Crouching Under the Mistletoe

Crouching Under the Mistletoe

Severus shifted in his chair, cursing to himself as he grimaced and squirmed. The hard wooden chairs in the library always used to seem so comfortable to him, but not lately. He knew it must be because he was growing. He used to be small and quiet, but now he was all sharp angles and clumsy, gangly limbs. He hated it. Now everything was too big, not just his nose. But at least now he was taller than James Potter, and that was something to be glad for.

He glanced up, scowling. The castle was always decorated for the holidays, and this year the library had been polluted with streamers and ornaments, and who knew what else. He was presently sitting beneath a sprig of mistletoe, of all things. Utterly ridiculous. But, he refused to move. This was his regular seat, and he wasn't about to be forced out of it by some wayward Christmas decoration.

He looked back down at his book; some old forgotten volume about charms and hexes. It didn't even have a name. With a sigh and a grumble, he continued reading, again squirming in his seat. "Hi." Severus grimaced.

"Go away." It was that irritating little Hufflepuff, and the last thing he wanted at the moment was to be bothered by a younger student.

"I don't see why I should." He let out a low growl, fixing a glare on the hapless young boy.

"Barty. Just. Go." Barty Crouch Jr. sat down in the seat beside him, apparently oblivious to his foul mood.

"What's that you're reading?" He sounded so polite that Severus just wanted to punch him right in the middle of his freckled face.

"It's nothing." Barty seemed unwilling to go.

"Tomorrow's Christmas," he commented. "It's exciting, isn't it?"

"Not particularly." Severus tried to wave him off, but he wouldn't budge.

"I'm looking forward to Christmas lunch. Not a lot of people stayed this year, you know. I think it'll be rather cozy."

"I'm sure." All he wanted was a little privacy. Was that so much to ask? ...And was that a hand on his knee?

"So, looks like an interesting book." For some reason he could not fathom, he didn't pull away.

"I suppose."

"...Is that mistletoe?"

"It had better not be," Severus ground out between clenched teeth, even though he already knew that it was. There was a short silence between them before the scraping of a chair against the floor sounded. For a fleeting moment, he thought that maybe Barty was leaving.

Gently, a pair of lips pressed against his, and he let out a gasp despite himself. He felt his muscles clenching and his stomach jumping, something strange stirring in it. Barty pulled away very slowly and looked at him with a nervous, slightly hopeful expression.

And he ran, because he knew that boys weren't supposed to kiss other boys, even under mistletoe. And Slytherins weren't supposed to kiss Hufflepuffs, even if they weren't so bad after all. And, most of all, because he knew that he liked it far too much for his own good.

The next morning, after unwrapping what turned out to be mostly clothes, Severus found that his last present was something from... Barty. Grimacing slightly, he pulled the paper back and glanced down at what was sure to be something disastrous. Severus blinked, and looked again. It was a box of chocolates... And they were called "Kisses."

He decided that maybe kissing other boys wasn't so bad after all. And perhaps he could overlook the fact that Barty was a Hufflepuff. Besides, it was all in the Christmas spirit.