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"Look at him, Max, the boy is practically glowing," Heidi pointed out Milo as the boy walked into the Great Hall the next morning and as the fellow Hufflepuff looked up, it certainly appeared to be true. Milo had a bright smile on his face as if nothing in the world could bring him down and rightfully so, after what Cedric had done, there was no bringing Milo Potter down. It had caught everyone off guard, including Milo when Cedric pulled him into a kiss right in front of the remaining party members, including the Gryffindor students. But at that point, it was clear that Cedric didn't care about anyone's reaction at that point. He was making it more than obvious about how he felt about Milo and wanted everyone to know it.
Not only did he kiss Milo openly, he also referred to him by his nickname "Handsome" and it certainly wasn't in a playful manner as others often took it. There was meaning and honesty behind Cedric calling Milo handsome. When he left the Hufflepuff Common Room with Heidi and Max, escorting the Gryffindors out, Cedric received an earful. However, it wasn't a poor response like he had been expecting all along. Harry was aware of what was taking place but Hermione and Ron could only ask "since when?" and "how long did Harry know?" Then there were the Weasley twins and they were just offended by the idea of Milo not telling them sooner, who would be more accepting than them?
So while Cedric carefully explained the reason as to why the boys weren't open about it, Milo was left back in the common room with the other Hufflepuffs. Of course, the feeling of the kiss lingered for a little while longer as he stood there with a goofy expression until he realised his housemates observing him. At first, it was rather quiet and Milo wasn't sure if they were waiting for him to speak first or if they were just needing a few extra seconds to gather their thoughts. Either way, it was one of Cedric's dormmates that was the first to claim that he was happy for the two, even though he said he had his suspicions earlier.
Milo was in some sort of shock, not just from the kiss but from the fact that everyone seemed okay with it. He did expect his housemates to be accepting and tolerant compared to others, but to have some of the girls come up to him and ask all sorts of questions that brought him to blush and brought them to giggle, it was a massive relief.
People were actually okay with everything and Milo couldn't have been happier after all that. When Cedric returned, he made his way to Milo's room, unsure of what to expect when he returned to the Common Room, but even he was pleasantly surprised by the response he received. People were congratulating him, some of the girls were calling him brave, while the remaining quidditch members and housemates were telling him that if he was ever faced with people saying anything they would be right at his side. And not only his side, but Milo's as well.
No one going to mess with Cedric's kitten.
"Have you stopped smiling since yesterday?" Heidi asked him as Milo sat down, with a dreamy look on his face. He didn't respond right away, leaving the girls to exchange glances before Max leaned across the table and snapped her fingers in front of his face.
"Come back to Earth, Milo, we're all still here waiting on you!"
He jumped at the sudden appearance of fingers in his face and blinked several times before his blue gaze focused on them. "Sorry," he blurted out, although the smile did not fade for even a second, "my mind has been all over the place this morning."
"I bet," Heidi grinned, "you had a nice day yesterday, didn't you?"
"I think nice is beyond an understatement," Milo informed her, " but sure. Sorry, I guess I just wasn't expecting the warm response to it all. After how Cedric's parents reacted, well, I guess that's how I expected the majority of the response to be. But everyone seems actually...happy for us?"
"Well, of course, they are, Milo," Max chuckled, "if anyone responded any differently, Cedric would probably beat their arse or at least, he gives off that vibe. I think you forget that your boyfriend isn't exactly dainty, he has the build of a Beater with the speed of a Seeker, that's pretty bloody intimidating if you ask me. And I certainly wouldn't want to piss him off or piss off anyone he cared about, that being you. Besides, the rest of us love you and seeing as you were with Cedric hasn't changed anything, there's no sense in treating you differently."
"Yeah, in fact, I heard a couple of girls crying in the dorms last night," Heidi said bringing Max and Milo to look over in her direction.
"Er...why were they crying?" Milo questioned with a bewildered expression.
"Because you and Cedric are off the market," Heidi said with a 'duh' like tone. "Vivian said it was just Hufflepuff's luck that the two best looking blokes turned out to be into each other. But she said she couldn't blame either one of you and hopes that you two have adorable babies."
Max nudged Heidi hard in the ribs as the two watched Milo's eyes grow wide and he was left stammering and blubbering as he tried to come up with a response. But he didn't have to say anything as two strong hands came to rest on his shoulders as Cedric had finally arrived to join them for breakfast.
"Morning, Handsome," he said before greeting the girls. Milo managed to squeak out a hello in response as Cedric sat beside him. Heidi and Max had no trouble seeing that Cedric appeared to be glowing just as much as Milo had been when he had entered the Great Hall earlier. It seemed the confession was something that they both needed.
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"Milo, how long do we have to keep these stupid leaves in our mouths? It's torture!" Lee whined as the group met up, after all, it had long over a month since they had placed the Mandrake leaves in their month for the animagus process. But unfortunately, there had been no thunderstorms and it seemed the timing was just completely off for them, leaving them having to start over when it came to the brew and the whole process.
With the Easter holidays falling upon them, the group of four boys were doing their best to try and remain committed but Milo knew he was losing their interest. The results were not immediate and the process was long and enduring, that he knew. Fred, George, and Lee were pranksters and normally all of their work got them fast results, something they were not getting. Milo knew what was coming and he couldn't blame them.
They were quitting, it was taking too long and they hadn't seen any results even after learning how to produce their corporeal patronus. It had been a nice idea but the boys were done and they made it clear as they spat out their leaves for the final time. They reassured Milo that it was nothing against him and they didn't plan on saying anything to anyone, but they just couldn't put up with the process any longer.
Milo perfectly understood, there was a reason as to why there were so few animagi in their area, it was not meant to be easy at all. But Milo couldn't give up, if his father and brothers could do it, if his adoptive mother could do it, Milo was sure that he could pull it off, it was just going to require more time and patience.
Fred and George were willing to still help with the potion-brewing and Lee said if Milo needed it, he could snag a Mandrake leaf or two if the boy needed to start over again.
But Milo knew who he had to approach to ask his questions.
He needed to speak with Sirius and he supposed it was time to put Aunt El's birthday gift to use. Slipping it on underneath his own robes, Milo made his way outside of the castle, hoping to go undetected. It was fortunate but there didn't seem to be any dementors around as he made his way to the Forbidden Forest, in hopes of finding Sirius.
Milo had to admit, he was still upset with the man for causing trouble in the Gryffindor Tower as it had left his mother a stressful mess, along with getting Neville in trouble. When Silas found out that it was his father that had gotten his best friend in trouble, Sirius was going to be in for an earful and Milo was quite alright with that idea.
Suddenly, the boy heard the barking of a dog and turned around to see the shadow in the distance of Sirius in his animagus form.
"Sirius," he whispered, motioning the dog over, but in just seconds, he was motioning the man.
"Milo, what are you doing here?" Sirius questioned.
"Oh, you know, going for my afternoon stroll in forbidden territory, breaking laws before lunch...the usual," the boy responded casually before his expression became flat. "I came here to talk to you."
"Look if it's about entering the Gryffindor Tower, believe you me, that El already chewed my tail off about it. So please-"
"It's not about that, I figured that as much," Milo interrupted him, "I need your help with the animagus process. I keep getting stuck. There hasn't been a bloody thunderstorm and I don't know what to do except keep starting over."
"Ah," Sirius let out a small chuckle, "yeah I remember those days too. Your father was pulling out his hair with as many times as we had to start over. It was an absolute nightmare."
"So, what can I do?" Milo's tone was absolutely beyond desperate. "Is there anything I can do?"
"No, you're shite out of luck, Milo," Sirius said, leaving the boy's face to droop for a second until the man laughed again. "Just kidding, you need to pay attention in Charms, that's what we failed to do until Remus figured it out. There are charms, Milo, that affect the weather. Metelojinx."
"Wait! I remember that one!" Milo wanted to smack his head profusely. "It's a jinx that creates a thunderstorm. How could I forget that one?"
"The same way we did all those years ago, you have a lot going on in that mind of yours, it's bound to happen."
Milo nodded knowing that Sirius was right, sometimes it was easy to overlook the simplest things when one was searching for such a complicated answer. "Thank you, Sirius, I really appreciate it," he started taking a few steps towards the way to leave when Sirius called after him.
"Where are you going?"
"Well, Harry has a big match coming up, Gryffindor against Slytherin for the Quidditch Cup, and he's been turned into a nervous wreck because of his captain. Figured I'd spend some time with him, try to get him to calm down."
"Oh, right...right..." Sirius' voice trailed off and he looked away. "Any sign of-"
He didn't have to say anything, it was clear by the look on Milo's face that the answer was no. There was no sign of Peter and it seemed like he was losing hope fast of ever being able to clear his name.
"Don't worry, Sirius," Milo told him, "we're going to find him and you'll get your justice, I promise. "
"That's a big promise, Milo."
"And it's one I intend to keep. In the state he was in as Scabbers, there is absolutely no way he could have gotten far. He has to be around still, but you need to stop being so foolish. You being reckless isn't going to help anyone, not me, not Aunt El, not Harry, and certainly not your son."
That seemed to drive something home in Sirius' mind as the man remained silent. Milo felt guilty about making Sirius feel bad considering the man was only trying to help.
"Um...listen," the boy began digging into his bag, "Silas was in the library the other day when we were all working. His best friend, Neville-"
"Longbottom? Frank and Alice's son?" Sirius asked.
"Yeah, well, Neville along with the rest of the third years have been swamped with work, but Silas was there trying to help him. He ended up leaving this behind, I was going to return it to him but..."
He handed the book over to Sirius, leaving the man quite curious as to what he was being presented with. Opening it up, there were all sorts of little-animated doodles that fluttered across the pages of the blank book. All of Silas' little drawings.
"If you go towards the middle, there's a drawing that you might like," Milo said before saying his goodbye once more and heading back to the castle. Sirius did as he was told, only to see Silas' drawing of his Christmas memory. There was the black dog jumping out of the box with Silas and Elspeth sitting by the Christmas tree.
"Takes after his mother with the drawing, doesn't he?" Sirius chuckled to himself, remembering when Elspeth had drawn the "Stagqueen" in James' book.