Potions & Charms

New Year's Eve

"So you didn't use my owl to order things to be sent to the castle but to organize Christmas presents?" Scott stood in front of the stove and covered the chicken breast in the pan with fresh rosemary while Avi was slicing cabbage for a quick coleslaw. They were preparing dinner and after all the presents had been unwrapped they had went on a walk in the woods. 

"Essentially, yeah" the bass admitted and smiled lightly. "I had to get you something for Christmas." He filled a bowl with the finely sliced cabbage and then reached for already peeled carrots. Due to his interest in potion making and therefore skilled movements with the knife he was faster than Scott had expected. "Man, I am hungry." 

The baritone looked up. "Perfect. When I met you you barely ate" the man said and added some butter to the hot olive oil. "Do you want to watch TV after dinner?"

"TV? Are you sure?"

"You act like it's the devil. C'mon Avi, you're not 140. You've watched TV before, haven't you?"

Avi shook his head and finished slicing the carrots. "Not really, no. At least not consciously. It was usually just when I passed stores or something that had the TV running. I never had one and I preferred to live in areas far away from everyone else due to all the potion brewing." 

"Okay, that makes sense. But still, we could watch a Christmas movie or something. Nothing too cheesy, just a nice and calm movie." 

Avriel shrugged. "I don't mind." 

They spent the next couple of days either on the couch in front of the TV or outside in the deep snow. Avi had gotten more and more used to the TV and the movies Scott had picked for them to watch but then again he sometimes just turned his back towards the fireplace and preferred to read a book while the baritone was watching some random show. 

Avi had also gotten more used to the food he was having. During the time with Scott, especially after the incident with the plant and during his recovery, he had started gaining some weight and if Scott had to guess he would've guessed that Avi had at least five pounds more than usual. It wasn't much, but these five pounds helped him get up in the morning and move during the day, go for longer walks and even start using his wand again. 

Just barely a week ago he hadn't been able to start a small fire, but after some training Avi was more comfortable with the easy spells and mastered them almost effortlessly by the time New Year's Eve came around. 

He and Scott were currently walking towards one of the smaller lakes in the area while the sun was slowly setting. They had planned on watching the Northern Lights that evening as watching the fireworks in the larger cities would mean traveling by Apparation, something Avi still wasn't too comfortable with. As they made their way to the lake they talked about the latest major discoveries by Potion Masters, and while Scott was excited to hear about them Avriel just shrugged. 

"They're all pretty weird" he admitted and pushed his hands deep into the pockets one of Scott's warm jackets. "Me included. I guess you just have to be some kind of special to be able to cram all that knowledge into your brain and then be okay with spending so much time in dark and smelly brewing spaces, wether it's a lab or just an office. Potion Making means experimenting, risking one's own life, getting up every hour at night to stir whatever is brewing. It's a lot of work, Scott." 

"Do you sometimes regret becoming a Potion Master? It must've been hard work to get there.."

"Yeah. It's not as easy as becoming a Charms teacher" the bass mumbled and then snickered when he felt Scott smacking the back of his head lightly. "All jokes aside though, the countless internships and all that are horrible. But it depends on the Potion Master you're with. Mine made me stay in a corner all day to take notes." 

"Sounds like a whole bunch of fun." Scott nudged his side and guided him over to a fallen log right in front of the frozen lake. It was rather small, probably an eight of the Hogwarts lake, but Avi still was in awe with the surroundings. The powdery and fresh snow mixed with the large trees surrounding it, and when he saw Moose not far away from them he held his breath and watched as they made their way back into the forest. 

Once comfortable and warm on the log, under a blanket for extra comfort and a Warming Charm, Scott looked at his watch and smiled. "Half an hour."

But the Potions professor was too distracted by the Northern Lights in the sky. They had started off rather milky and almost like clouds, but just a few minutes later the sky was green, blue and even purple as they danced and painted the atmosphere. 

"Do you like them?" Scott asked softly and wrapped his arm around Avi's waist to pull him closer against his side as he feared that the man would lose his balance and fall backwards. 

Avi just hummed. After a few minutes of silence he looked over to Scott, whose eyes had been glued to the bearded man. "Scott?"

"Hm?"

"Why...why are you doing all this for me? You're so patient and caring and- and so gentle. I have forced you through hell and back and I ruined so many of your days and nights, and yet I'm still here, and you're right next to me. Why?" Avi tilted his head slightly and looked at the other man, batted his long eyelashes once. 

The baritone thought for a moment before he took a deep breath and then, surprisingly calm, smiled lightly. "Because you're important to me, Avi. More important than anyone else has ever been. It has been frustrating with you, yes, but so unbelievably rewarding as well."

Avi furrowed his brows. "What do you mean?"

"You trust me and that means the world to me" he mumbled and then raised his hand to move a strand of hair out of Avi's face. "I know that you can't return what I feel for you but- that's okay. You're still healing and it'll take a long time, if not forever, for you to get to a point where you are comfortable with yourself and your past. Still, I want you to know that I fell for you over the course of the last few months, hard and fast, and I love you. I love you, Avi."

With that Scott ran the back of his fingers over Avi's cheek and then, after cupping it slowly, came closer until their lips touched. He was about to close his eyes when he noticed green orbs staring at him.