Potions & Charms

Morning

The next morning was calm. Avi was still asleep when Scott slipped out from underneath him and then, before leaving the bedroom, adjusted the blanket and made sure it covered the smaller man from his toes all the way to his ears.

The night had been on the colder side as they had left open the window to let some of the crisp air in and Scott had wrapped his arms tighter around the Potion Master to keep him as comfortable as possible.

He reached for his pillow and carefully pushed it under the blanket, brought it against Avi's chest and watched as the man's arms curled around it immediately. "Hm" Avi just mumbled and sighed.

"I'll take care of breakfast. Sleep some more if you want to." His hand found it's way to Avi's curl and he pushes a strand back behind his ears, adjusted the blanket again. "Love you."

Another grunt followed, but Scott knew that Avi had heard him. A soft smile had appeared on his lips before sleep managed to wipe it off in a matter of moments and his fingers went lax around the fabric of the pillow, indicating that he had drifted off again.

After a large breakfast - Avi had managed to eat a whole bagel, half a pear and a little bit of smoked salmon Scott had picked up at the store for them - they almost automatically migrated to the couch and found themselves in the same position they had been for the last days.

"Can we watch a movie?" Avi asked and shuffled closer while his fingers played with the fabric of the other man's shirt. "I wanna watch more before it's time to go back to the castle" he explained.

Scott hesitated. "Maybe we should talk first? About yesterday." The next moment he felt Avi tensing against his side and reached down to touch his back. "Hey, no worries. Nothing bad. Just wanted to check in and see where we are."

Avi nodded lightly and exhaled. "Sorry."

"You're alright."

And then they talked. About feelings, affection, gestures in public, Avi's general reputation at Hogwarts, his view on homosexual couples wether they were magicians or muggles. They talked for over two hours, until Avriel had enough and silenced Scott with a gentle kiss.

"I'll figure out where my boundaries are" he mumbled and pecked the soft lips again. "Just give me some time. And don't expect me to have as much time to spend with you once we're back. There are orders from St. Mungo, Poppy needs potions, I have to work on my spells." Avi looked at him. "And I have to get used to the situation."

"You can have as much time as you need, Avi. I just- please know that you can always talk to me, no matter what it is. And if you feel like whatever we're having doesn't make any sense or you're uncomfortable then please don't avoid talking about it. It's important."

Avi chuckled lightly. "I know. I'm not stupid. Just a little behind on social things." He reached out to tug on the collar of Scott's shirt until the baritone bent down to press his lips against Avriel's forehead.

"So...I can call you my boyfriend now?"

"Well, not in front of the students or the other teachers. But- yeah." The man settled again, with his forehead tucked against the side of Scott's neck and let out a gentle sigh. "Is it weird that I don't want to go back?"

"Not at all, no. But we can always come back here. On the weekends, during the holidays. In summer. Whenever you want." His hands moved over Avi's sides. They were too comfortable to move but both men didn't mind as they had to give up the comfortable couch soon to head back to Hogwarts.

"Avi?" Scott asked after a few minutes of silence. "Can I tell Kirstie and Mitch?"

"Kirstie knows and therefore Mitch does as well. And they're your best friends, I think they deserve to know. As long as they don't tell the others I'm okay with it."

Two days later they found themselves at the airport in Oslo to board the plane back to London. Avi was snacking on pretzels as he didn't want to upset his stomach before the flight while Scott had a cup of coffee and a sandwich.

They had decided against appariting, Avi was still recovering and his magic did weird things every now and then which would make the whole journey quite risky, and they both didn't mind a flight and the train ride later on.

"You good?" Scott asked when he noticed Avi bouncing his leg. "Nervous?"

"A little? Not bad, but- still weird how these things can fly without magic." He reached for another pretzel and tossed it into his mouth, then he ran his hand through his hair to push it back and out of his face. Avi had decided against the small braids this time and when Scott reached into his backpack to grab a hair tie he accepted it with a smile and tied the upper half into a messy bun to keep it out of his face. "Thank you. It needs a little trim, things are getting out of control."

The Charms professor shrugged. "I don't mind it. You look good. You should let Kirst braid it."

Avriel shrugged and leaned back. "Maybe. We have to get back first. How long until we board?"

"Another half an hour. Do you want more pretzels?"

The man looked at the small, now empty bag and sighed. "Kinda? But I'm not in the mood to get up and get another bag."

But Scott just chuckled and reached into his backpack to fish out another bag filled with pretzels coated with sea salt and sesame seeds. "Here, got some extra. They're pretty good." He handed it over to his boyfriend and smiled.

"You really are something else" Avriel muttered as he took them and then pressed a soft kiss on his cheek.