just mere minutes 'till the clock chimed midnight, and Arabella awaited Viktor's arrival at the Hogwarts greenhouse. The girl was stood outside, shivering amidst the cold winter air, making her instantly regret taking only a cloak and no other blanketed material to keep her warm.

Several seconds passed, and boredom succumbed her. Peering inside the glass house, she attempted to identify every plant she could see. Asphodel, Dittany, Gillyweed from the Black Lake; even a few Mandrakes - and then she felt a hand upon her shoulder.

Gasping in fright, she turned on her heels, suddenly becoming blinded by the light from the tip of a wand. "Vik, put that down. It's shining in my eyes." Bella scolded, shielding her view from the uncomfortable illumination.

Then, she saw him properly. The scruff of his beard itching at his snow-bitten skin, his dark hair unruly and littered with flakes of white, his wand clutched in his right hand and his left fist clenched together as his nails dug into his palm. His lips were parted ever so slightly, brown eyes widened in shock as Arabella presented the invisibility cloak to him.

"This is it?" Viktor said in wonder, taking the material in his hands.

Bella nodded. "Yes, this is Harry's invisibility cloak. Be careful with it - if anything happened to the damned thing, I'm sure he'd probably hex me into oblivion." She took the cloak gently from Viktor's grasp, laying it over her shoulders so that only her head was visible. "C'mon, get under the cloak with me. We can't be seen sneaking out of the grounds."

Still in awe, Viktor pulled it over both of their heads, and the two students were no longer visible. "Watch where you're going," Bella whispered. "The ground can get a little rocky towards Hogsmeade."

●

"We can go to The Leaky Cauldron - they have a couple of beds upstairs." Bella stated as she focused on the crunch of the snow under her shoes. She smiled as they passed the sign for Diagon Alley. "I used to go there a lot for a drink of Butterbeer with Fred and George. Now, I'm-- I'm not so sure I'll be able to." She murmured, staring at the floor of cobblestone coated with white snowflakes.

Viktor slumped his arm around Arabella's shoulders. "Then we will have a drink there in the morning; coffee or tea. Our first real date."

The redhead was taken aback. "A date?" She asked, pulling the invisibility cloak from both of their figures so they were visible once more.

The Bulgarian shrugged. "Yeah."

She pushed open the door to The Leaky Cauldron, catching Viktor's grin when she placed her lips gently upon his cheek as they both entered the inn. Greeted by the landlord; a man with prominent sideburns, bushy eyebrows and tired grey eyes - whom Bella knew well - she forced a smile in reply. "Hi, Tom. Have you got two rooms available?"

The old man looked Viktor up and down. "Merlin's Beard! You're Viktor Krum, aren't you? What are you doing in the middle of the night with a Bulgarian Seeker, Arabella?"

The girl chuckled, flipping her ginger hair over her shoulder. "Long story, I'm afraid." She tapped her foot on the wood impatiently. "Have you got the rooms or not?"

"Unfortunately not; we only have one room. It has two small beds in, though. May be a tight squeeze but it's better than nothing." Tom sighed in an apologetic manner. With a moment of nervous silence, he suddenly reached over the bar to vigorously shake Viktor's hand. "Big fan of yours, Mister Krum." Another long pause, Bella thought when silence emerged again - mentally groaning to herself. And even more painful than the last one. "Uh, that'll be three Galleons each please." The landlord finally spoke again (much to the relief of Arabella, who was evidently becoming a very querulous young woman).

"Fine, we'll take the room." Viktor nodded, slamming a bag of six Galleons on the table. "Thank you."

Tom's aged face twisted when he smiled. "Up the stairs, and second door on the left."

The rented rooms in the Leaky Cauldron were tightly-packed . . . to say the least. They occupied a bed (or in Viktor and Bella's case, two beds) made of wooden slabs underneath itchy woven bedding, and a small wardrobe to fill with belongings - if the occupants even had any, which neither Viktor nor Bella did, save from a purse the Ravenclaw enchanted with the extension charm. The room was less-than-adequate and very uncomfortable, but Viktor didn't want to complain; his favourite redhead seemed irritable at present, and he didn't dare to annoy her further.

"We'll just stay here for the night, go for some coffee in the morning like you promised, and then we should go back to Hogwarts. People will start asking questions if we are missing classes." Arabella breathed.

He took her hand in his, and she didn't pull away. "But we're doing this for your safety. Even if people get suspicious, we can't go back if Zoe is still adamant to, um-- hurt you-- at any chance she gets. I still don't understand why telling Dumbledore is a problem; he would just expel her and you would no longer be in danger."

"Because since Snape interrogated us and discovered that Zoe's a werewolf, him and Dumbledore have been on the lookout to see who burned her face, because they think it could've also been the person who turned her. We know it wasn't - obviously, because it's you who fucking set fire to her, Viktor - but they don't know that, and I'd like to keep it that way. If I went to Dumbledore claiming that Zoe wanted to, uh, maim me, I would have to explain the reason. And the reason is the exact cause of this mess. I'm in danger right now, because of you."

Viktor was hurt. So hurt, that he didn't know how to react. He didn't know whether he wanted to scream at Bella, throw things and rage in anger; or whether he wanted to grip her with utter force and kiss her, tell her loved her, and wallow in her body until they were bruised and their lips bled. He didn't know, and that was the problem. He didn't know what to do, so he did nothing.

Breaking several moments of silence, he finally choked a reply. "I-- I was going to ask you to be my girlfriend tonight. But if you hate me, just say so. I still want you to know I love you."

Arabella's heart swelled with regret. "No, no, Viktor, I could never hate you. I love you, and I never stopped loving you. Merlin, I'm so sorry. I was angry and scared and--"

"I'm angry and scared too, Bella. But I would never say anything like that to you." His tone was cutting and sharp; one laced with venom.

With a loud sigh, Bella reached into her enchanted bag and pulled out some nightwear. "I packed for both of us - just in case - after Hermione Granger taught me the extension charm. Here, just take these and get changed."

When Viktor snatched them from her grip with an audible groan, the girl rolled her eyes. "I really mean it, Vik. I'm so sorry. Sometimes it's just easier to blame other people when you're not thinking straight." Just as he was drawing the blood-red curtains shut, Bella interrupted Viktor by placing a gentle kiss to the back of his neck. "And my answer is yes, by the way. I will be your girlfriend."

Ik ik I need to chill with all the kissing and dates and stuff, but my babies need a lil comfort in each other bc dayum times are roughhh

THEY'RE OFFICIALLY A COUPLE NOW THOUGH !!!!!!! THE SHIP HAS SAILED !!!!!!!!!