Chapter Text
“I cannot believe I’m sharing a dorm room with two couples,” Crystal groans, her chin slipping off her hand and face falling onto the down duvet cover. She’s sprawled across her own double bed, Gigi and Nicky lounging on Gigi’s bed and Jackie and Jan on their end bed. It’s a Sunday, so none of them have any commitments although exams are coming up, and if Jackie hadn’t been pulled away from her textbooks, she would have been swallowed whole.
“I cannot believe I have to take your bloody exams,” Nicky raises her head off Gigi to whine before flopping back down. Gigi gently strokes her hand up and down the girls exposed forearm in a soothing motion as Crystal guffaws.
“Yeah, and you’ll beat us all,” Jan responds. She’s flicking flashcards above her head, using a floating charm and a lot of faith despite the room choosing this as a no-study time.
“Jan, chill.”
“Can’t. Care of Magical Creatures is a practical exam and I can only do it once.”
Most of the exams are just mocks - precursors to the actual exams that will be faced at the end of seventh year, but few, such as astronomy and care of magical creatures, go straight towards the end grade, which only stand to terrify the sixth years into actually studying. Some professions such as healer also require a proficiency test taken in the Summer, so Crystal frets quietly while Gigi teaches her the charms that never quite stuck (including a non-permanent sticking charm).
“Jan, you won’t fail, baby. You’re so good at it. And you talk about kneazles and nifflers in your sleep,” Jackie tries to soothe, forcing a sherbet lemon into the girl's mouth, which breaks her focus and leaves the cards to fall on top of the two of them.
“Two weeks!” Crystal announces sarcastically.
“Two weeks. We’ve got this,” Nicky says staunchly. “Ou que dieu m'aide.”
*
“Want to go on a final Hogsmeade date before exams?” Gigi asks as she leans over the back of Nicky’s chair. She places the sharp point of her chin on Nicky’s shoulder and breathes in her coconut shampoo. Nicky turns as far as she can in the solid wooden chair, placing a chaste kiss on her cheek.
“Of course, chérie.” Gigi flushes at the pet name - taken back to that night in the library as she looks over the table of scrolls and tomes of transfiguration and the tiny little pin cushions she’s using as practice.
“I’ll pick you up?” She likes the intrigue - they might share a bed, but she was raised on good old fashioned American rom coms - ‘You’ve Got Mail’ and ‘Sleepless in Seattle’. She refuses to give all that up. She’s going to take her lady on a good date if it kills her.
“I’d like that,” Nicky says, her voice low and more seductive than Gigi can handle.
“Come to bed soon,” Gigi whispers, lips pressed under Nicky’s ear. Nicky hums in agreement and Gigi feels it vibrate under her lips. She pulls herself away, making sure to walk away nicely just in case, before she slinks back down to the Hufflepuff dorms.
She slams herself against the back of the dorm doors, pushing it closed and humming to herself in happiness. She walked past Jan and Jackie studying at the coffee table in front of the warm fire, so they’re not in the room, but Crystal is - hunched and wrapped in her duvet, whispering charms to herself as she does wand movements with her fingers.
“If you two fuck tonight you better silence yourselves or so help me,” The brunette mutters, not breaking focus from the piece of parchment she’s wandlessly setting on fire, dousing, flying up and down and rolling up.
Gigi giggles in response. She’s the only one of them that’s vaguely relaxed and god help her, she’s going to enjoy it for as long as she can.
*
Nicky rolls into bed much later than she’s promised. Her fingers smell like new paper and her hair is loosely braided down her back, and Gigi pulls her against her chest immediately. Crystal (out of prior experience) has her curtains pulled around her, as do Jan and Jackie (although that’s entirely for their benefit), so they pull theirs too, so they can silence the area.
The second it’s secure, Nicky’s lips latch on to Gigi’s pulse point, the blonde straddling the girl's hips without saying a word. She slips her cold fingers under her shirt, feeling the warm, taut skin of Gigi’s navel under her fingertips. Gigi shivers and giggles, leaning forward to capture Nicky in a searing kiss, hands moving down to hold the blonde’s behind, pulling her further on top.
Nicky lets out a slew of French curses as Gigi runs a finger down the curve of her spine.
“YOU’RE NOT FUCKING SILENCED,” Crystal yells across the room, and Nicky collapses on top of Gigi. She’s not embarrassed - not in the same way that Gigi immediately flushes red - clear even in the dark. Nicky slinks down the brunette’s body pressing a finger to her lips as she hooks her other hand into Gigi’s shorts.
She peppers kisses on Gigi’s now exposed stomach, pushing her nails into the girl’s thigh when she’s struggling to keep quiet and hoping - really hoping, Crystal will forget it tomorrow.
*
Gigi wakes up at the crack of dawn, grateful that Nicky seems to have tuckered herself out studying last night and isn’t yet rousing.
She somehow manages to roll out from under the French woman (she’s not quite sure how, but she’s glad) and pads to the bathroom to try and get ready. She’s practically vibrating with excitement, as she brushes her teeth and pulls her hair back into a low ponytail. She pulls on a Slytherin green tank top, a pair of shorts, and a black flannel, because it’s getting unsettlingly warm even for late May, and sets her black combat boots quietly by the door - making sure to shove her purse and her wand into her rucksack before she moves to wake her still sleeping partner.
She pauses before waking the blonde gently, picking Quaffle up from where he’d slunk in to fill the warm spot Gigi had left. She snaps a picture of them asleep together first, though, animating it, so it moves like all wizarding photos and she can watch her two loves snooze together. It’s stupidly cute.
Nicky manages to look pristine on a morning, so they exchange a chaste kiss and the French girl heads into the bathroom for a quick change and to brush her teeth. She comes out with her hair out of the braids, curly down her back, and a pale blue gingham dress that ends mid thigh. She pairs it with a pair of Gigi’s white converse that she's basically stolen, and they leave a note, so the rest of the girls won’t worry. The gates from the boundary of Hogwarts to Hogsmeade open at eight a.m. on a Saturday, so they head out of the castle immediately. The walk is a leisurely forty-five minute stroll over fields and gently rolling paths or a twenty minute thestral carriage ride, but considering the fact it’s only half past seven, they take the time to walk hand in hand. It’s already warm and sunny outside, and the light licks the soft spattering of freckles on Nicky’s shoulders.
Their first stop is breakfast pastries and coffee at Madam Puddifoot's Tea Room, and they get to sit at a cute little window table with armchairs that gives them a perfect view of the rest of the students as they trickle into the small station town. Nicky sips her latte as Gigi rather messily eats a danish pastry, letting the crumbs fall down onto her lap. Nicky leans forward to kiss the icing off her bottom lip, and the brunette flushes scarlet as once again her girlfriend has zero public shame.
They take ice cold smoothies to go as the sun seemingly refuses to feel remorse today, and walk hand in hand over to the shrieking shack, where Gigi educated the blonde on the history of Remus Lupin. They learn about him now in defense as one of the greats and his memorial is outside the shack. It’s one of those things Gigi finds fascinating, so she dives into every detail she knows, and by the end of the story they’re both warm and maybe a little more tanned and laughing at old stories of The Marauders her uncle told her.
They wander back to the town with sweaty hands intertwined, aiming to visit a few shops before lunch, and then sunbathe for the rest of the afternoon - maybe meeting up with Jan and Jackie if they venture out.
They head into Honeydukes first, stocking up on a few goodie bags for Crystal (one as an apology, one as exam treats, and one just because), sugar quills enough to carry them through the coming month, and some sweet treats for an end of exam slumber party.
Next, they head into Scrivenshaft's stationary shop where Nicky picks up enough supplies to write a couple of letters. They sit on the benches outside with cold sodas Gigi collects from The Three Broomsticks as Nicky writes her letters. If she finishes them here, she can send them from the town post office instead of carrying them back up to the owelry. Nicky makes her girlfriend slather thick suncream on her exposed shoulders and back with the claims that her delicate french skin will burn without it. Gigi just chuckles. Nicky may have gorgeous freckles, but she’s also a golden tan colour that makes Gigi envious.
They end up in Zonkos just before lunch, so that Gigi can buy a new shade button - the last unfortunately murdered in the Shower Incident of ‘09. She can neither confirm nor deny her involvement, but she feels guilty, so she shells out a few knuts and even gets it gift wrapped in a cute paper covered in tiny snitches.
They end up meeting Jackie and Jan for lunch at The Three Broomsticks - the girls relaxing on a bench outside as they eat onion rings and burgers while sipping butterbeer. It feels like the perfect Summer day, and it makes Gigi feel like she could float away even though they all complain about feeling full.
They don’t have to walk far to find a quiet field to lie down in, and they end up just relaxing on the grass for hours, tanning and chatting and falling in love.
Crystal and the Gryffindor she’s been seeing for a few weeks stop by, and she looks so happy that they just let her carry on her way.
They only really start to contemplate leaving as the 4 p.m. breeze carries the straggling humidity across the open fields. They manage to catch a thestral carriage and cuddle up in the seats, folded into each other as Nicky falls asleep on Gigi’s outstretched arm. She presses a kiss to her forehead and the blond mewls, burying her face into the crook of Gigi’s neck.
A perfect day.
*
Their breakfast on Monday morning is both sluggish and high strung. Jan looks like she’s about to start crying any second - her care of magical creatures practical assessment happening in only an hour or so. Crystal is still mumbling wandless charms under her breath as she stirs her tea just by staring at it and butters her toast. Nicky is practically asleep on Gigi’s shoulder, having pulled almost an all-nighter for the potions exam on Wednesday. She’d clearly outlined her exam rules a few weeks ago in which she fully condoned all-nighters, as long as they weren’t the night before an actual exam.
She’d decided, since the charms exam was scheduled for four p.m., she could nap before it and all would be well. Gigi just blindly trusted her, knowing she would spend the rest of the day convincing Crystal nothing would explode.
Jackie stirs her coffee methodically, twice forward and once backwards, as she stares at astronomy charts she’s copied onto flashcards. She wordlessly feeds Jan a toast crust, and the blonde chews it robotically before going back to staring at the table.
“We can do this,” Jackie mumbles under her breath, looking at them like she’s making sure they’re all still alive.
Jan still looks close to vomiting, but she smiles weakly and nods, holding Crystal’s hand and giving it a squeeze.
“Team dumb with no talent, let’s go,” Crystal jokes, and the table just chuckles.
The rest of the hall is the same. The whole of sixth year looks like they want to drop dead over their porridge, Vanessa silent for the first time since OWLS, and Violet only hitting on the people closest to her, instead of flirting across the whole hall.
The bell for the first period goes off, and they all sit up straight.
“Into battle,” quips Nicky, and Gigi squeezes her arm. They’re all going to be just fine.
*
Fine might be an overstatement, Gigi realises as they come into the second week of exams.
They trade note cards and words of encouragement in between practical assessments, written work, and careers guidance meetings as if this fortnight isn’t already hellish. They may fall into bed together and wake up around the same time, but it actually takes more effort to see each other than it would usually with specialised study sessions running at all places at all times of the night. Astronomy study lasts from midnight to 2 a.m. every few days, so Jackie and Nicky crawl out of bed some days looking like zombies.
Crystal jokes one day that this has finally affirmed that Nicky is in fact human, and as much as Gigi wants to laugh, her girlfriend has never looked so exhausted, so instead she just pulls her close and turns her old notes into paper butterflies as a transfiguration practice. They all have to pick an origami shape to perfect and show, and since Gigi picked butterflies, the dorm is filling up with them. Nicky chose little birds, which she releases out the window, and Crystal decided scorpions would be fun, which she tosses into the fire as kindling.
Jackie perfected a phoenix, despite only taking the class part time, because she’s insane.
They tell her as much.
Jan just stretches and curls up into a ball around Quaffle. Neither of them have ever cared for transfiguration.
*
Gigi sits with Nicky outside the practical for potions when the stress finally hits her. She feels like she’s been boiled alive in a pressure cooker and someone’s just cracked open the lid, so the steam is finally being released as she sobs into the French girl’s waiting arms. Nicky chuckles softly to herself as she gently strokes her girlfriend's back, the black robes a little bobbled and very soft after years of wear.
Gigi cries quietly until the bell for the exam goes off. The second it does, it’s like a switch is hit and she stands up - like a robot when you’ve pressed the activation. She brushes down her (still perfectly smooth) skirt and holds out her hand to pull Nicky up from where they were both sitting on the floor. Nicky squeezes the hand in support and Gigi nods.
“Slughorn won’t kill you if you’re a few minutes late, mon chérie,” Nicky whispers, chin pressed against Gigi’s shoulder blade as she stands behind her slightly taller partner.
“It’s just potions,” Gigi replies, staring straight at the large oak doors that stand between her and her second to last exam. “I can do potions.” She’s not convincing Nicky, but if she’s convincing herself, the blonde supposes it’s okay.
She gets an O for Outstanding in her final grades. None of them are surprised.
*
They’ve somehow all managed to fit onto Gigi’s bed - the green covers bunched under five seventeen-year-olds lounging around. Crystal has her feet on Nicky’s lap and her head on Jan’s, having claimed she’s being neglected. She has Quaffle sat like a loaf on her stomach, Gigi sat next to her, stroking him, so he kneads his claws into the soft, ribbed fabric of her tank top.
Jackie tries to toss a Bertie Bott’s Every Flavoured Bean into Jan’s mouth, but it falls and hits Crystal in the eye, so they start playing a game of ricocheting them off Jan’s face and trying to get them into Crystal's open mouth. She mostly just ends up laying there, gaping like a fish out of water until Nicky tickles her foot and she squirms in a way that causes the cat to freak out and dig every claw into the pale flesh of her stomach. She yells a profanity, and the whole room bursts out laughing before they all remember the time and wince.
It’s three a.m.
Professor Longbottom is anything but lovely at three in the morning. Thankfully for the still silently giggling girls, they appear to have kept quiet enough not to have woken anyone, but it does spark something in Gigi.
She smirks to herself, prompting Nicky to poke her gently in the ribs.
“I know that look,” she says, eyebrows raised in amusement, and Gigi just raises an eyebrow back.
“Fuck,” Jackie says, looking between them. “This won’t end well, will it?”
“Who wants to play Quidditch?”
There’s a lull as everyone silently hopes she’s joking. To be fair - she’s the captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team and she’s damn good. Jackie is a Chaser for Ravenclaw, and Crystal and Jan are beaters for Hufflepuff. They’re all pretty fucking good.
Nicky on the other hand…
“Baby,” she whispers worriedly as the others pull on sweatshirts and grab their brooms. “You do remember I can’t fly.”
Gigi does remember. She remembers very well how she’d planned a romantic flight only to have Nicky turn white as a ghost the second they entered the Quidditch pitch. She remembers how the French girl had squeezed her tight and cursed under her breath muttering words Gigi couldn’t understand, and yet understood perfectly.
“It’ll be fine,” she assuages. “Just hold on tight honey, it’ll be fun.”
It is fun. It’s very fun. Once they sneak out and get over the whole not having balls thing, they have a whale of a time, swooping and diving around each other like they used to when they were thirteen and cared less. Or maybe cared more - Gigi forgets as the air whistles past her ears. She feels Nicky’s face pressed against her back and she takes one hand off the broom to squeeze one of the hands wrapped tightly around her waist, fingers clawing the fabric for anything to grab onto.
“You remind me of Quaffle,” she muses, which is the absolute wrong thing to say to your volatile French girlfriend when she is scared and tired.
“I better not remind you of your putain de cat,” she curses, fingernails digging in even through Gigi’s thick Slytherin team sweatshirt.
Nicky had previously commented that she thought they were all adorable in their matching Quidditch sweatshirts, so they’d gone to the house elves and gotten her one made. They’d had such an argument over the house she was in they’d ended up just getting Hogwarts and its crest sewn onto the front, and the light grey just made it look soft and warm. Nicky always looks soft and warm. This is a thought Gigi often has as she watches her girlfriend sit in bed, rereading Kurt Vonnegut with Gigi’s glasses on.
She’s really not ready to let her go.
*
They have to say goodbye at the gates, but, really, the whole day is one long goodbye.
Nicky says goodbye to Quaffle as she packs her stuff away neatly into her trunk, sneaking in Gigi’s white converse, but having to remove Gig’s cat multiple times, because he is a nuisance. He’ll come to France in September, but he seems really keen on getting a head start.
She says goodbye to her bedding, although she barely slept in it, and to the way Jan doesn’t wake up, and to morning yoga, and Crystal throwing things, and to Jackie reading softly in the evenings.
She says goodbye to breakfast (it’s waffles, and Jan is wide awake), and to the ceiling, which is a bright blue, and fills you with warmth just looking at it.
She says goodbye to Professor McGonagall, who might be one of her all-time favourite people, and she turns a napkin into a silver butterfly for her, making the woman crack a smile.
She says goodbye to Jan and Jackie being a disgusting couple at the same dining table, but makes them promise to write. Jan just scoffs and pretends she’s not crying, and reminds her they’ll see her at Christmas when they’ll all be smoking hot. Jackie doesn’t pretend she’s not crying. She just gives her her favourite astronomy book and tells her she’ll be missed.
Crystal gives a long-winded speech about how Nicky was like a family pet or something she’s pretty sure was just an odd English saying, and Jackie punches her, but she knows enough not to ask, and just lets the brunette hug her tightly, fixing the girl’s hair with a charm before she leaves.
She says goodbye to Gigi at the gate.
She’s not ready to, not really, but she gives it a go.
“I love you,” she says, earnest and raw.
“Je t'aime davantage,” Gigi replies and her eyes are whirlpools Nicky could fall right into. She’s pretty sure she already has.
“Impossible,” she whispers.
And then she lets go.
*
Genevieve,
I miss you so much! I am counting down the days until September arrives, I just can’t wait. I hope your summer is fun, I know you are spending it with your uncle, he seems wonderful - tell me more about him.
How are Janet and Jaqueline? You must tell them to write about Jackie’s time away from home (it’s a good thing they’re lesbians and cannot get pregnant). Does Crystal write over the summer? She told me she would get a butterfly tattoo for me and I do not know if she was joking. It sounds like her. How unfortunate.
I miss you and your stupid cat. I love you. I cannot wait to see you.
Write soon!
La tienne,
Nicoletta.
Ps: If you dare call me Nicoletta you will be dead before you can apologise. <3