Dandelions

HAPPY CHRISTMAS

"So, would you say he reacted well?" Maggie asked, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear as she leaned forward on the table.

"Um," Rory tilted his head, a slight grimace gracing his features, "Well, yeah. Maybe."

"What do you mean maybe?"

"Okay, well, after I got back and...well, we laid down in his bed and I-" Rory pressed a hand against his forehead, "We...kissed again."

"You kissed again?" Maggie leaned forward, both hands now bracing against the table. "What are you doing, going for a world record?"

"Maybe?" Rory shrugged, letting out a nervous laugh when Maggie rolled her eyes with a smile.

The library was largely silent at this time, even though fifth years could be seen studying heavily for their O.W.L.s all across the castle at this point. Still, Rory found himself glancing this way and that, around the corners of bookshelves, to make sure nobody was within earshot of them as they discussed how messy his personal life had rapidly become.

Muttering came from random corners, snoring from another, and books quietly rearranged themselves overhead without so much as a tilt in Rory's direction.

"What are you going to do?" Maggie pushed her hair behind her ears, "About Oliver, you know? He's going to want a goodbye kiss."

"I can't break up with him right before Christmas," Rory breathed out, "And I have to talk to George first."

"Yes, so those are things you aren't going to do," she leaned back, "But what are you going to do?"

Rory sat entirely still, eyes darting over every so often as he thought about it. That's right, he had only focused on what he couldn't do just yet, not when he would do the things he needed to. He had already decided that over the Christmas holiday, he would talk to George alone. There was no better time than the Weasleys being in a mostly empty castle for him to manage to get some alone time with George.

But, not shocking at this point, Maggie was right. Rory hadn't thought about the fact that he'd see Oliver before any of that was to happen.

"I'll just...not kiss him." He laced his fingers together, "I don't want to kiss him."

"If that's what you want to do," she raised her hands, tapping softly on her thigh afterwards.

"You don't think I should do that," he sighed.

"I don't think you should do that," she shook her head. "You should tell him."

"Before Christmas?" Rory seemed appalled, "No, no. I will speak with him after I speak to George--what if this ends up being nothing?"

"Nothing is not usually something that happens twice within a twenty-four hour period..."

"I see your point."

"It's a very good one," she absent-mindedly murmured.

That was simply a problem Rory would have to deal with tomorrow, though. Oliver had been quite busy penning letters to his parents feverishly, attempting to convince them that he needed to stay in the castle over the holiday to continue training Rory and the twins--precious training time that was now being absolutely wasted! He was likely tucked away in his dorm even now, balancing quidditch diagrams between some essay or practicum notes for his N.E.W.Ts.

Rory glanced outside, resting his chin on the palm of his hand as Maggie fussed over her textbooks. Snow was falling silently outside, the cold creeping in through the stained glass windows that overlooked the Hogwarts grounds. Christmas holiday had snuck up on everyone quickly after the last quidditch game, leaving Rory feeling as if he was scrambling for time to handle everything he needed to.