Work Text:
It was the first day of official classes and Tine was late for Potions, as per usual, and he hoped that Fong had saved him a spot so that they could be partners for the term. He sped into the classroom at full tilt and the rest of the class looked back at him like he was completely insane.
“Tine Aekaranwong. How lovely of you to show your face.” The Professor addressed him dryly. “Please find a seat so that I can continue on with the lesson.”
Tine searched for Fong and saw that Ohm was sitting next to him. Fong gave him an apologetic look and Tine made a mental note to never trust Fong with something as important as seat saving. He scanned the rest of the classroom and saw only one open chair available next to the very last person he wanted to sit with: Sarawat.
They had been going to school together for six years and Tine was still terrified of his classmate. Sarawat was the Seeker for the Gryffindor team, had a fan club of students that worshipped the ground he walked on and Tine had never once seen a smile on Sarawat’s face. They had never actually had a conversation but Tine knew that it was going to be challenge to sit next to Sarawat without feeling on edge every minute he was in Potions class. Tine internally groaned and made his way to the table.
“Uh, hi.” Tine greeted as he sat down next to Sarawat.
Sarawat looked at Tine from the corner of his eye and then shifted his attention back to the Professor. Tine figured that was the best possible reaction he was going to get out his broody classmate so he left it at that.
“Your first task will be to collect natural ingredients from around the campus to concoct a Potion of your own design.” The Professor explained and Tine bit his lip with worry. As interesting as the assignment sounded, he was not especially good at Potions and ingredient knowledge so he hoped that Sarawat had some semblance of experience in the area.
“You have this class to decide what kind of Potion you would like to make so that you can start collecting your ingredients as soon as possible. This will be a practice of trial and error so I suggest that you use your time well.” The Professor droned on.“It will also likely require some work outside of class time so make sure that you arrange that with your partner before you leave class today. All right, get to it.”
Tine made a point of glaring back at Ohm and Fong who had already launched into an animated brainstorming session. They ignored his gaze but he grumbled nonetheless before turning back to face Sarawat.
“So….” Tine mused, pulling at a loose thread on his grey sweater to distract himself from how awkward the situation already was. “What should our Potion do? I guess that will determine the ingredients, right?”
“I’ll handle it.” Sarawat explained shortly. “I’ve seen how strong your Potions skills are and I don’t exactly want to cause any bodily harm to us or any classmates so just let me do the work.”
“Oh.” Tine muttered, surprised that Sarawat had ever paid him even more than a shred of attention, even though what he technically said was an insult. Tine continued, “But I can help! I’m pretty good at research so…. why don’t we at least decide what our Potion will do together? Otherwise the rest of this class is going to go by pretty slowly.”
“That’s fine.” Sarawat shared and pulled out some parchment, ink and a quill. “I prefer silence anyway.”
Tine watched as Sarawat began to scrawl some ideas down onto the parchment and prepare a rudimentary ingredient list based on some of the ideas that he had written down so far. Tine was shocked to see how easily this came to the Star Seeker. Tine had never been strong at academics himself but the fact that Sarawat was both good at sports and was strong in his classes just didn’t seem fair.
“I want to help. I don’t want you to do all the work and I just take credit. That doesn’t sit right with me.” Tine murmured earnestly and Sarawat paused his writing to lift his eyes to meet Tine’s.
“Okay.” Sarawat seemed to be surprised that Tine was protesting the arrangement. “What kind of Potion do you think we should make then?”
Tine mulled it over for a moment and recalled that Sarawat had quite the knack for music. This was a common interest that was shared by them, so Tine shared, “Why don’t we do something that can manipulate or alter the way that people experience music?”
Sarawat’s eyes widened in a way that made Tine wonder if he was surprised by the strength of his idea. Sarawat bit his lip momentarily before muttering, “Synesthesia… we could find ingredients that would stimulate other senses so that people could, in theory, ‘see’, ‘taste’, or ‘smell’ music.”
“Whoa. That sounds perfect.” Tine responded with a small smile as Sarawat began to flip through his Potions textbook, leafing through to likely start to think of some important ingredients.
Tine watched as Sarawat began to take notes before Sarawat paused and looked up at Tine with a glared, “Are you just going to sit there or are you going to make yourself useful? Look for any ingredients that alter state of mind or affect the senses.
“On it.” Tine answered and took out his own textbook.
It looked they were going to make a better team than originally anticipated and Tine couldn’t help but feel relieved by that.
++++++
“Can you pass me a pumpkin tart?” Fong asked Tine and Tine grabbed one absentmindedly and chucked it in his friend’s direction.
Tine and his friends were finishing up dinner in the Grand Hall when Tine realized how late it was getting. He was supposed to be meeting Sarawat at the edge of the Forbidden Forest in half an hour. They had spent the last few days compiling their list of ingredients and one of the flowers that they needed only bloomed in the Moonlight of a certain part of the Forbidden Forest. Sarawat had received special permission from the Groundskeeper to access the Forest afterhours as long as they kept their visit brief.
“Earth to Tine!” Ohm reached over and poked Tine in the head. “Fong just asked what you and Sarawat are doing for your potion assignment?”
“I promised I wouldn’t tell.” Tine explained and Fong and Ohm exchanged a suspicious look.
“You and Sarawat make promises now?” Fong asked, an eyebrow raised in accusation.
Tine pushed himself up from a seated position before wrapping his scarf tightly around his neck as it was likely to be a frigid evening. He had heard his friends and others whispering about he and Sarawat over the past few classes but he had chosen to ignore them. It was true that Sarawat connected with few others in classes aside from Man and Boss but he and Sarawat weren’t friends, they were just Potions partners.
“If you’re jealous, why don’t you just say that?” Tine countered sassily.
“We’re not jealous.” Ohm stated plainly. “Everyone just finds it a bit odd that you and Sarawat are chummy all of a sudden. Sarawat isn’t known to tolerate people very well. His Potions partner last year was Earn and even she barely got a word out of him!”
“Well, I guess I’m just a bit more charming than Earn.” Tine argued before pulling on his cloak.
“You’re really not.” Fong shared with a smirk and Ohm laughed in agreement. Fong continued, “Well, anyway, if he feeds you to the Centaurs tonight, remember that we tried to warn you.”
“Wat isn’t evil.” Tine shared before pulling out his wand. “He’s just always in a state of brooding.”
“Wat?” Ohm repeated incredulously, his eyes dancing with mischief. “Now you have a nickname for him?”
“I’m going to walk away now.” Tine turned quickly and made a dramatic exit, likely earning himself even more laughter from Ohm and Fong but he didn’t care.
It took him a few minutes to get down to the edge of the forest and it made him wish that he knew how to apparate without leaving a limb behind. He hadn’t quite mastered the skill yet and it wasn’t worth the risk, despite it maybe saving him a few minutes.
Sarawat was humming to himself and leaning against a tree as Tine approached him from behind. Tine listened to the melody for a moment, wishing he knew a spell to quiet his footsteps as Sarawat actually had a lovely voice. Sarawat stopped as soon as he heard Tine and turned around to face Tine with an indifferent look in his eyes.
“Sorry it took me so long. My friends were giving me a hard time.” Tine blurted out.
“About what?” Sarawat wondered and started off into the forest, obviously wanting Tine to follow in his wake.
“Uh, don’t worry about it.” Tine watched as Sarawat disappeared into the shadows of the edge of the forest.
There was a part of Tine that wished he was a Gryffindor like Sarawat, where he could boldly walk into a potentially dangerous situation without so much as a bat of an eye but his Hufflepuff-ness definitely got in the way.
“Sarawat?” Tine called out as he walked into the trees, searching for his classmate. He took out his wand and whispered, “Lumos.”
A small light flickered at the end of his wand and he spotted Sarawat a few paces ahead of him with an amused look on his face. “Scared of the dark, are we?”
“I’m just being safe.” Tine muttered as he caught up to Sarawat so they were walking side by side. “But actually, yah, a bit.”
“I’ve always thought it showed much more courage to share what you are afraid of rather than pretending you’re not scared of anything.” Sarawat explained as they ventured deeper into the forest.
After that, they walked in silence for a while and Tine wondered if Sarawat knew where they were going. He hoped to goodness that he knew that way back to the castle as Tine had no sense of where they were or where they had been even 10 seconds before. Tine was surprised to find the quiet so comfortable as he was much more used to listening to Ohm and Fong’s constant bickering and babbling.
“So how do we harvest the MoonLeaf?” Tine questioned, swinging his arms by his side to amuse himself.
“Looks like someone didn’t do the reading I told him to.” Sarawat sounded like he was attempting to scold Tine but Tine could see a small smile on his classmate’s lips.
“Sorry.” Tine chewed his lip in guilt. “I got caught up in a game of Wizard’s chess with Ohm before dinner.”
“It’s not a big deal.” Sarawat responded as they slowed their pace. “We’re here already. I guess you will just have to learn as we go.”
They had stopped at the edge of a meadow that was blanketed in moonlight. Tine concealed his wand as the light was bright enough that he could see everything and did not feel so afraid anymore. Although, that could have also been because of Sarawat’s presence.
The meadow was full of a plant that Tine had never seen before, although he had never paid much attention during Herbology classes to begin with. The plant was not especially tall but the top had silvery leaves that stretched toward the sky as if it were reaching for the moon itself.
“It’s beautiful.” Tine whispered, completely in awe.
“It’s definitely more beautiful at night.” Sarawat explained as he made his way toward a plant. “During the day, the leaves are closed and it looks like an average weed that no wizard would bother even looking at but as soon as the moon comes out, it shows its true form.”
“I guess it’s almost like a nocturnal plant.” Tine remarked as he followed behind Sarawat.
“Kind of.” Sarawat said as he knelt down near a cluster of the plants. “Although that would imply that the plant is awake when, in reality, it is just an involuntary response to the moonlight.”
“Are you sure you’re not supposed to be a Ravenclaw?” Tine rolled his eyes at Sarawat as Sarawat took out his own wand.
Sarawat ignored Tine’s comment and beckoned with his wand for Tine to come closer. Tine got down on Sarawat’s level as Sarawat pulled a leaf out gently to show him. “You can tell that it is mature because of the spots along the edges. We need quite a few but you have to be careful about removing them or the plant will shut on your hand and I can say from experience that it hurts.”
Tine watched in fascination as Sarawat slowly twisted the leaf away from the plant and removed it. Sarawat nodded to encourage Tine to try and Tine pulled one out after a few tries before placing it in the collection satchel that Sarawat had brought with them. Sarawat smiled encouragingly at Tine and Tine felt his heart race at the reaction.
They harvested in silence for a while before Tine asked, “So… you’ve done this before?”
“I sometimes help my Father collect ingredients for his medicinal Potions.” Sarawat explained. “He is a colleague of the Groundskeeper which is why we got permission to come out here tonight.”
“Oh.” Tine murmured. “I see. I figured that the Groundskeeper was a fan of the Gryffindor Quidditch team or something which is why you got special treatment.”
Sarawat prickled at this and Tine immediately felt guilty for saying it. He did not know how Sarawat felt about his undeniable popularity but, based on Sarawat’s reaction, he was not very fond of how people treated him because of it.
“Sorry.” Tine moved to a plant further away to give Sarawat some space. “I wasn’t thinking.”
“Clearly.” Sarawat spat and Tine saw a scowl on his partner’s face. “We don’t have to talk. Let’s just this over with.”
It was Tine’s turn to prickle. It seemed like Sarawat had actually been slightly warming up to him but his iciness had returned so quickly. Tine felt a huge wave of regret flow through him but he was not sure what to say to make up for his misstep. If only he a had a Timeturner to go back just a few seconds to fix his mistake.
“I really am sorry.” Tine shared and paused his work for a moment. “I am sure people think they know you all the time and while it is completely your right to keep to yourself, I am sorry for making assumptions about you when I don’t really know anything about you.”
“I don’t just close myself off for no good reason!” Sarawat snapped and stopped harvesting as well, dropping the collection satchel to the ground. “I don’t need to be everybody’s friend. People whisper about me no matter what I do. They make things up about me and paint me to be this mysterious and unapproachable person but… Merlin, when you sat down next to me, I was so relieved.”
“You were?” Tine was shocked by what Sarawat was saying.
“You don’t look at me like you’re scared of me or want something from me.” Sarawat hung his head so the moonlight danced off the strands of his dark hair that fell across his eyes. “You don’t change who you are in front of me and you just treat me as if I was anyone else.”
“Is that a good thing?” Tine was not quite sure where this was going but it seemed like Sarawat had something to say so Tine wanted him to feel safe to do so.
Sarawat seemed to be pondering this for a moment before he looked back at Tine again and answered, “I think so… It makes me feel like I can just be myself in front of you without worrying about what you’ll think of me.”
“Well, I have to admit, I was a bit intimidated by you at first but then I got to know you a bit and, well, you’re certainly not how people perceive you to be.” Tine ran his hands over the dewy ground of the meadow as expressed his thoughts to Sarawat.
Sarawat cocked his head to the side like a curios puppy, “How so?”
“You give off this troubled hero vibe where it either makes people swoon or be scared of you. Like they can’t possibly measure up.” Tine continued, hoping he wasn’t being too critical of Sarawat but his classmate seemed to be listening so he kept on sharing, “But I think you’re actually just so worried about what people think that it makes it hard for you to connect or open up… When, really, you have nothing to worry about because you’re basically the smartest, most talented, most handsome guy at Hogwarts.”
“Most handsome?” Sarawat repeated, seemingly completely surprised by the adjective.
Tine threw a small tuft of grass at Sarawat, hoping to distract from the blush that was currently on his cheeks. “You’re already popular enough, don’t let that go to your head now too!”
“I’m jealous of you, you know.” Sarawat began to gently collect leaves again, his eyes focusing back on the work. Tine stilled at this, “How could you possibly be jealous of a nobody like me?”
“You have real friends, Tine. People like you, for you.” Sarawat’s tone of voice seemed to waver slightly, as if he was becoming nervous. “Aside from Man and Boss, people just follow me around for no good reason. But people actually want to be your friend. They see how fun, kind, and open you are and want to be around you because you’re a great person. Plus, you’ve got a great smile.”
“You’re just trying to compliment me back.” Tine chuckled awkwardly. “You don’t have to do that.”
Sarawat stopped again and looked to Tine. “I know I don’t have to… but I want to.”
Tine suddenly felt as if the trees around him were closing in on him. The dizziness took over and he grasped at something to hold onto but, in doing so, pulled at one of the Moon Leaf plants a little too violently, causing it to snap closed on his hand.
Sarawat moved quickly, pulled out his wand and cast, “Relashio!”
The plant quickly released it’s grip on Tine but the damage was done. Tine held his wrist and winced at the pain as small droplets of blood began to appear where the plant had made contact. Sarawat knelt down besides Tine and inspected the wound. It was not very big but it was painful.
“Episkey.” Sarawat whispered and Tine felt a surging of hot and cold take over his hand before the wound began to close.
“I told you to be careful.” Sarawat accused, even though he looked quite relieved.
Even though the wound was healed, Sarawat kept his grip on Tine’s hand and maintained the proximity between them. Tine’s breath returned to normal but the same dizziness that he had felt before returned.
“I…” Tine murmured as Sarawat steadied him by putting a hand on his lower back. “Sorry. I don’t do well with blood and well, uh, apparently I don’t do that well with compliments either.”
Something that looked like a small smile was tugging at the edges of Sarawat’s lips as he pocketed his wand with his free hand but kept hold of Tine’s with the other. “We have that in common. Is your hand feeling any better? I wasn’t kidding about the Moon Leaf. Even with the healing charm, it’s going to take a few days until the stinging goes away.”
“I’ll be fine.” Tine stared at Sarawat imploringly, wondering why he was so drawn to someone who had basically been a stranger up until a few days ago. “… I think we make a good pair. Despite the danger and bloodshed we encountered.”
“That’s just a typical Tuesday for me.” Sarawat mused with a low chuckle.
The sound of Sarawat’s laugh was infectious and Tine couldn’t help but join in. “Well, I guess you are a Gryffindor, after all. I would much rather stay by the fire in the Hufflepuff Common room than try to save the world every other week.”
“That sounds amazing.” Sarawat sat down next to Tine and hung his head back so he was looking up at the moon, still absentmindedly grasping Tine’s hand.
“I could try to sneak you in some time.” Tine shrugged, attempting to sound casual. “But I guess that wouldn’t exactly be discreet if a bunch of younger students were screaming about you being there but I’m sure we could figure it out…”
“It doesn’t have to be in the Common room. I just kind of meant the idea of just being able to relax with friends, kind of like we are right now.” Sarawat started to pull at some leaves again gently, although it seemed like a harder task to accomplish with only one hand.
Tine registered what Sarawat was saying and muttered, “You want to be friends with me?”
Sarawat slowly turned his gaze toward Tine and lifted their linked hands together. “I kind of figured that was clear by now.”
“Oh… I mean…” The pain in Tine’s hand was slowly dissipating because of the comfort he found in Sarawat’s touch.
“Sorry.” Sarawat stilled suddenly and pulled his hand away from Tine’s. “I didn’t mean to make you feel weird. We don’t have to be friends, I just thought…”
Tine interrupted Sarawat’s rambling by asking, “Who said I wanted you to let go of my hand?”
Tine then boldly reached for Sarawat’s hand and interlaced them again before looking up to see a shocked look on Sarawat’s face. Tine leaned in somewhat, hoping he was reading the situation right and whispered, “See, even Hufflepuffs can be brave.”
Sarawat studied Tine’s eyes at a closer proximity and noticed the moon’s reflection in them. He couldn't help but feel like, in that moment, he could trust Tine entirely. He had never felt the urge to be so close someone and it terrified him more than facing any sort of Magical Beast (and he had battled many). It felt as if this meadow had removed them from their own timeline and they now existed on some sort of alternate plane of their own where it was just the two of them, sharing space and enjoy each other’s company.
Without a second thought, Sarawat brought his lips to brush gently against Tine’s. The contact reminded him of the first time that he had felt magic coursing through his veins: explosive, exhilarating and terrifying - all contained within one feeling.
It took Tine a moment to embrace the reality of the situation but, considering they were in the middle of the Forbidden Forest, he was sure more bizarre things had occurred. If he were to tell anyone the story of his kiss with Sarawat, he was sure that they wouldn’t believe him for even a moment but he didn’t care. He was here and now with Sarawat and while there was a small part of Tine that wondered how the hell he had gotten there, he didn’t feel like questioning it in that very second. Instead, he indulged himself and deepened the kiss.
There was a sudden rustling from the edge of the meadow that sent Sarawat flying into action. Tine watched fondly as Sarawat jumped to his feet, wielding his wand and adopting a protective stance that Tine would be happy to watch on a loop forever based on how intensely handsome it made Sarawat look.
“Wat, I think it was just the wind.” Tine remarked, his head still reeling from their kiss.
Sarawat turned around, the end of his wand lit up with a Lumos charm. “You just called me Wat… I don’t mind it.”
Tine grinned at Sarawat’s response as Sarawat pocketed his wand and made his way back over to Tine. It seemed like Sarawat was going to say something but then he went back to collecting the Moon leaves, as if their kiss had never even happened in the first place. Tine understood the reaction but was also quite disappointed that whatever had gone on between them seemed to likely to stay only in the memory of the meadow.
Tine used his one free hand to start collecting the leaves again, wondering how he was going to be able to sit next to Sarawat every day for the rest of the year without thinking of that kiss. It was just going to have to be something he lived with.
“You know, I wish there was some sort of spell to help me figure this all out.” Sarawat shook his head and seemed to be kind of frustrated. “That all just happened so fast and…”
“We don’t have to have the answers now.” Tine stated plainly, relieved that Sarawat wasn’t just going to pretend nothing happened between them. “In fact, we slow down and take things at our own pace. What is clear is that we make a good team… a Hufflepuff and a Gryffindor… who would’ve known?”
“Potions Partners. That’s a good start.” A moonlit grin spread across Sarawat’s face and Tine felt his breath hitch. The sight was more magical than anything else Tine had ever seen in the Wizarding World.
Whatever this was, it was sure to be an adventure…