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There was nothing that Ernie loved more than being able to curl up on a chair beside a fire on a cold, winter's day, but unfortunately for him, the Hufflepuff common room was a lot busier than he had expected. Ernie usually enjoyed peace during the holidays as most people went home to spend Christmas with their families but this year was the exception to the rule. This year the Tri-Wizard Tournament was in full swing, however, and with the promise of a Yule Ball, many students had remained at the school. While Ernie was glad that he wasn't going to have to spend Christmas alone, he did want some time to himself, which was why he had ended up in the library.
It wasn't Ernie's favourite place to go to read because it wasn't at all comfortable but it was better than going outside and freezing his butt off just because he wanted to escape to another world where it was acceptable to be him. That was the reason that he didn't go home for the holidays in the first place because it wasn't at all acceptable to be him and if he dared to come out to his parents then he knew that he wouldn't have a home to go home to at all, not that he could really call their house a home. It was just a place where he could sleep when he wasn't with either of his friends.
For a library, the chairs weren't very comfortable, something that he had already discussed at length with Madam Pince who had been furious that he has dared to criticise her library in the first place and had almost barred him from going in there and checking out books for the rest of the year. Ernie was lucky that she couldn't actually ban him, he decided as he dropped down onto one of the cold chairs and opened his book up.
There was one benefit of the library - no-one ever bothered you when you were there, and no-one ever thought to look for you there either. It wasn't that Ernie didn't love his friends, because he did. He couldn't imagine his life without Justin or Susan, and he knew that he wouldn't at all survive without Hannah who was his rock. But the whole point of reading was to escape and he couldn't do that when those three were constantly yapping and trying to get him to join in their conversation.
Ernie was able to spend time reading without being interrupted while he was in the library and by the time he had finished his book, he had no idea what time it even was - he only knew that it had to be some time before ten because he hadn't yet been kicked out and told to go to bed. He pocketed his book and gave a half-wave to Madam Pince before he decided to head on down to the kitchens. He had a feeling that he had missed dinner - that feeling was his stomach growling.
There were many upsides to being a Hufflepuff and one of those upsides was that they always had access to the sweet treats that the house-elves served and Ernie had to admit that he had developed a sweet tooth over the last four years that he had been here, one that he hadn't had before his first year. Sugar was a luxury that his parents saved only for special occasions, not that he knew what he was missing out on until he became a Hogwarts student.
Ernie was surprised to see that he wasn't alone in the kitchen when he leaned against an old wooden barrel. He hadn't at all expected to see the so-called Boy Who Lived there, though he supposed that they went to the same school and he was sure that Harry had a sweet tooth too. He had heard rumours about Harry's own upbringing and it had sounded so much worse off than his own.
He cleared his throat to alert Harry to his presence - everyone knew how jumpy the boy was and Ernie supposed that it made sense considering everything that he had been through, but it had meant that Ernie and his group of friends tended to avoid him. It wasn't hard anyway; Harry only really hung out with Gryffindors. Oftentimes Ernie hated how pigeon-holed this school was, but he knew that was the intention of the Founders when they had first started the school.
"Oh. Hi." Harry had turned to face him, an apple in his hands which he was slowly passing from one to the other. "I…" He began but he trailed off with a slight shake of his head. "The house-elves are just rustling me up some treacle tart. I'm sure there will be enough for you as well."
Ernie couldn't help but smile at that, though he had to wonder if Harry even knew who he was - or if he did he was surprised that Harry could tell her apart from Justin. It wasn't as if they were identical, but it was very rare that people knew which one was which, mainly because people didn't get to know them (and they didn't get to know other people).
"Thanks." He said softly as he tucked his thumbs into the opposite sleeves, his head cocked to the side ever-so-slightly. He hadn't really looked at the Boy Who Lived before, not properly and certainly not this close up. And he couldn't actually recall a time when he had ever been alone with the boy before either. Now that he had the chance to look him up and down, he could honestly say that the boy wasn't unattractive. In fact, Ernie might have gone as far as to say that Harry was cut e but he certainly wouldn't have said that aloud.
The house-elves soon brought them over a slice of treacle tart and the boys found themselves sitting up on top of a barrel each, their legs crossed as they faced each other.
"So what brings you down here?" Ernie asked after a moment or two. He knew that the answer to that was obvious, but for some reason he just felt like the silence that was clinging to the air between them was something that they needed to fill. The whole reason he hadn't gone through to his dorm was because there was something about Harry that had drawn him in and made him want to stay here.
"The peace, mostly." Harry gave an answer that Ernie wasn't expecting at all. From what he had seen of The Boy Who Lived, peace wasn't something that he would have ever associated with him. He supposed that it made sense, what with all chaos that surrounded the boy with messy hair. He couldn't imagine what it must be like to be in Harry's shoes, and he had seen firsthand what the stress of being in the Tri-Wizard Tournament had done to Cedric and he was someone who had opted to be a contestant. Ernie knew that the correct term was 'champion' but he didn't see how they could be champions when their only prize appeared to be putting their lives on the line in challenges.
"Ah, yes." He hummed, giving a small nod of sympathy. He couldn't relate at all, but that didn't mean that he didn't feel for him at all. He couldn't imagine what it must be like to be centre of attention like Harry was constantly , with his every move being watched by that leech Skeeter. "Well, you've come to the right place." He added with a soft smile as he ignored the voice at the back of his mind that tried to tell him that he was bothering Harry. He knew that if that were true then Harry would have gone to find somewhere even more secluded in the castle. He had heard rumours of how many times Harry and his friends had snuck out at night so they were bound to know some hidden spots, weren't they?
They were both silent again for a little while, Ernie's teeth mostly stuck together with treacle, but it was Harry who ended up talking this time.
"Have you got a date for the ball yet?"
The question surprised Ernie who for one embarrassingly long moment thought that Harry was asking him - something that he hadn't even been aware of he was even remotely interested in until Harry was asking, but then he realised that Harry was just making conversation.
"Oh, yeah. I'm taking Hannah." Ernie told him, smiling a little at that thought. Hannah was his best friend in the entire universe, though he didn't dare tell Justin or Susan that as he highly valued their friendships. He even thought that once upon a time he had had a crush on the blonde girl, but she had quickly shut that down when she had told him that she had never and would never have feelings for anyone else. He didn't push her to find out what exactly she meant by that, and instead just accepted it for what it was. "And you?" He didn't know why it gave him a funny feeling in the pit of his stomach to think that Harry had the pick of all the girls.
"I haven't quite got that narrowed down." Harry said quietly and Ernie saw his eyes flicker to the stone floor. He chewed on his lip as he found himself wondering what the issue was. It couldn't be possible that the girl that Harry really wanted to go with was going with someone else, could if?
Ernie's next words surprised himself. "You could come with me and Hannah." He knew it was a weird suggestion but he couldn't help it. It had just slipped out before he had been able to stop it.
Harry blinked a couple of times, clearly astounded by the offer and Ernie wasn't sure if the feeling that passed through his chest as Harry shook his head. He didn't know whether it was relief or hurt, but he decided not to look too much more into it as Harry said "thank you for the offer, but I'll find someone."
Ernie gave Harry a small smile. He was sure that the girls were falling over themselves to go with him, much in the same way that all the girls were tripping over each other to get Cedric's attention. The Golden Puff only had eyes for one girl, and one girl only though so everyone else was out of luck. "I'm sure you will."
Despite his own words he still found himself hoping that he would get to spend at least some time at the ball with Harry, a want that he didn't know the origin of. It didn't quite make sense to him, but then much of his life didn't make sense so he was just going to have to do what he always did and just simply roll with it.
They fell into conversation then, easy conversation about classes and Quidditch, though they both avoided the subject of the tournament, which was perfectly fine with Ernie who didn't want to feel that he was snooping. But he did want to spend as much time as he could in Harry's company so he was keen to pull topics out of thin air.