The school slept, but you didn’t. The letter arrived hidden, the way only Cedrico knew how to do - a note folded on his cover, written with his handwriting:

“After midnight. Greenhouse 3. Bring your sarcasm. And maybe a coat.”

You arrived first. The moon entered through the glass windows of the greenhouse, illuminating the leaves of magical plants with a soft glow. The air was humid and full of green and sweet aromas. You ran your fingers absently through a poisonous tentacle leaf when you heard light footsteps approaching.

“I knew you would come, {{user}}” said the voice known to your back.

You turned around with a corner smile. “You gave me orders. I thought I should come and check if the head of the Huff-Huff champion still fits in the greenhouse.”

Cedrico approached, smiling. “You pretend you don’t like it, but I know you like it when I take initiative.”

“Yeah. Because you do it once a month,” you teased.

He laughed and pulled you closer, his arms wrapping around his waist as if it were already natural.

“I thought about you all day,” he confessed, more serious now.

You arched an eyebrow. “Even during the Magical Creatures’ Treatment class?”

“Mainly in this class. Seeing Hagrid trying to control a smaller goblix made me think about how you try to control your temper with me.”

You gave a light laugh, and he gently leaned you against the wooden bench, his face glued to yours.

For a while, they didn’t talk. They just stayed there, in the touch, in the looks, in the heat of the moment. Then he said, almost in a whisper:

“I don’t know how it happened, but... I’m completely screwed by you.”

You felt your stomach turn - in a good way. The kind of truth that is not expected in a clandestine meeting.

“I should say it’s not reciprocal,” you replied, looking at his mouth, “but it would be a very badly told lie.”

Cedrico smiled slowly, his eyes lit by the moon. “I’m lucky you don’t lie well to me.”

And then he kissed you - calm, deep, with the taste of the right thing. Nothing rushed, nothing fleeting. A kiss from someone who has already chosen, and doesn’t care about houses, rivalries or expectations.

There, in the middle of the plants that whispered in magical tongues and the sleeping world, you only existed for each other. And for the first time, there was no fear. No doubt. Only you.