AMOR VINCIT OMNIA; GRANGER

XXX.

( late night talks )

"You look even shittier now, you know?" Damian asked as he leant over to Milo during dinner.

Milo didn't even look at him, his eyes focused on Hermione, who was fiddling with something around her neck, she must be nervous about something. "I know."

Damian sighed and continued, "And if you continue staring at her, even Malfoy, that self absorbed brat, will be able to add one and one together."

Finally, Milo turned over and looked at Damian with an annoyed expression. The blond just raised his hands in defense, "Just saying, I thought you have a reputation to uphold."

While that was true, Milo had no energy left in himself as he glanced back at Hermione for a second and then turned to his untouched plate.

"You never told me, how was your break?" Damian asked, trying to distract Milo at least a bit, he kind of understood what was going on and felt pity towards his friend (he had decided to call Milo his friend from now on, if he liked it or not).

Milo shrugged, looking at his plate, how could he tell his half-blooded friend that his Christmas break was shit because the Dark Lord, the very person that wanted to kill people like his mother, was his housemate? "I didn't do much", quickly he changed topic, "And yours? Did you go to Germany then?"

A bright smile lit Damian's face up and he began telling Milo everything about his short but very fun trip to Germany.

How he threw up after the flight in one of those muggle things (Milo had already forgotten the name of those flying machines), then they were that unlucky to have booked a reservation in a hotel where no one spoke english, so his mother and him had to converse with the owners with their hand and feet and the little german-english dictionary they had bought.

And then Damian told Milo about how he had gone to a Christmas market and gotten drunk on "Glühwein" (Milo's ears hurt as he listened and corrected Damian's pronunciation at least ten times).

As Damian told Milo about his own home country the black boy felt jealousy arise in his chest. Of course he was happy that Damian got to experience the beauty of Germany but he himself had never had the opportunity to do that.

Milo had lived his whole life behind shut doors and hid behind a wall his parents and later he had built. The Bähr boy had never experienced life and culture as Damian had, Milo was a prisoner in his own home, and only now he had realized this.

It was almost midnight and Milo had been wandering through Hogwarts' corridors for the past few hours in complete darkness. He didn't want to be in his dorms so he had opted to go through the castle until he should go to meet Hermione. (While walking around he realized how little the professors actually cared about the students-aren't-allowed-in-the-corridors-after-10pm rule)

Making his way over to the room of requirements Milo fiddled with his sweater's sleeves. He wasn't nervous about meeting Hermione, nor about what she would say. He just was nervous about how he would respond, how he would act and what he would do if he was alone with her again, without the danger of anyone discovering them. Deep down, Milo knew he wouldn't be able to uphold the facade of hating her.

He waited outside, his back leaning against the wall as he watched the hands of his watch turn and each minute pass. Where was she? Hermione was the one who had asked him to come and talk, so why was she late?