Justin stared shyly out of his curly blond bangs at Ernie. They were currently sitting in the library, studying for their next charms theorem exam together. Justin blushed slightly as his friend's tongue crept sensuously out of his mouth to lick his lips in thought, as he was fond of doing when he was trying to figure something out.
They had been best friends since second year, when Ernie had so vehemently defended him during the basilisk attacks. Albeit being a little misguided in his accusations, he had quickly corrected the situation by apologizing when he realized how ridiculous the thought of Harry attacking muggle-borns, let alone Hermione, really was.
However, after the attacks had ended, Ernie's loyalties in protecting Justin hadn't diminished, and the two had become fast friends. Sadly, Justin constantly thought, that was all they remained. Friends, nothing more like he had begun to so long for over the years.
"What do you think came first, the Immobulus charm, or the Mobiliarbus charm?" Ernie asked, snapping Justin out of his gaze.
"Um, I don't know, the Mobiliarbus probably. Whoever made something move probably couldn't stop it, so they eventually came up with Immobulus."
Ernie smiled, "Makes since, let's just hope Flintwick agrees on the test."
Justin's heart beat a little faster at his friend's easy grin, but simply nodded. When Ernie looked down again, Justin rolled his eyes at himself. He was being ridiculous, acting like some silly school girl with her first crush. Ernie knew almost everything about him, well except for him being gay, but still, he was sure that his friend somehow expected. And anyway, not only was Ernie probably not gay, it was no secret that Hannah Abott liked him, and he was sure that Ernie liked her back.
Speak of the Devil, Justin thought bitterly.
"Hi Ernie." Hannah said, perching herself on the edge of their table, and smiling sweetly at Ernie.
Justin sighed, he couldn't blame her for liking Ernie, not only was he as loyal as a Gryffindor, he had lost most of his cocky attitude, but he had also grown extremely handsome.
Ernie had delicate features, beautiful hazel eyes that were complemented greatly by his honey golden hair, was tall, and lean, but had a decent amount of muscle hidden just under the surface. Why would someone like Ernie ever be interested in him? He was nothing special, he had average features, except for his high cheekbones that seemed to always have a dusting of pink whenever in his friend's presence, bright blue eyes, and curly blonde hair.
"Hi, Hannah." Ernie said, offering a small smile in return.
"What are you up to?" Hannah giggled, twirling a lock of curly hair around her finger.
"Justin and I are just studying for our charms exam, I'll probably fail, but every bit helps." He said laughing a bit.
Hannah looked at Justin in surprise, as if she had just noticed him, "Oh, hi, Justin." She said with a slight frown, as if she was upset about him being with Ernie.
"Hello, Hannah." Justin said politely, just as irked by her presence as she was with his.
"So, Ernie," The curly brunette said, turning back to her fellow Hufflepuff, "Are you looking forward to the next Hogsmeade trip?"
"Of course." Ernie said, "Justin and I were planning to go to Zonko's now that it's been reopened, see what new stuff they have, and of course, Honyedukes."
"Oh, I just love Honeyduke's!" Hannah said excitedly, much to Justin's annoyance.
"Yeah, who doesn't?" Ernie said with a grin. "Justin's in love with their fizzing wizzbys." He said, smiling at Justin fondly, making his heart beat a little faster, but he quickly shook it off, telling himself sternly not to think of his friend like that.
"Yeah, so are you going with someone?" Hannah asked, moving on the table subtly in order to block Justin from view.
Ernie stared at her, puzzled, "Yeah, I said I was going with Justin."
"Not like that," Hannah sighed in light exasperation, "I meant like . . . well like a date."
Ernie stared at her resentfully, and then at Justin, and then back.
"Erm, no I guess." He said, shooting another look at Justin, much to his confusion.
"Great!" Hannah said, and then blushed, "I mean, I was wondering...if you'd want to go...with me?"
Ernie blinked, staring at her with a look Justin had never seen in his eyes. "Like a date?" He asked, still staring at her.
Hannah blushed even more, and chewed on her bottom lip in nervousness, but nodded none the less.
Ernie glanced over at him with that unreadable look again, but Justin couldn't meet his friend's eyes, afraid that they'd somehow give away all the jealousy, and rage he was feeling inside.
Justin's heart sank as Ernie finally spoke, "Sure, Hannah, I'd love to go to Hogsmeade with you."
"Great!' Hannah exclaimed excitedly. She then looked back at Justin, smiling half heartedly at him, "I'm sorry if I ruined any of your plans, Justin." She said, almost sounding sincere.
Justin pulled a tight smile, though he was sure Ernie could tell that it was fake from the look he was receiving. Ignoring it, he said, "No, its fine, Hannah, I hope you two have fun. I should get going." He added, closing, and picking up his books while standing up, "I'll see you later." He hastily retreated, not giving Ernie the chance to say anything.
It was the day of the Hogsmeade trip, and Justin's mood had yet to improve, though; he had tried his best to act normal around Ernie. He groaned inwardly, as he stared at Ernie through a crack in his curtains. His fellow Hufflepuff looked good, clothed in a pair of dark blue jeans, and a form fitting blue shirt that showed off his toned stomach. Justin groaned audibly this time, flopping back onto his pillows; wishing he could lock Ernie in their dorms, keeping him from his inevitable date with Hannah.
Justin was merely dressed in a pair of slightly tight jeans, a white t shirt, and a necklace with a tiny badger on it that Ernie had given him on his fifteenth birthday. He lay there, staring up into his yellow canopy, as he seriously thought about skipping the Hogsmeade trip altogether.
"Justin?" Ernie asked, opening his curtains, and exposing the depressed boy to the bright lights of their dorm. His friend's eyes traveled to the expanse of skin near the edge of his jeans, that was revealed due to his shirt riding up slightly, before snapping back up to his face, a light pink tingeing his cheeks. Justin stared at his friend, puzzled but shook any confusing thoughts off.
"Yeah?" Justin mumbled, looking anywhere but his friend's face.
Ernie sighed, "What's wrong? You've been acting weird lately."
Justin frowned, he had hoped that Ernie hadn't noticed anything, even if he knew it was just wishful thinking, and his friend could read him like a book, most of the time. "Nothing's wrong, Ernie." He said, "And, shouldn't you be going? You wouldn't want to keep Hannah waiting." The last part came out a bit more bitterly than he had intended.
Ernie sat down, making Justin scoot over a bit, and laid down next to his friend, turning on his side so that he could face him. "Hannah can wait, Justin, this can't." Ernie said quietly, "Something's wrong, and I want to know about it. We've been best friends since second year, you can tell me anything. What's wrong?"
Justin glanced at him, wishing he could just lean into the warmth his friend was radiating. Sighing he responded, "Nothing's wrong, go and have fun with Hannah, I'll be fine."
Ernie observed him with pursed lips, "You don't like Hannah, do you?" He asked finally.
Justin shrugged, "She's alright, I guess."
"Look, if you don't want me to go, then I won't. We can stay here, and hang out."
"No." Justin said, shaking his head vigorously, suddenly feeling guilty. "You have fun, seriously, I'll be ok, Hannah's waiting."
"Just tell me what's wrong!" Ernie snapped, "I'm not stupid enough to believe that you're fine, I've known you too long for that. I care about you, and there's no way I can have fun, if I know you're really upset about something. Just tell me."
Justin stared at his friend, silently debating the pros and cons of telling Ernie the truth. Suddenly, deciding to just not think about the consequences, he leaned in, and planted a feather light kiss to his friend's soft lips. A second later he pulled away, blushing furiously, fear of rejection shining brightly in his expressive blue eyes.
"Oh, Merlin, Ernie, I'm so sorry, I just . . ." Justin trailed off, staring at Ernie fearfully "Just forget about it." He pleaded, "Ernie, I'm sorry, please say something."
"Justin," Ernie said softly, bringing a hand up to sweep a few stray curls that had fallen into his friend's face behind his ear. "I can't forget it." And, when his friend's face fell he added, "And, I don't want to. I don't like Hannah, not like that. I like you. And, not as a friend, Hannah's a friend, but not like you are, and I would never want a friendship like Hannah's with you, I want you so much more. I've just been too afraid to ask." He murmured, blushing slightly. But, then, his usual smirk was in place, and his eyes shown with amusement. "Though, it seems that if I had, we could've gotten to this point a lot sooner. Justin, will you be my boyfriend?"
Justin simply stared, unbelieving of what was happening. This was Ernie, amazing, loyal, straight Ernie, asking him to be his boyfriend, something he had only dreamed about.
"But, Hannah-" He tried feebly.
"Isn't you." Ernie said fiercely, leaning in so that their lips were a breath apart.
"You're not joking?" Justin questioned, skepticism quickly melting into hope.
"No." The golden blond said, smiling softly.
Justin smiled, murmuring a "yes", before he brought their lips together in another, longer kiss. Hannah would probably be upset, they were sure to get questioning stares in the hall, and they were definitely going to miss the Hogsmeade trip. But, at the moment, the two boys couldn't care less, too caught up in each other, and the wonder of the moment.
AN: Sadly I've never seen a story under this pairing, or at least a finished, I think there's one maybe =( So, as it's my new pairing obsession for the moment, I decided to write one! I hope you liked it!
Reviews are Love! =D