A/N: This took me a little longer to get around to writing than I had expected. I work 60 hours a week and sometimes I have to work overtime so I can't always get around to it. If I don't get to eat my lunch at the office, I don't have time to do any writing and I've been out of the office for awhile now for lunch plus I took a couple of days off to visit my parents. I'm back for awhile hopefully and will have more opportunities to write if I can manage to stay less busy!
Continued:
Elmund managed to contain himself over the next week, hiding from the torment that Joren would bring and hiding from the questions that Giles would bring if either had caught up to him. He would get up extra early to make it to the Great Hall for breakfast, skip lunch to study and work on work in the Library, and eat late for dinner before skirting around the hallways to make it back to his bed. In was of great relief for the first time that he was in Ravenclaw rather than any other house. It seemed all his problems were with people in other houses. With the added effort of avoiding Joren and Elmund, he'd managed to not think about his summer and his bleak future and got more rest than he'd had for the past 6 months.
Saturday brought in a relaxed, easy mood as Elmund woke up. Glancing out the window he'd been lucky to be placed next to, the grounds around Hogwarts were covered in a light mist as the sun was barely up. The sky was clear and it looked to be quite a wonderful day ahead of them. Maybe Elmund could escape everyone and have a good time out around the lake by himself with a good book and a carefully procured lunch from the kitchens. With a plan in mind, Elmund dressed and packed a bag with a blanket and the book he intended to read and headed to the Great Hall for breakfast. Elmund half expected the Great Hall to be empty so early on a Saturday but there was quite a number of people decked in green or Maroon. It was the first Quidditch match of the season between Gryffindor and Slytherin.
Excitement began to build at the prospect of a Quidditch match. Elmund wasn't particularly a fan of any type of sport much less Quidditch but it meant that both Joren and Giles would be too much all day to attempt to find him. Both had places on the team. Joren was the Captain as well as the Keeper for the Slytherin team while Giles was a beater for Gryffindor. Breakfast was a success as he was left alone to eat before he made his way to the kitchens to ask for a lunch that could keep well for a number of hours. The house elf who had greeted him upon entering gave Elmund sandwiches wrapped in plastic, a container of Pumpkin Juice, and another plastic wrapped plate of scones. All the food went into the bag with the blanket and books as Elmund made his way outside and down the hill to the lake.
Over the years, Elmund had come out to the lake to escape his peers on beautiful days like today. He took up residence under a Weeping Willow. The tree itself was magically enchanted to have a face that would mimic whoever sat under its emotions. If Elmund were to cry, the tree would cry. If he were happy, the tree had a smile on its wooden face. Most other students avoided it because they didn't like the idea that a tree would mimic them when they didn't want anyone to see how they were feeling. Elmund didn't mind and the added seclusion from the bowing branches thick with leaves made it even more ideal. He'd never run across anyone there.
Moving aside branches and crawling up under the tree while rummaging in his bag for the blanket so he could sit without dirtying his pants, Elmund didn't notice a figure already up under the tree. He began to trip forward, thinking he'd tripped on a root but the feeling of heat on his wrist showed a hand gripping him. It wasn't until he'd already collapsed onto the ground that he could look up to see who had already taken his normal spot.
"G-Giles! What are you doing here?" Elmund questioned as he tried to sit up. He found that hands held him down as an angry face peered down at him.
"How could you ignore me all week Elmund? I thought we were friends! I thought you were better than people like your cousin." Giles voice seemed hurt as his face looked away from Elmund.
"I'm sorry Giles! I really am. I can't even describe how sorry I am. I didn't want to ignore you. I love talking to you. You have fascinating stories and great charisma when you speak. Would you let me up so I can talk to you properly? I promise I won't run away." Elmund tried to look sincere. He wouldn't run away even though he wanted to. The pressure on his arms eased up and he managed to sit up and look at Giles properly. Giles seemed to be sad and wouldn't look at Elmund. "I can't win against my cousin Giles. He knows a secret about me that could get me into trouble with my father and I can't have him tell it. You know my house isn't pleasant. Joren could make it so much worse than it already is. I can't give him the satisfaction."
"And what? Does that mean we can't hang out?" Giles said, turning his head to look straight at Elmund to ascertain if he was telling the truth or not.
"If Joren found out, I don't know what he would do. He's been weird lately in a way he didn't use to be." He dropped his head to look at the ground, using a stick to draw circles in the dirt.
"Can you tell me? Maybe I could help you." Elmund gave a sigh at Giles words, scooting over to lean his back against the tree and looking at the sky barely showing through the leaves. "I-I-" As Giles cut his words off, Elmund felt the whisper of skin against his lips. Giles had moved closer, peering at Elmund. "I like you Elmund." With that Elmund's head snapped to look at Giles bewildered.
"You can't mean you like me. " He shook his head, staring wide-eyed.
"I like you Elmund. I like you a lot. I'm attracted to you. I wasn't into boys until I met you. I just can't leave you alone. Every summer it pains my heart to see you come back to Hogwarts looking so downtrodden and every summer you leave looking like a ghost." At this point Elmund was gaping at the small smile playing out on Giles face.
"I've been so stupid!" Elmund shouted. "I could have been so much happier over the years if only I'd known you liked me. While I don't believe in love at first sight, I think you caught my heart when we first met. You were so much nicer to me than anyone had ever been but I thought you'd never be into someone like me. I wasted so much time being afraid. I could have just told you I liked you too." Smiles washed over both their faces as happiness bubbled up in Elmund but it was short lived as he thought about Joren. "But Joren knows that I like you. My father wants me to marry his sister and he said that if I didn't do what he whatever he wanted, he'd tell my father that I was gay. That's why I said it would be bad if he saw us talking together. It's why I avoided you all week." Giles eyes shrunk to small slits as he moved closer to Elmund.
"Anything he wanted, Elmund? What did you do with him?" Giles questioned with a look of hatred on his face. It scared Elmund slightly that maybe Giles was upset with him.
"I didn't do anything with him. But he-" Elmund sighed looking at the ground upset, "He kissed me and tried to feel me up but I stopped him and ran away. I've been avoiding him all week too and now he's busy with Quidditch which you should be busy with too and how did you know I would be here?" Elmund questioned.
"The match isn't until later and I knew you were here because I always see you come here. I don't like that he touched you. You don't belong to him. You belong with me." Giles leaned in even closer to Elmund, pressing his lips onto Elmunds as his hands went to Elmund's hips. "I'll cleanse the areas he touched." A whisper in his ear caused Elmund to shiver as Giles lips moved back to Elmunds. He couldn't believe how unbelievably lucky he was that Giles liked him back! Happiness bubbled up in him. His hand moved on its own to Giles side as he leaned over Elmund. When Giles finally broke the kiss, they were both blurry eyed and red lipped.
"If Gryffindor wins tonight, can I come back here to meet you? I'd rather celebrate with you than anyone else." Giles asked Elmund who could only assume there was an implication there that maybe things he'd only dreamed about would come true.
"Yes, I'll cheer you on from here." Elmund said with pink tingeing his cheeks at his forwardness. Giles smiled happily at him and leaned in for another kiss filled with pure bliss. "Even if you lose, I'll be here." Elmund stated when they'd broken apart. He wanted Giles to know that he didn't care about winning or losing because he'd still want Giles either way.
"We will win for sure!" Giles said with confidence in his voice before a last peck on the cheek for Elmund before he left to go get ready. Giles appearance ultimately destroyed the peace he'd planned and Elmund didn't think he'd be able to think properly enough to read his book as he laid out the blanket he'd brought and cast a spell to create added comfort. Excitement was bubbling inside of him all day as he waited for the Quidditch match to begin in the distance.