In Which Gilderoy and I Do Not Go on a Study Date
I must admit, today was a huge success.
I still do not know what cologne Gilderoy Lockhart wears, but I do know that his favorite color is lilac and that he actually wants to be my friend.
In Charms, I took my now usual spot next to Gilderoy. We were working on Silencing charms, so we were practicing together. Our strategy of choice was to let the other talk until we got tired of it and use a Silencing charm. It was very effective, since Gilderoy talks a lot. I don't mind it too much, though. I think it's kind of fun to be around him because he's so open, and treats me like Peter instead of the 4th Marauder. It's refreshing to be around someone like that. They're not common.
Anyway, I may have let Gilderoy continue on for a bit too long, because he paused and kind of looked at me funny.
"Are you planning on silencing me at some point?"
"What? Oh yeah, sorry. I like listening to you talk."
For some reason this seemed to make him pretty happy. I think he might've blushed a bit. I guess he's used to being told to shut up. Without even realizing, I'd set my plan in action.
Since we didn't get a whole lot done in class, I asked him if he wanted to practice when the Charms classroom cleared out once classes finished so we'd be able to write the paper better. He seems like the sort of bloke to care about 'learning the material', and I'm doing my best this year because we've got our OWLs and I'm really hoping for a Ministry job. He agreed, and I headed back to the Gryffindor dorms. It was funny, I was almost looking forward to studying with Gilderoy. Yeah, he's a bit cocky and talks a lot about himself, but he's a pretty good guy.
The rest of my classes went by slowly, and once I'd eaten dinner I was almost excited to study Silencing charms with Lockhart. When dessert was served, I wrapped up two Pumpkin Pasties in a napkin and quickly stood up.
"Where are you going in such a hurry?"
James pulled me back into my seat.
"I've got to get to the Charms classroom to finish studying with Gilderoy."
"Gilderoy?"
That was Sirius. Even Remus looked pretty interested now.
"You've got a study date with Gilderoy Lockhart?"
"It's not a study date. We were practicing in class and thought we should do a bit more."
"Whatever you say. Sounds like a study date to me."
"Come on, Remus. I'm not even into guys."
"Sure, Pete."
I'm not quite sure what he meant by that, but it's true, I'm really not into guys. I'm hardly even into girls. Anyway, the last thing I needed to have in my head was this stupid thing being a date.
When I got to the classroom, it was empty. If I'm being honest, I did feel a pang of disappointment. Obviously this was only because I would not be able to drag the name of that cologne out of Gilderoy.
But then Gilderoy was there. He walked in all confident, the way he always carries himself, filling the room with the smell of his cologne.
"Oh, you're here."
I did sound a bit stupid, but definitely not disappointed, I hope. I was glad to see him.
Honestly I don't remember how much we practiced after that, because I was too focused on Gilderoy. He smells really fucking nice, okay? It was a bit distracting. And he's got great hair. I was only looking because, well, my hair is a bit out of control, and it would be nice to know how to style it properly once in a while. I'm not sure how he puts so much effort in every day. It's honestly inspiring.
We practiced for a bit, not talking a whole lot because we were trying to get stuff done this time, though it felt a bit empty without Gilderoy's constant oversharing. Eventually, it started getting pretty late. Since neither of us really wanted to be out after curfew, we ended the study session there. Then something really weird happened. I said goodnight to him and he said goodnight to me, and then went to open the door. Then he turned around.
"Thanks for helping me, Peter. It's nice to not be judged for making mistakes just once."
I didn't really know what to do, but I tried to say something helpful.
"Gilderoy, no one judges you for making mistakes."
"Well, you're the first person to make me feel like that's true."
And then he walked over and hugged me. And my face was kind of squished in his neck, and I could smell that incredible cologne really strongly. It really is delicious. It's kind of a funny thing to write down, but his cologne smelled so good that in that moment I almost wanted to lick him, maybe along his jawline or something. And maybe then I'd...
I'd go to bed because doing that would be weird and thank god I didn't do it. I was making progress today. I can't let myself mess it up by acting on random intrusive thoughts that mean nothing. Remus is wrong about me. Just because he's a raging homosexual doesn't mean we all are. I've just been spending a lot of time around him. Wanting to lick my friend because he smells good doesn't mean I have feelings for him or anything. I barely know him! I'm finding the cologne he wears, and then this whole operation will be over and I won't have to spend any more time staring at his jawline or his hands or anything. It's really late. I'm going to revisit this in the morning.