"Oi! Quit daydreaming and fly!"
"Are you even listening?"
You turned around and shook your head in apology. "Ah, sorry."
You waited until a good half-hour of the practice had passed to bang your arm on a goalpost, successfully injuring yourself. The Captain sighed in disappointment and told you off for a solid ten minutes before sending you off to Madam Pomfrey.
Wasting an idle fifteen minutes battling Peeves in the corridors, you ran back to the Quidditch pitch knowing the Gryffindors would have left. But to your dismay, you couldn't find the one Hufflepuff either. Where did he go?
You grabbed your broom and took off, swirling around the grounds before landing in an opening in the Forest. Just when you did, something moved by the tree behind you.
Whipping your wand out, you spun around, broom held mid-air like a baton ready to bash the beast's head. But there was no beast in sight. You frowned, narrowing your eyes and mumbling a revealing charm. A single leaf wiggled in response. Slowly, a twig detached itself, climbed down the tree to your eye level, and stood on a lower branch.
You chuckled to yourself, lowering your defence wards and weapons before taking a step closer to the tree. "Hello there," you gave the Bowtruckle a little wave. The two leaves atop its head twitched in caution. It squeaked and ran, disappearing into the foliage. "Hey, wait! Oh come on, I'm not that scary!"
"Not at all, he's j-just extremely s-shy," a soft, low voice stammered a little to your left. You looked around to find a young boy in yellow robes fixing his glasses, the Bowtruckle on his shoulder trying desperately to hide in his ridiculously messy mop of hair. Beautiful, glittery hair.
"Well, then I shan't be surprised if Bowtruckles were your favourite species," you grinned, smacking his upper arm, laughing when he jumped at the touch. "See?"
"S… Sorry, just bad with…" Newt Scamander waved at your hands vaguely.
"Physical touch?"
He nodded, head tilted low.
"Aww, sorry. You'll get used to it," you smiled. "Shoulda prepared yourself for it when you first agreed to be best friends with clingy me." With that, you sat on the grass, laid your broom beside you, and patted the ground. Newt nibbled the inside of his cheek, weighing the pros and cons of spending a free afternoon with you in the forest, before quickly sitting across from you.
You both crossed your legs and removed your cloaks –– the forest was far too warm. You tossed yours against the tree, striking perfectly and letting it sink to rest on the roots. Newt shuffled over, picked it up, patted the poor fabric, folded it neatly and placed it atop his own. You could see a subtle head-shake, lips twitching at the tips. "What's so funny? I'm tired from practice, okay?!"
He nodded, letting out a chuckle before beckoning the Bowtruckle down. "Say hello," he patted it.
A low grunt and a wave followed, making you laugh. "Oh, you're hardly friendly. Hello. Say, Scamander, why are you here anyway? Don't––" you added, when he opened his mouth warily. "Don't tell me you just walked in, I saw you coming in here an hour ago."
"I… Ju– Just…" He gulped, eyes darted back up. Seeing you waiting with a patient smile, his shoulders relaxed a bit. "I come here… to s… study."
"You study here? Merlin's beard, the Forbidden Forest is your quiet space? Takes a damn lot of courage to even come in here, you're in the wrong house!" You clapped, laughing and cheering. "Makes sense. You do love animals, it would make sense to want to study in the middle of a bloody jungle. And for someone who's boggart is an office desk…"
His mouth twitched in a smirk, making you laugh. "It's not exactly Care of Magical Creatures, though…"
"Oh?"
He nodded again.
"Let me take a wild guess." He looked up, eyes far off but alert, the way they always were. "You're writing your own book on magical beings?"
"…" He gulped and shook his head vigorously, hair flying. "No, no, just ta..king my own notes," he denied slowly.
"If that's what you call it for now, sure," you flashed a grin. "I don't know about your writing skills, but I do know you're mad about these ones," you waved at the Bowtruckle, holding out your pinky finger, waiting. The creature pulled a face but relented. You felt a little leafy twig wrapping around your finger and glanced at Newt, beaming with pride. "Look! He likes me!"
Newt was probably surprised too, the way he smiled a little grin. "Who wouldn't?" you heard him mutter.
"I heard that," you smirked, holding out your free hand. The Hufflepuff gazed at it for three long seconds before clasping your hand in his own. "…"
"Wanna go back inside or stay? I could bribe a Prefect of ours to help get in after curfew."
"… Stay." He didn't stutter this time.