Potions & Charms

Preparing

On their way deeper into the woods Scott kept clearing a little path for them to walk on between the trees. He looked at Avi every now and then to make sure he was alright, especially after what had happened earlier that day, but the man seemed fine. He was bundled up in one of Scott's jackets, with one of his beanies covering his head down to his eyebrows and the borrowed scarf all the way up to his nose. 

"You good?"

"Yeah! It's nice out here. A little cold but..nice." 

Scott smiled and kept moving his wand to remove parts of the snow in front of them. "It's part of being outside, huh? I don't like the Warming Charm too much, it just feels wrong. The air is nice and crisp, it feels good. And when we get back home we'll cuddle up on the couch, huh?"

Avriel grinned. "Definitely! How far do you want to walk?" 

"Maybe another mile or two? Keep your eyes open for nice trees." 

Half an hour later Avi stopped in front of a tree that seemed to be perfect. It was a few foot taller than him but right now heigh didn't matter as Scott had only parts of the ceiling covered by wood and therefore his attic, while the rest was open space and perfect to fit a large Christmas tree. "Scott? This one?"

The baritone stopped and walked back to Avi. "Looks good! Do you wanna check for owls or squirrels? We don't want to take them home." 

"I wouldn't mind..." the bass mumbled just loud enough for Scott to hear and then made his way over to the tree. Once he stood underneath the branches and near the trunk the baritone flicked his wand and the snow covering the top came down and covered Avi instead.

While Scott couldn't contain his laughter Avi yelled and cursed him, which was then followed by laughter as well. 

"Sorry" Scott chuckled, put down the axe and gently reached for Avi's arm. He pulled him closer and then began to wipe the snow off of his clothes. "The opportunity was there and I couldn't help it." He took off his thin gloves and wiped the snow off of Avi's eyebrows. 

"You're stupid" Avi chuckled and pulled his shoulders up as some of the cold water dripped down his neck, right underneath his shirt. He shuddered for a moment and then, which as much force as possible, pushed Scott by his shoulders and watched him fall backwards into a big pile of powdery snow. 

Their walk ended in a snowball fight and they returned soaking wet and with a tree levitating next to them. While Scott rushed to the bathroom to fill the bathtub with hot water Avi brought the chairs to the fireplace and hung up their wet jackets. He filled the kettle with water, reached for two mugs and then padded over to the couch. 

When the baritone returned Avi was holding the Lord of the Rings again and seemed so busy that he hadn't noticed the boiling water in the kettle. "Hey, book boy" Scott said and chuckled. "Go and take a bath. I don't want you to catch a cold and your immune system is probably worse than mine at the moment. You can take the book with you, but if you aren't back in an hour I'll check if you have drowned in the tub." 

Avi looked up and smiled again. He noticed himself smiling more in Scott's presence and- he liked it. He liked having a reason to smile. He liked how caring Scott was, and that he just said what came to his mind without being too careful with him, and that Scott was able to handle his grumpy side as well as the other one. "Okay, thank you. I do feel a little tired, maybe just knock in a bit to check? I don't want to fall asleep and then get cold." 

"I might've used a spell to keep the water the same temperature" the bearded man said and took off his glasses to wipe them down by using the hem of his shirt before he put them on again. "But I will. No worries. Do you want to take the tea with you?"

"Merlin, no. I'm not that" Avi shot back and got up. He made his way over to the bathroom and disappeared with his book. 

They spent the evening putting up and decorating the tree. Avi was on his knees and adjusted the grip of the tree stand over and over again. Ten minutes later, once Scott was satisfied, he came up and looked at him while he brushed some stray hairs back behind his ears. 

"You do know that you're a wizard, right?"

Scott shrugged. "Sometimes I tend to forget. No, it's just that it's a lot more fun like this. It keeps you busy, you know? Sure, I use my want to clean and all that, but I like making tea and coffee and decorating the tree by hand. All that. It's just- it's fun." 

"Do you iron your shirts by hand too?"

"Hell no" the Charms professor mumbled and grinned. "Do you?"

"Never done it once. I'm glad that I know how to turn on the kettle. The TV seems challenging, lots of buttons, and your phone. That thing scares the shit out of me" Avi admitted and shrugged. "But as long as you know how to use it I'll be fine." 

Scott laughed and together they started decorating the tree. After working in the fairy lights Avi fed the hooks through the top of the red and gold Christmas ornaments- classic Gryffindor, he thought- and handed them over to his friend who hooked them onto the small branches. They were busy for just a few minutes when the baritone stopped. "Do you want to listen to some music?"

The bass shrugged and walked over to the tree to hang one of the ornaments himself. "Sure, I don't mind."

A few moments later music was filling the room and the two men kept decorating the tree for the upcoming celebrations. They found themselves on the couch in the evening and the crackling fire in the fireplace kept the room warm. Scott had his feet on the chair in front of him and Avi's head resting on his thighs and he was mindlessly running his fingertips through the man's hair. He had removed the braids and for the first time ever Scott didn't have to worry about hurting Avi by accidentally getting tangled in them. 

He moved his fingertips over Avi's scalp, over and over again, while the Potion Master had his eyes closed and rested. The man savored the calm moment where the only sound he was hearing was the slow music in the background with the fire every now and then, until Scott started to hum and then sang softly. 

"If you're lost, you can look and you will find me...if you fall, I will catch you, I'll be waiting" was the last thing Avi heard before he allowed himself to drift off. 

Scott smiled softly when he felt Avi relaxing even further than before. His breathing pattern changed again and this time he was positive that his friend had fallen asleep.