Enchanted

***

Eyes followed him. They followed him everywhere today. At breakfast, in his classes, in his dorm, in the library, outside when he strolled over the property with an open book in his hand. He could feel the gaze of two bright blue orbs as they burned in his skin. Every time he searched for the boy only to discover that he'd been alone. Harry thought he was getting insane.

The beautiful boy had left an impression. A big one. Harry couldn't get him out of his head. At night he'd thought of his lips, in the morning of his perfectly messy hair, at lunch about his cheekbones, while revising about his smile. It was getting on his nerves and influenced his attention to his books. He'd seen the boy only yesterday at dinner for the first time. It didn't particularly help that hadn't seen him since then because he was anxious he'd run into him in the next two seconds. He didn't. The boy was probably spending his time in their ship harboring in the lake. Harry wouldn't admit it made him a bid sad.

Thus he busied himself with his homework from today as much as he could and didn't emerge from the library until Liam dragged him in the Great Hall where he and Niall had waited for him. Only as Harry saw the masses of food on the tables he noticed the grumbling sounds of his stomach. He remembered he'd barely eaten since breakfast being busy with studying for his first Potions exam this year. He'd chosen a bunch of subjects for his fifth year and underestimated the ton of work he'd loaded onto himself with that. So he'd been stuck in the library even more than last year and was being continuously jokingly scolded by his friends for neglecting them these last two months. Harry knew he did and felt bad but they reassured him that as long he'd meet them for eating in the Great Hall and sometimes on the weekends they'd be fine with that. Harry was glad they understood how important his schoolwork was for him. His parents were rather strict, ever have been, and expected nothing but excellent grades from their son. Harry was determined to make them proud. He wanted to proof not only to himself but to everyone of what he was capable of.

"There you are, mate! I missed you today on the stands." Niall chose as a greeting and threw his arms protectingly over Harry's shoulders as he sat next to him.

"Yeah, sorry for that. Had to study for Potions tomorrow." Harry excused and put some mashed potatoes on his plate. He felt bad for missing watching Liam at practice again.

"Always on full speed, eh?" Liam smiled and sipped on pumpkin juice. He was a bit sweaty, probably from Quidditch practice this afternoon. He'd joined the Hufflepuff team in third year as the keeper and had been pretty successful since then. His biceps was enormous. The girls from Hogwarts clearly agreed with Harry.

"Yes," Harry said shyly but grinned as Liam soothed his palm along his back. He truly loved his friends. They'd met on their first ride to Hogwarts with the Hogwarts Express and were ecstatic when they'd been sorted into the same house. The two quickly noticed how Harry was very insecure about the things he did even though he'd tried to hide it in the beginning. He would always question if it was the right thing to do or if he was a good friend. The words 'I'm sorry' always spilled from his tongue as soon as he wasn't sure about his words and actions which happened multiple times a day. He's never really spoken about it to them but he's indicated that his childhood has shaped him. Niall and Liam never pushed but Harry noticed the pitying looks they gave him when he acted anxious about something. He didn't want to be pitied but then he also was happy he had such caring friends. They'd always been protective over him and saved Harry when a difficult situation occurred.

 "How's the revision going then?" Liam asked curiously from his right side, Niall was on his left as always.

"Good. I've memorized all the recipes that could possibly be asked," He said proudly, hoping he didn't come across as if he was bragging.

"That's good!" Niall gave thumbs up and shoved another chicken leg in his mouth. Harry smiled at him.

"How did practice go?" He then asked Liam to show he cared about what was going on in his mate's life.

"Good as always," Liam said and blinked appreciatingly.

"He was brilliant!" Niall exclaimed and hit Liam's shoulder behind Harry. "Modest, isn't he?" He grinned.

Harry looked at Liam. "I'm sure you were great. I'm sorry I couldn't be there." His smile had a sad tilt to it. Liam dismissed.

"It's fine, really, H." Harry went to protest but he was cut off. "The next game is this Friday. Wanna come?"

"Yes! Promise." Harry beamed and planned to study more on Thursday to be free on Friday.

After they'd finished eating they went back to the Hufflepuff common room. The hidden entrance was located in a shadowy corridor in the vicinity of the kitchen, much to Niall's enjoyment. They headed for a stack of barrels on the end of the corridor. Niall tapped his wand against the second barrel from the bottom and the one in the middle of the second row in the rhythm of Helga Hufflepuff. On their right side a door carved itself out of the nondescript stone wall. It retreated into the wall and let the boys enter. They went through a spacious tunnel lit with lanterns on the brick walls.

The soft, warm light flickered slightly as the boys reached the end of the short tunnel, opened a round, light wooden door and ended up in a big, round room with low ceilings. The window caused daylight to shine into the common room and light up the wooden floor and the plush, soft sofas and armchairs. Outside bright green grass swayed in the wind and dandelions wobbled around. Harry's always loved the homey feeling this place gave him as soon as he entered the common room. He felt so welcomed from the first minute and never wanted to leave the warming embrace this place offered him everytime.

Beautiful plants were hanging from the ceiling and framed the room. Little butterflies sat on the leaves and blossoms which Harry's grey cat Dusty loved to chase. She never caught them though, she mostly played with them and followed them around. Sometimes the plants were humming a lovely song or danced and turned and radiated happiness. You just couldn't be grumpy these early morning or late nights when you hear them mumble or even snore behind you.

They sat down with their friends on the sofas but while Liam and Niall chatted happily, Harry was sitting on a armchair in the corner next to a small tree and had his nose buried in a book for Arithmancy. The leaves next to his ear were rustling quietly despite it being absolutely windless, his feet, covered with thick, yellow and black striped socks, were rubbing against the honey yellow colored fabric of the chair. His back was slouched as he had the book laying in his lap and was too lazy to hold it further up to his eyes. He'd blended out all the noise around him and only focused on the passage he was currently reading.

Niall's voice and laughter boomed in the common room. As always, he was the centre if everybody's attention. They laughed with him and continued his jokes. Harry was convinced Niall had at least one inside joke with each of the Hufflepuff's. Liam's face crinkled when he smiled at Niall and he clapped his thigh at a extra funny thing he would say. They all loved Niall to bits.

Even tough Harry could ignore the commotion to an extent, he soon wanted to go to a more quiet place where he could study in peace. Thus he got up and indicated Liam where he wanted to go. Liam nodded and smiled before Harry turned around and strolled out of the common room with his book held tightly against his chest. He passed through the dimly lit corridors of Hogwarts, walking with determined steps in the direction of his beloved library. At this hour, Madame Prince wasn't sat in her usual place but she trusted the students to be responsible with the books.  

Harry let himself fall into the cushion of his favorite armchair at a window between two shelves stuffed with countless books. The dark purple fabric was sat through but still soft and comfortable. He reached down under the chair and pulled out a blanket he brought here a few years ago. He threw it over his folded legs and placed his book above. Then he turned on the lamp on the shelf with a flick of his wand and opened the page he’d stopped reading on.

There were steps, quiet whispers of other students studying after dinner and chasing good grades. Sometimes Harry met up with Annabeth Clearwater, a nice Ravenclaw girl he liked to go to for advice when having trouble with material he had to learn. She could be found in the library a lot but didn't have to study as much as Harry since she somehow was a genius and could memorize an entire book in no time. He was jealous of her ability. He had to work constantly to receive an O in his exams. Anyways, he mostly enjoyed studying and gaining knowledge about something he was passionate about. Also the classes were rather enjoyable and he was liked by the professors.  

A cough interrupted his train of thoughts he'd followed while trying to understand the function of some combination of numbers. He put his fingertip on the sentence he was reading and looked up. One second later he wasn't sure if he was still breathing. In front of him, sexily leaning against a desk by the shelf, hands stuffed into the pockets of his black pants and head cocked cheekily was the boy. The beautiful, beautiful, gorgeous boy. Oh Merlin.

His jaw dropped a bit as he took in the sight of his ruffled hair which was messily styled and hanging into his forehead. The black color of his thick sweater enhanced the bright blue in his piercing eyes. Those sapphires shone as if all the stars of the night sky were caught in them and threatening to break out. His honey-like skin was smooth and dared Harry to caress it with his fingers and lips. He knew he was staring at the boy but he couldn't help it. The stranger was truly captivating and must catch everybody's eye.

"Hello."

Harry almost fell off his chair as the sweet, raspy voice reached his ears. If he hadn't been speechless before he surely would be now. Never would he have expected the voice of the boy to sound like this. Such a unique tone, like a melody you wanted to hear every night before you go to sleep, a drizzle of rain after a sunny day which let the flowers bloom in the brightest colors, like the distinct twitter of the rarest bird sitting on the sunbathed crown of a tree, like all of Harry's favorite things together and more. He wanted to hear more. He wanted to speak, answer him, but every word he's ever known died in his throat.

"What're you reading?"

Oh goddess, please keep talking, Harry thought and opened his mouth. Not much came out. "Uh, I..." He trailed off as the boy swiped his fringe to the side with his fingers. He even had beautiful fingers, Merlin. "Hello," He finally said and internally patted himself on the shoulder.

The boy smirked and pushed himself off the shelf with a jerk of his body and moved towards Harry. He stopped in front of him so Harry had to look up. His heart beat loudly in his chest, it felt as if it wanted to leap out of his body and straight into the hands of the beautiful boy. The thing was, Harry would let it happen. The hand which had swiped the caramel colored hair out of the boy's face reached down to the book Harry was reading, laid a finger between the open pages and lifted the cover, thereby almost closing the book, to read the title.

"Arithmancy. Smart," He said and looked up into the green of Harry's eyes.

Harry still only stared, his eyes following every move of the boy. He reopened the book and stepped back, stuffed his hand in his pocket again. A soft smile remained on his lips as he looked curiously at the Hufflepuff boy curled up in the purple armchair.

"Do you like it?" The boy asked and Harry furrowed his brows, confused. "Arithmancy, I mean." Harry nodded dumbfounded. "I've never really liked it. Don't know nothing 'bout numbers." He laughed softly and, oh, did Harry enter heaven? The beautiful boy's smile broadened and he bit his lip, white teeth flashing as he spoke after watching Harry quietly for a few seconds. “Do you speak?"

Harry wanted to slap himself, disapparate the fuck away and then bury himself in the ground. He was angry at himself for not being able to just speak normally to a stranger, that he couldn't engage with them and make new friends as easily as Niall could. Put him in a room with twenty strangers and he'd make friends with at least nineteen of them in only ten minutes. It was as fascinating as it was disturbing for Harry. He was shy, unsure, awkward. He felt his cheeks heat up and he ducked his head, ashamed.

"Hey..." A hand touched his knee above the blanket. Harry flinched and the calming gesture caused the opposite effect; his heart was racing. "I'm sorry. Didn’t mean it that way, just...what's your name?"

The soft voice coming out of the pretty lips laid itself like a second blanket over him, soothed his anxiety and reassured him.

"Uh, Harry. 'M...Harry." He shifted in his seat und looked up at the boy through his lashes. Something flashed in the blue eyes but it was gone as soon as it had showed.

"Harry. Suits you. I'm Louis."

The hand that had previously touched his knee was stretched out to him. Harry's eyes widened slightly but he lifted his shaking hand and laid it into the outstretched one, shook it as a hello. His skin was as soft as he had imagined it to be, maybe even softer that that. He noticed that his own was a little bit bigger, lankier. He kind of liked it, a lot. Sparks ignited in his belly, on his skin, out of his fingers touching the boy, Louis, and he felt pure magic buzzing around them. Their eyes snapped up simultaneously and their gazes met. Did he feel it, too?, Harry wondered. Could Louis feel those sparks, too?

"Hello, Louis." Harry now pulled his lips in a smile, relieved that Louis wasn't appalled by his mess of words and actions. He pulled his hand back down into his lap and sank his teeth into his bottom lips, drew Louis' eyes on it. His face reddened and he lowered his face, fleeing from the intense stare.

"D'you study 'ere a lot, Harry?"

Say my name again, please. Heat bubbled in Harry's stomach as he nodded and carefully glanced upwards. Louis was still so close, so so close. Too close for his heart. "Quite, yeah."

"That's impressive." Louis smiled kindly, the slightly smug expression from before had vanished.

It seemed as if he had noticed Harry hadn’t really been comfortable. Hopefully he didn't think Harry hated him and scared him away.

"Uhm, thanks?" Harry raised his voice at the end and transformed his words into a question.

Louis giggled quietly. He giggled. Merlin. "You're welcome, Harry."

Say my name again.

"Isn't it a bit late to be 'ere?" Louis questioned.

Harry shrugged. "'M not tired yet so I'll stay here, I guess."

"I like your voice."

Louis just complimented him. Him, Harry Styles who had more flaws than perks. His face flushed an even darker shade.

"You're shy, eh?" The threads of the blankets caught Harry's attention. He picked on a loose thread. Most of the times, after such sentence followed an insult. "It's cute." Yeah, it wa— what?

"What?" Harry's thought fell out of his mouth.

"It's cute, you are cute, Harry." The smile turned back into a smirk. He so enjoyed how he could get Harry blushing like mad in seconds.

"Oh, uh..." He searched the surroundings for something, just something to avoid the piercing blue eyes boring into his skull. He could hear his heart beating in his ears.

"How long will you be 'ere?" Louis changed the subject.

Harry really appreciated it. He looked at Louis' chest to not be too rude and speak past him. But then he wondered what was beneath the thick layer of fabric, if the skin was just as smooth there as his hands were. Answer him. "'Till I want to go to sleep." He managed a sheepish smile which was reciprocated with a grin. A beautiful grin.

"Well, it's already close to ten so curfew is starting if I remember correctly."

"Oh." Harry hadn't noticed how long he'd spent studying in the library. "Right." He closed his book after memorizing the page number he was on, pushed the blanket to the side and scrambled out of the armchair. With his wand he let the blanket fold itself and placed it under the chair. He turned around and was met with an amused sparkle in Louis' eyes. "What?" He asked quietly and averted his gaze. He shuffled his feet, unsure of what to do now. Just push past him or say goodbye or—

"Can I accompany you on your way?"

What? "Oh! Uhm...it's okay, I can just—" Harry rushed and pointed to the grand door of the library.

"No, no, I want to. If you let me, of course." Louis took his hands out of his pockets and put them behind his back, leaning slightly towards Harry.

If you let me. "Uhm...yeah. Okay, yeah, if you're sure." He stumbled over the words and letters as he pushed them off his tongue. He glanced at Louis who was just smiling kindly. No mean laugh, no making fun, no joke. He really wanted to go with Harry. He meant it.

"Good. Let's go." He nodded to the entrance door and waited until Harry was with him before he started walking.

They laughed. Louis made Harry laugh. Louis told him his smile was sweet which made Harry blush deeply. Louis said goodnight with a smile and walked away still facing Harry, then he waved and disappeared. Harry was happy. The smile plastered on his face didn't vanish, even in his sleep, when he was dreaming about a raspy voice and blue eyes and beautiful hands, his lips were curved into a smile. The sparks were flying in his head and burned in his skin. Magic flowed und pulsed through his veins as he woke and looked forward to maybe seeing him in the Great Hall for breakfast. Maybe he’d smile at him or wave or even say good morning? He urgently wanted to find out. He wanted to hear that voice again, spelling his name.

He now clearly knew he had been enchanted by this beautiful, beautiful boy. Louis.

***