Mystery boy
“A voice in the darkness led me to you.
The shining light before my eyes;
A star so bright, a star so true,
Holding my hand in the dark of night.”
________________________________________________________
Astronomy: 3rd year.
Footsteps and chatter echoed through the dimly lit classroom as students settled into their seats. Stepping inside, Ethan made his way to his usual seat at the back of the class. He stops in his tracks as he sees that his seat had been taken by another boy.
“Excuse me? You’re in my seat.” Ethan tries to remain calm, but he didn’t exactly take kindly to people sitting in his seat.
“I don’t see your name on it.” The audacity of this boy. Ethan scoffs internally, why did he have to go through this every single time?
“Yes, well, it's still my seat. I always sit here.” Said Ethan, in an attempt to hopefully try and convince this boy in getting up. Clearly though, that didn't seem to have much of an affect,
“So, what? If I go to the library all the time, it doesn't fucking mean I own it.”
“I- that's not -” What could he even say? As infuriating as this boy was, he did have a point .. kinda?
Realising this whole banter was pointless, Ethan resigns and heads to an available seat, nearer the front of the class, which he absolutely dreaded. Sitting in the front of the class meant having no choice but to pay attention, and if it weren't for Astronomy being somewhat decent, then this may as well be his death bed.
The scratching of a quill against parchment brought Ethan back to reality, “Do you mind? There's other people here, y'know.” Ethan mutters bitterly, not bothering to turn around.
“Sorry.” A calm and gentle voice lifts Ethan’s somewhat gloomy mood. Mary-Lou. It was safe to say, he had a crush on her since practically second year now. She was just so smart and talented, and amazing -
“So, what brought you up to the front?” Mary-Lou asks, that same voice never failing to bring a smile to Ethan’s face.
“Just thought I’d be a little more .. productive, y’know.” Replied Ethan, feeling proud of himself for winging it so well, she was sure to fall for his charm, who wouldn’t?
Mary-Lou laughs, her laughter like a sweet symphony, bringing warmth to Ethan’s heart. “Well, I was planning on heading to the library later, if you like, you could tag along.” She suggests with a small smile.
Ethan found himself lost for words, this was practically a date, right? She’d asked him out, this was the best day of his life! Unable to form any coherent sentence, Ethan finds himself nodding eagerly in response to Mary-Lou’s suggestion.
“Then it’s settled. Can’t wait to get to know you, Ethan.” She said gently before turning back to her parchment.
The chatter soon died down as footsteps sounded on the stairs and Professor Black made his way up. Ethan had heard many students talk about how Professor Black was the youngest Hogwarts Professor and how strict he was, though, he doubted that anyone could be stricter than Snape.
“Good afternoon, students.” Said Black coolly, as he sets a couple star charts down on his desk. No one really responded, except for a few students at the back along with the boy from earlier. Even so, most of the other students seemed to mutter their response, as if their voice box had been set to the lowest level.
Ethan couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something about this professor seemed oddly familiar, like he'd seen him before, but that couldn't be right. After all, this was only Ethan’s first astronomy lesson. He glances back at the boy from earlier who was now stood in the balcony, his hands claimed around the railings - such beautiful, perfect hands - No! Ethan couldn't think like that. Looking back at the professor now, Ethan could see the resemblance. It was odd, Ethan had never heard of any of the professors having children, not even Professor McGonagall. He brushes it off as just his imagination, before turning back to the front of the class.
“D’you know who that boy is?” Ethan asks Mary-Lou, gesturing to the boy in the balcony.
“Oh, that’s Callisto. Why do you ask?”
“Nothing.”
Callisto, huh? A pretty name for a pretty boy, but Ethan couldn't think like that, he fancied girls and that’s how it would stay. For now.
⋆– 𑁍 –⋆
Lunch: 12:00 p.m.
Sitting at the Ravenclaw table, Ethan eyes Callisto who was sat over at the Slytherin table. His food was all but forgotten as his thoughts consume him, he couldn't stop thinking about how pretty Callisto had looked in class. But it was natural for boys to find other boys good looking, right? Like when a girl compliments her girl friend, it was normal. Everything was normal, Ethan tells himself as he tries to focus on finishing his lunch.
He picks at his food, using his fork to push the peas around on his plate as his raging thoughts drown out the background chatter and noise. Suddenly, a familiar voice snaps him out of his train of thoughts,
“Ethan, you coming?” It was Mary-Lou, only then did Ethan remember the plans they had made during class to visit the library. He wasn’t really in the mood to go anywhere, and he’d be lying if he said he was up for it, but he didn’t have the heart to turn Mary-Lou down. Upsetting a girl just sounded .. wrong to him, so wrong. And so, he reluctantly pushed his thoughts aside,
“Yeah, just give me a minute.”
“Ok. I’ll wait for you outside. See you, Ethan.”
“See you.”
Ethan sat in silence for a few moments, forcing himself to finish the last of his food, despite not really being up for it. The thought of spending a whole hour with Mary-Lou did lighten his mood a little, even if they were just sitting in silence in the library; reading, studying. Not really things that Ethan fancied doing, but he wouldn't pass up this opportunity.
As he prepares to leave the Great Hall, a voice stops him in his tracks,
“Oi, Rosier! That your girlfriend?” Malfoy. A sly grin tugging at his lips, the mocking tone evident in his voice as he gestures to Mary-Lou who was stood at the entrance to the Great Hall. It was no surprise that Draco would tease Ethan for hanging with Mary-Lou, she was a Hufflepuff and as far as Ethan knew, pure-blood snobs like Malfoy took every opportunity to bully anyone that wasn't in Slytherin.
Draco was the type to bully someone for anything that made them different, or - as he liked to call it - inferior to him.
“Shove off, Malfoy. And she’s not my girlfriend.” Said Ethan, but nonetheless, he felt his cheeks flushing pink even as he blatantly denied Draco’s words.
Walking away, Ethan could still hear the mocking laughter and whispers of Malfoy and his peers, the fact that Draco was in his 4th year and older than Ethan didn’t help much either.
⋆– 𑁍 –⋆
Library: 1:05 p.m.
“What was that all about?” Mary-Lou asked as they made their way to the library.
“Huh?” Ethan looked at her, pulled from his thoughts once more. He tended to often stray away from reality if there was no conversation or talk for more than 5 minutes,
“Back there. With Malfoy.” She says, stating the obvious and - unfortunately - reminding Ethan of the earlier incident.
“Oh, nothing. He was just being a prat, as usual. You know how he is.”
“Yeah. Well, there’s no one he hates more than Potter, so atleast we’ve got it .. easy?”
Ethan scoffs, easy was a major overstatement, no one had it ‘easy’ when it came to Malfoy, that’s just how it was, sadly.
“Hey, don’t let Malfoy get you down. He’s just a loner that’s begging for attention, and you have the choice to either fill that satisfaction, or ignore him.” Mary-Lou says softly, placing a hand on his shoulder, her touch was gentle and caring. And despite Ethan not really being in the mood, she did have a point. He wasn't going to give Malfoy the satisfaction of getting him riled up, not anymore.
“I guess you’re right.” A small smile tugged at the corners of his lips, his mood lifting as they reached the library doors. Most students preferred to be out and about on sunny days like this, so they pretty much had the library to themselves. Or so he thought ..
Stepping inside, Ethan makes his way over to an empty table, but he comes to a halt, as he spots Callisto sitting alone at a table not too far from theirs.
With much difficulty, he manages to - somewhat -keep his calm as he sets his satchel down on the table and takes a seat, he was too caught up in admiring Callisto’s beauty that he didn’t notice Mary-Lou sitting down next to him and opening up a book on Ancient Runes.
“I’ve always found this subject fascinating.” She says with a smile, seemingly enjoying herself, or maybe it was Ethan’s company that she enjoyed.
“Yeah .. yeah, me too.” Ethan says absent-mindedly, not really paying much attention to what Mary-Lou had said.
“Hey, uh - do you have a quill I can borrow?” Mary-Lou taps Ethan’s shoulder lightly, trying to get his attention.
Ethan blinks a couple of times as he averts his gaze from Callisto and reaches into his bag, grabbing the spare quill he kept and handing it to Mary-Lou. As she takes the quill, their hands touch for a brief moment, sending a spark of electricity through Ethan. Damn. She really was beautiful, her chocolate brown eyes lock with Ethan’s forest green ones as the world stops for a moment, leaving just them in this moment, here and now.
“Thanks.” Mary-Lou says quietly, a faint blush colouring her cheeks as she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and smiles, looking away. ‘Did all girls do that?’ Ethan thought to himself, he wasn’t an expert but he was pretty sure girls did that when they had a crush so did that mean .. did Mary-Lou actually like him?
“Oh, uh - yeah, no problem .. don’t mention it.”
As Ethan looks back over at the other table - shoot. Callisto was gone. Turning back to his bag, Ethan opens up an Astronomy textbook, he figured he could atleast get ahead on his homework if he was going to be in the library for an hour.
⋆– 𑁍 –⋆
Courtyard: 2:03 p.m.
Leaning against a tall oak tree, Ethan was doodling some random sketches in his notebook, he wasn’t exactly the best artist, but his drawings were decent enough to make out what they were. A pair of familiar voices draws his attention, Mary-Lou and .. Callisto?
He looks up and spots Mary-Lou sat with Callisto on a nearby bench, they were talking and they seemed .. close, almost. A pang of jealousy suddenly hits Ethan, he didn’t know what exactly he was jealous of, Callisto being close to Mary-Lou or the other way around, but one thing he did know, was that he did not like this feeling at all.
Ethan hadn’t really realised he was staring, until Callisto’s voice burst his bubble of thoughts. “Do I have something on my face?” He asks bluntly as he stares Ethan down, as if judging him.
“No - sorry ..” Ethan quickly blurts out as he turns away, his cheeks colouring in embarrassment. He was nothing like his fathers. Where Evan and Barty weren’t afraid to speak their minds, Ethan was a total mess when it came to his feelings.
Callisto scoffs and turns away, continuing his conversation with Mary-Lou,
“You could’ve been a bit nicer.” She whispers to Callisto, who in response, rolls his eyes. Few people ever had hope of getting through to Callisto, and it seemed to Ethan, that Mary-Lou was not one of these people, even though she was Callisto’s friend. Or atleast that’s what it looked like.
Ethan noticed how Mary-Lou’s expression fell, and a rage he didn't know he was capable of began to bubble beneath the surface. He had known Mary-Lou practically since birth, and he hated when she was upset. But he knew he had to hold back and refrain from starting any fights, it obviously wouldn’t end well for anyone.
Maybe a short walk by the lake would calm him down, it always helped when he was stressed or upset about something, so no doubt it would help now. Getting up, Ethan puts his notebook and quill back in his satchel, before slinging it over his shoulder and heading off in the direction of the lake.
It was a nice, breezy day out, and the walk was very pleasant, the cool wind against Ethan’s face helping to calm him. It was his favourite place to be, just him and his thoughts, alone by the lake.
He must’ve lost track of time at some point, but by the time he got up to leave it was already getting late and he’d most likely missed dinner.
Oh, well. He wasn’t feeling much hungry anyway, after such an eventful day, all one could hope for was a nice warm bed to rest in.
⋆– 𑁍 –⋆
Astronomy Tower: 9:42 p.m.
“Do you like that boy?” Regulus had asked Callisto as they stood in the Astronomy Tower that night. Being Callisto’s father and the astronomy professor, it was sometimes hard for Regulus to keep up with his son’s daily life, but one thing that didn’t slip his notice was the way that Ethan had looked at Callisto all throughout class.
“No.” Callisto responded, flatly. He didn’t like Ethan, and he didn’t think he ever would, but he couldn’t deny that there was something about the boy that piqued his interest.
“You know, I used to deny my feelings for James, for years, and now look at us.” Regulus says with a small, somewhat fond smile as he gently nudges Callisto’s shoulder.
“Yeah, but - .. that’s different.” Callisto says, stubbornly.
“Different how, hm?”
“It just - it just is!” Callisto snaps, his tone laced with a hint of frustration, he hadn’t meant to get upset, it just sort of came out, like a bubble burst, or a dam broke. “I’m sorry, Papa, I shouldn’t have -“
“No, dear. Don’t apologise, it’s okay. We all need to get our anger out sometimes, I remember how upset I used to get when your uncle Sirius brought up anything remotely related to James.” Regulus says with a light chuckle as he stares up at the stars. “It was as if the mere mention of his name was enough to set me off, like a firework, waiting to burst. But I could never really hide the fact that I liked him, no matter how hard I tried.”
“What’s your point?”
“My point is, love works in mysterious ways. You never know where it may lead you, or who it’ll lead you to. But in the end, it’ll all be worth it. Don’t bottle up your feelings, love. I’m always here if you need someone to talk to.”
“I know, Papa.”
“I know you do.” And with that, Regulus wraps his arms around Callisto, embracing his son in a loving, and comforting hug as the stars shine down on them overhead. No matter what, Regulus silently vowed to always be there for Callisto. Always.
⋆– 𑁍 –⋆
- In love and heartbreak, in life and death, I will always be there for you.