ask-elland-n-will

[ask-elland-n-will]

Hogwarts Legacy Pride Week

*.✧ Day 3 prompt: Family & Found Family ✧.*

This family-centred piece should be read together with the reblog from my wonderful co-writer behind @ask-andrew-montrose 💚 This is William Abbott and Andrew Montrose, navigating life past Hogwarts and Andrew's marriage proposal. Knowing how Andrew feels about the Montroses, Will had one more thing from the Abbotts to offer him after the engagement party.

The first week after Andrew's proposal was hectic. Will insisted that the Abbott/Rousseau side of the family had to be notified personally, jumping from the big engagement announcement in England to the same but more sophisticated one in France, with maman in tow to help Andrew when Will was busy chirping with his cousins and grandparents.

Will was really impressed with Monty's French, and so was his mother who'd often mention it to everyone she knew, prompting Andrew to converse more with the people he'd never met before. Great-grandmother alone stole the boy for almost an hour, questioning him on everything from politics to poetry, trying to see if Andrew was worthy of her favourite British great-grandson. Will only smiled apologetically — Monty won't have to socialise with that side of the family often, beyond the engagement and then the wedding.

It was a late night when they finally left for the apartments they rented not far from the main Rousseau residence. Will had to get a place of their own, not because they weren't welcome, but because he knew they wouldn't be left alone otherwise. He already felt a little guilty, dragging Monty everywhere instead of giving them both a chance to adjust to the idea of a new beginning. And with that idea, there was a question on Will's mind that he wasn't quite sure how to breach without being forward about it. Now that Monty had officially met pretty much everyone, it felt fitting to breach the topic.

"Hey, Monty," he said, sitting next to Andrew on the couch and setting his wine glass aside. "Do you �� want to keep your last name after we get married? I'd be good with any decision you make regarding this, do not worry on my behalf, it's not about me. And before it's even a question, I am not worried about having Andrew Montrose as my husband, because it is you, and you're the best Montrose there ever was and there will ever be.

"But I know you don't see eye to eye with your family, and I don't even know how you might be going about inviting your mother to the wedding, if at all. But if it means anything to you, and I've talked to my parents about it, too: we would be more than happy if you join us. As an Abbott, that is. Andrew Abbott."

[ask-elland-n-will]

Men cuffing their shirts or rolling up their sleeves is the sluttiest thing known to mankind

[ask-elland-n-will]

"Nosy, ps! Pspsps, Nosy! Are you awake?" Nosy hears Will whisper.

There is a smell of something tasty in the air, and if Nosy opens his eye ever so slightly, he would see a levitating piece of cake right in front of him.

"There are some, uuuh, cakes outside of the dorm for you because of the big day today."

Day? It's still dark but Will is already up, standing there in his pyjamas, with a wand in one hand and a toothbrush and a towel in the other. The clock in the Common Room strikes five times as Will levitates the piece of cake further and further away from the cosy spot on Sebastian's bed where Nosy is lounging.

"I know you like cakes so much, you can have them all! Pspspsps."

The Common Room was still dark when the whispers started. A flick of candlelight and the faint scent of something sugary crept across the room, but the teal lump on Sebastian's pillow did not stir. Not at first. There was a muffled honk and the slow rise of one furry brow.

It was far too early.

This Niffler couldn't read a clock, but even he damn. Well. Knew. That it was WAY too early for ANYONE to be up and about! Not even a damn cock feathered fowl was awake to crow at this ungodly hour! Well, anyone except this particular two-legged fellow... He buried his beak deeper into Sebastian's curls, trying to ignore William's annoying chirping voice.

What was he saying anyway? Cake?

Nosy's orbs snapped open.

CAKE!

In his burst of excitement, he clutched Sebastian's curls a bit too tightly. The wizard groaned in his sleep but didn't stir much further. It was not the first time his Niffler had been a little bit rough during bedtime, and probably not the last.

The moment Nosy's eyes adjusted, he saw it.

A damn fine cake. Fluffy layers of sponge, thick swirls of cream, glistening jam, and some very girthy strawberries on top. Suspiciously girthy.

He wasn't even listening to whatever the pretty Prefect was babbling on about. His eyes were locked on that floating miracle. He sat up, little paws reaching for it - but the cake floated just out of reach.

Nosy let out a grumpy snort. Pardon, who did this cake think it was? The little Niffler rolled off his companion's head with a soft plop, landed on the blankets, and scrambled after the retreating dessert, trying to snatch it again and again with tiny, determined hops and squeaks.

Come on, just one piece! Nosy would even be halfway satisfied with just a little lick! Maybe.

The cake continued to drift further, leading Nosy slowly but surely out of the dormitory. He didn't even notice the door whisper shut behind him. All that mattered was the sweet cream dream floating just ahead.

Then, at last, the cake stopped. It hovered for a moment, then smudged squarely to the floor. Nosy squeaked in pure joy, bouncing on the spot, little paws clapping with delight. He was just about to pounce when-

Oh.

Oh?

More cake.

Dozens of them.

Nosy hadn't even noticed the rest scattered across the carpet in his pursuit. Had he grown too careless? Too trusting? Too - no, it didn't matter. What mattered now was this: He had arrived in paradise!

He clutched his heart dramatically, as if Cupid's arrow struck right to the very soul of his sweet tooth.

With a little extra spin, the teal-furred menace launched himself through the air and landed face-first in a cake with a delighted SPLURF. He rolled over and immediately began making snow angels in the frosting.

With another cake, he buried himself like he was lounging on a beach, sculpting a tail fin from sticky goo on his lower half.

At one point, he climbed onto a towering stack of cupcakes and began declaring himself King of Cream with an overly smug honk - until the whole tower collapsed and buried him in frosting. Which Nosy did not mind. At all.

And at another point, he filled one of the hollowed-out cakes with jam and tried to paddle it across the carpet like a boat, before promptly capsizing with a squeak and a wave of cream.

He built a cake crown out of three stacked sponge cubes, wore it proudly for half a minute, then ate it all in one go.

The floor was a disaster. A cake massacre. Jam. Cream. Crumbs everywhere.

But Nosy didn't care. He ate and rolled and squeaked and scooped. He ate until his cheeks were full and his belly round. He ate until he couldn't tell if his fur was still teal or just cake-coloured.

What a day.

[ask-elland-n-will]

Will catches Monty before classes one morning with the intent to return the, mhm, underpants Monty forgot the night prior before slipping out of the Slytherin commons.

"Sorry, they… Nosy found them first and… Sorry?"

He discreetly passes the underpants to Monty. There is a huge hole right where the butt should be. It's hard to say if the fabric was chewed on, ripped off, or burned through, if not all at once. Will coughs.

"Reparo couldn't fix it."

As Will hands over the destroyed evidence of his once very fine underwear, Monty winces. He surveys the damage done to his very expensive, mhm, underpants....very glad to have not been wearing them when the niffler attacked.

Clearly he had no mercy. (And yet he also had a taste for the finer things...Montrose had spent good galleons on that pair after all.)

His eyes narrow as he turns the remaining cloth in his hands. Whatever it was the niffler had done to the tattered fabric, Montrose didn't need to know. He looks back towards Will with a pained glance before drawing out his wand,

"It's best to just let them burn."

[ask-elland-n-will]

By Merlin, who's making your heart pound like that?

Only one person comes to mind, @ask-elland-n-will

[ask-elland-n-will]

characters whose sexuality is "i'm under way too much stress to figure that shit out rn"

[ask-elland-n-will]

Monty: Falls asleep in an armchair.

Will: Covers Monty in a big soft cozy blanket with kittens and nifflers and puppies embroidered on it.

Monty: Wakes up with a start and goes to jump onto his feet, but gets caught on the blanket and ends up falling out of the chair with a loud thud.

[ask-elland-n-will]

Extra cream is always fun~

Aye aye, I spy with my little eye something that begins with a "hot" and ends with a "mess"~

I do tend to go overboard on the filling when baking with @ask-elland-n-will.

But those buns are so delicious when there's a little extra cream.

[ask-elland-n-will]

Will, do YOU like to partake in a surprise sausage?

Only if it partakes in me.

[ask-elland-n-will]

Elland and gazebos go a long way. He doesn't hear Theodora in that moment, deep in his thoughts. He might be pondering the secrets of the universe or thinking of what the elves are cooking up for dinner. Either way, he looks majestic and princely, his hair* bellowing in the wind, eyes sparkling, lips pursed. Quite a handsome young man!

* Hair is not to scale length. Mhm, neither is the chin... The narrator claims the right of artistic depiction!

*Nudges Theo from the side.*

Is that Elland in that gazebo over there~

Theo's eyes widen as she whips her head with immense speed in the direction of the gazebo to see for herself,

"Oi!!! Elland!! What exactly do you plan on doing in that gazebo?!"

@ask-elland-n-will

[ask-elland-n-will]

Dear William,

Do you want to be my chocolate bunny? I'll start by nibbling on your ears and save your behind for last.

Yours, Alexander McDribble

I'm afraid there's some other big bad scary wolf saving my behind for later, so I wouldn't have your hopes up. Ear nibbling will only make him hungrier.

[ask-elland-n-will]

“Oh, I'm sure you can finish by yourself. But it's rude to finish on your own when your partner is right here, don't you think?”

It takes Will a moment to process the sentence while he observes her deal with the beans. He's read lectures on the topic of polite finishes before but there is time and place for it. If it were Monty, Will would've taken it for flirting.

Merlin, follow the context, Abbott, sheesh, he thinks as he glances around briefly, looking for familiar blond locks in Ravenclaw robes. Unfortunately, all the Ravenclaw blonds happen to have their backs turned to him. In the dim light, it is hard to discern the right shade of hair he needs, so Will turns to his lab partner without much needed moral support.

"My point exactly, Basil. It is a group project, after all. Everyone finishes, err, at the same time."

Waiting for the colour of the potion to change, Will turns to the Shrivelfig with a dignified "Thank you". A hostage, Shrivelfig! In his mind, all the ingredients on the table are hostages if Will doesn't do anything about it.

While Basil talks, he works on the fruit as if it were a piece of art: a cut there, a squish here. Unfavourable bits go straight off the board; the scales measure the precise weight required by the recipe. Doing something he is good at finally allows his mind to let go of the tension he felt before. He should let go of that silly defensiveness of his. Basil is right, even if she was the first to do most of the work around William and clearly didn't see the hypocrisy. It is their potion and their final grade that's at stake. Better make it count.

"I am rather interested in hearing how Glumbumble treacle tastes," he replies, actually curious. "In the books I've read about it, there was more focus on what it does rather than tastes. Perhaps I could see you after classes to write it down properly? If you have the time."

He would never try it himself, of course, who'd want to feel melancholic on purpose? Is this girl for real? She's Lilith's year, perhaps they even share a room? In which case, no surprise there that some of Lilith's eccentricities rubbed off on somebody forced to share living space with her. He refrains from asking what other unedible things Basil has eaten, but he'll surely come back to that topic again someday.

"…But it’s all bullsh… I mean nonsense, William," Basil corrects herself and Will looks at her incredulously. Their potion station is one of the closest ones to Professor Sharp, and Will doublechecks that the potion master wasn't in the vicinity of hearing a lady use such language.

"I don't think that the Patronus Charm is even part of the curriculum, why did you decide to try it? It is impressive that you can cast it. I myself am too busy working on the additional advanced Transfiguration spells for my N.E.W.T.s so I didn't have a chance to look into Patronus. I'm sure it's not as hard as everyone paints it to be. Like you said, concentration and intention!"

It is, of course, a lie. He has not only read about the spell, he tried to cast it. Daily. For months. Ever since Elland mentioned that he's planning to go for an Auror position and needs to learn it. Will looked through all kinds of literature to figure out what he himself was doing wrong where Elland succeeded after a few weeks of diligent work on it. Different posture? Right weather conditions? Precise wand movements? Clear incantation? Oh, he has plenty of concentration and intention to cast anything he wishes after some initial practice! But it just doesn't work for this charm.

The way Hecat put it when he asked her for advice was that he was just happy. Too happy. Which makes no sense when he thinks about it. Isn't it the main point, casting the spell when you think of something happy? That's what worked for Elland, some warm memory from his childhood. And Will had a lot of great memories, from his first pony ride to Allegra punching a bully to defend him. He cycled through so many in his attempts that he no longer knew which memory was the happiest. All of them were!

The simmering brown liquid turns purple, signalling Will to add the castor beans to it while the Shrivelfig sits on the side, waiting for its turn when the potion turns pink.

While they wait, a thought occurs to William, recalling what Basil has said about the treacle.

"Do you think that the worse you feel, let's say when you're face to face with a dementor, the easier it is to think of a happy memory to cast a Patronus? I know it might sound strange. But you know, happy memories having a stronger effect when you're feeling, let's say, melancholic?"

It feels like a long shot but between Hecat's vague reply, Elland's descriptions, and now Miss Basil's talk about possibly avoiding a dementor with some Glumbumble treacle, he feels like there might be something to what the Ravenclaw was saying. She survived it, didn't she?

"Today, students, you will have to pair up to revise the potion that you already brewed in the sixth year.” Professor Sharp proclaimed as he limped through the Potions classroom. “Elixir to Induce Euphoria, which may be quite useful for some of you who are not particularly happy to return to school after the winter bre.. miss Basil! I appreciate your enthusiasm, but you could at least wait for me to finish speaking.” Sharp shook his head disapprovingly, looking at the girl with the scar on her face, who almost knocked over a fellow Ravenclaw student who was about to approach the Slytherin prefect’s potions station.

“Ah, please forgive my impatience, Professor! But the early bird catches a worm, or a snake in our case, right?” The girl chatted until professor rolled his eyes and continued on his way to his desk.

“Will, Willy, William! I don't think we’ve ever talked before. But I saw you at our table when you were talking to Montrose, Andrey or whatever his name is.” Nissa continued to blabber quietly, taking the ingredients from under the counter and arranging them in front of her and the redhead. When everything they needed was laid out, she took the dagger out of the sheath that had been hanging on her belt and began skinning the Shrivelfig.

“Mood-altering potions are so exciting, despite the fact that some of the ingredients are poisonous. But some of these things are effective on their own, you know?” The girl said, rolling the Shrivelfig between her palm and the counter, “Imagine running into dementors without your wand. I read that these wankers feed on positive emotions or memories.. damn, you better not be an optimist at such moments!” she maundered as she made an X-shaped cut in the bulb and squeezed the purple juice into the cauldron. Basil took a wooden spoon and stirred the potion until it turned blue. After that, she carefully placed the spoon on the edge of the cauldron and picked up a couple of porcupine quills, only to break them in her hands and throw them into the mortar.

“So what am I talking about? Oh yes, the dementors. What if there's a way to trick them? I've been thinking about Glumbumble treacle. You know Glumbumbles? Nasty bastards because they taint honey, but useful bastards when you don't need to be happy. Once I got some of that treacle in the forbidden forest, and believe me, it took a lot of Alihotsy leaves to make me smile again.” The girl giggled lowly, shaking her head as she kneaded the porcupine quills with a pestle. Once the powder was of the correct flowability, she stood on tiptoe and checked the potion, which was simmering and yellow in color. Ani turned the mortar over and poured all the contents into the cauldron, then immediately grabbed the wooden spoon and stirred the concoction four times anti-clockwise until the liquid turned blue again. “So, my plan when encountering dementors is to eat some treacle and not let wankers feed on my emotions. Let them starve. There's only one problem, if you eat too much, you can get so bloody melancholic and then you won't be able to do anything without the help of a friend. Tsk. But if you have a friend with you, then you don't have to take Glumbumble treacle. You can't both lose your wands, can you? And what is the probability that Hogwarts students will encounter dementors? None. Probably.”

She stood up on her toes again to check the potion. Still blue. The girl tapped the edge of the cauldron with a spoon to shake off the droplets and turned back to William. “Do you think they could add the Elixir to Induce Euphoria to the prisoners’ food in Azkaban to keep dementors fed? I mean, you can't have a lot of positive emotions when you're locked in Azkaban, right? Do they feed prisoners at all? Is it even necessary to feed the dementors? Oh, all this food talk is making me hungry. I wonder what's for dinner tonight…”

Noticing Will's confused expression, girl poked him in the shoulder a couple of times and whispered loudly “Aye, do me a favor and cut these Sopophorous beans, they need to be added before the potion turns purple, but you know that yourself.”

William could list off the ingredients and the process of making the complicated Elixir in his sleep, even if somebody rudely shakes him awake in the middle of the night demanding answers. Not that he would advise doing such a thing: he can't always be sunshine and daisies. There is plenty of space in the detention room to reflect on committing such atrocious and gut-wrenching acts as waking Will up from his slumber.

"Miss Basil!"

Will gets pulled out of his prefect power fantasy. He turns his head in surprise to see a determined Ravenclaw student set foot near his preferred potion station, the closest to the blackboard.

"…But the early bird catches a worm, or a snake in our case, right?"

"Why would anyone try to catch an early snake?" he mutters under his breath, puzzled not at the bird and snake metaphor but at the insinuation that the snake would allow itself to be caught to begin with.

A friendly smile, however, never leaves his lips. Even when he hears an unflattering "Willy" as a form of address. It took William some effort not to let the muscles of his face reflect his displeasure at the nickname.

"Yes, Will or William would do, Miss Basil," he simply says, hoping that she catches the hint. He waits for her to share her name. She looks familiar, the scar makes her stand out in the crowd. He's surely seen her before in some of his classes. It seems like this will be the first time they get a chance to work together, so he is ready to make an ally for his little schemes out of her.

The introduction never comes, and he watches her working the potion ingredients as she's used to doing it alone, leaving Will with the role of an observer. He tries to interject a few times but his attempts at shifting the topic of the conversation monologue prove unsuccessful: he can't find an entry point. How can they work together if they don't talk over the details of who does what?

"Miss—" he tries again observing the Shriverfig skinning.

He tries to take care of some parts of the potion-making process but his Ravenclaw lab-partner is always one step ahead. He watches the wooden spoon disappear from under his palm and blinks at the witch as she stirs. Turquoise in the cauldron turns to blue. He stares at the bubbling water until the snap of the porcupine quills pulls him out of it.

"Glumbumbles? Yes, I'm familiar. Miss—"

The conversation is distracting (it is a curious topic) and the proper brewing order is followed (he cannot fault his partner for anything) but it doesn't sit right with Will because he is not yet a part of it. Without being able to put a word in, Will feels a little lost and uncharacteristically timid. His routine is disturbed and his brain seems to refuse to take the next steps because it hasn't sorted out the student's name and task designation.

"Wait, dementors, at Hogwarts? Yes, the chances are extremely low…"

He takes a step back when she suddenly turns to him. Oh, now they are talking about dinner? And the poking! AND telling him what to do?! Right, William, come on, what is this, man up!

But instead of taking care of the next steps for the Elixir, caught off guard by the "Sopophorous beans" and still having his thoughts buffering somewhere in the dinner territory, he blurts out the entire menu for the evening, finishing the list with "… a healthy helping of baked beans. Hope you like beans, miss. I'm sure the Azkaban prisoners would kill for it."

Phew. There we go, more words than was probably necessary but it did break Will out of the stupor.

"How did you manage to consume the treacle? I must have misheard you: students are not allowed in the Forbidden Forest, that would be a cause for detention," he chuckles as he rolls one of the beans between his fingers. Hard to cut but easy to crush, this one. "I believe the purpose of a prison isn't to allow the prisoners to have fun. They are criminals, Basil. I can't believe you can think about food in the same lane as talking about the dementors. Although this is not the worst dementor conversation I've heard so far. Do you know how to cast a Patronus charm by any chance?"

Preparing the beans is easy enough: Will hasn't had any bouncing incidents in years but it has always been fun watching his classmates try to cut them. He should be on the lookout for any rogue beans flying in their direction.

"We need seven of the beans, I'm sure you can help out," he says, moving three of the beans in her direction as if she wasn't the one doing half of the potion by herself prior. In his mind, if she does point that out, it'll give him an opening to talk about the importance of duty allocation without sounding too preachy! Well, he'll probably still sound like that. "I can finish the rest of the potion after if you wish."

He makes quick work of his beans and eyes the next Shrivelfig, hoping to get to it first after they throw the beans in the cauldron.

[ask-elland-n-will]

"Here's a little something, while I prepare to open up my own shop. I'll call it Wolf's Bane, just so you know

Doris Hecat"

Rosey, Doris' personal owl, sets a small package with flowers, healing herbs or oils, carefully packaged Turkish Delight, and a poem about fireworks in the night sky (that she definitely didn't beg Roy to write for her...) close to Elland.

[Buckle up, it's a long one cause I made an Elland/Will drabble instead of just a reply]

Dear Doris, I didn't know you decided to open your own shop, this is great news! I am sure Wolf's Bane will have plenty of customers in no time, I'll tell a few of my friends about it, too. We all study together, after all, I know they would like to support you! I can already see Will bothering you for some soothing lavender.

Elland looked up at what Doris' owl had brought him and gasped. Oh, she didn't have to spoil him so! He popped one of the sweets into his mouth, hummed happily, and passed Rosey some owl treats he had on hand.

"Hey, Will, Doris is opening her own shop soon," he turned to the Slytherin who was sketching something in his notebook. Will hastily covered up the drawing and Elland rolled his eyes: must be another one of Elland's profiles. As if Will didn't know how to draw his face by heart already.

"Oh, is she? Does it have anything to do with plants by any chance?"

Elland nodded. Will flipped the page of his notebook and cleared his throat. "It would be nice to have somebody we know to do business with. Imagine all the fresh lavender I can use for Nosy's soap treats!"

"I said something along those lines, too," Elland laughed. He searched around the study room and levitated a small vase to their table. An Aguamenti later, the flowers stood proudly on the table.

"I don't suppose you'd like to gift those to me?" chirped William, suddenly by his side.

"Oh William, there's not a single flower in the world that can compare to your beauty."

Will blinked at Elland. It didn't take long for his face to turn bright pink. "That's not what I asked!"

"But look at you, blooming like a pretty red rose!"

"Elland!"

The Slytherin didn't have enough huffing in him to express how he felt at those compliments coming from Elland, and Elland just laughed, slapping the table lightly in the middle of a long wheeze.

"You can have them," he finally said when Will made a move to get up from the table. Elland wrapped an arm around his waist to hold him in place in half a hug, feeling the warmth radiating from Will, and it worked like a charm. Will relaxed against him, reluctantly at first, but then he hugged Elland back, not looking at his face.

"You have a letter to finish."

"Shush. Just sit still for a moment," Elland replied and went on to read the poem, knowing full well that Will gets as disarmed by his hugs as Nosy does by his belly rubs.

The handwriting of the poem was a little different from that of Doris, and Elland thought about asking Will to reference his archives. But again, Will felt so soft and snuggly next to him that he decided against it. There will be time. Elland reached for the quill.

The poem you sent me is wonderful, please make sure to pass on my regards to the poet: I appreciate the [a paragraph or two gets dedicated to the way the poem flows, to the imagery evoked by careful choice of words, and the melodic nature of the written piece of art.] Thank you for the herbs and oils, and how did you know I like Turkish Delight? It's hard to find it in quality such as you found; the last time I had something this good was on the actual trip to Turkey for my father's business. I am so glad wizards have a much easier time transporting goods than muggles do.

"Turkish delight? Where?" Will chimed in, clearly having read everything Elland had written. The sweets being closer to Elland, the Hufflepuff reached out to grab one and bring it to hover by Will's face.

"Open up."

"Merlin, Elland, we're in public."

"We are not doing anything indecent, they won't think much of it. It's not like we are dating."

Will made a strange noise in the back of his throat and tensed up. Elland frowned and disengaged from Will a bit to look him in the eyes. Will was nervously smiling for some reason, his face still in red blotches from the blush.

"You'll give people the wrong idea," Will finally said quietly.

"And what of it? You act as if we wouldn't look good together," Elland tried to get a laugh out of Will but ended up hearing more nervous huffing.

Will was always so strange about those topics. One moment he would go into details about his kissing experiences, throw pick-up lines at Elland, or discuss theories he read on, erm, doing other activities. But then when Elland joked back about it, Will turned into a flushing mess. Elland wished he could understand him better. If only Will spoke up about what it all means!

"Well," Will finally said and nodded to the powdered sweet still between Elland's fingers. "Prove me we can dazzle them then."

The air between them suddenly became thicker as Elland hesitantly brought his fingers to Will's slightly parted lips. The Hufflepuff wasn't sure what to make of the look Will was giving him, with half-lidded eyes looking directly into Elland's as the boy leaned in the rest of the way to take the Turkish candy in. Elland felt Will's bottom lip drag along Elland's finger on accident, and Elland had so swallow at how slowly Will pulled away from him, the offering disappearing behind Will's closed lips.

"Now who's a blushing rose, huh?" Will whispered after having taken care of the confection.

"You," Elland didn't miss a heartbeat with that reply. Was he blushin, too? He didn't even realise. Will looked down at Elland's fingers and licked his lips.

"You still have some..."

"Oh."

Elland brought up his fingers to lick off the remaining powder, and he could've sworn that Will made a strangled noise, closing his eyes and covering his mouth.

"Elland."

"Yes?"

"You're a dumbass."

"Wait, what?"

Will disentangled himself from Elland's arm which was still holding him, and sat on the opposite side of the table from him, moving his books and burying himself behind them.

"What did I do!" Elland questioned in desperation, missing the warmth by his side already. There was no reply.

Elland looks at his fingers in frustration. If he didn't like the dessert, he should've said so! Or did Elland not play along well enough? They probably looked very convincing, didn't they? Wasn't that the goal?

With Will in this mood, good luck getting any straight answers out of him for a while. Elland sighed and reached for his quill again to finish writing the letter.

Please, let me know if you need any help with the opening. Anything from welcoming people to playing some music in the background! I think Will won't be opposed to designing some flyers for you either. Consider it our thank you for the flowers and sweets! With appreciation, Elland de Strontium P.S. Oh, be on the lookout for my owl in a couple of days: I'll make sure to send you some sweets that my family orders from the East. Perhaps some of it will be to your liking!

[ask-elland-n-will]

"You just know that I'd win this one," Will shrugs smuggly. "I think I'll double the galleons for this competition, courtesy of my wallet."

Do you think Monty would whimper for me?

Five galleons to whoever gets @ask-andrew-montrose to whimper first.

Ten to whoever gets him to whimper loudest.

And no, Will (@ask-elland-n-will), you may not participate for winnings, though if you want a few goes just for fun, I shan't tell you how to find your amusement.

[ask-elland-n-will]

[Some of your MCs when Will starts yapping around]

[ask-elland-n-will]

When Will finished his not-really-that-short speech at the head of the Great Hall with the topic 'Prefects deserve more respect' his eyes swept over the sea of faces. The room was a mixture of silence and nods.

Then, from a corner of the hall, a burst of cheers broke through! A group of first- and second-year Slytherins were on their feet, looking at him with wide-eyed admiration, waving wildly tiny green and silver flags with his name on them! Their exaltation filled the hall with a spirited echo!

"Go Will!"

"You are the best, Will!"

"I LOVE YOU, WILL!!" they shouted!

He is bursting with pride at the speech well delivered!

[ask-elland-n-will]

William! Elland! What was your first kiss like...? I'm getting a bit shy...

[It depends on what AU I follow. If they are steady, with taking no part in the events of HL, then Elland most likely picked up on Will's flirting. Their first kiss would be something mutual, both being obvious about wanting to kiss. They probably slowly reached out to one another while on a date somewhere beautiful and sappy, before they ever talked about their relationship. You know, still uncertain a little and scared to take the first steps, but one inches closer, then the other, giving each other strength. Will in that world never went around trying to numb the pain by seeing other people so it's probably his first kiss in general. It's just sweet and soft and tentative, doesn't last long cause both end up blushing beyond return, Elland more reserved, but Will a total mess of giggles.

If it's the HL MCs world, then we know how Will fell first and Elland didn't cause he was busy with the Plot. So Will carried the feelings around till year 7, and let me be a cliché writer, but I love the Yule Ball confessions. People kept asking Elland for a dance, and Elland was agreeing, and Will got really upset at some point, and it's a balcony scene, and he's crying and pouring it all out on Elland after dragging him there, and Elland is lost, and he hates that he was the one to upset Will, and he slowly realizes that what he himself thought for friendship is actually feelings for Will. He doesn't know how to slow down Will, and Will wouldn't let him, anyway, angry and frustrated and hurt because he is sure Elland doesn't share his feelings (he flirted a lot, gave so many signs, only a blind man wouldn't notice, right?). Elland ends up shutting him up with a quick kiss. Will still talks a little after cause he's on the roll but his speech is jumbled and he's confused, and he slows down and starts crying bad enough that he can't speak, and Elland just hugs him tight and talks while Will calms down. I like my tropes, that's all.

There's Dark!Will au, and the first kiss there is pretty forced, just Will throwing himself at Elland trying to get what he wanted from him in his search for the ancient magic repository. Not my favourite kiss, Elland has to pull Will away from himself cause it feels wrong, and Will is just maniacal. They get better though. It's dark Will with happy ending. Actual feelings and actual proper loving kiss comes later, somewhere right before the final HL battle, when Will finally admits to himself that he's in stupid damn love with Elland. I don't tend to do much for this au cause Will is a lot to handle there. Elland gets him out of a dark place, and it's an au where Elland falls for Will first, seeing through his facade.

There are plenty of AUs for them, and different AUs — different first kisses. ]