my mind is a clutter @fog-and-rust - Tumblr Blog

Request that Amit gets a cute first kiss with MC he's been pining for all year and is so flustered. He tells his friends about it after and blushes all over again talking about it. PLZZ 🥺❤️

Also, ily 💖

Thank you for this request for our favorite starboy ✨ I love writing for him, he deserves all of the smooches. I hope you have as much fun reading it, that I had writing it! Summary: Amit once again finds himself being dragged along by MC on one of her many adventures, but He seems to be into the company as much as the quest. Word Count: 6,695 Rating: PG (Just smoochin' and mentions of smoochin') TW: Anxiety Mention A/N: I have had this idea of MC using the ruse of Merlin Trials to spend more time with Amit, and I am so happy I finally found inspiration to bring it to life. Obviously had to tweak a few moments from in-game to make it more interesting for storytelling.

For The Love Of Merlin

Amit had never spent very much time out in nature, before he arrived at Hogwarts at 11 years old. The closest he’d ever come to a walk through the countryside were the weekend afternoons spent in the botanical gardens of muggle London with his parents and two sisters. Surrounded by fig and European beech trees, he would trail behind his family, little arms balancing a journal and field guides as he took notes and sketches of the birds and blooms that had made the gardens their home. His family’s chatter would be muffled by his own thoughts and the overwhelming sensations of the gardens.

His daylight hours at Hogwarts, not spent studying his coursework, were now being spent trailing after MC across the Highlands, assisting her in her search to find, solve and complete what she called Merlin Trials. The time the two sixth years were spending together had Amit quickly becoming much fonder of the natural world, and he held no doubt in his mind that his desperate pining for his traveling companion was the cause for his newfound passion.

Their little adventures outside of the castle had begun the first Saturday afternoon after the start of term of their sixth year. MC had found him in the library, studying ancient runes, after apparently interrogating his friends on his whereabouts. She had no qualms about her interruption of his work, sliding herself into the wooden chair at his side and sporting a mischievous grin.

They had been casual friends up to this point, just a bit more than acquaintances, peers. Her casual ease around him, as if they had always been the closest of friends, always caught Amit off guard whenever they would interact, forcing his own greeting to come out in an embarrassing stammer.

“I think I have figured out a way you can pay me back for dragging me around to find that old astronomy table last year.” Her voice was light, and teasing as she sat beside him, her fingers absent-mindedly running across the stack of books Amit had in front of him, her eyes grazing over the titles. He did not resist the urge to pull his books from her reach, and offered her a small scowl, unwelcome memories of fire and fear and angry goblins out for his blood commandeering his train of thought.

“I thought I had paid you back. I gave you my telescope, and was dragged through a goblin mine.” He paused, taking a beat. “I still have nightmares about that by the way. The goblin mine, not the telescope. It really was enough… er… adventure for a lifetime.” They rarely talked about their shared excursion into the mine that Ranrok’s loyalists had tunneled into the mountainside, seeming to have come to a silent understanding that the memory be best left between the pages of Amit’s journal, and his own nightmares.

When he looked at her face again, it had softened from gleeful mischief to one of remorse and guilt, and Amit was suddenly filled with the same. MC had not left Amit unthanked for what he deemed a miniscule contribution to her journey on becoming the Hero of Hogwarts. The morning after he had a restless night of sleep from the horrors he had encountered, he had been greeted with a pile of sweets from Honeydukes that could only be described as a haul and a book on all of the good and worthy contributions goblinkind offered to the wizarding world, and tucked inside its cover, a letter of gratitude signed from A Friend, and MC’s name.

MC nudged him with her knee, voice still soft to accommodate the silent library, her gaze fixed on the glass window above them, staring out into the gray September sky.

“I’m sorry. I am grateful for that, you know… I.” Her mouth closed, suddenly. As if she had stopped herself from saying something more. “...I, I was teasing and I promise this new favor shouldn’t be nearly as dangerous. I think you’ll quite enjoy it actually.”

Amit's curiosity won over all of the qualms and trepidation he felt over fulfilling a favor for MC, fearless adventurer and hero.

“Alright, what is it?”

MC had wasted no time in recollecting every moment that had brought her here beside Amit in the sun-soaked library. How it had started the year before, when she had encountered an older woman south of Hogwarts searching for remnants of Merlin himself across the lands surrounding their school, and how MC had joined in the search on her own adventures across the Scottish highlands; when the two witches had succeeded in completing one of the so-called trials.

“Anyway…” MC continued, a bit breathless from her storytelling. “I didn’t have much time last year with my playing catch-up with my coursework and, well… you know.” She trailed off, taking a breath and plastering on a smile that faded ever so slightly at the runaround mention of her heroics. “I’ve been staying with this lovely woman in Upper Hogsfield, Dorothy Sprottle, over the school holidays and I think I’ve stumbled across a few, but am having trouble figuring them out… on my own. So I figured I’d ask for help from a friend.”

Amit was reeling from the sudden onslaught of information, but his excitement grew at the prospect of encountering magic left by Merlin, a legendary wizard by all accounts, and it overcame his thoughts of self doubt that someone as capable as MC would require his help with anything. He did his best to ignore his face growing hot and flushed at MC seeking him out specifically for the task.

“Okay. Show me.”

Weeks later, with many a solved Merlin trial under their belts, Amit now simply looked forward to the time he was spending with MC outside of the Castle. The intellectual challenges they faced with the solving of the trials were an added benefit rather than an end goal, and Amit was proud to now call MC one of his closest friends.

It wasn’t until a group of the adventurous duo and their friends had come together for a butterbeer that Amit had realized his platonic love for MC was not at all platonic.

The epiphany of sorts had fallen upon him just after their winter break when Amit had been sitting across from her at the Three Broomsticks, studying her smiling face, trying to reconcile the cheerful girl across from him with the stories she had shared about what had occurred beneath the castle less than a year prior.

The sip she had been taking from her butterbeer had been interrupted with a loud laugh, caused by Andrew Larson having relayed a story of accidentally transfiguring his grandmother's cat into a teacup over the break, and how the poor creature had transfigured back just as the old woman was about to pour a cup of tea. MC’s own beverage had spewed everywhere, making the laughter at the table increase tenfold, but Amit had been the first to stifle his laughter, when his gaze fell on the foam above her smile and he felt the urge to kiss it from her lips.

He had abruptly excused himself, scraping his chair back and knocking over his own butterbeer in his frenzied state, taken aback by his own thoughts, and suddenly feeling as though the room was quite stuffy, the walls closing in on him. He had cleaned up the mess, waving off the concerned queries from his friends, and bolted out of the building.

The cold winter breeze was soothing on Amit’s heated skin, and the gulping of the icy air steadied his breathing just enough to allow his lungs to properly inhale and exhale. A deep breath in, holding it for the count of three, and exhaling, his breath hanging in front of him. He repeated the motion, over and over and over until he felt okay again. A ritual his parents had sat through with him countless times throughout his life, whenever everything felt like too much, like being alive in itself was unbearable.

He continued walking, every nerve in his body trembling with the way his own thoughts had shaken him, the village was lively and bustling with activity, but Amit was so lost in his own spiral he wouldn’t have noticed if a stampede of graphorns abruptly barreled through the streets.

Though one sound managed to make its way through the heavy fog of his mind. MC, calling his name and running towards him from the pub, still tugging on her coat and a befuddled Andrew Larson peeking out from the open doors, letting it close when he saw MC beelining for their friend.

“Amit! Are you alright?” The Ravenclaw boy tucked his chin into his scarf as he slowed his pace, despite his mind telling him to keep walking, faster, trying to convince him that if she gets too close, she’ll see it, she’ll know. Everything else inside of him pulled him to a stop, letting her catch up to him in the street. He shoved his sweaty hands deeper into his pockets, protecting himself from the cold and her from noticing the tremor of his nervous hands.

As her footsteps grew closer, he let himself take another deep breath, holding it for one, two, three..

“Yes… Yes, I just remembered that I’m on prefect rounds tonight, and want to get a start on my Potions essay beforehand.”

Amit could not miss the look of skepticism on MC’s face, and as if she was turning his words over in her head, she, blissfully, must have deemed them acceptable, her face relaxing back into her usual smile as she began to skip alongside him.

“Alright, well. I think I found another trial. I was out collecting horklumps near Marunweem for Mrs. Spottle over break and found another stone swirl, and I think I found all of the pillars for it.”

He was already going over his schedule on when they could go, the excitement of chasing down yet another Merlin Trial at MC’s side was rapidly replacing his nerves over his revelation. He often found himself having second and third thoughts with his choice on becoming a prefect, feeling something akin to regret about the time it was taking away from moments he could be spending with MC. He shook off the thought and the familiar flutter in his stomach at the prospect of being alone with MC, refocusing on the task at hand, which was how far Marunweem was from their school. Too far to take care of after classes on a weekday, lamenting at the realization that they’d have to get to it on the weekend.

He grabbed MC’s robe sleeve with an exasperated huff, putting a stop to her skipping on the cobblestone slick with ice as they descended a slight slope in their path, MC complied with Amit’s silent demand, easing his anxiety over her putting herself in the hospital wing with a fall.

“MC… If you found the trial you know you can just finish it without me. You don’t really need my help anymore.”

He took a beat, pausing to allow a gaggle of witches to cross on the street in front of them, giving them a friendly smile, despite the anxious thoughts running rampant through his mind about MC not needing him.

She knows how to solve them now, what does she need me for? She’s the one that always finds them, anyway. Will she stop seeking me out? Will our friendship wither away? Are we even friends? What if she really just wanted my help with the trials and our friendship was all in my head? What happens if we find all of them?

Amit hadn’t continued walking long after the witches had passed as he forced himself to meet MC’s gaze, despite the thumping of his heart. Her gaze didn’t falter, and he couldn’t help but notice the dusting of a blush on her cheeks. Perhaps she didn’t wish for him to come along any longer, and was too kind to say as much.

He gave her what he hoped was a calm and convincing smile, placing an unsteady hand on her shoulder and steeling himself for the opportunity he was giving her to cut him out. Breathe in, breathe out for one two three…

“You know that you really do not have to come fetch me each time you find one, MC. I understand that I did my part in helping you figure out how to solve them, I understand if you no longer need me. You don’t have to be afraid to tell me. I will understand, really. I appreciate you even including me in the first place.”

MC made a sound, something between a laugh and a scoff as she pulled them back into a stride. The fingers she wrapped around his arm as she all but dragged him through the blustery Hogsmeade streets, had Amit fighting to prevent himself from pulling it from her grasp, the feeling of her hand on his body, even in the most innocent of ways, nearly too much for him to bear.

He could feel his mind descending into a state of dolefulness, as if grieving the relative ease of their friendship before his realization, when now, his mind was latching on to every innocent moment between them and sullying it with his own hidden desires for more.

“Amit, Of course I am going to continue kidnapping you to come along to these trials. I…” MC clears her throat, her face flushing a deeper pink. “I suppose I no longer consider them just mine any longer… They’re ours now.”

She hasn’t dropped his arm, still gently pulling him along through the archway leading out of the village, Amit feeling grateful for the added stability her touch was now lending him, as her words had made him a bit dizzy with affection and glee. His throat was once again very dry, mouth opening and closing with his brain refilling with fog at her belief that the trials were theirs now.

It was MC’s turn to pull them to a stop, halfway across the bridge and out of the middle of the path. Amit was still at a loss for words, having no idea how to show his love and appreciation for the time he was spending with her without showing more.

One… Two…

Just as he was about to try and speak, she started again, her voice a smidge higher than Amit was used to hearing. “But if you don’t want to come along any longer, if you’re too busy or have too much work or not enough time with your prefect duties or if you simply no longer enjoy it or find it boring, I understand. You’re right I can figure them out on my own now. I can do it without you, I was just saying it’s much more enjoyable with y- with a friend.”

The panic clear in her voice, undoubtedly caused by Amit’s delayed, or lack thereof, of a response had him biting back an amused grin. His anxiety giving into the glee he still felt over her admission, encouraged by the humor he found in the confident and steadfast MC becoming flustered.

Leaning against the stone side of the bridge, he nudged MC with his shoulder, a teasing grin splitting his face.

“Careful there, MC. Starting to think you’re spending too much time with me, rambling on like that.”

She returned his nudge with a roll of her eyes and a dramatic scoff, pushing herself off the side of the bridge and back into a confident stride, her hands tucking themselves into the pockets of her coat.

Amit followed her, matching her gait and still chuckling to himself.

“Of course I enjoy it, I love it! I just didn’t want you to feel obligated to include me if you didn’t want to.”

MC assured him, once more, that she did want him along. That she truly felt that the trials were a collaborative effort now, after all they had accomplished together, and by the time they reached the long road back to Hogwarts, they had agreed to seek out the one near Marunweem next weekend.

With the topic now settled, They fell into easy chatter on their trek back to school. With every step, and every joke shared, Amit found himself feeling better and better about the situation he found himself in, as if being alone with MC was his own personal calming draught. As they finally passed through the looming iron gates of Hogwarts, Amit had convinced himself he would take these moments with MC over losing her entirely with an awkward confession of his desires.

~*~ With only a week left of the school year, Amit found pride in the way he had managed to cope with and hide away the feelings he held for MC. He kept himself busy with his prefect duties and his coursework, not allowing his mind any time to be idle, and he was still finding solace and joy in the time he spent with MC, which, ever since that day in Hogsmeade, had grown into something more than just Merlin Trials. Now it was rare to see one without the other, MC even making herself at home in Amit’s group of friends.

Their time together now, felt bittersweet as they ascended the path up to their destination, the final Merlin trial of their sixth year. The jagged and ancient rock surrounding them, making his heart thump with anxious recollections of the last time he had followed MC into the mountains.

Breathe in and Breathe out for one… two...three.

He fixed his gaze on MC ahead of him, her long hair bouncing across her back in two braids, as she led the way ahead, with the usual skip in her step. Her laugh of victory ringing through the quiet, spring afternoon as she recognized and pointed to a familiar round stone resting in the dirt of a large clearing the two had just stepped onto. His heart soared, thumping in his chest for a different reason as he watched her weathered boots, and spinning skirt, hopping onto the stone swirl, and twirling in delight, the first step to their task at hand. A ritual she had started during their very first trial together, and now a superstition she held to ensure their success.

When she completed her little dance, she hopped right back into the dirt and stuck her tongue out at Amit, who was giving her his best teasing, chastising look.

“It’s tradition, Amit.” She tossed her satchel to the ground, her gaze following Amit who had already begun to circle and survey the surrounding area for further signs of the trial, searching for pillars or spheres or cubes with etches of spellcasting clues.

“It feels sacrilegious, MC.” He sidled up beside her, once he caught glimpses of a group of small spheres lying amongst the thicket around them, held in place by a covering of green vines.

She ignored him, digging back into her satchel for the glass jar filled with the dried leaves of mallowsweet, shaking the contents into Amit’s readied, outstretched hand before doing the same with her own. They stood together, wearing matching smiles as they closed their fists around the small piles of the necessary herb.

“Ready?”

Amit gave her a nod of his head, still smiling, the air now fizzling with excitement with the old magic they were experiencing with each and every trial. He moved to the opposite side of the circle, and on the count of three, the two students spread the green leaves over the stone swirl.

Ever mesmerized by these moments, neither of them pulled their gaze away from the vines that had been covering the stone disappearing at the touch of the mallowsweet, pulling away from their resting place like devils snare running from the light.

With his mind focused on the task at hand, Amit was able to chance a glance at MC’s smiling face and let himself fall a little more in love with the brave and awe-struck girl, before pulling himself away from the circle and leading the way up a small hill.

“It’s one of the easy ones, the spheres? Marbles? I never remember what we decided to call them. Not sure where the rest are though.”

MC followed, wand at the ready and her braids whipping around, narrowly missing Amit’s face, as she searched for the objects’ final resting place, which should have been more stone circles in the ground, carved with cavities for the little spheres to fall into.

They managed to find the stone plates that were their goal, buried beneath weeds and natural growth over the years of being lost to time, waiting for someone to wake them from their slumber and unlock the magic of Merlin. The first set had been easy enough, using their knowledge of spellwork and experience to gingerly place the spheres onto and inside their respective stone plate.

Casual conversation regarding the end of term and their mutual friends filled the silence as they searched for another set of spheres, Amit finding himself just as content in the prospect of not finding them, if it meant he could spend the rest of his day with MC, until the setting sun pushed them back to the castle. His thoughts, dangerously on the edge of romantic, were interrupted by a flood of fear when he turned around to see MC scaling the side of the mountain.

“What are you doing?!”

On their adventures in the last year, Amit should have been accustomed to MC not giving a second thought to throwing herself into potentially dangerous situations, he had witnessed her performing many perilous acts on their journeys. From jumping from pillars taller than buildings to attempting to cross raging rivers that could surely claim her life. He didn’t think he ever would be, though. His anxious mind simply would not allow it, but he was unsurprised at her casual retort of searching for a better vantage point.

He knew better than to talk her out of it, or chastise her for her recklessness, he loved her for who she was, and he did his best to trust her when she so fiercely trusted herself. Who was he to question the Hero of Hogwarts?

“Well, be careful.” He gave her a needless reminder, taking a step back to keep an eye on her as she climbed higher along the rock, his fingers wrapping around his own wand, ready to save her from a fall if her grip slipped.

MC made a sound of victory, her head tilting towards the ground from her spot on the rock, her toes balancing on a jagged stone that looked much too narrow for Amit’s comfort. He took a deep breath, exhaling for one, two, three to steady his breathing on the brink of panic.

“What is it? Do you see them?” “Don’t fret, Amit. Your torture will soon be through.” MC laughed, kindly, at the shaking of Amit’s voice and her own teasing, before moving parallel to the ground across the mountainside, until she was above what he assumed to be her goal and dropped to the ground, disappearing from Amit’s line of sight behind a wall of large boulders.

It was silent in the clearing, long enough for Amit’s mind to visualize MC breaking every bone in her body, but

before he could yell back to her, taking a step closer to the boulders to confirm life, she was yelling at him to stand back, taking a beat before adding that a shield charm probably wouldn’t hurt.

He didn’t question it, or her. She was the duo’s unspoken leader, and Amit, her loyal subject. He would follow her into the pits of hell if she asked him too. He took a step back, as far as he could whilst still feeling stable on his feet near the edge of the precipice, and covered himself with a shielding charm.

As if waiting for him to recite the incantation, the moment the magical shield enveloped him the smallest of the boulders exploded, causing Amit to instinctively flinch and cower away from the flying debris. When the dust from the devastated boulder settled, he scowled in MC’s direction, dropping his shield.

“You could have warned me, you know!” She stood against the mountain wall, a smile of victory on her face and her wand still in her hand. She strode further into the little clearing that had been tucked behind the wall of boulders and gave him a shrug of her shoulders.

“I told you to stand back.”

Amit rolled his eyes, but crossed back over to stand beside her in the clearing, where, sure enough, lay the small spheres they had been searching for. After giving MC a careful and reluctant good job, the two of them set to work in getting them into their place in the stone plate.

Two down, one to go.

They set off again, searching for the last set of spheres to complete the trial. Regardless of how many trials they completed, Amit always felt a rush of excitement as they contemplated and discussed and played with the old magic surrounding the puzzles left by a renowned wizard, the aspiring historian in himself never took for granted the opportunity MC had given him by requesting his help.

The two explorers had to come to terms with the fact that the final set of spheres were not in or near the large clearing that held the stone plates or the stone swirl, and agreed to set out further up the northern path to widen their search.

Amit walked close to MC, the high mountain rock still filling with him a sense of dread and unease, making his stomach twist into an anxious knot with the memories of the most traumatic day of his life, but the backs of their hands grazing one another as they swung in time with their gait, brought him a sense of peace that he couldn’t bring himself to pull away from. He took a deep breath, exhaling it in one… two… three… trying to calm the nerves that wracked his body in more ways than one. He swore he could hear his own heartbeat pounding against his chest as they walked in what he believed MC found to be a comfortable silence.

Finally finding the last set of spheres, nearly completely camouflaged amongst a smattering of rocks and the long grass at the side of the path, set against the base mountainside. It was a bit more work getting them back down to the clearing to set them away, seeming to have a mind of their own despite both Amit and MC working in tandem with their spellwork.

Though as it always was with MC, fun and joyous regardless of the obstacles they faced, Amit found himself laughing along with her as they attempted to corral the stubborn objects into place. He had doubled over with laughter of his own when she had taken off at a sprint to catch a wayward sphere from rolling off the cliffside, and fallen into the dirt, sliding in the gravel and landing on her bottom.

He had to take a new sort of deep breath to calm himself when she returned, hugging the quivering sphere to her chest, the object desperate to return to its brethren and its captor giving Amit a proper scowl, after he had been the one quick-witted enough to pull the sphere to a stop with Arresto Momentum, just as MC had taken her tumble.

“Couldn’t have thought of that sooner?”

Amit pulled the sphere from her hand, dropping it to the ground to let it roll back to its comrades, still not in their place, and gave her a teasing grin.

“I wasn’t expecting you to chase it! I was simply caught off guard, and then was very distracted by watching you run after it, it was quite the sight. It was a real treat to see you fall though. Thank you, I needed the laugh after the stress of exams.”

MC rolled her eyes, flipping her braids dramatically as she sauntered away from him, back to her attempts at getting the spheres into their proper place at the stone plate, when they neared the lip of the stone she paused to take a deep breath of her own.

Amit moved to take his place by her side, this was always their shared favorite part, watching the final piece of the puzzle click into place and reveal to them their success. With a gentle nudge to her arm with his own, MC took another deep, shaky breath, her face flushed a deep pink that Amit couldn’t help but question.

Had she been hurt with her fall? A concussion, maybe?

Just as Amit was about to ask after her wellbeing, he was silenced by MC rolling the spheres onto the stone plate and letting them rest into their spaces. With every trial they completed, he was left breathless and awe-struck at the way time seemed to slow down in this moment, he wasn’t sure if it was the magic of the trial itself, or Amit’s own sense of wonder, as the earth beneath their feet trembled and the stone swirl twisted away, much like the vines that had once covered it.

Each twist of the swirl unwinding itself from the stone, revealed more and more of the apparition of Merlin, standing in the center of a stone archway crawling with vines, Amit stood in reverence at the magic before him, feeling his anxiety and unease regarding the mountains surrounding him momentarily forgotten for the astonishment he felt each time he was lucky enough to catch a glimpse into the past, into magic itself.

He now knew that Merlin's apparition only lasted for a few seconds, and he would not tear his eyes away from the beauty of it all. Just as the apparition disappeared with a soft pop, and dissipating all of the magic in the air with it, Amit was struck dumb when MC’s arms were suddenly wrapped around his neck and her lips were pressing against his.

He was reeling, his world spinning around him as he felt MC kissing him the way he had spent nearly a year of his life imagining she would. He was still half considering that MC truly had suffered a concussion from her fall and wasn’t in her right mind, his anxiety and inability to understand and accept what was happening prevented him from moving a muscle, standing stock still.

She pulled away when Amit did not reciprocate her affection, her mouth agape and face beet red in horror as she began to stutter and stammer, full of apologies and defenses for her behavior, but Amit could not hear a word with the deafening whirlwind of thoughts inside of his head.

Did she like him? Did she love him? How long had she felt this way? As long as he had? Longer? Why would she just kiss him like that? Why didn’t he kiss her back?

Amit swallowed the building anxiety in his throat, and decided he did not want to let his usual antics make him lose something he had so desperately wanted, he decided to try and be brave in spite of it all.

He took a deep breath, exhaling in one… two… three and pulled MC back into his arms, holding her tight around the waist as he kissed her again, silencing her stammering with his own surprise kiss and a trembling hand on her cheek.

MC did not hesitate to return it, melting into his arms and right into the kiss. Amit could not tell how long they stayed like that, standing in the mountains and wrapped up in one another. When they finally pulled away, Amit was still breathless and shaking with nerves, MC falling into a peal of giggles, elated at how well this had gone.

Amit felt as though he had used up every ounce of his bravery kissing MC and was back to standing like a statue in the grass of the clearing, his arms now hanging at his sides and the slightest of smiles tugging at his lips, still refusing to believe this wasn’t all just a dream, his mind playing the cruelest of tricks on him. As their friendship always was, he was relying on MC to lead the way.

MC reached forward, playing with the sleeve of his robe and giving him an encouraging smile. “I… I suppose I wanted to give you a good memory of me dragging you into the mountains. A memory that doesn’t make you want to run in the opposite direction… It was quite silly… I suppose, but I have wanted to do that for a very, very long time.”

He was still coming to terms with everything that had happened, and his entire body felt like it was full of lead, his head full of the familiar fog of anxiety and rapid overwhelming thoughts. He wanted to say that he was fine, but his throat was dry and couldn’t come up with the words.

“I can see it, whenever we even come near the mountain while we’re out here… You get all pale and… quiet.”

He shook his head, trying to shake himself off and have a conversation, a conversation he never thought he would have been having, but every word she shared was just compounding his confusion, forcing him further into a flustered state. When he managed to meet her gaze, she still held her smile, her hand still playing with the hem of his robe sleeve, he twisted his arm around to take the hand in his own.

Finally, he managed to muster up something to say, breaking the silence.

“I love you.”

Her smile grew impossibly wider, tugging Amit closer with the hand he held in his, returning the sentiment with a kind laugh, and enveloping him into a hug. The longer he stayed in her embrace, the more calm he became, his thoughts easing up and letting him breathe, he felt steady enough to extricate himself from her arms and give her a smile.

Sooner than he ever believed possible, even with Amit’s shaking voice, they fell into easy conversation. Taking their time to soak in the archway of their solved Merlin Trial, and packing up their things before they began their descent back down the mountain in the setting sun, its dark peaks against the golden hour sky no longer holding such a threat to Amit’s psyche. MC slipped her fingers into his when she noticed the trajectory of his gaze, and he gave her hand a comforting squeeze, and a soft thank you.

The night continued to surprise him, apparently MC’s confessions did not end with a reciprocated love for Amit. She revealed more about herself, and the Merlin Trials themselves, when they reached the bottom of the Mountain. How she didn’t truly need any help with solving any of the trials, and had simply used them as a ruse to spend more time with him.

If Amit hadn’t been so happy and content with their hands entwined together and swinging between them, and the taste of her lips still on his own, he may have felt more put out by her sneaky antics. Yet, he wasn’t. He was grateful that one of them could be brave, and he wasn’t dreading the long walk back to the Castle as he would ordinarily, despite the still trembling of his legs. He would have happily spent days trekking through the wilderness if it meant he could keep holding her hand.

~*~

Breaching the large doors of Hogwarts felt like being doused with ice water, like a hook in his gut and tugging him back to reality, and away from the daydream he felt he was living. The empty halls and classrooms as they wandered through the corridors, were a visceral reminder that they had less than a week to enjoy this new them.

He turned to MC, to try and bring voice to his anxious thoughts but she seemed to be reading his mind, taking both of his hands in his and giving him her signature encouraging smile. She filled him with promises of writing, and visiting and to meet him outside his common room first thing in the morning to soak up every minute they still had of the year.

He returned her promises with a kiss, and the biggest smile he could offer her with the sadness still weighing in his chest, and the pit of regret in his stomach that he couldn’t be braver, sooner.

Once they had parted ways with more stolen kisses and longing hands, Amit managed to make it back to his common room on legs that felt like jelly, his heart still thrumming in his chest and a smile on his face. He was so lost in his love-struck reverie, a new fog of glee and thoughts of everything that was to come with MC, he worried he wouldn’t find enough coherency to answer the eagle’s riddle.

Thankfully, he was saved by Zenobia Noke who happily helped him into their shared common room, disappearing quickly up into the girls dormitories. Amit felt like he was walking amongst the clouds, and barely noticed his best friend sat on the floor of the common room polishing his wizard's chess set.

Andrew Larson called his name, summoning him forward with a request for Amit to play against him in one last Wizards Chess match of the school year.

“Fancy a match?” He was smiling at Amit, already setting the pieces up onto the board, knowing Amit had rarely turned him down for a game.

Amit seemed to snap into place, delight filling him at the sight of his best friend and confidante, eager to share the events of his day.

“Yes. No. Well, Yes. But I have to talk to you.” Amit hurried over to where Andrew was sitting, his friend's hand extended to offer him the seat across from him, and a smile that told him he was all ears. Amit knew he probably looked downright silly, in his flustered state as he sat down to play, unable to keep the smile off of his face.

The moment all of the pieces were setup on the board, Amit launched into his tale. Andrew listened intently the entire way through, a smile growing on his face the further his friend got into his story, and despite him already losing the match. He was envious of Amit, to be able to focus so entirely on the game despite the flustered blush and animated retelling of his day.

When Amit took a deep breath, the telling sign to the end of his rambling, he buried his face in his hands to hide the blush that had grown a deeper and deeper red as he brought words to all of the thoughts, and all of the experiences he had, had today.

Andrew smiled, joy filling him on behalf of his friend getting something he had listened to him yearn for the better part of a year.

“Sooo… You and MC are together then? She likes you back? I don’t have to listen to you whine about your crush on her any longer?”

Amit was grateful for the small mercy Andrew gave him, despite his teasing, by staring at the chessboard and not meeting his gaze. He felt as though his heart was still at risk of stopping entirely, his cheeks aching with his incessant grin. He tried to breathe through the shaking of his voice.

“Yeah, Yes. She likes me back.”

Andrew finally met his gaze before falling dramatically back onto the floor, with a happy sigh.

“Oh. Thank Merlin.”

Amit managed a laugh at his friend's theatrics, shaking his head as he refocused on the chessboard and nudged a piece forward.

“Yeah. Thank Merlin.”

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