𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐒 [𝐑. 𝐋𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐧]

𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐔𝐀𝐆𝐄

Song:
Can't Help Falling in Love (Elvis Presley)
"If I can't help falling in love with you?"

A/N: Chapter contains mentions of sexual assault. It's not graphic at all and describes part of its aftermath. If you feel uncomfortable or triggered by this chapter, please do not read it. As always, my messages are open.

Nicholas Lawson's love language had always been touch.

When he was a young boy, he'd hug his house elves until their eyes looked like they were about to pop out of their heads. His mother always pushed him off whenever he'd try to hug her, and his father hadn't bothered to hold him after he started walking.

The first person to ever hug him properly was Callisto. As a child, she was much more expressive, something that had seemed very odd to him. After she finally warmed up to him, he'd give him a hug every morning and every evening, and whenever she was bored, she'd lay her head on his shoulder or kick him under the table. He pretended that he didn't notice the casual signs of affection, but he greatly missed them when he was back "home". It was during one of the breaks when Milena had explained to him that powerful men, such as him, were supposed to have one male friend, and one girl they would court. Nicholas had quickly figured out Callisto was the second, which left him wondering who would be the "male friend and advisor".

He soon realized Callisto had no intention of ever being courted by him, something which made him feel very relieved. He couldn't imagine kissing or hugging Callisto the way couples did. It felt fundamentally wrong. It was around that time that Nicholas befriended his roommate, Leo Roi. So, now he had a male friend and advisor and he also had Callisto, but there was no girl for him to seriously approach. He was breaking Milena's rules, but how could it ever be his fault that he didn't care about any girl beyond the superficial level?

Nicholas Lawson had been convinced that he would never fall in love; it was impossible.

And then, he met Antonia Malinov and he could swear he had never felt dumber before. Once again, he was breaking Milena's rules because Antonia was a half-blood, one of the few attending Durmstrang due to her family's lineage being rich in seers, but he was already planning to scam his entire family, so breaking one more rule couldn't hurt all that much.

He'd watch the girl from afar, never really building up the courage to talk to her. It was supposed to be easy; Callisto already knew her. He just couldn't do it. Besides, his reputation would most probably scare her away. The only thing he could do was occasionally ask Callisto about the girl, always making sure he looked as nonchalant as possible. His friend had the nose of a hound when it came to his feelings. In his eyes, it made her even more terrifying, and convinced him entirely that only a genius or a madman could ever truly love her. He considered himself as the latter.

And two years passed like that, with him longingly staring at her during lunch and classes, trying and failing to impress her whenever he'd aim a bludger at an innocent Quidditch player and occasionally hearing from her.