"You know what people have been saying?" The girl suddenly announces.
It is a bright, late-Spring Saturday, and almost every Hogwarts student, Third Year and up, filled the narrow village streets as Rosalie and Leander walk around North Hogsmeade. It was the last weekend they would be sanctioned to leave, and the first after their O. were done at last. As such, a celebratory mood took over the masses of wistful teens.
He was helping her run some personal errands, something he has always assisted with, ever since she first arrived at the school almost a year ago. While there was nothing out of the ordinary with the scene, seeing him carry her purchases, pointedly without the use of any charms, only reminded her of a conversation she had with Natty earlier that week.
It was after he carried her books from the library to the tower without being asked to. Cressida Blume looked at them as if they had grown a fourth head between them and the exchange student laughed uncommonly loud at her surprise.
"Leander is awfully helpful when you are around, is he not? I do not think that he has not been this nice at any point in our acquaintance."
"Hm? What do they say?" The redhead boy asks back, his eyes darting from her supply list to his companion.
He was always good at maintaining direct and straight eye contact whenever he spoke to her, a trait that she wanted to adopt in her daily life as well. She noticed that, as it stands, she never could quite match his gaze whenever they conversed, and she would not want to be perceived as rude.
"Well, I have been hearing lately that you suddenly stopped spending time with anyone else other than me." She giggles, waiting for her friend to laugh back.
However, Leander does not laugh at all. His gaze remains unchanged and she is actually not sure what thoughts lie behind the confusing blank expression he is shooting her.
"Yes, that seems to be mostly correct. What about it?" He responds, as if he is waiting for her to make some grand point.
Her smile drops for a second, as Rosalie thinks about what this could mean. Did he really spend all of his free time with her?
No, no. That cannot be, it simply cannot be. This was Leander Prewett they were talking about. The Leander Prewett. Someone that became infamous on the hallways of Hogwarts. If he was not known for his dashing good looks or Quidditch skills, he was known for running around the school with his little gang, making the lives of other students as miserable as he possibly can.
She has met him in the beginning of the year, before he matured into his sixteen years of age, and she is quite certain that no-one could make such a dramatic shift in such a short time. She might like him well enough, perhaps even more than like, perhaps even more still, but she knows who he is.
He might have mellowed out a bit and cut out on his bullying, but he was still much popular and even more proud. Surely someone like him, someone who has always been much too glad to recount in detail all his romantic exploits with his smooth-brained friends at the dormitory, was not always spending time with just herself.
Her. Rosalie Beausoleil. The awkward odd duck at Gryffindor.
Though, if that was the case, which of course it probably was not, she cannot say that she would be upset to hear it. Much to the contrary.
"Oh, but I know that cannot be true." She half-heartedly chuckles, waving away any notion that the statement was believable enough to be at all considered.
"But it is." He counters, still adamant on his position.
Rosalie scans his expression for any indicator that he could be fooling her, as she knows from experience that he is cruel enough to toy with her expectations. The girl could only find sincerity, though.
With that in mind, her heart began beating faster, her mind scrambling thoughts around, trying to figure out what this could mean. Surely not what she has been expecting…?
"So, what is the reason for it then? Why do you choose to spend time with only me?" She asks, unsure if she would want to hear the answer. "I mean, it is not as if you are wanton for choice."
He laughs, good-naturedly. "I do have a lot of admirers, do I not?"
"Do not let it go to your head. You cannot stand to walk if it gets any bigger." She snaps, turning her nose up at him.
"But you are the one who said it, Rosie." He pokes her ribs with his index finger, teasing her with the stupid nickname he came out with for her.
"Just answer the question already!" The girl huffs.
"Why, it's because I fell for you, is it not obvious?" He replies, a sincere smile forming upon his lips.
Leander, for once, was not trying to be cheeky or get a rise out of her. It was a genuine confession, slipping so easy and naturally from his lips that even he is surprised with himself.
Well, there it goes, he wasted three weeks of planning for a perfect confession.
Her eyes widen for a second before darting away, her cheeks getting warmer by the second.
"As it turns out, not to me, apparently…" The girl murmurs under her breath
"Well, no matter, I guess I shall just have to be better at showing it to you. The Summer should be good practice." The redhead hums to himself, pushing the door for J. Pippin's open and entering the potioneer's shop. "Well, should we move along?"
She nods, a bit dazed. "Yeah, sure."
After a few steps, Leander turns back to Rosalie, his free hand extended towards her. It took her no time at all to reach out and grab it.