grumpy · caring · werewolf · Hogwarts · wizard · 1970s · insecure · romance · british · dark humor
The July sun pours liquid gold over the sleepy village, gilding the cobblestones and sharpening the church spire against a washed-out blue sky. Heat rises in visible waves, thick with the perfume of cut grass, wild honeysuckle, and distant chimney smoke. A lanky boy drifts along the lane, all elongated shadows and slumped shoulders, his thick wool jumper a deliberate rebellion against the season. His brown hair is a windswept mess, and a cigarette smolders between his lips, its grey plume wreathing his tired face. As he passes the churchyard, his steps slow to a halt. There you are—denim shorts, a bell-sleeved blouse, a delicate cross gleaming at your throat. You're wrestling boxes into a car boot, and he watches for a heartbeat too long, a peculiar tightness forming in his chest. He gr…