17.2
Valentine's Day-
I wake up early for the classes I have this Friday. Though it's not a regular Friday, it's the one day a year that I usually spend holed up in The Room, otherwise known as Valentine's Day. I have hated this holiday for my entire school life. I don't see why it's a holiday in the first place. In the past years, I have had candy and chocolate forced upon me by my admirers with no help from Jo or Elle, who find my pain hilarious. At least this year is different; I have two lovely boys with whom to spend it.
Breakfast is nothing special, other than the many packages that fly in at the end of it. No one has approached me as of yet. I walk with Elle to John's classroom. We're not the first ones to have arrived. I lead her to the front of the class, and we take our seats silently. I hear every conversation in the room that is either talking about random topics or about this bloody holiday. I see John walking out of his study and into the front of the class. He leans onto his desk and faces the still-loud students who pay him no mind.
"Class!" He speaks over the students in the room. They go silent immediately, all straightening their backs and putting their attention towards the blond man. "I know today is very exciting," He starts. "But you still need to respect your teachers and this school." John clasps his hands in front of him. "That being said, I will give you the day off. Spend it wisely, and don't get too loud, or I will start assigning essays." I can tell the threat is empty, but it seems no one else can because they all make no noise. I made eye contact with John, and he sent me a subtle wink before returning to his office, leaving the door open.
I turn to Elle, and we start to talk as we try to fill our time. She tells me of the books she's been reading in her free time. Then, the conversation shifts in a different direction. "So they told me I could be the first to try it!" She tells me after explaining the situation.
"You wanna try a brand new magical strain that hasn't been tested on anyone else?" I lean in to speak quietly. "That could go very wrong, Elle." She takes in my words before simply shrugging. "You'll never know unless you try." Is her simple response. I shake my head and let it go. There's no changing Elle's mind when it comes to trying new things the random times that she actually wants to try something new, that is.
—
Lunch is much the same as breakfast, save for the packages. I sit with my girls and whisper amongst ourselves. Elle tells Jo much of what she told me during DADA. Jo tells her to be careful, the same way I did.
"Make sure you're around people you trust if you do this." These are Jo's thoughts on the situation. I voice my agreement, and Elle just gives us a nod and her word.
"I'll probably do it with you two at this point, just so you two don't worry so much," Elle says with an eye roll as she drinks her pumpkin juice.
Jo turns to me and leans in a little before voicing her concerns. "Make sure you are careful going to The Room." She raises her eyebrows. "We all know that students have been dying to get you alone today," I promise her that I'll be careful, and she suspiciously leans back and returns to eating her salad.
—
True to my word, I ensure that no one is following me while I make my way to The Room after lunch. I walk into The Room expecting it to be empty, but I find that it's the opposite. Remus and Sirius are sitting on the couch, looking back at me with crooked grins. I take in the surroundings. There are roses and candles on every surface. I walk further in and drop my bag onto the armchair. Remus pats the couch beside him.
"How has your day been, Eon?" Remus asks me as I settle into my spot. We start to talk about our days. I ask them why they aren't in class.
"Why would we be in class and not spending time with our perfect Fluffy," Sirius says from the other side of Remus. The nickname ticks me off.
"Fluffy? Seriously?" With a roll of my eyes, I ask the boy. "I shouldn't be surprised coming from the one with the nickname of Padfoot." I cross my arms while leaning back on the couch. "Whaaat." Sirius stretches out with his signature grin. I see Remus roll his eyes as well before gently slapping the back of Sirius' head. Sirius stretches his arms on the back of the sofa. I lean my head back onto his arm, and we start to talk about how our days have gone.
Sirius tells us of the many students who approached him and gave him chocolate. The two boys ask if I had anyone do it to myself, and I tell them I've tried to avoid anyone who could do so. This is when Remus gets up and walks behind the couch. He returns to his spot with a bowl of chocolate and candy and places it on his lap.
"Go ahead."
We spent the next few hours just talking, Jo's laptop playing romcoms in the background while we ate candy. Up until dinner was about to start, we agreed to leave separately. First, Remus, then Sirius, and finally, I left for the Great Hall after making sure that The Room was cleaner than when I first entered.
—
Dinner starts normally. Sitting with the girls, we talk about nothing important. It's up until the beginning of the end of dinner when a voice rises from the others. I turn to see Sirius standing on top of the Gryffindor table, his stance confident. The whole room goes silent to see what the Black boy has to say. He clears his throat before starting.
"Today is the day of love. "Oh, Merlin, please don't make me right about what is about to happen. "And I have recently found two boys who I would be honored to call my own." This is when Remus starts to pull on his legs to try and get the boy off the table. But he isn't able to move the boy.
"I would like to publicly ask these two boys to be mine." First, Sirius looks down at the scarred boy. "Remus Lupin, I would be honored to be yours." He doesn't wait for a response, so he turns to the Hufflepuff table and makes eye contact with me from his stance on the table. "Leon Ansley, would you be mine?" The entire room goes up in noise. Students at the Slytherin table stand and start to shout. The teachers try to get everyone to quiet down. Sirius gets off the table in the noise. In the chaos, I rush out of the room. I rush through the castle and to the only place I can think of where no one will find and start to question me, The Room. I only make it a few minutes to myself before the painting opens, and in rushes Elle.
I'm sitting on the ground behind the couch and nearly hyperventilating. Elle finds me and tries to get me to do some breathing exercises.
In.
Out.
In.
Out.
"Are you alright now, Eon?"
"No! Merlin, no. What will happen now? What are my parents going to say?" I start to twist my family ring hastily. My breathing starts to quicken again, and pain begins to sound throughout my chest. My parents. Merlin, what is my Mother going to do now?
"Hey, hey!" I look back up to the girl. "You're going to be okay. No one here is going to hurt you." She places her hands on my shoulders and tries to get me to make eye contact. I keep my gaze on the ground in front of me. Until she gently moves my chin to face her. "Can I hug you?" I nod, and then I'm surrounded by Eleanor Belle. She's so close that I can start to hear her beating heart. Its calm, steady beats begin to calm me further. We sit there for many moments until I pat her on the back, and she separates from me. Her eyes are kind as she looks back at me. She doesn't accept my apologies, only saying that she is always here for me.
We move to the couch and start sharing the candy left over from my and the boys' hangout. We sit and simply talk to each other about anything we can think of.
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