Another Moment by the Sea
Poppy spun on her heel, rushing toward Professor Hecat. Before Professor Hecat could even say anything to the class, Poppy was right in front of her with pleading eyes, opening her mouth to speak.
Professor Hecat shook her head, and pointed to the door, speaking before Poppy could get her words out, “Go, Miss Sweeting. Go find him.”
Poppy froze, looking up at Professor Hecat in shock. Perhaps the professors knew more than she thought about her personal life, “Yes, Professor. Thank you.”
The girl turned right around and hurried over to her bag. She picked it up, setting it over her shoulder, before moving next to Hans’s wand. She turned it over, noticing how much it felt like him. The same feeling, almost the same pulse as his. The wand really was made for the wizard.
Poppy also found Hans’s bag, which she started to recognize out of all the other bags in the school as well. With both bags in hand Poppy scurried out of the room, off to find Hans, who had disappeared since he destroyed the Boggart.
As Poppy ran out of the classroom, she heard Professor Hecat begin to address the rest of the class. After Hans attacked the Boggart, whispering began to spread like a plague amongst the students who had just witnessed it. Poppy caught snippets of it as she began to gather Hans’s things.
“-what was the black smoky thing?” She heard Lenora Everleigh ask from behind her.
“I thought he killed a bunch of goblins, why was he afraid of one?” Another voice she couldn’t recognize ask.
“Where did the Boggart go?”
“He’s a killer?”
By the time Poppy got out of earshot of the DADA classroom, her heart was beating out of her chest and she was breathing heavily. All of the questions that were spurring up in the classroom. All of her own questions. What just happened?
Poppy’s thoughts were racing, and she was struggling to get things through her head. The Boggart. Professor Fig. The blood. The sand-like creature. The little girl. The goblin. The contraption in Hans’s hands. The man with the obscurial injuries. The angry bearded man. As all of these images flashed through her mind, mixed with angry and fearful thoughts, a single thought shined through it all.
Find Hans.
But where could he be? Poppy could think of only two places he would go off to. His common room or the Room of Requirement. She found his common room to be unlikely, since Everett and Amit were both in that class, and they shared the same common room. Besides, if he went there she wouldn’t be able to get to him. He wouldn’t do that, right? A pang of fear shot through Poppy’s heart as she began to worry if Hans wanted to see her. If he wanted to talk or be with her after what happened. What if he didn’t?
No. Hans trusted her. He cared for her and she cared for him. That was how this works. Right?
Poppy didn’t know where else to go find him other than the Room of Requirement. She wasn’t aware of the Undercroft, nor was she aware of who the bearded man was, but in a reality that Poppy didn’t yet know, it was unlikely that he would go anywhere that Sebastian could talk to him after the Boggart Hans confronted took the form of Sebastian’s uncle.
So off Poppy went, hurrying up what felt like a thousand stairs as fast as she could to the seventh floor where the Room of Requirement was hidden. Once she approached the door, she crossed her fingers in her robe pocket and entered.
———
Hans was standing just where the rolling water couldn’t get to him. It was peaceful here. The natural sounds of waves crashing on rock and sand were relaxing to him, alongside the slow rumbling snore of the Lord of the Shore.
The boy was staring out at the ocean, silent tears streaming down his cheeks. The images of what transpired just only moments before still flashing before him. He was not prepared to face the Boggart. He wasn’t ready to see the faces of Professor Fig or Lodgok, Solomon or his own.
In his own little bubble, he was safe. The only one he allowed in this bubble was Poppy. Her warm touch, her hugs, her kisses. He wished he could have one of those things right then, but at the same time he dreaded seeing her next. He dreaded the questions, and more so, the answers.
Hans’s hand was curled around the gleaming metal of his father’s watch. His thumb was running over the back side of the watch, feeling every blemish and curve of its surface. Why did everything have to happen to him? Was it because the universe saw him to be capable to take it? Because he wasn’t, he had failed, he had fallen. He was the only one who survived, when he should have been the one to be sacrificed for the safety of others.
The boy sighed, tightening the watch over his wrist, clipping its cold metal onto his skin. He shook his shoulder back, shaking his robes off of them and balling it up. He tossed the robe onto the sand, where it gathered grains of sand like little parasites.
Hans then raised his left leg, standing on only his right as he pulled at the heel of his shoe. The shoe slid off fairly easily, and then his sock came off next. He pushed his sock inside of his dress shoe, before tossing the shoe behind him with the cloak. Hans then did the same with his right shoe, until he was barefoot.
Hans was unaware that he was being watched by a small girl close to the entrance of the vivarium. She spotted Highwing and the Lord of the Shore, both across the beach from one another and sleeping. She watched curiously as Hans threw off his cloak and shoes, before beginning to wade into the water. He stepped through the splashing waves, the water wetting his pants as he went far enough for it to go above his knees.
The boy was too focused on the sounds and the feeling of the water to notice that Poppy had approached the shore now. She hesitated right at the water’s edge for a moment, before doing the same that Hans had done. She threw off her cloak, letting it fall on top of Hans’s, before pulling off her boots and socks. Once she curled up her skirt to about knee height, she began toward Hans, shivering as the cold water lapped at her bare legs.
Poppy didn’t understand how he could be standing out in the water, with it up to his knees, without shivering, and instead just standing stock still. She waded toward him, yet he still had not noticed. The Ravenclaw was so engrossed in thought and listening to the water he did not consider to wonder when Poppy would show herself.
It took for Poppy to wrap her arms around his waist that he noticed her presence. Poppy leaned into his back, taking in a deep breath as she inhaled his forest-y scent. Hans tensed when Poppy first touched him, but then he began to relax as he realized who was hugging him.
After a moment of silence, Poppy opened her eyes and said softly, but loud enough for Hans to hear over the waves, “Come back to me.” It wasn’t a request or a demand, but a plead. “I miss you.”
Hans listened to Poppy, closing his eyes and letting out a long sigh as he touched her right arm, taking in the warmth of her embrace. He had been so entranced in his own thought he didn’t realize how cold he really was, and knowing he was cold, Poppy must have been freezing.
When Hans was helping Poppy with the poachers during the winter months, she would always remark at how cold it was, and Hans would always offer his robe. Though he never would admit it, he was cold too. However, it somehow warmed him up more seeing her stop shivering as she held his cloak over her more than a warm butterbeer every could, and how he wished it was his arms instead of his cloak that protected her from the cold.
That same person who Hans cared so greatly for was standing behind him, holding her arms around him and hugging him tight. In her own way, protecting him from the cold, the cold harshness of his thoughts and his memories.
Hans gave a short nod, turning and allowing Poppy to take his larger hand in her own and lead him toward the sandy beach. As soon as they reached the sand, Hans noticed how violently she was shivering. Without any hesitation, Hans let go of her hand(Poppy frowned in protest) and approached their robes bundled up in the sand.
The boy walked back to Poppy, unfurling both of their robes and beating the sand out of them with the back of his left hand for a few seconds as he walked back to Poppy. He threw her robe over her shoulders, helping her arms into it as she gave him a smile, “Thank you.”
On a normal day Hans would give her a beaming smile back, always glad to see her smile, but today he gave her some of kind pained grimace, as if it was too difficult to smile. It was not that he didn’t enjoy seeing her smile, he did, he was just very distracted. “I’m sorry. You didn’t have to come out to the water with me.”
Poppy shook her head, leaning into Hans as she took his hand, sitting down on the sand as she continued to shiver, “No. I wanted to bring you back in my arms.”
Hans chuckled, sitting down next to her, putting his cloak over her own, with his arm in between his cloak and hers as he put it around Poppy, hugging her into his side. Poppy folded her legs underneath her and leaned into Hans, her head on his shoulder.
After a moment of silence, the two of them sitting in the beach watching the sea, Poppy spoke, “Do you want to talk about it?”
Hans didn’t answer, his jaw clenching as he considered her question, wondering how open he wanted to be.
When Hans didn’t answer, Poppy turned her head to look up at him, “Hans?”
“It’s… ugly…” Was Hans’s answer, whatever it was meant to say.
“And I want to hear it, because I care for you. I want to know,” Poppy answered, “Ugly or not.” “Because I love you,” Poppy thought to herself.
“I- I don’t know where to start,” Hans whispered, his eyes closing as a single tear appeared in his left eyes, rolling down his cheek.
Poppy reached up and wiped away the tear, “Then you don’t have to start. Can I ask questions?”
Hans nodded, giving out a shaky breath.
Poppy nodded in return, putting her head back on his shoulder, thinking of where to start, and landing on what felt like an appropriate question, “The goblin, was that Lodgok?” She asked quietly, trying to keep her voice respectful.
Hans nodded for a second time, “Yes,” he croaked, “Ranrok’s younger brother. Lodgok was on his way to destroy one of the drills-“
“Drills?”
“Sorry,” Poppy sighed to his apology, before he continued, “Ranrok had built giant drills to search for the repositories. They were kind of like trains, except underground, with a pointed tip that would cut into rock at the front.”
“Oh,” Poppy tried her best to get a mental image of what one of these drills would look like, “and so they would use these to dig?”
“Yes. Exactly. Anyways, before I could find Lodgok, Rookwood found him. He brought Lodgok to Ranrok and Ranrok bullied his little brother for a little, before taking the book that Lodgok was going to give me, it contained the location of the last repository, the one beneath the castle,” Hans answered.
“I was bringing it to you…” whispered Poppy, understanding in her voice as she realized what the Boggart’s words to Hans meant in Lodgok’s form.
“Yes, those were the last words he said to me, before Ranrok killed him,” Hans whispered, his voice barely audible over the washing of waves on the beach.
“I’m sorry H-“ Poppy began, before Hans cut her off.
“Don’t. It’s my fault. If I had found Lodgok first, instead of Rookwood, Lodgok could have been saved. Professor Fig could have been saved. The repository could have remained a secret, and perhaps even Ranrok’s death could have been avoided,” Hans murmured glumly.
“There it is again, there’s that blame,” Poppy straightened up a little, turning to look at Hans with a stern look, “it wasn’t your fault. You could have done nothing. You didn’t know. You need to stop blaming yourself just because you survived, because I’m glad you survived. I’m glad I get to share these moments with you, yes, even ones like this,” Poppy finished defiantly.
Hans faltered beneath Poppy’s stern gaze, before submitting, “I- okay. You’re right. I’m so-“
Poppy cut Hans off before he could finish apologizing, “Aye! No!” She put a finger to his lips, gushing him.
Hans stopped talking as she lowered her finger, dropping it his side and leaning back into him, “Can I ask you another question?”
The boy took in another deep breath, closing his eyes once more, “Go ahead.”
“The man, the one that didn’t have the broken arm. The one who had the beard, he looked unharmed? Who was he? And why did both you and Sebastian recoil?”
Hans didn’t bother to open his eyes to answer the question, “Sebastian’s uncle.”
“Oh, that makes a good deal of sense,” Poppy nodded to herself, looking down at her lap as she considered her next questions carefully. Now there was the can of worms regarding the sand and Hans’s words to himself.
“Hans?” Poppy was still staring at her lap, “are you okay?”
Hans was not expecting such a question, and his eyes snapped open. He avoided Poppy’s eye, remembering she had already asked this question once before. He didn’t remember how he had answered.
“I want to be.”
“Oh, Hans,” Poppy looked up at him, pulling herself onto his lap, settling her weight on his outstretched legs and cupping both of his cheeks, she stared into his eyes, “Sometimes it doesn’t work like that. Sometimes you have to confront things, and talk about them.”
“I- I know.” Hans slowly met her gaze, “I just- the others. The other things,” he gulped, dropping his gaze at staring at Poppy’s cheek, “my sister, my father, the revolver. I’m not ready to talk about it.”
Poppy signed, leaning her forehead into his. “And that’s okay. Just- just know that when you are ready to talk about it, I’m here. I’ll be right here. And I’ll listen, and I’ll still love you no matter wha-“ Poppy suddenly snapped her mouth shut, recoiling from Hans as if his skin had burned her, “I’m so sorry- I didn’t think- You don’t have- I know that was too soon I’m sorry but I just feel-“
Hans didn’t say anything, he only stared at her, his eyes snapping back up to look her in her own, considering if she meant what she said. After a moment of Poppy stammering on he cupped her cheek with his hand, and he said softly, “Poppy, don’t worry, I love you too.” And with that, Hans leaned in to kiss her, this time savoring it. The kiss was long and short lived, and in that moment, it felt like the spotlight of the world was on them, and only them.
Poppy pulled away, giving him a nervous smile, “Are you- sure, I know that was early- I spoke before-“ she continued, but now it was Hans’s time to put a finger to her lips.
“Don’t. Don’t worry. I want to thank you, for everything, for listening, and to tell you I want to spend this moment and every other I have alone with you like this, with you in my arms,” Hans mumbled, his voice rumbling from deep within his chest. Sure, it was cliche, but this was young love. Everything is cliche.
“Yeah-“ Poppy said, nodding, “yeah, that sounds good.” She turned around in his lap, sitting back and leaning against his chest. Hans rested his chin on the top of her head, wrapping his arms around her body as they looked back at the sea. Despite their peculiar and possibly suspicious sitting position, neither of them considered it in that way. This was a moment to enjoy together, under one another’s embrace and love.
And here they sat, illuminated by the seaside sun, alone and free to themselves, their warmth soothing the other. At long last, they began to leave the Room of Requirement, departing for their own common rooms.
As Poppy thought about everything that had transpired that day, she was glad that it had done so in such a manner. Now she could say she loved Hans, and he her. Love. A such a handsome word. Poppy liked the way it rolled off her tongue.