“There is no doubt that I will enjoy your company,” He stated simply. Blunt was never a word he used to describe himself. Felix did have a certain way that he spoke how he felt often though. It was just in many words and not in the most tactful way. Felix firmly fallowed the ‘it only takes seven seconds to decide if you liked someone or not’ rule. He was sure that he had wanted to spend every moment with this red head in the first three seconds he saw that smile. They had gotten this far and it was a place that not many people had made it to.

The Swedes were known for being soft spoken polite people. Often he was told that there was a lot more of his mother’s outspoken French side in him than he was ever willing to admit. It was becoming more true as he got older. Both he and his sister were fairly brash people. It was really only his love of words that separated him from the typical Swede though.

Felix raised his eyebrows. It was more because he was upset that the other had noticed the struggle that was going on internally. The idea of Harrow’s teeth nipping lightly at his lip though and trailing along his jaw, even along his collar bone…..Where was his head. Not in the right place at the moment. Not to mention that as much as he was enjoying the idea of all of this, there was a hurdle that was all too obvious at the moment that he would have to get over. “What a shame,” it slipped along with that coy little smile that fallowed. Despite the attempt at calming all that pent up sexual energy, it didn’t work. Sex wasn’t a subject he was uncomfortable with, it was just something he didn’t exactly have practice with. Obviously with his aversion to touching. His dormant sexuality didn’t help either. This was a lot to juggle at once. And this thing that Harrow was doing to him wasn’t helping Felix get all of these flip flopping thoughts in order.

He smiled. “Yes,” With his finger, as much as Felix wished he was brave enough to take hold of Harrow’s hand like had his, he motioned a sloppy oval “There is Nroway on the left then Sweden, and attached at the north there it is Finland, above Germany and Poland. See you did much better than me.” His accent seemed to sing along with his words. That happened when he was happy, or excited. Normally it would escalate to full on Swedish. Honestly with how much his brain felt like mush he was surprised he hadn’t lost his English.

This was a nice little village that the school was nestled into. The perfect place with the perfect man next to him. It all seemed like a dream honestly. As Harrow spoke about his family Felix couldn’t help but grin. He seemed proud to have these people as a family. “I don’t know why you don’t think you aren’t cool.” Felix laughed. “Loving your family is a wonderful thing.”

“I have a sister too who is an artist.” He then added. So much in common already. Sister’s with similar occupations hardly added up to the unmistakable compatibility that Felix was adding it up to. Maybe he should have been more specific with his question. “Did you do art when you were little with them? Or were animal’s always your calling?”

Felix couldn’t help the smug look that crossed his face. He wasn’t bombing, it seemed the opposite, in fact. He wanted to drive Harrow insane. Every part of him wanted to. Felix knew that he couldn’t make that promise and it made his stomach hurt. Reality had a way of completely ruining everything.

Well not everything.

Harrow was still next to him. He had that blush and smile that Felix could never see getting tired of gracing his face. “It seems you bring out the Casanova in me,” He wiggled his eyebrows trying to make light of his flirting abilities. As much as he really did want to get a rise out of this man he couldn’t bring himself to just lead the other down that road. Felix knew where it would end but he didn’t want to be cold and distant. This was a tricky line to walk, one that he was not at all used to maneuvering. He could see it ending in disaster. That was simply terrifying.

“You are good at guessing then Harrow,” His name rolled off his tongue in the most delicious way. Such an adorable man and somehow a professor. Felix could only imagine how different school would have been if there was at least one professor. He would have spent a lot less time paying attention to books, that was for sure.

A man who also loved his family hit a soft spot in Felix’s heart. People often assumed that Felix and his sister were people who came from an uncaring family. That was hardly true, they were both just given a heavy dose of wanderlust with parents who encouraged it. The world was a wonderful place and Sweden was always home but the world always had open arms.

“That is not silly at all. I bet you have a wonderful family,” There was no way that he didn’t. Felix did love his family, it was the base of who he was. His father might have been a stoic man but he was pationate. He had eyes filled with love and wisdom. His mother was a woman who had a brilliant personality. She was quick and loving. They might have been a well off family but the Hedlund home was always built on love first, not the lavishness of high class.

Felix nodded lightly. “I have a couple of her drawings I could show you. “ He was proud of his sister’s talent. Felix was also jealous of her talent too. Felix couldn’t help but let out a small laugh when Harrow admitted not having artistic skill. “That’s fine Elsa was gifted with all the artistry in my family.” Felix couldn’t draw a thing.

Animals…Felix was also not the best with animals either. He grew up with horses, yes he knew how to ride, but he was always weary of them. Ferdinand was the only animal that he was ever able to bond with. His worst class was Care of Magical Creatures. Felix did realize that the fact that Harrow captured him so completely did seem ironic.

“You do seem like you have a gentle heart, I could understand how animal’s are attracted to that,” Cause that didn’t sound like he was trying way to hard at all. Felix had no idea how this man standing next to him thought that he was not just some giant cheese ball with no game. “I just have always been a Rune’s kind of person, I guess dusty libraries and ancient alphabets spoke more to me.” He shrugged trying to recover, but still feeling lost with his words. Harrow seemed to have a way of doing that and for someone who was always so sure of himself Felix was not at all frustrated but more enamoured with Harrow, he wanted to know how this man could do such a thing. He wanted to be around him longer if only to make more of a fool of himself, anything so he could just keep glancing down at those eyes that felt like they saw right through him.

Felix wasn’t sure if it was a good thing that Harrow seemed to be taking every lead that was given. The Swede didn’t even know he was handing out half of them in the first place. And that was when the word date floated in the air between them.

He wasn’t sure that he had ever been on an actual date. That was something that was far too serious or Sweden. There was the simple coffee meet up here and there, Fika. Felix wasn’t sure if he needed to do this or that. Dating customs in America seemed to be so much more elaborate. He was so caught up on trying to gather all the things he knew about dating in America that he didn’t realize that so much time had passed without him saying a word.

“I would be delighted to have an early dinner with you,” Felix replied with a smile. Hopefully this was going to be a gateway to something just perfect or the universe was truly cruel. There was a chance that it was in the first place, because now from here he knew that there was a kiss that might be expected. Or hand holding. All those little intimate things that to a normal person wouldn’t be anything to fret about. In fact they might just snatch up that had now, as soon as date was uttered hand holding was on and then just waiting and building up to that fateful kiss. The type of kiss that would turn a frog into a prince. For now Felix would keep his hands to himself and walk beside the other hoping possibly that Harrow was a little more reserved.

“The willow that is how children are sorted here yes?” He had glanced over that part in his reading. It seemed magical for sure. A lot less dangerous than the sorting ceremony at Durmstrang. He hadn’t actually red in depth on that whole thing because houses didn’t matter too much for Felix . By the time students even started taking class they were in their third year anyway.

Felix let out a small laugh. “ I would not run off from you. So far there hasn’t been a think you have said or that I’ve seen that I don’t like about you.” He flashed a charming smile. Or at least that was how Felix hoped it came off. There was a good chance that the smile was something that portrayed how absolutely smitten he was.

It was safe to say that there was a duality to Felix. On one hand he was happiest locking himself in a room with stacks of books for house, reading by sunlight sat by a window. When the sun would dip down only take time away from the ink on those old pages to light a candle. Then there was the side of him that liked adventure. Trouncing across countries and discovering something new. The one part of both of those pass times was that he was a lonely individual most of the time. If someone didn’t capture his attention immediately there was almost no hope.

With either he could happily see Harrow being there. Either readying with him or just napping with his head resting on Felix’s stomach. They could travel about excited to have each other’s company. In this short time with Harrow he had already realized so much about himself that he never realized.

The other man had a smile that was infectious and already Felix was addicted to being the reason that it was on the other professors face. An eyebrow crooked. “Seems like an unexpected morning,” Felix chucked and then continued into a laugh as the other wiggled about. Harrow certainly did bring some sort of joy with him. Like a cloud of positivity was fallowing him about and enveloped whoever was near in it. Or that could just be his own helpless crush speaking. Either way it was something that Felix never knew he needed.

In all honestly Felix didn’t care about how the sorting ceremony worked. He would gladly listen to anything that the other spoke about though. That much Felix did know and it was an insane change of pace. Even when he did give someone the time of day it was so he could raddle of things like how ’Freya was pulled in a cart by skogkatt and that was why it was customary to gift the woman in a newly married couple with a cat for their home’. It was selfish and rude. Harrow was missing that side of Felix. That worked out in Felix’s favor at least.

“Jag skulle inte gå så långt (I wouldn’t go that far),” Felix quickly rattled off in his native tongue as he felt a light blush dust his cheeks and he glanced down at the sidewalk and then back at the other. He could count on one hand the amount of times he had blushed because of someone else. Well someone who wasn’t his parents or sister anyway. Elsa always liked to tease Felix when she could. Naturally he would shoot something back at her and she would puff out her cheeks and snap that they were done playing. A sore loser, Elsa was.

“I would have to say it is the same for me with you,” The words spilled, there was no holding it back. Felix wanted to seem like he was keeping a level head, that yes he liked the man walking next to but not admit to how enamored he was. There was no hiding it now and the only saving grace was that Harrow had admitted to it first. Of course that fact had Felix positively beaming.

He had to keep reminding himself that they had only known each other for three hours tops. Of that, speaking had not even broken the half hour point. There was still plenty of time that he could screw up. One could pop up and be the deal breaker. Felix had already made up his mind with this red head could do no wrong. He past the first seven minutes test with flying colors and it could only go up from there. There was no doubt in his mind one of his many quirks would be the thing that shattered this fantasy.

The two did seem to be proving to be opposites. Harrow was bright and friendly. He was good with animals. Felix was sure that the red head had a childhood that was full of friends, and tree houses,. When he was older, clubs and gathering hearts to break. Felix came off as rude. He wanted his libraries. Childhood was filled with etiquette lessons so that he would be well behaved at political gatherings. Not to say he didn’t like fun. It was just rare he found anyone besides his sister who he wanted to spend time with. He would be the one to break this thing that was already more than he could ever believe he deserved.

Even with all that gloom Felix couldn’t stop smiling. The translation that Harrow offered didn’t help his grin. “Maybe…though not really,” Felix shook his head “ But Harrow du är en stilig man och jag är så glad över att ha träffat dig,” He repeated in Swedish and tossed a gentle nod at the other man.

Just when the thought that he was doing well even with the earlier slip of letting his hand twitch there it was. Felix should have known that someone like Harrow wasn’t the type that just took words for it. He looked down at the hand, knowing exactly what the intention was. Hand holding was international. It was a simple gesture. Friends and lovers both would walk down streets hand in hand. There was no way that he could just play the foreign card…right?

For the sake of not letting Harrow’s hand linger there, because clearly Felix had noticed it. So he ruined that plan for escape, He quickly reached out and weakly gave the other a high five... or more like a low five. Felix’s hands then linked together behind his back as they continued walking. He offered an awkward week smile and then lightly puffed out his cheeks before making a small pop noise with his mouth, as if the little action was a spell to make Harrow just completely forget what Felix had just done. Even if for the Swede the fact that he even tried and broken that contact barrier was bounds more than he would do for anyone else, Harrow didn’t know that. The action was anything but smooth. He wished he could just melt into the sidewalk forever right now.

Felix’s eyes fell to his feet, not wanting to witness the face that could only be struck with horror. “So…are you familure… with Fossegrimen?” His voice was strained a lost, grasping at anything that he could to smooth this over. Naturally his head went straight to the magical creatures of Scandinavia.

Precious. It was a word that Felix had never really used. He never had a moment in time to call that. This was precious. The feeling that swelled in his chest whenever Harrow would glance his way and toss a smile. Being able to speak in his native tongue and have someone look and wish they knew what he would had said. Each new fact about each other locked away in his memory so that he could gather all the information he could. That way when anniversaries or birthdays, even the dumbest little holidays came up he could plan the perfect day and have the perfect gift.

Felix chuckled. “I just repeated what you said: You are handsome and I am glad to have met you.” If it took a life time Felix would teach this man every word he knew in Swedish. He would teach him what Spanish he knew, Norwegian even some shoty French. Every ancient language he knew. All of them he would teach Harrow, if only to be able to say sweet little nothings in ten different languages when one just wasn’t enough. This is surely what crazy in love meant. So drunk on the feeling of wanting to give all of himself to someone.

Unfortunately his awkwardness was not matching the feeling that were swelling up inside. This was the moment that everything was just going to break and Harrow would retract his invitation. The other man would just look at him ask what the hell was that and then just leave. Felix would be just standing mouth open and just as lost as ever. A new continent, a new job and it all ruined in a blink. The best part would be walking into work the next day and not being able to meet the eyes of the Care of Magical Creatures professor.

Felix wanted to say he was sorry and just explain it all away. He had no idea where to even start with the mess that he was when it came to physical interaction. And then tacking on ’but I want to really…I just…can’t’[/i]

Somehow Harrow wasn’t gone or yelling at him. There was no accusation. He was still there walking, but Felix could tell that the air wasn’t as light around them. He had hurt the other man and he hated every bit of that fact.

He nodded. It made sense that Harrow had worked at such a place. “I used to try and catch them playing fiddle when I was younger.” He spoke still avoiding looking over a the other man, the embarrassment still apparent on his face. “My mama would tell me to be careful, that is could be a Nøkk. She didn’t want me getting lured out and drowned.” There seemed to be a lot of creatures that did that in the Skandinavian forests. Beautiful creatures that lured people.

This strained small talk would not do. “I’m sorry about…what I did.” He started and managed a glance over. “It’s , I guess…I’m not so familure with this. A date is never something I have been on and so I just … är inte bra på det här” He trailed into soft mumbles in Swedish feeling small and stupid for even thinking that this could possibly go smoothly.