Closed One Year Later

[Knox Ivers]

It was wild, Knox thought, that an entire year ago he had gone to the yule ball on his first date with Clifton. That on that same night they had their first kiss and agreed to be boyfriends and an entire year later, they were still boyfriends. Knox could hardly believe anyone would like him from the get go, let alone for an entire year, and he felt as if he were hitting a personal milestone as well as a milestone in their relationship, experiencing an anniversary for the first time. It was the epitome of a perfect school experience, going to the ball with his boyfriend of one year and celebrating it. Knox couldn’t wait for the night ahead, couldn’t wait to take more silly photos with Clifton like they did the previous year and then compare the old photos to the new ones. He couldn’t wait to make more memories while he and Clifton were still in school together.

Smiling, Knox made his way into the great hall, standing in awe at the decorations for a moment before he spotted Clifton nearby. Approaching his boyfriend, Knox continued to smile and moved to pull Clifton into a hug in greeting, not shy of showing affection and gently kissing Clifton’s cheek when they pulled away. “Hi. It’s been a year.” Knox said, feeling a bit bashful. He wanted to celebrate and make the most of the ball festivities while they could, but wasn’t sure where to start. He shifted to hold one of Clifton’s hands, intertwining their fingers. “What do you wanna do first?” Knox then asked, glancing to the hall around them and trying to think of whether they should dance, take photos, or eat first.

Slight godmodding has been approved!​

 

[Clifton Ward]

Clifton had been looking forward to today for weeks now. His relationship with Knox was good, made him feel comfortable, safe. Between his continued nerves rebuilding his friendship with Lily, fighting with Elliot, and the comments Simon had made to him a few weeks prior, Clifton really relished feeling safe with somone. As hard as he had tried it sometimes felt as though his life had turned into exactly the mess he had feared had he stayed in England, and Knox was the only respite from those worries.

So, Clifton had made sure to make an effort today, though he still felt a little like his suit was too fancy. It was their anniversary, it was okay to be fancy. If this wasn't the time, what would be? He was relieved not to have to wait long for the Gryffindor, grinning brightly as Knox approached him. "It has been. Happy anniversary..." He said nervously, unable to help beaming at Knox. He laced his fingers easily with his boyfriend's, looking around hesitantly. "Maybe we should get something to eat first? So we've got energy to dance?"

 

[Knox Ivers]

Knox smiled, nodding when Clifton suggested they eat first. It made the most sense, and Knox had always been food driven, it would be silly for him to not want to eat before dancing the night away with his boyfriend. Leading Clifton to the table, Knox reluctantly let go of Clifton’s hand to pick up a plate and load it with snacks, being sure to choose more sweets than anything else. Picking up a Christmas tree shaped cookie, Knox bit into it, chewing for a moment before adding some gingerbread men to his plate. “Your cookies are better.” Knox added idly, knowing it was rude to chew with his mouth full but alternately being too happy to care. He soon turned away from the table when his plate was full, and looked around the great hall. Thankfully there was a free table and Knox headed to sit down, assuming Clifton followed him. Knox then continued to eat, smiling to himself and swaying slightly to the music. “I do wanna take funny photos too like we did last time, it will be fun to like, compare them to last year.” Knox mused as he ate, soon wiping his face with his sleeve and leaning over to Clifton to press another kiss to his cheek. “I’m happy it’s been a year. Thank you for being you and stuff.” Knox had never been particularly good with words. He wanted to be affectionate and let Clifton know that he was appreciated, and that Knox thought their year as boyfriends was worth every moment, even if he wasn’t sure how to say it. He hoped his gestures and the fact they were celebrating being together for one year was enough, if nothing else was.​

 

[Clifton Ward]

Clifton was glad Knox was on board with his plan, following his boyfriend over to the tables and gathering a few snacks that hopefully wouldn't be heavy enough to make him feel sick when they did get to dancing. He giggled softly when Knox complimented his baking, smiling fondly. "Well, I don't know about that..." He said sheepishly, wondering how good he could get at baking if he had more free time to practice. Hopefully after school he could dedicate more time to it. He settled down at the table with Knox and picked up a pumpkin pastie, taking a bite as Knox spoke. He nodded, swallowing quickly before speaking. "Definitely." He smiled, thinking of how nervous he had been around Knox a year earlier. It seemed silly now, now that he was so comfortable with the Gryffindor. Clifton giggled softly when Knox kissed his cheek, smiling warmly. "I'm happy too." He said warmly. "Thank you. I can't believe random chance brought us something so good." He leaned in, kissing Knox lightly, relieved to feel so comfortable around someone.

 

[Knox Ivers]

Knox smiled, closing his eyes for a moment as he kissed Clifton back. He moved his hand to Clifton’s cheek for a moment before pulling away, and shifting to break away some of the limbs from a gingerbread man on his plate. He popped one of the arms into his mouth and chewed. “I’m so glad I had that potion, it’s the luckiest I’ve ever been, and I’m glad I caught that camera.” Knox spoke again, not caring that his mouth was full. The moment he and Clifton spoke properly for the first time was ingrained in his mind, he had been so surprised with his catch of Clifton’s camera and the way he suddenly asked Clifton out, it was as if it was fate, because it was, the Felix Felicis he had drank in his potions class that day had brought them together, and it was for a reason, he thought. Because since then, they had been a couple for an entire year and Knox felt comfortable and as if everything was right. It was easy and simple to spend time with Clifton, and he never questioned anything about himself. “Anyway, do you want the gingerbread head? it’s the best part.” Knox then asked, picking up the severed head of his ginger bread man and holding it to Clifton’s mouth, wanting to feed him the bite. It was silly and cheesy, but it was their anniversary and Knox thought there would be no better time to do something as silly as feeding his boyfriend.​

 

[Simon Thorne]

Simon hadn’t expected his date with Juniper to go as well as it was and he felt like he should pinch himself just in case this was a particularly vivid hallucination. Or maybe he could wait on that impulse and simply enjoy his evening. But it seemed like the universe had different plans. He had just gone to get some drinks when he spotted Knox and Clifton together and something ugly deep in his gut reared its head. He knew he should ignore them and go back to his very beautiful date but somehow his feet didn’t get the message and walked him right over to the happy couple. “How cute.” Simon drawled with a little more force than his casual posture called for. “Looks like you’re having fun.” he said with a grin, looking first at Clifton before shooting a glance towards Knox. He made a show of looking thoughtful for a moment. “What a second? Isn’t this your anniversary?” he asked curiously. “You know I would have tried to do something a little more special after a whole year.” Simon added playfully and nudged Knox’s arm. He had no idea why he was doing this but it was like once the words started he couldn't stop. He had convinced himself all year that the way Knox left things hadn't bothered him but now his annoyance was quickly turning to anger and he wasn't sure what to do with it.