Quidditch, Romance, and Near Death Experiences (11/25)
Title: Quidditch, Romance, and Near Death Experiences
Author: thanku4urlove
Pairing: Yabu/Takaki, Yamada/Daiki, Yamada/Yuto
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: magic!
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, AU (Hogwarts)
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Summary: it's the wave of a wand, and dust blown off the cover of a spellbook. It's learning incantations and kicking off the ground on a broomstick. It's magic. It's a new year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, full of Quidditch, romance, and near death experiences.
A/N: Here we go! How is this fic already almost halfway done?? thank you to everyone that's reading it, it truly means a lot <3
Previous Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10
Snow began to fall heavily on the castle, and winter was officially underway. Keito didn’t love the cold--he didn’t really own many winter clothes--but the snow was beautiful to look at over the grounds, and it was always fun to watch it fall in the Great Hall, the high ceiling enchanted to mimic the weather outside.
“I have a very exciting announcement! Stop transfiguring your oranges, please.” Professor Sakamoto called out, interrupting his Transfiguration class. Keito lowered his wand, looking at the orange-hamster hybrid on his desk in slight despair. The creature was quite terrifying, really, and though Yamada wasn’t faring terribly better than him, at least Yamada’s had all of its legs, and was squeaking. “As you all are doubtlessly aware, the school is hosting the Triwizard Tournament, and with it come additional activities. The tournament is all about international magical cooperation, so as is customary on Christmas day, we will be having the Yule Ball here at Hogwarts.”
Keito didn’t know what the Yule Ball was, but he realized this had to be what his father had talked about, wanting to stay over the Christmas holiday. Sure enough, he wanted to be at the castle to witness it.
“Only fourth through seventh years are permitted to attend, though lower year students can come if brought by an older date. It’s a grand dance, so get your moves ready.”
“A dance!” Yamada said excitedly as they were leaving. “I love dancing. This is going to be so fun.”
Keito nodded in agreement. Though he didn’t have much confidence in his steps or his sense of rhythm, it was going to be an interesting event, and with his friends there he was sure he would enjoy it.
“Oh hey.” He nudged Yamada with his elbow. “It’ll be your first event with Yuto, won’t it?”
Yamada fell into thought for a moment before nodding. The two of them had been ‘dating’ for a week or so, but all they really did was walk hand in hand through the halls, and occasionally kiss each other on the cheek during meals. Yuto was good at being affectionate, a needy person by nature, and Yamada was good at accepting affection, so from what Keito could see, it was working out. Yamada had gotten some glares in the hallways from some of Yuto’s fans, but none of them had done more than stare.
“I mean… It’ll be more of a friend group thing though, right?” Yamada asked him after they had walked for a bit in silence. “Like… Daiki’s going to come too?”
“I’m sure he’ll want to.” Keito answered with a nod. Daiki loved a good party. “You’ll have to dance with Yuto though.”
Yamada nodded again, falling silent. By their next class period people were already talking about the Yule Ball, and the buzz only got louder. People were asking each other to the dance left and right as the week dragged on, and Keito was glad they’d thought up the fake dating idea before the ball was announced, or Yuto might have never been able to get to class on time. There were rumors about what band was going to playing, and everyone was talking about what they were going to wear. Keito was getting worried about how he could get himself some dress robes when Pablo flew over him during the owl post at breakfast, a large parcel landing in his lap. It was covered nearly an inch thick in the December snow and looked almost too heavy for the poor old owl, Keito letting his bird eat the bacon off his plate as he opened it.
A lovely set of forest green robes pooled into his lap, as well as a little note from his father.
Keito,
You’ll need a pair of dress robes for the ball. Break a leg! Send me pictures, okay? I love you. Merry Christmas!
He signed the letter obnoxiously largely at the bottom, making Keito laugh.
“Dress robes?”
Yamada and Daiki were walking up, Daiki pointing to the lump of fabric in his lap. Keito nodded.
“My dad sent them.” He explained, Daiki nodding.
“Yeah, I found a set blue of robes at the bottom of my trunk. They’re a little frayed, and too big; I sent an owl to my mom about them at the beginning of the year and she told me they used to be Daisuke’s, as well as to shut up or I would ruin the surprise. So I’m guessing they’re dress robes for me.” Daiki sat down next to Keito, slinging an arm around his shoulder. “So, since half of our friends are taken,” He said, glancing in Yamada’s direction, who looked away. “Would you like to go to the ball with me?”
“Uh, sure.” Keito answered. He’d just assumed they would all go together, so a formal question wouldn’t be needed, but Daiki gave him a little grin anyway. Unfortunately, as a result, Keito was given a slight cold shoulder from Yamada, his friend not talking to him for the rest of the day. It had him wondering if agreeing was the right thing to do.
“So, Christmas is coming up.” Hikaru said. Hikaru had spent the past hour working with him on the reductor curse, and now he and Keito were going around the room, trying to pick up all the pieces of the rocks they’d blasted apart. “Are you staying here at Hogwarts, or are you going home?”
“I’m staying.” Keito answered. “My dad really wanted me to stay. He told me not to come home for Christmas even before I knew that the Triwizard Tournament was happening, because he knew I would want to see everything that’s happening here.”
Hikaru nodded thoughtfully.
“Yeah, I’m staying too.” He said. “I have to go to the ball and be moral support for my friends; one of them is the Hogwarts champion, and the other one is the champion’s date, and as great as that is, it means they need to dance in front of everyone.” He laughed a little. “I had a dream last night that I had to create a huge distraction because the two of them tripped over each other’s feet and smashed into the dessert table.”
That made Keito laugh, Hikaru looking over at him and smiling.
“Are you going to the ball?” He asked, and Keito nodded.
“It’ll be fun.” He answered. “I’m going with my friends. Two of my friends just started dating, so I don’t know how that will be, but I’ll still have Daiki.”
“...Arioka Daiki?” Hikaru asked after a moment, Keito blinking in surprise. He nodded.
“You know him?”
“Yeah, we’re in the same year. I have few classes with the Gryffindors.” Hikaru said with a shrug. “And besides, I’m on the Quidditch team. I couldn’t not know who he was.”
“I know you are.” Keito said, grinning a bit as he remembered watching Hikaru catch the Snitch for his team. He’d sent the entire stadium a huge, toothy grin, pumping his fist in the air, the snitch’s tiny wings still flapping.
“You went to the game?” He asked, sounding surprised. Keito nodded.
“A friend of mine is crazy about Quidditch, so I have to go to every game.” He answered. “You’re really good though.”
Hikaru was silent for a long moment after that, his eyes on his feet, twirling his wand between his fingers with a small smile on his face.
“Thanks.”
“So, um…” They’d finished cleaning now, but Keito felt obligated to say something in the silence. “I’ll see you next week, I guess?”
“Yeah!” Hikaru grinned, levitating all of the bits of rock in his hand to the trash can on the far wall, Keito walking over to throw his own away. “And the Ball, too; maybe I’ll see you there?”
Keito couldn’t help but smile as he nodded, the smile still on his face through the entire walk back to the Gryffindor common room, a light feeling in his chest.
“What color robes do you want?” Yabu asked, flipping through a few sets of colored fabrics. “I’ve always thought that purple looked good on you.”
“You can pick them out for me, if you’d like.” Takaki answered. He was looking through robes too, unsuccessfully holding in a laugh as he held up a garish pair of bright lime green ones for Yabu to see. “I think you should wear these.”
He pulled a face that had Takaki laughing as he hung the robes back up. They’d made an emergency run to Hogsmeade for dress robes, needing some for the Ball tomorrow, but Takaki was having too much fun to take their venture seriously.
"Come on. What do you want to wear?" Yabu tried again, Takaki holding up some ugly burnt orange robes just to laugh at them.
"I trust you." He said, putting the robes back. "Dress me up, Kota."
Yabu ended up picking out some royal purple robes, and thankfully Takaki seemed to quite like them, staring at himself in the mirror with a small smile on his face.
"I would say it's your turn to pick some out for me, but I'm not sure I trust your judgement." Yabu said, Takaki's mouth opening in mock offense. He grabbed Yabu's hand, pulling him into the thick of the dress robes section of the store, with rows and rows of robes hung up on both sides of them.
"I'll pick you out some amazing robes." He said seriously, but it only took him a few minutes to begin giggling to himself with a neon magenta atrocity in his hand. Yabu sighed, hitting him on the shoulder and going back to leafing through the fabrics. Takaki watched him for a minute before glancing up and down the aisle. It was so near closing the time that the store was all but empty, and Yabu knew what Takaki was going to ask before it was even out of his mouth.
"No, I don't want to make out right now.” He declared, and Takaki pouted at him. "This is serious! The champions have to dance in front of the whole school to open the Yule Ball and I don't want either of us to look like idiots."
"That doesn't mean we can't make out a little."
Yabu threw him a look and Takaki sighed, shutting up. Yabu finally ended up purchasing some pastel blue robes--which, to his pleasant surprise, were a suggestion from Takaki himself--paying and exiting the store. They then trekked through the snow up to the castle, Yabu burrowing both of his hands, even the one Takaki was holding, into his jacket pockets for warmth. Their friends were waiting for them inside, making their way up to the Ravenclaw common room.
"Let's see them!" Hikaru said as they entered. "What robes did you guys get?"
Their choices were met with approval, and at Inoo's insistence they put the dress robes on over their clothes.
"So, what are you guys wearing?" Takaki asked, holding his chin up as Yabu fiddled with his collar.
"I just have some black ones." Hikaru said with a shrug. "They came with a bowtie, but I'm on the fence about wearing it too."
"Now that I know you have the bowtie, you have to wear it." Yabu said, laughing, and Hikaru groaned.
"I have some blue ones too." Inoo said, pointing to Yabu’s robes. "Not the same color as yours though; a dark blue. Gotta represent my house. What color are your robes, Chinen?"
The question had Yabu looking around, finally realizing that the younger student sitting at the desk near their couch with homework splayed across the tabletop was not a Ravenclaw student at all, but the little Slytherin that seemed to appear at the most random of times.Yabu found he didn’t him though, despite his sharp tongue. Chinen shrugged.
"Third years can't go, so I'm not going." He answered simply.
"There isn’t an older student you wanted to go with?" Hikaru asked, and Chinen sighed a little.
"Professor Ohno said he already had a date." He answered wistfully, and Yabu laughed until he realized that Chinen might not be joking. So he shut up, turning to Inoo instead.
"Who are you going with?"
Inoo pointed to the cat in his lap as though it were obvious.
"They’re letting you take him?" Takaki asked in surprise, but Inoo just shrugged.
"I don't care either way." He declared. "He's coming. I made him a cute little blue tie and everything."
"What about you, Hikaru?" Yabu asked. His friend was looking at Inoo and his cat with distaste.
"Well, I was going to see if Inoo and I could just go there together, but since my only single friend is taking the devil himself, I guess I'll be going to the Ball alone."
"That's depressing." Takaki said. Inoo huffed, petting his cat as though the words had offended his furry friend.
"Your loss."
"You guys have to get there early right?" Hikaru asked, pointing to Takaki and Yabu. Yabu nodded.
"Is that when they teach you how to dance, or are you supposed to already know? Because I'm pretty sure Takaki has two left feet."
"Hey, I can actually dance a little." Takaki countered with pride. "Yabu's the one who steps on my feet."
"It's not my fault my legs are longer than I know what to do with." Yabu insisted defensively, and they all laughed. Despite his jokes, dancing in front of the three schools was something he’d been worrying over since Takaki had told him about it. Neither of them were any good at dancing, or had any type of training.
"Lucky for you, I know a perfect spell that will make you excellent dancers." Hikaru told them, raising his wand and pointing it at Takaki. Yabu didn't know why he trusted Hikaru really, because a moment later Takaki's legs were thrashing wildly, and all of them were desperately trying to remember the counter spell for Tarantallegra, though it was a bit difficult considering just how hard they were all laughing. Even Takaki was laughing, though he was also looking at them quite desperately. Finally, Chinen spoke up from the corner.
"Finite incantatem." He said with a dismissive flick of his wand, Takaki's legs finally falling still.
"...ouch." He said, gripping a desk to stay on his feet. "My legs are so tired now! I hate you." He told Hikaru, who was gasping back tears from laughing. "Thank you, by the way," he said to Chinen, who just smiled.
“We’ll be fine.” Yabu said, but his voice really had no confidence in it, and Takaki gave him a soft smile.
“Of course we will.” He answered, taking one of Yabu’s hands in his own and putting the other on Yabu’s waist, leading him into a clumsy waltz around the room. There were obligatory puking noises in the background from their friends, but after three years of the fake disgust, Yabu couldn’t find it in himself to care, laughing as Takaki dipped him.
“Hold on.” He said, realizing the position they were in. Takaki gave him a questioning glance. “Why am I the woman here? Why do you get to lead?”
“Is that really up for debate?” Takaki asked as he brought Yabu back up, and though the question was teasing, Yabu opened his mouth in mock offense.
“You really think I’m more effeminate than you?” He had to ask.
“He has a point.” Inoo said. “Takaki, you do look better in a dress than Yabu does.”
That had all of them laughing, Chinen looking between them with an amused but incredibly curious expression on his face.
“Yeah, yeah, shut up.” Was all Takaki said in response, Yabu giggling at his deadpan tone and giving him a quick kiss. They got some dancing practice in, Inoo and Hikaru critiquing them as they twirled around the room and as a result Yabu felt much more confident about their dancing when they walked back to the Hufflepuff common room later that night, sighing and swinging their hands as they walked.
“Are you ready to dance tomorrow?” Takaki asked him, a grin on his face. Yabu shrugged.
“I guess so. You?”
“I was born ready.” Takaki answered, the smile turning cheeky, Yabu rolling his eyes as he laughed, taking advantage of the way they were holding hands to hit Takaki in the head with the back of his own hand, his boyfriend ducking and laughing.
“Sleep in my bed tonight?” Takaki asked, Yabu falling silent as he pretended to think about it. Then Takaki waggled his eyebrows in a way that he probably thought was convincing, smirking. “I can be your Christmas present tomorrow morning.”
“Oh, shut up.” Yabu told him, Takaki dropping the psuedo-seductive facade as he laughed. “And… Fine. Sure I will.” He tried to keep the answer nonchalant but it didn’t work at all, the smile on his face much too telling, Takaki stopping him in the hallway to give him a kiss.