Euphoria

quīnque

"Come on Myeong-Eun! Get up!" [Y/N]'s gentle, honeyed voice called as she pulled on her friend's arm; trying, with all her might, to get him off the armchair he lazily sat on.

"[Y/N], unless this study session of yours includes dancing in an abandoned classroom, I'm not going." He groaned, a small, yet playful, frown forming on his lips as he relaxed further into the comfortable cushions of the couch.

The girl pouted, sighing slightly in defeat as she let go of her friend's limb, "Fine, I'll go study alone. But you owe me a trip to Hogsmead!" She replied, a small smile gracing her delicate features, before she turned around making her way towards the library.

--

"Good evening, [Y/N]." A deep, yet somewhat gentle voice greeted, a small beam forming on the owner's lips as his coffee-coloured eyes gazed at the short girl through one of the many bookshelves scattered around the large room.

"Hello, Tom," she started, a bright smile forming on her ample, vermilion lips as she looked up in the boy's direction, "I wasn't quite expecting you to be here." The girl continued, her smile growing fonder and fonder the more she peered at the boy.

"I see," Tom voiced, taking a book from the shelf and briefly leafing through the pages before putting it back. "I usually use the library just before curfew, seeing as there are less people around. It's more... Peaceful that way."

[Y/N] smiled, taking a few steps forward so she could keep up with the boy on the other side of the shelf. "Oh? I prefer to study or read outside." She replied, a warm smile forming on her face as she remembered the small, yet picturesque garden she had back home.

Tom stopped searching for whatever book he needed and simply stared at the girl, picking up on the sad, longing look that glazed over her wide, teal orbs.

"Do you perhaps have a favourite author?" He inquired, his almost tender stare catching her once longing gaze as he tried to change the subject.

His plan seemed to work as the girl immediately shone with excitement at his words, running around the bookshelf so she could finally be at his side.

"You might not like him— actually you might not even have heard of him since he is muggle... But I'm a big fan of Shakespeare's work!" She beamed, the big, warm-hearted smile on her face causing her eyes to close in an almost crescent moon-like shape.

"Shakespeare?" The boy replied, somewhat surprised that her favourite author was muggle, but not giving it any further thought or even daring to comment on it as he didn't want to sadden or anger the angel before him.

"I've... Heard of him, yes." He spoke, his rumbling voice slow as he turned towards the bookshelf once again.

"Although, I've got to admit, I've never read any of his works. Is there any you'd recommend I read?" Tom asked, wanting to get to know the girl in front of him more— something he, himself, found very odd as he normally didn't care for many people; let alone a Hufflepuff.

[Y/N] raised an eyebrow at his question— not really knowing if he was truly invested in her opinion or not— but answered anyway. 

"Although his plays are more recognised and respected, I'd have to recommend sonnet 130."

"Why's that?" The taller of the two queried, his strikingly stunning features twisting in pure curiosity as he once again faced the girl, having found the book he'd been searching for.

Said girl noticed and motioned to a small table by a window, sitting down across from the boy; her dazzling smile never once leaving her face.

"Because," she began, resting her head on her small, soft hands before continuing, "unlike other romantic poems out there, sonnet 130 is realistic. Shakespeare doesn't compare his mistress to a goddess, nor does he make her out to be the most beautiful woman on earth, instead he uses his poem to satirise the concept of ideal beauty in literature and art at the time. And, although the first quatrains end up unflatteringly for the mistress, the last couplet confirms that his love for her is genuine as it is those very same "imperfections" that make her genuine and much more worthy of his love than the any of the paramours other poets speak of."

Tom was immersed in every single word that fluttered out of her mouth, actually enjoying the conversation as he hadn't seen anyone else as passionate and enthusiastic about literature as her. To Tom, [Y/N] Goldstein truly was one of a kind and he'd gladly let her caring personality and elegant beauty melt his cold, Slytherin heart.