┏ ೋღ : 𝐇𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐂. ೋღ ┓

𝖑𝖔𝖗𝖊𝖓𝖟𝖔 𝖇𝖊𝖗𝖐𝖘𝖍𝖎𝖗𝖊'𝖘 𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗;
𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔤𝔦𝔯𝔩 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔟𝔢𝔞𝔲𝔱𝔦𝔣𝔲𝔩 𝔢𝔶𝔢𝔰

┗━━ ೋღ : ©-fictophilic : ೋღ ━━━┛

𝕳E FIRST SAW YOU ON THE TRAIN, staring down intently at your book and not noticing him gaze at you through the glass of the door as he tried finding his cousin and friends.

A weird contraption donned your head like a headband, which confused him endlessly, to say the least. His gaze trailed down from your weird headband to your focused eyes.

Lorenzo has always loved people's eyes. They were beautiful and seemingly endless, like you'd get lost in one's eyes forever if you were to lose your sense of reality for just one moment. They told him everything about a person without him needing to ask.

"Eyes are windows to the soul."

He believed that with all his heart.

So when you peered up at him — feeling his lingering stare — he caught sight of your eyes and felt himself nothing but lost.

Your eyes held a sense of wonder and imagination that piqued his interest. Your eyes could light up worlds with the ideas that seemed to flutter in them — if you let them out.

'She has pretty eyes,' Lorenzo thought before blinking himself back to reality and swiftly turning around to walk away. He felt flustered having been caught staring at a girl he hadn't even known.

"Slytherin!" The sorting hat called out from on top of Lorenzo's head. He grinned before joining the rest of his friends at the Slytherin table.

He was caught between Hufflepuff and Slytherin, though the sorting hat ultimately decided Slytherin. Lorenzo felt glad, though, seeing as he would've been seen as an outcast in his friend group if he hadn't been Slytherin.

Professor McGonagall called the next name then the next. She eventually called a girl named "(Y/n) (L/n)".

Lorenzo's eyes followed the girl, noticing her as the pretty-eyed girl from the train. He knew (Y/n) (L/n) already. Well, actually, he knew of you.

Your parents both worked in the ministry — something Draco's dad, Lorenzo's uncle through marriage, was close with. He knew of your name, but he had no idea what you looked like.

"Hm... Interesting. Very interesting," the sorting hat muttered once McGonagall placed him on your head. You sat nervously, and Lorenzo watched as you fidgeted with your fingers. "Rarely courageous, brutally honest, very impatient... Resourceful, perhaps a little cunning? Perhaps Slytherin? No, there's something bigger... Aha! Your mind is overflowing with thoughts. Ideas... Creative, sharp-witted, curious... Better be... Ravenclaw!"

The Ravenclaw table erupted into cheers while you hopped off the stool and walked down to the table. Warm welcomes from the Ravenclaws immediately greeted you and you bashfully smiled.

Lorenzo was always mindful and observant of his classmates, so it came as a slight surprise when he noticed you in quite a few of his classes.

You sat next to an outgoing girl — one who seemed bubbly and bright. She was in Ravenclaw as well, sporting a messily done blue tie around the collar of her white button-up shirt.

The girl next to you talked animatedly to you while you smiled, albeit a little nervously. He looked away and focused on conversing with his own friends.

You were just his classmate, he thought.

Nothing more.

"What are the three key ingredients for the forgetfulness potion?" Snape asked, his question hanging in the silent air. His eyes trailed over the heads of students before landing on one. "Miss (L/n)."

The class turned their heads, looking in your direction with their beady eyes, and you practically shrunk under their intense stares. Lorenzo turned in his chair, glancing at the girl who sat diagonally behind him two rows back.

"Uhm, lethe river water, mistletoe berries, and Valerian sprigs," you uttered, barely loud enough for the class to hear. Your eyes flickered in his direction, locking with his and catching him by surprise. You anxiously glanced away and swallowed the nerves down.

Snape stared blankly before continuing, "Correct." He turned around, continuing on with his lesson while everyone turned back around to keep their eyes on the professor.

'She's smart,' Lorenzo mentally concluded. 'Of course she is. She's a Ravenclaw.'

You were everywhere. You always caught Lorenzo's eye, but he didn't know why. It was like he was hyper-aware of your presence.

He didn't know a single thing about you besides your name, the fact that you're a Ravenclaw, and that you're probably smart, so he couldn't like you.

Perhaps it was just that he thought you were pretty?

Initial attraction is often drawn from the image that someone displays. So, yes, maybe that was it.

You were just his pretty classmate.

Nothing more.

The Holidays rolled around and the Ministry of Magic had decided to throw a Holiday ball.

It was formal, uptight, and way too boring for children, but Lorenzo had to go simply because his uncle was invited — a perk of being on good terms with the minister of magic.

Mattheo had been dragged along too, since he lived with the Malfoys, and Draco had come along since, well, he is a Malfoy.

Lorenzo gave the minister a tight-lipped smile as Lucius introduced him to the man. The introduction and greetings were brief as Lucius immediately dove into a conversation with the minister about some topic too boring for Lorenzo to even attempt to listen to.

His eyes trailed around his surroundings, taking everything in.

The venue was nice, a place that wasn't in the ministry headquarters, but instead a fancy hotel that had beautiful architecture and a ballroom. A large Christmas tree stood in the corner of the ballroom, decorated with plain and sophisticated ornaments. A low stage resided in the front, holding a choir and an orchestra that played and sang for the audience.

A dance floor laid in the center of the room since it was a ballroom, and couples waltzed elegantly across it. Surrounding the dance floor were tables, large tables holding plates and name tags that assigned everyone's seats. On the very left of the room was a buffet table with a chocolate fountain at the end. Every kid in the room looked like wanted to pounce on the dessert table, but since it was a ball held by the ministry, they all knew better.

With his wandering eyes, Lorenzo was bound to find some familiar people at the party, mainly since some of his schoolmates' parents worked for the ministry.

Pansy Parkinson stayed nearby, practically sticking next to Draco's side. Her father worked for the ministry, leading to her being here.

He spotted Cedric Diggory, who was popular and well-known. The boy was in his third year at the time, and he had his dad boasting about how confident he was that his son would become an amazing Hogwarts alumnus. His dad was boasting to the Weasleys, their red hair not hard to miss.

Arthur and Molly Weasley had all their kids nearby, making sure they all behaved — especially a certain pair of rowdy twins.

Cho Chang was at the party as well, since her mother worked at the ministry. They spoke to and mingled with some other ministry members.

Eventually, he caught sight of you, again. You stood, planted beside your father while he spoke to some other ministry members. Your mother stood not far away, but her attention was on your brother as she help him pile food onto his plate at the buffet table.

You wore a simple, yet elegant, dress. With your hands practically stuck and folded together, you stood stiffly and awkwardly as your father and the older couple paid you no mind. Staring down at your hands, you fiddled with your fingers and didn't know what to do.

Just before, your parents were bragging about your achievements before practically ignoring your existence. It was really the only time they ever showed you praise — when they bragged to other people about how your achievements and your upbringing were because of them and their efforts.

Biting your tongue, you reached up and tugged on the hem of your father's blazer. He peered down at you while the other ministry members continued with their conversation. Despite his lack of words, he gave you a quizzical look and internally questioned your actions.

"Can I go the bathroom?" You asked meekly, the loud ambiance drowning your voice out. He simply nodded, waving you off before turning his attention back to his coworker and joining the conversation once more.

Letting out a breath that you didn't know you were holding, you stepped away from the group and took quick, long strides out of the ballroom. Once you left the ballroom and strolled down the hallway, you felt all the tension leave your shoulders.

You never had to go to the bathroom in the first place, but the crowdedness of the room made you feel warm and anxious, making you want to step out and leave for a moment — even if it was just for a brief one.

Strolling down the corridor of the hotel, you find a bay window for you to sit in. Hopping onto the sill, you tucked your legs under your dress and tugged your dress to cover your legs and feet like a blanket.

Staring out of the window, your eyes scanned over the vast night sky and trailed over the thousands of bright stars that littered it. The moon stood out brightly amongst the stars, but you found yourself admiring the stars rather than the moon.

While the moon was beautiful, you felt like the stars called out to you more. The moon was the sun of the night, standing out amongst the crowd of stars and outshining a single sparkling speck in the sky. You felt like the stars didn't get as much appreciation as the moon or the sun did.

Unbeknownst to you, Lorenzo rounded the corner. After going off to the bathrooms, he was on his way back to the ballroom until now, when he stumbled upon seeing you sitting at the window. He watched you trace your finger along the glass of the window and he assumed you were tracing outlines of constellations or drawing images in the fog of the cold window.

Lorenzo found your eyes much more mesmerizing when you did certain things — certain things that made your eyes shine and sparkle with wonder and joy.

He swallowed thickly, trying to gather enough courage to just simply walk past you and take the fastest route to the ballroom, but he chickened out. Finding himself unable to do such a simple task, he turned around and walked back around the corner, figuring that he'd just find another way to get to the ballroom.

Lorenzo walked the corridors, flanking Draco's right while Pansy flanked his left. Theodore, Blaise, and Mattheo trailed behind as usual, each taking long, slow, and prideful strides.

Boisterous students crowded the long hallway, though parting when they walked through. The sea of students flowed around the Slytherin group, like the group had some sort of disease.

Within the many pairs of eyes, his managed to catch yours as you laughed and smiled at something a girl had said — a girl he learned was named Kyra.

Your eyes caught together for a brief moment — only long enough for him to recognize your eyes — before you and Kyra were whisked away with the rest of the sea of students.

They looked different to him in that split second.

Was it because you weren't emotionless and shy like you had been before?

You were laughing when you caught his eye.

Your eyes sparkled in the brief moment of your laughter, sparkling the same way it had been when he found you staring at the stars at that ministry Christmas ball. He found his heart swelling with a certain fondness of that sparkle.

The year continued, Lorenzo somehow always noticing when your bright eyes were around.

He had never spoken to you for obvious reasons, no matter how much he wanted to.

Lorenzo wasn't good with talking to girls usually, and it didn't help that you were quiet, and smart, and pretty.

Perhaps it was something about your beautiful eyes that intimidated him?

Something about your eyes spoke a thousand words, and he didn't think he'd be able to keep up.

He'd just never talk to you. He'd just wait for this little crush to fizzle out.

The next year — his second year — was somehow the same. You were there, always there, with your bright smile, intimidating intellect, and beautiful eyes.

He stuck true to his unspoken promise of not talking to you, but this crush just wouldn't stop. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't notice any other girl the way he noticed you.

He noticed these small things about you, albeit he wasn't really trying to.

He noticed how you were one of the only few second years on a Quidditch team, but that meant that you were good. You were.

He noticed how often you read novels. In fact, most of the times he'd ever seen you, you were reading a novel.

He noticed how much you like music. The weird contraption over your ears from the first time he saw you was actually a muggle invention called "headphones" that played music through them.

He noticed how rarely you talked. You only ever really talked around a few specific people, but when you were around them, you were quite lively.

He noticed that, when you spoke to just simple classmates, how soft-spoken you were, like you were too nervous to break the barrier that stood between you and making a new friend.

He found some aspects in you that he saw in himself.

Herbology gave Lorenzo a headache, continuously taunting the boy with his lack of knowledge. It didn't help that the rest of his friends were all busy.

Theodore focused on studying up in Charms, knowing he may very well fail if he didn't.

Blaise had his mind wrapped up in Potions. Not because he was struggling in the class, but because he simply loved making potions.

Draco was busy gossiping about the Chamber of Secrets with Pansy encouraging him. It wasn't like Herbology was their strong suit anyway. They weren't bad at it, but there were subjects that they were better in.

And Mattheo was off doing who knows what, disappearing a few times throughout the recent weeks.

With his Herbology paper due soon, Lorenzo rushed to Hogwarts library. Making his way through the Moving Staircases, he watched in disappointment as the staircase he was supposed to take turned in the opposite direction.

A new staircase on his left turned, a staircase that was usually unused as it wasn't particularly convenient to get to. He peeked out of the corner of his eye to his left out of vigilance, and he was surprised to see you sitting there, peacefully reading your book with muggle headphones covering your ears.

You had a book laid across your lap, your back resting against the stone railing while you sat along one step. Feeling his eyes, you turned your head to the right to find him staring at you.

Blinking owlishly and gaping, you curled your legs further into your body. "Sorry, were you heading up? Am I taking up too much space?"

Lorenzo shook his head, disbelief taking over his body as it was the first time you two had ever spoken. "I was just... going up to the library..."

You nodded awkwardly, your eyes instinctively flickering around your surroundings. The tense atmosphere set for your nerves and anxiety consumed you. Breaking the momentary silence, you pointed to the set of stairs that he was about to take and you said, "If you just head down those steps, there'll be another staircase that you can take that'll lead to a few doors down from the library."

He connected the line between the point of your finger and the staircase and he glanced around to map out the route you were laying out for him. He nodded, understanding that the route you planned was indeed correct.

"Thanks," he muttered, somewhat quietly.

"Of course," you replied, giving him a tight-lipped smile.

Lorenzo hesitantly trudged down the stairs, leaving you behind on the staircase that you sat on. Moving his hand up to grip the bag strap that rested over his chest, he could feel the heavy beating of his heart.

This wasn't just some small little crush anymore.

This was a real one, a full-on crush.

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‧̍̊·̊‧̥°̩̥˚̩̩̥͙°̩̥‧̥·̊‧̍̊ ♡ °̩̥˚̩̩̥͙°̩̥ ·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙·̩̩̥͙*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧ °̩̥˚̩̩̥͙°̩̥ ♡ ‧̍̊·̊‧̥°̩̥˚̩̩̥͙°̩̥‧̥·̊‧̍̊

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[ author's note ]

Chapter's kinda boring, but I had no idea how else Lorenzo would gain feelings ://

May rewrite, may not. i don't know