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Phainon Kephale dropped onto the armchair voted as the most comfortable one in the Hufflepuff Basement and let himself being coverd in the heat emerging from the fireplace. Castorice sat down opposite to him, still a little bit flushed, while Mydeimos casually settled on the armrest beside her as if this was where he always belonged to. Around them, other Hufflepuff students went in and out the common room, not missing the chance to whisper "Congratulations" to Castorice, or give Mydei a loud "Great job, mate" with a thumb up, which made the violet-haired girl more flushed than ever. Mydei, on the other hand, seemed unperturbed despite the fact that he was the only Gryffindor in the room. That's right, he was a undoubtedly a Gryffindor as he had the courage to make himself home in the common room full of Hufflepuffs after snogging their infamous Castorice Thanatos. In the corridor.
"Blimey, haven't you gotten enough PDA today, mate?"
Phainon groaned when Mydei gently placed a kiss on Castorice's hand to comfort the girl, seeing her as red as a tomato being teased by other students. Mydei gave him the side-eye and continued to play with Castorice's slender fingers, ignoring the Hufflepuff Head Boy's (apparently) rhetorical question.
"Merlin, Mydei! Mind the situation!"
Phainon nearly shouted, which finall drew Mydei's attention towards him.
"As far as I see, the situation is just fine," said the Gryffindor.
"Don't you see I'm still here?" said Phainon.
Mydei, at last, dettached himself from Castorice, straightened up and stretched, just like a lion rousing from its nap and preparing for the hunt.
"That's the point, Phainon, why are you still here?" Mydei tilted his head.
"Why am I still here? Merlin's beard, Mydeimos, this is us Hufflepuffs' common room!" Phainon sank into the armchair, tired and defeated, and obviously irritated. He felt like he had gone through an intense Quidditch match in a stormy day.
Mydei bent down and placed another kiss on Castorice's hair, whispering something to her ear. Castorice said nothing, only smiled shyly and nodded.
"That's not what I mean, Deliverer," Mydei once again straighten up, turning around to face Phainon. A shitty grin appeared on his handsome face, "I thought you'd prefer being in a certain Potions classroom, snogging your arse off with a certain professor."
Phainon flinched. Suddenly, his face felt hot, and he was sure it looked much more like a tomato than Castorice's a few minutes ago.
"Mydeimos you git…!"
"C'mon, mate, you've been in denial for six years," Mydei shrugged, "even those House-Elves in the kitchen know you have a crush on Professor Anaxagoras."
"Especially after the last Potions lesson," he added just when Phainon was about to retort.
"No, I… You… It's not…"
Mydei raised an eyebrow, looking smugged since he finally managed to neutralize Phainon's "glib tongue", quoted Professor Anaxa(goras), for just one time.
But he could not gloat for too long. Apparently, their Potions professor did not call Phainon "glib-tongued" for no reasons. The blue-eyed Head Boy quickly regained his composure (or at least, pretended to do so, since the shade of red still presented on his face) and tried his best to force a smirk.
"You'd better mind your own business, Mydei. I believe Poly was waiting for you in your common room."
This time it was Mydei who flinched. Polyxia, also a Gryffindor, was Castorice twin sister. Obviously, she would not give Mydei an easy time after witnessing him snogging her beloved sister. And as a fellow Gryffindor, believe him when he said Polyxia was not someone you should mess with, especially when it involved Castorice.
Mydei took a beep breath. He knew Phainon was right. The girl must be waiting for him in the Gryffindor common room. And when he dared to show up, a lot of questions, and maybe threats, would be fired towards him.
"I hate that you're right, Deliverer," he hissed through his teeth, "Polyxia might be waiting for me, and I do owe her an explaination."
Then, he turned to Castorice, "I should go now, can't let your sister wait for me any longer, right?"
"Good night, Mydei," murmured Castorice, after sharing a chaste kiss with Mydei.
"Sweet dreams, love. See you tomorrow," said Mydei, with a gentle voice which gave Phainon goose pimples.
"Eww, Mydei, you sound disgusting," Phainon grimaced .
"Not as disgusting as wanking when thinking about your professor," Mydei retorted.
"You bloody prick, I don't…!"
But Mydei had disappeared behind the door before Phainon managed to come up with a not-so-insulting insult.
"I should go back to my bedroom then," said Castorice, trying her best not to cackle. She stood up and turned to the door leading to the girls' bedroom.
"You know what, Phainon," she stopped midway, "I think Mydei was right."
"Not you too, Castorice!"
Phainon groaned into his hands. He swore he caught Castorice winking just before stepping through the door, which was not something she usually did. Phainon did not want to know what Castorice thought Mydei had been right about. He did not have a crush on Professor Anaxa, and evidently had never wanked with the image of said professor in his mind. Well, the former might be, just might be, debatable. But he would never admit that.
***
That night, Phainon tossed and turned on his bed. Half of his mind thought about the mess Castorice and Mydei (and ultimately their Headmistress Cerces) had caused that evening, another half drifted back to his last Potions lesson with Professor Anaxagoras.
Professor Anaxagoras Cerces, Head of House of Ravenclaw and also Phainon's Potions professor since his first year in Hogwarts. He preferred to be addressed as Professor Anaxagoras instead of Professor Cerces, but as far as Phainon knew, the only one who obeyed was Mydei. Most of the students loved to call him "Professor Anaxa", some even went with "Professor A", but while the latter was accepted, though unwillingly, the former always ignited a burst of "Call me Anaxagoras!" from the professor. Merlin knew why.
Phainon admired the mint-haired professor, and sometimes was said to be a little bit too obsessed with the man, but saying his feeling for him was a crush was an offence! There were only admiration and respect when he thought about Professor Anaxa! What had happened in the last Potions class was due to…
He groaned, clutched his head between two hands. Embarassment started to crept up on him.
***
It was the previous morning, in the familiar dungeon, when (one of) the most embarassing moment(s) in Phainon's life took place. As always, Professor Anaxa appeared from the door leading to his own brewing room at the back of the classroom, dressing in a dark emerald robe embroided with golden threads. The black corset did a great job of adorning his tiny waist, making him look criminally gorgeous. A silver cauldron was floating beside him, spiralling steam rising from the mother-of-pearl sheen.
Professor Anaxa placed the cauldron on the table with an elegant wave of the wand.
"Today lesson will be a little bit special," said Professor Anaxagoras, "The Yule Ball was only one week ahead, and I have noticed a trend of reducing to desperate methods just to get a dance partner. No offence. However, as your Potions professor, I see it as my responsibility to provide you some knowledge to protect youself, especially when we have a celebrity among us."
Then, he looked at Phainon the Celebrity, "Mr. Kephale, do you recognise the potion in this cauldron?"
Though Phainon really wanted to impress the professor with a brilliant answer, he had never seen any potions like this one. All he could do was standing up from his seat in the front row, slightly shaking his head, "I'm sorry, professor, I've never seen this color before."
"Look like my hunch was correct after all." Professor Anaxa arched his eyebrows, voice laced with amusement, "Come over here, Kephale, and tell me, what do you smell from the potion?"
Phainon left his seat and moved closer to the cauldron, standing next to Professor Anaxa.
"I can smell wheat, mint, just like the wheat fields in my hometown, and… And…" Phainon stuttered. He was not sure if he should say what was in his mind right now.
"And what?" asked Professor Anaxa with a deadly charming smile.
"It smells like you." He blurted out, overwhelmed by the ethereal appearance of his most favorite professor.
Professor Anaxa froze. The smile disappeared from his face to be replaced by a look you could call panic, which surprised Phainon. Professor Anaxa never panicked, or at least Phainon had never seen him panic for the whole six years. At the same time, he could heard his classmates gasping behind him. He turned around and was greeted by several wide-opened eyes. Castorice had her mouth covered with both hands, whilst Mydei looked just as confused as he did.
"Miss Thanatos, I suppose you know the answer for my first question." After a while, Professor Anaxa ended the intense atmostphere with a cough and a question directed towards Castorice.
"It's…" Castorice gulped, "Amortentia."
Another wave of gasps, this time from students who had failed to recognise the potion through the look. Phainon knew it was the strongest Love Potion ever known, still he didn not understand why everyone reacted so extremely.
"Thank you, Thanatos. And you could go back to your seat, Kephale."
Professor Anaxa took a deep breath, "Amortentia is known as the strongest and highly dangerous Love Potion. It could be recognised by the distinctive mother-of-pearl sheen, and steam rising in spiral if you're lucky enough to see it in the cauldron before being poisoned, which was unlikely to happen."
Then he paused. It looked as though he was hesitating to finish his introduction to the potion, which was strange, as the great and determined Anaxagoras never hesitated, even when he challenged the decision of Headmistress Cerces.
Still, he continued, "It smells differently to each of us. You would supposedly smell what attracts you the most."
Phainon felt like someone had poured a bucket of cold water on him. Had Professor Anaxa just said, "What attracts you the most"? Had Phainon told him the potion smelt like him? Did that mean he was attracted to… Phainon did not dare to continue this chain of thoughts. The thought of being attracted to his professor was too scandalous, though, at the same time… tempting.
He could not pay attention to the lesson at all. Mind spiraling, ears buzzing, Phainon pretended to take note whilst Professor Anaxa was teaching them how to identify victims of Love Potions, as well as how to persuade them to go to the Hospital Wing without causing an emotional outburst. Usually, Phainon felt every lesson with Professor Anaxa was too short. He always stayed after class with a lot of questions for the professor. However, that morning, Phainon was the first to leave, almost fleeing.
He did not talk to anyone after that, for the whole day. He avoided curious glances from his classmates, a sympathy look from Castorice, and several atempts of engaging in a converstion from Mydei. And even though he was dying to hex Mydei seeing his shitty grin, he decided it could wait. Hence, he spent the rest of that day in isolation, even skipping meals and locking himself up behind the bed curtains. "Things will get better. They will forget it next morning". Phainon hypnotised himself with those words, struggling to fall asleep.
How naive of him.
It turned out that the next morning was nothing but worse. Right before the breakfast was served, Headmistress Cerces stood up, stating that she had a big annoucement.
"The Yule Ball is coming. It may be an once-in-a-lifetime event for some of you, so I believe I should make it an unforgettable experience for my dear students," said Headmistress Cerces with her arms openend.
"Therefore, I have prepared a little surprise for you all," she smiled, whislt other professors was looking at her, all horrified.
"From now on, a branch of mistletoe will be randomly conjured above your head. Anytime, anywhere, except when you are alone or in class. The chosen one will be bound to the ground until someone comes up and rescues them…" She paused and looked around, drinking in the excitement amongst the students, "…with a kiss."
Chaos erupted. Students were whistling, squealing, yelling, laughing, even crying. All four Heads of House had to leave their table to calm their students down. After a while, the situation was finally under control, though Phainon could still hear students whispering to each other in excitement or anxiety.
"But that's not all." Headmistress Cerces raised her voice, and Professor Anaxa looked at her as if he was about to hex her right in front of their students. "Those who decide to share a kiss beneath the mistletoe shall present themselves as dates at the Yule Ball," she gave them a wink, "or else you're going to suffer the worst luck of your life for the following week."
Amongst the new chaos of elation and bewilderment, Phainon caught Professor Anaxa and Professor Aglaea, his Head of House, sharing a glance. Those two had never been on good terms for several years, but at that moment, Phainon supposed they had at last reached a consensus, for the first time since they had caught Phainon changing the black colour on his House scarf into purple and gave him an embarassing detention five years ago, that anyone could be a better Headmistress than Calypso Cerces.
Still, no one could do anything about Headmistress Cerces' Christmas "present" (Professor Anaxa would definitely call it a prank). Thus, you could see the phenomenon of people walking around with their heads held up high (literally) to make sure that there was not any branch of mistletoe hanging above them. Those who are couples had no choice but to stick together so that they were able to rescue each other in case they are (fortunately or unfortunately, who knew) chosen. However, for those who had a crush or were desperate to secure themselves a date, it was their best oppotunity. Therefore, some certain students, who were widely acknowledged as attractive and pursuable, fell into the misfortune of being followed everywhere. Phainon, in fact, was one of those miserables.
Phainon, proving them that he was not honoured as one of the best Chasers in Hufflepuff history for nothing, managed to shake them off most of the time. Castorice, not as agile as him, unfortunately had herself bound under the mistletoe in the corridor after leaving the Great Hall that night.
Thank Merlin Phainon was by her side. Right after spotting a branch of mistletoe conjured above a terrified Castorie, Phainon immediately casted a Protecting Charm around her. Even so, there were too many students in the corridor at that time Phainon had to take advantage of his Head Boy status, threatening anyone trying to lay their hands on Castorice. He then shouted for someone to go and fetch Mydei, knowing that the git had a big fat crush on the girl. His call was quickly answered by their Head Girl, Robin, who whirled back to the Great Hall to find Mydei.
That was the reason why Phainon ended up "third wheeling" the new lovebirds in the common room. They even put him to shame for his non-existed crush on Professor Anaxa! Phainon decided he should break off their friendship until the next morning.
***
The next few days were utterly disastrous for Phainon. Freed from the "Battletoes" (quoted Professor Tribios Janus, and short for "Battle For the Mistletoe"), Castorice and Mydei were able to enjoy their normal schoolife amongst the pandemonium. Meanwhile, Phainon had to fight for his life as the tail of his admirers kept growing longer and longer by day. He had to utilize every hidden pathway and shortcut he had known of to make it in time for his classes. Well, he had been late one time, but Professor Cerydra Talanton had only shot him a pitiful look without taking points from Hufflepuff, and Phainon was really grateful for that. Some pursuers even gifted him chocolates, which he suspected were coated in Love Potions, thanks to Professor Anaxa's lesson.
Oh, Professor Anaxa, the cause of his current agony. To be fair, the man had done nothing to Phainon. He was still an erudite and respectable wizard, thank you very much. It was Phainon who kept tormenting himself. Merlin knew how Phainon missed their moments together discussing potions and antidotes after classes, the way Professor Anaxa's eyes glinted with mischief whenever Phainon raised a silly question, or the way he arched his eyebrow in approval of his argument. But more than that, he missed when he had been allowed inside the professor's private office as his assistant. Most of the time, they was busy with brewing and analysing potions and antidotes. But sometimes, Professor Anaxa would spare him the labour, and they would talk about the Muggle life they had both left behind. Phainon would complain about his snobbish pure-blooded uncles from the House of Kephale, whilst Professor Anaxa would sit and listen, chuckling softly, before repaying him with stories of how he had survived being the only Muggle-born adopted child in the House of Cerces. Just the thought of losing this little privilege forever made his heart ached so badly. Yet, cowardly as Phainon was at that moment, all he dared to do was sit at the back of the Potions class, and leave right away when they were dimissed.
He thought to himself that the urgent matter at the moment was to find a date for the Yule Ball, then this insane hide-and-seek game would come to a halt. He could deal with the tension between him and Professor Anaxa later.
Easier said than done.
Phainon asked Hyacine, his senior, currently working at the Hospital Wing after finishing her seventh year. The pink-haired nurse, wearing an apologetic smile, told him that although she was allowed to attend the ball, she had to remain on standby in case of an emergency, which meant she would not be able to accompany him throughout the evening. Castorice was now Mydei's girlfriend, of course she would accompany the Gryffindor git. Stelle and Caelus had thrown themselves at March and Dan Heng the moment the Ball was announced. Robin… He definitely did not want to be murdered by that Slytherin Head Boy.
And that was the reason why, on 24th December, the day before the Ball, Phainon, the heir of House of Kephale, the Head Boy of Hufflepuff, the Captain of their Quidditch team, as well as the Blue-Eyed Prince of Hogwarts, still had not been able to secure himself a date.
"Pathetic," said Mydei amidst Phainon's ranting session on their way to Herbology.
"You prick, don't forget I'm your matchmaker," Phainon hissed.
"So you want me to play matchmaking for you?" Mydei turned to him, hand never left Castorice's. "Alright, mate, my advice is you going straight to Professor Anaxagoras' office, getting some snogging done, then asking him to be your date. Period."
Castorice chuckled softly.
"Bollocks! I've told you many times…" Phainon broke off mid-sentence.
"Seem like you could save a trip to his office," Mydei added smugly.
Standing before them were Professor Anaxa and Professor Aglaea in the mid of their usual banter. Phainon had to suppress a groan. Today, Professor Anaxa dressed himself in a blue robe, Ravenclaw blue… Phainon's eyes blue. Furthermore, he replaced the normal black corset with a lacy one, which did no good to Phainon's poor heart. How dare he appear so bewitching before Phainon! Who had granted this man the permission to be so… so… alluring!
Phainon bit his lower lip. He should change his route. If he kept going, he would have to greet the professor, which he doubted he could do with out making a fool of himself. Thus, he lifted his foot…
He could not.
Frightened and panic, Phainon looked up only to spot a branch of white mistletoe floating over his head. He was too carelees and had himself caught under the spell.
The whole corridor was in uproar. He heard Mydei shouting, Castorice and Robin casting Protecting Charm around him. He saw Professor Anaxa and Professor Aglaea struggling to control the provoked crowd without hurting them.
His mind went blank for a while. Then the scenario of snogging a total stranger surfaced in his head. His stomach dropped. That was the last thing he wanted on Earth. He felt like he was going to faint.
Then, the no-faced stranger in his head was replaced by a mint-haired, blue-and-pink-eyed man. Suddenly, everything felt right. He would not mind kissing that man, kissing his beloved professor, kissing his Anaxagoras.
He raised his wand, absentmindedly, and with an graceful wave of his wand, Professor Anaxa was dragged towards him.
He fell into Phainon's arms, back to chest, and Phainon did not miss the chance to wrap his arm around the tiny waist he had desired for so long, trapping the professor in his grip.
"What was that, Kephale!" asked Professor Anaxa, sounding surprised and perhaps furious.
But Phainon did not answer him. Instead, he lowered his head, slowly and steadily, until their lips touched in a chaste kiss.
Phainon could see Professor Anaxa's eyes shoot wide open, disbelief was written all over his beautiful face. Phainon took it as his chance to deepen the kiss. Amortentia, the most powerful Love Potion? Ridiculous. It was nothing compared to Professor Anaxa. He was too drunk in the taste of those petal-pink lips to register what was happening around him. But he could feel Professor Anaxa smacking his chest and fighting in vain to break free from his embrace. How cute of him.
Suddenly, a shock coursed through his body, breaking the spell of their passionate kiss. Instinctively, Phainon let go.
It was not until that moment did Phainon realise what he had done. He had just snogged his professor in front of another professor and many other fellow students. He looked at Professor Anaxa who was standing before him, all flushed and trembling, wand in hand. It must have been then that he finally remembered he was a wizard and jolted Phainon awake with his wand. Behind him, Professor Aglaea stood with her arms crossed over her chest, her eyes laced with amusement.
"Phainon Khaslana Kephale!" Professor Anaxa hissed through his teeth, finally regained his voice. "Fifty points will be deducted from Hufflepuff due to your lack of respect and mannerism!"
Phainon laughed. He did not know why, he just laughed. But he felt as though a rock was at last lifted from his stomach. His laughter echoed along the corridor, stirring yet another wave of confusion.
It took a moment, but he managed to rein in his laughter. With his right hand placed over his heart, left hand put behind his back, Phainon bowed gracefully.
"Professor Anaxagoras, would you grant me the honour of your company at the Yule Ball?" asked Phainon, blue eyes looked into those of blue and pink.
Professor Anaxa opened his mouth. He tried to say something, but nothing came out from between those slightly swollen lips. After a few failed attempts of voicing his disbelief, he turned around and fleeing the scene.
"Professor!" Phainon raised his voice and called after him. "I shall be waiting outside your office at half past seven tomorrow evening!"
Professor Anaxa halted, but he refused to look back before disappearing around the corner. Professor Aglaea could only shake her head, at a loss for words, and then took her leave.
After Professor Aglaea was nowhere to be seen, the crowd erupted once again. They were clapping and whistling fanatically while Mydei slapped Phainon on the back.
"Merlin's beard, you're loonier than I thought!" He yelled cheerfully.
Phainon made no comment. The ear-to-ear grin on his face said enough.
Phainon knew he had secured himself a date for the Yule Ball. And if he played his cards right, there might be more for him to look forward to.