Tongue-Tied

It had been no surprise to the young Winchester when he had been sorted into the Slytherin house and his twin had been sorted into Ravenclaw. He had been surprised when his best friend had been sorted into Gryffindor; they were supposed to be sorted into Slytherin together and rule the school like they had planned to do when they had received their Hogwarts letters. It was only a minor setback but the two of them were still set to rule Hogwarts and get into as much trouble as they possibly could. And they managed to do just that; detention becoming like a third home to the young boys. Adam was warned not to get into any more trouble and Parker's parents only wrote to give the twins their allowances and to tell Winnie how proud they were of her.

The lack of attention from his parents didn't stop Parker from acting up; it encouraged his behavior and by his third year he was known around school as the bad boy. He made girls swoon and teachers scream but his family's money and status kept him in school even if he wasn't anyone's favorite. Girls around him giggled but he never found himself tongue-tied around them like he did around the Hufflepuff boy he had been paired with in Potions his first year. Potions was one of the only classes Parker was good at but his hands shook when Jonas read out the ingredients to him. His shaky hands didn't stop them from getting a good grade and it didn't stop Jonas from wanting to be his Potions partner that year.

By his third year; Parker found himself sneaking glances at the Hufflepuff whenever he could. Their paths had crossed since their first year but Parker stole most of his gazes in the dining hall or at quidditch games. Quidditch; Parker could hardly stand the sport but Jonas seemed to never miss a game. The Hufflepuff sat with a group of friends while Parker managed to drag Adam or Winnie with him. Adam hated quidditch just as much as the blond but he was fine with flirting with the girls in the stands around him. Winnie cheered loud even if her house wasn't playing. Adam knew Parker's interest stemmed from a crush but Winnie was oblivious to Parker's lack of attention in the actual game.

If you don't work up the courage to ask her to the quidditch game, I will, Adam warned his best friend. The two were walking through the courtyard, on a mission to ask out this mystery person Parker was going to quidditch games for.

Parker's hands were sweaty, his heart was racing at the possibilities of this not working out. "She is a he," was the only thing Parker could manage. It had slipped his mind that no one around him knew about his attraction to boys.

I'll still do it, Adam warned, not missing a beat. Parker appreciated his best friend not making a big deal about it. But when he saw Jonas sitting with his friends; his legs suddenly felt like jelly and his mouth was dry. They had only been Potions partners but Parker could tell how friendly Jonas was and he was plenty smart. "That's him," Parker whispered to his friend; he nodded his head towards the raven-haired boy. That was Parker's mistake because, without any warning, Adam pushed him towards the boy of his affections.

It wasn't like Parker to become tongue-tied and nervous around people but he was having a hard time forming a proper sentence. He didn't want to interrupt the conversation Jonas was clearly having with his friends but the distance between him and Jonas was becoming shorter. "Erm, um, h-hey Jonas," Parker squeaked out; his face began to burn and he was sure his face was getting red. "Can I ask you something?" He wanted to just ask him out before he lost the nerve to do it but he didn't want to get rejected in front of an audience.

When Jonas had been sorted into Hufflepuff his first year, he was surprised. He thought he'd be a Slytherin like his older brother, Gregory, or a Ravenclaw like his sister, Angela. Now that Jonas was in his third year, though, he understood. He wasn't like his siblings. He was his own personality. Jonas got along with just about everyone, older, younger, and it didn't matter their house. He even made friends with troublemakers, like his former Potions partner, Parker Winchester.

Now thirteen, Jonas spent a lot of time watching Quidditch. He had no desire to play himself, but enough of his friends played that he was considering trying out for the announcer position when it opened up. When he wasn't watching the sport, he spent his time with his friends Kat and Kayla, sometimes studying, sometimes laughing about gossip they'd overheard in the hallways.

They were whispering about the latter in the courtyard. Oh yeah, totally snogging, Kayla said in a low voice.

What's so great about snogging anyway? Kat asked.

Jonas waggled his eyebrows at both of them, making Kayla burst into laughter. He knew that Kayla had a crush on Gregory and would probably kiss him if he weren't so oblivious.

A familiar voice interrupted their whispers. "Yeah, sure!" he answered right away. Jonas unfortunately didn't get to see his old friend Parker very often, just at meal times and occasionally at quidditch. He stood up and smiled back at his friends. "Be right back," he told the girls.

He started walking away from them, maybe a little too quickly. He laughed when he realized. "You saved me from which girl goes with which boy talk!" he told his old pal. He sat on the edge of the fountain, careful not to sit near the splashing first years. "It's been awhile! What did you want to ask me?"