The Wicked Walk On Every Side

Chapter 13

October was always Wolfbane's favorite month. The atmosphere was always serene and calm; the earth was beginning to rest before she had to begin anew in the spring. Plus, Samhain was right around the corner.

When Wolfbane had offhandedly mentioned Samhain to Ryot earlier that week, the Gryffindor had looked vaguely confused.

"Like Halloween?" He had said. Ryot had assumed there would have been a small Halloween party or something similar, and then it would have been over with. He wasn't quite used to big ceremonies or important rituals. The closest thing he had to an important ritual on Halloween was trick-or-treating, and even then it wasn't that important.

"Sort of?" Wolfbane had replied. "Muggle Halloween is similar to Samhain, but the intricacies are where it tends to differ."

And so, Wolfbane had been helping Ryot learn about his favorite holiday for the past week. Wolfbane found that he enjoyed spending time with Ryot. He was witty and charming and kind. Wolfbane had begun to notice that when they were together, he felt happier than he had in a long time. It was almost as if a small weight was lifted off of his shoulders, and he could breathe easier around Ryot.

Most of their time over the past week had been spent in the library: Ryot reading up on the holiday and Wolfbane studying for his classes (and occasionally answering Ryot's questions). This was where they were that particular day: somewhat attentively reading their books and enjoying each other's presence in the weak patches of soft October sunlight that fell in curtains across the library floor.

The heavy doors opened, disturbing the still air and sending a minimal puff of dust floating over the table tops. Aster entered the library, their gait having a skipping jump to it as if they were excited about something. In their right hand was two books that Wolfbane assumed were to be returned, and in their left, rested a gigantic snail, whose eye stalks were looking in two different directions.

"Aster! Over here!!" Wolfbane whisper-shouted, waving his hand to get Aster's attention.

Aster, who had already looked smiley, seemed to perk up even more when they caught sight of Wolfbane.

The Hufflepuff bustled over, snail in hand, and plopped down in front of Wolfbane and Ryot, making a sort of triangle formation in between the three of them, in which they set down their books.

"This may or may not sound ridiculous, considering I saw you yesterday in class, but I missed you." Aster said in a matter-of-fact manner. The snail in Aster's hand slowly but surely started to crawl up their arm.

Ryot casually looked up from his book, and then blanched when he saw the gastropod in Aster's hand.

Wolfbane and Aster carried on their conversation, catching up on what had happened within the last 24 hours, sharing gossip and whatnot. Ryot continued to openly stare at the snail.

Wolfbane sensed that something was up with Ryot. "You good there, dude?"

Ryot closed his eyes and sighed through his nose. "Why is it," he said, his voice laced with confusion, "that they can have a snail, a giant one at that, and I can't have a dog."

This was not what either Aster or Wolfbane thought that Ryot was going to say.

"You," Ryot continued, pointing at Wolfbane, "have a falcon. A falcon! Your older sister has a rabbit, your other sister has a bowtruckle, and yet I can't bring a puppy. This is absolutely homophobic."

Ryot's eyes widened a fraction and his face flushed as he realized what his last statement was. He just inadvertently came out to his new friends. Realistically, Ryot knew they wouldn't judge him (don't ask him how, he just had a feeling), but his fight-or-flight instincts still kicked in.

Both Wolfbane and Aster looked at each other, and then turned their softened gaze back to Ryot.

Wolfbane seemed to physically ground himself before he began to speak.

"I- uh, me too." Wolfbane said, giving Ryot a significant look.

Aster nodded their head once, and then pet their snail on the shell.

Significant weight fell off of Ryot's shoulders, and he could breathe.

"So, uh- what is your snail's name?" Ryot said, desperately trying to shake the awkwardness and the slight tension out of the group.

Aster smile, which was sweet and loving merely milliseconds before, turned mischievous.

"Snodrick."

"There is no way that you named that poor thing 'Snodrick'." Ryot said. The snail in question was currently on Aster's shoulder, starting to go onto the back of the Hufflepuff's neck.

Wolfbane sighed humorously. "Yes, the poor thing's name is Snodrick."

"Hey! Don't talk about my child that way! They have a beautiful name, and I won't hear another word about it." Aster said. Snodrick was starting to crawl into Aster's hair. "Wolfbane, be a dear and grab Snodrick for me?"

Wolfbane carefully slid his hand underneath Snodrick's foot and lifted the snail off of Aster.

"Many thanks, my dude."

Aster looked at Ryot and said, "Do you want to hold Snodrick?"

"Hell yeah, I want to hold Snodrick!"

Wolfbane, who was still cradling the giant snail, carefully held his hand out and let Snodrick crawl into Ryot's outstretched hands.

"Oh my god," Ryot said. The sensation of a snail crawling over his hand was something that was definitely new, and definitely slimy.

The two laughed good naturedly at Ryot's reaction. Snodrick started their trek up Ryot's arm, and Ryot let it happen.

Ryot thought back to last month, when he was sure that Wolfbane had lied to him. In retrospect, he felt ridiculous for thinking that way (though he knew those feelings were justified, at the time).

He felt safe, and accepted, and loved.

And that's all he could have ever wanted.