✔️ 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐆𝐎 → ℎ. 𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑤𝑖𝑛 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦

25 | C L O S E T

what a plot twist you were.

   The lungs in her chest ached, a stitching pain in her sides left her gasping for air, as she pressed her back against the cold wall in this small broom closet. Ember's mind was racing like her heart, and Ron placed a hand over her mouth to keep her from panting, as footsteps neared their small hideout.

   She had seen Harry falling, had seen the triumphant glint in Malfoy's eyes. She wanted to turn around and help her brother, but Ron pulled her along after sharing the blink of a gaze with Harry, a silent order, maybe a plead ... Ron's long legs had moved way much faster than Ember's ever could have; for every step he took, she had to do two, until she was out of breath and close to collapse, when Ron had pulled a door open, shoving her inside.

   "No one's here", Ember heard the muffled voice of Crabbe through the closed door. "Must have lost them."

   "Nevermind", Goyle replied, "they have one Potter, why would she need both?"

   "Dunno, let's go back."

   Footsteps grew quieter in the distance, and Ron removed his hand from Ember's mouth.

   "Are you alright?"

   "As soon as I'll get my breath back, I'm fine", she pressed out. "We should get Harry out, we -"

   "Harry wants you to stay out of trouble", Ron cut her off in a fierce whisper. "He'll be fine. He always is, remember? But he'll murder me in my sleep if I let the Inquisitorial Squad get you, so you will stay right here with me until I tell you you're safe to leave this place!"

   "What have I told you about overprotective brothers?", Ember hissed back, fighting the impulse to shove him aside and jump out of the closet to search the whole castle for Harry.

   "I'm not your brother!", Ron growled.

   "But obviously you're taking his part in here, and I can make my own decisions, thank you very much, Ron!"

   The small spot of light that was shining through the creek in the door revealed his clenched jaw and furrowed eyebrows as he glared down at her, and Ember reflected his gaze not any less furious.

   "Don't be that stubborn", he snorted. "Yes, you're a big girl, you can look after yourself, we all got that! You don't need to proof it, so would you please just stay in here and shut up, so they won't find us?"

   "They're gone", Ember dryly replied, crossing her arms.

   Ron just shrugged, listening into the silence, while all he heard was his own heartbeat in his ears. This was the third time he found himself alone with her in the darkness, just the two of them so close he could barely breathe. The air smelled like salted caramel and summer rain, just like it always did when Ember was around.

     So often lately he wondered himself when exactly did it started to happen that things became ... well, just like they were now. When did it change, the way she teased him, their playful fights? He just couldn't remember when it had gotten a big thing, the way she tapped her fingers on her thigh whenever she was in thought, or what she was laughing about when he watched her from his spot at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall ...

   He watched her for a while, the little he could see of her in the darkness of this small chamber; watched her hands tremble, eager to act, and her feet shifting over the floor, ready to run into a battle she couldn't win. Her chest was heaving up and down with every breath she took, up and down, up and down —

   "What are you staring at?", she suddenly asked in a sharp tone, and the sound of it had his eyes snap up, locking with hers, as his face grew hot as a volcano, realising what he had just been staring at.

   "N—Nothing, I was just ... lost in thoughts ... just staring into space ..." His voice got lost in the shadows. He watched one of her eyebrows wandering up, as she tilted her head, pursed her lips, and it looked so damn adorable ...

   "I see", she plainly replied, tugging down the sleeves of her sweater, and with a scowl her eyes wandered to the door, letting Ron know that it was time to leave this place now. The discomfort seemed to suck all the air out of the closet, and Ron for a last time listened through the wooden barrier between him and the corridor, hearing nothing but silence.

   "Guess they're gone now", he mumbled, straightening his whole silhouette as he removed his ear from the door. "I'll bring you back to your common room."

   "I know the way, thank y— oh."

   His hand had reached out for the door knob, but it was not the only on. Like a shockwave paralysing his muscles, her gentle fingers brushed the back of his hand, and he was sure she would jerk back, but she didn't. Instead her fingers kept resting right there in this breath of a touch, and he looked at her in surprise, finding her lips slightly parted, as she stared down at their hands. And slowly her eyes wandered up his arm, over his shoulders, until a small ring of hazel, that was almost completely gulped by two pitch black pupils, met what the darkness had left of saphire blue. Ember blinked, slightly flinching as she found him staring back, and she bit down her lip, sending Ron's mind over the edge.

   He knew he shouldn't. Yes, he knew it. But like last time in Snape's classroom, just like the time before in the quiet basement kitchen at Grimmauld Place, there was nothing he could do. Nothing. He turned his hand, so hers fell in the palm of his, and he closed his fingers around hers, hearing the breath hitch in her lungs. And there was this part of his mind screaming for someone to chime in, to stop him, just anything! But his heart was beating him further on, his free hand found her jawline, his thumb brushing her cheekbone, before he cupped her face, and hungry, longing lips found hers in the darkness, softer than he ever had imagined them to be, tasting like the salted caramel he smelled before, and just like that his heart bursted when he felt her lips moving against his, as if she'd just waited for this to happen her whole life.

—