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Low snarl can be heard at the end of Hufflepuff’s table in the Great Hall, clearly coming from the only person who always sat there every single mealtime without fail. Notes all scattered across the table, they grumbled as they shoved a sandwich into their mouth, knowing that the other person in front of them would be annoyed to listen to their grumblings, and worried that they will actually break their brain over Potions.
Lev slammed their head on the table again, out of frustration this time as they tried to crumble their Potion notes, before settling them down. The kind-hearted Slytherin in front of them tensed up, clearly worried about their head now.
“Let’s just take a break, pumpkin. We’re not getting anywhere like this.” Barnaby sighed, giving their head a small pat. They purred in his hand, their cheeks nuzzling into his palm. Their animagus form seems to be showing up again to him.
“Ugh fine, but we’re going to have to review this after the break. I still haven’t gotten any of this shit in my head.” they sighed, rubbing the growing red bump that’s currently throbbing on their forehead. Barnaby chuckled, started gathering their belongings while thinking of what to do during their break today.
He suppose he could take them to the Three Broomsticks for a cup of butterbeer or two, or they could just duel to let out some steam. That seemed to be Lev’s preferred way of intimacy between the two of them, instead of actually making out in the closet like most students. Barnaby doesn’t mind, though. He liked watching them beat the living shit out of him again and again, they always looked cool doing it. He wouldn’t admit it to them, no, without earning him a smack in the head or a curse on his mouth, and he doesn't want that. After spending time with them for the last two years, he seemed to know how to actually “read” their emotions.
Deep down, he knows that Lev cares about him, even if the grumpy Hufflepuff would rather lick the bathroom floor than telling everyone in the whole world how much they love Barnaby Lee.
And it wasn’t that other people didn't try to challenge her loyalty, no. One time Orion Amari tried to ask them out by dueling, which they agreed. The duel was a crushing defeat for Orion, who got obliterated by the panther animagus. Lev simply snarled at them, telling him something that even Barnaby (who was watching on the sideline without blinking even a second) couldn’t forget.
“I agreed to your duel out of my respect to you, but I will say that I had no intention of letting anyone else take Barnaby’s spot. I might not look like a typical Hufflepuff, Captain, but I am nothing but loyal to my partner. My apologies, but for now no one can replace Barnaby Lee for me.”
The entire courtyard clapped along, everyone standing and cheering over the two Hufflepuffs dueling. Lev helped Orion up, the Hufflepuff Captain bid them a farewell and went back to the Quidditch field, and the scary Hufflepuff yelled out for the students in the courtyard.
“Listen up! Fourth Year Barnaby Lee is the one I’m loyal to right now! If you guys dare to test our strength, then come at me. I will take your invitation for a duel.”
And just like that, everyday there always seems to be at least one student who asked Lev for a duel. And every single time their opponents would come out of the dueling room crying or annoyed, over both being rejected and defeated by his dear pumpkin. Of course they would lose, Barnaby is sure that only he and Merula ever come close to defeating them, and that’s not counting all the strategies that they pulled to get ahead of him every single time they actually fought.
He’s very proud of them. So very proud. For declaring their love out loud without biting into the pavement.
His train of thoughts came to a halt as Lev stopped in front of a section of a wall, noticing how they seemed to walk over the wall a few times before stopping themselves. A door appeared in front of them, and Lev placed their hand on it, pushing forward. Grabbing Barnaby’s wrist, they walked inside, and the door closed, turning back into a clean slate of wall.
The room was large, clearly larger than two people needed, but this was better than any sort of secluded place that Barnaby thought at first. It was similar to the Dueling Room down in the dungeon, yet it was absent of all the scratches and burns. Leaning against one of the walls, a large blank canvas and a few cans of paint is present, with two stools ready to be used in front of it.
Lev threw away their robes somewhere onto the floor, sitting on the stool in front of the canvas and pulled out a few blank parchment in between their books. Picking up a piece of carbon from the ground, the Hufflepuff started sketching, using their Potions textbook as a table.
Barnaby, at this point, was even more confused than the first time he saw a door suddenly opened up from a blank wall. He doesn't know why he is there, what is the reason that this room suddenly shows up, and why there is a canvas bigger than his body just sitting there in the room unoccupied.
“B, sit down.” was all Lev said, glancing towards him as they returned back to their sketch. You must be tired was unspoken, but Barnaby couldn’t help but think that maybe that’s what they meant when they told him to sit. He didn’t realize that he had been breathing quite heavily. How many stairs did they take already? Four? He hasn't been paying attention.
“What’s this place? Never been here before, I don’t think.” Barnaby asked, looking around the place as he sat down patiently beside Lev.
Still busy with their sketch in hand, they replied, not lifting their head from the paper. “Room of Requirements. Heard of it before?”
Barnaby vaguely remembered something like that, talked by a few Slytherin students in the common room that he accidentally overheard. Something about a room that only showed up when you needed it the most, complete with whatever it is that you need. It has limitations though, but thankfully whatever it is that Lev needed doesn’t seem to be anything hard to get. A painting set and an empty room just for them. Shouldn’t be hard to fulfill.
“I asked for a place for us to relax. We should be able to spend our free time here.”
“Okay, but why is there a canvas the size of a Chinese Fireball here? Are you really going to finish drawing that in one sitting?”
“Merlin, no. You think I got the balls to finish this right now? I’ll carry it around for a few weeks maybe and work on it when I’m free.”
“And what are you going to draw on this large thing? I don't think you can hang this anywhere except the ceiling.”
Lev didn’t reply, simply going back to many of their sketches scattered on the floor as they prepared their canvas. Their cheeks are dusted with the slightest of pink, and Barnaby just knew that they’re hiding something. Are they planning something that he didn’t know? Interesting!
Barnaby has done this several times knowing that he always needed to coax them somehow, so trying to get Lev to open up to him is an easy feat. There’s also only the two of them, so it would be even easier to get his grumpy pumpkin to tell him.
His plan starts with him peeking into their sketches on their hand, before picking up some on the floor. It seemed to be various compositions of a person, and that it seemed to be of a man, or someone with a masculine physique. Barnaby knew it didn’t exactly tell him much, and he’s not gifted in any way when it comes to art, but now he’s even more curious. Who is this person that his dear Lev is trying to draw in this huge canvas?
“Aww, who’s this bloke, pumpkin? Must be nice to be drawn into a canvas as huge as a door.” Barnaby chuckled, leaning against their shoulder and nuzzled into their cheeks, peering on the parchment they’re working on right now. A clearer picture is visible for the guy now, where you can clearly see the face and his expression as Lev is trying to figure that part out. The Slytherin is trying to see if he noticed who this guy is, trying to take in all the details. Prominent cheekbones, thick and bushy eyebrows, a very beautiful smile… oh.
They were drawing him. This large canvas is going to be filled with a painting of Barnaby.
Of course, who else would it be? Somehow it had slipped his mind that sometimes in Potion he would receive a note with a picture of his face from his dear little pumpkin, telling him about how Merula is being mean to them again. Or that he would see many little sketches of his face on their textbooks when they’re going through it during lunch, trying to squeeze in as much study time as they can before a quiz. And all that time, he has never seen Lev draw anyone else but him.
“Sometimes when I have a crush on a boy I draw them non-stop… I had a phase of drawing Charlie and Murphy for a little bit. Though now I’m just drawing you.” Lev suddenly said, their eyes looking back towards the canvas in front of them. “I don’t know how else I can show how much I love you, so I’ll say it my way.”
At this point it’s a wonder that Barnaby hasn’t cried yet. He had never thought that someone would actually paint him because of how much they love him, not because of family obligations or something silly to be mounted on the wall. No, it’s because Lev appreciated him in their life so much that they wanted to paint him the size of a dragon, so that they always remember this love for him. This is Lev’s form of love, and he’ll gladly take this.
Barnaby was clearly floored, he let out a sigh of relief as he sat down on his stool. “By Merlin, nothing will ever top this gift you gave me, love.”
“You don’t need to try so hard, Lee.” the Hufflepuff replied, applying a thin coat of primary on the canvas. “Just having you by my side is enough for me.”
The two stayed quiet for a while, with Lev focusing on their painting as they dumped a whole lot of blue paint over the entire canvas. Holding the little palette in their hand, the scary Hufflepuff started to paint Barnaby’s skin on top of the blue, making sure to accentuate his lips and cheekbones. It is their favorite feature of him after all.
Barnaby watched their hands move beautifully, gliding across the surface of the canvas as they continue to bring more details into his face, and he can’t help but wonder about their color choice. Out of all colors, why did they pick blue for him?
“Wondering about the blue now?” Barnaby could hear a little playful chuckle between their words, as Lev returned to their seat for a small break. Barnaby glanced back towards the canvas, noticing how it started to form his face, as roughly as Lev could after a few hours working on it. And yet, he could feel the scene in the canvas, of him staring back against the two of them. Smiling, and watching them so sincerely.
“You know, there’s a line in a book that I read before about art. That if you look at anything in this world and it appeared as one color, then anything can be that color.”
Huh?
“That might sound confusing but think of it this way: you know how the Great Hall is always candle or fire-lit, so it always appears yellow and warm? If you see that as yellow, then the green juice served during breakfast can be yellow too.”
Barnaby couldn’t really grab that sense right away, but he understands that they meant something to them. So does that mean that Lev sees the world in blue, and that he’s also blue in their eyes?
“Blue is a soothing color. Something that helps you relax. It can represent many things, including somber, calmness, serene, and stability. And to me, the world is like that. You are a part of my world, B.” Lev smiled towards him, pointing the paintbrush towards him. “To me, you are a soothing presence that helped me to relax.”
The Slytherin didn’t think that his heart could feel more emotions than before, but he was yet proven wrong once again. It was like all of happiness grew in his chest, swelling and threatening to combust at any seconds. How could this person be even more cute? And the fact that they put a lot of thought over this painting of him, and to think that he meant so much to them? That was it, he was about to drop dead at any moment in this room. Lev will have to carry him out.
He gently held their right hand, still holding wet brush dripping from turpentine, and closed his eyes. If he meant this much of them, then there’s only one thing that he could do for them in return.
“Lev, there’s no words that can describe how much you mean to me. I will always stay by your side, love. You have my words.” he pressed his lips against their hand, his free hand taking the brush away. “Will you let me show you how much I adore you?”
The Hufflepuff chuckled, placing the palette away as they held Barnaby’s face in their hands, pressing a soft kiss against his lips. “Sure. Show me how much you love me, my muse.”