It was funny how blatantly the Hogsmeade rule of going on assigned weekends and having to have a permission form. He didn’t know a single person who followed it anyways, and he was sure the teachers had caught on unless they were completely oblivious. He liked to think they knew, though, that they just let the students have at it. The trees were near and nearer still; they were easy to find and relatively close to the other. Relatively close meaning that if they were to go to the top, one could easily jump from one tree to the next. Instead he just pointed out the tree with the low branches, letting go of her hand for a moment to hang upside down from one of the trees.
As the trees started getting closer together and they got farther from the road, she slowed their pace to an almost leisurely stroll. She leaned her head against the start of his shoulder, thumb rubbing circles on the back of his hand. It didn’t take much time after that for him to spot a tree - or the tree, she wasn’t sure if he had schemed anything up - and stray away from her to be a goof. Laughing, she squatted next to him and pulled a face, staring at light blue eyes that were upside down. “So now you’re a monkey, too?” she grinned. Getting to her feet quickly, she pulled herself over the same branch and hung next to him. “Well howdy there!” she laughed at him.
Not a minute after her hand slipped into his did he bring their intertwined fingers to his lips and kiss hers lightly. “Fine,” he replies, dragging out the i, bringing his other hand to his chin and exaggeratedly thinking. “I know a good tree, it’ll just take a little bit to find.” It was only a matter of whether his little ‘set up’ was still there. It had been a few months since Christmas anyways. There was an offbeat step as he corrected himself. “Two trees.” One had low branches that didn’t take a lot of effort to sit on or hang off of, the other of course being their tree, one he had already carved her name into with messy penmanship. As they walked he snuck glances at her, smiling like he had something to hide, which he didn’t, but that’s what it felt like.
A smile stretched itself wide on her lips when her hand was kissed, and their arms swung as they walked. “Fine by me,” she said contently, about to start humming some happy tune. They passed by shops, closing or already dark for the night, and even a stray tom that wouldn’t let her near it. Another couple, obviously from Hogwarts as well, passed as well, but they were seventh years it seemed, and strangers besides. They were near the woods now - at least where they had been in trees last.
“You could be reciting it all of the time and I wouldn’t even know!” It seemed Dum was taking care of the mug, so he took it upon himself to tidy up their bit. It wasn’t as if they’d made a big mess, lumps in the seat and the blanket that had to be carefully laid over the armchair again, nothing big. Striding to the other side of the room, he set his hand on her shoulder, just as she was in the middle of her thanks. “So,” he waits until she’s done, of course, eying the door, “if you’re still feeling up to it, how does going to the woods sound?” The hopeful undertone in his voice isn’t so much of an undertone. He wasn’t good at hiding emotions. “I bet I could beat you at climbing now,” he adds in, even though he didn’t know whether she’d want to after staying warm and cozy in the tavern.
Running a hand through her hair, she smiled a little brighter when she felt his hand on her shoulder. It was plenty obvious that he wanted to go out to the woods, whether she wanted to use his eyeing the door, or the eagerness in his voice as a hint. “Let’s go,” she said with a chuckle and lighthearted roll of her eyes, setting out the door and taking his hand in hers. “I don’t know about the climbing part, though. I am in a skirt, after all.” She had shorts on underneath them, as she always did, but she might as well let him think he could win a climbing contest. “Maybe you could pick the tree, too?” As they started toward the woods, she slowly got colder, the bare portions of her legs hilling up with goosebumps.
“I prefer maniac.” The muscles in his stomach clenched and he hovered off her lap, but not too much. “Be crazy with me if you already haven’t had the chance!” He cut himself off with a yawn and sat the rest of the way up, looking to her. “Well if you’re all done with the butterbeer we should move before we fall asleep.” In contrary to her thoughts, trouble was never something he worried about. It was more rare for him to get caught than get away with anything, and he hardly stopped to think about it anymore. He held her by her forearms, very lightly tugging to bring her up. It wasn’t enough to completely pull her up, more like an option to do so. Looking around, most of the people making them paranoid earlier were gone, leaving about three people and the bartender.
She stretched as he sat up. “I’m already crazy with you 90 percent of the time! Unless you want me to start reciting poetry?” Nodding at his words a little glumly, she took one last look around their section of the room. The warmth would be surely missed in a few minutes, and she sighed at the thought of being out in the cold again. But that also meant that she would get to be held more, so she figured it best not to mope. She got to her feet, taking what minimal help Pas gave her, and brushed off a fuzz from her shoulder before taking the mug in her hand. She walked over to the bar, an easygoing smile on her features, and set the glass down, making sure to thank the woman behind the counter.
Streams of light filtered through to his eyes as the blanket was tugged down little by little. He laid his palm out and later cupped her cheek, brushing over the cheekbones and skin he’d been eyeing earlier. “Okay.” He says, simply, the quilt falling from his face and onto his stomach. After all it wasn’t a big chair and they couldn’t be separate after awhile. In his mouth his tongue touches where her poke was, and the hand on her cheek swiped the end of her nose. Moving closer he lays down on her lap, still facing her and mindlessly takes her tie, folding the ends of it with his fingers. “Little raven girl,” he says to himself, not really sure why, but it came out anyways.
Smiling, she turned her head lightly to kiss the palm of his hand. When he laid himself down on her lap, she didn’t object, the fire making her too sleepy to really say no. She didn’t know the exact time, but it felt late, and it was surely dark out by now. The rule-following Ravenclaw in her was telling her that they should probably start for the forests if they wanted any sleep - and little trouble. But she found herself not really minding. She chuckled as he started playing with her tie, running her fingers lightly through his hair before bending down to kiss him lightly. “You’re crazy,” she giggled.
After everything, she was smirking and he hoped it was the end of it until he felt the gentle touch on his skin. He sucked in a breath, tucking his chin to his chest while she went for the butterbeer, bringing the blanket up past his mouth. “I wasn’t aware it was a contest,” he complains, his voice muffled by the blanket. This time he pretended to be mad at her, scooting but only getting about three inches of space between them on the chair. In an attempt to compensate he pulled the blanket over his head, crossing his arms underneath with a hmph. Childish, yes, but he didn’t care. “Don’t smirk at meee,” he calls from underneath, not even sure if she still was or not and he reminded himself that he was in his fourth year, still.
She held the mug in her hands, listening to him pout with a roll of her eyes. There was an amused look on her face as she let him whine, even scooting further way from him after he did the same. They were both against opposite arms of the chair now, and her eyes wandered around while Pas kept on sulking under the blanket for whatever she did wrong. “I’m not,” she said in a voice that was, in a sort, motherly. The same tone that would be used when someone told her not to look - it was patient, and mildly amused at the same time. He was younger than her, sure, but this was one of the only times that it ever showed. Emptying the mug, she licked her lips before setting it down and pulling the blanket down to show his face. Playing with his hair lightly, she wrinkled her nose in her smile and poked his cheek.
Kissing back, he was ready to just let it go with her laugh and a smile but apparently leaning back wasn’t the smartest thing to do. He wanted to crane his neck some more, but it wouldn’t help anything. “You know what you’re doing.” He retorts lightly, trying to keep his lips together. Only to make sure his voice didn’t carry farther than the chair. The way she was kissing him, each longer than the last, he couldn’t look to her if he wanted to. Sucking in a breath he grips either side of her waist again, on either side and he was bringing her away before she pressed her lips to the area on his neck and accidentally brought her closer, just a centimeter.
It took her less than a second to know that she had whatever control there could be over this situation, and she laughed and nodded. “Good job, Pas, I do know.” Her hands kept themselves still, one cupping his jaw opposite her lips, the other flat against the top of his chest. Her waist was held a little tighter, and she tensed slightly as she was pulled away inch by inch. A smirk crossed her lips when he seemed to give up, though, at her most recent kiss. Bringing herself back to the skin of his neck, she put a last gentle peck before whispering against him, a cocky smile plain as day. “I win.” And then she sat back down next to him, bringing the butterbeer and nearly finishing it off - just in case he still wanted some.
A low tone came from the back of his throat, his eyes slowly opening up. From nowhere his heart rate seemed to almost double in two seconds flat and a soft press to the base of his neck explains it. He rolls his neck slowly, seeing dark hair and trying not to roll his eyes. The corner of his mouth still twitched up at her kisses, more like teases. He couldn’t exactly ignore how close together they were either. “Dum.“He whines, only a bit groggily, playing with the waves that fell from her shoulders and twirling it between her fingers. This was a change, her trying to get his attention. (That was a lie, anyways.) He entertained the thought of it, scrunching his nose but looking back up at the ceiling just because.
She raised her eyebrows in surprise - she didn’t expect him to make such a noise. She had half the mind to look around the pub, but instead she kept her focus on planting tiny kisses around pale skin. Let them think what they wanted, she figured, they were doing nothing wrong. Giggling as he whined to her, she pecked his lips before laughing lightly at him. “Whaaat?” she said in the same tone, smiling to herself as she felt him play with her hair. She had gotten what she wanted, at least for a few moments, because then his eyes were pointed at the ceiling. Another kiss went to his neck, this one closer to his collar bone and a bit less chaste.
He laughs, licking the insides of his teeth and shaking his head. He watched her smile, her eyes peering over the glass as she sipped. Catching the bottom of the mug, he started to laugh all over again, quieter and more contained. He loved her. He loved her a lot. So much that his heart squeezed in his chest whenever he thought about it, but such is life. “I love you too.” He traced he fullness of her cheek and brightness of her smile with his eyes for a lingering moment before snatching the mug away and taking a gulp. Wiping off foam with the back of his hand, he placed it back in her palms. The grin took up all of his face, his tongue caught between his teeth and tilting his head. Satisfied he leans his head back against the armchair, closing his eyes.
There it was, that familiar squeeze in her chest somewhere whenever he said it back. She recognized it by now, sure enough, but she didn’t think that she could ever be able to get over the giddiness of it. She was however able to hold back the squeal that she wanted to make, instead planting her face into his chest after he took the mug from her hands. Leaving a light kiss at his jaw, she moved the glass she was just given back to the table, turning back to see his full, perfectly content smile. She couldn’t help but laugh at how happy he looked - it was the simple, childish kind that usually resulted from a snack and a nap. Leaning fully against him again, torsos flush against each other, she kissed so very lightly at his neck a few times in hopes that it would gain her back his attention.
