A Night To Remember

The young Ravenclaw saw the older student already approaching, before Lorenzo had a chance to join the others. Drawn like a moth to flame, the Italian subtly curved his path toward the familiar boy, aimed to meet him in the middle of the way. Aiden’s presence felt like a lighthouse—calming any remains of his early nervousness about wandering the corridors outside of his curfew. The calm threaded itself into Lorenzo’s features, tugging gently at the corners of his mouth. There and alongside the warmth of his Ravenclaw embroidered scarf, it softened the expression in his blue eyes. Lorenzo‘s heart settled slowly. For now, the foreboding of a cold night was forgotten.
After one more blink and a single step, Aiden was already standing right in front of him. He had to tilt his head slightly to catch his eyes. With that warm smile he remembered from Diagon Alley, the young Ravenclaw was greeted.
His eyes fixated on Aiden’s lashes. The gentle curve over the green, ending just at the corner where upper met the lower bow: it suddenly seemed more fascinating than the entirety of Hogwarts’ rulebook. Only the question whether he was sure he wouldn’t freeze pulled Lorenzo’s focus back to the present, off of the small details in the other boy‘s face.

“I hope not,” Lorenzo replied calmly, noticing Aiden moved his arm toward him, “but I suppose I’ll have to find out.”

The hand settled on Lorenzo’s back, in the lower section of his spine. The warmth managed to seep through his grey sweater, gliding directly over his skin. In moments like these, Lorenzo had to wonder whether Aiden was unnaturally warm—or if he himself was simply too sensitive to temperature shifts. Unfortunately, the Italian suspected the latter of the two options. Aiden added, “I didn’t come for the meteors, if you were wondering,” a sentence that stirred questions in Lorenzo’s head, like a breath was blown over the dusted shelves of his great grandfather‘s bookcase. Mild confusion tilted his head to the side, drawing his gaze upward into those green eyes with a silent question shimmering beneath Lorenzo‘s lashes—what else could Aiden have come for? Meteors were nature’s musical play: rare and luminous, distant and misunderstood like an opera sung in the wrong language. The Ravenclaw couldn’t quite imagine another reason someone would show up to a meeting like this. Despite the relief of seeing his close acquaintance, the statement riddled his mind. Much more than the Ravenclaw‘s dormitory entrance ever had.
Lorenzo had just parted his lips, the question curled onto his tongue and prepared to unfurl—when Aiden added that he looked good. The sentence struck a chord too familiar in the Italian‘s ears. Compliments like that seemed to follow him by blood alone, a curse of heritage if he believed his father‘s words. And yet, when it came from Aiden, it felt different. The inquisitive look faded, replaced by a quiet glint of gratitude.

“Thanks, you do as well. This sweater suits you well” Lorenzo replied, letting the gentle pressure against his back guide him through the room and toward the railing.

With every step, more of the cold night‘s air met his skin—but in this very moment, it didn’t bother Lorenzo. On their way stepping outside, he caught a glimpse of the older Ravenclaw student who had spoken earlier and seemingly prepared this gathering. The dark-haired boy appeared to take the preparations seriously. Lorenzo watched for a moment as the other sat by the telescope, and a warm feeling of respect settled in his chest.

“Are you looking forward to the meteor shower, Aiden?” he asked in the same heartbeat and forced his gaze off the older, much more academic Ravenclaw.

Arriving at the railing, Lorenzo rested one arm on the cold stone and tilted his head back to gaze at the sea of stars wrapped in midnight blue. It was probably obvious that he was one of those young lads who preferred space over dinosaurs. An entertained smile crawled to his lips, let alone for every shimmering dot above their heads.

Without saying a word, Aiden had already decided in his mind to offer his sweater, in case the younger Ravenclaw started to regret his choice to not wear a jacket. Though Aiden thought that it should have been obvious to anyone that it would get cold out here. He couldn't be annoyed with Lorenzo though. Maybe just a little bit. He didn't like stupidity when the right answer was so obvious. The grey sweater, and scarf Lorenzo wore would do their job for now, but it was only a question of when the temperature would drop to near-freezing degrees in the exposed astronomy tower. The wind during this time of the year could make your ass fall off in itself.

He'd not been anywhere remotely close to fishing for compliments when he'd paid Lorenzo one, but he acknowledged it with a smile. "Thank you." Though it didn't matter. The self-sufficient boy didn't have any concerns about his own appearance. No one had to tell him anything - most of the time he wouldn't listen anyway. The only time it mattered was when he could use it to his advantage. Receiving a compliment from Lorenzo was potentially an advantage. Aiden would have to wait and see to decide. While it wasn't outright arrogance, he knew he looked good.

They rejoined the others where they were gathered around the telescope. Everyone, except for Aiden, seemed genuinely interested in the phenomenon they were about to witness. Assuming the sky was on their side, and Damien had done his calculations correctly. Aiden couldn't help but feel a bit like a square peg in a round hole here. A fraud. But that had never stopped him from acting like he fit right in before. It was clear that Lorenzo was here for the meteor shower, too, making Aiden the odd one out.

“Are you looking forward to the meteor shower, Aiden?”

"It will be my first time." Not a lie. But he had meant it when he said that he didn't come here with the meteors in mind. At least it was now obvious that he didn't know what to expect of tonight, compared to the other Ravenclaw boy a few seats away, who apparently watched it all the time with his father. It all sounded like pretentious bullshit to him. Anyway, that was none of his business.

"What should I expect?" Aiden asked in a light tone, glancing over at Lorenzo's profile as they reached the railing. He was already gazing out at the star-filled sky, with a smile on his face. There was something soft and genuine in that expression — a quiet awe that made Aiden pause. For a brief moment, he almost regretted having mocked the exaggerated interest in astronomy. Dampening his bottom lip, he turned his attention up towards the sky; Searching, as if he was trying to find whatever would change his mind.

Aiden had also noticed the crowd: mostly Ravenclaws, save for a lone Hufflepuff girl and… well, himself. He wondered if it was coincidence, or if a fascination with the stars was somehow a Ravenclaw trait.

No matter how far one walked, swam, or flew, the sky was always the same. Perhaps a constellation drifted more to the south, the sun rose in the east or the moon hung in the west, above one’s head remained the glowing proof of dying stars. For a moment, he remained lost in quiet admiration. Lorenzo wrapped his fingers around the railing, pressing the cold stone into his warm fingertips. The chill, luckily, hadn’t yet sunk beneath his skin. Then, from the corner of his hearing, he caught Aiden’s reply to his question. It would be his first time seeing meteors in on the firmament, and subsequent asked what to expect. The information sent a joyful jolt through Lorenzo’s heart, as if it wanted to personally carry the anticipation into every cell of his body. A small, almost triumphant smile tugged at his lips, and a glint of excitement flickered in the blue eyes, as if to imitate the starry nature of tonight.

“So you’ll be seeing it for the first time with me.. I’m curious what you’ll think of it! Meteor showers are always unique. Some red, some orange, others portrait an image similar to shooting stars. Hence, I don’t really know what to expect this time around either,” the young Ravenclaw explained.

He kept his eyes on the cold canopy of stars for a few seconds longer. The deep blue drowned out many of the smaller lights, and yet to Lorenzo it felt like an ocean he wanted to get lost inside. Even drowning must feel pleasant when surrounded by glowing orbs. But after a short while, he turned his head. Aiden was gazing up at the sky, which gave Lorenzo a clearer view of his profile. The straight nose sat proportionately in his face, directly across from the high cheekbones that were softly highlighted by the dim light spilling from the room behind them. Lorenzo could imagine what that meant—Aiden must be popular. Probably had a girlfriend, one who just happened to have no interest in meteor showers. In his mind, he began to spin a picture: a young girl with long blond hair and a natural kind of beauty, something similar to Aiden’s. Her lashes would be long, her lips full, and her eyes a bright, sky-like blue. Certainly her name was smooth and elegant, perhaps a girl named Evangeline. Out of curiosity, Lorenzo thought he might even like to meet her, together with Aiden. Just to see the older boy smile sweetly at her and view those green eyes impaled with love.
Lorenzo‘s entire fantasy was destroyed when, like a whip cracking across the back of his neck, when a realization struck. The coat Aiden had once held over them in the summer at Diagonal Alley—an act Lorenzo, in his greedy imagination, had taken as being gifted the warming item—might now be with her! Maybe this imagined girlfriend Evangeline was currently snuggled up in the Gryffindor Tower, wrapped in that soft, warm fabric of Lorenzo‘s promised coat. A flicker of annoyance almost crept into his gaze—when suddenly, a girl’s voice called out: “Hey Damien? Are we supposed to be watching a certain part of the sky, or is it just kind of a wait and see? ” Her voice yanked Lorenzo out of the high-speed train barreling toward imagined ownership and hatred for someone he didn’t even know existed. It was a good question—one he himself had been wondering in regard to the meteor shower. His features softened again as he turned slightly toward the room to catch the answer.
From a small distance, he spotted the other young boy in the blue Ravenclaw uniform, now comfortably settled on a picnic blanket. But the answer to the girl’s question didn’t come from him—it left the mouth of the older Ravenclaw. Apparently, the boy’s name was Damien. Given his late arrival, Lorenzo assumed he must’ve missed an introduction round. All the more grateful he was to be catching up through context now. “I think the best area to have a good view of it is right here next to the telescope”, Damien answered and led to Lorenzo to shift his focus back to Aiden.

“Let‘s go closer to the telescope!”, Lorenzo proposed “Just to make sure we get the best view.” He lifted one hand from the railing and cupped his fingers gently around Aiden’s sleeve, giving it a light tug—just enough to make sure he had his attention. The texture rubbed into his fingers, soothing what remained of the looming anger toward a non-existing girlfriend. A smile was spreading to his eyes instead.

Hearing what Lorenzo had to say about the meteor shower, Aiden couldn’t claim it changed much in terms of expectations or enthusiasm. The only thing that stirred something in him was the reminder that it would be a first shared with the Italian. ”You’re right,” he confirmed smoothly, dusting the uncomfortable squeeze of his chest that followed that realisation under the rug like it didn’t exist. ”I’ll give you an honest review afterwards, I promise.” Surely, there were more exciting ‘first times’ than watching a meteor shower, but if he were going to watch it with anyone, he couldn’t imagine much better company.

There was, of course, Aleks—but Aiden hadn’t gotten the impression that his scattered friend had any real interest in space, unless it was to make a joke out of it. A joke might have lightened the mood, but most of the time, they were met with nothing but eye-rolls from him. At best, Aiden would have felt less out of place if he had another friend with him that was ready to make a bigger fool out of himself. All speculations, of course. He hadn't told anyone he'd be there. Aiden hadn't even told him he'd be gone past curfew. Something he was sure the fellow Slytherin would notice, and have plenty of questions to pester him with when he finally got back. That would be an annoyance to deal with later.

As much more experienced—and most of all interested—Lorenzo was, he didn’t know what to expect this time around either. Aiden nodded, understanding the general premise of it now, though he still couldn't imagine why the excitement if you weren't even guaranteed something extraordinary. He supposed, the uncertainty of it all made it more rewarding in a way. Some others clearly didn't care as much as Aiden when it came to not wanting to waste his own time. ”Let’s hope you won’t be disappointed this time.” The Slytherin himself didn’t care enough to be worried that the evening would be a flop, but for Lorenzo’s sake, he hoped there wouldn’t be an empty sky.

“Let‘s go closer to the telescope! Just to make sure we get the best view.” Lorenzo proposed after hearing Damiens' words, tugging at the sleeve of his sweatshirt toward where the others had gathered around the telescope. The boy smiled at him wistfully. With quiet reluctance that he didn't let show, Aiden returned the smile with a nod, briefly wondering if the Ravenclaw hoped to hold his hand. Perhaps he was like that to everyone, seeking casual physical touch. Despite himself, that thought pissed him off more than having to face his own demons by holding someone's hand. Not that Lorenzo had made any step towards that yet, and before he could, Aiden walked with him towards the telescope.

It was already occupied by the Hufflepuff girl, and since he wasn’t desperate to see the meteor, he didn’t mind standing to the side, waiting for whenever their turn would arrive. The longer he stood out there, the cold wind started to catch up. Not a problem for him yet—he’d dressed for it—but he glanced at Lorenzo to see how he was faring. “Still not freezing?” He mentally told himself that he didn't ask because he cared, but because he wanted to avoid any whining about the cold.