, yeah, just go to the left. The first door's my room."

"I know. I've been here a million times," he said, almost smirking. "You seem distracted. Any reason why?"

"Nop, just tired," you said quickly. Did it matter if you used that opportunity to flirt? No, because he never NEVER picks up on a hint. If you wanted him to know, you needed to explicitly tell him or do some terribly grand gesture.

Wheels started to turn in your head. You were too scared to do the former, but the latter was more your scene.

At that moment, you decided to do something dumb for once. Time to follow WikiHow tips, even if it blows up in your face.

-

An hour later.

-

"Y/N, are you okay?" Peter called from your bed, where he was surrounded by books and paper. You had disappeared to the kitchen to get snacks, but it's been almost half an hour.

"I'm fine; almost done!" your voice responded, but that only left him more confused.

"Almost done with what? I thought you were getting Doritos, not writing a cookbook!"

"Almost- almost- aha!" you barged into the room with as much confidence as you could.

You were dressed in a new green satin gown, accompanied with a little more attention to makeup than you usually did. The plan was simple — get him impressed. True, you didn't have much time, but spontaneity has always been your comfort zone.

He can't understand flirting but seeing you out of baggy clothes and messy hair might make him a little surprised... right?

Wrong.

He had hardly even looked up.

"Peter," you called, scratching your hand. The dress had a lot of sequins, but some of them appeared to be itching your skin through the fabric. Did I accidentally buy a knockoff again?

"What?" he called, his eyes still on the book he was scribbling in.

You sighed, and when he heard the annoyance tinted in it, he reluctantly looked up.

Okay here goes. He's going to compliment me and I'll flirt back and he'll FINALLY know that I'm into him. Maybe I should ask him out first and—

"Where's the Doritos?"

You blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Where's the Doritos?" he repeated. "Your hands are empty."

"Uh- well I-," you were taken aback, but you refused to give up. "C'mon Pete, can't you see any major difference now from when I left five minutes ago?"

"That wasn't five minutes. That was half a century," he said, sitting up straighter. "And the only difference I see is your hair? I think? Did you put glitter in it or something?"

"And the dress!" you exclaimed. "This green satin dress! You have no comment or question on that?"

"It looks...itchy?" he laughed. You scoffed and immediately stopped scratching your hands. "Why have you dressed up anyway? Isn't it your bedtime soon?"

"For the love of god, I don't have a bedtime; I'm not a toddler."

"Apparently not or you'll be asleep by now."

"Peter!"

"Fine, fine, I'm sorry," he bit back his laughs. "But you didn't answer my question."

"Well, this is a new dress and I just—" think, think, think. "Wait, you're telling me you didn't get my text?"

"What text?" he raised an eyebrow.

"I told you we're going to the new restaurant today," you lied. "Remember the one where I know the manager? She's a nice person and uh, we should be there to show our support! Plus, discount!"

"You didn't send me any text," he disagreed, taking out his phone.

"Then I sent it to someone else, that's funny," you shrugged. "But I'm dressed up now so we're going. Let's go, go, go!"

"What about the assignment?" he pointed to the papers.

"You've been at it for some time. We deserve a break," you said firmly, leading the way.

You hoped your current confidence wouldn't ooze away in the taxi ride. Thank god for your knack to come up with excuses. Now you just needed to find another way to ask him out before the night was over.

Fun.

-

"There's this science fair held next week," Peter said in between eating the spaghetti. "Professor Burn says I should try applying but I'm not sure. There's an Astrology based Gala at the same time. I wanna go but Burn says it's unheard of to show up without a plus one."

You oblivious idiot, I could be your plus one.

"What do you mean?" you asked absentmindedly.

"Everyone shows up with their partner and I don't mind going alone but get this, Professor Burn automatically assumed I wouldn't have a plus one. I mean, that was hurtful." He ordered some more wine. "Should I go to the fair instead?"

"You should. You'll totally win it," you said, bitterness still not washed out of your voice yet. This wasn't how you wanted the dress plan to go. Maybe if I hadn't chickened out, this dinner would have been a real date.

"I don't know. It's a group thing but I guess I could ask Stella?"

"Stella Marinet?" you looked up from your bowl. "That girl who's been flirting with you over the past year?"

"Pfft," he laughed. "She never flirts with me, what are you talking about?"

"You kidding? She has your schedule memorized by now. I'm surprised she didn't figure out you're Spiderman yet."

"Shush, not so loud!" Peter was startled by your change in voice. "What's going on? You sound mad at me."

"I'm just shocked that someone so smart can't understand hints," you replied, scrunching your eyebrows together. "Like how does that happen? How can't you see she's practical heads over heels in love with you?"

"What even—"

"But I guess you won't see it even if she tries to ask you on a date!"

"Wait, is this a date?" he gasped, pointing at the table. "Are we on a date right now? Are you Stella?"

"No! I mean you're just dumb when it comes to flirting!"

"How would you know that if you haven't flirted with me before? Woah, woah, is that why you're in that dress? Is that a date dress?"

"NO- I wore it cause I like this dress! It makes me feel pretty, bite me." Your voice rose a little bit more.

"You always look pretty. What's the point of scratching out your skin?"

"You know what, I'm suddenly no longer hungry," you remarked, standing up. "I'll pay for the food at the counter. 'Night Pete. Once again I repeat, I am not in love with you."

"You're in LOVE with me?" he yelled.

"I SAID I'M NOT- okay this is dumb. Bye."

"You can't just leave!"

"Watch me," you called over your shoulder, then walked right off.

-

When someone fights with their best friend, they ignore each other for a week. This was your plan too, but Peter wouldn't hear of it. He kept trying to talk to you in classes, left you a thousand messages, and even Gwen had enough.

"I'm just asking you to talk to him," she said through the phone one evening, practically pleading. "If I go through one more day where he's whining about losing his best friend, I'll go crazy."

"He didn't lose me, I'm just- fine, I'm embarrassed," you sighed. "I stormed out of there like a cat on fire. He knows I like him and I hate confrontations. No, let me rephrase that, I hate the part where he's going to let me down easy and ask whether we can still be friends."

"You don't know he'll say that," Gwen reasoned swiftly. "It's Peter. He loves you."

"Platonically."

"You'll never know if you don't ask. You can't avoid him forever."

"Yeah, believe me I know," you said, squinting at your window. You were sure you heard something. "Hon, can I call you later? I have to go."

"Sure, just don't forget tomorrow's girls' day! I'll call MJ too."

"Deal," you said, hanging up.

The sounds outside had stopped, but Peter's one sticky fellow, isn't he?

"If someone sees Spiderman stealing my plants, there goes your reputation," you said to the room.

With a groan, Peter crawled in through the window. He took off his mask, looking extremely scared. He usually looked like that when he did something dumb.

"When I reached your window, I thought I shouldn't come inside and I had an internal debate for twenty minutes," he said hesitantly. "Sorry if that's creepy."

"I don't really want to talk to you right now," you said, nonchalantly as you could.

"I know," he pointed to the window. "There's a billboard across the street that says you're still mad at me. I didn't come here to talk. I just had one question."

"Okay?"

"Are you SURE you're still mad at me for doing whatever it is that I supposedly did?"

You paused, struggling to come up with an answer. "It's not anything you did. I'm just in a confused state right now—"

"Is that a yes or a no?"

"It's a maybe."

"Good, good." He clapped his hands and then pulled the mask over his face again. "Great actually. I have a plan. Will see you later. Don't worry, nothing's going to explode."

As he moved to the window, you followed him with a frown. "Wait, what's going to explode?"

"I said nothing's going to explode!" he said, jumping outside. "Bye, Y/N!"

"Oh fuck," you muttered under your breath, knowing whatever he's going to do had something that's going to explode.

-

The next day, you were on the lookout for any spidey-shaped jumpscares. But the morning had gone smooth and seeing as it was a Saturday, you were free. You went to your favorite cafe, caught up with MJ and Gwen; who made the plans from there. The latter was determined to have your mind off the whole Peter mess and demanded to go shopping.

Though you were reluctant, you ended up having a great time. You know your day's going great when you have 50 new pictures with candid images of your friends being chaotic. When you reached home, you sighed.

As much as thrilling as the day was, you looked forwards to catching up on your favorite show too; but that relief was quickly put off when you realized your apartment door was open.

From a broken lock to robbery — all scenarios flashed through your eyes. The hissing sounds from inside definitely tipped in favor of the latter. You bent down and took off your heel, holding it above you like it was a sword. Ever so gently, you pushed the door completely open.

Inside, everything was on fire.

Okay that was dramatic. Not on fire, but there was definitely a lot of smoke.

Of course your best friend was in the middle of it, coughing and panting. You dropped the heel in surprise.

"Peter?" you called shrilly. "What the fuck is going on?"

"My p-plan."

"I THOUGHT YOU SAID NOTHING WOULD EXPLODE!"

"Your apartment did NOT explode," he said defensively. "Alright maybe your oven exploded, but that was NOT my intention."

"Explain. Now."

"So first thing to know - there's no fire. Your oven did this weird gargling thing and started releasing too much smoke so I turned it off. Secondly, I just wanted to bake some muffins."

"What? Why?" you snapped, sitting down on the couch.

"What do you think?" He gestured to himself.

"I don't get it." You shook your head.

"Really?" he asked sarcastically. "Look again."

You froze, your eyes just registering what he was wearing. His regular jacket was nowhere in sight, just a plain white shirt with an unbuttoned suit (which looked very flattering by the way). His hair seemed to sparkle, which made you guess he had tried to tame the messy parts with gel, but of course, under the oven incident, they only seemed to have gotten messier.

"Why are you dressed up like you're going to a funeral?" you asked, amazed.

"For you," he said firmly, running around to unlock the windows so the smoke would disperse faster. "If I couldn't get you to talk to me, I wanted to show you that I would dress up in an itchy outfit for you too."

You blinked. "Excuse me?"

He sighed. "Gwen may have told me about the seduction tips."

You felt a wave of shock wash over you. "She what?"

"Don't get mad at her. I kind of annoyed her too much. She had to say it. I just- I didn't know how to tell you so I dressed up and made muffins cause I like you very muffin. Very muff."

"Wait you're kidding me right now," you said, hands on your hips. "Please tell me you did not ruin my apartment just to ask me out."

"I mean I- wow I should have worn a tie! That's the issue, isn't it?" he threw his hands into the air. "Of course a tie would be the dealbreaker!"

"I didn't say no! I'm just shocked, that's all. I would have asked you out but I was too much of a coward and guess that cost me a place to live."

"Your place did not explode!"

"It could have!"

"It didn't!" He paused, staring at you like you just said the world's biggest joke. "But we're actually doing this? We're actually going to go on a date?"

"I think so Parker," you said, a little nervous behind your confidence stance.

He seemed to be quite the opposite of that. He let out a content laugh, a happy, relieved laugh - then stepped forwards to press his lips against yours. Soft, eager, but way too short.

He didn't let you go, but pressed his forehead against yours with an adorable grin.

"Isn't it funny how you dressed up for me but I didn't notice it and now I dressed up for you but you didn't notice it?" he asked.

"Well, you're always pretty," you said, repeating what he had said to you that day.

"You know what this means? I'm going to the Gala!" He stepped away, sounding victorious. "Professor Burn can suck it."

"Wait, I never said yes to that."

He looked betrayed. "That's not fair. If you had a gala, your boyfriend would go with you happily."

You scoffed, but he didn't buy it. He tilted his head with his puppy dog eyes. Maybe he saw your blush.

"We're not boyfriend-girlfriend yet."

"What?" he gasped. "But we're dating!"

"For like two minutes. That's not how it works."

He rolled his eyes. "You're telling me I'd know more about you on dates? We have already known each other our entire lives! We've been obliviously dating for seven damn years!"

"I'm not coming to the gala, Pete," you said, moving to the kitchen to see how bad your oven was.

"But I'm your boyfriend! Your awesome boyfriend of seven years!"

"Doesn't count."

"I know all your secrets by now! We're practically married!"

"No, we're not."

"That's a mean thing to say to your husband," he said, almost pouting.

You rolled your eyes. Oh he's going to be the death of me, you thought, but kind of endearingly.

-————————————

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[oscpiastri81]

— kiss with a fist.

SUMMARY

A Ravenclaw with a surly attitude and sharp tongue. A Slytherin with a cocky smirk and sarcastic flair. Combine them together and you get a catastrophic mixture of academic rivalry, witty banter, and late night gelato.

CHAPTERS

chapter one. chapter two. chapter three. chapter four. chapter five. chapter six. chapter seven. chapter eight. chapter nine. chapter ten. chapter eleven. chapter twelve. chapter thirteen.

PLAYLIST

kiss with a fist - florence and the machine baby said - måneskin high enough - k. flay bohemian rhapsody - queen me and the devil - soap & skin w.i.t.c.h. - devon cole it's nice to have a friend - taylor swift people i don't like - upsahl only love can hurt like this - paloma faith the way i loved you - taylor swift 18 - one direction those eyes - new west we made it - david hugo

[oscpiastri81]

eyes wide open

pairing: theodore nott x f! reader summary: you discover that there is so much more to theodore nott than you thought.  content: gryffindor! reader, semi-nsfw (characters are 18+) word count: 5.46k

You have never spoken to Theodore Nott before. You’ve him around a lot, usually with Mattheo Riddle or Lorenzo Berkshire, and he is a regular on the quidditch team — a chaser — so you’d see him zoom by during matches. He’s also in a majority of your classes for this year, which lets you observe him from afar. But past that, you’ve never really had much to do with him beyond seeing him with Malfoy and witnessing how he stands quietly — with either a small smirk or a look of complete apathy on his face — while Malfoy and your friends argue back and forth. 

Having class with Theodore Nott has let you learn three things about him: he’s quiet, whip-sharp, and unbelievably handsome. You didn’t need classes with him to know the last one is a well-known fact; he’s constantly noted as one of the most attractive of your classmates. “Shame he’s a Slytherin,” Lavender Brown once said to you, which had made you roll your eyes and retort, “And what’s wrong with that?” It had gotten you into a big fight and you don’t think she’s spoken to you since, not that you’ve really wanted her to. 

“Are you sure you don’t want to come with us?” Ron asks you as he, Hermione, Harry, and Ginny stand at the entrance to the Gryffindor common room. “Mum would love to have you. She’s always banging on about what a lovely girl you are and how polite you were.”

“And I’m sure Fred would love to see you,” Ginny adds. 

You snort, “I’m really sure. But please give my regards to your mother and Fred.”

“Will do,” Ginny says with a two-finger salute. 

Your friends say their farewells as they leave through the portrait hall. You flop against the plush velvet of the couch, staring at the roaring fire. Your parents were on a months-long that brought them to see famous wizarding landmarks so you’re stuck at Hogwarts for the holiday. You’re a little disappointed that you won’t be with your family but another part of you is excited to be in the castle when it’s less populated. You’ll finally get to make your way through the massive pile of books you have at your bedside since you’re usually caught up in listening to and gossiping with your roommates. 

You head up to your room, empty except for you and your owl hooting in his cage. You wiggle your fingers inside, Ramses rubbing his feathery head against them. You grab the first book from the top of your pile, turning the leather-bound edition over in your hand. Hermione gifted it to you for your last birthday: William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. You shimmy into your gold and red striped sweater and tuck the book underneath your arm, walking down to the dining hall for dinner. 

Students are scattered around the Great Hall, some chattering with their friends while others eat silently. The ceiling has shifted to depict a clear night sky, floating candles casting an orange glow. You spot Mattheo Riddle alone at the Slytherin tables but the way he keeps looking to the door makes you assume he’s waiting for a friend. You settle down on a bench all to yourself, piling your plate with the mouthwatering selections available to you. 

You rest your chin on your fist, cracking open the play. You get only a few pages in when you hear a familiar low voice. “All alone, little lion?” His eyes examine you and you suddenly feel too exposed despite your layers. 

You come face-to-face with Theodore Nott and his sea blue eyes. He regards you coolly and you ask, “Can I help you, Nott?”

He points at your copy of Romeo and Juliet. “Where’d you get that?”

You furrow your brow in confusion. Why in Godric’s name is Theodore Nott of all people interested in a Muggle book. You respond, “Hermione gave it to me. Why?”

“It’s hard to find Muggle books here,” he says. His eyes linger on the play. “Think I could borrow it when you’re finished?”

Your brain stalls, questions floating around your head. “Sure,” you finally answer. He nods and neither of you say anything more. The quiet that falls between you two makes you tense and you say, “Is that all, Nott?”

He considers and then says, “I think so.” He heads to the Slytherin tables without another word, sitting beside Mattheo, who’s been watching on keenly. You catch his stare and he smirks, raising a hand in a casual wave. Theodore smacks his shoulder and pulls Mattheo’s hand down. 

You sigh, shake your head in disbelief, and go back to reading the play.

It’s been a few days since your encounter with Theodore, but the interaction sticks with you. Every time you open up the play, you’re reminded of it and your curiosity returns tenfold. 

It’s odd being at school when it’s this empty. You’ve managed to occupy yourself by playing Wizard’s Chess with some fifth years, helping Professor Flitwick organize his classroom and the Frog Choir’s practice room, and working on knitting gifts to give you friends when they return. 

You’re sitting in the Gryffindor common room, working on Harry’s scarf, when you spill a cup of tea one of the house elves had made for you. Cursing, you move your knitting out of the way and survey the damage to your sweatshirt. With a groan, you gather your things and bring them to your dorm, blotting out the growing stain with water and letting it dry over the edge of the bathtub. 

You slip into a forest green sweater and throw a brown corduroy jacket over it. You grab your copy of Romeo and Juliet and head down to the Black Lake. The cold breezes nip at your cheek and carries the scent of pine trees, which you inhale gratefully. You plop yourself underneath a tree on the shore of the lake, reclining against the trunk and cracking open the book.  

You’re not even a page in when you hear a familiar voice call your name. Your hold on your book tightens but you peer up, watching Theodore approach. He’s in a dark wool overcoat and similarly dark trousers, hands tucked into his coat pockets. His strides are leisurely and long, reaching you in only a handful of steps. 

He stands tall in front of you, shadow cast long in the afternoon sun. His gaze roams over you and he says, “Isn’t wearing green considered treacherous for you?”

You’re confused for a second before you follow his line of sight and glance down at your own sweater. Right. You reply, “No more than it would be for you to wear red.”

The corner of his lip twitches up in a small, half-smile and he says, “High treason then.”

You echo your words from earlier in the week: “Can I help you, Nott?”

He ignores your question, instead choosing to tip his chin at your book. “What part are you at?”

“Mercutio’s died in his duel with Tybalt.”

He nods and recites, “‘A plague o’ both your houses. They have made worms’ meat of me: I have it, and soundly too: your houses.’”

You don’t bother to hide your surprise. “You’ve read it?”

“Haven’t most people?”

“Sure, most people know the story but they don’t usually read it. 

“I’ve read it a couple of times,” he admits. He adds, “My mother’s favorite book.”

“I see. Is that why you want to borrow it from me?”

“Yeah.”

Silence falls between the pair of you. Distantly, there’s a cry of crows. Theodore is still standing above you, gazing down, and you squirm a little. He then says, “I always liked Benvolio.”

You’re reminded that Theodore’s half-Italian in the way he says ‘Benvolio,’ accent smooth and lilting. It suddenly feels a little too warm under your coat but you ignore it. You instead blurt out, “Of course you would. You’re kind of like him.” 

Theodore raises one eyebrow and you feel your face heat even more, embarrassed, and you hope he doesn’t take it as a bad thing. He doesn’t seem offended though and asks, “Oh, how so?”

“I mean,” you say, “you are— well, you seem like the most reasonable of your friends. A mediator of some sort.” 

“That sounds about right,” he says. “You remind me of Juliet.”

“Really? Why’s that?” You’re not sure if you should take it as a good thing or not.

“Well, she has a solid set of beliefs and stands up for them. She knows herself; she tells her parents that she doesn’t want to marry Paris, not just because she’s in love with Romeo but also because she knows she’ll be unhappy. What is it she says? ‘Now, by Saint Peter’s Church, and Peter too, he shall not make me there a joyful bride! I wonder at this haste, that I must wed ere he that should be husband comes to woo.’”

Theodore’s mouth lifts in a tiny, lopsided smile again and he says, “Plus, she’s the one most of the guys fawn over, right?”

You’re left to gape at him in shock and awe, processing what he just said as he turns and walks back to the castle along the shore, just outside the gentle lapping of the water. You watch his retreating figure, watch as he grows smaller and smaller and eventually disappears. 

You don’t get much reading done, the book remaining open in your lap and your eyes fixed on the spot where Theodore once stood.

You sit there until the top curve of the sun is just peeking out over the horizon and you stand, still a tad dazed, and make your long walk back to Hogwarts. 

It’s just past one in the morning and you can’t sleep, tossing and turning fitfully. Theodore Nott and his long shadow and his blue eyes keep appearing behind your eyelids, no matter how much you try to shove the thoughts out. You want to bang your head on one of the wooden poles holding up the canopy of your four-poster bed, but you opt for sliding on your slippers and going down to the kitchens to see if the house elves have any leftover brownies from dinner. Maybe they could warm up a mug of hot cocoa for you too.

You shuffle through the hallway, the chill of the castle waking you up. You rub your hands along your arms, wishing you had worn something over your pajamas. Since it’s break, restrictions about when and where students could go are essentially non-existent. You pass Filch, who scowls at you, clearly aggrieved that he can’t punish you for being out of bed, and Nearly-Headless Nick, who greets you cheerfully and questions you as to why you’re up at such a time. “Can’t sleep,” you explain. “I’m checking if the elves have any midnight snacks for me.”

He chuckles, “An excellent reason but don’t stay up too late, or you’ll wind up like me!” He laughs hard at his joke and you can’t help but giggle, bidding him a goodnight as you descend into the basement. 

You nearly run right into Theodore as you approach the kitchens. You jump at least a foot, clasping your hands over your chest. “Merlin’s beard, you scared me!”

“Could say the same for you,” he says. “Nice pajamas.”

You forgot you were in a tank top and shorts. You cross your arms and say, “You seem awfully fixated on my clothes, Nott.” You try to look as threatening as you can but the slight tremble to your body takes away any effect.

Theodore rolls his eyes and slides the robe he donned over his striped pajamas off, holding it out to you. When you don’t take it, he just throws it over your shoulders, the weight comfortable and warm. You say, “You keep popping up out of nowhere. Are you stalking me or something?”

He snorts, “You would never know if I was. But no, Mattheo’s snoring kept me up. I figured I should take advantage of my insomnia and grab some brownies from dessert.”

“Great minds think alike then,” you say. 

You and Theodore walk down the corridor towards the kitchen when he asks, “Have you finished the book?”

“No, didn’t get a lot of reading done after you left.”

“Did I distract you that much?” He looks smug, smirking, and it’s your turn to roll your eyes.

“In your dreams.”

“Yeah,” he says. “When do you think you’ll finish?”

“Bloody hell, you’re impatient,” you groan, rubbing your temples. You’re not sure what possesses you, if it’s your sleep-deprived brain or something else but you suggest, “How about this? You grab brownies and cocoa for us and I’ll get the damn book and we’ll meet in the Clock Tower and read it together.”

Theodore considers it for a moment before he says, “Alright. I’ll meet you there in fifteen.”

“Perfect.” You scurry back to the Gryffindor dorms. Nearly-Headless Nick queries as to where your snacks are but you don’t answer, moving swiftly. You enter your dorm room, only pausing for a moment to catch your breath. Your heart is pounding but you can’t tell if it’s from the journey or from the thought of sitting alone in the Clock Tower with Theodore Nott. You don’t let yourself dwell on it and you pick up Romeo and Juliet and climb the stairs to the Clock Tower. 

Theodore has beaten you there, already sitting up against the glass of the clock. The frost on the glass obstructs some of the moonbeams streaming in but it’s just enough light to read. In the moonlight, Theodore’s hair looks lighter and more burnt golden than brown. He takes a sip of his cocoa and holds out a ceramic mug to you as you settle next to him. You accept it gratefully, plucking a brownie from the plate between you two. 

You flip through the play to find where you left off, the page dog-earred. Theodore makes a sound at the back of his throat. “What?”

“Don’t you have a bookmark or something?”

“No. Leave my marking choices out of it.”

He snickers and leans over you to get a better look at the text. Your shoulders brush and you’re all too aware that he smells of chocolate and sandalwood. His smell is clean and distinct; his robe smells like that too. 

As you two begin to read, Theodore tells you to turn back or move forward. You eventually figure out a rhythm, knowing exactly when to do so. You’re about ten minutes into reading when you feel Theodore’s gaze on you. You remain still, wondering if he’ll stop but when he doesn’t you mumble, “Stop doing that.”

“Doing what?”

“Staring.” “Does it bother you?”

“It feels like you can see into my soul.”

“You didn’t answer my question. Does it bother you?”

You pause. “I don’t… I don’t know.” A beat. “Why are you?”

“Why am I what?”

“Staring at me.”

His voice drops, somehow deeper than you have ever heard it. “Because I like to.”

Your head whips to him but no words leave your mouth. He regards you carefully and asks again, “Does that bother you?”

You hesitate. Then, “No, it doesn’t.”

He hums and you think he’ll do… something but he just ducks his head back down to read and you let out of the breath you didn’t know you were holding, disappointment pooling in your stomach. You don’t know what you wanted him to do. You don’t know why you’re disappointed. 

You two read until your eyes grow heavy. You struggle to keep your lids open, head jolting up when you realize you’re drifting off. Theodore taps your shoulder and says, “We can stop here. Pick up another time.”

“Yeah,” you murmur, standing and stretching. You stifle a yawn and remember you have his robe on. You begin to take it off but he says, “Keep it. You can give it back tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?”

“Yeah, tomorrow. Same time, same place?”

“Okay.”

It doesn’t take you long to finish the play with Theodore only two days later. You noticed that Theodore read slower than before, telling you multiple times per session to go back a couple of pages. 

Your eyes follow the last line: For never was a story of more woe / Than this of Juliet and her Romeo, and you close the book with a dull thump. You sit in silence with Theodore, listening to the clock hand turn to the next minute. You stay like that for a while. You sip on the spiced hot chocolate the house elves prepared for you. You share sugar cookies with Theodore that are shaped like snowflakes. 

“So,” you start, breaking the silence, “this is your mother’s favorite book?”

He nods. “I think she read it a lot when her parents arranged for her to marry my father.”

“Oh.” You don’t know what else to say, adding lamely, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

Silence. 

“Can I ask you something?” you ask.

“Yeah.”

“Why did you stay here over break?”

He stiffens, expression unreadable. He glances over at you and finally sighs. “My father’s trial is happening right around now. My family doesn’t want any of the kids around this so…” He motions to the Clock Tower, adding, “My siblings are either at their own schools or with my grandmother.”

Your heart aches at the frown on his face and you bite the inside of your cheek, unsure of how to proceed. You’re thankful when Theodore moves on. “What about you?”

“Oh, my parents are on a sight-seeing cruise so they’re not home. I got a postcard today, though, they’re in Japan now.”

“I��ve never been. How’s it look?”

“Pretty. They said their tour guide told them the best time to come is when the cherry blossoms bloom. I would like to go.”

“We’ll go together then.” 

He says it with a finality that makes you shy. “When?” is all you can ask. 

“Someday.”

You haven’t seen Theodore in a couple of days, an odd thing to try and get used to when you’ve just adjusted to him popping up wherever you are. You assume that he’s done with you now that you finished Romeo and Juliet. 

It all makes your heart sink.

You’re alone in the common room, wrapping up your gifts for your friends. You stack Harry’s scarf on top of Hermione’s mittens, Ron’s socks, and Ginny’s hat, and you lean against the couch with a huff. 

You think about the spare red yarn sitting in your room. You think there’s just enough to make another scarf. 

Theodore’s face flashes in your mind’s eye and you run a hand down your face in frustration. Whatever weird thing you had with Theodore is over. He’s probably out with Mattheo at the Three Broomsticks or something. You’ve seen them there before along with Enzo, Blaise, Draco, and Pansy as well as just with each other, usually flirting with girls there.

You didn’t used to think much of it — just scoffed along with Ron and Hermione — but now the thought makes your stomach churn. 

You think about the extra yarn in your room again and you almost can’t believe that, despite his disappearing act, you’ve decided you’ll knit a scarf for Theodore Nott.

Almost.

You’re greeted with a delicious Sunday roast for dinner on Christmas Eve: tender roasted beef, warm Yorkshire puddings, fluffy mashed potatoes, and a side of jus from the beef. You sit by yourself once again, the loneliness threatening to swallow you whole as you plate your dinner. 

Theodore seats himself right across from you and places a parcel wrapped in brown paper in front of you. You look at it in confusion and he says, “Open it.”

“What is it?”

“Christmas present.”

You raise a brow. “You got me a present?”

“Yes, now open it.”

“Shouldn’t I wait until tom—” The sharp look he gives you makes you set your fork aside and tug on the string of the bow. There are two books inside. The first is a copy of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, similarly leather-bound like Romeo and Juliet, and the second one is an ornately-decorated collector’s edition of Romeo and Juliet. 

Your jaw falls open and you whisper, “Theodore…”

He says, “Figured that we can read Macbeth together. It’s a personal favorite of mine.”

Your fingers trace the golden embossment of Romeo and Juliet, swooping down to follow the curve of the ‘J.’ “Where did you even get this?”

“Sent a lot of letters and had Mattheo help me pull strings at Flourish and Blotts.”

Your face is on fire but you grin at Theodore and say, “Thank you so much.”

“Happy Christmas,” he says and you catch the pink at the tips of his ears.

“I actually have something for you too,” you say and his eyebrows shoot up in surprise. “I’ll get it to you after dinner.”

“I’ll come with,” he says and you nod. You wonder if he’ll get up but he stays put, taking a plate and serving himself dinner. 

You two talk quietly in between bites and something dawns on you halfway through. “Where’s Mattheo?” You look over your shoulder and can’t find the other Slytherin boy.

Theodore smirks. “Might’ve slipped him a couple of galleons to leave us alone.” Your cheeks heat pleasantly. 

You two finish dinner after that and Theodore walks you to the Fat Lady’s portrait. She eyes him suspiciously, glaring at you. “You know students from other Houses aren’t permitted in the Gryffindor dorm.”

You disregard her and give her the password. Begrudgingly and with one last glower at you and Theodore, the portrait swings open and you step inside. Theodore peers around the common room and says, “Never been in here before.”

“Some Gryffindor girl hasn’t taken you back with her?” you ask but you instantly regret your teasing words. The thought of Theodore with someone else (Lavender Brown comes to mind and you scowl internally) makes you queasy.

“Can’t say that it’s happened,” he says, shooting you a cocky smirk. “You’d be the first.”

“I’m honored. Wait right here.”

Theodore flops on the couch and sighs in satisfaction. “So much more comfortable than Slytherin’s.”

“Yeah?” you ask as you retreat up the stairs. He shouts after you that Slytherin’s couches, while not wholly terrible, are stiff whereas your common room’s are plush and cushy.

Theodore’s scarf, knit in a red cashmere, lays innocuously on your bed. You’re abruptly self-conscious of it; Theodore got you two beautiful and likely expensive books and you knit him a measly scarf in colors that aren’t his House’s. 

Merlin, you think, what if he hates it?  Only one way to find out, you suppose. With a deep breath, you pick it up and hide it behind your back. You peek into the common room, where Theodore lounges on the couch, his figure long and relaxed. His shirt has ridden up a little and you spy a sliver of the toned muscle of his stomach. 

“Close your eyes,” you say. You watch his eyes shut, unfairly long lashes brushing his cheekbone. You creep into the room, halting in front of him. The flames dancing in the fireplace are the only excuse you can come up with for why you’re so warm. “Hold out your hands.”

He sits up straight and does as he’s told. You say, “It’s not wrapped.”

“That’s alright.”

You inhale, exhale, and gingerly place the scarf in his hands. He opens his eyes and inspects the scarf, rubbing the knit yarn in between his fingers. You hold your breath.

His face breaks into the biggest grin you’ve ever seen on him. He looks—

He looks beautiful. He’s always handsome, yes, but he’s beautiful here.

“This is really nice. You make it yourself?”

You hum in affirmation and he loops it around his neck, standing and spinning around playfully. “How do I look?”

“I think red’s definitely your color,” you tell him, your own cheeks hurting from how widely you’re beaming. 

Theodore takes a step closer, his shoes nearly knocking into yours. The glee in his expression morphs slowly into something different. It’s not anything bad, but it’s somehow more intense and softer than before. “Thank you,” he says.

“You’re welcome. Thank you again for the books.”

“You’re welcome.”

The fireplace crackles, embers spitting.

You’re not sure who moves first. Your mouths crash against each other like waves against a bluff, all lips and teeth and tongue. Your hands are everywhere, in his hair, clutching his shoulders, cupping his face. His hands are just as frantic, grabbing at your waist and hips, squeezing you tight against him. 

You two come up for air but you don’t surface for long. Despite the way he’s worked up, he’s careful in unwinding the scarf from his neck and draping it over a nearby arm chair. Then, he’s on you again, pulling you flush against him. 

He guides you to his lap as he sits back on the couch, lips never leaving yours. You straddle his thighs, tugging lighty at his curls. He moans into your mouth. Your hips move against his. His fingers, long and cold, creep under your shirt and send a shiver down your spine. 

His mouth only leaves yours to latch onto your neck, sucking and licking and nipping. You whine and push yourself against him harder, your hands clumsily trying to undo the buttons of his shirt. He helps you, flinging it off his shoulders, and pulling your own off your torso. 

“Fuck,” he groans, chest heaving as he takes in the view of you. He’s staring at you like you’re some sort of goddess. “Fuck, you’re beautiful, amorina.”

You melt under his gaze. His ocean blue eyes are a little glazed and his mouth is kiss-swollen and ajar. Godric, he’s one to talk. You lean in closer, tracing his jaw and letting your hand trail down his neck, his chest, down to his stomach. You graze the top of his trousers and lightly scrap your nails over the skin just above. He hisses, hips bucking, and before you can say anything to him, he’s yanking you down for a kiss. 

It’s slower, no less passionate but less frenzied, and you only break apart to whisper, “Bedroom, Nott.” 

He doesn’t say another word, springing from the couch, grabbing the scarf you made him, and dragging you up to your dorm. As soon as he’s inside, he sets the scarf on your bedside table and pushes you down onto the mattress, climbing on after you. 

You squeal as he peppers kisses along your neck. “Theo,” he murmurs against the skin of your collarbone. “Call me Theo.”

“Okay,” you say, testing it out. “Theo.” His hips slot against yours once more and you cant your up. He slips a hand down your pants and when he presses his palm against you, you whine, “Theo!”

Another rumbling moan, “Amorina, you don’t know what you do to me.” Another long, hard kiss. Your hands move to unbutton his trousers. 

You don’t care how sweaty and sticky you are as you lay panting against Theo’s chest, feeling the way it rises and falls in rapid succession. You listen to his racing heartbeat and he places a sweet kiss to the top of your head. 

As you two catch your breath, Theo says, “I think Juliet should have gone with Benvolio.”

You look at him like he’s crazy. “That’s really what you’re thinking about?”

He winks at you. “Of course not. I’ve been thinking about it since we finished the book.”

You slap his chest playfully and ask the obvious question: “Why do you think so?” 

“Well, you said I’m like Benvolio and I told you you remind me of Juliet.”

“Huh?” You think for a couple of seconds and then it clicks. “Oh!” You take in Theo’s half-lidded eyes staring at you. “Oh…” 

He dips down to kiss you again.

Over the break, you’ve expanded on what you know about Theodore Nott. One, he’s quiet because he’s thoughtful, always observing, always analyzing, and storing away information for whatever purpose he’d like to use it for. 

Two, he’s whip-sharp — you see it in the way he can quote Shakespeare plays like second-nature; in how he easily banters with you, always coming back with a swift reply and a cheeky smile. 

Lastly, he’s unbelievably handsome. You knew this before but it’s different now. You admire the way he holds himself with an unflagging confidence, how he has these rare full-bellied laughs that make you crave the sound. But you think he’s most handsome when you sit together, cloistered away in the Clock Tower, reading Romeo and Juliet and now Macbeth together. You’re so close, you can smell the peppermint on his breath from the candy canes the house elves snuck you. You can see all the shades of blue in his eyes. You can count the beauty marks on his face. 

This close, you can lean over and kiss him and delight in the way your heart thrums when he reciprocates, cradling your face and coaxing you into him. 

You spend the majority of the rest of the break wrapped up in Theo’s arms. By the last day, you’re sure you have snuck each other into your dorms more times than either of you can count. You hang out a few times with Mattheo, who turns out to be not as bad as your friends make him out to be. He’s sharp and quick-witted like Theo with a tendency towards the dramatics that makes you laugh. 

You’re sitting at the same spot underneath the tree at the Black Lake, Theo relaxing between your legs. He’s swaddled in the same black overcoat you saw him in before, only this time, the red scarf you knit is starkly bright against the coat. You card your fingers through his soft curls, ducking to peck his forehead. He tilts his head upwards and smiles boyishly at you and it makes you giggle, planting a kiss on his mouth. He brings your hand down to his lips, kissing each fingertip.

You relish the quiet with him, knowing that tomorrow will be a flurry of activity with students and faculty returning from winter holiday. It makes you sigh, the thought of leaving the little world you and Theo have created. Your relationship is only a couple of days old and you can’t deny that you’re anxious about your friends coming back. 

As if sensing your nervousness, Theo sits up and spins around to face you. You attempt to plaster on a reassuring smile but it’s wobbly and uneasy. He cradles your face with one hand, thumb stroking your cheekbone. “What’s wrong, cara mia?”

“I don’t know,” you mumble. He tilts his head, raising an eyebrow with an expression that tells you he knows you’re lying. “What are we going to do when everyone comes back?”

“What do you mean?”

“Theo, our friends all despise each other.”

He replies, “So? Just because they don’t like each other doesn’t mean we can’t.” He kisses the back of your hand. “And I happen to like you very much.”

You smile weakly at him. “I know, and I like you very much as well. It’s just…” You can picture the dawning horror on Ron’s face and the grimaces on Hermione and Harry’s. 

Theo’s mouth turns downward and he asks, “Why do you care what they think?”

“Don’t you care what your friends think?”

“No,” he says firmly, adding, “Plus, Mattheo likes you so who’s to say everyone else won’t?”

“Theo…”

He repeats, “Why do you care?”

“I just don’t want anything to ruin this, ruin us.”

“They can only ruin it if we let them and we won’t.”

“You don’t know that for sure! We’re still in the early stages of our relationship.”

“Do you not have faith that we’ll stay together?” he asks.

“I do! It’s—” You sigh in frustration, brow furrowed. “I just want to preserve what we have without outside influence. Please, can we just wait a little to tell everyone?”

You wish you didn’t see the way Theo’s expression falters, hurt passing across briefly before he wipes it away.  He’s studying your face, eyes dark and unreadable but he nods. “Fine. But you have to promise me that it’s just for a little while.”

“I promise.”

“Alright. I’ll tell Mattheo not to open his big mouth.”

“Thank you, Theo,” you say. This time, you reach for his hand and peck his knuckles. His shoulders lose their tension and he bends towards you, mouth ghosting against your neck. You squeal and giggle and you feel him smile against your skin.

author's note: at long last, the theo nott fic i teased months ago... this fic was supposed to be a lot longer but i when i went back to college and hit a major writer's block, it just languished. i'm proud of what i've written, which is why i want to post it, but please excuse the kind of abrupt end. there is a potential continuation in the future <3

[oscpiastri81]

Mother Brother Knows Best

Theodore Nott x reader

Based on this request 🫶🏽

Summary: In which Theodore is no match for the sheer determination of a twelve year old fueled by sugar, pumpkin juice, and spite.

word count: 4.1k

©️ obsessedwithceleste. all works posted here belong to me and should not be reposted or copied in any way or form.

“Take a picture mate, it’ll last longer,” Mattheo says, collapsing onto the sofa next to his brooding friend.

Theo looks at the boy next to him in annoyance. Mattheo had been meant to meet him in the library thirty minutes ago, and while he was waiting on his habitually late friend, he’d been forced to watch the love of his life practically sit on bloody Cormac McLaggen’s lap. What you saw in that boy, Theo had no idea.

Theo had fancied you for what felt like forever to him at that point, and it’s not like he was exactly subtle about it. At least he didn’t think he was being subtle, but ask any of his friends and they’d say that holding eye contact from across the room for over 3 seconds did not count as a declaration of love. But what did they know. Not that it mattered anyway because somehow, he’d managed to lose you to the toadstool that the Gryffindor house claimed to be a fully functioning wizard.

“I wasn’t staring,” he mutters defensively, breaking his steady glare away unconvincingly.

“Sure you weren’t. How is little y/n anyway? Haven’t seen much of her since she and ole McLaggen started snogging and such,” Mattheo responds easily, an amused grin spreading across his face as he watched his friend tense.

“Fuck off. Don’t remind me.”

With a silent snicker, Mattheo leaned back in his chair. Ever since you had started going out with Cormac, it had been increasingly easy for Mattheo to ruffle Theo’s feathers. The boy really had been taken with you for months now, and Mattheo simply saw this as payback for all the hours he’d been forced to listen to Theo’s rather pathetic pining. She doesn’t even know I exist this, and we made eye contact for a whole 7 seconds that. You’d managed to bring the ever stoic Theodore Nott to his bloody knees, and you didn’t even know it.

“So, about that charms homework…” Mattheo says eventually, breaking Theo’s blazing gaze away from you and Cormac once more.

“No time. Carter should be here any minute since you, are thirty minutes late.”

Mattheo raises an eyebrow.

“You’re still gonna tutor that little gremlin? Thought you were just trying to get on y/n’s good side. No point now eh?”

For the past few month or so, Theo had been tutoring your younger brother in charms and transfiguration and, while Mattheo was right about his initial intentions, the little bugger had slowly grown on him. Like a fungus.

Theo shrugs noncommittally as he spots the young Slytherin from across the library.

“Not just gonna let Carter fail. He’s a good kid.” He mumbles.

“Aw Teddy, you’ve gone soft,” Mattheo teases as his eyes follow the young boy making his way excitedly towards them.

Making a face at his friend, Theo tosses a scroll of parchment across the table and Mattheo reaches out to snatch it.

“Get outta here ya tosser.”

With one last smirk, Mattheo rises lazily from their place on the sofas, nodding once at Carter who sidles up to him before making his escape, a completed charms essay successfully secured.

“Hi Theodore!” Carter greets, swinging his bag onto the sofa next to Theo before climbing up himself.

“Hey buddy, what’re we working on today?” Theo asks, a fond smile growing on his face as the young boy makes himself comfortable.

Usually Theo wasn’t one for children of any sort. He found them to be, sticky. But Carter almost reminded him of a younger version of himself. Feisty and energetic with a sharp tongue. The pair honestly got on like a house on fire and Theo actually looked forward to their tutoring sessions.

“Levitating charms,” Carter replies with a look of disgust. “Ew. Is that Cormac and y/n?” He asks, spotting his sister across the library.

Matching Carter’s face of disgust, Theo nods his head in confirmation, pulling out his own charms book.

“He’s the bloody worst. I wish y/n would date someone cool for once. She has a talent for always picking the worst ones. I heard Cormac say he wants to see what’s under y/n’s skirt once, so I told him that the only way he was going to get laid was by crawling up a chicken’s arse and waiting. He didn’t like that. But his friends all thought it was funny. But then he locked me in a broom closet. But it was fine cause Enzo found me a few minutes later and beat Cormac’s arse for me,” Carter rambles, flipping through the pages of his textbook.

Salazar, for a second year, this kid was certainly mouthy, Theo thought.

“Think Enzo mentioned that to me actually.” He replies off-handedly.

“Yeah. He’s so cool. I think y/n used to have a crush on him a few years ago. Don’t tell her I said anything though. You’re cool too.” Carter says, looking down at his book. “Hey! Why don’t you date y/n? Then I could see you during holiday! Hopefully Cormac doesn’t stick long enough to make it to Christmas. I don’t want him to stink up the house.”

Theo feels his cheeks begin to redden at the boy’s statement and he begins to stutter. Damn he hoped his filter wasn’t this bad when he was twelve.

“Let’s just get back to the lesson,” he mumbles, hoping to redirect the young boy.

Lucky for him, Carter obliges, allowing the older boy to guide him through the precise wand movements essential to the spell in question.

“Windgardimum leviosum”

“Wingardinum liviosa”

“Windgarnium leviosauarasurausrus.”

“Now you’re just making words up,” Theo laughs as the boy fails to pronounce the spell correctly for what feels like the hundredth time.

“Because I am!” The boy says with frustration.

“Hey, c’mon, it’s fine okay. Ready? Win.”

“Win”

“Gaurd”

“Gaurd.”

“E-um”

“E-um”

“Wingardium”

“Wingardium”

“Nice! Now the second part. Lev.”

“Lev”

“E-o-sa”

“E-o-sa”

“Leviosa”

“Leviosa.”

“Great. Now put it together.”

“Wingardium Leviosa.”

“Perfect, now add the wand movements,” Theo instructs.

Moments later, Carter has a textbook floating through the air with ease.

“So will you date my sister?” Carter asks as he slides his books back into his bag.

Theo chokes on air. It had been a bit over an hour and the two had perfected the boy’s levitating charms and worked on turning a flower into a teacup, so Theo had assumed that their previous conversation was all but forgotten to the younger boy. Apparently not.

“Sorry?” He splutters, looking over at his companion.

“My sister. Will you date her? I saw you get all red earlier so you must like her, at least a little,” the boy says nonchalantly as if pointing out the most obvious thing in the world.

Theo feels the heat rushing to his cheeks once more.

“Look little man, I appreciate the support, but it’s not really entirely up to me to decide. Your sister is taken,” Theo tries to reason.

The boy just shrugs.

“We’ll just have to break em up then. Cormac is dumb as rocks, so it’s not like it’ll be hard,” he replies.

Theo can barely hold in his laughter. Salazar this kid was great.

“You know what Carter, if you can break those two up, yeah, I’ll ask out y/n,” he says, patting the young boy on the back.

“Deal.” Carter says, sticking out his hand. “But don’t think I don’t know that I’m doing you a favor too. I’ve seen you stare at my sister. Oh. And if I need help plotting, you have to help me too.”

Damn this kid was good. A right and proper Slytherin.

“Deal.” Theo replies, shaking the boys hand.

As he’s leaving the library, he hears Carter’s voice ring out.

“Hey Cormac! The village called and said they want their idiot back, so you better get going!”

Salazar he’d really found himself the perfect ally he thought gleefully. With a final snicker, Theo pushed open the library doors and headed back down to the dungeons.

You watch with silent amusement from the entrance of the Great Hall as your younger brother once again made Cormac’s life a living disaster, sending pumpkin juice flying all over the older boy’s robes. For the past week or so, you’d noticed your brother sabotaging your boyfriend’s every move with varying levels of discretion; from tripping him in the halls, causing him to trip into you, to sticking him to his chair in the library during a study date.

At first you’d found it annoying as you’d known your brother didn’t like your boyfriend, but thought he didn’t have to make the boy miserable. But then, as you were passing by what you thought was an empty classroom, you’d heard your brother’s voice whispering to one Theodore Nott.

“Do you think it would be too far to just get him expelled? If I have to see him snog my sister one more time, I’ll release one of Hagrid’s beasts on him myself!” You’d heard Carter exclaim, followed by Theo’s low chuckle.

“Easy there little basilisk. Let’s not get the guy expelled, as aggravating as he might be.”

You’d never really spoken to Theo much in the past, and aside from brief eye contact from across the classroom, you really couldn’t remember interacting with the boy at all. But he’d begun tutoring your brother a few months ago, and Carter would not stop going on about the boy. You knew your brother was quite picky with his friends, and very difficult to impress, so to be so taken with the bloke. You knew Theodore had to be something special. You’d started noticing him more after that, dark and broody, but also sharp witted and fiercely loyal to his group of Slytherins. Not to mention ridiculously handsome.

You subconsciously take a step closer, listening to the two boys.

“I don’t understand why she likes him. He’s so dumb. And mean. He’s always picking on me and my friends when y/n isn’t around. And he thinks he’s so cool because he’s a bloody Gryffindor. I don’t know why she wouldn’t just date you in the first place. You’re the best,” you hear Carter grumble as you feel yourself blush.

You hear Theo laugh again. “Let’s finish this chapter and then you can continue plotting Cormac’s demise okay?” You hear him say.

“Fine. Do you think y/n will break up with him if he smells? I wanna hide a dung beetle in his robes.”

“That’s actually not a bad idea. Now- quill pen into a telescope, let’s go.” Theo says with a snort.

After that, you’d begun to take your brother’s words to heart, noticing Cormac’s rash reactions towards the younger students, and loud outbursts whenever something didn’t go his way. You’d always assumed Carter was just goading at your boyfriend, but maybe he had a point.

Breaking away from your usual group of friends, you divert your attention to your younger brother who was now sitting alone at the long green and silver table on the other side of the hall.

“Morning Carter,” you greet, sitting down next to him at Slytherin table, quiet chatter filling the Great Hall.

“Didn’t want to sit next to your boyfriend covered in pumpkin juice?” Your brother asks innocently, taking a sip from his own pumpkin juice filled glass.

“Mm. I saw.” You respond dryly, side eyeing your brother as you filled your plate.

“It was an accident.”

“I’m sure. So, how are your tutoring sessions going? Mum and dad gonna be on you next holiday?” You ask.

“No way. Theo has me getting top marks on all my assignments. He’s the best,” Carter brags.

“Yeah? You seem to like him. A lot more than Cormac that’s for sure.” You comment.

“Well duh. Theo’s like, one of the coolest blokes in Slytherin, and Cormac is one of the biggest tossers in the whole school. Bit of an insult to even compare Theo to that wank-cloth to be honest.”

You struggle to maintain your composure, holding in your laughter, and before you’re able to probe your brother any further, a plate is plonked down across the table.

“Carter! My favorite little second year!” Enzo says brightly, taking his seat.

“Enzo it’s too early for you to be this cheery. No one is that cheery at 7:30 am let’s reel it in,” Mattheo groans, sitting down on Carter’s other side.

“Theo!” Carter exclaims as the brown haired boy takes his spot across from you.

“What’s up little man, how’d that charms exam go?”

“I got the top score in my class,” your brother responds proudly as you gaze across the table at his tutor.

Theo really was handsome.

Quickly shaking the thoughts from your head, you force yourself to zone back into the conversation.

“I remember being in second year charms,” Mattheo was saying.

“No you don’t, you never showed up,” Enzo snorts.

“Shut up pretty boy.”

“Speaking of second year. Where are your friends in second year?” You interrupt, suddenly realizing that your brother was in fact surrounded by a whole gang of sixth years.

“They’re all scared of them,” Carter shrugs nonchalantly, gesturing towards the boys around you.

Mattheo’s jaw drops open in mock offense.

“I can assure you y/n, we are prime role models for young Slytherins.” He says.

“Didn’t you and Draco just get a detention for sending a hoard of rabid pygmie puffs after a group of firsties?” Carter asks, taking a large bite of his eggs.

“Minor details.”

“Right. Note to self, Theodore is the only one of you to be left alone with Carter. Got it.” You joke, almost missing the tinge of red in Theo’s cheeks as he ducks his head, suddenly very interested in his breakfast.

“That’s fine with me. Theo skips class all the time too, so I won’t be missing much,” Carter says matter of factly as he proceeds to drown his pancakes and eggs in syrup.

Now it’s Theo’s turn to drop his jaw at the young boy.

“Little snitch, you said you wouldn’t bring that up,” he says, throwing a bit of his toast at your younger brother.

Carter just laughs, tossing sticky egg right back.

“That’s on you for trusting a twelve year old, I can’t be held responsible for my actions, I’m just a kid,” he replies, sticking his tongue out at his tutor.

You watch the scene before you play out, a smile growing on your face.

“Oh he’s going to make Slytherin house proud,” Mattheo says with a grin as Theo proceeds to throw a bit of muffin back your brother’s way.

“Woah woah woah there Theodore, leave y/n’s brother alone,” a voice says from behind you.

You turn to see Cormac approaching the table, dried pumpkin juice still staining the front of his shirt.

“Piss off Cormac,” Mattheo tells him, a scowl quickly taking over his face.

“Don’t think I will. Can’t stand by and watch my girlfriend’s brother get bullied,” he says, placing a protective hand on your shoulder. His gesture might’ve been nice a week ago, but at the moment you wanted to hurl.

“Right. Like you weren’t the one who locked Carter in a broom closet the other day you bloody bastard. How’d you like a replay of our little encounter?” Enzo sneers, going to rise from his seat only to be sat back down by Theo.

“I’m sorry, you did what?” You ask, fury rising in you as you whip around to face your boyfriend-for-not-much-longer.

“Relax, it was just some man to man bonding,” Cormac says, giving Carter a pat on the head. Carter smacks his hand away.

“Salazar Cormac, are you always this stupid, or do you just show off when we’re around? Get lost,” Theo says, the annoyance clear in his voice.

“Yeah! If I wanted to hear from an asshole, I’d just fart!” Carter adds, glaring up at the boy with crossed arms.

With a scowl, Cormac sneers at the group of Slytherin boys glaring right back at him before giving your shoulder a tug.

“C’mon then y/n. You shouldn’t be hanging out with this filth anyway,” he practically growls.

You frown at the Gryffindor. What on Earth had made you like this boy? The mix of sheer embarrassment, disgust, and rage sends a shiver down your spine.

“Fuck of Cormac. We are so, so done. And my brother isn’t filth.” You snap, abruptly turning your back on him.

You’re met with a satisfied smirk on Theo’s face as the other boys jeer at Cormac as he stomps away.

“Bloody hell, who let me stay with that tosser for so long?” You mutter, stabbing at one of your sausages.

“Not to say I told you so, but I totally told you so,” Carter says through a mouthful of egg.

“Point very well taken.”

The five of you eat in silence for a moment, but when you look up, you see Carter mouthing something furiously at Theo who looks mortified.

“What’re you two on about?” You ask, breaking the silence as you glance back and forth between the two boys.

“Yeah Theo, what are we on about?” Carter says pointedly at the older boy.

Mattheo and Enzo, now also fully invested, look between Carter and Theodore as well, a sinister grin spreading across Mattheo’s face as realization grows.

“Oh I think I have a good idea of what they’re on about,” he says, taking on a playful tone.

“Don’t you start.” Theo grumbles.

You look blankly between the boys as they seem to be having a silent conversation amongst themselves.

“Well this has been lovely really. So glad you all got a front row seat to the drama that is my life, but I think it’s time I head out,” you say finally when none of the boys speak up.

As if coming to a stalemate, four heads turn to you, and you leave to a chorus of “Bye, y/n’s and see you laters.”

You found yourself once again seated in the library, scribbling away on your DADA assignment. It had been a bit over a week since you’d dropped Cormac and you’d forgotten how bloody nice it was to not be constantly dragged down by him when studying. As you continue to scratch away at your parchment, a loud thud shakes you out of your focus.

“What’s up sissy?” Carter says, his bag joining his large stack of books on the table as he makes himself comfortable in the chair next to you. “Matt over here!” He whisper tells, gesturing frantically to the curly haired boy who was quickly making his way over to you.

“Ah y/n! Perfect timing! Been such a pleasure chatting with you for the last several hours eh?” He says, sliding into the seat across from you.

You furrow your eyebrows in confusion.

“Huh?”

Just then, a miffed looking Theo bursts through the library door, eyes quickly zoning in on Mattheo and your brother.

“What did you two do?” You hiss as the boy begins stalking over.

“Nothing!” Carter says quickly.

You glare at the two boys.

“We might have allegedly started a small fire in the dorms,” Mattheo grumbles, trying to look invested in one of the random textbooks that had been strewn across the table.

“You did what?” You whisper yell across the table.

“Allegedly!” He emphasizes, still not looking up.

“I know it was you two. And also probably Enzo.” Theo states unamusedly, walking up to the table, arms crossed.

“Us? We would never! We’ve been here studying with y/n this whole time!” Mattheo says, looking very offended for someone who was in fact guilty of what Theo was accusing.

“Yeah?” Theo asks. “You’ve been here reading Advanced Love Spells in the third edition?” Theo says, raising an eyebrow as he gestures to the book Mattheo was holding.

“Uh, yeah,” Mattheo responds.

“Really? Because it’s upside down,” Theo replies, snatching the book and turning it right side up before giving it back to Mattheo.

“I enjoy a challenge.” Mattheo retorts, doubling down as he snaps the volume shut.

Theo just dead stares his friend for a moment before sighing and slumping into the last remaining seat.

“I’m not covering for you if Snape asks me who did it.” He says eventually.

“But you won’t snitch?”

Theo glares at his friend.

“Don’t insult me.” He grumbles. Then turning towards Carter. “I’m advising to Snape that I begin tutoring you in potions too before you burn the entire castle down,” he tells him.

Carter just grins bashfully.

“Great! Now that that’s all settled, I’ll be off. Y/n, pleasure as always. Boys.” And with one last nod, and a sarcastic salute, Mattheo is off.

“One day, I’m going to murder him, and drop his body in the Black Lake,” Theo says under his breath.

“Alright. Which one of you is going to explain?” You ask, looking sternly between the two boys you were left with.

Before Theo has the chance to get a word in, Carter shoots up.

“I just remembered that I need to get a book for our tutoring session tonight! Be right back!” He exclaims, running off.

“Well I suppose that answers that,” Theo mutters.

“Are my parents going to get an owl? And if so, how bad will the howler be on a scale of 1-10?”

“I don’t think they’ll be owled. If anything, Matt will take the fall for the three of them,” Theo assures you.

“So what exactly happened?”

“Not entirely sure, but from what I gathered, Matt and Enzo decided that they would be able to help your brother with his potions homework, proceeded to forget about the cauldron sitting on an open flame, and then had the audacity to be surprised when a stack of parchment caught fire because Matt’s side of the dorm is a mess.”

You purse your lips.

“Yeah, that sounds about right. I’m so sorry. You share a room with them don’t you?”

Theo nods his head.

“How’d you know that?”

“Carter hasn’t shut up about you since you started tutoring him.” You reply with an awkward laugh. “Thanks for doing it by the way. And for letting him hang around you lot. He seems so much happier lately.”

A small smile appears on Theo’s face.

“We like having him around. Kid’s a spitfire. And an excellent alibi. Not that we’d ever get him into trouble,” he says quickly.

You let out a light laugh.

“I’m very sure that Carter would find trouble with or without you lot. He tends to go looking for it.”

The two of you fall into a comfortable silence as you wait for Carter to return, and you try to turn your focus back to your assignment. It’s significantly harder to concentrate you find however, with the handsome Slytherin sitting across from you fingering idly through one of the textbooks he’d picked up.

“Someone’s deep in thought.”

Theo’s voice jolts you into the present, and you blush knowing he’d definitely caught you staring.

“Just annoyed with this bloody DADA assignment,” you mumble, hoping he hadn’t realized just how long you’d been staring.

“Did it earlier. It’s a bit of a snooze.”

You nod your head in agreement.

“Would you want to work on it together sometime?” He asks suddenly, words practically tumbling from his mouth.

You look up at the boy in surprise.

“Um, I’m not sure a really need a tutor…” you say trailing off.

Theo gives you a lopsided grin, shaking his head a bit.

“I meant as a study date.”

You feel yourself blush for what feels like the thousandth time.

“Oh. Then yes. I’d like that.” You say, holding back the huge grin that was threatening to take over your face.

“I’m back!” Carter sings, skipping his way back to the table and effectively ending the moment. “Was that enough time for you to ask her out? I can only stare at those dusty shelves for so long before I start going crazy.”

Your jaw drops as you turn to your brother.

“Did you really just set me up?”

“Duh. Christmas is only a few weeks away, and you clearly don’t have good judgment. I can’t risk having to see some stinky loser over break! And Mattheo said Theo’s had a crush on you since forever, so it was really a win for everybody.”

Now it was Theo’s turn to look embarrassed and offended.

“You didn’t need to tell her the last bit,” he hissed at your brother.

Carter just shrugs in response.

“This is what you two get for putting a twelve year old in charge of your love lives.”

“Carter, I don’t think either of us put you in charge of our love life,” you tell your all too satisfied younger brother.

“Well you should’ve. I got better results in a couple weeks than you two did in sixteen years.”

And that’s a wrap! I know I strayed from the rec a tad bit, but hopefully I did your request justice🫶🏽 Anyway, live laugh love Carter🙌🏽

[oscpiastri81]

VOODOO DOLL II T.N

summary: theo can’t get you out of his head. which could only mean you put a spell on him. or loosely based on a song

warnings: mean theo, language, hurt/comfort l WC 3.4k

authors note: fourth time trying to post this so let’s see how that goes

“She’s not going to magically appear if you keep staring at her table,” Mattheo muttered, irritation clear in his tone. Theo scoffed but kept his gaze fixed on the empty spot at the Gryffindor table.

Theo couldn’t stand you. That’s what he told anyone who would listen—you were too nice, too annoying, and every little thing you did got on his nerves.

The way you helped anyone in need, no matter if they treated you unfairly in the past. How you smiled at everyone and everything. Always in a good mood, when Theo couldn’t fathom why.

“Good morning, guys! Did you finish the Arithmancy homework from yesterday?” Your cheerful voice cut through his thoughts, nearly making him jump. Speak of the devil, he thought bitterly.

Theo rolled his eyes at your question. “Forgot again, or just getting lazier?” he sneered.

But your smile didn’t waver; if anything, it grew brighter. “Actually, I just need help with sections 6 and 8. I stayed up all night and still couldn’t figure them out!”

He couldn’t understand why you always talked to them—why you always acted so friendly with the rivals of your house. Maybe that was another reason he couldn’t stand you; it felt like you were deliberately trying to get under their skin.

“Sucks to be—” Mattheo began, but Theo jabbed his elbow into his side, cutting him off with a sharp look.

“Just here, take my paper,” he grumbled, pulling out his parchment and thrusting it toward you. Your fingers brushed his briefly, and Theo jerked his hand back as a tingling sensation shot through him.

“Thanks, Theodore!” you beamed, practically skipping back to your table, which only irritated Theo more.

“What the hell was that?” Mattheo demanded.

“Fuck if I know. I couldn’t stop myself,” Theo muttered. “I wanted to tell her to piss off and figure it out on her own.” He scowled, shoving his food away, his appetite suddenly gone.

“Maybe she’s got you under some spell, Nott,” Draco chuckled. “Drink anything suspicious lately?”

“Shut up, Malfoy,” Theo snapped, the idea unsettling him. The thought of you having that kind of influence over him was ridiculous.

He could still feel the ghost of your touch, as if you were still caressing his hand, even though you were now back at your table, tongue out in concentration as you scribbled down the answers.

“Don’t get why she didn’t just ask Granger for help,” Lorenzo chimed in, mouth full of food.

“Because Hermione wouldn’t just give her the answers. She’d explain it step by step—which she doesn’t have time for—since it’s her next class,” Theo replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

The boys exchanged knowing smirks. “And how exactly do you know that?” Blaise teased.

Theo realized how that sounded, but before he could defend himself, you reappeared to hand him his paper back.

“You’re a lifesaver, Theodore! I owe you one,” you said, squeezing his bicep in appreciation before heading off to class early as ever.

“Yeah, whatever,” Theo muttered, trying to ignore the lingering warmth of your touch, the burning sensation in his chest, and the rapid beat of his heart whenever you were near.

Once you were out of sight, his heart began to slow, but a different ache settled in. It was almost like he missed you—which was ridiculous. He shook the thought from his mind immediately.

Maybe someone did slip him something; whether it was a prank or an accidental slip-up, he had to get rid of it, and fast.

———

Days passed, and Theo only felt worse. He constantly thought you were nearby, even when he knew you were in a different class on the other side of the school. Your touch was ingrained in his mind, as if he could still feel you. Some days, it felt like you were right next to him, invading his personal space, only for him to see you across the field, chatting with your friends.

His friends were no help when he mentioned it. They just teased him endlessly on having a crush on a Gryffindor, which he quickly shot down.

You were an annoyance. Someone who bugged the hell out of him, and that was it—nothing more.

To make matters worse, you both got paired up in Muggle Studies. A class he took just to piss off his dad was now backfiring spectacularly.

The assignment was to write an essay about what Muggles believed to be ‘witchcraft,’ which seemed simple enough—if only he didn’t have to work with you.

“Okay so I was thinking of voodoo dolls, because I think others are gonna pick psychics or magicians,” you started, flipping through some pages of your textbook, “and I think we could get extra points if we somehow have a physical doll!”

He could feel your excitement radiating off of you and it was nauseating but he nodded and agreed. You went on and said you would send an owl to your mother to see if she could buy one from the shops in your hometown.

Theo barely paid attention as you rambled on about your plans for the essay. The way you spoke with so much enthusiasm, your eyes bright with excitement—it was almost unbearable. Not because it annoyed him, but because it made his chest tighten in a way he wasn’t ready to confront.

“Do you even care about this project?” you asked suddenly, snapping him out of his thoughts. You were watching him with a hint of concern in your eyes, which only made him feel more unsettled.

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I care about passing,” he muttered, avoiding your gaze. “But I don’t see why you’re so invested in it.”

You shrugged, the usual brightness in your expression dimming a little. “I just think it’s interesting, that’s all. And maybe…” You hesitated, then added, “I thought it’d be nice to work with you.”

Theo blinked, caught off guard by your honesty. His initial reaction was to snap back with a sarcastic comment, to push you away as he always did. But something stopped him.

“Why?” The question slipped out before he could stop himself.

You looked down, fiddling with your quill. “I don’t know. You’re different from most people, Theodore. You’re not afraid to be yourself, even if that means being a little rough around the edges.”

He stared at you, stunned into silence. Was that how you saw him? And why did it make his heart skip a beat? He could feel his defenses cracking, the walls he’d built so carefully starting to crumble.

“Anyway,” you said quickly, as if embarrassed by your admission, “I’ll let you know if my mom finds a voodoo doll. We can meet up later to go over the details?”

“Yeah… sure,” he replied, his voice sounding far away. He watched as you gathered your things, flashing him another bright smile before leaving the classroom.

Once you were gone, Theo let out a frustrated groan, slumping back in his chair. What the hell was wrong with him? He’d never let anyone get under his skin like this before. Yet, with you, it was like he had no control over his own emotions. There was something wrong with him.

The thought of you saying he was “different” kept replaying in his mind. It wasn’t an insult, but it wasn’t exactly comforting either. He hated the idea that you could have this effect on him.

As the days went on, he found himself increasingly distracted by you. The way you laughed with your friends, the way you focused on your studies, the way you went out of your way to be kind to everyone—even to him, despite how he treated you.

The next time you met to work on the project, Theo couldn’t stop his eyes from wandering to your hands as you gestured animatedly, explaining some new idea you had. He couldn’t help but wonder what it would feel like to have those hands touch him again—whether by accident or design.

When you handed him a book, he purposely brushed his fingers against yours and once more, he felt that now-familiar jolt of electricity. But this time, he didn’t pull away. Instead, he let the contact linger for just a moment longer, savoring the warmth that spread through him.

But as soon as the moment passed, he cursed himself silently. He couldn’t let this happen. You were a Gryffindor, and you represented everything he claimed to hate—yet, here he was, drawn to you like a moth to a flame.

“Is something wrong?” you asked, noticing his distant expression.

“No,” he said quickly, forcing a smirk. “Just thinking about how ridiculous this project is. Muggles and their superstitions.”

You laughed, and the sound sent another pang through his chest. “It is pretty silly, isn’t it? But it’s kind of fascinating too, don’t you think?”

Theo shrugged, playing it cool. “Sure, if you’re into that sort of thing.”

“I am,” you said with a grin. “But maybe by the end of this, you will be too.”

He rolled his eyes, but there was no real malice behind it. “Don’t count on it.”

As you continued working, Theo found himself glancing at you more often, watching the way your lips moved as you spoke, the way your eyes lit up when you got excited about something.

After the study session, Theo left with an unfamiliar smile tugging at his lips, lost in thoughts of you. He was so preoccupied that he didn’t notice Mattheo approaching from behind in the hallway.

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” Mattheo said, his voice laced with curiosity. “What’s with the grin? Did you win a fight?”

Theo scoffed, quickly wiping the smile from his face and replacing it with his usual scowl. “Salazar’s sake, no, I wasn’t in a fight.”

“Then why are you so happy? Snog someone? Wait—don’t tell me, did you snog Bug?” Mattheo teased, his tone dripping with mockery, fully aware of how much Theo loathed that nickname recently.

“Stop calling her that,” Theo snapped, shaking Mattheo’s arm off and feeling his good mood souring by the second.

“Oh, since when do you come to her defense? Especially when you’re the one who started calling her that,” Mattheo retorted, raising an eyebrow. The nickname had been an impulsive jab, something Theo came up with in a moment of annoyance. Now, it felt like a cruel joke.

Ignoring Mattheo, Theo continued down the hallway toward the Slytherin dorms, determined to work on his portion of the essay. But Mattheo wasn’t ready to let it go.

Once they reached the Slytherin common room, Mattheo seized the opportunity to stir the pot. “Hey, guys, doesn’t Theo seem a little… different lately?” he announced, adopting an exaggerated infomercial voice. “We barely see him, and when we do, he’s actually smiling.”

Theo halted in his tracks, irritation bubbling up inside him.

“I noticed that too,” Pansy chimed in, her tone dripping with curiosity. “He’s been sneaking off a lot.”

“Yeah, what’s the deal, Nott?” Blaise added, his voice teasing. “Too good for us now?”

Theo rolled his eyes, adjusting the stack of books you had recommended in his arms. “I’ve just been busy, you know—actually doing schoolwork.”

“Sure, and by ‘schoolwork,’ you mean hanging out with Bug,” Draco chimed in, his grin widening. “I thought you couldn’t stand her?”

“You lot are a bunch of tossers,” Theo shot back, his patience wearing thin. “Yes, I’ve been working with her because we got paired up for a project. That’s all.”

They exchanged skeptical glances, sensing there was more to the story.

“What’s the project about?” Pansy asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

Theo let out an exasperated sigh. “It’s an essay on Voodoo dolls for Muggle Studies.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Mattheo’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Voodoo dolls? Are you serious, Theo? You’re supposed to be the smart one here!”

Theo frowned, confused by Mattheo’s sudden outburst. “What the hell are you on about now?”

“Voodoo dolls, you daft git!” Mattheo exclaimed, practically jumping out of his seat. “They’re Muggles’ way of trying to control people! Haven’t you been paying attention? She might have one of you—that’s probably why you’ve been acting so strange!”

Theo stared at Mattheo, a mix of annoyance and unease settling in. The idea was absurd—yet the possibility gnawed at him. Was that really what was happening? It would make a lot of sense.

Theo dropped everything and bolted out of the common room, his mind racing as he stormed through the castle. The further he went, the angrier he became. How could you do this to him? He thought he was finally feeling something other than disdain toward you—only to find out you were messing with his head.

As he rounded the final corner near the Gryffindor common room, he spotted you. But you weren’t alone. You were talking to another Gryffindor, laughing that same laugh you shared with him. The sight made his blood boil, his fists clenching so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

“Was messing with my head not enough for you?” Theo shouted, his voice filled with fury. “Did you need more attention, so you found another tosser to add to your list?”

You flinched at his sudden outburst but didn’t immediately turn to face him. You quietly excused yourself from the conversation with your housemate before turning to glare at Theo.

The look you gave him was like nothing he’d ever seen on your face before—cold, angry, and so unlike the usual warmth you radiated. It unnerved him to be on the receiving end of such a glare.

“Can I help you, Nott?” you asked, your voice eerily calm. If Theo had been less blinded by his own anger, he might have noticed the tension in your jaw and the way your fists clenched at your sides.

“Yes, you can start by telling me what the hell you did to me!” Theo took a step closer, looming over you in an attempt to intimidate, but you stood your ground, unfazed.

“I haven’t done anything—”

“Don’t lie to me!” Theo interrupted, his hands gripping your shoulders as if shaking you might jog your memory. “You came up with that stupid voodoo doll project, and ever since then, you’ve been in my head day in and day out! So don’t act like you don’t know what’s going on!”

You shoved him off you, your scoff laced with disbelief and hurt. “You’re so full of yourself, Nott. Do you really think I’d waste my time controlling you? What kind of person do you think I am? Do you honestly believe I’m that desperate for attention?”

Tears of frustration welled up in your eyes, but you fought to keep them at bay. You didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of seeing how much his accusation hurt. “Fuck you, Nott. Maybe you should take a hard look at yourself instead of blaming me for the fact that you’re finally feeling something—anything—other than that cold, emotionless shell you’ve built around yourself.”

Theo stood there, speechless, as you turned and disappeared behind the Fat Lady’s portrait. Every word you said hit him like a punch to the gut. He knew you were right—he’d been pushing people away for so long that he didn’t know how to deal with real emotions. But hearing it from you, someone he had started to care about, hurt more than he could admit. He knew he owed you an apology, but he had no idea where to start.

The walk back to the Slytherin common room was humiliating. When he entered, his friends were in the same spots, waiting with anticipation.

“Well?” Mattheo asked impatiently, a smug grin on his face like he knew he was right all along.

“You lot are absolute wankers,” Theo muttered, snatching up the books he had dropped earlier without sparing them a second glance. He stormed up to his dorm room, ignoring their confused looks.

He had to find a way to make things right with you. The ache in his chest wasn’t just the usual discomfort he felt around you—it was something deeper, something he couldn’t ignore.

———

Theo spent the entire night poring over the books you had lent him. As he read, he realized Mattheo’s theory was complete nonsense. None of the feelings he had for you had anything to do with “voodoo” or any other magical influence. They were real, and they terrified him.

Determined to fix the mess he had made, Theo stayed up to finish the entire essay by himself, lightening your workload. He even turned it in first thing in the morning, two days before the assignment was due.

He spent the rest of the day trying to find you to let you know you didn’t have to worry about the project and to apologize, but you were nowhere to be found. He searched the Great Hall, the library, and even, with great reluctance, asked Potter if he had seen you. No luck.

By the time dinner rolled around, Theo was too distracted to eat. His fork aimlessly pushed food around his plate while his head rested on his palm. Enzo jabbed him in the side, snapping him out of his daze. Theo shot him a glare but followed Enzo’s gaze to see you walking past their table without so much as a glance in their direction. When you sat down at your table, your eyes instinctively met Theo’s, and for a brief moment, he thought he saw a flicker of something softer. He offered a small smile, but you rolled your eyes and turned back to your friends.

“Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever seen her anything but cheerful. She must be pissed that we figured her out, huh?” Enzo commented, eliciting a few laughs from the group.

Theo’s fork clattered onto his plate, the loud noise silencing them immediately. They had seen Theo angry before, but never like this, never directed at them.

“Do you ever think about anyone other than yourselves?” Theo snapped. “She didn’t do anything wrong. What’s wrong is that I listened to you lot and screwed everything up.”

He abruptly stood and made his way over to you. You furrowed your brows in confusion, aware that Slytherins didn’t usually venture to the Gryffindor side of the Great Hall. The hushed whispers that followed Theo didn’t faze him; he only cared about setting things right.

He leaned down and whispered in your ear, asking you to follow him. Despite your better judgment, curiosity got the better of you, and you found yourself following him out of the Great Hall.

Theo led you to a secluded hallway, casting a quick Muffliato charm to ensure privacy. He took a shaky breath, closing his eyes for a moment before finally speaking.

“I’m sorry,” he began, his voice heavy with regret. “I was an absolute tosser. You were right—I’ve never felt anything like this before, and it scared me. I tried to find every excuse to deny it, and in the process, I lashed out at you. I shouldn’t have accused you of something so ridiculous.”

You stared at him, your silence unnerving him. He continued, desperation creeping into his tone. “I know there’s no excuse for what I said, and I understand if you want nothing to do with me anymore. But if there’s any chance, I’d like to start over. I’ll do anything to make it right.”

Maybe it was because you had started liking Theo too, or maybe it was the sincerity in his apology, but it wasn’t hard to forgive him.

“Although getting accused wasn’t ideal and did hurt, I accept your apology, Theodore,” you said, offering him a small smile—the smile he didn’t realize how much he’d missed until now.

Theo’s heart lifted at your words. “If I’m not pushing my luck… could I take you to Hogsmeade this weekend?”

Theo held his breath, anxiously awaiting your response. You hesitated for a moment, the silence stretching between you, before finally stepping closer. With a gentle smile, you leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek, your lips lingering just a second longer than necessary. As you pulled back, your eyes met his, filled with a warmth that made his heart race.

“I’d like that,” you whispered, your voice tender and genuine.

For the first time in what felt like forever, Theo felt the tight knot in his chest begin to loosen.

©𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐥 2024

[oscpiastri81]

Lessons in Love

(Or why Enzo should be banned from advanced potion making)

Theodore Nott x Ravenclaw Reader

Summary: Ft. Enzo being bad at potions, the Ravenclaw common room door, and more than one accidental love confession.

word count: 3.3k

©️ obsessedwithceleste. all works posted here belong to me and should not be reposted or copied in any way or form.

A deep sigh escapes your lips as you walk purposefully through the empty halls of the castle. You loved Enzo. Really, you did. But how that bastard had managed to squeeze enough O.W.Ls out of his arse to get into advanced potion making was absolutely beyond you.

It’s not that you thought your childhood best friend was dumb per se. You simply thought his talents lay elsewhere. Like in herbology. Or anywhere really where adding a pinch too much powdered moonstone didn’t result in a glittery pink potion exploding all over the front of your robes. This never would have happened of course, if your usual, equally talented, potions partner, Theodore Nott, had actually bothered to show up, but god only knew where that boy had wandered off to.

Walking into classes earlier that day you had been giddy with excitement. While potions may not have been Enzo’s forte, it was most definitely yours and advanced potions was finally giving you the challenge you had been craving. Amortentia, your professor had said, is the strongest love potion in the world, thereby making it exceptionally difficult to brew. You already knew this of course as it had all been detailed in the days readings. Not only would it make someone obsessively in love, but it also had an addictive scent, changing to fit what one was most attracted to. Now that was all well and good until one was covered in it.

Originally, you figured that all would be fine. Enzo profusely apologized, quickly following up with a joke about how “at least you’ll smell nice for once.” But oh how right he’d been. It started with students accidentally bumping into you in the corridor as you went from class to class as they subconsciously leaned in to follow the alluring scent. A minor inconvenience you thought. (Although you did have to choose to ignore that third year almost getting impaled on a statue’s sword because he wasn’t paying attention after you passed.)

But then Cho and Marietta couldn’t stop leaning in to get a whiff of the scent all throughout the start of charms, causing Flitwick to continuously shoot concerned glances at the three of you. You eventually caved, moving quickly and silently to the back of the class room where Enzo was sat with the rest of the Slytherins. As soon as he saw you making your way over, he leaned over, whispering something in Daphne’s ear beside him. She gives you a quick look of knowing pity before moving into the empty seats usually claimed by Theodore and Matteo who were, unsurprisingly, still no where to be found.

“For what it’s worth, I really am sorry,” Enzo mumbles, at least having the decency to look embarrassed as you plop into the seat beside him.

“This is horrible! I did not need to know that Marietta’s amortentia smells like bloody Cormac McLaggen or whatever his name is,” you hiss in response.

Enzo lets out a quiet chuckle, sneaking a quick glance at your house mate.

“Hey,” he whispers after a moment, “What do you smell anyway? You must be going mad having that stuff all over you.”

You shoot a glare at your friend. You had a sinking feeling he already knew, considering he had been poking fun at you for weeks. You shudder remembering all those disgusting kissy faces Enzo had been making at you from across the library just last week. Bloody bastard was fishing for confirmation. Maybe if you ignore him, he’ll simply go away you think to yourself. Enzo however, takes your silence as an admission of guilt, a grin spreading across his face.

“I knew it. So tell me y/n, what does dear Theodore Nott smell like? Cigarette smoke? Hippogriff dung?” He snickers.

“He is my best friend, Lorenzo,” you whisper, giving the boy beside you another withering glare.

Enzo’s face falls at this.

“I’m your best friend.” He grumbles.

“I don’t know why. You’re mean to me,” you reply with exasperation.

He immediately perks up again at this, giving you a slight nudge.

“So I’m right? You do like Theo?” He asks excitedly.

“Enzo, I will avada you, and make it look like an accident,” you hiss in response.

“Come on, y/n, I’m your best friend, you have to tell me these things,” he pouts.

“Oh really? Like how you have to tell me about how you’re probably smelling Daphne’s shampoo right now? Or is it her lavender perfume?” You ask innocently, batting your lashes.

Enzo goes beet red at this, gesturing wildly at you to lower your voice.

“Hush woman! She’s right there!” He hisses.

You say nothing, only giving him a triumphant grin before turning back to Flitwick to try to salvage what few notes you’d been able to take down that lesson.

The final straw occurred during ancient runes when poor, unsuspecting Hermione sat down behind you and asked with a look of bewilderment if you had been showered with Draco’s cologne that morning. Her look of absolute horror only grew as you told her of your distressing situation. You thought she might faint when she realized that Draco had been within earshot and now had a shit eating grin on his face. With a sigh of defeat, you give Hermione an apologetic smile before deciding it was time to turn in the white flag of defeat.

You breathe a heavy sigh of relief as you finally come to a stop outside your common room door. You then frown, realizing you had in fact, made it to your common room door.

“What makes a raven like a writing desk?” The metallic voice of the Ravenclaw common room door asks, springing to life.

This putrid, skanky little-

“You wouldn’t want me to shove either of them up your ars-“

A low whistle catches your attention before you’re able to finish cursing out your common room’s door thoroughly.

“Whoa there feisty, let the eagle be,” Theo’s voice laughs as he steps into view.

The strong scent of roasted coffee beans and smoke that had been burning your nostrils all day hits you once again like a ton of bricks. Giving the eagle another withering glare, you turn your full attention to the looming threat approaching. You would sooner throw yourself off of the astronomy tower than let Theo know that your amortentia smelled like him. Someone had to keep the boy’s bloody ego in check.

“Full offense Theodore, I’ve had a horrendously awful day today, and I really don’t have time for whatever nonsense you’re about to start.” You say with a roll of your eyes as you cross your arms at the boy in front of you.

Theo laughs again, mirroring your movements as he leans against one of the pillars lining the halls.

“Poor principessa. Have a hard day in classes without me?” He asks with a smirk.

You scowl in response. It didn’t help that you had, in fact, missed the brunette’s comforting, albeit annoying, presence all day, but you weren’t about to admit that.

“Now that you mention it, I didn’t even realize you were missing. What snake hole did you slither off to today?” You ask, the lie sliding easily off your lips.

Theo cocks as eyebrow at that but leaves it be.

“Matteo wanted to ditch, had to baby sit. Make sure he didn’t get into too much trouble. You know how it goes,” Theo replied shrugging his shoulders. “And what’s a pretty little witch like yourself doing skiving off class?”

Theo takes another step forward.

“Don’t come closer!” You yelp before you can stop yourself. You had no interest knowing what Theo would smell if he got close enough. He frowns at you however.

“And why not?” He challenges, taking another step towards you. This boy really did not take well to being told what to do.

“I- I smell. Really bad. Had to leave class, I just- ya know, smelled, so bad” You splutter, mentally kicking yourself. Who says that in front of the guy they like? Why were you like this?

Theo’s thick brows shoot up at your declaration before he takes a final large step towards you and leans in, pressing his hand against your forehead before moving it down to feel your cheek.

“Y/n are you ill? Do you need to go see Madam Pomfrey? I can walk you there if you’d like.” He says, any bit of snark his voice previously held long gone.

“I’m fine Theodore, really.” you say, batting his hand away.

“Are you sure?” He asks, looking at you disbelievingly.

He leans in again and takes in a whiff of your scent and you immediately tense, freezing where you are. God damn it. His brows furrow.

“Y/n, you smell perfectly normal, maybe a bit stronger than usual, but definitely not bad.” He says, looking even more confused.

Before you’re able to fully process the words that just came out of Theo’s mouth, Enzo and Pansy come barreling down the hall towards the two of you in a fit of giggles.

“Y/n! y/n, you know I’m sorry, really I am, but if dousing you in amortentia is all it takes to get Draco and Granger to make complete fools of themselves in front of each other, I’d do it again!” Enzo exclaims between breathy laughs. “You haven’t seen ferret boy run past, by chance, by the way have you?

“Sorry, amor-what now?” Theo asks, blinking as he purses his lips.

You look between the three of your friends in alarm, praying no one mentioned anything after Theo had just announced that you smelled perfectly normal to him.

“Oh, you’re going to wish you were there! After you left, Draco was so pleased with himself. Looked like a kid on Christmas. Kept trying to flirt with Hermione until she finally sent a flock of doves to run him out of the classroom! Professor wasn’t too happy bout that one. Let us go early to find the blonde loon,” Enzo says, completely ignoring Theo’s question.

“I’m sorry, amor-WHAT?” Theo asks again, louder this time.

You feel yourself cringe.

“Amortentia.” Pansy snorts. “Do try and keep up Teddy.”

“This is what you get for always skiving off class with Matteo,” Enzo adds, nodding at the boy as if he were his disappointed mother.

“Mhmm. Enzo totally floozied over y/n’s potion this morning. Blew it up all over her and she’s been having people wander up to her to take a sniff all day.” Pansy tells him with a sniff.

Theo blinks again before slowly meeting your eyes as what he said only moments earlier begins to sink in. Pansy, ever the cunning witch, was lightening quick to catch on.

“Speaking of which, I am suddenly so interested in what exactly it is that you smell, dearest Teddy,” Pansy says as her eyes flicker between the two of you, a mischievous grin growing on her face.

Theo scowls at the nickname.

“Campfire.”

“Old parchment.” You say in unison.

Pansy smirks.

“Do you smell that Enzo?” She asks, making a show of sniffing the air around her. “I think I smell- a liar. Or two.”

Enzo only snickers as he eyes the both of you up. He knew exactly what you had been smelling all day and you begin to feel panic rise up in your chest. You send a menacing glare his way, daring him to open his mouth.

“Come on Pans, I don’t think Draco and Granger are the only ones who’ll be chatting up tonight,” he says finally.

Glaring at the pair’s disappearing backs, you once again turn slowly back to the problem at hand.

“Soo,” Theo starts at the same time you blurt out,

“This is entirely your fault.”

Theo’s mouth drops open, and he has the audacity to look offended.

“How do you figure mi amore?” He asks.

“You’re supposed to be my partner in potions, but you weren’t there today, so I had to work with,” you shudder, “Enzo.”

Rolling his eyes at your dramatics and giving you a small smile, Theo lets himself relax, leaning on the wall as he towers over you.

“Enzo isn’t so bad,” he says, slowly bringing a hand up to rest on your waist, gently moving you towards him. You pretend not to notice, taking a small, nervous step forward.

“He singed off Matteo’s eyebrows last year. The year before that, he didn’t realize there was a difference between fire flower and fired flour, and his potion melted through the floor. I heard a Puff call him Slytherin’s Seamus,” you retort. “Do you realize how bad you have to be at something to get made fun of by a Hufflepuff?” He snorts at that, cocking his head in agreement.

“Well I’m sorry alright? I’ll make it up to you.”

“You’ll have to. I have to go in again to remake the potion. Don’t want that bad mark on my grade.”

Theo only hums at this, as you’re finally standing nose to chest with him, forcing you to tilt your head up to still see his face.

“You really do smell nice,” he murmurs, pressing his nose lightly into your hair.

You make a face before nuzzling into his chest to hide the redness growing on your cheeks.

“I’m not talking about this in public. I simply refuse,” you say, trying to melt into him from pure embarrassment.

Theo looks down at you with a devilishly handsome grin before turning back to your long forgotten common room door.

“Hey, open up. She technically answered your little riddle earlier,” he tells the door.

The eagle grumbles something unintelligible as it starts to life again.

“I can always melt you down. I’m sure you’d make a great piss pot,” Theo threatens, going to pull out his wand.

The door swings open rather violently and you’re pretty sure you can hear a rather colorful string of curses come out of the eagle’s beak as you make your way inside. Having been there a thousand times before, Theo easily leads you to your shared, but thankfully empty, dorm room, closing the door behind you.

“You really don’t get along with that eagle, do you principessa?” He asks, throwing his shoes off and making himself comfortable on your bed like he usually did.

“Like you’re any better. You just threatened to turn it into a chamber pot,” you retort, falling easily back into your usual banter. This was fine. This was safe.

Theo only raises a brow at you.

“The blasted door is still mad at me for making a ur mum joke when it asked me if a chicken came before the egg in front of a bunch of second years.” You admit, letting your arms fall to your side.

Theo lets out a loud laugh at that shaking his head and extending his arm for you. You walk carefully towards the bed before hesitantly accepting his invitation. It’s not that cuddling with Theo was something unfamiliar to you, as much as you were hyper aware of the slightly awkward tension between the two of you that wasn’t usually there. You slide your shoes off as well before curling up next to him and laying your head on his chest. The two of you lay in silence and you slowly let your eyelids flutter shut, lost in the feeling of Theo’s chest rising and falling.

“You know. You still haven’t told me what your amortentia smells like,” Theo says, finally breaking the silence as he gently brings his hand up to run his fingers through your hair.

“Take a wild fucking guess,” you murmur, refusing to open your eyes and determined to get further lost in his warm touch.

He only hums in response, continuing to comb his fingers through the soft locks of hair.

“You know when Enzo asked me if I smelled you today, he thought you’d smell like hippogriff dung,” you say eventually.

“Fucking tosser. What did that git smell? Wild lavender?”

“And Daphne’s shampoo.”

You feel Theo snort as if he expected no less of your ever romantic best friend. Silence once again rolls over the both of you as you absentmindedly play with the edge of his shirt, rolling the soft fabric between your fingers nervously. The quiet begins to feel suffocating, so you open your mouth to speak, but Theo beats you to it.

“Champagne. And that perfume you always use. With the little white flowers. Lilies of the valley, right?” Theo says.

You open your eyes to look at him in confusion.

“That’s what you smell like.” He says, carefully running his hand down your spine, sending a shiver through you.

“I smell roasted coffee. And smoke. Not the fire-y kind though. The kind that sticks to your clothes cause you refuse to quit smoking.” You respond, looking into his eyes warily for his reaction.

Theo only smirks in response, a cocky grin spreading across his face.

“Aw mi amore, I’m what you’re most attracted to?” He asks, the teasing bait evident in his voice.

You feel heat rise to your cheeks as Theo gazed intently down at you in his arms.

“Shut up Theodore. You sure know how to ruin a moment,” you say, once again burying your face in a chest.

You feel his chest rumble with laughter before his hand snakes it way up to your chin, tilting your head up and capturing your lips with his. His lips are softer than you imagined as he moves them gently against yours. You let a soft gasp escape and Theo pulls you closer, gripping your waste tightly, and shifting you on top of him, deepening the kiss until you’re both left gasping for air.

“Was that more of what you had in mind amore?” He asks with an innocent smile, looking up at you with what you could only describe as his best baby seal eyes.

“I mean, you were definitely significantly more shirtless when I imagined it, but I can settle.” You joke.

Theo’s eyes darken however, and he lifts you as if you weigh nothing, flipping you over so that he now hovered above you, your back pinned against the bed beneath you. With one swift movement, Theo pulls his shirt up and over his head before lowering himself back down, his chest now pressed against yours.

“Better?”

You can’t help but laugh at the boy’s determination as your eyes shamelessly take in the lean muscle and tanned skin that was current above you.

“Theodore, as much as I enjoy this, you have to put your clothes on. Cho or Marietta could walk in at any time,” you tell him as you begin to make soft circles across his waist line with your thumbs, admiring the boy in front of you.

“Mm. You mouth is saying one thing, but these,” he says, placing his hands over yours, “are saying something else entirely.”

You roll your eyes, pulling your hands out from under his and handing him his discarded shirt.

“One kiss?” He asks, looking at the shirt as if it had mortally offended him.

“One kiss.”

He leans down, once again capturing your lips with his, but with more intensity this time. You feel one of his hands brush your waist as his thumb pushes up under your shirt, the rest of his hand following soon after, gripping tightly at the warm skin beneath. You let out a breathy moan when he flicks his tongue across your bottom lip, and he takes it as an invitation to let his tongue explore the rest of your mouth.

An awkward cough shakes you from the haze and you look up, over Theo’s shoulder to see Cho standing guiltily in the doorway.

“Sorry,” she says, looking literally anywhere but you and the shirtless boy above you. “Bad time?”

You cover your eyes in embarrassment, feeling heat once again rush to your cheeks.

“What did I tell you!” You groan, letting your head fall back onto your mound of pillows. Meanwhile Theo has a much too self satisfied grin across his face.

[oscpiastri81]

By NEWTS & Nott | Theodore Nott

Synopsis: The stress from studying for your NEWT level classes has you spiraling into confusion from burnout, and perhaps, simultaneously inspiring a certain slytherin to approach you. But it was all a coincidence, right?

Pairing: Theodore Nott x Gryffindor!Reader

Notes: Cursing, Affection (oh my goodness). I love Theo. Like my mind is constantly just <3 Theo <3.

The gloom that permeated through the air was unusually suffocating. The grey clouds that scattered across the almost equally dull sky left little room for enthusiasm to float about. Many students were beginning to fall into the pattern of procrastinating on their essays, the notorious wave of burnout that swept through the student body every year was at its most unforgiving. 

This year seemed almost worse than last year’s and you were sure it has already done a number on you. Hermione, ever the scholar, was amongst the very few who were managing fairly well for the most part. Your frizzy-haired friend was currently sitting across from you in the library, face buried in a book as she mumbled quietly, albeit furiously, about Harry’s sudden overwhelming success in Potions.

You yourself were quite impressed at Harry’s new penchant for the subject and you weren’t sure if his newfound success had anything to do with having a Potions professor who didn’t seem to loathe his existence or if he was suddenly gifted by mother magic with a potions mastery. 

NEWT level classes were definitely proving to be a challenge for you, and your head was pounding from trying to make sense of the Runes assignment in front of you. You weren’t Hermione by any means, but you would consider yourself to be another top student in your year, having a particular talent for Transfiguration. 

“‘Mione, maybe Harry just studied a little bit extra or something. Besides, it’s a great thing that he’s thriving, especially in potions. Merlin knows this spurn of success was needed given his previous record.” 

The girl’s head shoots up at your words, eyebrows drawn in frustration, “But Y/N, it just doesn’t make any sense! I followed the instructions exactly! Harry said he did as well, so why are all of my potions off?” 

Ah, ever the perfectionist. 

As she continued her tangent, her voice began to slowly rise in volume before her last words were bouncing around the bookshelves and causing other students to turn towards you. 

“Mione, please speak a little lower! And it doesn’t matter, you’re still the top student in a lot of the other classes anyway. Besides, Slughorn is still impressed with your work regardless, that Slug Club invitation is proof of it.” Your hushed whispers seemed to quell her and she nodded along, seeming to accept your encouragement. As if suddenly feeling the burning gazes being shot at the two of you, she quickly turned and apologized silently to everyone she disturbed. 

As she turned back to the book in front of her, you slowly looked around to rest your eyes. As your gaze flitted to the table next to yours, your eyes widened as you made eye contact with a familiar slytherin. 

Of course, it just happened to be him of all people. 

Theodore Nott happened to be one of the very few students in your year who could match Hermione’s academic prowess. You remembered starkly him beating out Draco and Hermione in Charms and Runes last year, shocking your friend group immensely– Hermione most of all. He was often seen walking with Draco and Daphne Greengrass, but he kept to himself for the most part. Despite his quieter disposition, you heard his name whispered often by girls who were longing to gain his attention and affection. 

And from the way he carried himself, it was obvious that Theodore Nott was an impressive wizard. 

He also just so happened to be staring at you at the current moment, no doubt having been disturbed by Hermione moments earlier. 

Slapping on an apologetic smile, you nod to him before turning back to your Runes assignment. 

Nope. Not awkward at all.

Your heart was beating furiously in your chest and you were beginning to fear that its quickened pace would either cause you to pass out or be loud enough for him to hear. You had never really talked to the boy, only being able to recall moments of fleeting nods and awkward eye contact between the two of you. 

Of course, that didn’t stop you from admiring his talents and his admittedly, above-average looks. You also appreciated his tendency to ignore people rather than berate and bully them like other slytherins in your year. 

You were sure that he at least knew of you, if not due to your involvement in Harry’s circle, then due to your consistent residency at the top of the academic hierarchy.

And a little part of you did hope that he took notice of you, not that you’d ever admit it aloud. 

–

The bags under your eyes could probably carry the weight of the troll you accidentally concussed in your first year, the unforgiving curriculum chipping away at the amount of rest you got every night. 

The library was unusually empty that evening, allowing you to peacefully sigh and slam your head into your books without looking like a complete maniac. Moving your head from side to side to try and relieve the tension in your neck, you move to slap your hands over your cheeks. 

After you were done waking yourself up, you drew your eyebrows together and began to tackle the large chunks of small text. 

‘Often mistaken for each other, the words ehwaz and eihwaz have different meanings, partnership and defense, respectively.’ 

You were definitely not making much progress with your Ancient Runes work, and you were growing increasingly anxious about the upcoming exam as you could slowly feel yourself slipping in the class. 

Feeling a prickle on your forehead, you shoot your gaze upwards and suppress a startled gasp as you lock eyes with an amused Theodore. 

When did he get here? Wait, did you get here after him? If so, how did you not notice him until now?

Perhaps, your sleep deprivation was beginning to interfere with how you function. Your lapses in memory were concerning enough for you to think of reining in your hours of daily study. As you slowly close the textbook in front of you, you watch as Theodore’s eyes dart to observe your sluggish movements. 

Clearly taking pity on your hunched form, he observes you for a few more moments before sliding over a sheet of parchment. Feeling your fingers twitch in suspicion, you carefully eye him before deciding that he wouldn’t try to blow you up or anything to that degree. 

As you read through the paper, you feel your mouth part in shock as you realize that it was an organized chart of notes on the words you were struggling with. Theodore Nott had just given you his notes like it was the most casual thing in the world–and they were his nice notes too. 

Feeling a smile pull at your lips, you shoot your head up to thank the boy, only to find the chair across from you vacant. Looking around your table, you’re only met with endless rows of bookshelves. You were left to your lonesome again, the paper in your hand being the only assurance that you hadn’t hallucinated your interaction with the quiet slytherin. 

Quickly packing up your notes and books, you carefully slide Theodore’s notes into your folder as you exit the library, parting with a quick farewell to Madam Pince. 

Briskly walking back to the Gryffindor common room, you shake off the strange interaction in favor of contemplating what a disaster your next Potions lesson is going to be. It was pretty formulaic by now with Harry finishing flawlessly, Hermione wandering out of the class with a lost look, Ron flying by the seat of his pants, and your constant thoughts of giving up and laying your head down. 

Potions had transformed from a tense, strict environment to one of the most entertaining in a matter of just a single year. You respected Snape’s intellect and proclivity in Potions, but his prejudices diminished any inkling of passion you had for the subject. 

–

You were correct in your assumption that the class would go exactly how it always went. Currently, Ron’s cauldron was smoking up a cloud that put Seamus’ usual catastrophes to shame. As you ran your finger along the list of directions for the umpteenth time, you realized that you were missing a stem of Baneberries. 

How you missed it, you could only ponder at another time. You were bustling about frantically, running on a couple hours of sleep, and feeling beside yourself. 

Eyeing your cauldron, you estimated that you could probably run to the storage closet and nick the stem quickly without causing too much havoc by leaving it unattended. Moving from around your table, you quickly weaved around frustrated Gryffindors and confused Slytherins and towards the high shelves of glass jars in the back of the room. 

You were getting dizzy from scanning the identical towers of jars, all the labels suddenly merging together. 

Baneberries would be near the top since all the ingredients were sorted alphabetically. Looking around for the ladder, you jump out of your skin as you nearly bump into a sturdy figure behind you. 

Holding your chest from the scare, you peer at the person only to be met with a familiar pair of amused eyes. 

Sucking in a short breath at your luck, you shoot a sheepish smile at the boy, “Nott. Hello. I didn’t notice you there. Sorry, I’m in a bit of a rush, I forgot one of my ingredients.” 

Theodore raises an eyebrow at you before partially sidestepping you, reaching up towards a shelf behind you. You gaped as you realized he was crowding you against him and the shelf, unable to wiggle around the small gap he left. 

Just as quickly as the awkward moment began, it ended, and Theodore was backing up and gingerly pushing a small stem of red and white berry clusters towards you. 

Eyes widening in shock, you carefully grab the thin stem, accidentally pinching his cold fingers in the process, “Oh, shoot. I’m sorry. Er…but thank you, Nott. I should really go though, I think my cauldron might explode if I delay any further.” 

Practically bouncing on the spot, you don’t wait to hear his response before you’re maneuvering around his figure and scurrying back to your table. Luckily, your potion was still boiling away and even looked salvageable. 

“It’s perfect! That bright pink is spot on, very good Harry, my boy.” Slughorn’s jubilant voice carries around the classroom and you could see many students suppressing their groans at Harry finishing first and flawlessly, once again. 

You purse your lips to contain your laughter as you see Hermione look more than mildly distressed before schooling her expression, shooting a small congratulatory smile at Harry. 

What a proper mess. 

Snorting quietly, you remove the stem from your berries and slowly add a few at a time, stirring the concoction three times counterclockwise. Unlike Harry’s tart pink potion, yours begins to melt into a magenta color, and you have half the mind to step back just as it gives a little rumble, a small puff of smoke shrouding over the circumference of the cauldron. 

Safe to say, that is not what’s meant to happen.

Unsure whether to mourn your failed potion (once again) or not take it too seriously, you opt to just do both, and drop your chin into your hands, laughing dryly at your fate. 

Quickly cleaning up around your work station, you risk a glance across the room and make eye contact with Theodore who looks vaguely entertained at your failed  potion. 

Later, Harry’s bottled potion is being presented by Slughorn at the front of the class, everybody gathering around in a semi-circle to see the result. As you shuffle from leg to leg, you feel a firm chest press lightly against your back. Before you could spin around on your heel, you sense their head moving towards your ear.  

“You forgot to turn down your flame and add the stem of your Angel’s Trumpet.” Theodore’s whisper sends shivers down your spine and you have to cross your arms in order to stop yourself from physically reacting. 

Turning your head slightly towards his face, you huff out in exasperation, “I’m not surprised, I was pretty much running around like a headless hippogriff.” 

You wryly smile, becoming accustomed to classroom failures. Luckily, it seemed that the wave of burnout was finally letting up for a few weeks before your NEWTS, so you could catch up on sleep beforehand. 

A breathy laugh leaves Theodore’s lips imperceptibly and you have to fight back the pleased grin threatening to pull at your face. 

Soon, Slughorn was dismissing class and you were all free to head to the dining hall for lunch. Spinning to head back to grab your book bag, you shoot a small smile at Theodore, “Nice chat, Nott. Thanks again.” 

Before you’re able to brush past him, he mutters a simple correction to you, “Theo.”

“Theo. See you around.”

– 

Your little exchange in potions doesn’t go unnoticed and before you could even stack up some potatoes on your plate, Hermione is dropping herself down next to you with a curious glint shining in her eyes. 

Raising an eyebrow at her enthused expression, you’re unsure if you’re walking into a trap as you respond, “What’s up, ‘Mione?”

Hermione leans a little towards you before quietly whispering to you as if she was sharing a heartfelt secret, “You know what. I saw you and Nott during Potions.” 

Craning your head back to look at her, you suppress the groan itching at your throat as you realize she had her mind set on getting information out of you. 

“It’s nothing of that sort, ‘Mione. He was just giving me tips on my brew is all, apparently I forgot a key ingredient. I’m a proper mess and it seems to be catching the attention of other houses.” You breathe out quietly, beginning to push your food around on your plate. 

Hermione grins like she knows something you don’t and replies with finality before scooping food onto her plate, “Well, he’s seated rather far away from us, don’t you agree? I wonder how he knew what you did wrong.” 

Her words have you pausing as you straighten up in your seat, shooting your wide eyes to her satisfied face. 

Sweet Merlin, she wasn’t called the brightest witch of your age for a half-hearted reason. In a way, you wanted to smack yourself for not realizing sooner despite how glaringly obvious it seems in hindsight. 

How did he know what you did wrong?

– 

It’s been a week since your potion incident with Theo, and you’ve been actively avoiding looking in his direction since that day. You absolutely would not focus on the boy, you couldn’t afford a crush, especially not one on one of the most eligible bachelors of your year. 

Plus, a crush would be detrimental to your grades, and you had barely just recovered from your chronic sleep deprivation. 

Unfortunately, your active avoidance of the boy only made him drift through your head more often. You even caught yourself writing his name mid-sentence while you were doing your Transfiguration essay. 

At the current moment, you were sitting with your friends in the common room, listening to Harry rant about Draco, once again. It was entertaining, but you could feel Hermione shooting small glances at you from time to time, still remembering your incident with Theodore. 

Crossing your arms, you finally speak up as Harry stops to catch his breath, “Harry, are you sure you’re not just interested in Malfoy? No one pays this much attention to someone without having a crush on them, I mean seriously, how do you even know how Draco likes his apples?” 

Harry gapes at your words, fishing around for a logical rebuttal, but you can see how his eyes widen in realization. Ron seems plenty amused by Harry’s flailing and leans back like a satisfied wingman, even though you were the one who did all the mental gymnastics for Harry. 

Hermione raises her eyebrows at your words, turning to face you before echoing your words quietly, “Yeah, no one pays that much attention to someone without it involving a crush.” 

Shaking your head, you dismiss her insinuation, “It was one lesson, ‘Mione. I doubt he’s looking to court me or anything.” 

Your words grab Harry and Ron’s attention and they suddenly lean over to you for an explanation. Raising your eyebrows in challenge, you successfully harden your resolve despite their puppy eyes. 

Realizing that you were going to remain tight-lipped, Hermione decides to enlighten them, “A certain slytherin has taken interest in Y/N.” 

“Oh please ‘Mione, I’m telling you that he’s just really observant and really good at potions.” Your last words catch a little in your throat. 

Hermione grins like cheshire cat, having successfully roped you in, “Sure, and him giving you his nice notes was just a casual ordeal as well.”

Ron and Harry swing their heads back and forth between the two of you, eyes brimming with anticipation. 

Ron seems to have reached the end of his patience and grabs hold of your forearms, shaking you playfully before exclaiming, “Well don’t just keep fighting, tell us who!” 

Huffing in defeat, you dart your attention to the fireplace as you satiate their curiosity, “Theodore Nott.” 

Harry falls back on the floor and releases a noise of surprise while Ron’s hands rip away from your arms and fly to his face. 

“What? Is it that surprising?” Honestly, you were mildly insulted.

Harry is the first to speak, shaking his head reassuringly, “No, no, it’s just, you’re not considering it are you?” 

Tilting your head, you’re quick to reply, “What do you mean? I mean I don’t consider it as a possibility, but what’s so wrong with Theo?” 

Ron gapes in shock, “Theo?” 

Hermione looks at the both of them sternly before turning to you, “I think what they’re trying to say is, Theodore might be bad news. I haven’t the faintest clue why they’d feel that way though.” 

Shaking your head firmly, you shoot down their apprehension, “No way, he’s probably the most tame out of that friend group.” 

The boys don’t look convinced, but Harry concedes with a quiet, “If you’re sure.” 

Tired of the conversation, you stand up from the sofa and stretch your arms above your head, “Enough about me, it’s about time for dinner. Let’s head to the dining hall and talk about Harry’s crush on Draco.” 

“It’s not a crush!” 

—

It’s the very next morning after your conversation in the common room when something bizarre happens to you again. You had successfully evaded Theodore for a little over a week, and sometimes you could feel a pointed stare aimed at you. 

As you’re pouring orange juice for yourself during breakfast, a letter drops in front of your plate as everyone gets their post. Confused by the envelope, you cast a charm to make sure it hasn’t been tampered with before picking it up. 

There wasn’t a sender address on the envelope, but as you neatly tear it open and unfold the paper inside, you realize that you knew exactly who it was from. 

The words were neatly written on the paper, and even without the letter’s content, you already recognized the penmanship. 

Meet me after dinner tonight? Astronomy Tower. 

Don’t worry, you’ll be back before curfew. 

P.S. Do you need my notes again?

Unable to stop yourself, your head shoots up and towards the direction of Draco’s friend group. Immediately, your eyes lock with Theodore’s and he sends you a small smile, tilting his head subtly to ask for your answer. 

Slowly nodding, you feel warmth flood your face as he breaks into a pleased grin and his eyes twinkle in victory. His expression catches the attention of his friends as they all immediately stop their conversation and follow Theodore’s gaze. 

Your eyebrows nearly shoot off your face as you’re suddenly under the scrutiny of the slytherin circle. Surprisingly, Draco doesn’t jeer at you but rather smirks at you ominously, but surprisingly not with malice. Blaise and Pansy look back at Theodore and whisper furiously, their words seemingly so obscene that it tears Theo’s gaze from you and to his smiling friends. 

You weren’t sure if you should be worried. Swallowing down your nervousness, you carefully fold the letter back up and tuck it away into your book bag, keeping your head down for the rest of the meal. 

– 

Your day seems to pass by in a blur, and soon enough you’re rising out of your seat during dinner, eyes trailing to glance at Theo, whose attention darts to your rising form. 

Harry raises his head to look at you in confusion, “You’re done eating already?” 

Nodding quickly, you plaster on a reassuring smile to settle your nerves, “Yeah, I’m just going to go take a walk. I’ll meet you guys in the common room before curfew.” 

Your friends bid you farewell and you pace out of the hall, seeing Theodore push his plate back out of the corner of your eye. Not ready to face him quite yet, you pick up the pace as you head towards the Astronomy Tower, head filled with racing thoughts. 

As you enter the top tier of the tower, you walk towards the ledge to look at the sky, deciding to just leave the door open for Theo. 

A few minutes pass before you hear footsteps approaching you, your shoulders tensing in anticipation. 

Theodore slowly makes his way to stand next to you, resting one arm on the stone ledge and maneuvering his body to face you. Unable to face him just yet, you opt to break the silence first, “So, why did you want to meet with me?” 

“I thought you would have figured it out by now. After all, you’re quite brilliant.” Amusement colors his tone, and you were sure he was smiling at you right now.

Feeling your brain lag at the sudden compliment, you turn your head and survey him with questioning eyes before finding your voice, “It’s not like you to do all this.” 

His lips tug a little at your attention, “Like what?” 

Turning your body to face him fully, you’re keenly aware of the warmth emanating from his body, “Like approaching people you’re unfamiliar with and giving them your notes. Asking them to meet up with you at night. Helping them with their potions. You’re not possessed are you?”

Theodore’s nose wrinkles in amusement as his smile seems to grow impossibly wider, “So you watch me too. But no, I’m not possessed. I think we both know what the deal is though.” 

Dropping your shoulders as your nerves seem to turn to jelly, you release a shaky sigh, “Then, you like me too?” 

Your eyes flit across his face quickly, watching his eyes widen slowly. Smiling at you in fondness, he carefully brings up his hand to cup your face, his cool rings soothing your burning cheek. 

His thumb slowly brushes across your cheek and he steps closer to your figure, leaning to close the distance between your faces, but leaving just enough room to have you wanting more. 

His gaze flickers between your lips and eyes, finally breaking through the silence that settled between the two of you, “Yes, I like you too. Have for a while.” 

You can’t fight your smile, and Theodore seems to be unable to wait any longer, ducking his head further towards yours, “Tell me to stop if you’re not ready.” 

Laughing breathlessly at his words, you bring your hands to rest behind his neck, tugging him closer to close the faint gap between your bodies, “Not a chance in hell.” 

Theodore brings a hand to wrap around your body, quickly connecting your lips. His firm grip on you has you melting against him, and you’re sure that the world completely stopped in that moment, nerves running like fireworks in your body. 

You both break apart for air, donning identical grins of bliss. Unwilling to let you stray too far, Theodore doesn’t loosen his hold and opts to softly nuzzle his nose against yours, occasionally planting kisses on your cheeks. 

Rubbing circles on the back of his neck, you softly laugh as you suddenly remember something, “Hermione was actually the one who helped me realize that you liked me.” 

Humming at your words, Theo only pauses briefly from kissing your face to answer, “Remind me to thank her.”

Smiling softly at his clinginess, you pull your head back to get a good look at him, “Didn’t realize you were the affectionate type.” 

His eyes are hazy from bliss, and he cranes his head forward to try and bring you back to him before answering, “Hm, well the last week has been rough with you avoiding me. ‘M making up for it.” 

Your laugh echoes around the room, urging Theodore to lean over to nip at your ear, “What’s so funny?” 

Carding your fingers through his soft lock, you have a fleeting thought about curfew before you brush it aside to answer him, “Nothing much. Just didn’t think you would get pouty about it.” 

Reeling back at your words, his mouth parts in playful shock, “I don’t pout, baby.” 

“That’s good since we should get going before the prefects head out.” Your words are met with a loud groan and Theodore does the exact opposite of your suggestion, deciding to instead bury his face in your neck and cling onto you. 

– 

“Oh bugger off! He was being the biggest baby of the century all week long, ‘I don’t pout’, my arse.” Draco’s crude words have you dropping your mouth into your hands to muffle your laughter as Theo was left to gape at his friend’s words. 

Pansy nods in agreement and grabs your free hand like a relieved mother, “Trust me, I don’t know what you see in him, but I’m so glad you’re here now.” 

You beam brightly at the girl, coming to realize that your previous anxiety about meeting Theo’s friends was just a waste of energy–they were nothing like your presumptions. 

“Happy to be here. I was honestly driving myself mad all week trying to avoid Theo.” You don’t miss the wounded look the boy throws at you as he begins to tug on your elbow to try and drag you away from his friends. 

“Theo? I remember when I tried to call him that once in third year and he nearly incinerated me.” Blaise raises his eyebrows teasingly at your deflated boyfriend, unable to resist poking fun at his usually stoic friend. 

Huffing a small laugh, you interlace your fingers with Theo’s before stepping back, “Dating privileges, Zabini. Now, it was nice talking with you guys, but Theo might die from embarrassment if we linger around.” 

You barely manage to say your farewells to the group, before Theo is steering you away by your shoulders, muttering up a storm about his friends. 

“Don’t be lax just yet, dear. You still have to talk with my friends, remember?” Your reminder has the boy straightening his posture, evidently unsure with how to approach making conversation with your capricious group.

“They’ll like me, right?” You nearly melt into a puddle at his words. 

“Hermione? Yes. Harry? Maybe. Ron? Not a chance. But I like you, and that’s all that matters. Besides, Ron is too scared to incur Hermione’s wrath to threaten you, so he won’t try to hex you or anything.” Patting his chest reassuringly, you begin to drag him through the castle, set on finding your friends. 

Smiling to yourself, you were sure that your sudden relationship with the slytherin would encourage your friends to confront their own crushes. 

“Oh, I think I see them! Theo, you can’t get out of this with your puppy eyes, now come on!” 

masterlist

[oscpiastri81]

shut up kiss me.

pairing: theodore nott x reader

song inspiration: shut up kiss me by angel olsen.

author's note: everyone say thank you to my love @writingsbychlo for fueling my delusions. constantly spamming her with my ideas because i have no self control when it comes to this man. there’s just something about theo fighting that makes me absolutely feral but i’ll hush now before i spoil it 🤭

Theodore. Fucking. Nott. 

Those three words fueled your rampage as you marched across the quidditch pitch. The audacity of that cocky, arrogant, silver tongued Slytherin knew no bounds. For years, you tolerated the pompous prick and the rivalry between you, but today he had finally gone too far. 

You cleared the field in less than a minute, passing by confused players as you angrily seethed. You spotted a shock of familiar platinum blonde hair and walked right up to Draco Malfoy. 

“Where the hell is he?”

He chuckled, perfectly aware of your longstanding enmity with his closest friend. “What’s he done this time?”

“Where. Is. He?” you repeated through gritted teeth. “Don’t make me ask again, Malfoy.” 

The blonde paled several shades when he saw the fire burning in your gaze. “Locker rooms. I wouldn’t go in there, Y/N. They’re still shower—“ Draco sighed as you brushed past him. “Whatever, it’s your funeral.”

The locker rooms were steamy, the heat and humidity clinging to your school uniform as you stalked through the aisles. The Slytherin players startled when they spotted you amongst their midst. 

“Well, well, well,” Mattheo drawled as he leaned against the wall. A towel hung dangerously low on his hips and he smirked when your eyes flickered over his body. “What do we have here? A sweet little Hufflepuff marching straight into the viper’s den.”

“Where the fuck is he, Riddle?”

Mattheo grinned lazily. “You’re going to have to be more specific than that, sweetheart.” 

“You know exactly who I’m talking about. Your arrogant prick of a friend who sent my fucking date to the hospital wing!” 

Before you went to sleep last night, you had done so with a grin on your face after a wonderful date with Alec Stone at the Three Broomsticks, but then you arrived at breakfast this morning with no Alec in sight and the rumor mill rampant with talks of Theo pummeling some poor Ravenclaw in the courtyard. 

You were going to kill him. 

“Sorry, love. Doesn’t ring a bell.” 

You frowned, purposely bumping against Mattheo as you walked further down the dimly lit aisle. In your trail for vengeance, you ran into a very flustered looking Enzo who yelped as he sought to cover his very naked torso. 

“Y/N,” Enzo said, hastily wrapping a towel around his waist. “What are you doing in the locker rooms?”

Behind him, the sound of the shower running echoed against the marble tiles. “Is he in there?”

Berkshire’s face fell. “You heard about the fight?” 

“It wasn’t a fight,” you said angrily. “He pummeled Alec so badly that he’s currently in the hospital wing with a concussion and several broken bones.”

“Just hear him out, okay?” 

Your eyes nearly bugged out of your head. “Hear him out? Your precious Theodore beat the absolute shit out of my date and you want me to hear him out? For what? What reason could Theo possibly have for doing what he did to Alec? He couldn’t stand to see me have fun for two fucking seconds? This is low even for him and you know it, Enzo.”

“You don’t know the whole story, Y/N.” 

“Well then please point me in the right direction so I can hear from the arsehole himself.” 

“He’s in there,” Enzo said, pointing to the shower stalls. “But I’m warning you, Y/N. He’s in a proper foul mood.” 

You huffed. “That makes two of us.” 

The steam from the showers rose up like a malevolent fog, curling around your feet as you stormed through the stalls. You found him in the farthest corner, water trickling down his back as he faced the tiled wall. His body language was tense, like a serpent preparing to strike. A crimson trail swirled against the marble as blood dripped from Theo’s bruised knuckles. The sight of it incensed you. 

“What the hell is wrong with you?” 

Theo whipped his head towards your direction, his dark curls plastered against his cheek. Those watercolor eyes were stormy, the blues and greens flickering with anger as he met your gaze. 

“You shouldn’t be here,” he said dismissively. 

“Bullshit!” You countered, stepping further into the stall. The steam barely covered Theo’s naked form, but you weren’t about to let that deter you from demanding answers. “You owe me a fucking explanation.”

“For what?” 

“For what?” you repeated incredulously. “You beat Alec within an inch of his life and that’s all you have to say for yourself? Honestly Theodore, have you gone absolutely mental?” 

“He deserved it.” 

“Why? Because he took me out on a date? Because you couldn’t stand to let me have this one thing? You absolutely loathe the idea of me being even remotely happy, don’t you?” 

Theo clenched his fists as his jaw twitched in anger. “No. I loathe the idea of that miserable excuse of a human being breathing the same air as you.” 

“So you beat him to a bloody pulp?” 

His voice was cold and icy, cutting through you like glass. “He’s lucky I didn’t do worse.”

“What do you have against Alec?” You moved closer to Theo, closing the gap as you poked his chest. The shower streamed over the both of you, blurring your vision. The water was hot against your skin, but it paled against the heat of your own anger. “What did he ever do to you, Theo?” 

Theo gripped your wrist. You were vaguely aware of his nakedness, but he made no move to hide it and you were too furious to even care. “Don’t say his name. I can’t bear to hear you say it after what he said about you this morning.” 

You stepped backward, flinching. “What—what are you talking about?” 

When you met his gaze, you startled. You’d never seen Theo this angry before. His eyes, which were usually dead and expressionless, burned with a cold sort of fury. 

“I heard him in the courtyard, bragging to his stupid friends. I thought he was just chatting shit, so I kept back. I only came down for a smoke, but then he said your name.” 

The pit in your stomach grew. “What did he say?” you asked, your voice barely above a whisper. You weren’t sure you wanted to know. Not if he was this angry over it.

“The stupid fucking prick was talking about your date. The dress you wore. The smiles you gave him. The hand holding through Hogsmeade. Then one of his gormless mates asked if he got lucky.” 

You froze at his words as a horrible feeling washed over you. Theo loosened his grip on your wrist, but didn’t let go. 

“Do you know what that sodding idiot said? I will, soon enough. I can tell she’s raring to go.” 

Tears pricked at your eyes. You felt like you were going to be violently sick. 

“And his friends—those miserable fucking wankers started betting on how long it would take. Two dates. Three. A month.” Theo’s hands were shaking, violence spilling over into his veins. “That smug tosser smirked and said he could’ve had you out in the hallway. That’s how eager you were.”

“I barely even touched him!” you said angrily. “I kissed his cheek good night and that was it.” 

“I know,” Theo said, his voice low and rough. “I know you. I knew he was lying, so I fucking lost it. I walked over there and just punched and punched until my knuckles were bloody and bruised and all I could see was red. I wanted to wipe that stupid fucking smirk off his mouth.” 

You could picture Theo putting out his cigarette ever so calmly before walking over to throw the first punch. You’d seen him fight before. He was relentless. Where Mattheo was pure fire and rage, Theo was as cold as ice. There was nothing but lethal calm in those dead eyes as he delivered blow after blow in absolute silence. 

“Eventually, Blaise and Enzo pulled me off of that prick.” He averted his gaze as if remembering the moment. “When his idiot friends finally peeled him off the floor, I spit on the fucker. I told him to consider it a warning. That I’d do a lot worse if I ever heard your name come out of his mouth again. I promised him that a concussion would be the least of his worries if he didn’t stay the fuck away from you.”

The tears fell down your cheeks despite your efforts to keep them in. The anger all but faded from Theo’s eyes as soon as he realized that you were crying. You were so, so stupid. For thinking Alec was a nice guy. For being so giddy after your date only for him to turn around and spit vile lies about you. 

For crying in front of your worst enemy.

The color drained from Theo’s face as you cried into your hands. You felt him shift beside you, debating whether or not to come closer. 

“Don’t,” you said through a broken sob. “Don’t come near me.” 

Theo flinched at your words, looking visibly pained. His voice was soft and soothing when he spoke again. “Tell me how to fix it. Do you want to yell at me? Punch me? Go ahead, love. I can take it.” He sounded desperate. “Just please, please don’t cry.” 

You hugged your arms around your waist and glared at him. “Why do you even care?” 

He paused, fingers flexing at his side as he fought the urge to reach out and comfort you. 

“Because I care about you!” The exasperation in his voice made your chest tighten. “I care that you let that stupid idiot take you on a date to the Three Broomsticks. I care that you fucking smiled at him when he gave you roses even though I know you prefer sunflowers. I care that you kissed him on the cheek when he dropped you off at your dorm.”

You sniffled, utterly perplexed at his words. “I don’t understand. We hate each other!” 

Theo visibly softened, the tension leaving his body. “I could never hate you, Y/N.” He reached for your hand. Your first instinct was to pull away, but you let him trace soothing circles on your skin. “I may tease you. Prank you. Annoy you. But I’ve never hated you.” 

Theo wiped the dried up tears from your cheeks. No fresh tears, which he took as a good sign. “I don’t even think you remember this, but I tried asking you to the Yule Ball in fourth year.” 

The memory surfaced. You were reading by the Black Lake and Theo had asked if you had a date. You said no, to which he promptly asked if he could take you. You left in a huff, thinking that it was just another way to rile you up. 

“I thought you were just trying to get a rise out of me. If I would’ve known…” 

Theo paused. “How could you not know? How could you not see?” 

The rage crashed against you like an errant wave. You didn’t know if you were angry at Theo or yourself, but you exploded either way, unable to keep your emotions under control. 

“Because you never told me, you idiot!”

“I never told you, but I showed you.” He smiled crookedly. “I'm not good with words, obviously. Every time I open my mouth it’s like I say the perfect combination of words to piss you off. So I learned to tell you how I felt through my actions.” 

“Haven’t you ever wondered why your favorite study spot in the library is always free? That’s because I threatened anyone who came near it. Or how you never seem to run out of quills despite the fact that you manage to break one every day from how hard you write? I always replaced them when you weren’t looking.” Your heart clenched at his words. “I even bribed first years to bring you hot chocolate when I knew you were pulling all nighters.” 

You stood there, staring at him. This wasn’t the cocky, arrogant Theo that you knew. He was looking at you so earnestly that it physically hurt how endearing it all was. 

“Why would you let me think that you were an inconsiderate jerk this whole time?” 

Those hypnotizing eyes pierced right through you, filled with a sadness so heavy that you felt it weighing on your chest. 

“Because at least you were thinking of me.”

You swayed gently. The water had long seeped into your bones, making you shiver as all of your clothes stuck to your skin like paper. You were convinced that your body had gone into shock. The range of emotions you were currently experiencing was turbulent to say the least. You stood in stunned silence, just taking it all in. Then the impact of his words hit you all at once. 

Theo watched as your bottom lip trembled. Panic seized him as you began crying again, this time not bothering to hide it from him. “Fuck I’m sorry, Y/N. Please don’t cry.” 

He didn’t know what to do. Should he comfort you? Should he keep his distance? Theo felt like he was doing a rather exceptional job of mucking things up. 

“Why are you saying sorry?” You said between hiccups. “I’m the one who should be apologizing.”

Theo caressed your cheek. So gently. Like he half-expected you to recoil. That only set a fresh wave of tears to spill onto your cheeks. 

“You have nothing to apologize for, love.” 

“Of course I do!” you nearly wailed. “I’ve been horrible to you. I’ve thought the worst of you, but all this time you were doing all these sweet, considerate things and I never even noticed. You should’ve told me, Theo.” 

“I—I didn’t think you’d ever see me that way,” Theo said softly. “It was better to have you hate me and still be part of my life than risking not having you in it at all.” 

Because at least you were thinking of me. 

It was the saddest thing that you’ve ever heard. For years, Theo settled for being your enemy because he’d rather have your hatred and loathing than indifference. He sustained himself on the bare minimum because he thought that was all he deserved. 

“I’m sorry, Theo. I’m so so fucking sorry.” 

Theo was absolutely distressed. “Fuck, look Y/N. Let me just finish up here and get my towel and when I’m dry and slightly less naked then we can talk, okay?” 

You sniffled, wiping your tears away. There was no way you could wait. Not after everything Theo had just told you. Not after everything that he’s been telling you all these years. Theo had literally and figuratively laid himself bare before you. The least you could do was to even the playing field. 

So you unlaced the gold and black tie around your neck. Unbuttoned your blouse and threw it somewhere behind you. Stepped out of your skirt and stared at Theo head on. 

“Oh—Merlin’s beard, what in the hell are you doing, Y/N? Are you trying to send me into cardiac arrest?” 

You shook your head, smiling slightly. Theo was determined to look everywhere but at your very exposed body. You were still in your bra and panties, but the black lace really didn’t leave much to the imagination. Especially when the water clung to every inch of your skin. 

“You were vulnerable with me,” you said simply. “So I’m returning the favor.” 

Theo felt like he was definitely headed for an early grave. He tried to think of something—anything—other than the girl he’s been head over heels for since third year standing naked in front of him.

“Theo,” you said softly. His name had never sounded half as good coming out of anyone else’s mouth. He wanted to bottle the sound. “Can I—can I hug you?” 

He could’ve sworn that his heart had stopped beating. The air had all but left his lungs, deflating his entire body as though he’d fallen off his broom and plummeted through the sky at breakneck speed. 

Theo didn’t recognize his own voice as he said, “Of course you can, Y/N.”

The words were barely out of his mouth before you dashed into his arms, nearly toppling him over from the force of it. You were a tiny little thing, but you were stronger than you looked. He smiled as you wrapped your arms around his neck, standing on your tiptoes as you hugged him. For a minute you and Theo just stood there under the trickling water, holding each other as though you were the only two people alive. 

If this was all the affection you were willing to give him, Theo would’ve been content to hold onto you until you grew tired of him. His slender fingers traced down your spine, drawing soothing circles against your skin as you buried your face in the crook of his neck. You felt safe. Like nothing bad could ever happen as long as you were with him.

You couldn’t remember the last time you’d felt like this. There was just this spark between you. Perhaps that was part of the reason why you had been so angry this morning. 

It hadn’t just been because Theo sent Alec to the hospital wing, which you were now thankful for after hearing all the disgusting things he said about you. It was also because you thought that he had ruined your chance of feeling that rush with someone else. The same rush you got when the two of you were arguing. The same rush that was noticeably missing when you kissed Alec last night. 

Things with Theo had always been electric. You attributed it to mutual loathing, but that wasn’t the full story. Sure he made your blood boil sometimes, but he also made you feel alive. You were terrified to admit it to yourself, which is probably why you said yes to Alec in the first place. 

You sighed as Theo’s fingers tangled through your hair. He gently pulled your head back and looked at you in the most heartbreaking way. 

“Y/N,” he said hoarsely. Theo’s gaze dipped to your mouth as his arm snaked around your waist. “I think I might die if I go one more second without kissing you. Will you please put me out of my misery, love?” 

You couldn’t help but smile. “Gladly.”

Theo held his breath as you pulled him down to you, lips brushing shyly at first. Then you leaned in and kissed him. And he truly and honestly thought that he had died. 

Your lips were soft against his, tasting of strawberries and mint toothpaste. He cupped the back of your head and tilted your chin to deepen the kiss. Before, Theo thought he could’ve sustained himself from a simple hug, but right now, he couldn’t even control himself as he gorged himself on your taste. 

He chuckled when you tried and failed to get on your tiptoes to offset the height difference between you. Theo caressed your cheek and smiled against your mouth. 

“Need some help, love?” 

You nodded before pulling him back down again. This time, the tender kisses turned more heated as he locked your legs around his waist and pressed your back against the wall. You gasped as the cold tile made contact with your bare skin and Theo took the opportunity to slide his tongue against yours. 

Merlin’s beard. Theo kissed with his entire body. There wasn’t an inch of you that wasn’t touching him and the skin to skin contact set your body on fire. You’d kissed other boys before, but they paled in comparison. You couldn’t get enough of Theo. You ran your fingers through his hair. Wrapped your legs more tightly around his waist. Trailed kisses along his jaw and neck and throat. 

Then he fucking moaned. 

It was a low, rumbling sound that sent tremors over your body and shook every fiber of your being like a devastating earthquake. You wanted to hear him make that sound over and over again. 

“Y/N,” Theo said, his forehead dropping to yours. “Before I lose all sense of self, I want to—no—I need to tell you—”

“What is it, Theo?”

“If we do this, then you have to understand what it means to me,” Theo whispered. “I may be terrible with words, but it’s important for me that you hear me when I say this. I want you. Not just physically, but in every sense of the word. I wanted you in third year when you first told me off for being a dick to the first years and I want you now even though you came in here to defend a prick that definitely doesn’t deserve it.” 

“What are you saying, Theo?” 

“I want you to be mine, Y/N.” 

You beamed. “Like, your girlfriend?”

“I don’t think girlfriend is a strong enough word to express how I feel for you, but it’s a start.” He moved the hair out of your face and cradled your cheek. “So yes, I suppose I do want you to be my girlfriend. I want to hold hands with you in the hallways. I want to look up at the stands during my games and see you cheering me on. I want to take you up to the Astronomy Tower and kiss you under the stars.” 

“And you say you’re bad with words,” you teased. “I want to do all those things and more with you, Theodore Nott. Of course I’ll be your girlfriend.” 

“Good, cause you’re mine.” Theo said matter-of-factly, those adorable dimples making an appearance on each cheek. “You were mine even before you knew it.” 

He kissed you again, but this time it was soft and sweet and it filled your stomach with butterflies. Theo no longer felt the need to hoard as much of your affection as he could because you had just given him the ultimate reassurance that he would have plenty of you in the future. 

You sighed contently against him, toying with the curls at the nape of his neck. He shifted, pressing kisses against your neck. Your fingers froze when you felt him stir underneath you. 

“Theo,” you said slowly, biting back a smirk. “Is that what I think it is pressing against my leg?” 

He groaned. “We’re half naked, in the shower, heavily making out, and you just agreed to be my girlfriend. Of course I’m hard.” 

You stifled a laugh. “Theodore Nott, is emotional intimacy turning you on?” 

“Everything about you turns me on.” 

“That’s helpful to know,” you said with a little smirk. “Especially when we're dueling and I’m losing.” 

“Merlin’s beard. My girlfriend’s downright evil.” 

You grinned so hard that your cheeks ached. Theo peppered kisses all over your face before setting you down. 

“I suppose we should head to dinner soon. My teammates watched you march in here in a fit of rage. They might think you’ve murdered me.” 

“There’s only one problem,” you said as you finally turned off the shower. “I’m soaking wet.” 

“I bet you are, darling.” 

You rolled your eyes. “From the shower, you wanker.” 

He grinned and kissed the top of your head. “It’s alright. I’ve got some extra clothes in my locker.”

Ten minutes later, the two of you walked out in the quidditch pitch hand in hand. Theo’s sweater completely enveloped you and he smiled a little at the sight. You received a few interesting stares as you made your way through the castle halls, but one look from Theo and they all quickly found something else to gawk at. Having a scary boyfriend was already paying off. 

On the way to dinner, you ran into Enzo. The git had the biggest smile on his face when he saw that you and Theo were holding hands. “So you heard him out after all, huh?” 

“Yeah, we sorted out our differences,” you said with a smile. “Coincidentally, I gained a boyfriend out of the whole ordeal. Happy now, Berkshire?” 

“Absolutely chuffed,” Enzo said with a grin. “See you lovebirds at dinner.” 

Theo rolled his eyes as his friend disappeared into the Great Hall. He turned, squeezing your fingers. “I should warn you. My friends can be a bit…much.” 

“Don’t worry, I think we all got fairly acquainted in the locker rooms. If they tease us, well I’ve got a perfectly scary boyfriend to fend them off.” 

He chuckled. “A scary boyfriend with an even more terrifying girlfriend.” 

You winked, kissing his bruised knuckles. “This school won’t know what hit them.” 

“Neither did Alec,” he said with a satisfied smirk. You gave him a reprimanding glare, but it was half-hearted. You didn’t actually feel sorry for the prick. “Sorry. Too soon?” 

“You know you can’t punch everyone that says anything bad about me, right?”

“Of course not. I’m perfectly capable of kicking them too.”

You rolled your eyes fondly. “Shut up and kiss me, Theo.” 

“Yes ma'am.” 

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[oscpiastri81]

𝖨𝖿 𝖨 𝖪𝗂𝗌𝗌 𝖸𝗈𝗎, 𝖨’𝗆 𝖲𝗈𝗋𝗋𝗒

𝘚𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘺: 𝘈 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘑𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘠/𝘕 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮 𝘪𝘴, 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘢𝘬𝘦… 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵.

Part One 1.6k

Part Two 2.2k

Part Three 2.8k

Part Four 4.8k

Part Five 5.2k

Part Six 5.2k

Part Seven 3.4k

Part Eight 5k

Extras: unofficial make out session | is james still a bad kisser? | meeting the parents | what flavor is that? | hanging with the girls | quidditch lesson | failed study session | life after hogwarts | the start of the crush | small or big wedding? | wedding dress shopping | james potter; kiss collector | first baby | james’ crush through the years | first official date | the gift of quidditch gloves | remus lupin, #1 shipper | finally receiving the love notes | sirius black, biggest hater | james’ massive honeydukes haul | james used to do what? | who helps james plan your surprises? | james potter and his list of names | the proposal | james meeting the parents

Soundtrack 🎵

[oscpiastri81]

If I Kiss You, I’m Sorry Part 8

𝘚𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘺: 𝘈 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘑𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘠/𝘕 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮 𝘪𝘴, 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘢𝘬𝘦… 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵.

News of you and James’ breakup spread like wildfire. By the following morning it seemed as if everyone knew. And by the third day, they were done pretending they didn’t.

If you thought you had eyes on you before, it’s nothing compared to the attention you’re getting now. Everybody seemed to have questions. Who broke up with who? Is Lily going to make a move now that James is single? More importantly, who are you going to be dating next? It’s no lie that everyone was shocked when you and James became an item. That was a pairing nobody saw coming. And if James Potter of all people had a chance, doesn’t every other boy in school?

It’s almost frightening how quickly everything went back to normal. You went from spending every moment of free time with James, to walking right past him without so much as a glance in his direction. It was like it always had been; with you not noticing James and him stealing glances at you whenever he could. Only it was worse than before because James went from daydreaming about being with you, to actually being with you, to losing you.

The marauders are hanging about the courtyard planning their next prank when they hear a name that gets all of their attention.

“Y/N!”

James automatically turns his head, but the tree he’s leaning against blocks you completely from his view.

“Hey…” you greet cautiously, coming to a stop in front of the dark haired Hufflepuff. “Garrett, right?”

“Actually it’s-yeah! Garrett!” he confirms, pointing to himself, surprised that you knew his name.

“What’s up?” you ask with a laugh.

“Oh! I just wanted to say that I was sorry to hear about you and James…”

“Oh…It’s okay.” you shrug. “These things happen.”

“I must say, I was shocked when I heard the news.” Garrett continues. “You two really seemed in love.”

James holds his breath, wondering what you’ll say.

“Eighteen is an inconvenient time to be in love.” you sigh with a tense smile. “Wouldn’t you agree?”

“Oh absolutely.” Garrett nods. “Love is overrated. Which is why I was thinking, why not go out with me?”

“Sorry?” you ask, looking at Garrett with a confused frown.

“Yeah! You and me, we’d be the hottest couple Hogwarts has ever seen!”

“Um, well I just got out of a relationship.” You remind him. “I’m not really looking-“

“For love. Yeah, I know. And I’m not offering it.” Garrett tells you with a smirk.

Anger courses through James as he listens to the conversation. He gets up, prepared to go over there when Sirius puts a hand on his chest, keeping him in place.

“It’s not your fight anymore, mate.” Sirius tells him with a grimace.

James glares at him before sighing, nodding his head in defeat as he leans against the tree again. As much as he hates to admit it, Sirius is right. It isn’t James’ place anymore to get involved.

“I’m not looking for anything right now.” you reiterate with a shake of your head.

“Come on! You’re that quick to shoot me down? At least give me a chance.” Garrett whines with a fake pout.

“Garrett,” you sigh, trying to think of something to say.

Remus, feeling bad for both you and James, decides to just put everyone out of their misery. He doesn’t miss the grateful look from James as he pushes himself off of the tree, turning the corner and coming to a stop right beside you.

“You don’t have a chance.” Remus tells Garrett with a polite grin. “And clearly no shame either.”

“I beg your pardon?” Garrett asks, looking between you and Remus in confusion.

“Do you really need me to insult you again?” Remus asks, tilting his head to the side. “Was the first time not enough? Or were you just to stupid to realize it?”

“What a fucking prat,” Garrett mumbles to himself as he walks away.

You sigh in relief before giving Remus a grateful smile.

“Thanks for saving me.”

“Don’t forget you’re single now. The guys are gonna be all over you.”

“Yeah,” you nod, “It was nice while it lasted.”

“What? Being left alone or being in a relationship with James?”

“See you around, Rem.” You say, giving him a sad smile before walking away.

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

You’re not the only one getting more attention than usual. It seems as if every boy in the bloody school has something to say to James. The amount of times he’s heard “I can’t believe you let her get away” and “Thanks for blowing it” is unreal. Someone even shamelessly asked James what he did wrong, so that they don’t “make the same mistake”.

And then there’s Lily, who’s made it her life’s purpose to be everywhere James is, much to the marauder’s annoyance. He was hoping to get some time to himself today at Hogsmeade; he was looking forward to it! But of course, things could never be that simple. James had just finished ranting to Sirius and Remus about how Lily had crashed his solo Hogsmeade trip when Peter burst into the room.

“What are you doing?” Remus asks when he sees Peter digging through his chocolate stash.

“I’m taking your fudge flies. I’ll pay you back.” Peter says, holding up the carton package in victory.

“No.” Remus says, snatching the box back. “If you wanted more sweets, you should have gone to Hogsmeade yourself.”

“I had other plans,” Peter whines, trying to grab the box. “But I need them!”

“Here. You can have this.” Remus offers, handing Peter a chocolate frog instead.

“No,” Peter shakes his head. “I don’t want that.”

“You like these!” Remus argues.

“It has to be fudge flies.” Peter insists, still trying to steal the box back.

“Why?” Remus groans in exasperation.

“Because they’re Y/N’s favorite!”

The dorm goes silent at that, everyone freezing before turning their gaze to Peter. Peter seizes the opportunity, snatching the box of fudge flies out of Remus’ hands and holding them to his chest.

“Wormtail…are you still hanging out with Y/N?” Remus asks, cautiously throwing a glance to James.

“Um…no?” Peter offers.

“Wormtail…” Remus calls.

“What do you want from me? I’m a child of divorce, okay?!” Peter defends.

“Peter,” Remus groans. “For the love of-“

“I can’t believe you!” Sirius tells him. “Y/N’s the one who broke up with James in the first place. And here you are, fraternizing with the enemy.”

“I’m fraternizing?” Peter repeats incredulously before pointing at James. “James went to Hogsmeade with Lily!”

“How do you even know that?” Sirius asks in confusion. “It literally just happened!”

“I didn’t plan on it!” James interrupts. “She just showed up!”

“That’s such a load of bull! Lily told Y/N she was going to Hogsmeade with you!” Peter tells him, still holding the box of fudge flies to his chest.

“What?” James asks, confused. “Are you sure?”

“Of course I’m sure! I was with her when it happened! She was helping me with my alchemy assignment since you lot kept forgetting.”

“Lily said she was going with me?” James asks, more to himself than to Peter. She said that Marlene and Dorcas ditched her at the last minute. Was that a lie she said just to get close to him?

“What did Y/N do?” James finds himself asking before he can stop himself.

“Nothing.” Peter shrugs. “She said she hoped you’d have a good time together but then-“

“Then?” James asks, urging Peter to continue.

“Nothing.” Peter says, avoiding his gaze.

“Wormtail,” James sighs. “Just tell me.”

“I don’t know…she got really quiet after that.” Peter tells him. “She seemed sad.”

“She has no reason to be sad.” Sirius scoffs. “She’s the one who broke up with him in the first place.”

“When was this?” James asks, ignoring Sirius altogether.

“Thursday?” Peter mumbles with a shrug.

“Peter!” James groans. “If I had known Lily was plotting to go to Hogsmeade with me, I could’ve done something to stop it! Why didn’t you say anything sooner?!”

“I forgot!” Peter shouts.

Everyone starts arguing at that point; Sirius calling Peter a traitor, Peter defending himself for still hanging out with you, Remus saying that they did technically forget to help Peter with his assignment in the first place. While all the screaming is going on, James digs through his trunk before approaching Peter, handing him a packet of sour slugs.

“Here. Take her these, too. If she eats too much chocolate, she needs to have something sour.”

“How do you even know that?” Sirius asks.

“Because she’s my-“ James starts, only to cut himself off, shaking his head with a sad smile. “Was. She was my girlfriend.”

Remus gives James a sympathetic smile as Peter cautiously takes the candy from him.

“Wait! Not my fudge flies!” Remus groans as Peter runs out of the room.

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

James waits for Lily to be distracted before he slips out of the party. Ever since the break up, she’s made it a habit to be close to him. She crashed his Hogsmeade trip, she changed her schedule so they could do rounds together, she even started sitting with the marauders in the great hall. And James hates it because when Lily’s around, you’re all he can think about.

James takes a seat on the bench and undoes the clasp of the locket, spinning it around in his hands as he remembers all the time you used to sit out here together, taking about anything and everything.

Only a few minutes later, Lily manages to track down James and he sighs. So much for having some time to himself.

“There you are!” she calls as she gets closer. “Do you wanna go back inside?”

“I don’t wanna go to the stupid party.” James sighs sadly. “I want her back. I want her to want me back.”

“Who?” Lily asks, taking a seat beside him on the bench. “Y/N?”

“It’s not fair. I saw her first! Y/N had always been my little secret. She was this incredible thing I’d known about but everyone else seemed to miss. The treasure hidden in plain sight. The fortune of a lifetime that was somehow only visible to me.” James rambles, all the alcohol in his system making him miss you more than usual. “I saw her before everyone realized her worth. I loved her when nobody noticed her. And now everybody does! And she can have anyone and for a while that was me and it’s just- it’s not fair! It wasn’t nearly enough time.”

James hiccups, the firewhisky finally getting to him and Lily realizes in that moment that it’s you. Maybe at one point James did want her. Maybe he never wanted her at all, and he asked her out because he saw much it annoyed her. But one thing’s for certain, the only person he wants now is you. And sure, the attention James gave to Lily in sixth year was nice…at times. But she’d never forgive herself for being the thing that keeps you two apart. That being said, she bumps shoulders with James and gives him a comforting smile.

“You guys will be okay.”

“You really think so?” James asks with a hopeful smile.

“Yeah,” Lily nods. “You and Y/N have a love like you see on the big screen. And I’ve seen enough romantic comedies to know you’ll end up together.”

“Thanks, Lily.” James smiles.

“So what’s inside?” she asks, gesturing to the locket in his hand.

“Wanna see?” James asks, opening up the locket and handing it to her.

“Aw!” Lily laughs, looking at the picture of you and James. Lily watches as you look up at James with a smile and look away, only for James to immediately do the same thing. “It’s cute.”

“It was our first date,” James says proudly. “Our first official date.”

“And how was it?” Lily asks, handing the locket back to him.

“It was…the best day ever.” James sighs, closing the locket and putting it back on.

“Prongs!” Remus calls, “Are you out here?”

“Alright, let’s get you back to your friends.” Lily sighs, standing up. “I don’t know how to deal with you when you’re like this.”

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

“Y/N.”

You look up with a smile, only to frown when you see who called you.

“What do you want Michael?” you ask, hastily shoving your things back into your bag.

“You know what I want.” he says simply, causing you to scoff. “Are you going to make me ask again?”

“You didn’t even ask me the first time.” You remind him, standing from your seat. “You ordered me.”

“Same thing.”

“It really isn’t.” you shake your head. “But my answer hasn’t changed. I won’t marry you.”

“Y/N, I am a pure blood, high status wizard. I’m expected to marry a pure blood witch with a high status in the wizarding world.”

“By all means, marry one! I’m not the only pure blood girl.” you scoff. “There are others.”

“None as beautiful as you. A Gray such as myself deserves the best. And you, my dear, are the best.”

“Well I deserve to marry someone I love, and that isn’t you.”

“And who is?” Michael asks with a laugh. “Potter?”

You glare at him as he continues to laugh.

“Princess, he left you. If he doesn’t even want to be in a relationship with you, what makes you think he’d marry you?”

“Michael, stop it. You’re being mean.”

“I’m being honest.” he says, slowly walking towards you, backing you up against the wall. “There’s a war coming, Y/N. Marry me and I can protect you. Don’t you want to be on the right side?”

Before you know what you’re doing, you’ve slapped Michael. Head still turned to the side, he huffs in amusement before turning his steely gaze back to you.

“I’m not afraid of the Dark Lord.” you tell him with a defiant shake of your head. “And I’m not afraid of you.”

“You really should be.” Michael says, putting his hands on your shoulders and pushing you up against the wall. You let out a surprised gasp, trying to shove him off to no avail.

“I did warn you that I would run out of patience.”

“Get off of me.” you demand weakly, giving his chest a shove, though it makes no difference.

“You’re in no place to give commands, princess.” Michael chuckles darkly.

Michael takes a step closer, invading your personal space, and that’s when you start to panic. You don’t know if he’s going to try to kiss you or hit you, and you don’t know which thought scares you more.

You’ve always prided yourself in being a brilliant witch. There are several defensive spells you’re able to perform with and without your wand. Unfortunately for you, you can’t remember a single one. At this moment, you’re just a scared, defenseless girl. And what do scared girls do? Run.

You stomp on Michael’s foot as hard as you can, and when he takes a step back, you push him away from you, grabbing your bag off the desk and running out of the room. Reaching the end of the hallway, you turn a corner, only to bump into a hard chest. Stumbling back, you look up and see James standing in front of you. James frowns in concern when he sees that you’re holding back tears.

“Are you okay?” he immediately asks.

Putting your head down, you try to walk past him but James grabs your wrist, keeping you in place.

“What happened?” he tries again.

“Nothing.” you shake your head, still avoiding his gaze. “I’m fine.”

“Obviously you’re not.” James argues. “Did someone say something to you?”

You silently shake your head, still trying to pull your wrist free from his grasp.

“Did someone do something to you?” James asks.

Immediately you freeze, looking up at James with wide eyes. Behind him, Remus, Peter, and Sirius all share a concerned look.

“What happened?” James asks again.

You open your mouth but no words come out, unable to tell James what happened. You feel embarrassed and ashamed that you weren’t able to fight Michael off. And if that wasn’t bad enough, you feel selfish for wanting James’ help even when you know that you no longer have that right.

“Nothing happened!” you yell, pulling your wrist from his grasp and running away. James watches you go with a worried frown.

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

Having just left study hall, James is headed back to the common room when he happens to overhear two Slytherins talking.

“Have you heard? Apparently Gray has gone and asked Y/N to marry him once school is done.”

James stops in his tracks. Marriage? But you’re so young. And you’re not even dating Michael!

“Did she accept?”

“Well, he didn’t really leave much room for argument.”

“What’d he do?”

“Nothing too bad. Just scared her a bit, I think.”

James seethes as he hears this. That’s probably why you were fighting back tears when you bumped into him in the corridor the other day. James spots Michael in the distance and immediately starts walking over there. As soon as James reaches him, he shoves him harshly.

“Stay the fuck away from Y/N.” he orders.

“Why should I?” Michael asks, fixing his jacket.

“Because I fucking said so.”

Michael huffs in amusement.

“I mean it.” James tells him. “Don’t look at her. Don’t talk to her. Don’t even fucking think about her.”

“She’s not your girlfriend anymore, Potter.” Michael reminds him. “You have no claim over her.”

“That has nothing to do with it.” James shakes his head. “You’re a right prick and I won’t let you hurt her. So I’m telling you, for the last time, to stay away.”

“I don’t know.” Michael sighs. “I think she liked it when I was rough with her.”

James glares at him.

“Maybe that’s why she dumped you.” Michael continues. “Maybe she likes being pushed around.”

James sees red. Before he knows it, he’s pulled his fist back and clocked Michael right in the face. Michael winces as he touches his nose, glowering when sees blood on his hand.

“You’re dead, Potter.” he growls before swinging at him.

Michael and James continue to land blow after blow on each other before eventually Professor Gasly comes along and pulls them apart.

“What is going on?” He yells, looking between Michael and James for some sort of explanation.

“James threw the first punch!” a Slytherin shouts.

“But Michael started it!” A Gryffindor interjects. “He practically assaulted Y/N and then bragged about it!”

Michael tries to defend himself but is immediately shot down by Professor Gasly.

“Shut it. Not a word from you until you’re sitting in front of Dumbledore.”

Professor Gasly looks at James and rolls his eyes.

“Go clean yourself up.”

“Yes professor.” James says, turning around and walking away.

Having been tucked away in the courtyard enjoying the weather, you saw the whole confrontation with Michael. You watch James head into the castle and weigh your options before eventually following after him.

James knows he should probably go to the bathroom, or to his dorm, or even to Madam Pomfrey. But more than anything, he just wants to be alone. That being said, he walks into the first empty classroom he sees and takes a seat on the chair, groaning as he does. He sighs in annoyance when he hears a knock on the door.

James looks up and is surprised, as well as the tiniest bit relieved when he sees you standing there. You sheepishly hold up the damp washcloth in your hand.

“Can I help?”

Unable to form any words, James nods his head with a smile, only to wince when the cut on his lip starts bleeding again. You come to a stop right in front of James, and begin gently wiping his face with the washcloth, stopping every time he winces.

“I’m so sorry.” you whisper.

“Don’t be.” James says softly with a shake of his head.

“This is all my fault.”

“It’s not.”

“You got hurt because of me.”

“I got hurt because I started a fight with Michael.”

“Because of me.”

“Because he’s an absolute tosser.” James insists. The last thing he wants is for you to feel guilty. “It was only a matter of time before someone put him in his place.”

You sigh before eventually nodding your head, giving him a small smile. James takes in your features, desperately trying to memorize them. It’s been so long since he’s seen you up close. Heaven only knows when he’ll get another opportunity. His eyes zero in on your lips before he clears his throat, looking away.

“You can go.” he tells you, standing up and taking a few steps away to put some distance between the two of you. “I can take it from here.”

“Are you okay?” you ask softly.

“Honestly? No.” James laughs with a shake of his head, back still turned to you. “And you should know that.”

“Pardon?”

“You have no right.”

“To what?”

“To make me love you!” James shouts, turning back around to face you. “To hold my hand and kiss me breathless and cheer for me at all my matches and look at me with those mesmerizing fucking eyes of yours and then just walk away like nothing happened!”

You look up at James with wide eyes, his outburst having caught you off guard.

“I was supposed to be over you!” he continues to yell. “I told myself it’d never work between us! I-I convinced myself it’d never happen! I moved on! And then you come along with your bouncy hair and radiant smile. And you listen to me, and you support me, and you’re the only person who really gets me and it’s not fucking fair!” James shouts before sighing. “None of this is fair. Knowing what it’s like to be loved by you and then losing you isn’t fair.”

“You…love me?” you ask, confusion clear in your voice.

“Yes!” James confesses. “More than anything.”

“But Lily…”

“Just a sad, pathetic attempt to get over you.” James tells you with a defeated shake of his head. “Nothing more.”

“But I heard you.” you continue. “With your friends. You were talking about not giving me the wrong idea and-”

“Darling, no.” James crosses the room in an instant, grabbing your hands as he stares into your eyes. “You misunderstand. We were talking about telling you how I felt about you, how I still feel about you. But I know this was supposed to be fake. I didn’t want you to hate me for ruining everything.”

“You didn’t ruin anything,” you assure him. “I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions. I’m sorry.”

“You have no reason to apologize.” James tells you. “I would’ve thought the same thing… What were you doing out there anyway?”

“Hm?” you ask with wide eyes before looking away. “Oh! Um, I was actually coming to talk to you.”

“Oh? About what?” James tilts his head to the side as he watches you curiously.

“I was actually coming to tell you that I thought…I was falling in love with you.”

James’ eyes widened at that. He didn’t know what you were going to say, but he sure as hell wasn’t expecting that. He had dreamt about you falling in love with him more times than he’d like to admit. He hoped and prayed and wished on every shooting star he ever saw; but to actually hear you say that you love him was something else entirely.

“R-really?” James asks breathlessly.

“Yeah,” you nod, still nervously avoiding eye contact. “But I’m not anymore.”

“Sorry?” James asks, confused.

“Falling in love.”

The look James gives you is one of utter devastation, so you’re quick to clarify.

“I’m far past that now, I’m afraid. I’m completely in love with you, James.” you admit, giving him a nervous smile.

“Don’t say that. Not if you don’t mean it.” James begs. “Please, darling. I will never recover.”

“It’s true,” you tell him. “I love you.”

James crashes his lips onto yours, one hand cupping your jaw, while the other gets buried in your hair and you wrap your arms around his shoulders as you kiss him back. When James finally finds the strength to pull away, you’re absolutely breathless. He is too, chest heaving as he gazes into your eyes, hands still cupping your face.

“I love you too. Godric, do I love you. I can’t believe I tried to fight it for so long. It’s you Y/N. You’re the one for me. It’s always been you. It will always be you.”

“It was never you for me.” you admit, causing James to let out a surprised laugh.

“Sorry?” he asks.

“I never in a million years thought I would ever be friends with you, let alone like you.” you continue.

“Wow,” James laughs. “You really know how to make a guy feel special.”

“But falling in love with you was the easiest thing in the world. And I only regret not falling for you sooner.”

James gives you a soft smile, eyes full of love as he gazes at you.

“Sorry I took so long.” you apologize with a sheepish smile.

James is momentarily brought back to third year, when he was sitting in Charms and everyone was laughing at him; when he looked to his left and saw you, really saw you for the first time…when everything changed.

“Don’t be.” he shakes his head. “I would’ve waited forever for you.”

“Would you really?”

“I waited this long.” James says, causing you to roll your eyes in amusement. Oh, how he’s missed this.

“Go out with me.” James asks. “For real this time. No ulterior motives, no lies, no misunderstandings. I want to be able to love you honestly, openly… I want to love you wholeheartedly.”

“I do, too.” you tell him with a nod.

“It’s a bit too soon for ‘I do’s’ don’t you think, love?” James teases.

“I’ve changed my mind,” you tell him with a shake of your head, trying to free yourself from his grasp. “Let’s break up.”

“Yeah right!” James says, tightening his hold on you. “I’ve already lost you once. I’ll be damned if I lose you again.”

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

“Look at them,” Sirius groans. “Absolutely disgusting.”

Remus looks up from his book, seeing you and James having your own conversation, whispering to each other as you smile and laugh amongst yourselves.

“Leave them alone, Padfoot,” Remus sighs.

“I just don’t understand why they have to be so touchy, feely, kissy all the bloody time!” Sirius continues to complain.

“Of course you wouldn’t understand.” Remus says, turning the page of his book. “You’ve never been in love.”

“Hey!” Sirius exclaims, throwing an exploding bonbon at him. It hits Remus on the side of the head then falls to the ground where Peter picks it up and unwraps it, plopping it into his mouth with a happy grin.

“You should be happy for them.”

“As if!”

“Okay, happy for him.” Remus tries again. “He went from borderline stalking Y/N, to dating her.”

“Oi!” James calls, looking up in offense.

“I never stalked her!” he shouts before turning to look at you. “I never stalked you, love. Honest.”

“Right,” Remus scoffs. “You just stared at her all the time, and hexed any guy that talked to her, and snuck sweets into her bag when she wasn’t looking.”

“Wait…the sweets in my bag, that was you?” you ask, looking between James and Remus. James nods his head with a shy smile while Sirius laughs.

“Godric, I didn’t know it was that bad! What else did he do, Moony?”

“NOTHING!” James shouts, face turning a brilliant shade of red.

“I can’t believe you didn’t notice.” Remus tells Sirius. “It was kind of obvious.”

Sirius blinks several times, before shifting the attention to you.

“Yeah, Y/N. I can’t believe you didn’t notice.”

“wha-me? I didn’t know!” you defend.

“You didn’t know?” Sirius repeats skeptically. “According to Moony, he stared at you all day everyday. You honestly didn’t notice James’ eyes glued to you?”

“I didn’t notice James at all!” you stress, causing the boys to laugh.

“Love,” James whines, burying his face into your neck in embarrassment.

“But it’s fine because now he’s all I can think about.”

“So it’s safe to say it all turned out okay in the end.” James says with a proud grin.

“You make it sound as if this was your plan all along.” Sirius huffs in amusement.

“How do you know it wasn’t?” James asks, crossing his arms.

“Your master plan was to admire her from afar for years and then ask her to pretend to be your girlfriend in your last year of school, hoping she’d develop real feelings for you?” Remus asks incredulously.

“It’s called playing the long game, Moony.” James says with a nod, causing you to laugh.

“You’re an idiot.” Remus mumbles, getting back to his book.

“Unbelievable.” James says with a shake of his head. “I’m not gonna sit here and listen to this. Darling, would you like to go on a walk?”

You nod your head with a smile, grabbing James’ hands so he can pull you up.

“You don’t really hate them being together, do you?” Remus asks Sirius.

“Nah, I just like teasing him.” Sirius says, nodding his head. “Look at them, Moons.”

Sirius, Remus, and Peter all watch as James pulls a bouquet of flowers for you out of thin air. You grab a daisy from the arrangement and tuck it behind his ear and nod proudly at your work before you tilt your head up and pout your lips, silently asking for a kiss, which James is more than happy to give you.

“What they have is real,” Sirius tells him. “How could anyone be annoyed by that?”

[oscpiastri81]

If I Kiss You, I’m Sorry Part 7

𝘚𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘺: 𝘈 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘑𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘠/𝘕 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮 𝘪𝘴, 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘢𝘬𝘦… 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵.

“Y/N!”

“Hmm?” you ask, finally snapping out of your daydream.

“You’ve been brushing your hair for the past ten minutes.” Sarah informs you with a laugh.

“Oh. Sorry.” you apologize, setting your brush down.

“Is everything okay?” Maddie asks, looking at you for only a moment before getting back to her make up.

“Yeah,” you nod, shyly looking down at your hands. “Except…I think I like James…”

“What?!” everyone exclaims, turning to look at you.

“What do you mean you think you like James?” Maddie asks with wide eyes.

“I do!” you admit, covering your face with your hands. “I like him, okay?”

“How did this end up happening? I thought it was supposed to be fake…”

“It was!” you assure them. “At least…in the beginning.”

“And then?”

“I don’t know.” you shrug helplessly. “He’s not at all what I thought he’d be like. He’s funny and kind and observant. Not to mention caring.”

“Caring?” Maddie repeats incredulously.

“Yes!” you sigh dreamily. “I know he doesn’t look it but he is! Everyone thinks of him as a class clown but he’s so much more than that. He’s actually a really great guy.”

“Aw, you really like him, don’t you?” Sarah asks, causing you to nod your head with a shy smile.

“His smile takes my breath away. And every time he kisses me I feel as if my heart’s about to burst out of my chest.” You swoon.

“So what are you gonna do?” Sarah asks with a smile.

“Oh my god, Y/N. What are you gonna do?” Maddie repeats with fearful eyes. “Doesn’t he like Lily? Isn’t she the whole reason he’s doing this?”

“Why’d you have to bring that up?” Kiara complains, throwing her hands up in exasperation.

“I’m just saying-“

“I’m gonna tell him.” you blurt out, effectively stopping Maddie and Kiara from arguing.

“You are?”

You nod your head, hesitating for only a moment before pulling something out from your nightstand and holding it out to them.

“What’s this?” Sarah asks, as she starts pulling back the tissue paper.

“Quidditch gloves?” Maddie asks, frowning in confusion.

“Is that dragon hide?!” Kiara shrieks, looking up at you with wide eyes. “That must’ve been crazy expensive!”

You snatch the gloves back and hold them to your chest, giving your friends a guilty smile.

“I saved up for it.” you mumble.

“Y/N…” Sarah sighs. “Why did you splurge on something like this? It’s our last year.”

“His gloves are looking kinda beat up.” you defend softly. “Besides, he loves the sport. He said that he still wants to play quidditch after leaving Hogwarts so…”

“So what exactly is the plan?”

“I’m gonna give him the gloves and then confess that I have feelings for him. That I think I’m…falling in love with him…” You say with a nervous smile, looking to your friends for approval.

Maddie, Kiara, and Sarah all squeal in excitement.

“Today?”

“No!” you shriek, terrified.

“What? Why not?”

“I just- I don’t know what I’m gonna say yet.” you explain, putting the gloves back in your drawer. “I don’t wanna mess it up.”

“Especially since he might turn you down.” Maddie mumbles.

“Maddie!“ Kiara scolds.

“I’m just saying! There is the possibility that he doesn’t return her feelings.”

“Which I think is highly unlikely.” Sarah chimes in. “I’ve seen you two together. There’s no way he doesn’t feel the same.”

“You really think so?” you ask with a hopeful smile.

“Y/N, you should see the way he looks at you. It’d be pathetic if it wasn’t so cute.”

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

“He’s staring again.” Sirius snickers, taking a sip of his tea.

Remus sighs, taking a sip of his tea before turning to James.

“What are you doing, Prongs?”

“Just enjoying the view.” James answers, gazing at you with a soft smile. “What do you think she’s doing?”

“Well, considering that we’re in the great hall, I’m gonna assume she’s eating breakfast. Just like everyone else.”

“Well yeah, but why is she all the way over there?” James whines. “She’s too far.”

“Snap out of it!” Sirius shouts, smacking James upside the head.

“Oi!” James groans. “What the bloody hell was that for?”

“You’re scaring me, mate! This is worse than when you were hung up on Evans. I don’t like the way you’re looking at her. It’s freaking me out!”

“How am I looking at her?” James asks, looking at his friends for an answer.

“Like you’re in love.” Peter says with a mouth full of pancakes.

“Honestly, Prongs. I think you’re taking this a little too far.” Sirius warns. “You look at her as if she’s your whole world.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. She’s not my world.” James says with a laugh. “She’s my sun.” He corrects matter-of-factly. “My whole world revolves around her.”

“Just be wary of the sun,” Remus warns. “You know what happened to Icarus.”

“I don’t even know who Icarus is.” James says with furrowed brows. “Is he in our year?”

“No!” Remus groans in exasperation. “He flew too close to the sun and got burned.”

“That won’t happen to me.” James assures him with a confident smile. “I’m brilliant on a broom.”

“That’s not what I mean and you know it.” Remus says, giving James a knowing look.

“Wait, what do you mean?” Sirius asks, looking between James and Remus in confusion. “What does he mean, Prongs? Am I missing something?”

“No!” James shakes his head, punching Remus’ leg. “But I am.”

“Y/N!” James shouts, catching your attention, as well as the attention of everyone else on the gryffindor table.

“Yes?” you ask, looking at him in surprise.

“Darling, what are you doing all the way over there?”

You hold up the parchment you were working on for him to see.

“Any way I can convince you to do your assignment over here with me?” James offers.

“Why?” you ask, though you’re already getting your belongings together.

“Because life without you by my side is unbearable?” James says, looking at you with a hopeful smile.

You throw your head back in laughter, and James watches, absolutely mesmerized. You wave goodbye to your friends and start making your way towards James.

“Moony, scoot over.” He orders, pushing Remus’s messenger bag to the floor when he sees you coming.

“Prongs,” Remus sighs in annoyance, picking his bag off the floor and dusting it off.

“Hello beautiful,” James greets with a smile, reaching out to grab your plate from you. “How many drinks have you got today?”

“Only two,” you tell him with a grin, starting to set your cups on the table. “Water, and tea.”

“Wow, that must be some sort of record for you, Ms. Four Cup Minimum.” Sirius teases with a laugh.

“New year, new me.” you tell him with a sarcastic smile.

“It’s the middle of the year.” Sirius deadpans, causing you to chuckle.

“No juice this morning?” James asks with furrowed brows.

“They didn’t have orange.” you tell him with a pout, taking a seat next to him.

“You took too long to come down,” James chastises. “You know the orange juice always runs out first.”

“Yeah, I know.” you agree, continuing to pout.

“Lucky for you, I’m willing to share.” He says, handing you his cup.

“You’re perfect.” you smile up at him, pressing a kiss to his jawline before taking a sip of his juice.

“You’re…too good to be true.” James sighs, admiring you for what must have been the hundredth time this morning.

“Hm?” you ask, setting his cup back on the table.

James shakes his head at you, wrapping his arm around your waist and tugging you closer to him.

“Just saying how much I missed you.”

“I missed you too, love.”

“What are you working on so early?” James asks, peering over your shoulder to watch you work.

“My alchemy assignment. I forgot to finish it last night.”

James silently watches you work for a couple of minutes. When he sees that you’re not touching your food, he takes it upon himself to cut off a piece of your pancakes and hold the fork up to your mouth.

“Sweetheart, I can feed myself,” you tell him with a laugh, words coming out muffled thanks to the food.

“Darling, you’ve been here for ten minutes and haven’t picked up your fork once. Either put your quill down so you can eat or let me feed you.”

“I’m not a baby.”

“But you’re my baby.” James argues with a smile.

“I’m almost done,” you assure him.

“Then I’ll feed you in the meantime. More pancakes? Or do you want some eggs?”

“Mm…hashbrown?” you ask.

“You don’t have any hashbrowns on your plate, love.”

“No, but there’s some on your plate.” you tell him with a guilty smile.

James huffs in laughter before cutting off a piece of the hashbrown and holding the fork up to you.

“Thank you sweetheart.” you smile up at him.

James just presses a kiss to the side of your head before stealing a piece of bacon from your plate.

“Hey!”

“Thank you sweetheart.” James repeats, causing you to roll your eyes in amusement.

After breakfast James starts walking you to your first class of the day. The corridors were packed with students but James made sure to always be touching you in some way, either holding your hand, or having his hand on the small of your back, guiding you forward.

“I’ll be here once class is out, okay?” James asks, hands on your waist as he leans against the wall.

“You gonna start walking me to all my classes now?” you ask with a smile, toying with the necklace, your necklace hanging from his neck.

“Mm-hmm,” James nods. “I wanna spend every second that I can with you. Got a problem with that?”

You think it over before eventually shaking your head. No, you don’t have a problem with that at all, because you want the same thing. You want to spend every minute of every day in James’ presence, in James’ arms. All the time in the world wouldn’t be near enough, but it’s a start.

James presses a sweet kiss to your lips before turning around and making his way to his own class. Before, James would limit the physical affection between you two; but ever since that day he heard you arguing with Michael, ever since you stood up for him, it’s like a switch has been flipped. He can’t help but want to be touching you in some way. Holding your hand, having you sit on his lap in the common room, kissing you on the cheek, and the forehead, and those pillowy soft lips of yours that he loves so much.

It’s been days since the argument between you and Michael took place, and yet James still smiles every time he thinks of it. It’s no lie that James was…a bit behind when it came to girls. For the first five years of school he didn’t pay them any mind, choosing to cause mayhem instead. And then in sixth year, the one girl he did try to pursue turned him down and insulted him every day of his life. As if that wasn’t bad enough, because he so shamelessly chased after Lily, no other girl even looked in his direction, seeing it as a lost cause.

James wouldn't outright say he was insecure, but after being turned down and looked over for so long, he couldn’t help but wonder if there was something wrong with him. But then you came along and saw James, the real James, and you accepted him so easily. And he started to think that maybe there wasn’t anything wrong with him to begin with. Maybe the whole time he was waiting for the right girl to come along. And maybe the whole time that girl was you. He was a fool for ever thinking otherwise.

“Bloody hell!” James curses.

“Something you’d like to share with the class, Mr. Potter?” Professor Gasly asks.

James looks up at him with wide eyes, only now realizing that everyone is staring at him.

“Godric.” James groans, bringing a hand to his forehead. “I’m an idiot!”

The whole class falls into a fit of laughter at his sudden outburst.

“I have no idea what this is in reference to, but ten points to Gryffindor.” Professor Gasly says simply.

“Wait Professor! I’m an idiot too!” A ravenclaw shouts from across the room. “A god damn fool, even!”

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

“Alright Prongs, we’re all here. What’s going on?” Sirius asks, throwing himself onto his bed.

“I like Y/N.” James admits, getting straight to the point. “Like, really like her.”

“I knew it!” Remus shouts.

“Wait what?!” Sirius asks, immediately sitting up. “What do you mean you like Y/N? What do you mean you knew? What the fuck is going on right now?”

“It’s true. I’m absolutely mad for her.” James tells him.

“I fucking knew it.” Remus continues. “I knew you never got over her.”

“What do you mean ‘never got over her’?” Sirius asks, before turning to James. “You liked her before?”

“Uh…”

“He did! Back in third year!” Remus tells him. “Remember when he tried to get us to play spin the bottle?”

“Yeah.” Sirius nods. “And then when he managed to convince all of us, he suddenly didn’t wanna play anymore.”

“Yeah because he wanted to kiss Y/N!”

“Moony!” James whines.

“It’s true! You did and she had already kissed someone else so you didn’t wanna play anymore!”

“Wait, so you liked Y/N back in third year?” Sirius asks.

“Yeah.” James sighs in defeat.

“But you don’t like her now. You like Lily?”

“No.” James shakes his head. “I don’t like Lily.”

“But you do.” Sirius smiles.

“I don’t.” James repeats.

“Except you do.” Sirius tries again.

“Except I don’t. Padfoot, how many times are you gonna make me say it?”

“As many times as it takes for this to make sense to me! You expect me to believe that you don’t like Evans? That you never liked her to begin with?”

“It’s the truth!”

“Then why did you spend all of last year chasing her?!” Sirius asks in frustration.

“I don’t know!” James shouts. “I was scared! Going after Evans when I knew she didn’t like me was the safest course. If I asked Y/N out and she shot me down, I don’t think I’d ever recover, Pads.”

“But I can’t go on like this any longer. It’s killing me to pretend that this is all fake. She’s…the girl of my dreams. She’s beautiful, smart, funny. She laughs at my jokes and gets along great with you lot. She… she makes me happy.”

“Godric,” Sirius sighs, running a hand through his hair. “This is bad.”

“I think this is great.” Peter pipes up. “I like Y/N. She’s nice.”

You come to a stop outside the boys dorm with a nervous smile, James’ gift tucked under your arm. You nervously fix your hair and are just about to knock on the door when you hear Remus.

“You have to tell her.” Remus says, getting straight to the point. “This has gone on long enough.”

Your brows furrowed in confusion as you step closer to the door. What could they possibly be talking about?

“I know.” James sighs. “I just don’t know how. After everything we’ve been through these last couple of months, I don’t want Y/N to hate me.”

Hate him? Why would you ever hate him?

“Just don’t wait too long.” Sirius chimes in. “You don’t want her getting the wrong idea.”

You let out a surprised gasp at that, turning around and making your way back to your room as your vision starts to get blurry.

“What do you mean?” James asks.

“I mean, if you wait too long to tell Y/N how you feel about her, she’ll just end up thinking you don’t feel anything at all for her. And then, what’s to keep her from walking out on you?”

You burst into your dorm and slam the door shut behind you, startling your friends.

“Back already?” Maddie asks. “How’d it go?”

You throw the quidditch gloves across the room and cover your face with your hands, sliding down the wall as you finally let the tears fall.

“Y/N?” Sarah asks, crouching down in front of you. “Hey, what happened?”

“I’m such an idiot.” you cry. “Why did I let myself think this could work? Of course he doesn’t feel the same. Why would he? He likes Lily after all. Not me.”

“Did he say that?” Sarah asks, grabbing the box of tissues from Maddie and handing one to you.

“He didn’t have to.” you sob with a shake of your head. “I overheard him talking with his friends just now.”

“Oh, sweetie.” Sarah cooes, wrapping her arms around you in a comforting hug. “It’s okay.”

“It’s not!” you wail. “How could I be so delusional?! I romanticized every hug, every kiss, every interaction and it didn’t mean anything to him! None of it was real! I’m so fucking stupid!”

“Y/N stop!” Kiara scolds. “You’re not stupid. He is.”

“Don’t talk about him like that.” you sniffle, wanting to defend him even though he’s the reason for your tears.

“Why not? It’s true. Y/N, whether the relationship was real or not, you are the best thing that’s ever happened to James. And if he can’t see that, then I’m sorry but he’s the biggest idiot to ever walk the planet.”

You sniffle once more before sighing, giving your friends a sad smile.

“My heart hurts.” you tell them with a laugh, trying to make light of the situation though your eyes start filling with tears again.

“I know.” Sarah nods, grabbing your hands and lifting you up from the floor. “But you’re gonna be okay.”

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

The following day you don’t attend any of your classes. James tried asking your friends if you were okay but they only gave him some lame excuse before running off. He worried about you all day, but with your friends actively avoiding him, there wasn’t anything he could do. So coming back from his rounds, James is pleasantly surprised to see you sitting in the empty common room.

“Hey,” he breathes with a relieved smile. “I didn’t see you at all today. What happened? Is everything okay?”

“Let’s break up.” you say softly as you stare at your hands.

“What?” James asks, crossing the room slowly with a confused frown. “What do you mean let’s break up?”

You look to the side and release a shaky breath.

“Darling, look at me.” James pleads. “What do you mean let’s break up?”

“I mean I don’t wanna do this anymore.” you sigh, standing from your seat on the couch.

“But-”

“James, please. Don’t make this difficult. I just can’t do this anymore, okay?”

“I just don’t understand. Why?” he asks, sadly.

“No. You don’t get to do that.” you tell him with a shake of your head. “You said that when one of us said we didn’t wanna do this anymore, that it would be over, no matter what. You said no questions. I’m telling you I don't wanna do this anymore. I’m done.”

James stares at you, taking in your features before nodding his head in defeat.

“Okay,” he agrees softly. “Fine. We’re broken up.”

“Okay.” you nod, before holding something out to him. “Here. It’s your jumper. I’m giving it back.”

“Keep it.” James shakes his head. “I don’t want it.”

“But it’s your favorite.” you argue, brows furrowed in confusion.

“I want you to have it.” James insists with a sad smile. “Think of it as a reminder of our time together.”

You look from James to his jumper several times before eventually nodding your head, subconsciously holding the article of clothing to your chest.

“I don’t know where your locket is right now, but as soon as I find it I’ll give it back to you.” James promises.

That confuses you, considering that when you originally gave it to him he said he’d never take it off. And as far as you know, he hadn’t. James had always shown you the necklace hanging around his neck with a proud smile before tucking it under his shirt again, wanting to keep it safe.

“It’s okay.” You assure him. “I can always buy another one.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah,” you nod, giving him a small grin before making your way to the staircase. “Something to remember me by.”

James watches you walk away with a heavy heart. Once you’re gone, he pulls out the locket and stares at the picture inside, eyes filling with unshed tears as he wonders where he went wrong.

[oscpiastri81]

If I Kiss You, I’m Sorry Part 6

𝘚𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘺: 𝘈 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘑𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘠/𝘕 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮 𝘪𝘴, 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘢𝘬𝘦… 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵.

“For this assignment you’ll be working in groups of three.” Professor Owens announces. Immediately the class starts to chatter in excitement.

“Don’t get too excited,” he continues. “I’ll be assigning the groups.”

The class all groans and Professor Owens chuckles as he starts calling names out.

“Evans, Meadowes and…Y/L/N.” he calls, writing it down on his notepad before grouping more kids together.

“He never lets me work with you guys,” Marlene complains, sitting back in her chair with a pout.

“At least you’re not stuck working with Barbie.” Lily mutters in annoyance.

Lily, Marlene, and Dorcas automatically turn their heads to your desk, not that you notice; you’re still copying down the objective written on the board.

“Hey, come on now,” Marlene chides. “Don’t be mean. She’s not that bad.”

As if sensing that they were talking about you, you look up from your work. When you see the trio looking in your direction, you smile at them, bringing a hand up to wave. All three girls immediately smile back before looking away.

“Of course you’d say that.” Lily says, turning her head the slightest bit to glare at her. “Traitor.”

Marlene takes no offense, laughing at the insult.

“You both left me to fend for myself at Hogsmeade and I’m the bad guy? Okay.” she says with a roll of her eyes. “All I’m saying is, if you actually took the time to get to know her, you’d see that she’s pretty cool.”

“And she’s coming this way.” Dorcas whispers harshly.

Marlene hastily gathers her things before going to sit with her group, giving you a smile as she passes you by.

“Hi guys,” you greet as you set your things down.

Lily simply stares at you. When Dorcas realizes the red head isn’t going to say anything back, she sits up in her seat.

“Hey!” she smiles at you, giving Lily a look when your back is turned.

“So what creature were you guys thinking of doing the assignment on?” you ask, looking between the two.

“Well, I was thinking maybe merpeople?” Dorcas suggests, looking to you and Lily for approval. “Or we could do something completely different.”

“I think that’s a great topic,” you nod at her with an excited smile. “We can even-“

“Dorcas and I can do a paragraph each.” Lily interrupts. “Do you think you can handle the conclusion?”

Your smile drops, looking at Dorcas in confusion before turning back to Lily and nodding.

“Great.” Lily says simply, opening her textbook and pretending to read.

“I can do a paragraph too,” you offer softly.

“Why?” Lily asks, not looking up from her textbook. “The assignment’s two paragraphs.”

“Minimum.” you continue. “Professor Owens is asking for two paragraphs minimum. I can do one. I could center it off of muggle myths and what they’ve gotten right and wrong about merpeople.”

“That would be so cool!” Dorcas agrees excitedly. “Besides, everyone else is probably gonna stick to two paragraphs. We’ll stand out. We’ll either get extra credit or house points or both!”

“You don’t have to do that.” Lily tells you with a shake of her head. “I’m sure you’re probably busy with…” she glances at your hands before giving you a fake smile. “…manicures…and such.”

You look at your light brown nails and sigh, shoulders dropping in defeat.

“But, a conclusion is just tying what you girls researched together. It doesn’t really feel like I’m contributing anything. It wouldn’t be fair.” you argue weakly.

“I think you should do the paragraph.” Dorcas steps in, giving you an encouraging smile. “I really like the idea of you comparing them to muggle myths.”

Ignoring the glare Lily is sending her way, Dorcas leans forward in her seat.

“So how’s it going with you and James?”

At the mention of him, a smile immediately lights up your features.

“Good.” you nod, shyly turning your gaze back to your parchment.

“Really?” Lily scoffs.

“Yeah,” you nod. “I know it came as a shock to everyone. I was just as surprised as you guys,” you admit with a chuckle. “But oddly enough, we really…work together.”

“Oh?” Lily asks, more interested in the conversation now.

“Everyone looks at me or stares, but being with James is the only time I truly feel seen.” you admit shyly. “He sees past my looks. He thinks my habits and quirks are cute. He listens to my aspirations and calms my worries. He…likes me. The real me.”

“Oh,” Dorcas cooes. “That’s so sweet!”

“Can we get back to the assignment?” Lily asks, closing her book. “We need to figure out when we’re gonna get together to write it.”

“I can write it when we’re done,” you offer.

“Really?” Dorcas asks, looking at you with hopeful eyes.

“Sure,” you nod. “I know you guys are busy with other things. You’re in the herbology club and Lily, you have rounds, right?”

Lily just nods her head.

“I don’t have anything going on. We can all just do our research on our own. Once you girls are done with your paragraph, hand it to me and I can piece it all together.”

At that moment, Professor Owens dismisses class and everyone starts getting their things together.

“You’re an angel, Y/N. Really.” Dorcas smiles as she runs out the door.

“Yeah.” Lily agrees. “Who knew there was actually a brain in that pretty little head of yours.”

You walk out of class with a frown.

“Who is that beautiful girl?” James asks as he leans against the wall.

“Um…your girlfriend?” Peter offers, looking up at him in confusion.

“You’re absolutely right, Wormtail. That’s my girl.”

James pats Peter on the shoulder before walking your way.

“Hello gorgeous.” he greets, coming to a stop right in front of you.

“Hey sweetheart.” you answer, giving him a sad smile.

“Woah,” James calls, immediately frowning in concern. “Everything okay?”

“Mm-hmm,” you nod, avoiding his gaze. “Let’s go to lunch.”

You try to walk past him, but James grabs your wrist, turning you back around, and pulling you towards the wall so you’re both out of everyone’s way.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” he asks softly, eyes filled with worry.

“Nothing. I’m fine.”

“You’re obviously not.” James counters. “You won’t even look at me.”

“It’s stupid.” you tell him with a shake of your head.

“It’s not stupid if it’s bothering you.”

James reaches up to tuck a lock of hair behind your ear but instead of pulling his hand away, he keeps it there, cupping your cheek softly.

“Are you sure about her?” you ask, looking up at him with wide eyes.

“Who?”

“Lily.” you clarify. “Are you sure you’re right about her?”

“Why?” James asks frowning in confusion.

“I got partnered with her for a project and she’s just…she was so mean!” you whine.

“What?”

“I know I’ve never spoken to her before, but I thought she’d at least be polite, you know? Courteous.”

“What did she do to you?” James asks, heart breaking when he sees how upset she’s made you.

“She wouldn’t let me do any real work, and she kept making comments about me being a dumb bimbo,” you tell him.

Lily had always been…cold towards James, but that’s only because he was always pestering her. At least, that’s what he thought. Is it possible that it had nothing to do with him this whole time? What if Lily’s just a mean girl? What if she’s always been a mean girl and he’s just now realizing it? Does he really want to be with someone like that?

“Hey,” he calls, giving you a smile. “You know that’s not true, right?”

You nod your head but you still won’t look at him. And that hurts James more than he’d like to admit. James cups your face with his hands, giving you no choice but to look up at him.

“Darling, you are the smartest person I know.”

“What about Remus?” you ask.

“I don’t know anybody named Remus.” James tells you with furrowed brows. You roll your eyes at him but you also smile, and that’s all he wants.

“You are beautiful. And kind. And funny. And so incredibly smart.” James lists easily. “I won’t let Lily or anyone else have you thinking otherwise. And you shouldn’t either, okay?”

You nod your head, giving James a genuine smile this time around. James nods his head, pressing a lingering kiss to your forehead before finally leading you both towards the great hall.

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

James is standing around the courtyard, talking with the boys when Sirius nods his head at something just behind him.

“Look alive, Prongs. The love of your life is headed this way.”

James turns around with a smile, expecting to see you walking towards him. So imagine his surprise when he sees Lily instead. Worse, imagine his confusion when he feels disappointed that it’s her approaching him instead of you.

“Hey, James.” she greets casually, as if having a conversation is normal.

“Evans.” he answers, wearing a confused frown.

“What are you doing tonight?” Lily asks, getting straight to the point.

James, still completely confused as to what’s happening, can only shrug. Behind him he can hear Remus, Sirius, and Peter snickering in amusement.

“There’s a small party happening tonight. Prefects only. Do you wanna go together?”

James’ attention is pulled to something happening across the courtyard. He watches as two girls try to carry their friend, who seems to be doubled over in pain. One of the girls reaches up to tie her hair back and that’s when he recognizes her as Maddie. With furrowed brows, he looks at the other girl and notices that it’s your other friend, Sarah. With a sinking feeling in his gut, James heads straight towards you, leaving Lily behind.

“What’s wrong?” he asks the moment he reaches you.

You don’t answer, you can only whimper in pain. That does nothing to ease the anxiety James is feeling.

“Darling,” James calls, trying desperately to get you to look at him. “What’s happened? What’s wrong? I can’t fix it if you don’t tell me what’s wrong.”

“I just feel so bad,” you sniffle. “I’m nauseous and I have a fever and a headache and I’m dizzy and everything hurts and I just hate it.”

James looks to your friends for answers and they can only shrug helplessly.

“She’s sick.” Maddie tells him. “Been like this all morning.”

“I tried taking her to Madam Pomfrey earlier, but she wouldn’t go.” Sarah adds.

“I don’t wanna be a bother.” you mumble, causing James to huff in amusement.

“Sweetheart, that’s literally her job.”

James puts one arm behind your back and the other under your knees, picking you up easily.

“I’ll take her,” James tells your friends, turning around and walking away before they can say another word.

When James reaches the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey takes one look at you and sighs.

“Bring her over here.” she orders.

James follows her to a bed and sets you down gently. He takes a seat on the chair next to you and grasps your hand.

“Will she be okay?” he asks, not taking his eyes off of you.

“Your girlfriend will be fine, Mr. Potter.” Madam Pomfrey assures him. “She’s in good hands.”

“What’s that you’re putting in her arm?” James asks, staring at the needle in concern. He watches as she attaches some sort of tubing to it, before pressing a few buttons on the machine.

“Muggle contraption. It’s called an I.V.” she informs him. “She’s incredibly weak. It’ll give her the fluids and vitamins that she needs.”

“Will it hurt her?” James asks, gaze roaming over your features, looking for any sign of discomfort.

Normally by this point, Madam Pomfrey would be annoyed by all the questions; but one look at James, and she knows he isn’t doing it to annoy her, or question her skills. He’s genuinely worried about you.

“So long as she doesn’t pull on it, she’ll be fine.”

James nods his head. He gently lifts your arm with the I.V., bringing the blanket up to your chest before slowly setting your arm back down. He makes sure you’re properly covered with the blanket before sitting back down, and looking up at Madam Pomfrey.

“Can I stay with her?” he asks, softly.

Normally she would say no, but she can’t find it in her to kick him out. Sighing, she nods her head before going back to her desk.

You wake up a few hours later and are confused to see James sitting on the chair beside you, head tucked into his chest as he snores lightly.

“James.” you call softly as you shake him awake.

“Mm?” he mumbles groggily, sitting up in his seat.

“What are you doing here?”

“Hey,” James smiles. “Are you feeling better?”

“How did you know I was sick?” you ask, brows furrowed in confusion.

“I saw your friends bringing you out to the courtyard while I was talking to Lily.” James informs you, yawning with a stretch.

“Talking to Lily?” you repeat. “About what?”

“Mm-mm,” James shrugs. “Some party.”

“You should’ve gone!” you scold him.

All this time and effort to get Lily’s attention and the moment she gives it to him he doesn’t go to the party? What is he thinking?

“Nah,” James shakes his head. “What kind of boyfriend would I be if I left you here on your own?”

“I’m not on my own. Madam Pomfrey’s here. Besides, it’s Lily! If you hurry maybe you can still-“

“Y/N, stop.” James argues gently. “There’s no place I’d rather be.”

“Well in that case, can you lay down with me?”

James gives you a shy smile before laying down next to you on the bed. You rest your head on his chest and let out a deep breath.

“You should get some rest.”

“I can’t.” you whine. “My head hurts too bad.”

“Where?”

You point to the side of your head and James immediately starts massaging it.

“Better?” he asks.

“Mm-hmm,” you nod.

“Good. Get some rest, love.” James repeats. “I’ll be right here when you wake up.”

James keeps massaging your head until your breathing evens out. Once he’s sure you’re asleep, he takes his glasses off and settles into bed, easily falling asleep with you in his arms.

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

The halls are practically empty and yet James is still standing there, hoping you’ll show up so you can walk to dinner together. He’s just about to turn around and head to the great hall alone when he hears you groan in annoyance. James cautiously approaches one of the empty classrooms, stopping just outside the door.

“You are unbelievable.” James hears you scoff.

“Y/N, it’s been weeks! I don’t know if it’s a joke or a bet or what, but I know you’re not really with Potter. There’s no way you guys are actually together, so stop fucking with me, alright?” Michael asks.

“I am with James! Godric, why is that so hard to believe?!”

“Because it‘s James!” Michael shouts in annoyance. “He’s got an ego the size of the Black Lake!”

“And the heart to match it!” you yell back.

“Come on, Y/N. He’s a fucking joke.” Michael groans.

“You don’t know him like I do.” you argue with a shake of your head. “I know what you think of him but you’re wrong. You're all wrong. There’s more to him than pranks and jokes.”

Michael crosses his arms and rolls his eyes.

“Oh really?”

“Yes! He’s funny and handsome, not to mention smart.”

Michael chuckles at that, much to your annoyance.

“I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone as smart as him. He’s incredibly kind and unbelievably loyal. He’s compassionate and ambitious. He respects me and treats me well. He listens to me. Like, actually listens to what I have to say. And he never forces me to do anything I don’t want to do. He’s a good person.”

Hearing you defend him like that, James feels as if his heart could burst. It’s no secret that he hasn’t had the best of luck when it comes to girls. To know that that’s how you feel about him has James feeling like the luckiest guy in the world.

“He’s a good person.” you repeat. “And he’s my boyfriend. And I won’t let you or anyone else insult him or our relationship. So you can be respectful, or you can be fucking quiet.”

With that, you grab your bag and storm out of the room, not even noticing James. James watches you with an awestruck smile before finally snapping out of it and following after you.

“Y/N!” he calls out.

You come to a stop in the middle of the hallway and turn around, confused to see James walking towards you.

“Hey,” you greet with a confused smile. “I thought you would’ve been at the great hall by now. What are you-“

James cups your face with his hands and crashes his lips against yours. You gasp in surprise and James takes that as the opportunity to slip his tongue into your mouth. Of course you and James have kissed before, but this was different. The way James was kissing you, with his tongue in your mouth and his hands in your hair, his chest pressed against yours; it had you breathless. It had your heart racing. James was kissing you as if he’s just realized it’s been you all along. But you know deep in your heart that’s not the case, which is why you pull away first.

“What was that for?” you ask with a surprised laugh.

The hallway is completely empty, he has no reason to kiss you, let alone like that. There’s no one around to put on a show for.

“Just missed you is all.” James shrugs, placing his hands on your waist. Shaking your head at him with a smile, you reach up to play with his hair, something you’ve come to realize that he loves.

“I missed you too.” you tell him with a chuckle.

“Sit with us for dinner?” James pleads with a pout.

“I always sit with you for dinner.” you laugh.

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t my beautiful girlfriend.” James says with a smile as he walks out of the locker rooms. “You gonna make a habit out of coming to see me before my games?”

“You’d like that wouldn’t you?” you ask with a roll of your eyes.

“You have no idea.” James confirms, causing you to laugh.

“So I was thinking-“

“That’s never good,” he interrupts.

“Shut up,” you laugh, slapping his arm lightly. “So I was thinking. I have my nail polish that reminds me of your gorgeous, gorgeous eyes.”

James playfully bats his eyes at you but you don’t miss the red dusting his cheeks.

“But you don’t have anything that reminds you of me.” you continue. “And I don’t think that’s fair. So here.”

You hold your clenched fist out to him. James stares at you in confusion for a moment before holding his hand out. You open up your fist and your necklace falls into the palm of his hand.

“No way! An empty locket? I’ve always wanted one!” James teases with a smile as he takes in the piece of jewelry.

“Don’t make fun!” you whine. “I polished it for you. I even made the chain longer.”

“I’m just teasing.” James assures you, undoing the clasp and putting it on. “Thank you, darling. It means a lot. I’ll never take it off.”

You beam at him, nodding your head in approval.

“Alright,” you say, turning around to head towards the stands. “See you after the game.”

James grabs your hand and spins you back around.

“No good luck kiss?” he asks with a pout. You roll your eyes and shake your head at him.

“You don’t need luck, remember?” you ask, taking a step back. Instead of letting go, James pulls lightly on your hand.

“What about a ‘be careful out there’ kiss?” he asks with a hopeful expression.

“That’s not a thing.” you laugh.

“We could make it a thing.”

You roll your eyes in amusement before pressing your lips to his. It was supposed to be a quick peck. But James, having sensed this, immediately brought his hands up, keeping you there for a moment longer before allowing you to pull away. He tries to lean in for another kiss but you shove his face away with a laugh.

“You’re getting stingy with your kisses, love.” James complains.

“You’re getting spoiled.” you argue with a laugh. “Be careful.”

James nods his head, watching you go with a soft smile.

“You’ve got it bad.”

James startles at the new voice.

“Jeffrey. What are you doing out here?” James asks.

“Looking for my captain but Godric. If I knew you were gonna be this pathetic I would’ve stayed inside.”

“Shut it.” James orders, pushing Jeffrey back into the locker rooms.

“I mean honestly. You’re getting stingy with your kisses, love. How are you not embarrassed?” Jeffrey continues with a laugh.

“Shut it, I said! Or I’ll drop you from the team.” James threatens.

“Yeah right.” Jeffrey scoffs. “Good luck finding another beater as good as me.”

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

“Good job out there, James! You played brilliantly, they didn’t stand a chance.”

“Thanks, mate.” James smiles before turning back to you. “Sorry, love.”

“No, don’t apologize. You deserve all the attention.” you assure him with a smile.

“I don’t want any attention tonight.” James tells you with a shake of his head. “I just wanna be with you.”

“You are with me.” you laugh. “You’ve been with me all night.”

“Not really.” James shakes his head. “It feels like we haven’t even been able to talk because everyone keeps coming up to me.”

“Yeah well, that’s expected. You did win.”

At that moment, a girl ends up tripping, spilling her drink on you.

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” She apologizes.

“It’s fine.” you assure with a forced smile, not wanting her to feel bad. “I’m gonna go get cleaned up really quick.”

James grabs your cup from you, giving you a kiss on the cheek before you walk away. Seeing that your drink is almost empty, he takes it upon himself to get you a refill. James is holding your drink with a proud smile, trying to find you when someone grabs onto his arm. He turns to the person with a grin, expecting it to be you, only to see Lily standing there.

“Oh, hey Lily.” James nods, craning his neck to try to spot you.

“Dance with me.” she begs, standing in front of him.

“Mm, no. Not tonight.” James shakes his head, still trying to find you.

“Why not tonight?” Lily asks, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I thought you liked me. I thought you wanted me…”

James’ eyes widened in shock. He holds your drink up with one hand, and tries to push Lily away with the other.

“You’re drunk Lily.” James tells her. “You don’t mean that. Besides, I’m with Y/N. Go lay down.”

“Come with me.” she smiles up at him seductively.

Sighing in frustration, James looks up only to see you standing a few feet away. You look at James and Lily, and the position they’re standing in before turning around and walking out of the room.

“Oops.” Lily giggles.

Groaning, James sets your drink down and pulls Lily’s hands off of him before going after you.

You run out of the room and down the hall before hiding behind a pillar, fighting back tears as you try to catch your breath. You don’t know why you’re so jealous. You have no reason to be. After all, that was the whole point of this agreement in the first place, to get Lily’s attention. Still, you can’t deny that it hurt more than you thought it would to see James and Lily wrapped up in each other’s arms like that, which leads you to believe that maybe you do know why you’re jealous; even if you won’t admit it.

“Y/N?” James calls. “Are you out here?”

Taking a deep breath, you quickly wipe your eyes and plaster on a fake smile before jumping out of the pillar.

“Boo!” you shout, coming to a stop in front of James.

James flinches, bringing a hand up to his chest which causes you to laugh.

“Oh man, you should’ve seen your face!” you laugh.

“Are you okay?” James immediately asks, looking at you in concern.

“Fine,” you shrug with a smile. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Well because you…left…”

“Yeah.” you nod. “ As any reasonable girlfriend would if she saw someone throwing themselves at her boyfriend.”

“You mean you were…acting?” James asks, confused and just a little bit disappointed.

“Of course I was acting.” you laugh, maybe a little too forcefully. “You’re my boyfriend, remember? I would’ve thrown my drink at you guys and caused a scene but you said you didn’t want a jealous girlfriend. I figured dramatically storming off would be the next best thing. I’m just sorry you had to leave the party early.”

“It’s okay.” James shrugs. “I was over it anyway. Wanna go for a walk?

Just like last time, you and James roamed the castle grounds talking about anything and everything before taking a seat outside, gazing up at the stars.

“Tell me something.” James asks, after you’ve been sitting in silence for a few minutes.

“Like what?” you ask, not taking your eyes off the stars.

“I don’t know.” James shrugs. “Anything.”

“The mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell.”

“What?” James asks, falling into a fit of laughter as he looks at you.

“You said anything! I thought you might wanna learn some biology.” you shrug with a laugh.

“No. Tell me something personal, something real.”

“Like?”

“Like…who was your first crush?”

“Oh, easy. His name was Charles, he was my neighbor.” you inform him. “He had light brown hair and green eyes. I thought he was so cute.”

“What happened to him?” James asks curiously.

“His family ended up moving away. We wrote to each other for a bit but we eventually lost contact.” you shrug. “What about you?”

“What about me?” James asks, confused.

“Who was your first crush?”

“Um…”

“Come on!”

“I don’t remember.” James shrugs, avoiding eye contact.

“You’re such a liar!” you laugh. “Yes you do!”

“Let’s talk about something else.” James suggests.

“What? No way! I just told you mine. That’s not fair!” you whine.

“Alright, fine.” James sighs. “Promise you won’t laugh?”

“Promise,” you nod with an excited smile.

“You.”

“What?” you ask, not understanding what he’s saying.

“My first crush,” James clarifies. “It was you.”

“Shut up!” you say with a laugh, only for your smile to drop when you see how serious he is. “Shut up. Really?”

James nods, giving you an embarrassed smile.

“When was this?” you ask.

“Third year. I kept on messing up the freezing spell and Professor Murdock had asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I said that I wanted to be an auror and everyone laughed like it was the funniest thing in the world. Ashton, a slytherin asked how I could be an auror when I couldn’t perform a simple spell. I remember feeling bad, because that was the first time someone was laughing at me. Not from a prank that I did or a joke that I said, but me.” James chuckles sadly.

“Everyone laughed at me, but you didn’t. You were the only one who didn’t. I remember looking around the room, and you looked so angry that everyone else was making fun of me.” James recalls with a smile. “Do you remember what you said to Ashton?”

“Oh, goodness don’t remind me.” you plead, covering your face in embarrassment.

“Why not? That’s the best part!” James argues with a laugh. “You asked him how he ever expected to get a girlfriend when he couldn’t be bothered to shower.”

You both burst into laughter at that.

“I thought you were so cool.”

“Why didn’t you ever say anything?” you ask with a frown.

“I don’t know…I guess I was scared.” James shrugs. “I knew you thought our pranks were immature. I didn’t wanna get shot down.”

“James,” you sigh, giving him a soft smile. “You’re more than your silly little pranks. If you had talked to me, I wouldn’t have been rude or blown you off or anything.”

“Really?” James asks, turning his head to look at you.

“Yeah,” you nod. “If you had approached me we probably would’ve been friends.”

“You know, there was a time when I wanted you to be my first kiss.” James admits, staring up at the night sky. “I even tried to convince the lads to join a game of spin the bottle that one time. By the time I managed to convince them it was too late. You had already kissed-“

“Arthur! That’s right!” you finish with a laugh. “And now here we are, pretending to be in a relationship to get your crush's attention. Funny how things work out.”

“At least you still got to be my first kiss.”

“I’m still sorry about that.”

“I’m not.” James shrugs. “Better late than never.”

“You’re so annoying.” you laugh, shoving him lightly.

James looks over at you with a smile and sees that your arms are covered in goosebumps. He immediately takes off his jumper, handing it to you.

“What about you?” you ask with a frown. “Won’t you be cold?”

“Nah,” James shakes his head. “Just take care of this for me, yeah? It’s my favorite jumper.”

You nod your head, putting it on before turning to James.

“How do I look?”

“Stunning.” James comments, rolling up the sleeves for you since it’s a bit too long.

You sit outside talking for a bit longer before eventually heading back inside. Once you reach the common room, you take the jumper off and try to hand it back to James, but he only shakes his head.

“Keep it.” he says, handing it back to you. “So that I’m always with you.”

“I’m still using the nail polish,” you warn, holding your hand up to show off the nail color with a laugh. “Otherwise it’d be a waste.”

Without hesitation, James brings your hand up, pressing a soft kiss to the skin there, causing your heart to race.

“Whatever you want, darling.”

“I want to go to bed. So if I could have this back,” you say before pulling your hand out of his grasp. “Great. Thanks.”

“Good night, love.” he calls after you.

“Night!” you call over your shoulder as you go up the stairs to your dorm.

Once he’s reached his dorm, James takes a seat on his bed and pulls out your locket. While inspecting it, he accidentally presses on the clasp, causing it to unlock. Curiosity getting the better of him, James pops it open, only to see that the inside isn’t empty at all. Instead, there’s a picture of you and James.

Judging by the outfits, it had to have been from your first date at Hogsmeade, which means Marlene most likely took it. In the photo, you’re tucked into his side. You smile up at him and then immediately look away; only a moment later, James smiles down at you before he too looks away. James watches the photo with a soft smile, wondering how often you guys sneak glances at each other when the other person isn’t looking. Remus walks in and James immediately closes the locket.

“What’s that?” he asks curiously.

“Nothing.” James shakes his head, tucking the necklace under his shirt. “What’s up?”

“Peter threw up on himself again. Just came to grab him another shirt.” he says, holding it up. “You okay?”

“Yeah!” James answers immediately. “Just getting ready for bed.”

Once James is settled under the covers, he pulls the locket out and admires the picture one last time before closing his eyes, falling asleep soon after with the locket held securely in his grasp.

[oscpiastri81]

If I Kiss You I’m Sorry Part 5

𝘚𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘺: 𝘈 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘑𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘠/𝘕 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮 𝘪𝘴, 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘢𝘬𝘦… 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵.

“So what shop do you guys wanna stop at first tomorrow?” James asks as they all lounge around in the common room. “Moony, do you need anything from Tomes and Scrolls?”

“Yeah…” Remus confirms. “But aren’t you going with Y/N tomorrow?”

“What?” James asks, smile dropping in confusion. “Why would I go with Y/N?”

“Prongs, you bloody idiot.” Sirius sighs. “Don’t tell me you didn’t ask her?”

“Ask her what?”

“To go on a date! A real one!” Peter stresses.

“I still have to do that?” James asks with wide eyes. “But she’s already my girlfriend! And we went to the party together!”

Remus, Peter, and Sirius all groan.

“James, that doesn’t count.” Remus informs him with a shake of his head. “A party isn’t really a date. It’s more of a…help me out here, Padfoot.”

“A party isn’t a date. It’s a statement.” Sirius jumps in. “You’re only there for one reason: to let everyone know that you’re together.”

“Oh?” James asks inquisitively.

“Think about it. You show up together, drink together, dance together, leave together, if you know what I mean.” Sirius winks. “But no one really counts that as a first date.”

“But why not?”

“Because the vibes are all wrong, man! The music’s so loud you can’t even hear what they’re telling you, there’s too many people, someone spills their drink on you; who wants that to be their first date?”

“No one?” James offers.

“Exactly,” Sirius nods. “Now you’re getting it. No, the first date should be more…private. Something quiet and chill, just between two people. Something like Hogsmeade where you can venture off from everyone else and do their own thing.”

“Godric, we’re only a few weeks in. I can’t believe I’ve already managed to fuck this up.” James groans, standing from his seat.

“Wait, where are you going?” Peter asks.

“Where do you think? To ask my girlfriend on a date!”

James ducks into an alcove and pulls out the marauders map, quickly scanning the page for your name. Messily folding it back up, he takes off running towards the library.

Books in hand, you open the library door, only to gasp in surprise when you see James standing outside.

“My love, hi!” you greet with a smile. “What are you doing here?”

“Doyouwannagoonadatewithme?” James wheezes.

“Sorry?” you ask with a laugh, head tilting to the side in confusion. “I didn’t quite catch that.”

James holds up a finger, silently asking for you to wait for him to catch his breath. When he finally does, he stands up straight, giving you a nervous smile.

“Will you go on a date with me?” James asks, staring at you with hopeful eyes. “A real one. Just you and me. T-tomorrow at Hogsmeade?”

You give James a warm smile before nodding your head.

“Yes, of course.” you agree excitedly. “I can’t wait.”

Beaming, James picks you up and spins you around, causing you to shriek in laughter.

“James! Put me down!” you plead.

He spins you around a few more times before abruptly coming to a stop. A group of girls pass by, giggling about how adorable you two are. You give them a shy smile while James sneakily presses a kiss to your cheek. He takes your books from you, tucking them under one arm and then holding his free hand out for you.

“You’re getting better at asking me out. You didn’t even stutter this time. Well, not that much.”

“Oh, ha-ha,” James laughs sarcastically.

“I’m just teasing,” you assure him with a laugh. “I think it’s so cute.”

You accidentally bump into him the slightest bit as you start walking back to the Gryffindor tower.

“You made me dizzy,” you whine with a pout.

“Sure you’re not just falling for me, love?” James asks with a smirk.

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

You’re so distracted waving at one of your classmates that you don’t even notice the soft look James gives you.

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

“Stop biting your fingernails!” Remus scolds, smacking James’ hand.

“I can’t help it! I’m nervous.” James admits.

“Why do I feel like we keep having this conversation?” Sirius asks.

“Because we do.” Peter and Remus answer in unison.

“Prongs, she is already your girlfriend.” Sirius reminds him. “What is there to be nervous about?”

“Well, she is technically-“

“Shut up, Moony.” James whispers harshly, giving him a wide eyed look. “I know she’s already my girlfriend but it’s still our first date. I have a right to be a little nervous.”

The guys all nod their heads in agreement.

“Are you sure we can’t all just go together?” James asks, causing them to sigh. “She likes hanging out with you.”

“That’s a lie.” Sirius argues. “Girlfriends don’t like hanging out with their boyfriend’s friends. It’s like…law.”

“No, I mean it. She really likes you guys.” James insists. “I don’t think she would mind.”

“Okay, let’s say hypothetically, she doesn’t mind hanging out with us.” Sirius humors him. “We don’t wanna go to Madam Puddifoot’s.”

“Why would we go to Madam Puddifoot’s?” James asks, confused.

“Because she’s a girl!” Sirius explains. “All girls want to go to Madam Puddifoot’s. Pink frills everywhere, cats and lace and tea cakes. They love that stuff. And you’re her boyfriend so you’re gonna have to endure it.”

James gulps nervously.

“Y/N!” Remus greets with a smile, elbowing Sirius. “Don’t you look lovely.”

“Thank you!” you grin at him. “So do you. I love the jumper.”

“Oh, thanks. My mum made it for me.” Remus tells you with a proud smile.

“She did a great job! Should we start heading out?” you ask the group.

“Um! Why don’t you and James go ahead?” Sirius suggests. “The lads and I forgot a few things upstairs.”

“Do you want us to wait for you?” you offer kindly. “We don’t mind. Right babe?”

“Not at all,” James smiles, eyes pleading for his friends to say yes.

“Oh, no,” Remus waves you off. “Don’t you worry about us. We’ll catch up with you guys later.”

James sighs in defeat watching them walk back into the castle before turning to you with a shy smile.

“Shall we go?” he asks.

“Sure,” You nod.

James automatically grabs your hand and starts swinging it back and forth.

“You look amazing by the way.” he compliments, looking over at you with a smile.

“Really?” you ask shyly.

You wouldn’t admit it to him, or anyone for that matter; but you spent way too long trying to figure out what to wear. You must have tried on everything in your wardrobe at least twice.

“Yeah,” James nods. “I’ve always loved that dress on you. You got it last year, right?”

The comment throws you off, causing you to frown in confusion. You didn’t think James paid any attention to you. Sure, you’ve been in the same house since first year, but that’s where your relationship ends. You weren’t friends, you weren’t even acquaintances. You were housemates.

You never talked to each other, you never sat together, you never hung out; you didn’t even think he knew you existed. And honestly, between homework, quidditch, pranks and trying to woo Lily, you doubted he’d even care if you did. And now here you are, finding out not only that he did know of your existence, but that he actually paid attention to you.

“Yeah, my dad actually bought it for me for my birthday.” you tell him with a confused smile.

James doesn’t even notice his slip up, just nods and gets into a story of something that happened during class the previous day.

You thought it’d be awkward spending so much time alone with James; but it was actually pleasant. You never ran out of things to talk about. You learned a lot about each other and even shared a funny story or two. To say you were surprised would be an understatement. This whole time, you thought you were too different to even be friends. But you learned that although you have virtually nothing in common, you still get along great.

You visited all the shops together, Honeydukes, Tomes and Scrolls, Dominic Maestro’s Music Shop; you even suggested stopping by Zonko’s. James looked at you in confusion but you just walked in with a smile, knowing he wanted to check it out but was too polite to say anything. He promised he’d be quick, but you insisted he take his time. After all, he did wait patiently for you to pick out a few new records at Maestro’s.

“Sorry I took so long.” James apologizes again. “I just got excited with all the new stuff they had out.”

“James, it’s fine,” you assure yet again with a laugh.

“It’s just, I know you’re not a fan of our pranks.” James mumbles with an embarrassed smile.

Once again, his comment has you frowning in confusion. Sure, you think their pranks are immature; sometimes even downright cruel. But you’ve never said that to any of them directly. So how does he know?

“I just think it’s mean when you hex someone for no reason.” you confess, remembering last spring when they pranked a group of unsuspecting second years.

“I can always stop pranking people,” James immediately offers when he sees your frown.

“I would never ask you to do that,” you tell him. “Even if I don’t find them funny, pranks are important to you.”

“You’re important to me.” James corrects. “You’re my girlfriend, I don’t want to do anything that could upset you.”

“Giving up something that means so much to you would upset me.” you argue.

“Well I wouldn’t say it means something to me.” James huffs in amusement. “It’s more of something that we do when we’re bored.”

Somehow that makes you feel worse, which is obvious to James based on how your frown deepens.

“Okay, how about this? From now on, me and the boys will only prank people that deserve it.” James offers.

“You mean it?” you ask, looking at him curiously.

“I solemnly swear,” he assures you, crossing his heart.

You wrap your arms around him in a tight hug, pressing a kiss to his cheek before pulling away.

“You’re a sweetheart, you know that?”

James blushes furiously at the name, which causes you to laugh.

“Don’t go getting all shy on me now! You were doing so well!” you tease.

“Do you wanna grab a bite to eat before we start heading back?” James asks, completely ignoring your comment.

“I’d love to…sweetheart.”

James trips over his own feet and you can’t help but throw your head back in laughter.

“Can I start calling you that, now?” you ask in between giggles as you grab onto his arm. “Please.”

“Yeah, sure, whatever you want.” James shrugs, trying to appear unbothered, though internally he’s the complete opposite. He’d give anything to have you call him ���sweetheart’ again.

“So where do you want to go for lunch?” he asks. “Madam Puddifoot’s?”

Your eyes widen at the mere mention of the place.

“Um…sure. If- if that’s what you want.” you say with a tense smile.

James nods his head with a shrug and you both start walking towards the restaurant, both of you having a mental breakdown at the thought of having to eat there.

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

You stand next to James, staring up at the menacing pink building. Taking a deep breath, James starts walking towards the door, only for you to reach out and grab his forearm. Confused, James looks at the tight grip on his arm before turning to face you.

“Do not make me go inside.” you plead. “I’m literally begging you.”

“You don’t want to eat here?” James asks in confusion.

You immediately start shaking your head.

“I’d rather die.” you blurt out.

“Oh thank Godric,” James breathes, letting you pull him down the street.

“You didn’t want to eat there either?” you ask, to which he shakes head. “Then why did you suggest it in the first place?!”

“I don’t know!” James yells back. “You’re a girl, I thought you’d like it.”

“Fuck no!” you deny before covering your mouth with your hand. “Sorry…no.”

You and James look at each other and then immediately break into laughter.

“So Hog’s Head then?” James asks as you quickly make your way across the street.

You walk in and make your way to the counter to place your order.

“What are you getting?” James asks, turning to look at you.

“I don’t know.” you mumble, eyes scanning the menu. “What are you getting?”

“Turkey sandwich with a salad and blackberry lemonade.” he tells you, nodding his head in thanks when the waitress writes down his order.

“Oh, that sounds good.” you hum.

“Do you want one?” James asks you.

“No,” you immediately shake your head, causing him to chuckle.

“I want…a grilled cheese. No! Wait!” you shake your head. “I want a pastrami sandwich.” you nod only to shake your head again. “No, no, no, wait. Gimme a minute.” you ask.

James shares an amused look with the waitress as you scan the menu for a third time. You quickly survey the restaurant and see a couple standing up.

“Oh my god babe, look. They’re leaving.” you point out. “Go get that table next to your friends before someone beats us to it.”

James looks between you and the table in confusion, Sirius’ words from earlier floating around in his head.

Girlfriends don’t like hanging out with their boyfriend’s friends.

“Are you sure?” James asks.

“Go, go, go!” you insist, pushing him lightly.

“James!” Marlene greets in surprise. “Let me guess…you got dumped?”

“Y/N’s ordering,” he tells her as he sits down. “She wanted me to grab the table before anyone could beat us to it.”

“Really?” Sirius asks, raising a suspicious brow.

“I keep telling you that she likes you guys.” James reminds him before turning his attention back to Marlene. “Are you here alone?”

“Unfortunately.” She sighs. “Lily didn’t want to come and Dorcas has a cold. So I’m stuck being the only girl.”

“Not for long.” James tells her with a smile, standing from his seat to pull the chair out for you. “Took you long enough! I was starting to think you got lost.”

“Shut it.” you scold before turning to greet everyone.

“You guys are so cute.” Marlene coos, causing you and James to share an embarrassed smile.

“So how’s it going so far?” she asks, gesturing between the two of you. “I gotta be honest, love. When I found out you were dating this one, I thought you just about lost your mind.”

“Hey!” James whines with a frown.

Not taking your eyes off Marlene, you bring a hand up to cup James’ cheek affectionately. He turns his head the slightest bit, pressing a soft kiss to the palm of your hand before you pull it away.

“You and everyone else in this school,” you tell her with a laugh. “But it’s been great. James has been an absolute gentleman the whole time.”

“James? A gentleman?” Marlene repeats skeptically.

“It’s true.” you insist, giving James a soft smile before quickly turning back to her.

“He’s shown me nothing but respect and affection the whole time we’ve been together. He’s a real sweetheart.”

James takes a sip of his lemonade in an attempt to hide his blush. He fails miserably.

The food arrives shortly after and the conversation shifts to something else. After eating, everyone decides to start heading back to Hogwarts.

“You guys go ahead. I just remembered I needed some things from the Emporium.” you tell them with a sheepish smile.

“I’ll go with you.” James offers immediately.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah,” he nods with a smile. “Lemme just settle the bill and we can head out.”

“It’s okay, I got it,” you shake your head, digging around through your purse.

“What?” James asks, with a confused frown. “Love, no. I got it.”

“My love,” you say with a laugh. “You paid for all the candy at Honeydukes. And for my records at Maestro’s. The least I can do is pay for lunch.”

Before James can even attempt to argue, you’ve already pressed a kiss to his cheek, grabbed your wallet and skipped to the counter.

“James I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but Y/N is incredibly out of your league.” Marlene tells him with a chuckle.

“He knows.” Sirius says nonchalantly.

“No, seriously.” Marlene continues. “She’s beautiful, kind, she likes your friends, and she offers to pick up the tab? You better worship the ground she walks on.”

“Yes, Marlene,” James sighs with an eye roll.

“I mean it,” she insists, smacking his arm.

“Ow! Okay!” James agrees, rubbing his arm. “I’ll cherish her each and every day, alright?”

“Good.” she nods as they all stand from the table.

“Y/N? You’re picking up the tab? That’s a pity.”

You take a deep breath before turning towards the insufferable voice.

“Hello Michael.”

The waitress hands you your change back and you grab it with a smile before throwing it in your purse.

“You know, if you were dating me, you’d never have to pay for a thing. I mean honestly, what’s the point of being with a tosser like Potter if he can’t even pay for lunch?”

“I’m not with James because of his money; I have my own.” you huff in annoyance. “And besides, there are more important things.”

“Like?”

“Personality. Though I wouldn’t expect you to know anything about that since yours is so terrible.”

“If I were you I’d watch how you talk to me, love. One day I’ll run out of patience.” Michael warns, leaning into your personal space.

“Hey!” James calls, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. He wraps his arm around your waist, pulling you into his side before looking at Michael with a tense smile. “Everything good?”

“Yeah, I was just leaving. Let me know when you’re ready to be treated like you deserve.” he winks at you.

You both watch as he walks out the door before James looks you over, frowning in concern.

“Are you okay? Did he do anything?”

“Nothing but annoy me.” you mutter.

“You’re sure he didn’t hurt you?” James asks, continuing to check for bumps or bruises.

“Sweetheart, I’m fine,” you assure him with a smile. “He didn’t touch me.”

“If he bothers you again, let me know.”

“I don’t want you getting in a fight.” you remind him as he holds the door open for you.

“I’m not gonna let him intimidate you, either.” James argues. “So if he tries anything-“

“I’ll tell you.” you promise.

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

“Don’t get me wrong, I love my father.” James rambles as he follows you around the emporium. “But I don’t want to take over the company.”

“Mm-Hmm,” you hum, coming to a stop in the middle of the aisle.

“I mean, sleakeazy is great,” he continues, waving around your shampoo bottle as he talks. “But I always dreamed of being an Auror once I’m done with school. Not a Potioneer.”

“Right,” you nod, handing him a bottle of body wash before walking to a different aisle. James grabs it from you and tucks it under his arm.

“But he’s so proud of it!” he continues.

You inspect a nail polish vial before shaking your head and putting it back. You cast a quick glance at James before turning back to all the colors.

“I mean, he made that potion himself. He built the company from the ground up.”

“Mm-hmm,” you hum again. You grab another vial of nail polish and hold it up next to James’ head before putting it back.

“I can’t just tell him I don’t want to take over the company. That would devastate him! But then what other choice do I have? Force myself into a job I don’t want just to keep my father happy?” James rambles.

“What are you doing?” he finally asks as you hold yet another bottle of nail polish up.

“Trying to find a nail color that matches your eyes.” you say simply, before grabbing a different vial.

“Why?” James asks in utter confusion.

“I don’t know,” you shrug with a smile. “I just thought it’d be cute.”

“There’s nothing special about my eyes. They’re just brown.” James mumbles, shyly avoiding your gaze.

“They’re not brown; they’re hazel,” you correct with a roll of your own eyes. “And I think they’re beautiful.”

“I think you’re beautiful.” He says, trying to get the attention off of him.

“I mean it,” you insist, inspecting another vial. “They’re a soft, warm brown, with just a little bit of green in them. They remind me spring.”

James smiles softly at the analogy.

“Oh! I think this is the one!” you announce in excitement, flipping the bottle upside down to read the label on the bottom. “Forest Nymph. Fitting.”

“You know what you have to do, right?” you ask as you start to make your way to the register.

“No, what?” James asks, setting your items on the counter.

“You have to tell your dad how you feel.”

“Are you crazy?!” James asks, grabbing the attention of the cashier.

You wave her off with an embarrassed smile before turning to him.

“James, do you not listen to yourself when you talk?” you ask, causing the cashier to snort in amusement.

“Yes, your father is proud of his company; but you’re his son. You are his pride and joy.” you tell him, paying the cashier and grabbing your bag of items.

“He’s not trying to force you to take over the company. He’s trying to set you up so that you’re taken care of.” you explain. “What if you don’t know what you wanna do after leaving Hogwarts? What if you don’t have any plans for the future?”

“But I do!” James insists.

“So tell him!” you say with an exasperated laugh. “Tell him you plan on becoming an Auror.”

“And what? That’ll be the end of it?” James asks skeptically, taking the bag from you.

“Yes! Then he can just sell the company, if he doesn’t want to manage it anymore. He’ll have peace of mind knowing his son will be okay, and the company will be in good hands. It’s a win-win.”

“You’re brilliant.” James tells you, to which you just smile.

“I like your necklace by the way.” James comments, just now noticing it.

“Oh, thanks,” you hold it out for him to see. “It’s a locket.”

“It’s really pretty,” he tells you, taking in the gold heart with a smile. “What’s inside?”

“Nothing,” you laugh, undoing the clasp to show him the empty interior. “I still haven’t found anything worth putting in here. I just bought it because it was pretty.”

“Of course you did.” James rolls his eyes with a laugh.

“Shut up.” you laugh, knocking your shoulder against his.

When you get back to Hogwarts, you both go your separate ways. James heads to the courtyard to meet up with his friends and you go to the Gryffindor tower, wanting to take a nap.

“Y/N! I was hoping I’d run into you.” Marlene says from her seat by the fireplace.

“Oh?” you ask as you approach her.

“Yeah, I have something for you.” She tells you, flicking through a stack of pictures before handing one to you. “I snapped this one today during lunch. I hope you don’t mind.”

It’s a picture of you and James. James has his arm around your shoulder with you tucked into his side comfortably. In the photo, you smile up at James before looking away. Only a second later, James tilts his head down, gazing at you with a soft smile before turning his attention back to the conversation.

“It’s beautiful,” you tell her, continuing to look at the photo. “Thank you.”

“You guys are really cute together.” Marlene says with a knowing smile. “I’m glad now you’re physically able to see what we all see.”

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

You’re lounging around in the courtyard with James and his friends when Maxwell, a seventh year slytherin passes by.

“Potter! What’re you doing just hanging around?” he asks smugly. “You should be going over plays instead of sitting with your girlfriend.”

“At least he has a girlfriend!” Sirius calls after him.

“What is he talking about?” you ask, looking up in confusion.

“The quidditch game on Saturday.” James sighs.

“Oh. What time does it start?” you ask with an excited smile. “I’ll be there.”

“You will?” Peter asks, looking over at you in confusion. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you at a game before. I thought that maybe you didn’t care about quidditch.”

“Well, I don’t.” you confirm before looking over at James with a smile. “But I care about James. He’s my boyfriend and he’s on the team, so I’ll be there cheering him on.”

“He’s more than just on the team, love. He’s captain.” Sirius informs you with a chuckle.

“Even more of a reason to go! I just need to find someone to explain the rules to me.”

“I can explain it to you,” James offers.

“Will you have time? I mean, it sounds like you have a lot on your plate right now. I don’t want to be a burden.” You tell him before seeing Maddie across the way.

“Maddie!” you shout, getting her attention. “What do you know about quidditch?”

“Come with me to my room!” she says excitedly. “We have much to go over!”

“Guess I’ll see you guys later.”

You press a quick kiss to James’ cheek before following after Maddie. James looks over his shoulder, watching you with a soft smile until you disappear inside the castle.

“Wow, learning about quidditch for you? She sure is taking this relationship seriously.” Peter comments.

“Yeah, she’s pretty great.” James tells him with a nod. “I can't believe it took me so long to talk to her. I mean, she’s funny, she’s kind, she laughs at my jokes. I love spending time with her.”

“Careful Prongs. For a second there it almost sounded like you had real feelings for this girl.” Sirius chuckles.

James lets out a forced laugh.

“But you don’t…right?” Sirius presses.

“What?” James asks, avoiding eye contact. “Of course not. I’m just saying, it’s a good thing we’re getting along. That’s all.”

“Just as long as you don’t end up falling for her.” Sirius tells him. “This is all fake, remember?”

“Yeah,” James nods, giving his friends a forced smile before looking away. “Fake. Got it.”

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

You’ve been pacing back and forth for the past ten minutes when James finally steps out of the changing room.

“Hey,” he greets you with a confused smile. “I heard that you were out here. What’s up?”

“I just wanted to see you before the game.” you tell him, shyly avoiding his gaze.

“Oh?” James asks, crossing his arms as he leans against the wall. “Come to wish me good luck?”

“You don’t need luck. I came to ask you to be careful.”

“You worried about me?” he asks with a tilt of his head.

“Of course I am! If there’s one thing I learned about Quidditch it’s that it’s dangerous! Why you chose to play this game I don’t know but-“

“Hey,” James calls, reaching out to hold your hands. “I’ll be okay.”

“But, the beaters.” you insist. “And you’re playing against Slytherin and everyone knows that they don’t follow the rules and-“

“Please,” James scoffs. “They don’t stand a chance.”

“James, I mean it.” you tell him, worry evident on your features. “All sorts of things could go wrong. I don’t want you to get hurt. I want you to come back to me in one piece.”

“I will, I promise.” he assures you, pulling you into a tight hug. “Thanks for coming to see me before the game.”

“Potter! Let’s go!” someone calls from inside the changing room.

James sighs and shakes his head but you just laugh.

“Go,” you tell him with a smile. “I’ll see you after you win the game.”

Unfortunately Gryffindor doesn’t win; which makes sense considering Slytherin cheated. You’re standing a few feet away from the changing rooms, waiting for James when Peter calls out to you.

“Y/N! Do you wanna walk with us back to the common room?”

You look over your shoulder and see Peter, Remus, Marlene, Dorcas, and Lily standing a few feet away.

“No, it’s okay.” you shake your head at him. “I’m gonna wait for James.”

“I wouldn’t recommend that, love.” Remus says gently. “He never wants to see anyone after losing a game. Especially if we lost to Slytherin.”

“Oh,” you mumble before eventually waving them off. “You guys go ahead anyways. I still wanna check on him.”

“It’s your funeral.” Lily shrugs with a roll of her eyes before they all start walking away.

The gryffindor quidditch team all walk out of the changing room, giving you a tired smile as they pass you by.

“You guys did great,” you tell them with a grin. “Go get some rest.”

“Don’t take it personally if he walks right past you,” Sirius warns. “He’s pissed.”

You nod your head and smile at him as he runs to catch up with his friends. A moment later James comes out of the changing rooms, hair still wet from his shower.

“James!” you call, smiling as you wave to grab his attention.

James thought he didn’t want to see anyone after losing, but as soon as he sees you standing there, relief courses through him. He gives you a sad, tired smile as he makes his way to you.

As soon as James reaches you, he wraps his arms around you, pulling you into a tight hug. He drops his head into the crook of your neck, taking a deep breath, finding comfort in your warm embrace and the faint scent of your perfume.

“Good job out there,” you tell him, rubbing his back soothingly.

“Good job handing us the win.” A slytherin laughs as he passes by.

James pulls back from the embrace, turning his head away in a huff, getting mad all over again.

“James. Hey…look at me,” you plead. You gently grab his chin and turn his head, bringing his gaze back to you. “I mean it. You did great.”

James tries to look away again but you don’t let him, keeping his head in place, keeping his eyes on you.

“Sweetheart, listen to me. You went out there and gave it your all. That’s all anyone can ask of you.”

“We still lost.” James mumbles dejectedly.

“Who cares? We’ll get ‘em next time, yeah? You tried your best and that’s all that matters. I’m proud of you. Okay?”

James gazes into your eyes before eventually nodding his head, giving you a small grin. You pucker your lips and tilt your head up, silently asking for a kiss which makes him chuckle. James leans down, kissing you once, twice, three times before pulling away with a genuine smile.

“Come on, you must be tired.” you tell him. “Let’s go lay down.”

With one hand holding his bag of quidditch equipment, James wraps the other around your waist as he starts leading you towards the Gryffindor tower. James presses a lingering kiss to the side of your head and you smile up at him, both of you completely unaware that you’ve walked right by his friends.

“I thought he didn’t like talking to anyone after losing a match?” Dorcas asks, confused.

“Yeah…I thought so too.” Sirius hums.

“Clearly, Y/N is the exception.” Remus tells them, watching you go with a knowing look.