But whilst his surroundings may have been gloomy, his company was the opposite.
"You know, when you invited me here to study, I thought we'd be doing... something else."
Sirius grinned at him from across the table.
Archer rolled his eyes, a blush on his cheeks and a smile threatening to appear. "I don't think friends snog each other in study sessions."
"I'm sure some friends do."
"Mhmm."
At the end of the aisle, Madam Pince waved her wand and several warmly-lit lanterns floated down the aisle in mid-air, stopping at regular intervals, lighting up the way now that it was getting dark outside. One lantern halted in front of them, directly in their line of vision, and Sirius leaned forward to move it slightly to the left so they could see each other again.
After a second, it moved itself back.
"Looks like the lantern wants you to do your work," Archer said amusedly.
Sirius scowled. He reached forward with his quill, clearly unwilling to stretch his arm out too far again, and tried to shuffle it along through the air like a duster—until the feather end of the quill caught on fire!
"Sirius!" Archer hissed quietly, trying not to draw the attention of Madam Pince, who would undoubtedly kick them out of the library.
"Shit!" Sirius swore, waving the quill hastily through the air.
After a second, the flames dissipated.
Archer's eyes were wide.
Sirius shrugged apologetically.
In the midst of the chaos, the lantern had moved itself a good distance away from them, and if it could talk, Archer swore it would have been cursing them out.
There was a twinkle in Sirius' eyes. "That fire was mental. There must be a spark between us."
Archer blinked.
Sirius tried again. "The fire might be out, but you're still smoking hot!"
Archer sent him an unimpressed look, but both of them knew he didn't mean it.
A textbook landed on the table in between them with a bang. They both jumped.
"If you two don't stop flirting, I think my heart will literally explode."
Riley grinned at them as she sat down. Archer couldn't help but grin back. They had become good friends over the last month, and he was glad for it.
The three of them sat there for a while longer, the only sounds coming from the rustling of book pages and the scratching of quills. Before long, Sirius had called it a night and packed up his things—shooting a smile at Archer before he left.
Riley didn't take long to follow suit. She stood up and started to pack up her books. "I'm going to head off to dinner—you coming?"
Archer glanced down at the parchment that lay on the desk in front of him. "I've just got to finish this, but I'll be there in fifteen?"
She craned her neck curiously. "What is it you're doing?"
He paused, then said, "Telling the people I love that I love them."
Riley sent him a warm smile.
As Riley walked down the aisle, Archer turned back to the two pieces of parchment in front of him. One, painfully blank, was reserved for a letter to Harvey, and the other one was a letter to Dhruv. Dhruv's letter had been written, and it went like this:
Dhruv,
It's only been a day but I miss you. I hope everything is well with your grandmother.
Sirius, Riley, and I are trying to get all of our assignments finished quickly so we can enjoy the break. As you know, tomorrow there's a trip to Hogsmeade, and I can't wait to stock up on sweets from Honeydukes. You're going to come back and our dormitory will be filled wall to wall with Droobles. Sorry, not sorry.
Sirius wants to go to Zonko's. He thinks he can buy something to prank James. I think James will see it coming easily. Those two are like two peas in a pod and I'm convinced they were separated at birth.
The halls are quiet here. Most have gone home. Even the teachers are sparse. Sirius thinks it has to do with wanting to spend more time with the people we love. We all know how bad it's getting out there with the war. And... that being said, I love you, and I wish you were here, and I hope you have a happy holiday.
Talk soon, Archie
P.S. It's Riley here. Send my love to Heather.
P.P.S. Dude. Me again. Is Heather with you?? Tell me everything!
Now it was time for him to write a letter to Harvey.
Dear Harvey, he wrote, then hesitated. His quill hovered over the parchment, and although he wanted to write something, he didn't exactly know what, and it felt like there was some invisible force that stopped him from pressing his quill to the parchment.
Archer sighed. Why was this so hard?
He stood up, ready to pack up his belongings and call it a day. Then his face twisted. No. He needed to do this. The stool creaked as he sat back down.
Dear Harvey,
Sorry I didn't come home for the holidays, but I'll be back before you know it. I hope you don't get too lonely. Maybe it's time to finally invite that work colleague of yours around, eh? Just don't whip out your Celestina Warbeck impression. No one wants to see that (said with love).
Archer's fingers drummed the table as he considered what to write next.
That's not really what I wanted to write about. Truth is, there's something I want to tell you... I'm gay. I realised a couple of months ago.
I hope this doesn't change anything between us. I love you.
Happy Christmas :-)
Love, Archie
He smiled tentatively as he finished writing his name. The letter was short, but he didn't think there was much else he had to really say—and he knew he could keep rambling if he didn't stop himself. It was better to leave it like this, short and sweet. And now for the wait...
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