Until I Found You

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"I'm going to have a drink," he shouted to the girl. He was pretty exhausted from dancing. He hadn't danced for a long time, the last time must have been at the school ball, but he had quickly got the old steps back and the two girls had shown him and Elphias many new things.

Albus sank down in his chair and took a large sip from his glass. He saw a movement out of the corner of his eye. The blond boy had stood up and was coming towards him. Albus turned to him, however he strode past him, but for a short time they held eye contact. His blue eyes met Albus' blue ones deeply. He felt himself blushing and quickly averted his gaze. Embarrassed, he stared at his drink.

What had that just been? Why had he blushed? But before Albus could think further about this strange situation, someone called his name. "Albus! Albus!" Elphias had come to him with the two girls in tow. "Those two want to go home now, I had offered them that we accompany them." Without a word, Albus nodded and finished his glass in one go. All four of them packed their things and turned towards the exit.

As they did so, Albus kept a lookout for the blond boy, but couldn't see him anywhere. "Sorry!" he muttered as he accidentally ran into someone. Arriving at the exit, they retrieved their coats from the house elf and climbed out of the car. As they did so, Elphias offered to help the girls, while Albus just stared into the dark emptiness. The air had become cold so it had been worth taking the jackets with them.

Elphias continued to chat with the two girls while Albus walked along in silence. He didn't even really notice when they stopped. "It was a nice evening, maybe we'll see each other again. Good night" Albus heard Elphias say and saw that they had arrived at the girls' home. They both pressed a goodbye kiss on Elphias' cheek and the girl Albus had danced with gave him one too. It was the first time he had been kissed by a girl, but Albus had somehow imagined the reaction of his body to be more thrilling. It was hardly different from a kiss from his mother or sister.

Elphias and Albus turned to leave. "Why were you so uptight again at the end, Albus? You even seemed to be having fun at the beginning, didn't you?" Albus would have liked to answer, but he didn't know why either. He didn't understand his feelings or his behaviour. "Um uh I- I don't know El..." he admitted dejectedly. It showed how well they knew and liked each other when Elphias didn't ask any more questions, nor did he make fun of him, but simply took him in his arms and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you," Albus stammered and he felt a tear escaping his eye. It was good to know you have a friend you could trust and who understood you. Albus hadn't laughed at Elphias about his dragon pox then and Elphias wouldn't laugh at him now. Albus was just peculiar in his own way, and Elphias understood that.

At the well they split up and both went home in different directions. While Elphias thought about the girls, Albus was only plagued by thoughts of why he couldn't be normal. Why hadn't he just been able to have fun with his friend tonight? He hadn't even had the intention to learn anything there, he really just wanted to have fun for once and yet it hadn't worked. There was something about this boy that wouldn't leave him alone. He kept popping up in his mind's eye. His smile. His blue eyes.

Once home, he slipped inside. His mother Kendra was asleep on the sofa and he didn't want to disturb Ariana either. His brother was probably still away and Albus would have cared very little if he had woken up.

He slipped into his pyjamas and lay down in his soft bed. He lay awake for a long time thinking about the boy until he got tired of the thoughts and finally fell asleep with a smile on his lips.