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And there she was. Like always. Curled up on that oversized armchair by the fireplace she’s claimed as her own, her nose buried deep in the book on her lap, oblivious to the world around her. I sit down on the other armchair and gaze around the alcove before me over the top of my book, eventually my eyes rest on her. I watch as she mutters each word aloud to herself whilst her eyes dart fast across the page, the fire’s shadow dancing across her face, highlighting her sharp, delicate features and rosie cheeks. Through her long black lashes, I see her beautiful golden eyes, illuminated by the firelight, looking as if they were a whirlpool of liquid gold. So captivating. So enchanting. So full of passion and quite aptly, fire.
I watch her for about 5 minutes, noting just how she reacts to the words on the page before her. Smiling when she’s happy, widening her eyes when surprised, burrowing her brows and frowning when confused or annoyed. And my favourite habit is when she captures her full red bottom lip between her pearly teeth. By Salazar that gets my heart racing, causing my palms to sweat and heat to course throughout my body. Involuntarily my tongue darts across my lips wetting them, as I watch her slowly lick her finger to turn the page she’s still focused on. I try and swallow quietly and slowly, scared to break the trance she seems to be in. Looking so tranquil and care-free. Who was I to disrupt that? Yes I, the Slytherin Prince knows the pure bliss she’s in right now. Zoning out the real world and creating a better one right inside your head, where anything and everything will happen.
I try to focus on the book in my hand, however just before I enter ‘the zone’ her scent hits me, filling my nose, numbing my brain and turning it to mush. That sweet vanilla and cinnamon smell is an intoxicating aphrodisiac, so much so it causes me to momentarily forget about everything and focus solely on her. The world melts away and time seems to then stand still. Just the 2 of us here, together. In our secret little alcove, hidden in the depths of the vast Hogwarts library. I thank Salazar, Merlin and Circe every day for helping me stumble across this little bit of heaven. I remember the first day we were here together, I nearly had a heart attack when she appeared. I was ready to spar with her as usual, ready to vent the steam built up from a terrible day, but to my surprise she just sat in ‘her’ armchair and pulled out a book without so much as a second glance or word.
After 10 minutes of near awkward silence, she looked up, smiled and ask how long I’d known about this place, and I told her only a week and repeated the question back to her, not realising the small smile on my lips. She stated for 5 years now, since the beginning of first year. We continued light chatter for the rest of the evening until we could hear Madame Pince’s voice announcing it was shortly closing time. For some reason, I had asked her if she minded me joining her here, given our history. And I'll never forget her response; “It’s a free place, I can’t stop you from being here, however I wouldn't want to stop you. I like how you are here, no worries, no cronies in the background spitting out rubbish, egging you on. I like this side of you and I’d like to get to know you better, if you'd allow it. This could be our little secret place, where we come to escape the world and vent. That is, if you'd like.” I recognised the hope in her eyes, the look of longing for somebody to talk to on her face, I saw it so clearly, because I see it every time I look in a mirror... I knew then I needed her just as much as she needed me, somebody who doesn't judge, someone on my wavelength - my intellect. I told her I wouldn't give this place up for the world, and that I’d like to join her and get to know the real her. And again, I’ll never forget that smile, the smile of acceptance, the smile of new beginnings, of a new friendship. It stirred some new emotion deep inside of me and I didn’t want it to disappear, so I held on tightly with both hands.
So, as I sit before her now, memorising each little detail on her face, from the colour of her eyes, to the little scar above her right eyebrow, right down to the last freckle scattered upon her nose and cheeks. I find myself smiling thinking about just how much she means to me. The Gryffindor Princess, my Gryffindor Princess. What we’ve gone through collectively as a year group, but also together, through the thick and thin. Like the moment I felt my heart nearly break when I walked into our alcove and found her crying on the floor. All I saw was red after she eventually told me what happened, but she managed to calm me down. Like she always somehow does, she has that effect on me. I don't know how, but we managed to go from sitting on the floor to me sitting in her armchair, with her on my lap, arms wrapped around each other and her head resting on my shoulder, with tear-stained cheeks. We didn't talk for the rest of the night, we just sat in silence staring into the fire, lost in our own thoughts, holding onto one another like a lifeline. When we heard Madame Pince, neither of us moved inch. After what seemed like an eternity, we finally got up. Once on our feet, I pulled her into a tight hug, and just before letting her go, I just lifted her chin up, tucked some hair behind her ear and wiped a stray tear from her cheek. I told her to keep her chin up and head held high. From then on, every night before we went our separate ways, we hugged each other, and then somewhere along the way, a peck on the cheek.
One night the atmosphere seemed a little different, more tense than usual. We kept stealing glances, when we thought the other wasn’t looking, our eyes meeting every so often. That night when we hugged, ready to depart and go our separate ways back to the House dormitories, something happened. And to this day, I still don't know who leaned in first, but our lips met and we kissed. A soft sweet kiss that lasted only a couple of seconds. But it still made my heart miss a beat and my breath to catch in my throat when I looked down into her hypnotising eyes. We just stood there and smiled, then she left and told me she'd see me tomorrow.
Looking at her from across the way, reminiscing on our memories together, it made me feel complete. It shook me at first and I kind of let out a little yelp. I saw her look up from her book and raise an eyebrow, “Sorry, I thought I saw something.” I muttered, turning red with embarrassment. “Idiot.” she laughed, shaking her head and returning to her book. Frozen in place, I just stared at her, thinking where on earth did the feeling on completion come from. And in that moment I knew, I knew I was in love with her. Little did I know this realisation was the defining moment I unconsciously decided that I’d walk to the ends of the earth for her, I’d follow her sweet, beautiful scent to the gates of hell and beyond. If it meant that she’d be mine.