John's P.O.V.
A thick fog has fallen over Hogwarts. The chill in the air has turned to a biting cold. Dave and I spend the evening in front of the fireplace in the common room, brainstorming pranks to play on Karkat. Terezi is sprawled on the couch behind us, quietly reading one of her crime novels. Dave glances back at her every once in a while, but otherwise everyone is focused on their own work. I am reading up on jinxes, and Dave is looking through a catalog.
I sigh, stretching my arms, and close the book. "Found anything yet?"
"Maybe," he replies. "What about you?"
"What are you guys doing?" Terezi asks.
"Pranking Karkat," Dave says.
"Oh, okay. Let me know how it goes," she says, and returns to her book.
Dave raises an eyebrow, and I know we're both thinking the same thing. Normally, she would want to join us. He gets up off the floor and sits on the couch with her, shoving her feet out of the way to make room for him to sit.
"Hey," he says, poking her knee. "Are we missing something here?"
She shakes her head at him and focuses even more intently on her book.
"Fine. Whatever," he says, his voice irritated. "It's none of my business, anyway."
With that, he drops back to the floor and flips through the catalog in silence. The peaceful mood of a few minutes ago is gone. The crackling of the fire now sounds as though it's straining to fill the air. Terezi doesn't look like she's really reading because she's lowered the book from her nose and appears to be staring at the wall, even though I know she can't.
I write down a couple of possible jinxes that seem pretty amusing, but I'm having a hard time focusing. Then the door opens and in walks Karkat. Dave and I look up and slam our projects closed in unison, quickly pretending to be doing something innocent.
I laugh somewhat nervously and try to make it sound like we were having a conversation. "Right, Dave?"
"Oh, yeah," he says, getting my drift. "That was the the shit."
"What was?" Karkat asks, standing over us. Terezi cracks the tiniest hint of a grin.
"The... um... charms lesson," I say lamely as I look at the cover of my book.
"Yeah. Dancing ants, dude," Dave says. Karkat looks suspicious.
"What are you asshats up to?" he sits on the couch next to Terezi and she recoils, sitting up straight
"Just homework," I say, and decide to change the subject. "So next weekend we go to Hogsmeade. Are you going, Karkat?"
"If you're trying to ask me out, I already have a date," he says. His eyes dart toward Terezi, and for a split second, everyone is watching her before we turn our attention back to our grumpy friend.
"Nah, John already has a date, too," Dave says.
"Who?" I ask, my heart leaping.
"Me," he replies, as if it's obvious. "It's going to be a bro date."
"That doesn't sound very cool, Dave," I point out. Part of me is incredibly happy, but I know that this is a completely platonic thing.
And just to be sure of it, he confirms the definite platonic-ness of said bro date. "Shut up. It's hella cool. And Terezi can join us if she wants, 'cause she's a bro, too."
Oh. Terezi. Second only to Karkat. And me, of course. So third, I guess.
"Actually," she says as she gets to her feet. "I already have a date, too." Before we can ask any questions, she walks away from us and up the stairs to the girl's dorm.
The three of us exchange slightly confused glances.
"I wonder why she hasn't said anything about it before," Karkat says. "I mean, I'm the expert on romance here, so you'd think she'd tell me if-"
"Maybe she didn't want you to know," Dave says somewhat harshly. Karkat looks taken aback. He closes his mouth and a series of different expressions plays across his face, starting with confusion and ending along the lines of frustration. I can practically read everything going through his head as the implications of everything hit him. He stares wide-eyed at the fire for a moment before sinking back into the sofa and knotting his fingers into his bangs.
"Fuck," he mumbles, so quietly I can barely hear it. I glance at Dave and catch something related to a smirk on his lips before his face returns to stone.
I have no idea what sort of a conclusion Karkat has come to, but he isn't happy with it. Part of me wants to feel sorry for him, but I don't. I look one last time at my book before tucking everything into my arms and hauling it up the stairs to our dorm room, leaving my friends to sit in the awkward silence of the common room.
Dave comes up about a half-hour later, looking almost irritated. I'm sitting on my bed with my homework spread out in front of me, and he glances at me before he unbuttons his shirt and tosses it forcefully onto the floor with his robe.
"I don't really get it," I tell him, momentarily abandoning my homework. "What's up with Karkat?"
He shakes his head and continues to get ready. "He's just being a dick."
I hate it when people won't tell me what's going on. I guess it really isn't my business, but if Dave is upset, I want to know why. And Karkat is my friend, too.
"Is this about Sollux?" I ask.
"No," he says. "Well, yes, maybe. But I think it's mostly just about Terezi."
And somehow I suddenly don't want to know anymore. I climb into bed and try to think about possible pranks as I fall asleep. Instead, my mind ends up replaying the events of this afternoon over and over again.
Saturday morning after breakfast, Dave and I are sitting alone in the common room again. Each of us is quietly working on our homework while simultaneously thinking over pranks for Karkat. Every once in a while one of us will speak up.
Our peaceful silence is disturbed when Terezi traipses down the stairs carrying her broomstick. She walks toward the door, paying us little mind, until Dave calls out and stops here.
"Whoah, Terezi, where are you going this early on a Saturday?"
She stops, swaying on her feet, and takes a few steps toward us like she's expecting a conversation. "Quidditch practice."
Dave glances out the window. It's even foggier than it was last night. He gets up and stands barely a few feet from her. "Not yet," he says. "You'll catch cold again."
"Geez, Strider, I never thought of that," Terezi replies, and turns on her heel. He catches her arm and pulls her back.
"Wait just a sec'," says Dave, pulling out his wand. He casts a spell on her and lets go. "That should keep you from losing your sense of smell again." She doesn't move for a moment, and they stare at each other before she nods and finally leaves and Dave returns to his seat by the fire.
"What was that?" I ask. "The spell?"
"Something I found a couple days ago," he answers. "Why?"
"Nothing," I say, and train my eyes on my homework.
Dave does the same, and I look up again and watch him. The fire pops. I can hear my own breath.
"Hey, Dave?"
"Yeah?" he responds almost instantly, and I wonder just how closely he was reading the book in his lap.
"Do you ever wish you hadn't broken up with Terezi?"
He looks at me at it's kind of unnerving because I can't see his eyes and I have no idea what he's thinking. Suddenly, I'm afraid he'll ask why I want to know. But he doesn't. He just shakes his head and his lips quirk into a somewhat awkward, forced grin.
"Shit, John, I don't know," he says.
"So you don't?" I have no idea why I keep asking. I know that this is none of my business. And I'm actually really nervous to hear the answer and part of me doesn't even want to know.
"No, I mean I don't know how to answer that," he admits. "For a while afterward I kind of wanted her back, but don't tell anyone I said that. I guess I moved on pretty quick. We both did."
"What about now?"
"I just told you, I'm over it. Terezi's one of my best friends. She'd sooner date Karkat than me again."
"But what about you?"
"Are you trying to ask me if I like someone?"
"Well, no, I mean-"
"It's okay, Egbert. I'm not offended or anything. You can ask me whatever shit you want."
"Oh, um, then do you like someone?" I fiddle with the corner of the parchment I'd been writing on, trying not to look at him in case my expression gave me away.
"Honestly?"
There was a pause. I braced myself.
"Yeah, I do. And now you have to answer the question."
My heart shattered a little. First off, I'm pretty sure Dave is into girls, so whoever it is must be female, and therefore, not me. Secondly, I was a little confused. If he liked someone, why didn't I know about it? Why hadn't he made a move yet? He was Dave Strider, the coolest, most attractive guy in school. He had no reason to hesitate in asking someone out, because anyone would be a fool to refuse. I'm so caught up in this train of thought that Dave has to remind me that I'm supposed to be answering my own question.
"No, I guess not," I lie. And it hurts.
I consider asking him who it is. But the timing feels wrong now, like I missed my chance, and so instead, I show him a spell I found that would make a great prank to play on Karkat.
Terezi's P.O.V
As usual, quidditch practice runs late. Jake kept promising "just one more time!" and "this will be the last one!" before having us complete a play over and over until we had perfected it. It was also one of the rare occasions when no one got hurt.
I don't have time to change before lunch, so I enter the great hall in my dirty quidditch robes. For the first time in several days, I see Karkat sitting with John and Dave at the Gryffindor table. Just for a moment, everything feels like it could be back to normal. But then he leaps from his seat, holding his wand awkwardly in front of him like it's something disgusting, and drops it to the floor as it begins to spew crabs. Tons of tiny red shells and pinchers scurry across the floor, swarming around his feet and crawling on his shoes and causing general chaos. Karkat looks incredibly angry as people turn to see what's going on. John is bent over in laughter.
I draw my wand and point it at Karkat. "Crustatum Exumai." The crabs blast away from him, leaving a four-foot radius clear around his feet. The crabs make clattering noises as they hit the stone floor. I quickly cast an anti-jinx and they disappear.
Karkat picks up his wand, red in the face, and stalks out of the Great Hall. As he passes me, I notice what seems to be two very large candy corns stuck on his head like little nubby horns, and I have to hold back a grin. I'd let him find his own counter-curse for that one.
I sit next to Dave and glare across the table at John.
"That was mean," I say.
"Since when did you care?" John asks. I realize that he's right. I never care about things like that unless they are genuinely unjust. But this is Karkat. And I can't say that, of course, so I just frown at him and elbow Dave harshly.
"Were you in on this?"
"Yeah," he admits.
"You should have seen his face when we gave him those horns," John says, grinning like a fool.
"I'm surprised he's still friends with you guys with the way you treat him," I say.
"He probably likes it on some level," says Dave. "He's weird like that."
I don't think he likes it all, but I don't say anything more. I eat my lunch quickly and run back to Gryffindor tower to shed my dirty quidditch robes and take a shower.
That evening, Karkat goes to bed early and John goes to the library to study, leaving Dave and I in the common room. We aren't the only ones there, but it's pretty quiet anyway because it's late enough that most people still up are studying. Originally, that was my plan. But then I got to talking with Dave and my homework is left to entertain itself. We speak in whispers, sitting in the nook by the window, and trying not to disturb anyone. I'm feeling surprisingly better as, for the time being, I've managed to remove my mind from thoughts of the current drama.
As usual, Dave and I are drawing pictures for each other as we chat, adding on to each other's artwork until it has become so ridiculous that we have to start over again. We've already filled nearly three feet of parchment, and now there are lots of shitty illustrations dancing around. Dave says it's almost dizzying, and to me it just smells wonderfully chaotic.
It's times like this that I really appreciate his friendship. The fact that we're still so close speaks to his character, because most people would find this really awkward. We're sitting close enough that we're practically leaning against each other and to anyone who didn't know better we'd probably look pretty romantic right now. But it's not like that at all.
The clock turns to ten thirty, and I realize curfew was a half-hour ago when the door opens and John walks in. He glances at us with an expression I don't quite understand, and doesn't say a word as he walks up the stairs to the boy's dorm. Dave calls out to him as he goes, but John doesn't respond.
"Sorry, Terezi," he says to me, handing over the parchment and quill. "I think I'd better go. I'll see you tomorrow."
I barely nod before he jogs after his friend, and I'm left sitting by myself holding a parchment full of moving artwork. The window nook seems a lot colder now, and I let the feeling seep into my skin as I stare out at the dark sky.
I draw my knees to my chest and let my mind go blank for a moment. Now that Dave is gone, there is nothing to keep my mind from drifting to all the things that are going wrong right now. I can't help but feel like he abandoned me just now. But I have to remind myself that John is his best friend. Not me. And as much as it shouldn't, that kind of hurts.
I'm about to get up when I notice something out the window. It's small and by itself it is so insignificant. But I'm enchanted by it and I stare as I watch it fall to the ground. And suddenly my nose is hit with thousands more of the same little speck drifting outside the window. It's snowing!
I sit there for a while longer, and my perception of time is somehow warped. The snow begins to accumulate on the ground. It smells so wonderful and I can almost feel the magic around Hogwarts at this moment. I hardly notice when the clock strikes eleven, but by that time the ground is almost completely white.
Suddenly, I really want to tell someone. Someone else has to know about this. And I know exactly who I want to tell. I leave my spot at the window and climb the stairs towards the boy's dorm. For some reason, the girls are allowed in there while the boys aren't allowed in our dorm. I really don't mind this at all, since it lets me do things like this. Even though it is past curfew and I will likely get in big trouble if I'm found out.
Quietly, I open the door to the room where Dave, Karkat, and John sleep. There are five beds in this room. Karkat's is in the middle, John's on the right of his, and then Dave on end. I step directly forward, tiptoeing across the floor, and slowly part the curtains of the middle four-poster bed.
Karkat is asleep. But that won't last for long. I place a hand on his shoulder and shake him gently. He groans quietly and shift in his sleep.
"Karkat," I hiss, shaking him again. His eyes open and he stares at me in bewilderment.
"Terezi?" he whispers. I grin mischievously at him.
"Get up!" I say. "It's snowing!" I feel like a child on Christmas Eve. This is incredibly silly, I know, but I'm already having so much fun.
Karkat blinks a couple of times. "Fine."
He climbs out of bed and quietly opens his trunk and takes out a scarf, hat and a sweater. I just stand there until he pushes me toward the door.
"I'll meet you downstairs in three minutes," he whispers.
My grin is so big my cheeks almost hurt. "Okay!"
Three minutes later, I have also donned warmer attire and we are both standing in the common room, facing each other and bundled up for cold weather. Karkat is adorable with his hat pushing his hair into his eyes and his scarf almost covering his nose.
We sneak out of Gryffindor tower and slip through the corridors until we emerge in the courtyard. The snow falls rapidly and I inhale deeply, my breath fogging in front of me. I shiver and Karkat grabs my hand. His face is rosy and he looks away from me when I glance at him.
I tighten my grip on his hand and pull him out into the snow. Our feet leave a trail behind us, the first footsteps to intrude upon its perfect.
Neither of us say anything. We just walk a ways into the sea of white and stand there with our hands entwined. It's been a long time since the two of us have shared a moment like this, and it's so wonderful that I can almost believe that this is the way things really are. That Karkat and I have something special unlike what I had with Dave or he has with Sollux. And part of me does believe it, but I have to shut that part of me up before I do something stupid or rash.
There is a hint of a smile on Karkat's face. I smile back at him and suddenly we're both laughing. He grabs my other hand and we spin around in a circle and then collapse on the ground. He grabs a handful of snow and throws it at me. Cackling, I do the same for him and he begins to laugh when I miss entirely. (It was on purpose, of course. I can smell him well enough to hit my target if I really wanted to.)
I wonder how many other people have seen this side of Karkat. Somehow I doubt that Sollux has, and that thought leaves me with a strange sense of satisfaction.
The two of us sit there throwing snow at each other and laughing until we are both shivering. I have a small pile of snow on my head, and he reaches forward and brushes it off. He stands up and offers me his hand, which I take, and then pulls me up. We take a few steps in unison as I gain my balance, and all of a sudden, our faces are only inches apart. Both of us are still smiling so I never would have guessed the events of the next few seconds. I begin to step backward to widen the distance between us, but Karkat has different ideas entirely. He leans forward and kisses me.
My insides leap, and my stomach dances and my heart jumps up and down. A bajillion emotions race through me all at once and I melt into the kiss. I can't help it. And just as I begin to kiss him back, he pulls away.
Karkat stares at me with an almost horrified expression. For a moment, he smells like he's about to cry. His face turns red and he looks sheepishly at the ground.
"Sorry," he says, backing up. "I didn't mean to, um, I just-"
I want to pull him back and kiss him again. I want to cry. I want to run back inside and not show my face again. Instead, I step forward and wrap my arms around him. He chokes back something like a sob and hesitantly places his arms around my shoulders. I can barely feel his warmth through our layers of clothes, but I sense his breath as it barely rustles the top of my hair.
"I'm sorry, Terezi," he apologizes again, and lets go of me. He gives me one last forlorn glance and turns away, hurriedly walking inside.
I stand alone in the snow, tilting my face to the sky. My eyes don't blink or even flinch as snowflakes plummet toward me and land on my glasses. There is a pressure in my throat, and I bite my lip as a hot tear forms and slowly falls down my face, leaving a cold, wet streak behind it.
A/N: It's been several weeks already! I wrote this at the end of October, actually. Sorry it took so long to get it up.
It snowed while I was writing this, so of course I wrote about snow.
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