11
Wes
You never know when something unexpected is going to happen. That's why it's unexpected. And most of the time you can assume that this unexpected thing will turn out well. No one meets someone new and assumes that they'll have a huge fight and become mortal enemies. That's why the unexpected shouldn't be trusted. But we all do anyway.
My unexpected was the extremely attractive Gryffindor that plopped into the seat across from me at lunch. His dark hair swooped just right and his brown eyes were warm and had that look like he could slam me against the wall and it would be just another normal Tuesday. The sleeves of his button up were rolled up showing tanned arms and his tie was knotted loosely as if he was too suave to care.
It was an understatement to say that I was surprised. Then embarrassed. Then unbelievably turned on. The fact that I had never seen this guy before made me wonder why I even bothered going to this goddamn school.
"Hi there." He smirked, leaning his elbows against the table.
"Uh." I couldn't even get a word out and it made him laugh. I felt my face burning and looked down, pushing my glasses up my nose even though they slide back down again.
"My name is Will." He had some sort of slight accent that I couldn't place but it was hot, that's for sure.
He held out his hand and when I took it I swear sparks flew. Or maybe it was just my wand or a hallucination but either way, something happened that made my stomach drop like I was on a roller coaster.
"I'm Wes." I stuttered. "It's Wesley actually but people call me Wes." I laughed like some sort of mad man. "I don't know why I just told you that. Wow, I'm awkward."
Will smiled, brushing aside his hair and peeking at me through his eyelashes. "No, you're cute. That's why I came over. I was just hoping that you played for the right team but from the color of your face I think I made a good decision."
If possible, my face turned even redder and I felt like I was about to burst into flames. In a good way. Good flames that made me want to dance and sing and kiss Will's face.
"That's a first." I muttered with a small smile.
"No way." Will exclaimed, bracing his hands on the edge of the table. "You? I figured you would have a boyfriend by now and trust me I'm not making this stuff up. It took a lot of guts to talk to you." I couldn't help but laugh.
"What's that?" Will asked, pointing to my camera that was laying on the table completely forgotten for the first time in weeks. I instinctively covered it with my hand, feeling a different kind of embarrassment. I had been trying not to draw to much attention to myself but when I was forced to explain why I had a camera, it wasn't a casual affair.
"It's nothing. Just a stupid camera..."
"If you don't mind me asking why would anyone bring a camera to Hogwarts?"
"Promise you won't laugh?"
Will nodded, schooling his features into something serious yet still intimidatingly hot. I let out a breath and uncovered the camera, switching it from hand to hand.
"I'm kind of doing this documentary about our generation, the Potter Generation and how we're more than just Harry Potter. I'm interviewing a person from each house and basically getting the truth of what Hogwarts life is like for normal students that don't save the world on a regular basis." I flattened my hair nervously. "It's stupid, I know."
"No!" Will exclaimed, seeming genuinely interested. "That sounds awesome actually. It's edgy and relatable. No one really knows what the rest of us are going through when it's only Harry and his friends giving interviews to the Daily Prophet."
"I'm still working out the kinks but I think it's going to work." I admitted with a grin. "I still need another interviewee though."
"Well if it happens to be a Gryffindor then sign me up. I'm all about rebellious documentaries and hot gay guys."
Like I said, the unexpected always catches you off guard and assuming that it'll work out is human instinct. This unexpected could go either way, but in that moment things seemed pretty good. And there was no way I was passing that up.
"Today's your lucky day."
"You'll never believe what happened today."
Olivia and I sat in a roomy window alcove after class, both grinning and jumping with excitement. Apparently we both had had an interesting day and I was glad to have someone to talk to about it. Trying to talk to Maggie about guys was like trying to talk to chalk board. I knew Olivia would get it though.
"You go first." I offered, crossing my legs underneath me. Olivia had suggested this place for our next interview, saying it was cozy and hidden and the view was good. She didn't disappoint. The window beside us looked out over the school grounds reaching all the way into the Forbidden Forest.
"Ok so lately I've been having these nightmares. Death eaters, Voldemort, evil in my veins blah blah blah. So this morning, I woke up super late after a nightmare and I walked into Binns' class ten minutes into one of his lectures.
"Then I was so discombobulated that I got this huge paper cut on my finger and it started dripping blood like crazy" She held up her gauze covered finger for emphasis.
"I thought you had a good day?" I said suspiciously, wondering where this could be going.
"Less good more interesting, I'm still working on that part. But anyway, I went to Madam Pomfrey's and wouldn't you know it there's Draco Malfoy. And even crazier, he helped with my finger."
"Plot twist." I said, not able to imagine Malfoy doing anything nice.
"This was the weirdest part though. We actually talked and he said that he wanted to be better. Like he wants to change."
"Draco Malfoy doesn't want to be a douche bag anymore? I didn't see that one coming."
"I know right! I'm still kind of lost on the details but I may or may not be seeing more of Malfoy and I don't know how I feel about it."
Olivia did look nervous but there was a gleam in her eyes that said it all. Her brain wasn't sure but her heart was screaming yes and there was no fighting with your heart. I gave her a reassuring smile and hoped this wouldn't end up being a big mistake.
"What about you?" She asked, folding her hands in her lap.
A smile formed on my face like it did every time I thought about what had happened earlier that day. After everything happened I still had to go to another half day of classes and I wasn't really sure how I had functioned the rest of the day. It was like I was on a high that had no end near.
I recounted the story with as much detail as I could and every time Olivia's eyebrows rose or she made an excited comment I felt like I was soaring even higher than before. These things never happened to me and they especially didn't happen with guys. It wasn't like I had "gay" written on my forehead or anything but there definitely weren't any girls running into my arms either.
"I'm trying not to get my hopes to high." I said, feeling slightly guilty because I knew it was a lie. There was no way I could get my hopes down after that and the thought scared me because it was completely possible that this was some big set up and I didn't want to fall into that trap. But just thinking about Will's voice and his hand in mine made me want to explode.
"Come on, he definitely likes you." Olivia said and I couldn't help but be pleased. I pulled my camera out of my bag and put on the footage I had shot with Will at lunch. I had tried to get him to do it another day in private but he wasn't embarrassed in the least to be filming a documentary in the middle of the Great Hall. Apparently he was used to eyes being on him anyway.
"My name is Will Elliott and I've agreed to be part of the Potter Generation."
"Damn, he's cute." Olivia muttered under her breath, shooting me an encouraging look. I hadn't watched any of my other interviews yet but I could tell this one was the worst on my part. My voice shook at some points and I said everything like it was a question. I wanted to be mad but I couldn't while looking at Will's easy smile.
"Our next topic is house prejudice. What house do you think has the most prejudices and why?" Olivia laughed and rubbed her hands together.
"This is going to sound stupid but I think Gryffindor." Will admitted in the video. "Everyone expects us to be brave and reckless and cool but most of us are just normal. If anyone is overshadowed the most by Harry Potter it's us. We aren't all chivalrous wizarding gods." I laughed at the same time as the me in the video.
"Please tell me I get that question today." Olivia said, a wicked gleam in her eye. "This is something I know I'm right about." The video ended around there and I was disappointed. Then I scolded myself for being a love struck idiot and turned the camera on record.
"Of course Slytherin is the most prejudiced." Olivia answered after I had asked her the same question I had asked Will. "To the rest of the world, Slytherins are snotty arrogant Death Eaters that are heartless and cold and don't care about others when in reality some of the Slytherins are the nicest people I've ever met. The only reason we have a bad reputation is because of our namesake and sure we've had some bad people but that shouldn't define all of us right?
"Merlin was a Slytherin and he turned out pretty damn good. Slytherins are the most prejudiced because I could ask Slytherin and they would say that at some point in their time at Hogwarts they've been demeaned or underestimated because of their house."
"I've met some pretty horrible Slytherins." I said jokingly, knowing that it would push Olivia's buttons.
"I've met some pretty horrible Ravenclaws." She replied, a smug look on her face. I couldn't stop the laughter from bubbling out of me and then I just couldn't stop at all. A normal Tuesday had become the highlight of my week or maybe even month and it was wonderful. It felt good to say that in that moment things were really starting to look good for me even if they were unexpected.