You belong with me ~ Bartylus

6. The curtain rises

Regulus

In the following days, they continue their act.

They make sure to always be close to each other.

In the morning, Regulus has turned to be very sleepy and to rest his head on Barty's shoulder, while Barty wraps his arm around him and they snuggle up to each other.

During classes, they sit together, possibly at the front of the class. They continue to stay at a table by themselves in Potions and they pass the lessons playing with each other.

Regulus messes with Barty's ingredients, steals his phials, hides his scale.

Barty retaliates by tickling Regulus when he puts ingredients into his cauldron and distracting him by whispering random things while Slughorn explains.

Slughorn calls them his troublemakers, but he laughs heartily, and never reprimands them. Regulus is his pupil after all, and his work is always impeccable. Barty's too, in his own way. Never the exact shade, or consistency, but the potions always work.

Regulus pretends to complain with their friends about Barty distracting him, Barty envelops him in hugs in response, and he forgives him.

In DaDa, Barty passes the time leaning against Regulus, doodling on his books and notebooks.

Regulus admires him, because he knows that Barty is learning anyway. He doesn't need to take notes, he listens, understands and remembers everything the Professor says. Regulus duplicates his notes for him anyway.

In Runes, they pass the lessons talking among themselves. They often play Would you rather, but they know each other too well and they turned to guessing each other's answers instead.

In Charms, they disrupt each other's work as they practice the spells, and every time that Flitwick assigns partners, they insist to letting them pair up, just to end up not doing anything and pretending to lose themselves in each other's eyes.

Except that they don't manage to stay serious for more than five seconds in a row.

"What do you say? Are we being convincing?" Barty whispers in his ear, one evening in which they're sitting by themselves in the Great Hall.

"I think we have been noticed," Regulus chuckles, "And Evan often looks at us."

"No, he probably does only because it's strange to see us suddenly act like this. On most serious matters, I already caught James looking at us once tonight," he says, grinning.

"Don't turn around, though. You should be completely enraptured by me," he adds.

Regulus giggles. "James might just be curious too, though. Like everybody else, I guess. Many people look at us."

"People always look at me, I'm irresistible," grins Barty.

"Yes, you are, especially for me", laughs Regulus.

"Well, we'll see how it goes, for now touch my hand and look into my beautiful eyes", says Barty batting his eyelashes.

And Regulus has finally convinced Barty to write him love notes.

Barty has taken the task creatively.

The first time he gives him one, they are in the library. Evan is sitting right across from them when Barty passes him a little folded-up piece of parchment, sliding it behind the books. Regulus reads it and bursts out laughing.

"You're ugly" is written on it.

"You more," he whispers in Barty's ear, pinching him in the side.

Evan's eyes move between them, and he opens his mouth to say something, but he is deterred by Madam Pince walking past their table.