New chapter, yay! I won't comment on it, you'll see :)
Thanks to everyone who left a review, I really appreciate it :D
This chapter is a bit longer, enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. Sherlock Holmes belongs to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and this version of the characters belongs to the BBC, Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss. I didn't make any money writing this.
A/N: A round of applause for my Beta, IBegToDreamAndDiffer :) She was a huge help, just go read her stuff it's amazing ;)
Weeks had passed and apparently the situation wasn't going to get better on its own. Mycroft had almost stopped talking to him altogether and Gregory was desperate to fix it, he just had to figure out how. He couldn't confront Mycroft without the risk of losing him completely, and that was not something he was not willing to put in jeopardy.
As he walked down the school grounds with Cedric, Gregory wondered if it was something he could fix at all. Maybe Mycroft simply experienced the same kind of black moods as his brother, and in this case there was nothing he could do but wait. However, this seemed highly unlikely as it was the very first time in more than two years that the Hufflepuff witnessed Mycroft act in such a weird fashion.
He let out a sigh, drawing the attention of his team's seeker.
"Something wrong?" Cedric asked, raising an eyebrow. "Is it about the Ball?"
Gregory forced a smile. "No, it's nothing."
"You didn't find a date, did you?"
"Nope, I'm going alone. But that's fine; I didn't want to bring anyone anyway."
Cedric chuckled. "That's something guys say when they couldn't invite the girl they wanted."
Greg looked away, thinking that his friend wasn't that far off the mark. Obviously, he couldn't bring who he wanted to the Ball but it was the least of his worries right now. Maybe it would be better to let Cedric think what he wanted though.
"You're right. But it doesn't matter; I intend to enjoy the party anyway."
"Yeah," Cedric whispered and Gregory could actually see his eyes shine with joy at the thought of going to the Ball with Cho. "It's going to be amazing."
"So, how are you doing on the whole egg th…" Gregory stopped dead in his tracks, his mouth snapping shut and his eyes narrowing in suspicion.
"Greg?"
Gregory took a deep breath and pointed at two fifth year students who had been following them quite closely for about ten minutes. "Do you know them?"
Cedric squinted before shaking his head. "Never seen them before. Why?" His eyebrows shot up to his hairline as he saw Gregory stomping towards the castle. "What's going on?"
Gregory heard his friend calling to him but didn't slow down or stop. He couldn't believe Mycroft had sent out his minions to spy on him; again! Worse than that, he felt he had the right to eavesdrop but wouldn't even talk to him when they were alone. Gregory could understand that Mycroft needed his own space or just wanted to be left alone but this, this he couldn't.
He took a few deep breaths trying to calm down but soon understood it was no use. His hands clenched into fists as he entered the castle. How dare he? What hit Gregory hardest of all was the knowledge that his friend didn't trust him enough to be honest and still managed to violate his own right to privacy.
He just couldn't understand it. All evidence had pointed to the fact that Mycroft wanted to slip away from him, Gregory had been genuinely convinced that the Slytherin was just brushing him off because he was bored with him, but now what was he supposed to believe? Mycroft wasn't trying to leave him, he just couldn't trust him and this thought alone nearly knocked the wind out of him.
Mycroft had promised not to have him followed unless Gregory asked him to. He had promised. But of course, he should have guessed, those kind of rules didn't apply to a Holmes. No, Mycroft thought he could just violate Greg's trust and push him away to avoid getting too involved himself. But Gregory couldn't let him get away with this, not when he had genuinely thought they were friends.
He thought back to all the moments he had imagined that Mycroft actually cared and felt his stomach turn into knots. He couldn't believe he had been so stupid. He could tell he was getting more and more worked up the closer he got to Their Room and decided to quicken his steps to avoid actually exploding before he had a chance to confront his friend.
He turned the doorknob and very nearly resisted the urge to kick the door down, content enough to hear it slam against the wall. "I can't believe you did it again, Mycroft!"
The Slytherin, who had apparently been walking around the room in circles, abruptly turned around, his eyebrows rising in surprise. "What did I-"
"No! No, you just… just shut up right now!" Mycroft's mouth snapped shut and Gregory felt pride swell in his belly at the sight. "You don't get to talk, Mycroft! I can't believe you're having me followed…"
Gregory rubbed his eyes with the tip of his finger, feeling his anger dying down a tiny bit to leave only pain in his chest. "Don't even try and tell me that you wanted to protect me because… this time, there's nothing you could protect me from… actually, the only thing you could do to protect me would be to leave. Me. Alone."
Greg let out a few deep breaths trying to compose himself and Mycroft took advantage of it, taking a step forward and raising his hand in what was supposed to be a soothing gesture. "I can see you're upset…"
Gregory snorted and Mycroft frowned, only giving the Hufflepuff an urge to beat the living daylights out of him.
"… but you wouldn't really want me to leave you alone, would you?" Greg looked at his friend and saw the little boy he had once saved, fragile and unsure of himself, his eyes flashing with something too akin to fear to be called anything else.
However, Gregory wasn't sure he could calm down even if it meant hurting Mycroft for good this time. His anger was rapidly rising again and he clenched his hands into fists. "Why shouldn't I? I spent months trying to get you to open up to me… months, Mycroft. But you wouldn't talk to me, I could see you were in pain but I couldn't do a damn thing about it!"
He took a deep breath and started pacing, throwing his hands in the air, making him look a bit demented. But he was past the point of caring. He had kept it all inside for too long and now that the first words were out, there was no stopping him.
"I knew you didn't trust me, but I trusted you, Mycroft! Really, I did and… and I actually thought that you would honor your word. You promised me you wouldn't spy on me again…"
Mycroft fidgeted with his shirt before closing his eyes. "I know I promised, Gregory. And I am sorry for breaking my word, I just… I didn't have a choice!"
Gregory abruptly stopped and turned around, pointing a menacing finger to Mycroft's chest. "Don't you even dare telling me it was because you were worried about me! I swear I am this close to punching you, if you have any excuse, you better make it a damn good one…"
"I did worry," Mycroft whispered; his voice a bit shaky. "I worried, but not about you; about… about us."
Gregory frowned and the Slytherin let out a sigh.
"I did tell you I was somewhat… similar to my brother on certain things." He cleared his throat. "Well… if Sherlock felt like he was losing John to someone else, he would probably do a lot worse than this, and I know… I'm not using it as an excuse-"
"Wait," Greg interrupted, his anger softening somewhat. "You were afraid you were… losing me? To who? Cedric?"
Mycroft simply looked away and that was all the answer Greg needed.
"So what? You decided that stalking me would make it all better? Instead of actually talking to me, you hired those two idiots to do the job for you? God, Mycroft! What were you thinking?"
"I wasn't! All right?" Mycroft snapped and Gregory looked at him in shock. "I was scared and… and you two were getting along so well…"
Greg groaned. "I think that this is the most stupid thing you have ever said. Actually, I bet it's the most stupid thing anyone has ever said."
Mycroft frowned, making Greg grin despite himself.
"But why wouldn't you just talk to me, Mycroft? I reached out to you, I… I tried everything I could but you just wouldn't tell me…"
"You were the last person I could talk to about this. Try to understand, Gregory… I assumed you would get mad at me for-"
"For what?" Greg interrupted. "For being human? For actually caring about me as a friend?"
Mycroft took a step towards Greg, staring at him, his eyes flashing with something that the Hufflepuff hadn't seen before, not directed at him anyway. He shuddered under the intensity of his friend's gaze and his breath hitched.
"No… it's more than that. I couldn't just tell you that I was-"
The door opened abruptly; interrupting Mycroft and making them both jump away from one another. One of the 'guards' entered and cleared his throat as Gregory noticed just how close to each other they'd been standing.
"Sorry to interrupt Mr. Holmes…" Mycroft glared at him as Greg raised an eyebrow,
"… There's been a slight change in your plans; I thought you might want to see this in person."
Mycroft glanced at Gregory and color rose to his cheeks before he looked away, straightening his uniform and composing himself to look more like the Mycroft Holmes the school knew him as.
"Fine!" he snapped, sending the boy on his way. "I'm sorry…" he whispered without looking up and walked out without another word.
Another week had passed without any news from Mycroft. Gregory just couldn't understand it, he kept repeating his friend's last words before they had been interrupted, but the more he thought about it and the less it made sense. What had he been about to say?
To be completely honest, Gregory did have an idea, a fantasy actually. But that was all it was, a fantasy. His mind had understood what it had wanted to understand, making it impossible for him to draw any sensitive conclusion from their argument.
He sighed as he looked in the mirror, adjusting his dress robes without knowing exactly why. Mycroft had clearly been avoiding him all week; he probably wouldn't even show up at the Ball so Greg didn't even know why he had bothered dressing up at all. All of his classmates were growing restless with the wait but Greg couldn't join in, he wasn't sure he even wanted to go to the Ball at that point.
However, he had told Cedric he would go, and not showing up would expose him to a whole lot of embarrassing questions he would rather avoid. He really didn't have a choice. Besides, he had said he would enjoy the party whether Mycroft came with him or not, he just had to find out how.
With any luck someone will have spiked the punch, he thought.
He adjusted his robes one last time before letting out a sigh and turning on his heels, heading out of the Hufflepuff dormitory. Unfortunately for him, the excitement of the upcoming Ball wasn't confided to his chambers and he found the common room ready to burst from all the anticipation.
He shook his head and got out as soon as his feet would take him, walking towards the Great Hall in the hope of finding someone to talk to over there. Maybe John wouldn't mind staying with him for a while. He was even ready to stand Sherlock's comments if it meant he wouldn't be alone in this madness.
He entered the Great Hall, ignoring the decorations completely before finding John alone in a corner of the room. He walked towards his friend, trying to force a smile and failing miserably.
"Hi Greg! Well, you're here early. Impatient, are you?" John grinned.
"Not one bit," Gregory groaned. "Ironically enough, I came here to avoid overhearing everyone talking about that blasted Ball."
Fortunately for him, no one was here yet besides a few groups of people, awkwardly standing against the wall and apparently trying to be invisible.
"I thought you wanted to come," John frowned. "I assumed you'd come here with a date."
Gregory snorted despite himself. "Nope, I'm here on my own, which suits me just fine for now."
"Is everything all right Greg?"
"Yeah, sorry… I've just been in a bad mood all week." The Hufflepuff cleared his throat, changing the subject. "Sherlock isn't with you?"
"No, actually I came early to make sure he wouldn't try to experiment on any of the drinks," John chuckled. "Better safe than sorry."
"Yeah."
They both stood in silence for a while, watching students fill the Great Hall with loud noises as more of them came in. Gregory noticed that John was staring at the doors, probably waiting for someone and he swallowed hard, realizing that he was doing exactly the same thing.
They must have looked pretty ridiculous, both waiting for their Holmes, Gregory mused.
Greg noticed Cedric and Cho being dragged out of the Great Hall by Professor McGonagall and remembered what Mycroft had told him about the champions having to open the Ball. He swallowed the lump in his throat, knowing the dance was about to start and now firmly convinced that Mycroft wasn't coming at all.
However, just as he began to despair of ever seeing the elder Holmes again, Mycroft entered the Great Hall. And he wasn't alone.
"What the hell…" John whispered, his eyes nearly popping out of his head.
Mycroft and Sherlock had come in together, apparently absorbed in their discussion. However, Greg didn't stop to wonder what both Holmes were doing with each other as his mind was busy enough taking in Mycroft's appearance.
He was wearing an old-fashioned suit which hugged his figure perfectly, showing off his long slim legs, his flat stomach and his strong shoulders. Greg gulped involuntarily as John turned to him.
"Well, that's something I never thought I would see. What are they doing together? Were they arguing about something on their way in?"
Greg shook his head. "I don't think they're arguing at all. From what I see, they seem to be getting on rather well for now."
Both Holmes turned to glance at them and John's eyebrows shot up when they walked towards another end of the room.
"Why aren't they coming? That's weird…"
Gregory looked away, knowing full well why they hadn't come over. Swallowing the lump in his throat and ignoring his chest dropping, he coughed.
"Yeah, that's weird…"
John's answer was swallowed up by loud cheers as Professor Dumbledore officially opened the Ball, letting in the four champions and their dates. Gregory tried to focus on the couples dancing but his gaze was irresistibly drawn to another part of the room.
Sherlock and Mycroft were standing very straight and Greg wondered if the nurse had actually shoved a stick up their bum at birth. Yet, he couldn't deny how gorgeous it made them look. It gave them an air of nobility and if Gregory hadn't known how childish they both could be, he would even have found them quite grown up.
He desperately tried to catch the Slytherin's eyes but Mycroft's gaze was entirely focused on the performance and Gregory sighed. His own eyes kept flicking between the champions and Mycroft, but after a few minutes he couldn't help but stare completely.
Mycroft was… he was breathtaking in this suit. It made him look even more beautiful than usual if such a thing was possible and Gregory found himself swallowing hard. If there ever was any doubt left in him about his attraction to Mycroft, the Ball had just crushed it. Forever.
The music stopped and the crowd erupted in applause, pulling Greg from his thoughts. He abruptly turned around and joined in the cheers, feeling his cheeks flush at the way he'd been staring. Fortunately, John hadn't noticed anything.
The band started on a new song and a few students gathered on the dance floor, slowly swirling in time with the beat.
"D'you wanna grab a drink?" John asked and Greg nodded enthusiastically in response.
"Please."
"Seriously, what are these two doing?" John was frowning by now, looking at the Holmes still standing next to each other.
Greg shrugged and poured himself a giant glass of punch. "How would I know?"
"It's just weird, you know? I've never seen them spend more than five minute with each other and suddenly it's like they're joined at the hip."
Gregory downed half of his glass but stayed silent. He assumed that Mycroft was using Sherlock to keep him from coming over, and so far, it was working perfectly. Gregory couldn't exactly talk to him with his little brother standing a foot away, could he?
"Come on, let's just sit down. And drink… a lot," Gregory groaned as he dragged John halfway across the room to find seats.
John mentioned the word Quidditch and they were soon absorbed in a very heated conversation about Krum's choice during the World Cup this summer.
An hour passed by without them noticing it and soon the band started playing softer pieces, making about half of the female students drag their partner to the dance floor. Gregory watched the poor boys getting dragged along and thanked Merlin he didn't need to dance this evening.
"Hi, John…"
A girl who Greg assumed was a Gryffindor came up to stand right in front of them, looking down at her shoes and blushing a little. Gregory looked away grinning, amused to see that apparently John was going to have to dance too.
"Er… hi, Jessica," John cleared his throat and rose up, offering a nervous hand. "Do… do you want to dance?"
The girl suddenly looked up and Greg nearly groaned. Really, did she have to be so obvious?
"Yeah, sure." She gave him a smile and took his hand, leading him to the dance floor.
Gregory shook his head and turned to see Mycroft grabbing Sherlock's wrist to keep him from intervening. The Hufflepuff grinned to himself; Sherlock was so in love with John he couldn't understand how his friend hadn't noticed yet.
"Sherlock…" Mycroft warned. "Let it go, there's nothing you can do about it."
The Ravenclaw struggled a bit but Mycroft kept his grip tight. "Don't be ridiculous, there are approximately a dozen spells I could use right now, and none of them are detectable!"
Mycroft let out a sigh. "And what are you going to do next? John will know it was you, trust me. You can't keep pushing every girl away to make sure John never leaves. That's… that's not how it works, I'm sorry."
"Why not?" Sherlock hissed.
"Keeping him from having a girlfriend would only make him resent you more, Sherlock… John will understand, one day, I promise. But until then, you've got to let him be…"
"I hate it when you're not wrong, you know that?"
"You could just say I was right."
"Never." Sherlock's frown turned into a mischievous grin and Mycroft's eyes narrowed. "I think you're going to need all you moral principles in a minute, dear brother."
Mycroft immediately turned to Greg only to realize that he wasn't in his seat anymore. He frowned at Sherlock and his brother simply pointed to the dance floor where Gregory had just started dancing with some fifth year Ravenclaw.
How did I get dragged into this? Gregory bitterly thought as he placed his hand on the girl's waist.
He had wanted nothing more than a chance to talk to Mycroft, and now he had to pretend he could dance to satisfy some girl he hadn't even met. He swallowed hard and took the first step, clumsily twirling his partner around and praying he wouldn't fall flat on his ass.
He tried to remember what Professor McGonagall had showed them, but it wasn't easy, knowing that both Sherlock and Mycroft were staring right at him. What made it even more difficult was the fact that he couldn't stop himself from staring back.
"Ow!"
His partner jerked away, making Gregory realize he had just stomped on her foot.
"I'm sorry. I'm really rubbish at this stuff."
"No it's… it's fine." She smiled and took Greg's hand in hers before starting dancing again. "Just… take it slowly."
Greg gave her a grateful smile and tried to focus a bit more. However his concentration was soon drawn back to Mycroft. The Slytherin was now looking away, his hands clenched into fists as his brother simply grinned at him.
And suddenly something occurred to him, knocking the wind out of him for good this time. Mycroft had said that he… that he and Sherlock were somewhat similar, that he had acted with Greg in the same way Sherlock would have done with John. He had said… 'more than that'.
Gregory swallowed hard when he remembered Sherlock's reaction when John had been asked to dance. He looked back at Mycroft and saw his clenched fists, his slight frown, the way he had stopped looking at him altogether and he nearly jumped.
Surely, Mycroft hadn't implied that he… that they… he took a deep breath, realizing for the first time that what he had first thought maybe wasn't a fantasy at all. He unconsciously tightened his grip on the girl's waist, making her jerk away again.
"I'm sorry, really… I was thinking about something else…"
He bit his lower lip as soon as he saw the girl frown. Apparently not the right thing to say.
"Well, try to focus and I might just make it out with all my limbs intact, would you?"
But Gregory wasn't listening. Mycroft was whispering something to Sherlock, and was now heading out of the Great Hall. Greg let go of his partner without looking at her once.
"I'm sorry, I truly am. But I have to go, it was lovely meeting you…" He waited for a name but none came and seconds later, he was following Mycroft out.
He saw the Slytherin getting up the stairs and frowned, knowing that the Slytherin dormitories were underground. So why was he heading ups… oh. He took off after his friend, following him from a distance to make sure Mycroft wouldn't notice him until they were both in Their Room, figuring the elder Holmes would probably try and avoid him again if he saw him.
Five minute later, Gregory saw Mycroft entering the classroom and followed him suit, grabbing the door before it even had time to close.
"I need to talk to you…"
Mycroft abruptly turned around, his eyebrows raised in surprise. Gregory gently closed the door behind him, feeling his heartbeat quicken at the thought of what he was going to do and the consequences it could have.
He took a step forward as Mycroft took a step backwards. He could see that his friend was afraid and to be honest, so was he. He could feel his heart trying to get out of his chest, beating hard against his ribcage. But there was no going back now, he knew it; he couldn't imagine spending another day not knowing for sure if Mycroft really did like him back. And if the Slytherin wanted to avoid him anyway, he might as well have a decent reason…
His heart pinched at the thought but he pushed it away for now, preferring to focus on happier outcomes to the evening.
"Look, Gregory I'm sorry… let's just forget everything, okay?"
Greg kept walking towards his 'friend' until he had Mycroft backed against one of the desks.
"I know you're mad because of what I did and said but please… can we just… start over?"
Gregory could tell that Mycroft was a bit breathless by now and his own breath hitched as he stepped closer and closer, leaving them only a few feet apart now.
He took a final step forward, standing right in front of Mycroft as the Slytherin grabbed the desk behind his back and swallowed hard. Greg raised a tentative hand, gently placing it on Mycroft's cheek.
"Just… just shut up for now… please?" Gregory whispered, leaning forward and pressing his lips to Mycroft's.
His heart was beating so fast it felt like it had stopped entirely now. He could feel Mycroft's lips under his own, soft and warm but heart-wrenchingly unmoving. His heart did stop this time as he stepped back seeing Mycroft stiff with shock. Or was it revulsion? He couldn't tell now that his brain was turned on again, leaving only doubt where there had been certainty before.
He stumbled back, looking down and feeling color rising to his cheeks. "I'm sorry… isn't it what you wanted? I thought you… I mean I thought that…" he whispered in a quick succession, his breath ragged. "I really didn't mean to…. but I thought that you wanted to… oh my God… I can't believe I just… and you…"
Gregory was blinking rapidly now, not daring to look up as Mycroft finally overcame his shock. The Slytherin leaned forward himself, grasping Gregory's head in his hands and smiling down at him. He gently rubbed his nose against Greg's, making his friend look up at last. What he saw flash in his eyes was all the answers he had needed and Mycroft felt himself smile for the first time in months.
He slowly leaned in and took Greg's lips with his own, resisting the urge to moan as he finally got the chance to taste them. Gregory circled his arms behind Mycroft's neck as the elder Holmes gently grabbed his waist, pulling him closer.
Gregory sighed in content and Mycroft took the opportunity to nib at his lower lip, taking it into his mouth and making them both moan this time. Gregory took a step backwards, keeping one hand on Mycroft's neck to play with his hair as the other searched behind his back for one of the desks.
He found it and pecked the Slytherin one last time before jumping on the desk and grabbing Mycroft's robes to pull him in again. Mycroft came to stand between Greg's parted legs as the fourth year pulled him back into a kiss, running his hands through Mycroft's hair.
Greg opened up his lips and Mycroft tentatively ran his tongue over them, making them both shiver. The Slytherin grabbed him by the waist again, pulling him into him until their fronts were pressed against each other. Gregory darted out his tongue to lick at Mycroft's lips before pulling back a little.
"Can we just…" Greg whispered, surprised to find his voice a little hoarse.
Mycroft nodded and kissed him again, their lips opening up as their tongues found each other. They both moaned, their grips tightening just to make sure that the other wasn't about to leave. Things got more heated, tongues stroking, teeth clashing and lips meeting in desperate attempts to get closer until finally, Mycroft pulled back and rested his forehead against Greg's.
"What did you want to discuss?" And even breathless, he managed to make it sound like a tease.
"I have no idea…" Greg chuckled before pulling Mycroft's lips back against his.
There you go, happy? I hope you are :D
Next chapter tomorrow as usual :)
