It happened exactly three weeks ago. It started with drinking firewhiskey from Basil’s flask. They shared stories about their parents, their past loves, their most embarrassing moments. After several sips too many, it was impossible to pry herself from his shoulder, giggling uncontrollably into the cool night air. It ended with a kiss, too serious and too methodical for either of them to handle in this state. Her bottle of Gillywater spilled to the hard ground, forgetting everything except for the taste of his lips.
Sarah would have liked to say that it didn’t matter.
Sarah would have liked to say that she didn’t even remember. But she did.
Three weeks later, they moved quickly through the corridors, the only light at the tip of Basil’s wand. It must have been sometime past midnight, all of the portraits around them fast asleep. The only thing that Sarah was aware of was the sound of both their breaths, heavy and quick with excitement.
Sarah held a lethal amount of Wildfire Whiz-Bangs in her hand – Basil carried a Portable Swamp box. They were the two oldest tricks in the book, but at Merlin knows what time in the morning, it did the trick for the two of them.
Instead of things turning better after their kiss three weeks ago, they came up with every excuse why it didn’t matter to them. (“I was drunk.” “It was the full moon.” “I wasn’t thinking straight.” “I just felt like kissing. It could have been anyone.” “I had so much to drink that I was convinced that the world was ending.”) It went on forever, and both of them decided that it was better left forgotten. They went back to being prank buddies, spending almost every night thinking of fantastical plans together.
They hurried down to the Dungeons – their favorite target for pranks – until they reached the door of Slytherin Common Room, laughing in hushed tones the entire way.
After letting loose the Swamp, the two quickly ran up the nearest stairs, throwing timed fireworks behind them as they climbed. They had to catch their breath from laughing so hard at the top of the stairs, Sarah practically choking with laughter because she couldn’t even stand it anymore – having a prank buddy was probably the best thing she could have invested in.
“Do you think it’s going to work, with all of that water reacting against the fireworks?” Basil challenged her for a final time, raising his eyebrows as if she should melt on the spot.
Sarah gave him a weird look. “Um. Duh. I’m a genius, remember?”
They both passed a knowing look before walking back towards their dormitories, ready to call it a night. Every so often, Sarah would look over at Basil and think about that night, three weeks ago. She knew that it meant absolutely nothing to him, especially since he kept so quiet – clearly, he was just her prank buddy, and nothing else. It was purely business, and she thought she wouldn’t have it any other way.
She convinced herself that she didn’t want it any other way, even as he whispered, “
Nox,” dimming his wand and leaving them in complete darkness.
Sarah felt a hand feel at her waist and hip and took an automatic step back, even as he brushed his lips against hers. He moved with her, quickly pressing her into a portrait (who woke up with a bewildered start – not that they even noticed, too busy with each other) and kissing her like she couldn’t say no.
She couldn’t.
She wouldn’t.
And then it was over. He moved away and whispered, “
Lumos.” Sarah knew that it was still a secret, but it didn’t stop her heart from pounding any harder.
Once they had reached the start to their separate paths, Basil turned to her nonchalantly.
“Night, then!”
Sarah knew that it was still a secret that she was supposed to forget.
She wouldn’t.
