Acceptance: Hogwarts Legacy Continued

Chapter 58: MC- its a date pt. 3

She smiled as she watched him struggle to carry the large pumpkin towards the castle. She had offered to help and even suggested he just use a spell, but he was insistent about lugging it himself. He tried to continue their conversation as he walked, but kept interrupting himself as he constantly shifted the weight of the gourd.

It had been an enjoyable time so far; they looked at the decorated town and spent the whole time just chatting about anything and everything. Garreth was fun to talk with, he had such amazing thoughts on things, and she enjoyed hearing his perspective. She thought it was especially interesting when they stopped for a drink in the Three Broomsticks and he told her about the origins of Butterbeer and its apparent link to the creation of polyjuice potion. She didn't know how true the whole story was, but it was interesting to hear him tell it nonetheless.

Now they were on their way to the greenhouse to carve the pumpkin and add it to the collection that was growing in the great hall. Diana had never carved a pumpkin before so she was very excited; she assumed though that it was probably different from the way muggles did it. Garreth had been trying to make suggestions about the design that they should choose, but with each stop she wasn't sure what he was trying to say anymore. Instead she decided to take up the bulk of the conversation, talking about muggle Halloween traditions she would see in England, and some of the stories that were told by the older girls in her orphanage.

As they made their way across the castle grounds she chatted away feeling content and warm amidst the chill in the air. They had almost made it to the greenhouse when she felt eyes intensely on her. She instinctively stopped and looked around, she looked until she found the pair of brown eyes glaring at her from against the castle wall. Propped by his shoulder against the wall was Sebastian, who didn't look away when they locked eyes. It threw her off, and she forgot where she was and what she was doing- until Garreth, not knowing she had stopped, rammed the pumpkin right into her.

She was startled back to her senses as she dropped to the ground. The Gryffindor boy immediately put down the pumpkin and came to her aid.

"Ah, I'm so sorry! I couldn't see you over the pumpkin! Are you okay??" he reached out his hand to lift her up. She took it and nodded her head.

"I'm fine, and it was my fault- I'm the one who stopped in front of you." she wiped down her skirt and cloak which was now covered in mud.

"Oh your clothes are covered." he sounded concerned and looked... disappointed maybe?

"It's not a big deal- if anything now I won't feel bad if I get it messy from the pumpkin. But could we just Leviosa it the rest of the way? It's much easier to talk to you that way."

She noticed his face turned a slight pink, but he agreed with her. Suddenly thoughts of the Slytherin boy left her mind. She hoped she didn't make Garreth feel embarrassed- she wanted him to enjoy this time too. Maybe he thought she was making fun of the fact he had painstaking carried this far. She thought about what her friends usually did when they noticed she got embarrassed. Poppy usually gave her hand a squeeze, Ominis often addressed how she was feeling and comforted her, and Sebsatian would make fun of her.... She decided she'd go with the hand, although it was the most physically uncomfortable for her, it was probably the easiest.

As he sent the pumpkin floating in the air above him Diana reached out and grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze. It felt really awkward and forced, she may have made the wrong choice. She wanted to make him feel more comfortable, not make things weird. She went to release his hand, hoping maybe they could move past it, but when she did he held onto it- not letting it go. She looked up at him, he was looking away but she could see his face had gone from pink to red. What was she supposed to do now? This felt incredibly intolerable, but she was stuck. Now her own face was getting warm, so she focussed her attention on the giant orange mass in front of them.

Without talking they finished their trek to the green house and found a spot to begin their work. They finally released hands as they grabbed coverings for their clothes. Diana silently sighed in relief, but still felt rather uneasy. She tried to shake off her own feelings as she tied her smock around her waist. When she felt she had finally regained composure she turned back towards him.

"Are you ready for this?" he asked grinning

"Let's do it!"