Thrice
It was hard to be friends when you could remember what their lips tasted like. Lysander's tasted like cinnamon and brown sugar, because he was always sucking on sweets that tasted of that. He had once told Maddie that he got them from a muggle store, always got lots and lots before term started, when they were still in Hogwarts, and once he had run out before break, and sent a letter home begging his mother to send him some more.
Maddie's tasted like sweet strawberries. She was always seen using the same lip chap, and Lysander had smelled it once before they had even kissed, and so he had expected the taste of her lips. Maddie told him that her muggle best friend sent her the lip balms by the dozen, telling her that she would never taste anything so wonderful. Lysander knew that it was the best thing he had ever tasted.
The first time they had kissed had been in their fourth year. It was sweet, tasting of strawberries, cinnamon, and brown sugar. He had been nervous when he pecked her on the lips, and she had been surprised. They held hands on the way back from the Quidditch pitch that evening, and then he had leaned in. What a wonderful way to have a first kiss, she had thought. Cinnamon and brown sugar was all she thought of when she remember that day. What a wonderful way to have a first kiss, he had thought. The thought of sweet strawberries permeated his mind for the whole night and into the next day.
They kissed thrice the whole time they were together in fourth year. The first was sweet and sudden. The second was begging for more. The third was goodbye.
They never talked about it after fourth year, that burst of affection that had bloomed. Friends was fine, they were young, she told herself whenever she thought of the cinnamon and brown sugar. Friends was fine, they were in school, he reminded himself when his thoughts got caught up in looking at her pink lips, thinking of sweet strawberries.
They loved each other. Lysander loved Maddie so much that he would go to all her Quidditch matches and watch her save shot after shot as it sped toward the goals. Maddie loved Lysander enough so that whenever he congratulated her, she would say it was because she had her good luck charm in the crowd watching. She loved him enough to wish out loud that they could still play together on the same team. He loved her enough to get out their old jerseys and play together to their hearts content.
They loved each other. Maddie loved Lysander so much that she would wait for him in the cafeteria after work to hear about his day training to be a healer. She would hear about techniques and words she didn't know, because she knew it was important she listened. Lysander loved Maddie enough so that when she nodded and asked questions, he thanked her for taking interest, even though she didn't know about what he was saying. He loved her enough to tell her about the hard times, when he lost a patient or when he felt someone was hurting and couldn't bear it. She loved him enough to stay in the waiting room for hours when he was performing surgery, and to hold him to her when it didn't go well.
All they could think about sometimes was each other's lips. It was what made it hard to be friends, when they knew what each other's lips tasted like. It was made it hard to be friends, because each of them only wanted to lean in and discover if the other's lips tasted the same as they had so many years before.
When Lysander lost his virginity to another Healer he thought he had strong feelings for, all he could think about was that her lips tasted of nothing other than the gum that had been in her mouth.
When Maddie got drunk at a celebration party for a Quidditch victory and lost her virginity with her teammate, the only thing she remembered as she woke in the morning is that his lips tasted of scotch, not the gentle taste of cinnamon and brown sugar.
How could they be in love with each other? They had dated when they were fifteen years old. How could they be in love with each other? The only thing they knew is the constant madness of remembering the taste they could never forget.
When they finally caved to the addiction of each other, the first thing that came out of her mouth was "it's the same", and only Lysander could understand her words, as they stood in a crowded room which had just finished counting down to midnight.
After that, they kissed in threes. The first was sweet and sudden, waking up in the morning, the light of the shutters being opened as Lysander woke Maddie so they could get up and see the day. The second was begging for more, when they were ready to go out the door but couldn't bear to let go of the taste of each other's lips. The third was goodbye for now, but they would see each other at the end of the day. At the end of the day, the first would be sweet and sudden, when Lysander would turn up at Maddie's game or practice, when Maddie would turn up in the cafeteria to hear about Lysander's day, or when they would greet each other back at home, tired, but always leaping into each other's arms, like they had been separated for years. The second would be begging for more, and this kiss was more than one, but combined into an entity of love for one another. The third would be goodnight, goodbye until the morning, when Lysander would roll over and open the shutters to let the day in and kiss Maddie again.