More Than That

Chapter 4

Sage moved quickly as she made her way to the library, always checking over her shoulder for teachers as she walked. She was both wearing clothes that were not up to the dress code, and she was also pushing the limits of the curfew. She only had a few minutes before the clock would ring as it struck 10:00.

"Sage, hey!" she heard someone say as she walked past them in the hallway.

She looked up to see a familiar pair of brown eyes looking at her that rested on the perfectly-tanned dark-haired boy. She could practically feel all of the air leave her chest. "H-hey, Theo," she miraculously got out, cursing herself for not speaking clearly.

He flashed a charming smile at her, almost as if he could see the effect that he had on her. It was crazy what that did to her stomach. He also trailed his eyes over her form, seeming to not care to hide it and not at all ashamed, which sent a shiver trailing over her body wherever his eyes went. She scolded her body for reacting so strongly to him but was luckily able to refrain from actually shivering.

"Where are you going?" he asked, probably noticing that she was walking away from her room at this time of the night.

"Oh, uh, just making a quick trip to the library. Needed another book for Potions," she lied and gestured with her thumb to the library.

He chuckled. "Can't believe you can be bothered at this time. Though you were always the overachiever," he said with a teasing smile. She really hoped that that was a compliment.

She rolled her eyes with a fond smile and tucked a piece of stray hair behind her ear, her cheeks pinking a bit. Though that always seemed to happen whenever she was in the presence of Theodore Nott. "I guess."

"Well, I gotta get going before curfew," he said as he took a step backward in the direction of the rooms. "Not all of us are daredevils like you." He flashed her another cheeky smile.

"Shut up," she breathed out, not at all serious.

"See you around?".

"Uh- yeah, see you."

"Bye, Sage," he said, charming as ever, and walked away.

She cursed herself once she turned around and continued her journey to the library. She thought that she had made a complete fool of herself and couldn't believe that she couldn't keep it together in front of him just once.

When Sage had met Theodore in her third year, it had been like a movie. The oh-so-typical meet-cute. She had dropped her things in the hall, he had bent down to help her pick her things up, their eyes connected as he handed her back her pencil, their hands brushing together as he did so. Sparks flew through the air. It was perfect. It was meant to be.

She had been nursing a monster crush on him ever since.

They had been pretty good friends ever since. If they were in a class together and didn't have their other friends with them they'd partner up on projects. Sometimes she'd see him at her quidditch games. Well, when Slytherin was playing against them.

Okay, they weren't the closest - but she still couldn't help but have a painfully big crush on the boy. He was just so handsome and funny and charming. She had tried to find a way to get closer to him, somehow spend time with him outside of classes, but she had yet to figure it out.

She had apparently found her way to the library while her thoughts were occupied with a certain Slytherin, and she suddenly remembered why she had come in the first place.

Right, Fred, she thought to herself as she opened the tall wooden doors. Her eyes trailed over the room, practically empty of students.

She would never not be in awe of the Hogwarts library. Especially at night. The dark, wooden room was lit up by candles and hanging lights, a soft glow cascading around the open room and bouncing off of the endless rows of books. There were tall shelves lining the sides of the room, books sparkled with a variety of dull colors, and in between them were gracefully giant arches, rounding out the room and making it seem more comfortable. It was filled with an almost dry warmth and smelled like cinnamon and frail book pages, a perfect combination in Sage's opinion.