barnaby lee x y/n
you and rowan were making your way to one of your favourite classes, care of magical creatures. it was a hot day so you were glad that you were able to spend some time outside instead of being in the stuffy castle.
"i heard that we are going to be learning about bowtruckles today, y/n" rowan said as you both joined the rest of the class.
"aren't they the psychotic twigs that will gouge your eyes out if you get too near?" you asked.
"yes, fascinating little things" she replied.
you mentally rolled your eyes as professor kettleburn strolled in with a small, green, plant looking creature on his shoulder.
"gather around class" he bellowed, "today we will be exploring these beautiful little creatures called bowtruckles"
"they're so cute" you heard someone mumble next to you.
you turned your head to see that it was barnaby lee, the so-called tough slytherin boy who made the remark.
he caught your eye and realised that you had heard what he had said.
"i mean cool, they're so cool" he said, awkwardly clearing his throat.
you raised your eyebrows at him and then turned back to kettleburn, trying to make it seem as if you didn't find barnaby extremely adorable.
for the rest of the lesson, you were in a group with rowan, charlie and liz, whilst barnaby was in a group with merula and ismelda.
you felt sorry for him that he had to spend time with imbeciles like them, but he seemed fine.
however, that lasted until near the end of the lesson, when you heard merula shriek.
"ugh, barnaby! is there anything in that thick skull of yours?! your pathetic mother must have dropped you on the head when you were a baby or something"
at first, you didn't do anything. barnaby received comments like this from people all the time; he's just very resilient to it and he doesn't let it get to him.
but then you saw a glint in his eye, and before you could walk over to ask if he was alright, he was already sprinting out of the class.
"professor, is it okay if i go and check on him?" you asked kettleburn.
"yes, sure y/l/n" he said, looking relieved that he didn't have to go and comfort a student. he seemed like the type of guy to be good with animals and not people anyway.
you hurried out of the class and managed to catch up with barnaby, who was sitting under a tree with his head in his hands.
"barnaby.." you said softly, sitting next to him and resting a comforting hand on his arm.
"go away" he said, his voice sounding muffled.
"barnaby, you can talk to me about this" you sighed, lightly running your hand up and down his arm.
his head slowly lifted from his hands and you could see how upset he was. there were tears running down his cheeks and his emerald eyes were watery and even brighter than before.
you didn't understand why, but the sight of him like this caused pain in your chest, and it felt as if a rock had been plunged down your throat.
"what's wrong? you never normally get upset over comments that people make about you" you asked him.
"i can't take it anymore, y/n" he sobbed, "their words hurt and i don't know why because i'm supposed to be strong and i'm not supposed to cry"
"don't say that, you're not weak if you cry. there's honestly nothing wrong with crying, no matter who you are or what people expect from you. everyone needs to cry once in a while, especially if they've been put through what you've been put through, barnaby"
"but people are going to hear about this from merula or ismelda, and they're going to laugh at me" he replied, sounding genuinely worried.
"and so what if they do?" you said, "people are always making fun of me because of my brother and the vaults. we just have to stick together, stop caring about what people think and we'll get through this"
after hearing those words, he looked you in the eye and his gaze softened, making you melt inside. you finally understood why you cared so much.
"i think i love you" you whispered softly.
"y/n.." he whispered back.
you suddenly snapped back into reality and realising what you had said, you turned bright red.
"barnaby i'm sorry i-"
"i think i love you too" he said.
a million butterflies were fluttering around in your stomach and you thought you were going to be sick from it, until he gave you a soft kiss and you immediately felt calm.
"thank you for everything, y/n" he smiled.
"no, thank you" you replied, "for everything"
————
so this one was for my fav boy, barnaby <3
i'm sorry for the cringe and any grammar / spelling mistakes that you might find.
thanks for reading though, it means a lot <3
