The Undercroft
Hans strolled through the castle, taking his time to stroll through the halls toward the Undercroft. He had departed from dinner only a few minutes ago, making the excuse to Poppy that Sebastian wanted help with something.
“Do be careful,” Poppy said, looking up at him as he stood from the Hufflepuff table, “Sebastian is- I don’t know.” Poppy hugged his waist as he stood, holding him in place for a moment and taking in a deep breath.
Hans put an arm over her shoulder and returned the hug. Once Poppy let him go, Hans swiftly swooped down to plant a kiss on her cheek, to which she giggled, “Don’t worry, I’ve taken down the equivalent of a dragon, this is can be no worse than my constitutional around the Forbidden Forest,” he remarked wittily, before walking off, leaving Poppy to finish her food with Natsai.
Samantha Dale and Garreth Weasley were sitting with Natsai and Poppy that night. As Garreth started to spend more time around Natsai in particular, Poppy couldn’t help but be suspicious that he fancied Natsai. As for Samantha, she wasn’t sure. Samantha had always been friendly with everybody in their newly forming friend group, and so it wasn’t that strange that as time went on, she too would be accepted in it. Ominis wasn’t present, he hadn’t shown up all night, like Sebastian, the group assumed they were together.
“You and Hans are so cute,” Samantha smiled at Poppy, poking at her meatloaf with her fork.
Poppy blushed, but only slightly, “I- thank you?”
Samantha, Natsai, and Garreth all laughed, and soon after Poppy joined in. “It was a compliment,” Samantha leaned toward Poppy, “but do tell me, have you two… you know?”
Poppy looked at Samantha with a confused expression for a moment, before her eyes widened in shock as red came across her face, “What!? No! Of course not! Not yet- I- I mean- not that we will- it’s just- argh!” The group around Poppy exploded in laughter, while Poppy crossed her arms and pouted.
As the others finished their dinner, Hans was moving toward the Undercroft, quietly humming to himself the Boccherini Minuet as he walked. Upon approaching the passage beneath the Defense Agaisnt the Dark Arts class room, Hans looked about, ensuring that none were around to witness him entering the Undercroft.
Hans flourished his wand, it’s pale surface shining in the torch light. The Ravenclaw tapped the surface of the cabinet that opened to the Undercroft, waiting patiently for the cogs and hands on its front to turn and unlock access to the Undercroft. Once the hands had turned far enough, the door on the front of the cabinet opened, revealing the passage to the Undercroft beneath.
Once he descended, the gate revealing the chamber slid up, Hans scanned the room, looking for Sebastian. Sebastian was looking at the canvas in the corner, staring at it as he rocked back and forth on his heels, apparently waiting for Hans.
Once Hans stepped through the threshold of the doorway, Sebastian turned around. “Hans.”
Hans walked up to Sebastian, who leaned against the wall behind him, “Hello, Sebastian. You wanted to talk?”
“Yeah- I wanted- I wanted to first apologize,” Sebastian’s voice was quite hesitant.
Hans raised his eyebrows, “For what?”
Sebastian gave Hans an incredulous look, “Are you serious? For what? For everything, that’s what. I’m sorry I dragged you through all of that- I’m- I’m sorry that my uncle haunts you, I’m sorry, Hans, I am.”
Hans made a tiny head shake, staring at Sebastian with a pondering expression, he opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it, not seeming to find words.
To this, Sebastian kept talking, “I feel terrible, I feel awful,” as he talked, his voice wavered, and he struggled to continue, “Anne hates me, and I thought, I thought- I thought you hated me too.”
“Sebastian I wouldn’t-“ Hans began, but Sebastian continued.
“I didn’t need to use those- those curses,” Sebastian’s face flickered with disgust for a moment, “I could have used anything else. Anything. I could have spared my uncle- it didn’t- it didn’t have to end like this.”
Hans was frowning at Sebastian with a pitiful look, “It didn’t have to, but it did, and so we have to move on.”
Sebastian nodded, his bottom lip quivering, “if I could go back, I would. I would change everything. I would fix everything.”
“I know, Sebastian. For a lot of things I would too,” Hans moved forward, patting Sebastian on the shoulder, “but we can’t.”
Once more, Sebastian nodded, “The Boggart. I’m so sorry. He shouldn’t have been there. He didn’t need to be there. But-,” tears welled in Sebastian’s eyes, “-you saved me. I couldn’t- I couldn’t face him. To make him funny. Who could do that after they killed their own uncle? But you- you had to face him- and you destroyed the Boggart. I didn’t have to face him- I didn’t- I couldn’t-“ Sebastian’s rambling broke away, taken over by ragged sobs as the tears now streamed down his face. The Slytherin put his head in his hands, crying.
Hans wasted no time, moving forward and hugging Sebastian, pulling his Slytherin friend into a tight embrace. Sebastian reacted only by putting his chin on Hans’s shoulder, still crying with his eyes slammed shut.
Hans patted Sebastian on the back, staring blankly at the canvas behind the Slytherin. Only a few weeks earlier, Hans found it difficult to interact with Sebastian, in those times desiring nothing only to be on the opposite side of the school from Sebastian. But here he was now, comforting his “friend,” and despite all that Sebastian had done, it didn’t bother Hans anymore. He knew Sebastian regretted it, and would for the rest of his life. What more did Hans need?
Eventually Sebastian pulled away, looking at Hans with red eyes, “Thank you, thank you for listening. I know you probably haven’t forgiven me-“
Hans shook his head, “Don’t, Sebastian. I have. And I will, no matter how bad. Will I deny your consequences if you keep going down this path? Probably not. But I will forgive you no matter what.”
“I’m done. I’m not going back. I want to spare what’s left of my old self from the Dark Arts.”
“Then in my eyes, the whole of you is on the right track,” Hans smiled, patting Sebastian on the shoulder again.
Sebastian have a weak chuckle, “Thank you. Does this mean that we’re… you know… good?”
“You know, I reckon so,” Hans nodded, a face of mock intuition on his face.
Sebastian laughed again, this time a bit more confident in his happiness, “What about you?”
“What about me?”
“I know you’re struggling with Professor Fig- and- and that goblin,” Sebastian said.
“Lodgok.”
“Yes, him. I know there are also other things you aren’t telling me, but you don’t have to. I just want to ask you, sincerely, are you okay, Hans?” Sebastian asked, leaning back against the wall and wiping his eyes with his robe.
Hans opened his mouth to answer. He intended on lying, putting on a face and answering how he did that moment, but as he did, he remembered Poppy’s words to him some time ago. She told him how he couldn’t run from his feelings forever, and that he needed to address the human sides of him, and so he changed his answer, “I- I’m struggling. But… things are getting better. I’ll get through it.”
It was Sebastian who patted Hans’s shoulder this time, “I’m here for you if you need me.”
“Thank you, Sebastian. It means a lot.”
“Of course, after all you did for me. I wouldn’t dare to leaving you hanging,” Sebastian grinned, before pausing, “so what now?”
Hans shook back the sleeve of his robe, glancing at it, “Hm. I could probably still meet up with Poppy, I have about an hour left, so I think I’m going to do that.”
Sebastian didn’t look surprised, “Alright, I’ll see you later then.”
“Right, well, I’ll see you around, Sebastian.” Hans turned around, heading back toward the exit of the Undercroft, feeling like a weight had lifted in his chest.
“Oh, and Hans,” Sebastian began, forcing Hans to look back at Sebastian with his eyebrows raised. Once Hans looked back, Sebastian finished, “I’m lucky you’re my friend, and glad too.”
Hans only smiled, but as he did, the slightest flicker of sorrow came across his face, Sebastian couldn’t reckon why. And just like that, Hans was gone, leaving Sebastian alone in the Undercroft. As Sebastian looked back at the empty canvas behind them, he couldn’t help but to be glad, and feel that it would all be okay, no matter the outcome.
Once Hans had exited the Undercroft, he began walking toward the door that led to the Transfiguration Courtyard. Just as he reached the door, a voice called out behind him, “Hey, Hans!”
Hans paused, turning his head to look behind him, his hand outstretched. Rushing toward Hans was Lucan Brattleby, “There you are, you slippery Ravenclaw! I’ve been looking for you all day!”
“You have?”
“Of course!” The small student stopped right in front of Hans, “listen, I got a spot for you on Saturday, you in?”
Hans turned around, fully facing Lucan, “sure. Walk with me, I have to be somewhere.” The Ravenclaw turned back around, with Lucan following after him.
“Sweet! You’re set for 2:00 in the afternoon, this one is the biggest yet,” Lucan said excitedly.
“How many people am I dueling?” Hans asked as they passed through the courtyard and into the hall to the Great Hall.
Lucan grinned, “I guess it’ll have to be a surprise.”
Hans rolled his eyes, “Great,” he muttered.
“Don’t worry, I have full confidence in you,” Lucan paused as they approached the doors to the Great Hall, “say, don’t you have a lady?”
“You could call her that.” Hans answered, his eyebrows quivering as he thought about such a prospect. His lady.
“You can go ahead and invite her,” Lucan pushed through the first door to the Great Hall after Hans, “I’m sure she’s trustworthy. You trust her, right?”
“More than anyone else,” Hans answered, not even bothering to emphasize the words.
“Then she can come, maybe we can try her for a duel,” Lucan waved at Hans as they walked through the second doors, heading toward the Gryffindor table. “See you then, Hans.”
Hans waved back, before turning his focus to the Hufflepuff table. He was doubtful that Poppy would want to duel, but he would mention it to her all the same. And there she was, her back to him as she laughed at something Natsai said to her. Hans’s heart skipped a beat as he smiled to himself, enjoying her beauty even from a distance.
As Hans approached the table, Samantha, the Ravenclaw, tapped Poppy’s shoulder and pointed behind her at Hans. Poppy twisted in her seat, spotting Hans as he approached the table, her face lighting up once she saw him.
Once Hans was within earshot of Poppy, she exclaimed, “Hi, Hans!”
Hans smiled, her pure enthusiasm making his night, “Hello, darling,” he said brightly.
As Hans sat down on Poppy’s right, Hans greeted the others at the table, at least the ones that were listening. Natsai was talking to Garreth, laughing at a joke he made about his most recent failed potions experiment.
“Hans,” Samantha nodded to him and smiled.
Poppy’s attention was now focused on Hans, her arm looping with his as she sat up a little so she could kiss him on the cheek, returning the favor he had given her when he left for the Undercroft. “How did it go with Sebastian?”
“Pretty good, actually, really good. We talked and figured some things out,” Poppy noticed the twinkle in Hans’s eye return, a key sign for her that things went well, as he said.
“I’m glad. And you’re sure it’s all okay with- you know- the thing about his uncle?” Poppy said a little hesitantly, lowering her voice so Samantha couldn’t hear, even though the female Ravenclaw was now pretending like she wasn’t listening to their conversation.
Hans nodded, “Better than it has been since it happened.” Although her constant worrying might be annoying to some, Hans figured that was mostly in regard to her care for him, so he tried to not mind it that much.
Poppy looked satisfied, “Good. Samantha and I were just talking about Charms. Apparently Duncan was attacked by a bunch of folded papers after class because the spell he used to bewitch them to fly was wearing off.”
“You should have seen it!” Samantha turned her focus back to them, “He was running through the common room with his hands over his head like a maniac! Professor Hecat was outraged by all of the paper scraps and broken ink bottles all over the carpet. She wouldn’t let the house elves clean it up, instead forcing Duncan to.”
Perhaps Samantha expected Hans to laugh, instead he just frowned, “That seems a bit unfair, wasn’t the paper attacking him enough?”
“Professor Hecat said that because he ran around and knocked the ink bottles over instead of using a counter charm he was solely responsible for the consequences, and that the house elves didn’t one more task for the evening,” Samantha was still smiling.
“Is he still there now?” Hans asked.
Samantha shook her head, “No, he came back to dinner while you were gone and ate a quick dinner with his head down before heading back up to bed.”
“Ah,” Hans nodded, still not laughing, he seemed to still feel sorry for Duncan. Poppy smiled to herself; she loved the compassionate side of her love.
Natsai reached over Poppy’s shoulder(for Natsai was sitting on Poppy’s left) and tapped Hans on the shoulder, “My friend, has Lucan talked to you about Crossed Wands on Saturday?”
Hans nodded, “Yeah, apparently I have some mysterious duel at 2:00.”
Natsai grinned, “So I heard. I’m excited to see it.”
“Thank you, Natsai,” Hans smiled, before pausing, looking at Poppy, “Speaking of which. On behalf on both myself and Lucan, you are invited to come on Saturday.”
Poppy’s face lit up, “Oooh. Really? Is that okay?”
Hans was slightly confused, what kind of question was that? “Of course it is! I would love to have you there!”
Poppy smirked, “You just want me to see you win.”
Hans stuttered, “well- I- no- I mean- Lucan said you could also give a duel a try, too.”
Poppy froze, her finger raised in mock accusation as she thought about this. “I- I will have to think about that.”
The idea was quite enticing. After her excursions with Hans out in poacher camps, she started to grow more and more confident in her skill as duelist. But in a competitive tournament? She knew she wouldn’t win the harder duels, compared to Sebastian she was nowhere capable of matching him in combat, and Hans wasn’t even the slightest bit of competition. She didn’t want to embarrass herself either, which would be highly likely knowing herself.
Hans smiled at her, “You have time to think about it, so do.” She wouldn’t know it, but her love was hoping she would take up his offer. He knew she was an excellent duelist, he had seen it first hand, and maybe more people would respect her more if they personally knew her skill with a wand.
Internally glad that he didn’t push it any longer, Poppy pulled the conversation from Crossed Wands. The conversation went on and on, eventually coming to a close as everybody parted ways. Natsai and Garreth walked off first, heading toward the Gryffindor common room, followed by Samantha to the Ravenclaw common room.
Eventually Poppy and Hans stood, being the last to leave, they made no rush out of the Great Hall as Poppy remarked, “I’m telling you! Garreth fancies her!”
Hans rolled his eyes, “Are you sure?” He asked mockingly.
“Did you see them walk out together?” Poppy asked as she pushed through the doors exiting the Great Hall.
“Yeah, that’s because the two of them are Gryffindors.”
“Were you this thick when trying to figure out if I fancied you?” Poppy asked, looking back at him as she leaned her back against the second set of doors, pushing them open.
“If you expect the worst then you lose no hope, and if it becomes the best then it makes it all the more better,” Hans answered.
“And was what happened between us the best?” Poppy teased.
Hans grinned, “it was better than the best.”
As they neared the stairs to the Hufflepuff common room, Poppy said, “you really are the sweetest thing.”
“No, that’s you, Miss Sweeting,” Hans emphasized her last name, grinning at his little pun.
Poppy rolled her eyes, before pausing, “Your statement about expecting the worst. Does that mean you want Natsai and Garreth to start courting?”
“Of course I do, I want them both to be happy,” Hans answered as they reached the bottom of the stairs.
“Yeah, me too.”
As they moved past the kitchen painting, neither of them spoke. They spent their last few moments together in a peaceful and happy silence. Once at the barrels to the Hufflepuff common room, they turned to one another.
Poppy threw her arms over Hans’s neck, standing up on her tiptoes so her lips could meet his. The moment their lips touched, the same electrical zap that passed between them on their first kiss did again. Hans leaned into her, deepening the kiss, savoring the taste of her lips. They pulled apart, looking into each other’s eyes with only passion and love.
“See you tomorrow?” Hans asked, leaning forward and resting his forehead on hers, as was tradition between them now.
“Yeah,” Poppy breathed, “I’ll see you at breakfast.”
“Sounds good, then I’ll see you then, darling.” Hans pulled away, his hands trailing away from her waist to her arms, running along them as he took several steps back until only their hands were touching.
Then Poppy took a step back and their hands were no longer touching, she waved, “I’ll see you tomorrow!”
Hans waved back, “yup!”
Poppy turned away, knocking on the barrel leading to the Hufflepuff common room. The barrel entrance opened, and she disappeared inside. Hans watched the ordeal, standing there on the other side of the barrel once it closed or a few moments. At long last, he turned away, heading back up to the stairs to the Ravenclaw common room.
Yep. Hans was convinced that somehow, despite all of his trials and challenged in life, he still somehow figured he was the luckiest guy in the world.