apples and scented candles • h.potter ✓

• seven •

The day was undeniably tiring, and Corben wanted nothing better than to head home and fall into his bed. Although he hadn't done any physical training, the books he had to read had clogged up his brain badly. He would have to sit for a written test next week, and for that he had been given two very large books to study. The entire day had been passed perusing those, and as he walked out of the Ministry at eight, his head felt extremely fuzzy, as though someone had taken his brain out and squeezed all the fluids out of it.

It didn't help that all throughout the day, some of the Aurors kept shooting him skeptical glances, almost as if they were expecting him to pounce on them and claw their eyes out.

When he was packing his bag to leave, Audra had come and told him that he needn't worry about what other people said about him, that he should just focus his mind into his training and reminded him that she would be by his side no matter what.

Corben was incredibly touched.

Now, however, he didn't feel so good anymore. Audra wasn't there now to tell off those annoyingly invasive people who thought it was their business to tell her who she should and should not mentor, and all those words he had heard today began to come back to him, crowding his mind and pushing his insecurities further.

Hands shoved into his pockets, Corben walked hastily down the road, head low so he couldn't see anything in front of him. The place wasn't too crowded, and he didn't feel the need to look where he was going. His feet crunched the snow as he trudged along, and he shivered slightly as the cold December wind blew past him. He walked all the way to his brother's house.

Blaise lived in a pretty little cottage tucked amidst a bunch of trees, flanked by rosebushes on all sides. When he had first bought the place along with his boyfriend Theo, Corben had been undeniably surprised after having seen it. Plants weren't Blaise's forte. He had expected a small, dimly lit house, perhaps a deep emerald in colour, giving off a sense of foreboding. He certainly hadn't expected it to have gardens.

Inside, however, it was completely different. If anyone expected the interior to be as lively and fresh as the exterior, they would be dead wrong. The only signs of life were from the two adults that dwelled at the place, and there was not a single plant anywhere. The walls were draped in dark green wallpapers, there were occasional paintings hung here and there, and the windows were covered with heavy curtains, leaving the inside to remain dark at all times.

The cottage made Corben feel suffocated, and the only reason he visited the place often was that the two people he loved the most in the world lived there.

A pale light slanted from the kitchen and formed dancing patterns on the floor. Corben dropped his bag at the doorway, hung his cloak on the knob of the door and made his way to the kitchen, where he found Theo and Blaise talking softly between themselves while having their dinner. Blaise's eyebrows rose as he saw him, but Theo grinned and stood up, coming to him to pull him into a hug.

"Good to see you, Zabini Junior," he said and patted him on the shoulder. "Sit. We just sat for dinner."

He brought a forced smile to his face and joined them at the table. As Theo brought a plate and began to fill it up with food, Blaise looked at him and asked, "What's going on?"

He shrugged. "Nothing. I just wasn't feeling very good."

"Hm," he raised his eyebrows meaningfully. "I've told you. It's all a waste of time – this Auror training. You should just –"

"Will you stop it, Blaise?" he snapped venomously. "I was having a bad day and I don't need you to make it worse."

His head began to throb painfully and he lowered it to the table, resting atop his hands. He didn't want to look at Theo's disapproving look.