~Double Cherries~

~A Potions Lesson To Remember~

Not Double Trouble, But Twice Blessed ~ Author Unknown

Hugo scanned the text carefully, his eyes rocking back and forth. His finger followed each word, sinking deep into his Ravenclaw mind and would probably only resurface during an exam or an essay.

The red head lifted his head to watch what Lysander was doing. He stared through the glass bottles, all shapes and sizes which ran through the middle of the table, distorting Lysander's handsome face which was concentrated on his own Potions book. Hugo pushed his large glasses further up his nose and sighed.

Hugo had made an extremely big step that morning. He had come out to his family, well, his family which were in the school anyway. He was still scared, still frightened of what they were thinking even though they had all acted as if and said they accepted it.

He didn't like all the stares and whispers. He wasn't used to the attention. It was almost too much for him.

As well as that, he was worried about what others would think too, his friends and classmates. And Lorcan. of course Lorcan already knew he was gay, but what would he think once he found out that he was going out with his twin? Would he really get jealous? He glanced over to Lorcan's table and was surprised to see Lorcan staring intensely at him and Lysander. Lorcan's gaze broke once he noticed that Hugo had caught his eye. Hugo's lips parted slightly. Did Lorcan already know? Of course he did. The whole school probably did by now.

"Hugo!"

Hugo's gawp snapped and he launched back into reality. Lysander smiled softly at him from across the table before standing up.

"You ready to start the potion?" Lysander asked as he pulled out certain flasks.

"Y-yeah," Hugo stood up too, "Isn't an Elixir to Induce Euphoria too advanced for us? Maybe we should try an easier potion as our experimentation."

"You act like such a traditional Ravenclaw," Lysander teased, "Sometimes it's good to take a risk. It can create the better outcome."

"Don't forget that you're a Ravenclaw too."

"Oh shush you. Just go and get a pestle and mortar, the Porcupine Quills and Wormwood will you?"

Hugo rolled his eyes, pushing his glasses up to sit on his head instead. He strolled across the room while Lysander prepared the equipment and gathered the remaining ingredients.

He watched as the other students were gathered around their own potions, whispering instructions and putting ingredients in their concoction nervously.

Hugo reached the supplies cupboard where Professor Slughorn, who was now ancient and even denser than he ever was. Despite that, Hugo liked Slughorn. He was always able to work independently in his lessons and that normally came as a benefit for Hugo.

"What potion are you and Mr Scamander making Hugo?" Slughorn said steadily.

"Oh, we're making an Elixir to Induce Euphoria." Hugo nodded, turned his head to the side, his glasses falling down in front of his face which he automatically pulled back up.

"That's very advanced," Slughorn waved his head slowly, "Very advanced indeed. Though I think you and Mr Scamander could do more than a good job with it. You're two of my best students and I know you definitely get your talents from your mother. She was a very talented witch."

Hugo thought of his mother for a moment and how she would feel about his confession this morning, "I hope we can do it justice."

Slughorn handed the Weasley the items he needed. Hugo struggled to hold them all in his arms as he waddled away. His glasses again dropped in front of his eyes. He simply pouted in annoyance but didn't have enough arms to adjust them again.

"Hey, I need to talk to you!"

An arm clapped on Hugo's shoulder and the boy jumped in surprise, dropping the jar of Porcupine Quills to the floor. The glass smashed, flying across the room and grabbing the room's attention. Lorcan stood behind Hugo, his eyes wide but feeling immediately guilty for startling his friend.

Lysander rushed to his 'boyfriend's' side immediately, sending a harsh look to Lorcan, "You're too jumpy today, Hugo."

"I-I know." Hugo mumbled, huffing and shrugging in annoyance.

Lysander whipped out his wand, using a simple charm to separate the Porcupine Quills and glass. The glass was levitated to the bin while Lysander gathered the quills in his hand. He took a quick look over his twin and tried to focus on Hugo instead, "You better hope I don't get pricked by any of these. Come on; let's get started on this potion."

Lysander wrapped an arm around Hugo's shoulder, both Hugo and Lysander watching Lorcan standing there as they walked away. Lysander was surprised at how frozen his brother was, as if he was unable to speak to either of them. Surely he knew…? Why wasn't he confronting them about it?

As they proceeded back to their table, Hugo hiding behind his hair and glasses. They placed the items onto the table and got started, working together to follow the instructions and create the potion.

"Are you okay?" Lysander whispered into Hugo's ear as the other boy crushed the Quills with the pestle.

Hugo nodded while nibbling on his lip, "Yeah."

An arm slid smoothly around Hugo's waist and he gulped slightly, putting almost too much pressure on the mortar, "Is this okay?" Lysander questioned.

Hugo chuckled, "Didn't stop you before."

"Oh… you're not comfortable with it?" Lysander said, misunderstanding.

"No… I didn't mean it like that," Hugo protested almost immediately, "I just meant that you didn't ask before."

"Are you…?"

"I'm absolutely fine."

They continued for a few minutes, only exchanging small mutters about Potions but remained in their previous embrace. When they heard a voice behind them, they knew who it was and why they were there.

"Can I talk to you?"

The couple turned around to face Lorcan for the first time about their relationship. Lysander's grip on Hugo's waist unintentionally tightened into an almost protective stance.

"Is it true?" Lorcan inquired loudly and rudely. He crossed his arms and pressed his lips together.

Lysander looked to Hugo who was blushing wildly. Lysander stood his ground, "Have you got a problem with it?"

"Why the hell did you not tell me?" Lorcan yelled, raising his voice and gaining the attention of a few classmates.

"You didn't tell us about you and that new Hufflepuff girl!" Lysander shouted back, sneering a bit.

Lorcan sighed, suddenly getting quieter and more serious, "But that's different… That's nothing; I'm always in a relationship with someone. But… well, neither of you have ever been with anyone before, so it's kind of a big deal when you're in your first relationship. And… especially with each other," Lorcan said softly, "I just thought you would have come to tell me properly is all. I almost didn't come up to you because I was worried you didn't want me to know or something. I mean… you're my brother Lysander, my twin, and Hugo you're my best friend. It hurt to hear it from other people."

Both Lysander and Hugo felt guilty as Lorcan spoke. They knew Lorcan was right and they hadn't thought about how not telling Lorcan might hurt him. He was right, if the roles were reversed they would have reacted in the same way. But now they also felt bad that they were lying to Lorcan. Hugo in particular was doubting the decision. Lorcan was his friend… his crush… this was no way to treat him. He even had Lorcan's twin, lying for him. It wasn't right.

"Is there something wrong boys?" Slughorn raised his eyebrows, standing behind Lorcan.

"Nothing Professor…" Lysander spoke up, turning to Lorcan, "We'll talk to you at lunch."

Lorcan nodded solemnly, scurrying away.

~X~

The lesson ended soon enough, Lysander and Hugo leaving their Elixir to Induce Euphoria to brew over night for them to return to the following morning and finish off.

The had spent the rest of the lesson mostly in silence, not discussing their 'relationship' nor Lorcan's reaction. They both knew it was something important, yet something private and they needed to wait for the right time to talk.

Once they left the classroom, Lysander grabbed Hugo's wrist, dragging him off towards the toilet for their fifteen minute break before Lorcan could try to talk to them.

Hugo followed Lysander with a worried expression, blinking repeatedly in an anxious way. He didn't know what to do or say. He hated influencing Lysander to lie to his brother. It wasn't right. Not at all.

They reached the boys toilets which were always empty, boys being boys. Lysander released Hugo's wrist and ran his fingers through his blonde hair, tugging on his locks.

"I don't know what to do. He's hurt, I didn't mean to hurt him." Lysander said with a croaky voice.

"I never wanted you to lie to him!" Hugo exclaimed, covering his face with his palms, even over his glasses, "M-maybe we should stop this… tell him the truth."

"No!" Lysander snapped quickly, "We don't have to stop… I just meant instead of spreading rumours around we should have just told him ourselves."

"B-but I don't want you to lie to him at all!" Hugo panicked, tears stinging his big brown eyes.

"No, listen," Lysander grabbed Hugo's face, making him look in his eyes, "We can still do this. W-we can still make Lysander realise what he's missing out on. We'll tell him when he realises and when you two get together. Then it will all be worth it. I want you both to be happy."

A few tears dripped down Hugo's face and he lowered his head, "Why are you doing this for us?"

Lysander considered for a moment that it wasn't even his brain ruling him anymore, but just his heart. But he used the usual response, "Because I want you both to be happy."

Hugo nodded slowly, "O-Okay… if you're really alright too then let's keep going…"

Lysander drew Hugo into his arms, resting his chin on Hugo's ginger head. He exhaled and lulled his head against Hugo's.

~X~

A/N: Oooh, so a little drama there, Hugo almost reaching breaking point it would seem. All these chapters seem to be turning out really short, although I don't mean for them to!

We saw a softer side to Lorcan there when he was talking about how he was upset they didn't tell him. Lorcan does seem like sort of a baddie the whole way through, just because of his attitude, but I think that shows there is something deeper there.

Um, I don't really have much more to say about this chapter as it wasn't the most eventful one really. I just hope you all enjoyed it really.

Thank you drumline and JagBdB for reviewing the last chapter! Much appreciated!

PS. Anyone reading 'What Am I Feeling?' as well, I'm just about to update that too!