NOTE: I changed the age of enrollment for the kids going to Hogwarts because I can. They are 13 in their first year, 19 in the seventh.

For those of you who are too lazy to add,
13 years = 1st year
14 years = 2nd year
15 years = 3rd year
16 years = 4th year
17 years = 5th year 
18 years = 6th year
19 years = 7th year

"the first time i saw you, you didn't catch my eye. but when you did, i swear, i couldn't look away." - anonymous

MAHIRA despised her grandmother.

Perhaps it was in her blood to do so, perhaps she was worthy of her hate. Whatever the cause may be, she resented Vani Chahal.

Vani was a perfectionist at their best ⸻ she wanted everything to be polished and dusted before the sun could reach its height, all the books stacked neatly after their use, and she wanted the daily newspapers in front of her with her chai strictly at 7:30 in the morning. Worst of all, she wanted Mahira to be the best witch in Hogwarts.

The Chahals had a reputation to uphold since all they'd ever given to the world were talented and deserving wizards and witches who could prove that their blood was special, that they were special in more than one way. That they could do everything all at once, without showing a single flaw in any one of their skills.

Mahira was a clutz, unlike her older brother, who was the favourite child of the family. If she could brew a potion just as the recipe said it should be, he would brew it better. If she could conjure a Patronus when she was 11, he had done the same when he was 10.

And it never ended just on magic: she cooked, but he was better. She painted, but he was better. Whatever the case may be, he was just better.

She wished she could hate her brother, but that wasn't possible. Her brother was just a walking ray of sunshine, offering assistance to anyone in need. He knew her like the back of her hand, and she hated it and loved it at the same time. She hated that he could expose her true thoughts any moment in front of anyone ⸻, especially their mother, but she loved that even on her saddest days, her brother could hold her close and stop her from having a panic attack.

Then there were her parents ⸻ oh, she loved her parents. Her parents were her rock, the ones who always supported her. She was the sunshine of the household, and rightly so. It was the virtues that they had engrained in her brain that made her the woman she was, one who never backed down when she knew she was arguing for what was right, one who always stood by those she loved, someone who never stopped just because of her gender or colour.

But her favourite, her favourite was Pisho. Pisho was a Bengal Cat with the nastiest attitude toward strangers but gave the best cuddles to her family. She had become a part of the Chahals when her grandfather found the tiny ball of fur curled up in the corner of their veranda, her leg bent at a painful angle. He mended to her and considering that Mahira was supposed to turn 13 that week, her gifted the cat to her.

And her grandfather Anish, well, he was the glue that kept their family together. Mahira always thought that the rest of her family might be skilled in potions and skills and turning into animals, but her grandfather was the man with the real magic. He seemed to be able to make anyone and everyone smile, including the scowling woman her grandmother was. He told her the best stories and had a way with the harmonium. Every morning, when her grandmother would sip her coffee on the veranda with a newspaper in her hand and her damp hair let droplets fall down her kurta, he would play soft, mellifluous tones on his beloved harmonium.

Mahira grew up in a household that expected her to be perfect, but happy. It seemed like a castle built on sand ⸻ who had ever been happy in perfection? What her family wanted her to do was to sit on her table, revise spells during her break, and brew potions using the ingredients in their apothecary, but what she did was jump in the mud and drank her chai while being engrossed in Oliver Twist and Premchand's greatest works.

She did, eventually, fall into line with her family's obligations. She finally sat in her room all day, nose buried in a book on werewolves and vampires, and wand movements were practiced when her eyes felt droopy. She brew potions with her dad during the day and quizzed herself with her mom at night. She practiced being an Animagus with her grandmother during the afternoons, and in the evenings, when she finally caught a break from the crazy world she lived in, she would sip on the chai that her mother made and listen to all sorts of stories her grandfather would tell her, from about the day he met her grandmother to when Mahira found out she could turn into an owl: while playing football with her brother, Surya.

Her competitive spirit was expected, but unexpected at the same time. Her grandmother was proud, her brother amused, and her parents confused, but she⸻ she just wanted to be better once she realized she wasn't the only witch who could be better than the others in her class.

★

WHEN EUPHEMIA and Fleamont thought that they might not have the chance of having a child and considering the fact they were getting old, they adopted a special boy from an orphanage for special boys like him.

His story wasn't the happiest ⸻ his father never knew of his existence, and his mother gave him up to the orphanage when he was barely a month old.

He was only 6 months old when they met him.

He was adorable⸻ with his bright green eyes, bubbly smile, and an infectious giggle, they believed he deserved the world. And so, with all the paperwork done and the bond made, they welcomed him into their family after 6 months.

A year later, the happy couple welcomed another child into their home, and soon, their house wasn't just a house anymore. With the chaos they caused, and the trouble the boys got into, their house was finally home.

Charles loved his family. He loved his parents, he loved his brother, and he loved his home. He was always the glass-half-full kind of guy, even when he was a child.

He was also good in everything he did. He was good in his spells, in his potions, in charming girls⸻ he also loved a challenge. He loved proving people wrong, he loved saying 'I told you so'. He loved the rush he felt when he thought he was doing something forbidden, even if it meant sneaking out of the house at night just to go for a walk in the street and waking up in the morning to confess to his parents⸻ he loved the temporary thrill that he got from thinking of breaking the rules.

And he loved being top of the year. Ever since he walked into the halls of Hogwarts, pretending he was just another one of those average students, he'd done nothing but surprise everyone.

He surprised the potions teacher when he showed him that he could make a brew on his own. He surprised Professor McGonagall by getting a spell right on the first try. He impressed the headmaster by showing him that he was capable of everything that was put in his way and more. He surprised and impressed the kids in his house when he pranked a Ravenclaw because the kid teased one of Charles's friends.

And when Mahira walked in through the giant doors that provided a home to every child who was capable of more than being just an ordinary person, a year younger than him but still good enough to challenge him, he knew he was screwed.

★

THE FIRST time he met Mahira was when James was persistent on flirting with a girl in his year. The younger of the Potters was leaning against a cabin, blocking the way but no one was supposed to board the train that late. James was in his second year, then, Charles in his third. The older boy had entered the image when Remus called for him, practically begging him to get his brother away so the four friends could sit in their compartment.

Charles had barely managed to get his brother to leave when she arrived, making it look like a cakewalk.

"Potter. Move." she looked annoyed and mildly angry, like a troubled little bunny.

Perhaps she was scarier than he gave her credit for, or maybe James had been down a road he'd rather not travel again. Whatever it was, he gave a slight chuckle, raised his hands in surrender, and walked away.

He'd heard about her, even seen her around because her brother was on the Quidditch team with him. He knew she was in his brother's class, another house, and even remembered meeting her grandmother at an event by the Ministry his parents forced him and his brother to tag along to, but he'd never actually talked to her

When she'd finally managed to catch her breath and settle down in the cabin, ready to talk to her friends all about her summer, she caught the older boy staring at her.

"Is there something on my face?" her words had a slow, posh tone, just like her brother did. But unlike the friendliness in Surya's voice, she had a bite to her words. Maybe she just didn't like strangers staring at her, he thought. But then again, what psychopath would?

"How did you manage to do that?" he finally asked.

"You mean kick your brother away? You just have to know enough things that if you blab about 'em, he'd be in trouble."

"Hey, man!" Charles didn't get a chance to reply, because his older friend was already calling for him. Finally, he left her presence after giving her a smile.

With the second Potter finally off, she turned back to her friends, telling them all about her summer and the day Pisho fell into a pond and never went near water again.

★

THE SECOND time she saw him, was when she was playing her first Quidditch match. It was Slytherin against Gryffindor, the biggest match of the season, the one that everyone attended, even the ones who didn't like Quidditch.

She was one of the Chasers, and he was one of the Beaters. She was in Gryffindor, he in Slytherin.

The match was neck-to-neck, both the Seekers battling for the Golden Snitch, the points being 90-90. He knew his team members could be a little rough, but he didn't expect them to rough her up until she lost balance, and the next thing he knew was that she was falling off of her broom.

He left the game to his partner, well aware and faithful that she'd handle it while she helped the dark-haired girl who was almost unconscious. It didn't help that it was a cold, windy day, and rain started pouring down the second their brooms were in the air.

When he zoomed in, picking her up before she could hit the ground with what would've been a painful thud, and set her down. As soon as she was alright with Madam Pomfrey, the woman who would've been there for the kids more times than he could count, he heard loud cheers.

And the next thing he knew, the announcer, Richard Jordan, was yelling excitedly into the mic: "Gryffindor has won!"

. . .

He got hell from his team captain, who ironically happened to be Surya, the brother of the girl who'd fallen. But in the end, the oldest of the team thanked him for helping his beloved sister.

Charles could understand Surya⸻ it was his last year, and he wanted to make his mark. He wanted his team to win, he wanted to ace his tests and figure his entire future out in just a matter of a few months. He hadn't heard much about Surya's family, but the way he often put it, they expected great things from him and his sister.

Speaking of his sister, he was right. The cold air and the pelting rain had been too much for her, and she fell into unconsciousness at some point when she fell. Madam Pomfrey had given her a potion to warm her up, but she had hypothermia.

Everyone crowded around her bed were the Gryffindors, including his brother, and the rest two were Slytherins⸻ him and Surya.

She woke up after dinner, dry and with a huge headache pounding. She was alone, and as if the universe heard her thoughts, her friends walked in the next second.

"Oh, you're alive!" Sirius Black exclaimed dramatically as if he'd witnessed her experience a life-threatening fall rather than something that would've, at the most, cost her a few broken bones.

Mahira was a kind girl most of the times⸻ she really was. Some people just knew to creep her out or get on her nerves, and the Potter boys fit into both those criteria.

When Lily Evans saw her wince, she hit the back of the boy's head: "Lower your voice, would you?"

Remus and James snickered at Sirius.

"Don't sound so disappointed, Sirius." she gladly accepted the chocolate tart Lily gave her. "So, what happened?"

"Well you went down, like this,⸻" Peter spoke animatedly, his hands moving down from a height as if portraying her fall, "⸻and James's brother came swooping in to save you."

"Oh, well, I live." she shrugged without a care in the world, biting into the tart.

"You should thank him," Remus spoke. James nodded proudly.

"He saved you from having a lot of broken bones." the Potter continued.

"What, you want me to send him a bouquet of flowers with chocolates in a heart box and a handwritten note?" she looked at James. Chocolate was smeared on her upper lip, and the boy couldn't help but snort.

"You have a mustache." Sirius gestured to her brown smear when she narrowed her eyes at James, and she licked it off the next second, saying: "That's more facial hair than you boys will ever have."

. . .

Charles walked in the moment she was supposed to take her medicines.

Mahira Chahal wasn't one to dislike things. She loved adventure, got off of the thrill of it. But medicines, needles, tablets⸻ keep them 10 miles away from her, and that wouldn't be enough.

Charles didn't make a sound, amused by her fit.

"But Pooooppyyyyy. . . " she dragged each syllable out, her face scrunched up like a baby's. "I feel alright! Do I really⸻"

"Yes."

"But⸻"

"Yes."

"Poppy."

"Mahi. Yes. You need medicine," Madam Pomfrey stressed, then noticed Charles lingering by the doorway. "Charlie! Maybe you can convince your friend, here. Remember the time you got hypothermia?"

"Better drink up, Mahi." he leaned against the wall next to her bed⸻ she still didn't want to drink the bitter medicine. "You'll regret it if you don't. Won't be able to sleep without it."

"How do you know?"

"I've been through that nasty cold, and I didn't like the medicine either, so Poppy didn't give it to me." he shrugged. "Couldn't sleep until I gulped it down."

Mahira contemplated: she didn't exactly like her medicine, but she could wash the bitter aftertaste away with water and maybe a candy. But her sleep, her precious lovely sleep if she didn't drink up. . .

She loved her sleep way more than her hatred for the medicine.

Poppy gave a grateful smile to Charles when Mahira finally gulped down those three spoons of three meds, faking a gag. The nurse rolled her eyes at Mahira's antics, then walked away to her office presumably to try and get some shut-eye.

"Don't linger around for too long, Potter," she warned before leaving the children alone.

"So, Charlie. . ."

"So, Mahi. . ."

They both giggled.

"Thanks for your help today, I guess." she finally spoke after a beat of silence.

"No problem." he was just about to wish her a good night and then probably come back in the morning to tease her about her fuss, but she wasn't done, yet.

"And I'm sorry for being snappy that day, I think." she scrunched her nose.

This was not her idea. It was Remus's and Lily's.

This is what I get for introducing my friends to one another.

"I, uh, just had a bad day. And I don't like strangers staring at me."

"No rational person would, Mahi." he shook his head with the tiniest hint of a smile. "Can I call you 'Mahi'?"

"Well, only my friends call me Mahi," she grinned, extending a hand toward him. "Nice to be your friend, Charlie."

"Nice to be your friend, Mahi." he chuckled.

A hell of a ride, this was gonna be.

★

AFTER THAT night in the infirmary, they were good friends.

He often helped her with homework the following year, because her brother couldn't do it any longer. She challenged him to a duel now and then, and though he'd never admit it, he was intimidated by how well she was. She was almost as good as him, and he could've been giving OWLs this year if he wanted to. He was offered to be shifted up a year, but he denied it.

Now, they spent days together in the library, sometimes playing on the ground with snow when James and Lily ditched them for each other.

As much as Lily denied it, she liked the attention no matter what she said. And maybe, very, very deep down, she liked James too.

When Mahira got together with a boy in the same grade as Charles, Potter was the second person she told.

She seemed happy, and he didn't want to ruin that for her, even if he felt a pinch in his chest every time she giggled about the other guy. Micheal, she told him, was her first kiss.

He wasn't stupid, he knew Mahi was a pretty girl. Glowing brown skin, long dark hair ⸻ she was a cute girl, everyone knew that. The perfect innocent girl anyone would want to take home. She was 15, but she saw the good side of most people. She even went as far as taking the good out of someone being bad.

She had the innocence of a child.

At most times he wouldn't call her naive, but Michael⸻ well, he was the worst kind of person she could date.

Reason number 1, he wasn't good enough for her. He could barely do a charm without taking someone's eye out. He wasn't the guy who would ever pick up the book about 'Good Manners' every child has read as a kid. He would never say 'please' or 'thank you'.

Reason number 2, he was. . .not extraordinary. Mahira, to Charles, was magic walking as a person herself. She left a little bit happy everywhere she went, perhaps because she spent so much time with him and eventually learned it from him. Yes, it took a year, but now she was exactly like her grandfather, or what he'd heard about him from her. She deserved extraordinary⸻ she deserved the best, and even he mightn't be able to give that to her.

He never told her about how he felt. She was happy, and when Mahi was happy, everyone around her was happy.

★

( tw: talks of death )

THE NEXT YEAR, when Mahira, or Ira, as Charles had taken a liking to call her rather than 'Mahi' all the time, was ecstatic.

She was loved, accepted, and didn't exactly have the pressure of being the best all the time⸻ she knew her friends would accept her just the way she was. Lily, Sirius, Marlene, Remus, Peter, the Potters⸻ she finally had people other than family whom she could rely upon.

Her happiness was like a balloon ready to pop. As soon as she got settled back into ye old school life, she got the news that her grandfather was severely ill.

She was called back home, and she stayed there for a week. Her lively, chattering grandfather, the man who never had a filter on his mouth whatsoever, could barely utter a word now. He was the healthiest of them all, going on daily walks to the park without missing a day, eating more fruits and vegetables, and even doing yoga. Watching her once enigmatic and energetic grandfather lie down on the cot, unable to even sit up without assistance⸻ broke her heart. It made her wish that he would pass soon, that his suffering would be over soon, and he could finally rest in peace in the afterlife.

Her wish was granted, because on the last night of her stay, Anish Chahal, her favourite person in the world, passed away.

She remembered crying and then sleeping, eating, crying, and then sleeping again. It became a vicious cycle, all until those 13 days of their ritualistic funeral were over.

On the first day, when they cremated him, she only clung to her brother's white kurta, the white symbolizing peace, and purity after death. She was happy he was at peace, but she was jealous that he left her behind to deal with the messed up world on her own.

On the third day, they buried half of his ashes, just like he had asked them to on his last days, and half of them were to be flown down any of the pious rivers of their country. Her father and brother were to do that.

As a child, she never understood the belief her family members held in God, because as wizards and witches, they knew that most mythological stories were simply tales of what happened when wizards and witches disagreed with one another. But now, she knew why her grandmother always read the Gita, the Quran, the Guru Granth Sahib, and the Bible. Knowing that there was some power out there, a higher spiritual power that looked over them, and after the loved ones were gone, there was someone who looked after them. Now she understood why her mother lit the diya every morning and evening, why the strong scent of incense sticks floated through her house.

The death of her grandfather knocked her off the high pedestal on which she stood, the happiness and confidence exiting her, leaving her like a deflated balloon.

Days three to twelve were a blur⸻ she only talked to her brother and cuddled with Pisho, barely left her room, and when she did, it was to take a walk in the park her grandfather loved or to have food.

On the thirteenth day, when they held lunch for the farmers living nearby, and the close relatives who could make it, was the day Mahira wanted to return to Hogwarts. She wanted to stop feeling what she was feeling⸻, the emptiness, and sorrow inside her were like a black hole: eating away at all that was bright and made her, her.

Her mother was reluctant⸻ How was she to expect Mahira to function properly when she knew she wasn't stable enough to handle herself? She knew her daughter was barely sleeping, eating only when forced to, never talking to anyone.

Mahira was as stubborn as her mom. She persisted that working and studying would get her mind off of her grandfather, maybe even make her feel better. She'd already been away for almost 3 weeks.

When she returned, she expected things to get better. But fate hated her, and so, when she returned back to school, she found her boyfriend in a closet under some other girl.

Too tired to cry, or even talk to him, listen to him, she just walked away, sleeping the entire day off. Lily was her emotional support pillow, James, Peter, Remus and Sirius were the brothers she never wished for but loved any way. Lily listened to her, the boys brought her things they knew might make her happy.

And Charles?

The day after Michael cheated on Mahira, Micheal showed up at the Great Hall with pink robes instead of black ones. His hair was blue, his teeth orange. For the first time in days, she smiled, as the hall roared with laughter.

When she asked Charles about it, he pretended to not know who was behind that masterpiece, only giving her a half-smirk and his hands raised. But she knew, and he knew she knew, because he went to detention for a week with Filch.

But he didn't care. He made her smile.

. . .

3 months following the death of her grandfather, Mahira was doing well. She seemed to have some of her old personality back, most her charisma restored. She was back to partially being Mahi again.

She got closer to Charles, to the point she saw him as more than a friend.

And then one day, Amia, a girl in Charles's grade, was stuck on his side all day long. Jealously took over her: she wasn't stupid. She knew that Charles was an attractive boy, with his dirty blonde hair, and pretty green eyes, and that stupid smile, and those freckles that dotted his skin: his hands his arms and his face. Ever since he came back from the break, he'd become taller, more built. And then the stupid smirk, and she was a goner.

Damn him and his smile.

She felt stupid for thinking of that boy as anything more than a friend. All he'd ever been was a shoulder to cry on, a friend she could go to when she needed someone to talk to.

Charles noticed his Ira being upset. The girl was finally back to being her happy, cheerful self, the girl she was before her grandfather left.

Everytime he'd look at her, she wouldn't even make an effort to smile. She'd barely talk to him, or look away. Everyday, without fail, she would wave at him after walking into the Great Hall for breakfast, but this time, her head was lowered and her hair blocking his view to her pretty face.

So, when all she talked to him about during their walks was how interesting transfiguration was and how boring history of magic was, at least when professor Binns taught it, he knew he had to cheer her up.

So he gave a note to Lily, knowing he could trust her not to peep and actually give the note to Mahi.

' Midnight, the kitchens. I get it if you're not up for it.
⸻Chuck. '

. . .

Truth be told, Mahira would rather spend the rest of her night sleeping in, rather than sneaking around at midnight just to see a boy.

But then she would never have any interesting stories about her childhood.

Except maybe for that time she messed with Sirius's hair and Remus's chocolate. . .

And it was too late to rethink her decision considering she was already outside the kitchen. A hand in the air, and then she was tickling the pear⸻ a concept that she always found adorable.

As soon as the door opened, she could see Charles talking to Cindy, one of the elves that everyone loved. When Potter saw her, he extended his arms out for a hug, and she gladly buried her head in his chest. Arms wrapped around her shoulders, she felt at comfort within his arms.

Cindy was busy arranging the sweets Charles had asked her to⸻ he knew nothing cheered Mahi up like chocolate.

She let out deep breaths⸻today was the third month anniversary of her grandfather's death. And she felt bad for not realizing it until a letter was dropped on her table at breakfast, courtesy of their family owl Illahi.

He rocked her back and forth, and with a final deep inhale of air that she felt in her stomach, she pulled back.

"What's this for?" she'd asked, a grin lighting up her face as soon as she saw two of her favourite treats together: chocolate donuts.

"You've been having a bad day⸻ hell, a bad week, so I thought, uh, I don't know maybe this'll cheer you up." he shrugged, biting the inside of his lower lip.

"Oh, you really know how to make a girl swoon." she jumped on the counter ⸻ which was clean, because nobody cooks at midnight⸻, and grabbed one of the donuts, biting into the warm goodness.

If magic and heaven were combined to make food, she was sure it would be donuts. And tea. But never together.

"So," she finally spoke. "What crazy crap did you do this week?"

"Well." he took a bar of chocolate for himself. Cindy had already left. "Uh, we had careers advice today. Slughorn sucks at it. But I should probably start studying magizoology."

"You really wanna work with those dragons, huh?" her calm voice didn't cover her concern.

"Careful with the concern there," he smiled playfully, moving closer so he was standing between her knees. "Somebody might think you like me."

"Maybe I do." she shrugged.

Sleepy Mahi was almost like drunk Mahi, even though Mahira had clearly never been drunk. She could be the most confident woman when she was sleepy, confessing things she would never dream about telling her friend.

So if awake Mahi knew what sleepy Mahi was saying, she would bang her head against the wall until she passed out.

And sleepy Mahi would internally wish she wouldn't regret herself in the morning.

Charles's heart felt ready to burst out of his chest. But he kept his cool, reaching out to point to the chocolate that lingered near the seam of her lips.

"There's a little,"⸻he gestured to the stain⸻ "chocolate there."

She, on purpose, reached to the wrong stain, and Charles being Charles, didn't understand what she was trying to do.

Jealousy, jealousy.

"No th⸻," he sighed, before reaching out himself. "Can I⸻?"

"Mhmm." she nodded happily.

He reached out to the spot, wiping off the chocolate. She looked at him with such wide, innocent eyes, and then,

"Can I kiss you?"

Charles had to pinch himself, pausing for a moment. The girl he liked asked him if she wanted to kiss him. For a moment, he wondered if he was dreaming.

"Huh?"

She laughed at his expression: eyes slightly widened, mouth gaping. "Can I kiss you, Chuck?"

"You're. . . you're vulnerable." he tried to reason. She was his best mate's sister. "I can't take advantage of you."

"I like you, Charles," she enunciated. "I want you to kiss me."

He sighed, looking away, contemplating what to do. Finally, he looked at her: same big brown eyes, innocent and literally begging for him to give her a proper answer.

Screw it. He nodded, then reached out to cup her cheek, pressing his mouth to hers. A hand reached out to place a ginger hold on her waist. He could feel her breath on his upper lip, her hands tentatively placed on his shoulders before she moved one up to his hair, the other one placed firmly on his chest, where his heart was supposed to be.

He was sure she could hear his heartbeat.

Mahi, on the other hand, couldn't believe she actually asked him something so bold. Well, she did have her moments, but she'd never asked anyone to kiss them. She let her lips stay still against his, feeling the calm of the moment, then the rush came washing over her.

They pulled away, slightly breathless, noses bumping into one another. His index finger hooked under her chin, thumb pressing lightly onto her lips. He didn't look into her eyes for a moment, but when he did, he couldn't help but give her a smile.

"So. . ." he trailed away, both his arms wrapping around her torso.

"So. . ." she giggled. "You're gonna take me on a date now?"

"Lemme guess, if only I buy you chocolate?"

"I mean. . . " she gave him a look. "Obviously."

He nodded, "Fair enough."

Next, he picked her up, making her squeal, and placed her on her feet. Her lavender kurta was crumpled, her mismatched socks shielding her feet from the cool tiles. She put her hands in her orange slippers, pushed her hair back, and took a last bite of the last donut.

"Let's get you to bed," he spoke after clearing any evidence that they were here. She would've protested, saying she would rather stay back and talk to him till the morning comes, devouring every piece of chocolate they could find, but he had his arm around her. And she felt as if she was floating.

Truth be told, she was sleepy.

They walked side by side through the dark hallways, hiding behind pillars when the prefects came around the corner, giggling to themselves at their little rendevous. Drunk on giddiness, he finally stopped in front of her common room.

He leaned down again, pacing a whisper of a kiss on her hairline, before wishing her a good night. She wished the same back, pressing her lips to the corner of his mouth.

That night, as he lay in bed beside the window, and Pisho cuddled up to her side, both of them had trouble wiping the giddy smiles off of their faces, unable to go to sleep.

A crazy story, theirs was, one for the ages.

★

WHEN JAMES AND LILY were married, James chose Sirius as his best man. Charles didn't take any offense to that, obviously, but he was a bit jealous that he couldn't have been her first dance since Mahira was Lily's maid of honour.

It was a small setting, mainly consisting of their friends and family⸻ except for Lily's sister, which did make her sad, but Mahira and Marlene ( or M&M, as they were nicknamed ) were there to cheer her up. James and Charles had left two seats empty for their parents, who were unfortunate enough to not have made it to the day when their son would get married.

Marlene had been Charles's partner for the first dance, and both of them just wanted to go to the person they loved.

"You and Mahi. . . couldn't have gotten together a year later?" Marlene talked to him as they swayed to the song.

"I⸻what?"

"Could've saved me my 3 galleons." sh snorted at his confused expression. "Remus, Sirius, James, and I, we had this bet on when you guys would get together. James won."

"You guys bet on us?"

"I mean. . . obviously." Marlene mocked Mahira using the phrase the latter oh-so-often spoke.

"Should've seen that coming." he shrugged as the song ended, and Sirius handed his girl over to him. Marlene happily shoved his shoulder and then left towards her date, calling a, "Yes, you should've!" over her shoulder.

Mahira, who had no idea what was going on, simply wrapped her arms around his neck as the next song started playing.

"What was that about?"

"Apparently, our friends and my brother bet on when we'd get together." he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer, to which she gave a little squeal.

"And who won?"

"Well, he is my brother after all."

"But, of course." she rolled her eyes fondly.

It'd been 4 years since they had their first kiss in the kitchen, 4 years since she took the bold decision to confess her feeling, 4 years since he'd gotten the girl.

And it had been one year since she said 'yes', although he had to ask three times, because the first two were apparently, too early, or too spontaneous.

He knew she had teased him because she loved spontaneous.

And she loved him.

She looked beautiful: the satin sage hugged her body, her hair was clipped back in a complicated braid he knew she would complain about later, and no girl was wearing too much makeup.

But most of all, he was addicted to the tiny bump that showed through her dress, making it clear that they both would be responsible for another being, soon.

It was times like these, that took their minds away from the darkness luring outside the gates, ready to pounce on them any chance it could get. It took them to a happier place, away from the thoughts of death and destruction, but to ones of love, and family.

. . .

Mahira was clearly the one who caught the bouquet.

The bouquet didn't lie, because 6 months later, with a beautiful baby girl by their side, they said their own vows, promising to be by each other's side through darkness and light, sickness and health.

And Potters never break their promises.

word count: 6.2k

SAY THANK YOU MARS FOR THE PRETTY QUOTE AT THE BEGINNING. 

i love them sm but I didn't do justice to their story 😭

anyways, more heartbreak in the next chapter.