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According to some first years in the common room, it was Saturday, and for some reason, that piece of news surprised you.
You hadn’t noticed it was Saturday. Probably because it didn’t feel like Saturday or because you have being too busy making assignments.
But you were glad, honestly. Saturdays were good days, not only because you could spend more time at Hogsmeade with your friends than usual, but also because you could take a break from schoolwork. Maybe you could explore the castle some more or snick into the Forbidden Forest.
All in all, possibilities were endless on Saturdays and it gave you enough energy to get out of your common room (grab an apple on the way) and then go for a relaxing breakfast since you didn’t have the annoying pressure of time in your shoulders.
After eating and socializing a little bit with other students, you took your leave and decided that a trip outside was in order. You were a proud Hufflepuff, but you absolutely hated the fact that the Hufflepuff common room was in the basement where no fresh air could be breathed, even if the several plants around and the windows tried to give you a certain earthy sense. It was nice and all, but nothing like feeling Scotland’s breeze in your face and your lungs.
You walked through the castle for a while, greeting and listening to some gossip around, until you got to the school grounds where usually Professor Kogawa's classes took place or where some students liked to fly house kites (which were very cute).
Today though, you found that some students were enjoying the nice weather and that others were waiting for their friends to walk together to Hogsmeade. Moving your eyes further into the field, you saw something that caught your attention.
It was Leander Prewett, and he was walking around the Summoner’s Court Professor Ronen had put in place the first day of class.
It picked your curiosity, since you didn’t know what it was about or what was Leander doing there…like he was waiting.
Leander was kind of…nice you guess. You had to admit that you didn’t know much of him, except that he didn’t like Sebastian Sallow or any Slytherin for that matter, after what happened in Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Sebastian did talk about him to complain about him too, so maybe you could conclude that you didn’t really have an opinion about him.
Which picked your curiosity more, making you approach, even before you could understand what you were doing.
“What are you doing out here?”, you asked suddenly, when you stepped into the wooden floor of the Summoner’s Court game.
Leander turned around and with a surprised expression, looked at you for a second, before blinking and standing straight.
You smiled at him while his face became…a little bit red.
Wait, why was he blushing?
“Challenging you to a game of Summoner’s Court. I think it's time you faced a real opponent – outside of Ronen’s little lesson in Charms class. Summoner’s Court isn’t just a game, it’s a battle of skill, a test of a witch or wizard’s mettle. What say?”
He smirks a little at the end and for a second or two (maybe is the sun or the breeze) you think your heart skips a beat and the words “he is kind of adorable from this angle” appear in your head.
You blink and he is waiting for your answer, so you smile back at him, trying to act like you didn’t just have a weird thought about a classmate.
“I’m in. Let’s do it”.
“Brilliant!”, and he grins, and you have to grin back (because you want to believe his smile is contagious).
The two of you proceed to stand in position. You get your wand out and you wait for Leander to have the first turn. He says something to intimidate you, before he makes his move.
He scores some 20 points and then you have your turn, where you score 50.
He, of course, makes a comment about it and all you can do is laugh.
Your laugh apparently jinxes the game because, even if you start winning, a couple of minutes later, you are somehow losing the match.
Neither of you can believe it apparently, because Leander sounds surprised about it.
“Wait, did I win? I won!”
When you turn to him again, Leander has a spark in his eyes, and for a moment or two the annoyance you had is gone. But mind you, it lasts for a moment and a moment only.
“Ha! We should have bet something on that round”, he says, with a smirk that annoys you further.
“Now that you mention it, we should bet something”, you say, chin up, confidence radiating from you.
His expression changes, like he is actually surprised you agreed.
“You actually want to bet something?”
“Yes, why not? Is not permitted?”
“Ah, well”, he scratches the back of his red hair, like he is thinking. “I don’t think is forbidden, but I guess Samantha Dale will make a fuss about it after I lost to her seven times in a row”.
You blink at him, but focus again, even if the breeze suddenly pushes his smell into your face.
His cologne is very nice…you hadn’t noticed it before.
“What do you want to bet?”, you ask, like it wasn’t your idea.
Leander looks away, thinking and then he grins looking at you.
“If I win, you'll go with me to Hogsmeade to drink butterbeer”, he simply says, fairly confident, even if his cheeks are slightly red.
Your eyes are big and surprised behind your square glasses.
“Like in a date?”, you ask, trying to keep your excitement inside your body.
“Ah”, Leander goes full red now, almost as much as his hair. You barely see his three thousand freckles. “If you say so”.
You two stare at each other for a few seconds, until you break up in a laugh and Leander follows suit a little bit hesitantly.
“What do I get if I win?”, you ask, arms behind you, hand clenching your wand.
He thinks for a second, before smiling shily at you.
“If you win, I’ll do whatever you want me to do for the rest of the day”, he says, quite confidently, proudly confidently like Gryffindors tend to do.
“Whatever I want?”
He nods.
“Whatever you want”.
You chuckle and smile before stretching your hand between the two of you.
“Deal”.
Leander eyes your hand for a second, confused.
“You shake it, Leander”.
“Oh, yes, is this a Muggle thing?”, he shakes your hand hesitantly and, to your surprise, his hand is warm. A little sweaty, but warm.
“Perhaps”, you answer.
“Care to go again?”
“I’m game for another round”.
“Grand! You could use the practice”, and then he winks at you before you can glare at him.
Like in the first round, he is the first one to go. His move scores him 30 points, while yours scores you 50 again. He comments on everything you do and sometimes he also comments on what he does, which usually gets a smile on your face, depending on how rude he is.
A couple of minutes after the first move, your last move grants you another 50 points, making you the ultimate winner.
You made a show of cheering and when you turned to Leander, he was standing a few steps from you. He gave you a little smile.
“Well done, you beat me”, he said, in a terribly calm voice, which surprised you somehow. “Bit of good luck, that’s all”, and when he said it was clear he was sour about it.
You chuckled, trying to hold yourself from doing something really stupid.
“Come now, Leander. There’s no need for that”, you said, amusement slipping with your voice.
“Fine, you’re good. Better than I am, at least. I’ll let the others know you’re good enough to keep playing”.
You make a face at his pessimism and at the mention of others.
“The others?”
“As I told you earlier, I lost seven matches in a row to Samantha Dale. The others who play Summoner’s Court thought that if you couldn’t beat me, you wouldn’t be enough of a challenge”.
Something softens in your heart. You don’t know exactly if it has to do with being a Hufflepuff or that Leander’s sad tone actually made you feel…something.
It was funny really. As a Hufflepuff, you were supposed to be very friendly and it was normal to have friends in all houses, yet, you had noticed that from all the houses, Gryffindor was the one where you least had friends. Only Natty counted as a friend since Gareth getting you into trouble didn’t exactly make him one (even if you think that’s exactly what friends do). Lucan was friendly, but he doesn't speak to you outside of Cross Wands.
Maybe you were spending too much time with Sebastian Sallow and other Slytherins. It was well known that snakes and lions were always in each other’s throats.
Maybe from now on you should…you know, let yourself approach other Gryffindors. You could maybe start with Leander.
He just lost a bet with you after all.
“Chin up, Leander. Keep practicing, and you’ll get better”, you say, sounding sweeter, and happier than your yellow uniform.
“I suppose you’re right. I’ll let the others know that your mettle’s been tested. And that you passed”.
You nod, and he nods back and for a moment or two, you just stare at each other, until his cheeks grow pink again.
“You also won the bet. What do you want me to do?”, he asked, shily and at the same a little bit…insecure.
“Why did you want to get butterbeer with me, Leander?”
“Ah, well…”, he looks away, turning red again. “I just wanted to…ah, understand…and know you of course”, he paused, before sighing and looking at your eyes again. “I just wanted to get you away from Sallow and the other Slytherins for a bit. I have seen you spend a lot of time with them”.
You blink, while your heart skips a few beats.
“Why did you want to do that?”
He groans annoyed before crossing his arms over his chest. You observe how his ears turn red, just as most of his face.
“I wanted to know you, alright? And Sallow and Gaunt and the other Slytherins don’t let me get close to you. They…monopolize you, all the time”, he answers, clearly angry. “I tried to ask Natty for help, but she refused, told me I had to find a way to do it myself. She even laughed at me”.
After a second or two of looking at you directly in the eyes, he looks away.
“Forget it now, I lost a bet, now I must do whatever you say for the rest of the day. So, be done with it”.
You sigh then and approach him enough to put a hand on his shoulder. He freezes for a moment and even makes a face before looking at your hand on his shoulder.
He then looks at you confused.
“I would like to go for a butterbeer with you”, his eyes widen. “And I would also like to know you too. Turns out, that the only Gryffindor friend I have is Natty, and since she is nice, I think I will like to meet other Gryffindors too. Besides, Lucan spoke highly of you on Cross Wands”.
“He did?”
“Yes, even if I won at the end”, you smile, and he rolls his eyes.
“Yes, you are better than me on that too”.
“Cheer up, Leander”, you say, patting him on the shoulder. “You lost the bet so you get to spend the rest of the day with me at Hogsmeade. Maybe The Three Broomsticks isn’t full yet so we can find a nice table to chat. What do you think?”
His eyes light up, and for a moment you get lost in them, until you see him grin again.
“Last one to get there, pays the first round”, and then, he brushes his fingers with your chin and for a moment you are frozen.
But then he grins wider and turns around and starts running away, to the gate.
You blink again and when you realize he is running and laughing and that you don’t carry that many galleons to pay, you look in his direction and follow running too.
“Wait up, Leander, that’s cheating! I thought you were better than that!”, you yelled and he looked over his shoulder for a moment, flashing another grin before he had to push his hair back because the breeze blew it in his face.
“C’mon now, you have won against me twice!”
“And I’ll do it a third time!”
“Prove it then!”
And you laugh, still running behind him.
If you two end up literally crashing in The Three Broomsticks minutes later, out of breath and laughing like total idiots, is no one's business, but your own and Leander's.