Quatervois ❦ Alastor Moody

Chapter 2 : Forelsket

Forelsket
(n.) the euphoria you experience when you are first falling in love.

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    He'd crossed paths with Madeline several times since the Quidditch match and every time, she would give her signature smile in their conversations.

    It was almost time for their graduation ceremony and Alastor had never felt more attached to the ancient Scottish castle that had been his home for more than seven years. He walked through all the corridors one last time, his eyes lingering on every detail, every painting, every crack in the stones. He trailed his hand across the walls, feeling the sharp ridges as he took in the magnificent sight of Hogwarts once more. 

    "You okay there, Al?"

    Alastor swung round, coming face to face with Madeline. She was wearing the traditional graduation robes emblazoned with the Hogwarts insignia and her old Wizarding hat from her first year. She smiled at him as their eyes met and she took a few steps towards him.

    "Sad to leave?" She asked.

    "Something like that," Alastor admitted. He searched his mind for some sort of conversation starter but his brain seemed to have shut down at the sight of her. "This time next year, we're all going to have jobs."

    She chuckled, the musical sound filling the air as she leaned against the stone wall. "Don't remind me. I'm nowhere near prepared for the adult life. Or a job."

    "Why not? What do you want to be?" Alastor asked, a genuine curiosity about her future. "You're damn good at Quidditch."

    Madeline scrunched up her nose, "Not my sort of thing, really." She pulled away from the wall, pacing around as she tried to structure her answer. "International Co Operations are pretty cool. Maybe a translator?" She tried. "I like languages. What about you Moody?"

    Alastor resisted the urge to grin at her nickname for him. "I'm thinking along the lines of an Auror."

    "Ah." She said with a mischevious smile. "Hero complex." She nudged him jokingly. "All about saving people, you are." She deepened her voice. "Don't you worry Ma'am. Auror Moody is here to save the day." She mimicked and at that Alastor did laugh, so much so that his stomach throbbed but in that exact moment, she surprised him by eliciting an unrestrained, bubbly and joyous sound filled with mirth.

    It was a laughter that Alastor felt knock the air out of him. The lack of oxygen in his lungs didn't matter so long as this moment was frozen. He wished he could never leave this second, the free happy moment that was a vacation from the reality of what was to happen. In this moment, there was no graduation, no job, no saying goodbye. Just a boy and a girl laughing till their hearts burst. He knew this moment would be over soon but Alastor also knew that when the laughter left, the memory would stay with him.

    She looked beautiful. Her shoulders were shaking with her joy and the loud peals dissolved into uncontrollable silent laughter and it was this moment that Alastor Moody realised what it was that made her so special to him. That made him act the way he did around her. It was the first time that he fully accepted that he liked her. His heart was pumping faster and the adrenaline was building up in his veins.

    "Okay, but seriously," she said after taking deep breaths to stem the flow of laughter. "You're gonna be great," she said earnestly, her eyes still alight with vivid sparks.