"Gil, you have to dress properly today."
Gilderoy immediately narrowed his eyes at her.
"Amy," he said suspiciously, "why are you smiling like that?"
"Like what?" Amelia asked, though the innocent look completely failed when the corners of her lips twitched again.
"That smile right there."
Amelia only laughed softly under her breath and reached up again to fix a strand of his hair that had fallen forward.
"You'll see."
That answer somehow made him even more suspicious than before.
Still, a few minutes later he found himself letting Amelia drag him out of the castle anyway, their hands linked together as they crossed the Hogwarts courtyard while thick snow blanketed the grounds and fresh flakes drifted lazily down from the pale winter sky above them, covering the stone pathways in white, while students bundled in scarves and heavy cloaks made their way toward the gates in noisy groups.
Near the entrance, several school carriages had already been arranged to take students to Hogsmeade.
The carriages moved without visible horses pulling them.
Gilderoy's gaze lingered toward the empty space in front of one carriage, his brows faintly furrowing as the realization settled in again.
Still can't see the Thestrals.
Before he could think deeper about it, Amelia squeezed his hand and tugged him toward one of the half-filled carriages waiting near the front.
The moment Gilderoy stepped inside, however, his expression nearly froze.
Pandora and Xenophilius were already sitting there.
"Oh! Gilderoy!" Pandora greeted brightly the second she saw him, her face lighting up immediately.
"…Pandora," Gilderoy replied after the briefest pause, sounding far more awkward than he intended after remembering exactly what had happened in the library.
Trying not to think about Pandora making him inspect her fatness, he quickly helped Amelia climb inside before taking the seat across from the pair.
Pandora watched the motion very carefully before biting her lip dramatically.
"Ooh," she hummed teasingly, leaning back against the carriage seat while her eyes lingered on him far too long, "what a gentleman."
"I really wish my Xeno acted like that."
Xenophilius, meanwhile, looked entirely detached from the conversation, his dreamy gaze fixed outside the carriage window as though he had already spotted some invisible magical creature flying through the snowy hills.
Amelia settled comfortably beside Gilderoy looking far too entertained already, her eyes flickering between him and Pandora with growing amusement.
The carriage began moving shortly after, rolling across the snowy road toward Hogsmeade while the awkwardness inside somehow became worse with every passing minute.
Pandora and Amelia quickly slipped into comfortable conversation while Xenophilius occasionally muttered strange comments under his breath about migratory magical beasts.
Gilderoy, meanwhile, sat there silently suffering.
Because every single time his eyes drifted toward Pandora, his brain immediately replayed the library incident.
"What exactly was that?"
"Seriously."
"Is Xeno a cuck or something?"
"Because if somebody put their hands on Amelia like that I would cruci—I mean cursethem."
Pandora suddenly caught him staring at her again.
Then, completely shamelessly, she slowly bit her lower lip and winked at him.
Gilderoy immediately turned toward the carriage window before Amelia could notice.
"Merlin help me."
"If she keeps teasing me like this she's going to get thoroughly inspected by me one day."
Thankfully, before his thoughts could get worse, the carriage finally rolled to a stop near the Hogsmeade gates.
Pandora hopped out cheerfully beside Xenophilius as though absolutely nothing strange had ever happened between them.
"Bye Gilderoy~" she sang while waving at him teasingly.
Gilderoy awkwardly waved back.
The moment the two were finally out of earshot, Amelia turned toward him with an amused grin already spreading across her face.
"I saw Pandora googly-eyeing you the entire carriage ride, Gil."
Gilderoy scoffed lightly, slipping one hand into his coat pocket.
"Maybe she wants a piece of me."
Amelia's grin widened instantly.
"Oh really?"
Then her expression shifted slightly as she stepped closer toward him through the falling snow.
"What if another wizard gropes me one day?" she asked sweetly, though there was a dangerous little glint in her eyes now. "Would you just sit there like Xeno?"
Gilderoy's eyes narrowed immediately.
Before Amelia could react, Gilderoy suddenly pulled her firmly against him, one arm locking around her waist while his other hand came up to hold her by the neck possessively, his fingers pressing lightly against her skin as he tilted her face up toward him.
"You are mine, Amy," he growled near her ear, his voice rough enough to send a visible shiver through her.
Amelia's breath caught instantly, her fingers tightening against his chest while that pleased little smile she tried to hide betrayed exactly how much she liked hearing him sound like that.
"No one touches you."
A pleased little smile tugged at Amelia's lips despite her attempts to hide it.
"Don't worry, Gil," she murmured softly while her fingers curled lightly against his chest. "I only want you."
Amelia suddenly rose onto her toes and crashed her lips against his before he could say another word, kissing him deeply her fingers curled tightly into the front of his sweater pulling him closer.
Gilderoy deepened the kiss almost immediately, pulling her closer against him while snowflakes settled against their coats and several nearby students started openly staring at them.
"Mmh…" Amelia breathed softly against his lips when his hand tightened slightly at her waist and he tilted her head back further.
Then a loud fake cough shattered the moment.
"Ahem."
Both immediately broke apart.
Gilderoy turned—and nearly choked.
Narcissa stood there wrapped elegantly in a white winter coat trimmed with silver fur, matching white gloves covering her hands while a soft cream beret rested neatly over her pale blonde hair that fell gracefully over one shoulder, amusement dancing openly in her blue eyes.
Beside her stood Bellatrix dressed entirely in dark colours as usual, a long black winter coat wrapped tightly around her figure while dark leather gloves covered her hands and a black wool cap partially shadowed her wild curls. Her expression remained mostly stoic, though her eyes carried something sharper underneath as they lingered briefly on Amelia before returning to Gilderoy.
Possessiveness.
Maybe annoyance too.
Possibly both.
Narcissa's lips curled upward knowingly.
"Well, Well, Well," she mused, "clearly we interrupted something interesting."
Bellatrix said nothing, though the way her eyes remained fixed on Gilderoy for a second too long made the silence feel heavier.
"What are you two doing here?" Gilderoy asked in genuine shock.
"I invited them," Amelia answered immediately before either sister could respond, sounding entirely too pleased with herself.
Gilderoy blinked at her.
"…you what?"
Amelia crossed her arms innocently.
"Oh relax, Gil. Don't you want to actually know your future wives properly first?"
Gilderoy stared at her for several seconds.
She planned this behind my back. Damm. Amy is slick
Narcissa stepped forward smoothly before things could become awkward.
"We decided to take turns," she explained elegantly before grabbing Bellatrix firmly by the wrist and dragging her toward Gilderoy despite Bellatrix briefly glaring at her sister for it.
"Cissy—"
"Oh hush, Bella." Narcissa smirked before physically pushing Bellatrix toward him. "Now go enjoy yourselves."
Then, before Bellatrix could properly protest, Narcissa shoved the two of them away together while Amelia stood beside her looking unbearably entertained by the entire situation.
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