intrigue ' sirius [editing]

x. break ups

chapter
↳ ten
moodboard
↳ soft sirius

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"What're you doing?" Benji asked, throwing his leg over the bench so he could sit beside his sister.

"I'm asking Mom and Dad for a puppy for Christmas," Millie answered, not looking up as she scrawled all over her parchment. "I figure two months is enough time for them to think about it." She finally looked up to see Benji's bright expression. There was still some makeup smudged around his eyes from the Halloween party last night. She rolled her eyes, "Did you use the makeup wipes I gave you?"

"No," Benji admitted. Redness appeared on the tips of his ears, "After Headmaster made us quit the party early, Demetria and I went for a walk around the castle. By the time I got back and relayed every detail to the boys, I was too tired." He ended in a whine, the same elongated syllables he used whenever he wanted Millie's forgiveness.

"If that gets in your eyes, it's going to hurt."

"Oh, tell me about it," Benji marveled, "I rubbed my eyes this morning and thought it was going to burn off. My stumbling around the room woke James up and that was a nightmare."

Millie nodded sympathetically. One thing she definitely noticed after spending time with the Marauders was that James could go overboard at mothering his friends. "Well, just be sure to wipe it off the next break—" her expression grew coy, "—Now what's this about you and Demetria talking?"

Benji shrugged, but the undoubtedly proud smile on his lips said it all. "I don't know... we were talking when the party ended and... I just didn't want it to end. So I took her for a walk around the castle and it was really nice."

More student filed into the Great Hall for breakfast, and Millie waved to Regulus when walked in. He nodded and smiled at her. "Are you going to ask her out?" she rested her chin on her palm and turned her attention back to her brother.

"I d-don't know," Benji said, "I thought about it but... then I thought about her rejecting me and I couldn't bring myself to do it."

He ducked his head shyly, "She looked so beautiful last night, Millie. I wish I had the courage to ask her out. I wish I had the courage to show her how much I love her."

"Love?" Millie blurted, "Just how long have you been in love with her?"

"I can't remember. Maybe fourth year? Third year?" Benji sighed and picked at his thumbnail, "It doesn't matter. All this time I've been trying to get rid of my crush and now that I've finally admitted it, it seems possible. It seems possible that she might like me back."

Millie wanted more than anything to shake her brother by the shoulders and tell him that Demetria returned his feelings tenfold, but she had to respect her best friend's feelings. It was the same reason she hadn't told Demetria about Benji's crush: she wanted to respect their feelings and let them admit them when the timing was right. It wasn't her place to intervene, but she really wished it was. "Well, speak of the devil, there's Demetria now. Why don't you go eat breakfast with her?"

"What if she says no?"

"Why would she say no?"

"I don't know," Benji grumbled. He stood up and tugged nervously on the sleeves of his robe.

Millie went back to her letter, reading it through so fixedly that she didn't notice someone take her brother's place. Lucinda slid in, her hair piled on top of her head and her cheeks flushed. "Hey, you didn't tell your twin about this, did you?"

Millie shook her head and folded the piece of parchment. "Nope. Told him I was asking our parents for a puppy. He might be disappointed Christmas morning, but he didn't question further."