(a small part of a fan fiction story for Sarala)

Alaras, a sixth year in Slytherin house, and Seric, a seventh year in Ravenclaw, had been forbidden from seeing each other by staff and parents alike, after being caught kissing in an area of the school that was off limits. Now they met mostly in secret, with only a few trusted friends aware.

The problem with Hogwarts and privacy is…those pesky, annoying, and snitchy paintings and statues that are EVERYWHERE. Always watching, always snitching

……………………

Alaras found herself thinking back on how, and why, she had first come to know him.

Alaras first fell for Seric when she heard he was almost suspended for talking about the “nearly unforgivable curses” — curses which aren’t part of the three Unforgivable Curses, but are nearly part of them because of the danger posed when using them, especially for a young student who is untrained. It also helped that she thought he was handsome, especially his medium-colored hazel eyes, when the light caught them just right.

She heard him talking to a small group of other students, and was curious, because although she had heard of the Unforgivable Curses, she had never heard of a “nearly unforgivable curse” before. Later that evening she went to the library and spent some time looking for a book on the subject, but couldn’t find anything. She asked a librarian’s painting on the wall for any books on the subject, but due to the curses being “nearly unforgivable,” she was promptly escorted out of the library and taken back to her dormitory, with instructions not to leave until morning, when she would have a meeting with her professors to speak on the matter.

The next day she was reprimanded, and 100 points were taken from her house, which angered her housemates greatly and enraged Alaras. She found it absolutely appalling that she would be punished for simply seeking information. Now her housemates were ignoring her and laughing because she’d cost them one hundred points.

It took her a few more days to work up the courage to find Seric and introduce herself, because Alaras is a bit shy — but she is also very stubborn, and she was determined to learn about the nearly unforgivable curses… regardless of what her professors say.

She wasn’t sure whether to wear her house-appointed uniform or something a little more casual, but she knew exactly how she was going to wear her hair: half-brushed, a little messy, one side tucked behind her ear and the other hanging free, just in case she got shy and needed to turn her head to hide behind her hair. She opted for her school uniform, to give a more serious appearance. She checked herself in the mirror and practiced hiding her smile — she always smiled for no reason, and she was embarrassed by it, and wanted to make sure she didn’t embarrass herself at her first real encounter with Seric.

She found him during a free period. He was with a small group of friends, talking, and she really wanted to catch him alone, to minimize the embarrassment. She followed him from afar for a bit, but after a while she felt crazy, like she was stalking him. So she decided to just go to him while he was sitting down eating and studying from a textbook. She grabbed a random book from her bag, walked over, and sat down beside him.

“Is it okay if I sit here? I’m sort of in a bad way with Slytherin house currently.”

She could tell the couple of friends he was with didn’t want her there. She tightened her thighs together and put her hands on top of her knees, and she could feel it coming — that embarrassing smile she was trying to hide. She looked up at them and said, “Hi,” with that same embarrassing smile, then turned to Seric. “I heard you talking about nearly unforgivable curses the other day, and I’m just wondering — how can a curse be *nearly* unforgivable? What is that about?”

“What’s your hair all about?” one of the boys joked, laughing. “You look like you just rolled out of bed.”

Alaras wasn’t amused. She squeezed her legs in anger and went to get up, already reaching for her book to put it back in her bag — but just as she grabbed it, Seric caught her arm and asked her to sit back down.

“We’re just having a little fun,” he said. “We apologize. Right?” He looked at his friends with a dead-serious stare.

Alaras felt herself getting embarrassed by her own unnecessary anger at little things, and she often wondered if that was why the Sorting Hat had put her in Slytherin. She was stubborn and quick to anger, but almost always regretted it immediately, if not shortly after.

Seric explained that he viewed the houses as a stupid, idiotic way to keep students locked in some useless rivalry with each other, while teaching them no magic of any real value or quality. Alaras had never thought of it that way, but she found herself strangely agreeing with him. She’d often thought of Hufflepuffs as stupid and weak, usually for no better reason than that they were Hufflepuffs.

“We don’t mind sitting with anyone from any house,” Seric said, “so long as they have an open mind.”

Alaras didn’t know what to say, so she just sat there for a few seconds with that embarrassing smile.

Finally, one of the boys asked, “What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done?”

Alaras was a little surprised — she hadn’t expected that question, and had never really thought of herself as having done anything “bad.” She had to think for a minute while the boys stared at her.

“Well,” she finally said, “this one time, a few days ago, I got kicked out of the library for asking about curses, and I got a hundred points taken from my house.”

She said it proudly, bragging. Almost smug

The boys laughed. “Yeah, we heard about that — that was *you*?”

Alaras explained how she’d overheard them talking the other day, decided to go to the library and look up “nearly unforgivable curses,” and gotten kicked out after asking a painting for information. She left out the part about taking days to work up the nerve to talk to Seric — that, she wanted to keep to herself.

“You must’ve really pissed them off, to have them take a hundred points,” Seric said.

“But that’s what I’ve been talking about,” Seric continued. “Why is simply *asking* about certain magic so forbidden? Just because You-Know-Who went batshit crazy a hundred years ago, we can’t ask questions anymore?”

Alaras found herself biting her lip and had to stop herself.

Just then, a bell rang. Time to go back to class, or back to the dorm to study.

“Anyway,” Seric said, “I’m Seric.” He paused. “And if you ever want to learn about the ‘nearly bad’ stuff — come find me.”

Alaras got shy and immediately turned her head to try to hide behind her hair. 

She went to say her name

“Im alar…” suddenly her throat was dry and she let out a loud cough, instantly feeling embarrassed because she couldn’t even get her name out on the first try. 

She had to strain “I’m Alaras”

Seric gave her a smile — almost diabolical, but somehow handsome. It reminded her, strangely, of her own stupid smile.

As she turned to walk out, back to her room, she thought: *I’m gonna kiss him. I just know it.*

And, as she smiled her stupid smile, Alaras did not even think about how “nearly bad” things were about to get