The corridors were silent and still, the torchlight dancing on the walls the only movement. Even they barely provided enough light for the wide hallways, which grew darker the farther they were from the festivities. Lynn and Oliver walked alone down the covered pathway that led away from the castle, the latter having insisted upon walking Lynn home.
Snow fell softly as they walked farther away from the noise of the Ball, gathering in small white hills on the uncovered hand rails. Lynn reached to brush some off the rail with her right hand, her left entwined loosely with Oliver's. The tiny connection was one he'd made stealthily. Since realizing it, she'd been able to think of nothing to say out loud but was privately content just to walk with their hands that way.
They had now walked a fair distance down the walkway, and she wondered if he expected her to say something.
"Um-" she started.
The sound had barely been uttered when her mouth clamped shut once more, leaving her speechless and uncomfortable. Oliver looked at her questioningly, but dropped it. He didn't seem at all bothered, while Lynn struggled awkwardly to fill the empty space.
More than half of the hallway lay behind them now. They strolled along for several more peaceful moments. A light breeze rustled through the leaves of the Forbidden Forest and swept along the top of the Black Lake, carrying stray snowflakes to where they stood.
Oliver began humming. Lynn looked confusedly up at him, but his eyes were drawn to something off into the distance and he didn't seem to notice. He continued humming until they were nearly to the end of the walkway.
Without warning, he drew their clasped hands out to his side and swung them.
"What are you-" but Lynn once again was stopped from finishing her sentence.
This time it wasn't her own mouth clamping shut, but Oliver spinning her around. He took the opportunity of her moment of breathlessness to take her free hand in his own.
"What are you doing?" Lynn demanded, now that her breath had returned to her and Oliver was slowly turning the two of them in circle.
His brown eyes met hers innocently.
"Dancing," he answered.
This said, he twirled her under his arm and began leading them all around the covered pathway. He continued dancing along to the hummed tune, Lynn once again breathless. She was tense at first, completely bewildered by this sudden change of pace. Oliver kept humming despite her stiffness, and she relaxed after a while.
They twirled about in steps of no particular order, the hummed tune their only guide in this private waltz. Lynn made no attempt to join in Oliver's humming, as his composing seemed to have no regularity but instead rose and fell at unusual intervals. She laughed without meaning to when he swept her across the pathway dramatically. Dizzy, she spun directly into his arms just as he wound his ongoing tune down to a slow rhythmic melody.
Oliver had placed his hands at her waist. Lynn reached her arms up around his neck, strongly suspecting he had been meaning for her to do so all along. He smiled down at her as they swayed there in time….in time to a song that had long ended, but seemed to stretch on in their minds.
It was with the stars twinkling overhead and the sound of leaves rustling softly in her ears that Lynn really looked Oliver in the eyes. Like, really stopped and looked for a moment. No Madame to look out for, no Fleur to run and catch up with. It was like that terribly beautiful smile was all that existed, and she wanted nothing more than to stand there staring into the kind eyes that came with it.
Oliver's hand left her waist. He lifted it to Lynn's face, smiling slightly, and brushed her cheek. She wasn't sure whether to smile, laugh, or do nothing. Oliver's face drew closer to hers, as she stood frozen. His lips were close to hers now. She glanced up at his eyes again, savoring the brown shade once more. There was barely a fraction of an inch between there lips now. His nose brushed gently against hers.
Suddenly, there were footsteps behind them, accompanied by two voices, one with a thick French accent. Lynn's eyes widened and she and Oliver broke apart. He grabbed her hand as they ran the remaining length of the walkway, ducking behind the short wall at the very end. They could hear the voices growing closer quickly.
"Well, you zee 'Agrid…"
It was unmistakably Madame Maxime, and her footsteps had grown closer quickly. Lynn's eyes remained glued to the top of the wall, head churning with the panic that had suddenly tilted her night, ears tuned breathlessly to the voices. She was still staring when the voices had passed by.
She wasn't sure how much time had passed before she could lower her eyes. Her mind had sprinted miles away and the night seemed far away as she tried to find her way back. She forced her eyes down and they went immediately to Oliver, the shape of his jaw in the shadows of the dim light. He was staring evenly at the wall and glanced once above before looking back at her. His eyes were thoughtful. She was too lost in the color of them to guess why and felt a thousand pointless and thrilling hopes fly through her mind while she prayed silently for him to break the silence.
Finally, he rose and closed a strong hand around her own to help her off the grass. Without a word, they walked toward the Beauxbatons carriage.
That dreadful silence followed them all the way to the steps of the carriage. It was just like when they had first walked out from the castle, only this time Oliver seemed busy thinking about something, his gaze remaining on the ground the entire time. When the two of them stopped to stand by the door of the carriage, Oliver raised his eyes to meet Lynn's.
She smiled at him, and then stopped, completely unsure if that was the right thing to do. She once more rooted to the spot. Oliver looked at her thoughtfully for a moment. Then, he leaned forward and kissed her cheek softly.
"Good night," he said.
Then he strode quickly off towards the castle, leaving a stunned Lynn in his wake. Her instinctively whispered response was lost in the wind. Watching his retreating figure curiously, Lynn smiled to herself.