"It's okay. You're okay," James said when I had begun to cry. He patted me gently on the back and then caressed my hair.
I had buried my face in my hands and just let the tears spill out, letting out unfortunate moans and cries. No amount of comfort from James could help me stop. The anguish just kept spilling out. I had betrayed my brother with a secret he did not even know I knew about.
I had hurt him, and for what? Because he was annoying me? Really?
"Don't beat yourself up over it, Maeve," James said as if reading my mind. "You were frustrated with him. It happens. He'll forgive you."
"I don—n't de—serve his forgiv—ness," I choked out, finally looking up at James, after having burrowed my face in my hands for so long.
"It's okay," James insisted sweetly.
At that moment, someone had opened the dormitory door and three people filed in. Of course, the rest of the S4.
"Ooh. What happened here?" Wyatt said, almost slurring his speech. He was definitely drunk or at the very least quite tipsy. He stumbled into the room, Isaiah holding his arm so that he wouldn't fall.
Elijah was behind them, looking half-asleep and unaware of what was happening. He didn't even notice me crying or acknowledge what Wyatt had said and just fainted on his bed.
"Sorry, did we come in at the wrong time?" Isaiah said, trying not to look at me, as if afraid of embarrassing me any further. But no amount of embarassment from having been caught crying could ever beat the shame I felt for what I had said to Aiden.
"It's okay," I sniffed, trying to recompose myself.
"Did James make you cry?" Wyatt asked abruptly. I choked out a laughter.
"No. I made myself cry. Don't worry about it, Wyatt. You should go to bed," I insisted.
"Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?" Isaiah then asked as he helped Wyatt sit on his bed and began helping him take off his shoes.
"No, I'm okay. I should go," I said, immediately standing up. James instinctively got up, ready to follow me.
But I turned around and gave him a goodbye hug so that he wouldn't follow me out. I needed to be alone.
"I won't tell anyone," he whispered reassuringly to me. But he did not have to. I already knew he wouldn't do that.
"I know. Goodnight, James," I said, letting go of him. He seemed reluctant to let me go as his hands lingered on mine and his face transfixed me with a concerned look, but I took a deep breath and said, "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"
"Okay," he said, still rather uncertain.
"Wait. I want to know what happened," Wyatt whined as Isaiah was now apparently putting him under his covers.
"Goodnight Wyatt, Isaiah," I called out to them both. Then I looked over at the passed out Elijah and added, "Elijah."
Somehow, I managed to sleep okay. I was quite tired when I arrived in my dorm. Maybe crying was the best sleeping draught. And my dormmates were all already in bed with the lights off, so I did not have to come up with an excuse as to why I was crying.
Unfortunately, falling asleep with tears in my eyes made it difficult for me to fully open them the next day. Nothing that couldn't be fixed with a nice shower, but I did panic for a moment there.
When I opened the dormitory door, James unlounged from the wall. He had apparently been waiting for me for who knew how long. And he was suddenly alert, wary.
"Did you sleep okay?" he asked immediately, his eyes brimming with concern.
"Yes, surprisingly," I told him. "Did my brother return to the dormitory?"
"I dunno. If he did, he must've woken up before I did," James said with a light shrug.
"I should probably talk to him," I said grimly. "I don't know how I could even approach him, though."
"How about we eat breakfast first and think about your brother later," James suggested smoothly, offering me his arm to grab onto. I gave him a grateful smile and linked my arm with his.
The Goblet of Fire had been placed at the center of the Great Hall where the Sorting Hat usually sat. I had nearly forgot about the Triwizard Tournament what with the trouble I caused with my brother. But somehow, I couldn't really be bothered to care all that much about who was putting in their names.
When I finished up with breakfast, I didn't linger around to find out who else would put their names in as all I was determined to do was to find my brother and speak with him.
I wouldn't know what to say to him. All I knew was that he was my brother and I had to make it right somehow.
On my way out of the Great Hall, I nearly bumped into another girl as I wasn't really paying attention to where I was going.
"Sorry," I mumbled already walking away.
"Uh — Maeve! Hello?" she nearly stammered in surprise. I immediately return her gaze and found that it was my cousin, Rose-Marie, her cheeks upturned from her beaming. "I can't believe you would just walk away from me like that!"
"I didn't realize it was you!" I exclaimed. Without a moment of hesitation, I pulled her into a hug and she laughed. "Where are you sleeping?" I then asked.
"With the Ravenclaws," she said. "I heard Durmstrang slept in the Slytherin dorms."
"Yeah, they did — well, they are. I thought they were going to sleep in their boat or something. Why aren't you all sleeping in your carriage?" I queried.
"I don't know, but personally, the castle is a nice immersive experience. I've met so many students from Hogwarts already," she said. "Are you done eating breakfast already?"
"Yes, well, I'm looking for Aiden, actually," I admitted. Perhaps she could help with that.
"I haven't seen him, unfortunately," she said. "But if ever I do, I'll send him your way."
"Thank you, Rose."
We parted ways and I was just dumbfounded. Where in the world could my brother be?
I sort of wandered around the castle until I reached the Infirmary, hoping I would not find Aiden in there. Thankfully, he wasn't there. But for some odd reason there were a handful of bearded students, including girls, which confused me. But I learned not to question things too much at Hogwarts and just went on my way out of the Hospital Wing.
Two more identical white-bearded students (were they even students?) joined the Infirmary and they even beamed upon seeing me.
"Why, how lovely to see you here, Maeve," one of them said. "Did you also try getting through the Age Line?"
"Madame Pomfrey fixed you up well. Can't even see a wrinkle," the other went on.
"Fred? George?" I asked, utterly amused. "Is that you two?"
"Indeed. Like our new style?" the one who definitely had Fred's voice said. With their white hair and long white beard, it was hard to tell who was who solely based on looks.
"It's lovely. And no, I haven't tried trespassing the Age Line — is that what happens if you do?" I asked, not bothering to hide my delight at how ridiculous they looked.
"No, we drank an ageing potion and it backfired," George explained.
"Oh, of course you two are here," Madam Pomfrey, who had just materialized next to us, said rather exasperatedly. "Go on then. Onto one of the beds. I'll fix you up in a moment."
Fred and George saluted me goodbye and went inside the Hospital Wing towards one of the beds. I laughed to myself as I departed to the Slytherin dorms. Perhaps my brother had returned to his dormitory.
In the Slytherin common room, there was sparingly any student. It seemed that everybody was in the Great Hall then, probably to watch and see who would put their names in the cup.
When I knocked on the sixth-year boys' dormitory, there was no answer. After a moment of silence and of bracing myself, I tried the handle — but at that exact moment someone pulled open the door from the inside and I was greeted by a Miles Bletchley who was cleaning his ears with a cottom swab and was only wearing a towel.
"Maeve? What are you doing here?" he asked, though he didn't necessarily sound bothered by my presence, just curious.
"I'm looking for Aiden," I informed him rather formerly. He tossed his used cotton swabs away and invited me inside the dorm.
"He's not here. He left early this morning."
"Where is he?" I persisted. I scanned the room anyway, but there was no sign of Aiden.
"I dunno. Probably in the Great Hall with everyone else," Miles said with a shrug.
"Did he talk to you at all?" I asked.
"About what?"
"Well, about me, I suppose," I said, folding my lips together in uncertainty.
Miles chuckled, though not mocklingly, more as if he'd just realized why I was asking. "Don't worry about that. He's not upset with you."
"So, he spoke to you about what happened last night..." I said quietly.
"Don't worry about it, Maeve. He'll speak to you when he's ready," Miles said with a shrug. "And in the meantime, make sure your boyfriend doesn't tell anyone. Wouldn't want all of Slytherin to find out."
"He won't. I already talked to James about it. He's not interested in spreading rumours — He won't even tell his own friends," I said reassuringly.
"That's good, then," Miles said. He seemed almost awkward now. As if the reality of everything was finally settling in. "So, how do you feel about... well, about me and your brother?"
"I sort of already knew about it since... well, since two summers ago. Although, I didn't really believe it until this summer," I admitted, the awkward memories sort of flooding me. It was something I had been trying to forget because it was so private and intrusive, and I didn't want to assume something and be wrong, and Aiden had never told me about it either.
"You didn't see anything, did you? I mean, how did you even find out?" Miles queried, looking a tad more concerned now. I chuckled uncomfortably.
"Uh... Well, I sort of... heard some things in the house," I managed to say, trying really hard to repress the memory of it. "I didn't — Merlin, do I really have to say it?"
"You heard me and your brother have a go at it?" Miles repeated, mortified. But then he saw how mortified I was, and he just burst into laughter. "You absolutely did! Salazar, how old were you?"
"Old enough to know what it was," I mumbled. Not long before that incident, my mother had given me "the talk" because I had just hit purberty. So naturally, when I overheard Aiden and Miles... well, I sort of connected the dots and knew what they were doing. And I was so uncomfortable about it that I floo powdered to the shop in Diagon Alley and pretended I was there the whole day.
"Two summers ago... That was... You were twelve?!" Miles covered his mouth in surprise.
"And you two were fourteen!" I returned.
"What? You're fourteen now. You have a boyfriend. You understand," Miles said defensively.
"No, I don't understand," I huffed with an offended scoff as I crossed my arms at Miles.
"Really? You haven't?" Miles said, surprised.
"No, and I am not interested in talking about it either," I said adamantly.
"Okay, well excuse us for being men. We can't help but feel these emotions more strongly than girls do," Miles said dramatically, then he paused as if realizing something. "How in the Hells is James able to last that long without—"
"What," I said, my face flushing red.
"I mean, how does he not want to... Ah, nevermind — Hey, I need to get dressed. You should get out," he said suddenly. He started shooing me out of the dormitory.
"Wait — What was that? What were you saying about James—"
"Nothing!" Miles said, as if he were regretting mentioning it in the first place.
"Miles!" I chastised. But it didn't work. He had already shooed me out of his room and shut the door on my face.
I scoffed an indignant laugh, finding myself unable to return to the Great Hall. How was I supposed to show myself, be around James, after Miles had just told me that men thought about sex all the time?
Okay, he did not say that exactly. But he did sort of imply it.
"Blackwood!" a voice barked at me from the common room. I had just been standing by the couches, debating going back to the Great Hall or hiding in the girls' dormitory all day.
"Huh?" I said, absent-mindedly.
"Not with Lancaster, anymore?" Malfoy drawled — oh, of course Malfoy was here. He always seemed to appear at the worst possible times.
"What? I'm just looking for my brother," I said, oddly honestly. Didn't know why I felt the need to be honest to Malfoy of all people. "My life does not revolve around James."
"Does it not?" Malfoy said dubiously.
"Of course it doesn't. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to my dormitory..." I said, trying to find any excuse to leave. I was not interested in having a conversation with Malfoy if all he was interested in doing was berate me about dating James.
"Weren't you just looking for your brother?" he pointed out, bemused. I halted in my tracks.
"What? Did you see him?" I said suddenly, turning back towards him.
"What do I get in return for telling you?" he asked arrogantly.
"Nothing," I said simply.
"Well then, I suppose I'll divulge nothing to you," Malfoy said pompously, crossing his arms at me, as if he had the upper hand or something.
"Okay." I shrugged.
Without even bothering to spare him a glare or even take note of the scowl he was giving me, I shouldered past him and just decided to make my way up to the Great Hall. Surely, if Malfoy had seen my brother, he would be around that area.
"Blackwood!" he called at me, his annoyance evident in his tone of voice.
"Malfoy!" I called back mockingly, spinning around to face him once again.
"I wish to speak to you," he said, slightly taken aback by my attitude.
"Okay, then speak," I said, gesturing for him to get on with it.
He frowned slightly at me, but went on, "I was just wondering about that Felix Felicis you were brewing."
"Is that a question or a statement?" I asked, perking my eyebrows at him.
"Blackwood," he said, almost as if he were chastising me.
"What? I dunno. It doesn't concern you — Hey, what are you doing down here, anyway? You're not planning on doing anything weird, are you?" I asked, suddenly remembering that my liquid luck cauldron was hidden in my dormitory. I did not need Malfoy sabotaging my concoctions again.
"Why? Did you hide your cauldron in your dormitory again?" he said as if he already had an incling of that truth.
"I — it's not in my dormitory," I lied, trying to maintain eye contact to seem more believable, but Malfoy just narrowed his eyes at me.
"So, you wouldn't mind if I have a look, then?" he said, smirking suddenly. He started walking backwards towards the dormitories.
"What? Of course I would mind, Malfoy. And no, not because I'm hiding anything, but because it's a matter of privacy — Hey!" Malfoy wasn't listening to me. In fact, it seemed that the more I spoke, the faster he walked towards my dormitory. And before I knew it, he was already ambling inside. "Get out!"
"Don't act like I haven't been in here before, Blackwood," he said offhandedly.
Malfoy started looking around my bed, and then, he got on his knees to look under my bed. Without thinking too much, I grabbed Daphne's pillow from her bed and threw it at him as his head poked under the bed. The pillow hit him square on the back, pushing him forward only slightly, though that was enough to irk him.
He looked next to himself and saw the pillow I had thrown at him. Then, he briefly made eye contant with me before shoving the pillow back at me with such force that when I had caught it in my arms, I had to take a step back as to not fall on the ground.
I was about to throw the pillow at Malfoy again but he got to his feet.
"Where is it?" he asked calmly.
"I'm not even done brewing it," I said, still clutching onto the pillow. Malfoy simply raised an eyebrow at me. "I told you before. It takes six months to brew. I am not even halfway through."
"I need to see it," he said, looking around the room intently.
"Well, it's not here," I insisted, trying to maintain eye contact again so that he wouldn't realize that I was lying.
"You're a terrible liar, Blackwood," he said, smirking even more. "So, where is it? Is it under someone else's bed?"
"No. I would never put something so important under someone's bed," I said as if that were the most ridiculous thing I had ever heard, which it was not because I had actually initially considered hiding the cauldron under someone else's bed but decided against it in case it blew up again. Didn't want to kill anyone in their sleep.
"So, it's under something else? Oh, the sink?" I tried not to let my eyes widen too much as Malfoy inched towards the bathroom. I tossed the pillow I was holding onto a random bed and tailed after Malfoy.
"Why do you need to see it, anyway? Just believe me, I am brewing it. What do you plan on doing to it? You want to tamper with it?"
"Stop talking. It's distracting," he said simply. I scoffed, offended.
Malfoy reached for the door handles under the sink and in a state of panic, I found myself leaping at him, right onto his back, trying to pry his hands off the handles.
"Blackwood — get off!" Malfoy managed to push me off, but I just came right back onto his back, trying to pull his body away. He struggled for a bit, and then, when he finally pushed me off again, instead of reaching for the door handles again, he reached for me —
I barely had time to react. Malfoy pinned me against the wall, my wrists tight in his grip above my head. His lips curved into a satisfied sneer as he looked down at me, which really irked me, so I kicked him on the shins and he cursed as he nearly fell to his knees.
I moved protectively in front of the sink. Malfoy winced with pain, but still managed to straighten up. He reached over to the sink handles, but I firmly stood my ground. So, instead, he placed his hands on the sink-top, blocking both of my sides. I felt my heartbeat increase ever so slightly as his body loomed over mine threateningly.
"I won't tamper with it," he said, and almost as if it were a promise, he peered into my eyes. He was so close to me that I could feel his warm breath on my face.
"I don't trust you," I said, trying to even my breath so that he did not feel it on his face, but that was probably futile due to our close proximity.
"Why not?" he said softly. His eyes flickered down to my lips for a split-second, which sort of confused me.
"Because you're you — you tampered with my cauldron two years ago," I managed to say, despite feeling my heartbeat in my neck.
"Two years ago," he repeated as if that proved his innocence.
"Well, a year and a half ago," I redacted.
"A year and a half ago," he repeated once again, as if his point still stood.
"Malfoy," I said with a sigh. "Why should I trust you when I have all the reasons under the sun not to?"
"Because I want some of that liquid luck you're making. Why would I tamper a potion I want to use for myself?" he said.
"I don't know. Why do you even want liquid luck in the first place? Hoping to put your name in the Goblet of Fire?" I added teasingly. He scrunched his nose at me, but there was a flicker of agreeance in his eyes. I nearly choked with laughter. "Merlin's beard. You were hoping I would be done brewing my liquid luck so that you could have some to help you put your name in the Goblet of Fire — Are you thick? How in the Hells did you plan on surviving the three trials? With more liquid luck? You know all of this is illegal, don't you?"
"Since when do you care about following the rules, Blackwood?" he said, finally pulling his hands away from the sink, allowing some space to grow between us. I felt myself relax a little more now that I was free.
"So, you're not denying it? You wanted to put your name in the cup?" I persisted. Malfoy rolled his eyes at me, though not in the same dramatic way that I often did.
"I would want some liquid luck anyway. Bloody Millicent Bulstrode stole mine," he clarified. I shook my head and chuckled to myself.
"Draco Malfoy wanted to put his name in the cup..." I mocked, laughing to myself about it.
Malfoy frowned at me, and just when I opened my mouth to tease him some more, he placed his hand over my mouth and held my shoulder with the other.
"Don't bloody tell people that," he said, almost desperately but still with some degree of poise. I simply raised my eyebrows at him as his hand was still covering my mouth, preventing me from speaking. "I won't tell Snape about your cauldron under the sink if you keep your mouth shut about... that."
He looked intently at me, expecting an answer, but I gave him nothing seeing as his hand still covered my mouth. Seemingly realizing this, he gently pried his hands away from me and awaited my answer.
"Fine. Sure. Whatever. Not like anyone would believe me anyway," I grumbled.
"Good," he said, satisfied.
"How do you know my cauldron is under there, anyway? You didn't even see anything—"
Just then, he reached behind me and pulled open one cabinet door. I pressed my lips against each other and blinked slowly.
"Nevermind," I mumbled.
My cauldron was softly simmering behind me, under the sink. There was a faint scent of herbs in the air now that the cabinet door as open.
"I can help you brew it," he said suddenly. I raised a curious eyebrow at his proposition. "In exchange for some of the product, that is."
"I doubt that this will conjure up more than a vial or two," I said.
"Then, I'll take a vial and you just hope it makes a second one," Malfoy said with a shrug.
"Hah, no way. That's not happening. I worked on this for nearly three months now, and I have spent so much money on the ingredients — the most you're getting is a drop, if anything," I said.
"I'll refund you for the ingredients and you'll give me half," he offered. I shook my head.
"Not happening," I told him adamantly.
"I'll help you make it — It can't be easy to brew. I'll lessen the load," he insisted.
"I'm fine on my own, thanks," I decided.
"Fine, I'll only take half a vial," he decided as well. I laughed at the proposition.
"Bug off, Malfoy. It's my project. I won't share anything."
Malfoy huffed in annoyance and assessed his surroundings instead.
"I'll help you hide your cauldron better — you know, this is a fire hazard," he said, pointing at the fire under the cauldron.
"I've already gotten it sorted with Isaiah, thanks. He's much better at charms than you," I added, just to irk him. He opened his mouth to give me more reasons — or to protest, who cares — but I stopped him. "Merlin, Malfoy. Just give up, will you?"
He scrunched his nose at me and narrowed his eyes.
"Have it your way, then," he finally said, looking like he was trying not to fume.
"Thank you," I said sincerely. Malfoy just sneered slightly as a response.
I bit my lip, trying to think about how I could difuse the tension. I didn't have to think too hard however as Malfoy's face softened and he peered at me curiously, all signs of hostility dissipating from his aura.
"What?" I said because he was sort of staring.
"You're very stubborn, you know," he said as if I did not already know.
"So are you," I replied.
"I know," he said proudly, a smirk creeping on his lips.
"It's not a compliment — unless you were trying to compliment me just there..." I said.
"Of course not. Stubbornness doesn't suit you as well as it suits me," he clarified.
"What? That doesn't even make any sense," I said, crossing my arms at him. His smirk widened.
"You see, Blackwood, when I'm stubborn, it's just a part of my Malfoy charm. It's endearing. But when you're stubborn, it's really just irritating. You're a lot more pleasant when you're agreeable," he said arrogantly.
I would have been offended, I really would have. But Malfoy uttering such ridiculous claims in such a serious manner just had me burst out laughing. Uncontrollably. Malfoy just opened his mouth in mute protest.
"Oh, Merlin — That is some next level arrogance," I said after having a good laugh. But then, I thought about it once more and started giggling all over again.
"How dare you call me arrogant —"
"Don't misunderstand, Malfoy. I like that about you. I do believe your arrogance is also a part of your Malfoy charm. It's endearing," I teased, although I sort of meant it. In a way, Malfoy's overtly confident self was a little endearing. As obnoxious as he was at times, there was something charming about how self-delusional he was.
His face contorted between an expression of someone who was flattered and one who was offended.
"It's a compliment," I clarified.
Malfoy looked at me suspiciously. Reluctantly, his eyes softened from their previously narrowed nature, and his lips curved upwards pleasantly.
"Of course it is," he finally said.
I had to admire his knack for taking everything as a compliment.
"Well," I said after a short moment. "I have to go look for my brother now. I'm leaving."
"Very well, then," Malfoy said, not moving along with me.
"Are you coming?" I called out to him as I stopped myself from walking halfway through the dormitory.
"What?" he said.
"Well, I would greatly appreciate it if you were to get out of my dormitory. I don't fancy people lingering in here while I'm gone — unless you're my dormmate, that is," I said.
Malfoy threw one last glance at the bathroom mirror and briefly adjusted his robes before mutely joining me.
"Making sure you've still got your Malfoy charm?" I chaffed.
"I've always got my Malfoy charm," he said as-matter-of-factly.
I snickered, and we left to the common room. There wasn't anyone else here, probably because they were all in the Great Hall to witness who was putting their names in the cup.
Malfoy and I arrived at the Great Hall together, but the moment I stepped foot in the hall, I upped my pace and hurried further down the Slytherin table, far away from him. I didn't even spare him a glance as I slipped into the seat next to Adrianne Pucey.
"Why, hello, Maeve," she said. Miles was seated in front of her, and he gave me a curious look.
"Is Aiden around?" I asked them both.
"It's nice to see you too," Adri said sarcastically, though in a light-hearted way.
"Sorry, I'm happy to see you both. Where's Aiden?"
"Aiden hasn't come in yet," Miles said.
"Was he here before Miles arrived?" I asked Adri because I knew that Miles had surely come in not too long before I did.
"No," she said with a shrug. "Come to think of it... I haven't seen him all day. I hope he'll at least join us for the feast."
Someone slipped into the seat next to me and I nearly yelped. Expecting to see Aiden, I turned around with a look of remorse, but was met with James' pleasant face.
"Oh. Hi, James," I said.
"Did you end up speaking to your brother?" he asked me.
"Nope."
"Really? I saw him earlier," he said.
"You did? Where was he?" I straightened up in my seat with newfound interest.
"He was at the owlery," James said.
"What did he say? Did he talk about me?" I queried.
"No. I don't think he saw me, actually."
"Will someone please tell me what is going on? You two are freaking me out," Adri interrupted.
"Er—" I glanced at Miles who shook his head at me, his eyes wide. "It's nothing. Just some family affairs..."
"Are you in a fight with your brother?" she asked simply.
"Er—" I glanced at Miles. He nodded gently. "Yes, I am. I said some, erm, mean things to Aiden. I just want to apologize."
"Okay, well... Good luck with that," Adri said as if she did not really know what to say. I nodded gratefully at her.
"James," I then said suddenly, returning my gaze back to him. "When did you see him at the owlery? Did you see where he was going afterwards?"
"No... He just disappeared back into the castle. That was maybe half an hour ago," James said.
"Okay, half an hour? Let's see..." I made a map in my head of all the possible places my brother could be at the moment, but I didn't have time to analyze everything as Adri spoke up.
"Oh, he's right here," Adri said. She pointed at the very end of the Slytherin table near the staff table. Aiden was sat by some seventh-year students but he did not seem to be partaking in the conversation at all. "Hmm. Must've missed him."
Whether or not Aiden was sat there this whole time was unimportant to me as I just stood up and traipsed over to him.
"Aiden, hello," I said awkwardly. My brother, who seemed previously lost in thought, snapped back to reality and just looked at me curiously. "Er — Can we talk?"
He raised an eyebrow at me and then behind me. I quickly looked behind myself and found that James had followed me here.
"Can this wait?" Aiden said.
"Why? I mean, it's inevitable. We are going to have to talk one day," I told him.
"No, I mean, I'm sort of in the middle of something," he said. I perked an eyebrow up at him as he was very obviously not doing anything. There was nothing at the table that would imply he was busy with anything, nor was any of the seventh-years even interested in speaking to him as they just ignored the lot of us completely.
"Aiden, please?" I insisted. Aiden rolled his eyes in an uninterested and bored manner before finally acquiesing and getting up from his seat.
The three of us trailed back out of the Great Hall until we reached the Entrance Hall. From there, James and I just followed Aiden as he lead us to a broom cupboard.
"What..." I said.
"Privacy," Aiden said as if it were evident.
James and I followed him inside the cramped cupboard and we shut the door behind us. It was quite dark. As if on cue, all three of us lit our wands.
"So, I just wanted to—"
Aiden put his hand in front of me to halt me in my speech. He waved his wand at the cupboard door, casting a silencing charm, and then gazed back at me with a little more interest than before.
"Well, I want to say that I am sorry," I finally said. Aiden raised an eyebrow at me, so I explained, "I'm sorry that I just spilled your secret and that James was here to hear it."
Aiden raised his eyebrows even more at me, and huffed a very amused laugh.
"What?" he said, perplexed.
"I — Aiden. What do you mean, what?" I said, now also perplexed.
"Why are you apologizing for that? I should be the one to apologize. I've bloody ruined your innocence," he said, eyes drooping with guilt. I simply opened my mouth and then shut it closed, not really sure on what to even say to that. "I mean, did I? You seemed to have implied yesterday that you saw something."
"Ah," I finally said, terribly uncomfortable. "I did... But it's okay, Mum had already given me the, erm, talk by then."
Aiden covered his face with his hands. "Don't tell me how it happened. Wait, no. Tell me. I need to know how bad it is."
I cringed. I had just told Miles about it, and now I had to talk about it again? In front of James?
"Just, erm, ask Miles about it. I don't really feel like talking about it again."
"Miles knows about it? Blimey," Aiden covered his forehead with his hand in disbelief.
"He asked me about it earlier — Look, I just wanted to say sorry for getting upset and, well, letting James know about it..."
Aiden's expression softened, and he said, "It's fine. I mean, I was rather upset at first. But then, I was too worried about having potentially scarred you to care anymore — Did I scar you?"
"Er... Not really. I'm fine," I said.
"Okay, good. Merlin, I have to ask Miles about it —" Aiden halted. His eyes landed on James. "You're not going to blabber to your friends about me and Miles are you?"
"I won't. Your secret's safe with me," James pledged.
Aiden seemed a little dubious at first, but then he shook whatever doubts he had away and said, "Good."
"So, we're okay?" I asked my brother.
"Yeah. And don't tell Rose-Marie either. Or Mum. Or Dad," Aiden added, his hand now on the cupboard door, about ready to leave.
"I won't. I promise," I said earnestly.
Aiden nodded with satisfaction before pushing the cupboard door open and stalking out.
I peered over at James and exhaled with relief. He chuckled lightly.
"That wasn't so bad, was it?" he said.
"Yeah, I suppose not..."
The cupboard door sort of closed by itself after Aiden had left, leaving James and I alone, our wands still lit up.
"Thank you," I said.
"Whatever for?" he asked.
"For everything. Being there for me. Keeping the secret."
I got the sudden urge to just pull James into a hug, so I did. I wrapped my arms around his chest and just embraced him, laying my head on his shoulder. I felt my chest ease even more, all previous stress just dissipating. James softly played with my hair and held me in his arms.
"Do you think the silencing charm still works?" I asked bravely.
I lightly pulled my head away from James' chest to to gaze up at him. His eyes danced around my lips before leaning in, whispering, "Who cares?"
His lips gently pressed into mine. They were warm and soft, and I found myself unable to not kiss him back. He pulled away slightly, but I immediately pulled him back in with my hands around his neck.
I felt my heartbeat in my fingertips, dancing at the nape of his neck. My lips melted into his as we shared this moment of intimacy. My entire body felt warm and safe, and when his fingers grazed my cheeks, I felt my entire being liquify in his arms.
It was an odd place to snog, I had to admit, in a random cupboard in the Entrance Hall, but perhaps it was the thrill of maybe getting caught that made this all the more enticing.