Something of a Realization
Poppy’s eyes fluttered open, blinking through the sudden light that met her eyes. It took her a few moments to realize she wasn’t in her own common room, as the comforter she was tangled up in was not yellow, but deep blue.
It also didn’t help that she was sleeping on someone’s chest. She was wise not to stir, but it did take her a moment to remember the events of the previous night, remembering how Hans and she decided on sharing the same bed, and how that led to a rather uneventful but pleasant night of snuggling.
Now, as morning came, Poppy noticed their position changed while they were sleeping. Instead of her head on his chest, or perhaps her arm draped over him, her full body was laying on top of Hans with her head tucked under his chin. Poppy’s legs were on either side of Hans, straddling his body, with one of her arms raised over Hans’s head, resting on his cheek. Her other(left) arm was off to her side, gripping Hans’s right hand. Hans’s left hand was brought over Poppy’s back, keeping her stable on his chest.
Poppy tried her best to fall back to sleep, but could not. As she listened to his steady breath, his heartbeat slow and calming. The small girl closed her eyes, absentmindedly stroking Hans’s cheek with her right thumb.
Eventually, Hans began to stir, though he did not move. Poppy noticed Hans’s breathing suddenly stop, and the rate of heartbeat began to increase.
Without moving, Poppy whispered as quietly as she could, “Hans?”
Hans didn’t say anything for a moment, and Poppy once more noticed his heart, this time slowing down as he let out one long breath, causing Poppy to sink a little on his chest. “How did you know I woke up?” He asked.
“I’ve been listening to your breathing and heartbeat for I don’t even know how long. You would think I would notice when it changed,” Poppy whispered back, not even opening her eyes, hoping to get the chance to enjoy this moment forever, resting here, in her lover’s arms.
Hans let out a soft chuckle that sounded like a low rumble to Poppy from where she was, something surprisingly soothing. “I guess that would explain it. How long have you been awake?”
“Long enough.” Was Poppy’s short answer, before she stirred, pushing herself up, with her arms on either side of Hans’s head. She looked down at him, smiling as his eyes fluttering open and they made eye contact, “I honestly have no idea.”
Hans gave a short nod, his eyes moving from her own brown ones to her lips, lingering on them with a longing stare.
Poppy was quick to notice his stare, and smiled mischievously, “Something on your mind?” She teased.
Hans’s eyes quickly snapped back to Poppy’s eyes(Poppy took note on how attentive he was),and he gave a nervous smile, “Wha- no?”
“Are you sure?” Poppy asked, scooting up a little on his chest so her face was parallel with his, with her sitting on his stomach. She lowered herself onto her forearms with the same mischievous smile, “Nothing at all?” Her lips were only a few inches above his, just out of reach.
Hans realized she was messing with him, and his confused expression was swiftly replaced by a sudden smile. He brought his arms around Poppy’s back, “Maybe just one thing,” he whispered, tugging on her back and trying to pull her down to him.
“And that would be?” Poppy whispered, almost seductively, her voice coming out as a purr in Hans’s ear. As Hans pulled Poppy down to his level, she moved her head to the side, dodging his face and instead pressing her cheek against his own, her breath tickling Hans’s ear.
Hans didn’t answer, instead sitting up a little and pressing a kiss to Poppy’s lower neck, which was closest to him, causing a shiver to run through Poppy, “-how-“ Hans punctuated each word with a kiss, “-beautiful-“ a second kiss to her neck, “-and-“ another kiss to her neck, this time closer to her jawbone, “-gorgeous-“ the next kiss just below her jawbone, “-you-“ the next kiss on her cheek as he pulled her to be level with his face once more, “-are-“ the last kiss was to her lips.
Poppy leaned into the kiss as their lips fought for dominance, Poppy placing one of her hands on Hans’s chest, leaning him back down on the bed as her other hand ran through his hair, playing with his black locks.
It didn’t occur to Poppy how excited one could become, both romantically and sexually, until just then, as she indulged herself with Hans’s lips. Though she didn’t realize she was doing it, she had begun to rock back and forth on Hans, just slightly, to satisfy the fiery urges that dominated her core. The hand on Hans’s chest began to roam his body, exploring his curves, while her other hand tugged on his hair but just a little, forcing a groan of longing from Hans.
The hands that Hans had placed on Poppy began to rove her body, sliding along her sides, brushing against the curves of her breasts, but not going any further. Poppy found herself eagerly leaning into his touch, but also scared of what more exploration of her body would mean, and so too was she glad that Hans did not attempt to go any further as they kissed.
One of Hans’s hands slid from Poppy’s sides to her neck, brushing against her chin as she tilted her head, moaning softly to his touch as they continued to kiss.
At one point, they pulled apart, the slightest bit of saliva trailing between them as they panted and looked into each other’s eyes. Hans whispered to Poppy as his hands traveled down her waist, stopping just at her thighs, “You are so beautiful…”
Poppy grinned, “You really have to be the most charming man in this world, don’t you?” she cooed before smashing her lips back into his, smiling against his lips. Once more they were snogging like there was no tomorrow, their lips entwining and pulling on one another. Hans enjoyed the taste of Poppy’s mouth, it was sweet, like a well-aged plum, and he couldn’t get enough.
They continued to kiss like this for as long as their breath could hold, before at last once more, they pulled apart. As they had many times in the past once finished enjoying the taste of one another’s lips, they leaned their foreheads together.
“I aim to please,” Hans answered, a later response though, due to his inability when his lips were ensnared by Poppy’s.
Their shared moment fogged Poppy’s mind so much so that she didn’t realize what Hans meant for several moments, before she let out a small “oh!”
“What was that?”
“Nothing, I just- it’s nothing-“ A blush was forming across Poppy’s face. Poppy took notice to the position they were laying in, with him on his back, and her straddling his chest. With the red on her face growing, Poppy sat up and brushed her hair out of her face, settling her weight on his stomach.
“Oof-“ Hans breathed out as she sat up, causing her to look down in alarm and blush even more, her face now beet red.
“I’m so sorry!” Poppy rolled off of him, glad, but almost disappointed to move on from that position.
“It’s alright,” Hans smiled, sitting up and look at her, right then, her stomach grumbled, and the red on her face, if possible, became brighter. “Come on,” Hans grabbed her hand, “let’s go before we miss breakfast.”
Poppy nodded, glad for the distraction, standing up with Hans. She paused, looking around the Room of Requirement in search of her clothing from last night.
“Where..?” Poppy began, but soon her question was answered as Hans approached the dresser beside the bed, where in two separate piles were their items of clothing. Both of their outfits were cleaned and neatly folded, as if a house elf had come through recently to do the laundry.
“I’ll have to ask Deek if he did this,” Hans murmured, picking up his robe and turning it over in his hands.
Poppy blushed, secretly wishing for such a thing to not have happened. The thought of anyone seeing Hans and her together like… that… was quite terrifying. “Yeah, maybe.”
Hans left Poppy to change beside the bed, taking his fabrics and leaving for the other chamber, changing in there. As Hans walked up the stairs into the other chamber, Hans spotted Deek pruning his Venomous Tentacula.
“Deek, did you wash mine and Poppy’s clothes last night?” Hans asked the small elf, who passed and looked up at Hans with his giant eyes.
Deek shook his head, “Deek left the room right away! Deek told himself he would not disturb Mr. Kaiser and Miss Sweeting while they were alone!”
Hans nodded, looking down at his clothes, before back at the house-elf, “Then the room did?”
“Deek thinks that the room must have!”
Hans nodded again, before pausing, and looking curiously at the house-elf, “I do want to make one thing clear, Deek. Poppy and I have not- erm- done anything.”
“What does Mr. Kaiser mean?” The house-elf asked.
“It’s just that- well- if a girl and a guy spend time together, alone, overnight, people will think that -well- you get it, right?” Hans stammered, trying to get his point across without being explicit.
Deek’s eyes widened, Hans’s point dawning on the small elf, “Oh no! Deek never assumed that, Mr Kaiser. Mr. Kaiser should sleep better knowing that Deek knows that nothing has been done!”
“Right,” Hans nodded for a third time, “thank you, Deek,” the boy turned his cloak over in his hands, “Well, I’m going to be changing in here, so if you could look the other way or something-“
Deek nodded, “Deek will be going now!” Before snapping his fingers and vanishing.
Poppy had already finished changing, and unknown to the two speaking that she was listening to the conversation at the bottom of the staircase, a silent yet embarrassed smile on her face. She listened to the house-elf disappear, and waited patiently as she listened to the sounds of Hans changing.
At some point Poppy started to hear footsteps pacing around the upper room in the form of dress shoes clicking against hard wood, and Hans mumble to himself, “I wonder if Poppy has finished changing.” Poppy figured that by this point he had finished changing, as now he was walking around in shoes and wondered aloud about Poppy’s whereabouts.
Poppy ascended the staircase, figuring he was finished, but freezing once she reached the top, “Oh! Sorry!”
Hans was busy buttoning up his white button-up. His slacks and shoes were on, but the shirt was only partially buttoned, revealing his musculature beneath. Hans had stopped too, watching as Poppy slapped a hand over her eyes and began to back down the stairs. Poppy stumbled a little, her other hand flying out behind her to catch her fall, but failing.
In a flash, Hans had his wand at hand, and he cried, “Arresto Momentum!
Poppy’s fall was frozen, and she was suspended in the air for just long enough that Hans could walk forward and put his hands behind her back, keeping her from tumbling down the stairs. Once the effects of the spell had worn off, and Poppy’s expression of shock quickly faded, she smiled up at him gratefully, “Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it,” Hans returned the smile, the smile that would make Poppy’s day, no matter the situation. She knew she shouldn’t have, but Poppy couldn’t help herself but to look down at his chest, and quickly noticed something.
“Hans, wait,” she said, before her love could turn away. She put one of her hands on his right arm, and the other she used to pull his shirt away, peering at his toned chest. His chest was not overly muscular, but his pecks were well-defined, and a visible six-pack was there even without Hans flexing his chest(which he of course did, as any male his age would to impress his girl).
Along the center of his torso was a single impression extending diagonally across. It was a visible scar that appeared almost like a burn, but it was wide and pressed into his chest like a slash. The wound was several centimeters wide and nearly a foot long. “Where did you get this?” Poppy whispered, her finger tracing the edges of the scar, too which Hans leaned into her touch.
“I was… I was dueling… someone,” Hans murmured, his voice deathly quiet as he dropped his gaze.
“Someone?” Poppy looked up at Hans, trying to meet his gaze, but he would not look at her.
Hans gulped, still staring a little to the left of Poppy, determined to not look into her eyes. Determined to not show her how much he really hurt. Determined to not lose his composure again.
“It’s okay, Hans. If you don’t want to answer, then you don’t have-“
“I was with Sebastian,” Hans whispered, so quiet that Poppy had to quickly think about the structuring of his sentence to find its meaning. She decided she wouldn’t speak, and instead allow him to finish.
“Sebastian was- he was doing something-“ Hans let out a shaky breath, too which Poppy only responded to by gently rubbing his arm, “he was looking for a cure. A cure for Anne.”
“After- after the attack on Feldcroft, Solomon didn’t want Sebastian anywhere near the hamlet,” Hans continued, “he thought I was in on it to. Sebastian wouldn’t change his mind though, he just got angrier. More determined. He didn’t know when to stop.”
Poppy raised the hand she had on Hans’s arm, moving it to his cheek and gently brushing away a single tear that had been escaped from his silver eyes. The small girl didn’t know who Solomon was, but he didn’t want to ask question, she wanted to let Hans get it all out first.
“It was in the middle of December. That was when it happened. Sebastian had some major breakthrough with a relic he had found in some dark catacomb near Feldcroft. He wanted to use it to help cure Anne,” Hans closed his eyes for a moment, before opening them to continue, “That night, Sebastian found out how to use it, but it went wrong. There were Inferi everywhere.”
Poppy remembered description of Inferi in Defense Against the Dark Arts, remembering the horrid pictures and the screams. She shuddered, glad she wasn’t there, but beyond sorry that her love had to go through that.
“Apparently Sebastian could control them, but not all of them. Anne and Ominis locked Sebastian in with the Inferi, ensuring that they wouldn’t escape. Then they sent for me. Anne had gone to find Solomon to tell him what had happened, while Ominis came back here, to find the Headmaster to ensure that whatever story came from Solomon it would be covered by Ominis’s own version of events.
“When I arrived, I found Ominis outside. He went in with me only so far, before turning to head back to the castle once he realized what Solomon would do, that it would not be just Sebastian’s education at risk, but all of ours. So there I was. Alone. In the catacombs, searching for Sebastian,” Hans sighed, his eyes searching for a place to look, anywhere but her eyes.
“Did you find him?” Poppy asked softly, still staring into his eyes, despite his averted gaze.
Hans nodded, “I fought my way through dozens of Inferi until I found him, in the back chamber where we originally found the relic. There he was, surrounded by dozens of Inferi. I tried to reason with him, but it was already too late.
“Sebastian wouldn’t listen, and then Solomon arrived. He took the relic from Sebastian and destroyed it, which caused the Inferi to become s hostile again. Sebastian- something had to have gotten into him, maybe the relic, I don’t know anymore. Sebastian and Solomon were both so angry. Sebastian had already done so much, already gone so far. First the Cruciatus curse, then the Imperius curse,” Poppy made a small gasp to the realization that Sebastian used Unforgivable Curses, “Now the relic. I didn’t want to see either of them hurt, but Solomon was right. Sebastian had to stop. He had gone too far.
“Solomon and Sebastian started to duel… and then… Solomon cast Diffindo. Sebastian wasn’t ready for it, and I saw it first. I didn’t want either of them hurt, let alone dead. I got in the way, and the spell hit me,” Hans said slowly.
Poppy looked down at the slash on Han’s chest, realizing what had caused it. Though the shape of the injury made sense, that didn’t account for why it looked like a burn, and more so why the scar remained, if Wiggenweld potions could heal it instantly.
Hans kept talking, “After that, Solomon began directing spells at both of us. I had to defend myself. I didn’t mean to, but at some point he cast Confringo at me, and I blocked it. The spell rebounded at him and knocked him off his feet, it looked like it burned him pretty bad. When Solomon got up, Sebastian moved forward. I realized Solomon had no more fight in him, Sebastian kept cursing him, but Solomon didn’t defend himself. I could only watch as… I didn’t think Sebastian would…”
“What did Sebastian do?” Poppy whispered, resting the hand on Hans’s chest against his waist.
Hans slowly lifted his eyes, meeting them with Poppy’s. Poppy did not like the look that was glinting in his silver eyes, it hollow, empty. She felt like Hans wasn’t the person looking at her anymore. “Avada kedavra.”
Poppy couldn’t help herself, raising her hand to her mouth and gasping. “And Solomon..?”
“Dead,” Hans answered.
“I’m so sorry,” Poppy murmured, putting her arms around his waist and hugging him, pressing her head against his left peck, listening to his heart. After a moment Poppy pulled away, looking up at Hans and asking, “But what about the scar? Why do you still have it? Why does it look like that?”
Hans dropped his gaze again, “Anne had returned, just as Sebastian killed his uncle. Anne was upset, beyond upset. She destroyed the book Sebastian used to activate the relic, before taking Solomon’s body and leaving. She hasn’t talked to Sebastian since. Sebastian fled, and I followed after him, I tried to talk to him. He started to calm down, but he wanted to talk later, so I let him go. I couldn’t bring myself to turn him in, I just… I suppose I related to him in a way.”
“And the scar?”
“I didn’t want to forget this one. Forget how I failed. I would make myself remember,” Hans answered quietly, his gaze enraptured by the leg of a potting table behind Poppy.
“What do you mean?” Poppy asked, almost fearfully awaiting his response.
“I didn’t… I didn’t use a Wiggenweld potion to stop the bleeding,” Hans said slowly.
“What did you use?” Poppy asked, though as she ran her hand along the scar, looking at the burn scar.
“Incendio.”
Poppy’s eyes widened in shock as she looked between the scar to Hans’s eyes and back again in horror, “Hans, why? Why did you do that to yourself?”
“Because I could have stopped it. Could have kept it al Karin going wrong. I could have reasoned with Sebastian before it went too far,” the boy closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath. “I’m sorry.”
“Why are you sorry? I’m the one who is sorry, and should be sorry. Oh Hans, you stupid, stupid boy,” Poppy exclaimed, drawing Hans back in for a hug. Hans put his arms around Poppy, but did not answer, only relishing in her embrace.
Poppy pulled away, reaching up to grab his chin and force him to look at her, “It was not your fault. You did what you could. You saved Sebastian’s life. I am proud of you, and I’m glad you did what you did. But please, promise me you won’t hurt yourself like that again. That’s just- it’s awful.”
Hans stared into her warm brown eyes for a moment, which were full of worry and dismay, before nodding. Once she saw Hans nod, Poppy let go of his chin and looked back down at the scar. She reached down and unbuttoned the rest of his shirt, pulling it open so she could see the whole of his chest. Like she had before, she traced her finger around the perimeter of the scar, her brow furrowed.
Poppy noticed three more scars on his lower stomach. These ones were much smaller, and were in his left side. They were each circular, and about the size of a quarter. Their distance from one another formed the shape of an isosceles triangle, with each one being the “dots” of this triangle. The closest one of these scars to his side, Poppy realized, must have been a deep wound. She found this as she realized the scar ran along his entire side toward his back.
Poppy lifted Hans’s shirt, walking around him as she continued to trace her finger on the scar, following it to his back. Here she lifted Hans’s shirt to find the three same scars reflected on his back. The scars on his back were not indents as in the case of his front, but instead they bulged out of his back by a few millimeters, like small hills on a vast and smooth terrain. Hans allowed her to examine his chest, staring intently at his scars and repressing a shudder as she moved her finger toward his back.
“What about these?” Poppy asked from behind Hans.
Hans took in a deep breath, before raising his right hand and glancing at his watch. He exhaled, and as Poppy placed her hand over the three of his scars, she felt his breath stress his entire back. “We should probably get going, I don’t think we should miss breakfast,” he answered, dodging Poppy’s questions.
Poppy relented, dropping her hand and his shirt as he turned around. She looked up into his eyes and nodded, slightly disappointed, but understanding that Hans may not want to reveal everything at once. “Yeah, okay,” she answered, reaching forward and beginning of button up Hans’s shirt for him.
Hans allowed her to do this, before turning to grab his blue vest. He pulled it over his arms and quickly buttoned it up while Poppy watched, noticing how expertly his fingers snatched his belt and the blue cloth that went beneath it, strapping both to his waist and straightening them. Once Hans had finished getting ready, pulling his cloak over his arms at last, he looked to Poppy and gave her a small smile. “Come on.”
Poppy took his hand, following beside him as the two left the Room of Requirement, realizing how little she really knew about this charming and handsome boy.