Alex yearned to be in Henry’s arms.
He never considered him the type to yearn. As a Slytherin, he was always sure of himself. He liked being in his own company most of the time, because he knew he could at least trust himself. But there was something about his Hufflepuff boyfriend that just made him ridiculously weak at the knees. The sight of Henry alone made Alex want to… well, do things that probably weren’t school appropriate.
The idea of being out together wasn’t something both of them were super comfortable with. With Henry’s grandmother being the strict Minister for Magic that she was, his biggest fear was her finding out that he was, well, the complete opposite of straight. So when the time for the Yule Ball came around, they found themselves confused.
They could have gone as friends. Realistically, it would have been believable. They could have held hands, as friends. They could have danced as friends, and it all would have been fine. They would have spent the night in each other’s arms… as friends.
But Alex knew that Henry was terrified.
“I just… what if someone asks questions? What if they take photos that end up in the Daily Prophet and my grandmother sees it? People might… they might know! You are, you are awful at covering up your stares!”
“I am not.”
“You didn’t pay attention for the majority of Wandlore. You stared at me for the entire period!” Henry paused, running a hand through his hair and gripping at the tips. His forehead was creased, and his face was pale. “Alex, we can’t get caught.”
Alex sighed as he moved into the empty spot next to Henry. They always met in the Slytherin common room. No one questioned Henry being there, in fact, most Slytherins enjoyed his company. Sometimes, when Henry was feeling bold, he would make comments that made Alex question his house.
He slid an arm around Henry’s waist, looking around to confirm no one else was present before leaning in and kissing his cheek. “We don’t have to go together. In an ideal world, I would be holding you in your stupid, fancy suit and we would kiss in front of the entire school, but this isn’t the time. I think in the future, if you haven’t found someone ridiculously superior, probably some rich Gryffindor... we could be the best thing to come out of Hogwarts since Harry Potter himself. In fact, we already are.”
Henry let out a soft laugh as he relaxed into Alex. “I don’t want to not go with you, you do understand that right? I just feel that, well, I don’t know if I’m ready to be out and proud just yet. Soon but… not yet?”
“I understand. And hey, I’m not out and proud yet either. I don’t know… I don’t know what I am.” Alex let out a nervous laugh, adjusting himself in his spot. “Well then, who are we going to go with? We’re going to look ridiculously lame going on our own.”
“Isn’t everyone yearning to hear who Alexander Claremont-Diaz’s secret love interest is? Nora Holleran is the latest to have her heart stolen by the Slytherin Quidditch Captain.”
“Nora? God no. Nora’s my best friend. Kissing her sounds… wrong. It would be like you kissing Ju-” He paused, furrowing his brow.
Henry’s eyes widened and he crossed his arms. “You have that look on your face, you know the one! What is going through your mind right now?”
“Okay, so like, don’t hate me. This is just a suggestion and to be honest, it’s going to be disgusting for both of us.”
“I hate this already. Continue?”
“So what if we went with June and Nora?”
Henry stared at Alex in confusion. “You’re going with your sister to the Yule Ball? Alex, no offence, that’s kind of creepy. Majorly screwed up, would be another term for it. Also, I think Nora dislikes me. I don’t think I could spend an entire night with her.”
“No! God no. Henry, you brilliant idiot. I love you, but no. I meant, you go with June and I go with Nora. It makes sense. Like, a Hufflepuff with a Hufflepuff and a Slytherin with a Slytherin. No one would ask any questions.”
“So… I go with your sister and you go with Nora? June is lovely, Alex, but I really don’t… I think I would rather just go alone. I know that I might be considered significantly uncool but I would just rather… not.”
“No! No, it’s going to work out. You’ll like it. We can still hang together, because me talking to June is super normal, right? June and Nora are friends, we are friends, it’ll be like one big group date. Except in reality, it’s just you and me.”
Henry gulped. “Just.... you and me.”
“Yes. You’ll love it. We can get ready together, we could even get like, matching ties!”
“I think that would kind of give away the fact that we are indeed, what was the term you used the other day? Butt fucking?”
“Jesus, no. I mean, yes, I did use that term. Okay, what if we did matching socks? No one is going to see that.”
“Matching socks, I can do matching socks.” Henry paused for a moment. “We could sneak up to the Astronomy Tower later in the night. It’s not exactly going to the Yule Ball together, but it would be nice.”
“I would like that. You think you could use your special prefect powers to get us up there?” Alex asked, smirking.
“I could. I’ll talk to Professor Svristava.”
They both looked up as an owl came swooping in, dropping a letter in Henry’s lap and looking at him expectedly as he came to land on the table. Henry’s face went pale as he saw the Ministry seal on the envelope, picking it up and sighing.
“Thanks, David, you’re a good boy,” Henry said, fumbling through his pocket to find a treat for the owl.
“I still can’t believe you called your owl David. That’s just… stupid.”
“After Bowie! David Bowie! I have explained this to you a million times!” Henry said, wriggling out of Alex’s arm as he stood up. “I’m going to go read this, I’ll see you in class?”
“Of course. I’ll see you at my next game, sweet cheeks,” Alex said, standing up and gently kissing Henry. Henry tensed before softening against him, pulling away.
“Goodbye, Alex.”
~
So the decision was made. Henry would go with June, and Alex with Nora.
Everyone was waiting anxiously to see who the Hufflepuff Prefect was going with, so when Henry entered the Great Hall with the Hufflepuff Head Girl, no one was surprised. People even applauded.
Alex wanted to be the one at Henry’s side when they made their grand entrance.
He received the same kind of applause when he and Nora entered. He shifted his posture slightly, standing slightly taller. The last thing he wanted to be was some hunched over slob of a quidditch captain, Henry couldn’t be seen with someone like that when he was on the path to Head Boy.
“You’re doing great, Alex. We can get through this,” Nora told him as they moved to the dance floor. “He was thinking about you all day, June told me.”
“When did you have to see June? Did you steal a time turner again?”
“Borrow. You know my parents love those artefacts, but hush! They’re illegal for a reason.”
Alex rolled his eyes. “You’re going to get yourself thrown into Azkaban.”
Nora smirked. “Just maybe. It’s on my bucket list.”
Alex sighed and glanced over Nora’s shoulder. There was his boyfriend. If he was honest, Alex would give anything to rush over there and kiss the living daylights out of Henry right now. Frankly, he wasn’t quite sure how he was restraining himself at this point.
It was an hour before Alex got to see Henry up close. He panted as he sat down with Nora, ending up right across from Henry. “Hello, Hufflepuff Prefect. You’re looking handsome tonight. Do you have plans after this?”
Henry’s cheeks turned pink. Alex wanted to kiss both of them, and then his lips.
He looked stunning. He was wearing a navy blue suit that almost sparkled under the candlelight, Alex wondered what spell Henry had cast to create that effect. He was determined to ask later. His tie was as gold as the prefect pin stuck to his pocket, Alex wanted to grab hold of it and pull him out of the Great Hall.
“I am occupied, actually. I have a meeting with someone at nine in the astronomy tower,” Henry stated, pulling his wand out of his pocket and brushing it off slightly. “I should be using the spell accio, boyfriend. I would prefer one of those tonight, to be honest . Sorry, June.”
June took her eyes off Nora to smile at Henry. “No sweat, Fox. We’re on the same page there,” She said before turning her attention back to Nora.
“Accio boyfriend? I don’t remember learning that one, however I did hear about this new one, shirtus deletus. We might have to try it later?” Alex suggested, grinning.
“God, stop being so gay. You both dragged us along on dates to pretend to be straight and yet the second you are in the presence of each other, it’s like you were hit with a love potion,” Nora interrupted, giving them both a look.
“Neither of you are good at being discrete. We’ve been dating for three years and no one knows,” June said as she looked at her manicure. Her nails were painted gold to match Henry’s tie, it was kind of sweet.
Alex’s jaw dropped. “You what? No, you’re joking. You guys aren’t dating.”
Henry laughed. “You didn’t know?” He asked, smirking at his boyfriend. Alex stared back at him, gobsmacked.
“No, you’re joking. June, you would have told me that, right? That’s a joke,” Alex asked, looking at her concerned. “Nora?”
“It’s like, three and a half years actually. No one lifts a finger when we go to Hogsmeade together, they just think we’re really good friends,” Nora said, shrugging. “I swear I’ve told you this before.”
“You have not!”
“We have so!” June defended, laughing. “You’re too busy rambling about quidditch to pay any attention!”
“No, that does sound like an Alex thing. He gets distracted,” Henry chimed in, laughing.
“Will you all stop making fun of me? I have a reputation to uphold,” Alex huffed, crossing his arms.
“Fine, fine. Looks like everyone is kind of distracted. You two should slip out while you have the chance,” Nora pointed out, glancing at the door.
Henry was the first to stand, a soft smile on his face. “I uh, will you excuse me? I have to attend to something. Give me five minutes?” He directed to Alex before he exited the Great Hall. Alex stared after him before turning back to Nora and June.
“So you guys were serious about the dating thing?”
“Yes, Alex,” June responded, rolling her eyes. “Are you and Henry going to be safe tonight? The Astrology tower is a cute place for a date, but you’re probably going to get caught.”
“Yeah, we learnt that the hard way, Professor Luna totally caught us kissing, but it turns out that he’s actually like, a Hogwarts gay icon!” Nora said.
“Super gay. He has a boyfriend, actually. He was telling us about it in our catch up last week.”
“You guys have catch ups with a professor? That’s so random,” Alex huffed, checking the time on his pocket watch. “I have to get going. Can’t be late to feed my cat.”
“Weird,” June responded, rolling her eyes. “Enjoy your romantic evening!”
Alex rolled his eyes as he left the Great Hall, sighing in relief as he heard the loud music dim behind him. He liked to party as much as the next person, but all he really wanted was to be with Henry. They were supposed to go together, and he missed his boyfriend more than usual.
The thing was, Alex’s brain just got confused sometimes. It overflowed with anxiety for the simplest of things. He knew that he and Henry had something special, and nothing was going to change that. For example, he worried about their inability to come out, but he also knew that Henry wouldn’t break up with him for that reason. They liked each other too much for that, and they were both too in love to let that break them apart.
Fear was the real problem in their relationship. Alex worried that Henry was always going to be too afraid to be out. As much as he did love Henry, he didn’t want to hide forever.
And there he was. Henry, the boy with five million names. He was sitting on a cushion, staring out at the stars as he fiddled with a letter in his hands. Alex recognised it as the one from the Ministry, probably his mother.
He sat down next to Henry, crossing his legs as he stared out at the stars as well. “It’s always quiet when it’s just us. We don’t get to party together enough,” Alex mumbled, sliding his hand into Henry’s.
“You know, it’s unfair that we can’t be together. Out there, I mean. It would give me so much joy to pin you to a wall and kiss you in front of the entire school.”
Alex’s cheek blushed bright pink. “That’s awfully bold of you,” He said quietly, looking out at the sky. “The stars are beautiful tonight.”
“And so are you. Alexander Gabriel Claremont-Diaz, you are the most beautiful boy I have ever seen,” Henry said, turning to look at him. “You are stunning. I look at you and I think, Dumbledore, I am fucking blessed.”
“You’re going a bit overboard with the compliments, don’t you think?” Alex asked, running a hand through his hair.
“I don’t think so. I think you are blessed with good looks by some kind of god, and the stars above would look down and smile. I think of how lucky I am every time I look at you.”
Alex laughed. “H! Did someone slip you a love potion? You’re out of your mind.”
Henry looked down at the letter before handing it to Alex. “You don’t have to read it. It’s from my mother. She… she’s taking over as Minister for Magic. I don’t have to hide anymore Alex.”
Alex froze, opening the letter in his hand. He scanned the page before looking over at Henry, who was near tears. “Baby? You okay?” He asked quietly. “This is a good thing, you don’t need to be upset.”
“No, no. I’m not upset, Alex. I’m overjoyed. My whole life I was pushed into this box, and I had to be just one thing. I had to be the Head Boy with the best grades and the perfect girl, but I don’t think that’s the path I wanted to follow.” He paused for a moment, moving himself slightly closer to Alex. “I don’t want to lock myself into a box. I want to be free to experience life and choose my own path, do my own thing. I still don’t really know how I feel about what I want to do after Hogwarts, but if there’s one thing that’s clear to me Alex, it’s that I choose you. I want to be with you, no matter what. Tonight, and every night after that.”
“You choose me?”
“I do, and the next time I walk into the Great Hall, I want to be holding your hand. I want to wear your house colours at your Quidditch matches and cheer for you as my boyfriend. I want to go on Hogsmeade dates where we share a Butterbeer and then make out for hours under the whomping willow.”
“Henry, making out under the whomping willow will get us killed.”
“Well, we could always make out right here?”
Alex turned to face Henry. He took a moment to admire how handsome he looked in the moonlight. God, he really was such a pureblood. Alex didn’t even care. He loved this boy, no matter what.
“Right here, right now?” Alex asked, moving his hand onto Henry’s thigh.
“Only if you wish.”
So Alex leaned forward slightly more. Their noses bumped together before their lips met in a sloppy, uncoordinated kiss. As they pulled away, Alex could swore he saw hearts in Henry’s eyes.
“So that’s how it feels,” Henry said quietly, standing up.
Alex frowned. “That’s how what feels, H?”
“I… to cast a patronus, one must feel truly happy, and full of light. That’s… that’s how kissing you feels. I never knew how to accept it without shutting myself off to it but… but loving you brings me all of the light I need.”
Alex stood up and kissed Henry’s nose. “If it’s okay with you, I’d like to go back to the ball.”
“Oh. Did I say too much?” Henry asked, biting his lip.
“No! Your words are incredible, just like you. But, I want to go back to the ball together. As boyfriends,” He said, noticing how Henry kind of shrunk back. “Henry, we only get one Yule Ball. I think if we don’t spend it together, we’re going to regret it for the rest of our lives.”
“You promise you’ll stand by my side, even if everyone hates me after this?” Henry asked quietly, taking Henry’s hands again.
“Henry George Edward James Fox Mo- you know what? I can’t do your full name. We’re taking my name if we get married. Anyway, I will stand by your side no matter what. But I can promise you that no one will hate you.”
Henry let out a quiet chuckle. “Well, shall we?” He asked, lifting his arm for Alex to take.
“We shall.”
As they entered the Great Hall again for the second time that night, the room went silent. Henry’s face paled as he saw everyone staring at them. “Alex, I think we made a mistake.”
Alex stood strong next to Henry, holding onto his hand tightly. “We said we would do this no matter what, so we’re doing it,” he said quietly. He glanced over at Nora and June, gulping as he tried to read the room.
There was silence for a few moments more before Alex noticed Professor Luna stand and begin to applaud. The rest of the room followed his lead, and before they knew it, the Great Hall had erupted in the loudest cheers of the night.
Henry’s jaw dropped as he looked at Alex, his eyes tearing up. “Alex-”
Alex didn’t hesitate. He kissed Henry right there, in front of the entire school. As they pulled away from each other, Alex noticed Nora and June kissing in the corner of the room. He let out a laugh, just relieved that everything had turned out alright.
They spent the rest of the night dancing together, and as Henry held Alex in his arms, he could not imagine a more perfect ending to the Yule Ball.