#paddy is a hufflepuff along with nate while owen is a ravenclaw with finn

[unfortunate-arrow]

Kiss The Girl

Note: Day 8 (Kiss) of @lifeofkaze’s Valentine’s Day Challenge. Features mentions of death.

Summary: “He hovered, waiting for a few moments to make sure that he hadn’t been misreading her intentions.” Or, Nate MacKade and Nova Hartley share their first kiss.

Setting: Hogwarts, November 2014

OCs Included: Nova Hartley [@gaygryffindorgal]

Standing in front of the mirror, Nate MacKade fussed with his tie, smoothing it out with his hand. He glanced back, to where his three brothers were sprawled across his bed. At one time, he would have used his twin as a mirror. He and Finn had done that a lot when they were younger. Before their dad had died. Before Paddy and Owen were their responsibilities. A lot had changed since then.

“How do I look?” Nate asked, turning to face his brothers.

“You look great!” Owen exclaimed, rolling over onto his back and sending Nate a wide grin. God, he couldn’t believe how old Owen was starting to look.

“Thanks, O.” Nate reached over to ruffle Owen’s wavy curls. “What about you two?”

“You look fine, Nate,” Paddy remarked, rolling his eyes slightly.

“Thanks, Pads. Finn?”

Finn rolled over to rest his chin on his fists. “You look fine. And anyways, Nova won’t care if you don’t look perfect. I know you’ve got some big plan, but it won’t matter if it doesn’t go exactly to plan,” he said.

“I know that, Finn. It’ll just be better if everything does go according to plan.”

“Well, then, good luck.”

“Yeah! Good luck, Nate! You’ll do great!” Owen exclaimed.

“I’m not going to take an exam, Owen. I’m going on a date.”

Letting out a slow breath, and counting backwards from fifty to calm his nerves, Nate once again smoothed out his tie. He looked down at the pavers of the entrance hall and began to walk a straight line along the seams of the pavers. After tracing over the line a few times, Nate looked over to where Slytherins emerged. A slow smile blossomed on his face as Nova Hartley emerged from the doorway.

“Nova! You look amazing,” Nate said, rushing over to Nova.

Nova blushed, ducking her head. “Thank you. You look good yourself,” she replied.

“Are you ready to go?”

He offered her his arm. She smiled and took his arm. They began walking, chatting aimlessly about things of no real importance. It felt nice to talk about things that didn’t matter, things that weren’t related to school or his brothers or quidditch or whatever the hell was going to happen after they graduated.

“So where exactly are we going, Nate?” Nova asked, after they’d been walking for nearly ten minutes.

“There’s this spot on the far side of the lake. It’s so damned beautiful. You have no idea how many sunset or sunrise photos that Finn has taken there,” Nate replied.

“You’re such a romantic.” She shook her head, but a wide grin was fixed to her face.

“Perhaps.”

They fell back into their comfortable silence as they continued walking. Nate inhaled a deep, subtle breath and let his hand slide down to meet Nova’s. Their hands met sooner than he had expected and they met one another’s eyes. Their gazes met for half a second before they tore the gaze away, turning back to the scenery in front of them.

“Well, here we are,” Nate announced, turning to show Nova the breathtaking view.

“Wow. It really is beautiful, Nate,” Nova said, her voice soft.

“It really is.”

However, Nate’s eyes weren’t on the view. His brown eyes were locked on Nova’s face, watching as her face lit up, just a little. He’d seen that view so many times in his years at Hogwarts, and it felt nice to see how she reacted to the breathtaking view.

“Finn and I found it towards the June of our first year. It was the anniversary of the day our dad died and everything was too much. We stumbled upon it by accident. But it was so damned breathtaking. It’s always been a sort of quiet space, if we ever needed to think,” Nate said, starting to babble.

“Nate. It’s beautiful. And I’m so touched that you’ve agreed to share it with me,” Nova interjected, cutting off his stream of words.

Nate let out a slow breath as Nova turned to face him. His body moved of its own accord, leaning into her. He hovered, waiting for a few moments to make sure that he hadn’t been misreading her intentions. But then, he closed the distance. His lips pressing gently to hers. She sighed softly against his lips. They broke the soft, slow kiss a few moments later.

“That wasn’t out of line, was it?” Nate asked, his voice quiet.

“No! That was really nice, Nate. It was definitely a memorable kiss,” Nova replied, sending him a reassuring smile. Their hands linked again as they turned to look at the scenery, leaning against one another.