Hidden Secrets ☆ HARRY POTTER UNIVERSE | 1 [BEING EDITED]

46 | reunited

❝ But the thing is, even if I could go back, I wouldn't belong there anymore. ❞ —C.C.Z.

   When I finally reached the Gryffindor Common Room, I wasn't surprised to find it empty. Though it was just Tuesday, Dashawn had canceled the lessons because of the Ministry examination we'd be having in less than an hour.

   I didn't realize that tears had welled in my eyes and had flown their way down my cheeks until I felt their salty taste in my mouth. I had finally accepted that there was no way out of this situation now. But saying goodbye to Hogwarts and all the people I loved was not something easy to do.

Mostly because it didn't seem like a goodbye, but a farewell. Would I come back here again someday? As much as I wanted to believe so, the closer the time of examination got, the less sure of it I grew.

  The portrait hole opened up and the sound of footfalls broke the noiselessness of the Common Room. I turned my head and saw Alex standing at the entrance, his face streaked with tear-stain trails. His cheeks were mottled, his grey eyes swollen and bloodshot. As he lifted his head and looked at me, my heart flipped down my stomach.

   I walked up to him slowly, silently. There were no words I could find the strength to say, even if I wanted to. I wrapped my arms around him as more tears escaped my eyes and spilled onto his shirt. My muscles loosened as Alex pulled me closer into his chest. I relived all of our memories in the comfort of his protective arms as he buried his face into the crook of my neck, his fingers gently stroking my hair.

   For a brief moment, my silent tears came to a halt until they stopped completely. Alex had this sort of calming effect on me—whenever I was with him, it was as if the rest of the world blurred away. But as much as the feel of his strong arms around me soothed me, my anxiety didn't disappear the slightest bit. If anything, it increased now as my mind swam with the thoughts of being sent away from him—probably, most likely, forever.

   "I'm sorry," I finally managed to say, my voice barely above a whisper.

   Alex pulled away and his brows narrowed slightly. I stared into his grey eyes, which brimmed with unshed tears. Then my gaze dropped to his full lips, which were parted as if he wanted to say something. But I didn't let him—instead, I stood on my tiptoes and did what I'd never before done, captured his lips in a kiss.