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It wasn’t supposed to have ended this way.
You couldn’t help but think that as you scrubbed the filthy tiles of the fourth-floor girl’s bathroom with a wet soapy sponge. Oh why had you let Garreth Weasley of all people convince you to set off a dungbomb in here?
You knew why though. Imelda Reyes had been an absolute bitch to you lately, especially after you had beat her latest high score in the Coastal Broom Trial. So Garreth had suggested playing a little prank on the nasty Slytherin Quidditch Captain.
You’d followed her for several days, taking notes of her daily routine and found out that Imelda only ever went to this particular bathroom and in the same bathroom stall every day. Maybe it was the cleanest of all the girls’ bathrooms in Hogwarts or maybe it was because there was no enchanted mirror in there to be a nuisance, you weren’t sure exactly why. It was pretty weird.
Garreth had supplied you with the dungbombs and you had planted them so once Imelda opened the door to her favourite stall, the dungbombs would fall right on her head. It filled you with glee imagining Imelda having to walk around the school with such a stink surrounding her. You figured the horrible smell would suit her and her shitty attitude well anyway.
The prank went just as planned. You and Garreth quickly fled the scene of the crime but the two of you shared many a laugh in the Gryffindor common room afterward, recounting the look of rage on Imelda’s face as she stormed out of the bathroom. She’d even stomped her foot once or twice when she noticed students purposefully ducking out of her way to avoid the stink.
You would have gotten away with it too if Peeves hadn’t unfortunately spotted you doing the naughty deed and tattled on you to Professor Weasley.
You heaved a heavy sigh and in a small fit of anger, tossed the sponge you were using at the wall. The sponge pathetically flopped onto the floor, soapy suds trickling down the wall from the spot it had hit. It was then that you heard the bathroom door creaking open and looked up in surprise.
A smile curved your lips when you saw that it was Garreth entering the bathroom, a small bag in one hand. He closed the door as quietly as he could before greeting you with one of his usual boyish grins. More than once, you had found yourself thinking of how attractive he was but had quickly dismissed those thoughts every time. Garreth was your best friend after all, your partner in crime.
He was just about to walk over where you had just cleaned and you quickly warned him “Nu-uh! I just finished cleaning over here. Stay close to the walls there by the door or you’ll be scrubbing these floors next.”
Garreth obediently took a careful step back and sat down on the floor, his back against the wall. “I brought some snacks, if that helps at all,” he shook the little bag he brought with him. He began emptying the bag as you dried your hands on some paper towels and sat down next to him on the floor. There were two bottles of Butterbeer and a box of Cauldron Cakes to share.
“Aww you shouldn’t have! Oh wait, you do because I’m the only one getting punished for a prank you pulled with me!,” you huffed and stuck your tongue out at Garreth playfully before opening one of the bottles and took a long swig of the delicious butterscotch drink.
Garreth pouted, saying “I’m sorry it turned out like this. You know I would’ve said something if it hadn’t been my aunt that Peeves ratted to. You know just as well as I do she would’ve sent me straight to detention for the rest of the year if she knew I had anything to do with it.”
“Yeah, yeah. I know,” you sighed, absentmindedly swirling your bottle gently. While Garreth worked on opening a packet of Cauldron Cake, you gazed up at his face, at the sweet sprinkling of freckles dusted all over. God, he was handsome. The two of you were seated so close to each other, it would be so easy to just lean in a little bit closer and…
Garreth’s voice snapped you out of your fantasies. “Oi, you alright there? You entranced by my charming good looks or something?,” he teased with a laugh. You felt your cheeks heating up and you turned your face away, pretending to laugh along. Garreth would never let you live it down if he knew what you had been thinking.
“Hey…you’re not actually mad at me, are you?,” Garreth said then, casually resting his head on your shoulder and looking up at your face. Startled by the sudden close proximity of his face to yours, you quickly pushed him away and scrambled to your feet. He looked up with a confused frown, asking “What did I do now?”
“N-Nothing. You didn’t do anything. Sorry” was all you could manage to say in response. You were conscious of how red your face had become and how your heart felt like it was about to burst out of your chest with how fast it was beating. In a desperate urge to hide your face away from Garreth before he asked any more questions, you blurted “I’m just gonna-I gotta go.”
You began walking towards the door and had almost made it out when you suddenly felt Garreth’s hand grab onto your wrist, stopping you in your tracks. You turned back to look at him, eyes wide in surprise. He looked at you with a concerned expression “What’s wrong, Y/N? If it’s something I did, I want to know.”
You explained again that there wasn’t anything wrong and that he didn’t have anything to do with it, but Garreth didn’t seem to believe you. He gently placed both his hands on your flushed cheeks and asked, his eyebrows furrowed with worry “You’re burning up, Y/N. Maybe we should take you to the Hospital Wing?”
“I’m fine, Garreth. I promise,” you insisted as you placed a hand on his wrist, looking up at him. From how close you were standing to him now, you could clearly see the gorgeous golden amber hues of his hazel eyes and how his long eyelashes curled naturally. All you could think of at that moment was how much you wanted to kiss him. You needed to kiss him.
The next thing you knew, you’d done it. You’d leaned in, closed the gap in between your faces and pressed a kiss to his lips. Your eyes flew open when your brain finally caught up with your body and you immediately pulled away, stepping away from Garreth. You shrieked in horror “I’m so, so sorry! I didn’t mean to do that!”
Garreth stood rooted to the spot, his eyes wide open from surprise. He clearly hadn’t expected you to do that. Tears sprang to your eyes and they began trickling down your cheeks as anxious thoughts of how you had just ruined your friendship with the one person you trusted the most flooded your mind.
Upon seeing you crying, Garreth snapped out of his shocked reverie and approached you. “Shhh…it’s okay,” Garreth whispered as he wrapped his arms around you and pulled you into a comforting hug. A small smile on his lips, he quietly murmured “Why are you so cute?”
You glanced up at him, confused. Was Garreth not upset at you? He looked down at you and tapped you gently on the nose with his index finger. He grinned and said “What? Did you think I didn’t notice? All those times you thought you were being so sneaky while staring at me in class or when we’re hanging out. I’d have said something but I thought it was pretty cute.”
It took you a second for his words to click in but once they did, you wriggled out of his arms and stared at him open-mouthed. You gasped “Wait! So you’re telling me you knew this whole time?”
Garreth burst out laughing at your reaction. He reached out to take your hands into his, gave them a gentle squeeze and replied “Duh. You really didn’t make it difficult. But that’s what I love about you so much - you always wear your heart on your sleeve.”
“You love me?!,” you squeaked. Garreth nodded with an amused smile, pulling you closer to him again. His arms now wrapped around your waist, Garreth gently pressed a kiss to your lips. You hesitated for just a moment before putting your arms around his neck and getting up onto your tip-toes to deepen the kiss.
Garreth pulled away from the kiss after several moments, a satisfied grin on his face. He took his wand out from inside his robes and pointed it at the bathroom door, casting ‘Colloportus’. There was a funny squelching sound as the door sealed itself. He turned back to you and said with a wink “Just a little precaution” before kissing you again. It wasn’t long till Garreth had your back pressed up against the wall, your wrists pinned above your head with his hand.
You had a sneaking suspicion you wouldn’t be leaving the bathroom anytime soon, and you were more than alright with that.