Slytherin x Hufflepuff Relationship

Chapter 3- Sciamachy

"I know you have a crush on me."
Hufflepuff looked up from the book she was reading. She and Slytherin were hanging out in the library and researching nonverbal spells. He was currently leaning against a wall, watching her with a knowing smile.
She forced a laugh and flipped the page. "What? No, I don't."
He walked over to her and leaned across the table, his face inches away from hers.
"You're lying."
"And you're overconfident," Hufflepuff said, scooting her chair away. She walked over to the nearest shelf to put the book away, and when she turned around, Slytherin was standing in front of her.
She stumbled back in surprise and winced when she hit her head.
A smile tugged at the corner of Slytherin's mouth. "Nervous?" he asked, his voice low.
Hufflepuff clenched her fists tightly until her nails dug into the palm of her hand, but she barely noticed. The only thing she was really aware of, was the sound of her heart throbbing against the cage of her chest.
"No."
He placed his hands on each side of her and leaned in. When he spoke, his breath danced over her lips. "Every time you lie, your cheeks turn red."
Hufflepuff swallowed hard and tried not to focus on the fact that Slytherin was so close to her that she could feel his body heat. "Nuh-uh," she retorted. Not the most eloquent thing she'd ever said, but it was the best she could come up with.

His hands slid down, stopping beside her hips. "You probably dream about me."
Hufflepuff pressed back against the bookshelf, breathless. "You're wrong," she muttered.
"I know you think about me all the time, nonstop." His gaze lowered to her mouth. "I bet you even write my name in your notebooks, over and over again, with a little heart drawn around it."
Hufflepuff laughed. "In your dreams, Slytherin. You're the last person I would-"
Before she could finish her sentence, he crashed his lips onto hers.
The abrupt kiss had rendered Hufflepuff frozen, her eyes wide open in complete surprise. A moment later, she relaxed and responded, kissing him back with urgency.
A moan erupted from the back of Slytherin's throat and he deepened the kiss, sending little shivers of pleasure through Hufflepuff. She pushed off the bookshelf and sealed the tiny space between them, pressing against him and digging her fingers into his dark hair. He tasted like peppermint, and his lips were soft but demanding.
After what seemed like an eternity, they finally pulled apart for air. Hufflepuff rested her forehead against his, taking a moment to absorb what just happened. Her eyes leisurely began to open, eyelids relaxed as she slowly sucked in the cool air.
Slytherin stared back, his eyes darker than usual.
"Is this real?" Hufflepuff asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
He traced her lips with his thumb and sighed sadly. "No."
With that, Hufflepuff woke up in a cold sweat. Dim streaks of light penetrated through the window and onto her face. She winced and pulled the covers up to hide from the morning sun.
She felt a pang of disappointment in her chest when she realized that it was just a dream. What did you expect, she thought. It's not like Slytherin could ever like you, let alone kiss you.
Hufflepuff let out a sigh and threw back the covers, allowing the sunlight to shine on her face again. She stared blankly at the canopy of her bed. Wait, what? It was supposed to be yellow, not green.
Perhaps I'm still dreaming. She turned and laid on her side, only to become face to face with Slytherin, who was peacefully sleeping.
Hufflepuff let out a yelp of surprise and scrambled back, falling off the bed.
Slytherin woke up from the commotion, a frown etched on his face from the disruption of his dream. His hair was lazily ruffled from his night's sleep, the strands sticking together. The dark brown tips haphazardly pushed against each other so that they intertwined into beautiful chaos.
He let out a loud yawn as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Hearing a groan coming from the other side of the bed, he groggily sat up and looked over. His vision came into focus and he saw Hufflepuff sprawled on the floor with the sheets tangled around her legs.
"Hufflepuff?" His voice was raspy from sleep. "Are you okay?"
"No," she said weakly. Slytherin reached over and pulled her onto the bed.
Hufflepuff winced when she sat down. "Merlin, that hurt," she sighed, rubbing her bottom. She looked around and realized that she was in the Slytherin dorm room. His roommates had already left, their beds empty. "Why am I here?"
"You fell asleep while I was studying and it was late so I thought it'd be ok if you stayed here."
"Oh." Memories from last night came flooding back to her. She looked at the clock on his nightstand and did a double-take. It was 9:47 am; Charms class had already started.
"We're late!" Hufflepuff scrambled out of bed and looked down at her clothes. "I can't possibly wear this to class," she groaned. "I'm going back to my dorm to change."
"And risk being even more late," Slytherin said, grabbing his Hogwarts uniform and pulling it over his clothes.
"I'd probably get into more trouble for wearing a tank top and shorts." She opened the door and gave him a small smile. "See you in class."
-
Hufflepuff arrived five minutes later in her Hogwarts uniform with her hair pulled into a messy bun. Professor Flitwick frowned at her. "Miss Tian, you too?" He looked pointedly at Slytherin. "You missed half of the class, and you're both lucky that I decided to postpone the quiz until the end of the lesson. 20 points from Hufflepuff house."
She apologized and took the empty seat beside Slytherin, who nudged her side when she sat down. "It could be worse, y'know. He took 25 points away from me."
Rolling her eyes, Hufflepuff started taking notes from the board. "My ass still feels sore," she muttered under her breath.
Professor Flitwick stopped talking. Hufflepuff looked up when there was an extended period of silence. Shit. She might have said that a little too loudly because everyone was staring at her and there were a few snickers around the room.
"Please see me after class, Miss Tian."
Hufflepuff nodded shamefully and when Professor Flitwick turned away to continue the lesson, she buried her face into her arms. "This day couldn't get any worse."
"Well, you never know."
She glared at Slytherin and flicked his arm. He smirked and continued taking notes.
After class ended, he offered to walk Hufflepuff to her next class. She frowned while packing her books into her bag.
"But Flitwick wants to talk to me. You should just go ahead without me, I don't wanna make you late."
Slytherin shrugged. "It's ok, I don't mind."
Smiling warmly at him, Hufflepuff thanked him and said, "I'll try to make it quick." She made her way towards Professor Flitwick, who was enacting a spell to erase the notes on the board.
"Professor, you wanted to see me?"
He turned around and looked up at her. "Ah, yes. Ms. Tian, I'm afraid that I must give you detention for your disruption in class today."
Hufflepuff's jaw dropped; she had never gotten detention before. Quickly composing her demeanor, she insisted that it was a genuine accident and promised it would never happen again.
"Nonetheless, your disruption can not go unpunished," he explained. "Professor Sprout and I spoke recently and she told me of your late-night adventure."
Hufflepuff internally groaned. "That was a long time ago, and it only happened once."
"That may be true, but now look at you! You missed half of the lesson today and interrupted my teaching. This isn't like you at all, Miss Tian. You used to be a star student. Perhaps detention will straighten you out. I'll send you the details later."
Hufflepuff opened her mouth to argue but decided against it. Accepting her fate, she slowly nodded and began to turn away when Slytherin suddenly appeared next to her, his face stern.
"Please excuse my language, Professor, but that's just bullshit."
Both Hufflepuff and Professor Flitwick looked at him in surprise as he continued. "She did nothing wrong, and she was only late because she stayed up with me last night to help me study for the quiz."
"Firstly, students are supposed to be in their own dormitories after curfew, so you two shouldn't have been together in the first place. Second, she still must be punished for her comment in class today."
"What a load of bollocks." Slytherin had mumbled it softly under his breath but it was loud enough for everyone to hear.
Professor Flitwick narrowed his eyes. "Mr. Lestrange, I do not tolerate your use of improper language. Cursing is strictly prohibited in this classroom. I seem to recall Professor Sprout telling me that you were with Hufflepuff the night she broke curfew. Thus, you shall be joining her in detention with Mr. Filch tonight. It'll fix both of you up."
"Tonight? That's not f-"
Professor Flitwick waved his hands dismissively. "My decision is final," he said. "I would suggest the two of you go on to your next classes. You don't want to be late again."
Slytherin sighed exasperatedly but decided not to argue. Saying goodbye to Professor Flitwick, he put his hand on Hufflepuff's back and guided her towards the exit. She let out a frustrated groan when they left the classroom.
"You didn't have to stand up for me like that," Hufflepuff mumbled, glancing at Slytherin who leisurely strolled through the hallway, his bag flung over one shoulder.
"I didn't want you to go to detention alone."
Hufflepuff looked at him in surprise as they walked down the Grand Staircase. "You knew you were gonna-"
"Yes." Slytherin gave her a lopsided grin. "Flitwick gets furious when a student curses or uses improper language, as he puts it."
Hufflepuff snorted. "Of course he does." She took a deep breath. "But thank you."
"You're welcome," he said casually.
Hufflepuff giggled softly. "Did you see his face when you said bullshit?"
Slytherin's laugh was sudden and loud, with a smile from ear to ear. It was not merely a noise that came from the mouth. The laugh was in his eyes, in the way his face changed into that vision of relaxed joy and unrestrained mirth.
"Of course," he exclaimed. His smile never left his face. "It was absolutely priceless."
Hufflepuff's heart skipped a beat. Her cheeks grew red like a spring rose and she looked away, distracting herself with the moving paintings that hung from the walls.
They reached the first floor and Hufflepuff stopped walking. Realizing that she was no longer by his side, Slytherin turned around in confusion.
"You should go," she said. "I know your next class is on this floor."
Slytherin frowned. "But I was gonna walk you to your class, which is in the Dungeons."
"You've already gotten into enough trouble for me. I don't want you to be late again."
"But..."
Hufflepuff nudged him towards the direction of his class. "Don't argue with me."
Raising an eyebrow amusingly, he asked, "When did you get so assertive?"
Hufflepuff rolled her eyes and tried to keep a straight face. She ultimately failed, a sweet smile blooming across her face.
His eyes flickered down to her rosy lips. Hufflepuff had the type of smile that made people thankful to be alive, pleased to be able to bask in her warm presence.
Ok, maybe I have a small crush on her, he thought. But it's not like she could ever like me back.
Swallowing hard, Slytherin looked away and nodded. "Alright then. See you in detention with Filch."
"I'll be counting down the minutes," she said, a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
Slytherin dramatically gasped and gripped his chest in mock surprise.
"Is that sarcasm I hear? Perhaps I'm a negative influence on you after all."
She laughed and playfully pushed him away. "Just go already, you're late to class."
Slytherin raised his hands in surrender and gave her a small smile before walking off.
Hufflepuff stared at his retreating figure. Strangely enough, she found herself looking forward to detention.
-
"Hey Sly!"
Slytherin had been waiting on the steps of the East Wing for Filch. He turned around and saw Hufflepuff walking towards him with a bright smile.
"What's with the grin," he asked as Hufflepuff sat down next to him. "I thought you'd be a little miserable spending your Wednesday night serving detention with me."
Hufflepuff shrugged. "Spending time with you isn't so bad, even if it's in detention."
Slytherin nodded earnestly and crossed his arms, casually leaning against the railing of the stairs. "I get it," he sighed. "I'm pretty perfect."
Hufflepuff rolled her eyes but grinned. Looking around, she asked, "Where's Filch? He should be here by n-"
"Oi, you two."
They both turned towards the voice and saw Mr. Filch holding a lantern at the bottom of the stairs. "Stop running your mouths and follow me," he grumbled before walking through the oak doors and out of Hogwarts.
Slytherin furrowed his eyebrows and glanced at Hufflepuff. "Where did he come from? I swear that guy's a ghost or something."
She looked back at him uneasily, and they both ran after Filch, who was already halfway across the field.
Hufflepuff wrapped her arms around her chest as a breeze blew past them. I should've brought a jacket, she thought, rubbing her hands together.
Slytherin noticed her shivering and took off the slytherin sweatshirt that he had worn over a blue shirt. He handed it to her and she smiled gratefully, muttering a quick thanks before pulling it over her head.
The sweatshirt was loose on Hufflepuff, so she pulled back the sleeves to free her hands and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
Slytherin's jaw practically dropped because wow, Hufflepuff looks good in green.
"Where are we going?" she asked, oblivious to the fact that Slytherin was staring at her with desire.
Filch turned around. "To the Forbidden Forest."
Slytherin snapped out of his trance abruptly and focused his attention on Filch, who was smiling wickedly.
"But that's strictly off-limits to students," Hufflepuff said hurriedly, a hint of worry in her voice.
He resumed the walk again. "Professor Slughorn needs a plant that only grows in the Forbidden Forest. It's called the Niffler's Fancy, and you two are gonna help me find it."
Slytherin and Hufflepuff looked at each other grimly. They learned about the Niffler's Fancy in class; it was a rare plant with magical properties- emphasis on rare.
They reached the edge of the forest and Filch whirled around, glowering at them with beady eyes. "The leaves shine like copper so it'll be hard to miss. Meet me back here in an hour. If I don't see you by then, I won't hesitate to leave." He shoved the lantern into Slytherin's hands. "Here. You're gonna need it." With that, he turned and melted into the night.
Slytherin peered into the forest, holding up the lantern. The canopy of trees didn't allow any moonlight to shine through and the darkness was alluring, beckoning them to explore its hidden mysteries.
"Great," he sighed. "This is gonna be fun."
The moment they stepped into an opening of the forest, cold air rushed towards them and the bushes rustled noisily. Hufflepuff pulled the sweatshirt tighter around her and instinctively shifted closer to Slytherin. She looked around for a moment and her face suddenly lit up.
"Look, there's a footpath over there," she exclaimed, pointing past a small field of knotgrass.
Slytherin nodded. "We should follow it." He grinned and gave her the lantern. "Good eye, Puff. You should lead."
A feeling of warmth raced through Hufflepuff's body and she felt hot, despite the fact that it was a chilly night.
They walked along the path and searched for any plants that gleamed, making sure to avoid the cluster of spiky bushes. The glow from the lantern did nothing to stop the gloominess from caving in. The inky void nurtured a sense of claustrophobia inside them, despite the fact that the forest stretched unbroken for miles. The shadows were unwelcoming and hostile, jumping out at them wherever they went.
Hufflepuff could've sworn that she saw a pair of yellow eyes watching her from the pine trees. She blinked in disbelief and looked again- there was nothing.
I'm probably just tired, she thought to herself before continuing to inspect the ground.
After a couple of minutes passed, Hufflepuff asked, "Have you seen anything yet?". There was no response. She looked over and realized that Slytherin was no longer next to her.
Hufflepuff did a 360-degree turn. He was nowhere to be seen.
"Slytherin," she called out, a hint of panic in her voice. There was only silence. A pang of fear jolted through her chest and she frantically searched around the area while a million thoughts raced through her mind. This is all your fault, if you hadn't gotten detention in the first place, this wouldn't have happened. Oh Merlin, what if he's injured, what if something got him, what if-
"BOO!" Slytherin suddenly jumped out of the bushes in front of her.
Hufflepuff shrieked and clutched her chest, her eyes wide with fear. She let out a sigh of relief once she realized that it was Slytherin. Before he knew it, she ran and flung her arms around his neck, pulling him into a tight embrace.
The force of the hug caused Slytherin to stumble back. Nonetheless, he maintained a grip around her waist and laughed heartily.
"Pleased to see me?" he asked slyly when she pulled away.
Seeing his charming smile didn't have the same effect as it usually did on Hufflepuff. Her relief suddenly turned into anger and she smacked Slytherin on the arm.
He yelped and looked at her in surprise.
"That wasn't funny," she huffed before storming off.
Slytherin ran after Hufflepuff and grabbed her free hand, pulling her to a stop.
She turned and glared at him, refusing to speak.
"Aww, are you mad at me for scaring you?"
Hufflepuff pouted and crossed her arms. "I wasn't scared."
Slytherin laughed and shook his head.
"Every time you lie, your cheeks turn red," he replied, arching an eyebrow.
Hufflepuff swallowed hard. That was exactly what Dream Slytherin had said. A shiver went down her spine- and it wasn't because of the wind.
Slytherin tilted his head questioningly. He could've sworn that Hufflepuff was blushing. He brushed his thoughts aside. The dark was probably just playing tricks with his mind.
He put his hands up in a pleading manner, looking at Hufflepuff with puppy dog eyes.
"Please don't be mad anymore, I'm sorry for scaring you like that."
Hufflepuff sighed and her shoulders relaxed. "Apology accepted," she said. "But if you do that again, I'll hex you."
Slytherin smirked at the empty threat. He knew she would never do that, but decided not to say anything about it.
"Yes ma'am."
They explored the forest in comfortable silence, walking close enough to the point where their shoulders occasionally brushed against each other.
There was a sudden gust of wind and the light in the lantern blew out. Darkness engulfed them and Hufflepuff squeaked in alarm, automatically grabbing Slytherin's hand. A sudden light appeared before her and she winced.
Looking over, Hufflepuff realized that Slytherin had cast Lumos, and a bright glow was now emitting from his wand. He squeezed her hand reassuringly. "That lantern was useless anyway."
As they continued their journey, Slytherin didn't let go of her hand. They interfolded perfectly and Hufflepuff could feel the heat of his palm pressed against her own. Even though they were in the Forbidden Forest and looking for a plant that was practically impossible to find, she felt peaceful being alone with him.
The path grew narrower, which was made uneven by the knotted roots that crossed it, branched at intervals. Slytherin looked at his watch; thirty minutes had already gone by, and they still hadn't found anything. He stopped walking and turned to Hufflepuff.
"Maybe we should split up."
Hufflepuff looked at him anxiously. "But what if something happens to one of us? What if something happens to..."
She trailed off and felt a familiar pang in her chest. You.
Unaware that Hufflepuff was primarily concerned about his safety rather than her own, Slytherin rubbed his thumb over her hand in circles as an attempt to soothe her.
"You're gonna be ok," he assured her. "Use your wand and send up red sparks in the air if anything bad happens. The incantation is Periculum."
Hufflepuff nodded and made a mental note of that. Let's hope I don't have to use that spell, she thought uneasily.
"If you find the Niffler's Fancy, send up green sparks. The spell is-"
"I know what it is," she said, fiddling with Slytherin's fingers out of nervousness.
His eyes twinkled. "You're cute when you're worried." Without thinking, he reached down and brushed a stray hair out of her face. "Your eyebrows get all scrunched together."
Hufflepuff took a shaky breath and met his gentle gaze. "Please be careful," she said quietly.
"Only for you."
Her mouth curved into a small smile at his light-hearted joke, but little did she know that he was completely serious.
Hufflepuff held out her pinky. "Promise?"
Slytherin nodded and stepped closer, intertwining his pinky with hers.
"Promise."
Silence fell upon them as they stared into each other's eyes. It was as if the forest was holding its breath, waiting to see what happened next.
Hufflepuff looked at him longingly, her eyes piercing into his soul. Slytherin was a little startled; he had only seen that level of intensity reflected within himself when he was with her.
Could it be? Could Hufflepuff possibly like him back? His eyes flickered down to her pink lips, which were slightly parted. If he leaned forward a little, he could-
"HOOT HOOT!"
Slytherin and Hufflepuff pulled apart in alarm and looked towards the direction that the noise came from. An eagle owl stared at them with piercing eyes.
Slytherin turned his attention back to Hufflepuff and cleared his throat. "We should get going," he said. "We only have 26 minutes left."
Hufflepuff agreed and pulled her hands away from his.
"Let's meet back at the edge of the forest."
He nodded. "I'll see you then."
Hufflepuff smiled at him meekly before walking off.
Slytherin watched her retreating figure for a moment before going in the opposite direction. He rubbed his cold hands together and shoved them into his pockets, but it wasn't the same. Nothing could replace Hufflepuff's warmth.
-
It had been fifteen minutes since they parted ways. Slytherin sighed exhaustingly; he roamed around the dark forest and examined areas hidden behind shrubs, but there was still no sign of the Niffler's Fancy.
He gave up and was about to leave when he saw a narrow opening through a thick line of trees.