Slytherins, Kisses and Other Disasters
Copyright© 2026 by Caroline Stanton
Chapter 26: The Boys’ Side of the Story
The Great Hall was unusually crowded for a Saturday evening. Dinner had ended nearly an hour earlier, but dozens of students remained at the long House tables, talking, playing chess, finishing homework, or simply enjoying the fact that they had nowhere particularly urgent to be. There was, however, a rather unusual concentration of Slytherin boys at one end of the hall. They had been evicted from their common room. Every last one of them. Even the first-years.
The reason, according to Theodore Nott, was that Draconia Malfoy had declared the common room a girls-only territory for the evening, and Victoria Crabbe had enthusiastically volunteered to enforce the decree. Marcus Flintley had initially protested that the common room belonged to the boys just as much as the girls. Then Victoria had asked him whether he wanted to explain his objections to Georgina when she returned from Hogsmeade. Marcus had decided the Great Hall was a perfectly pleasant place to spend the evening.
Now he sat opposite Adrian Selwyn, who had been smiling continuously for the better part of twenty minutes. Marcus was beginning to find it unbearable.
“Would you stop doing that?”
Adrian blinked.
“Doing what?”
“Smiling.”
“I’m not smiling.”
“You’re smiling right now.”
Adrian attempted to look serious. It lasted approximately three seconds. Theodore laughed.
“He’s hopeless.”
Marcus shook his head.
“Absolutely bloody hopeless.”
At the Gryffindor table, Ron Weasley had noticed the gathering.
“Why are all the Slytherin boys here?”
Hermione looked up from her book.
“They’ve been thrown out of their common room.”
Ron stared.
“Thrown out? By whom?”
“The girls.”
Harry began laughing.
“Oh, I know what this is.”
Ron looked at him.
“You do?”
“Georgina’s date. Victoria told me they were planning to interrogate her when she got back.”
Hermione smiled.
“Apparently it’s become a tradition.”
“A tradition?” Ron repeated. “It’s happened once!”
“Twice, counting tonight.”
The twins, back from their shop for another weekend visit, were proving as interested in the romantic news as any current pupil. Fred Weasley, who had been listening from farther down the table, suddenly looked interested.
“An interrogation, you say?”
George appeared beside him.
“Of Georgina Goyle?”
Fred looked towards the Slytherin table.
“And unless I’m very much mistaken...”
George grinned.
“ ... the gentleman who accompanied her is sitting right over there.”
“Oh, no.”
The twins exchanged delighted smiles.
“Oh, yes.”
Marcus leaned across the Slytherin table.
“Right, Selwyn. Tell us what happened.”
Adrian looked up.
“What happened where?”
Marcus stared at him.
“Don’t be an idiot.”
Theodore grinned.
“He’s asking about your date.”
“Oh.”
Adrian’s ears turned pink. Several nearby boys looked over. Marcus folded his arms.
“Well?”
Adrian smiled.
“It was wonderful.”
Marcus closed his eyes.
“Merlin give me strength.”
“What?”
“You’ve been sitting there grinning like a lovesick Hufflepuff for half an hour. We know it was wonderful. We want to know why.”
A fourth-year boy leaned closer.
“Was she nice?”
Adrian looked at him.
“Of course she was.”
Marcus raised an eyebrow.
“Georgina Goyle?”
“Yes.”
“The same Georgina Goyle who threatened to throw Warrington into the lake last month?”
“He deserved it.”
Theodore laughed.
“She’s got him defending her already.”
“She’s my—”
He stopped. Marcus noticed.
“Your what?”
Adrian shook his head.
“Nothing.”
Marcus narrowed his eyes.
“Interesting.”
Before he could pursue the matter, Fred and George Weasley arrived, followed by Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Several Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, curious about the commotion, drifted closer. Marcus looked at the twins.
“What do you want?”
Fred smiled.
“We heard there was a romantic success story.”
George nodded.
“And we thought it deserved proper attention.”
Adrian groaned.
“Oh, bloody hell.”
Harry sat down beside him.
“Believe me, I know exactly how you feel.”
Adrian looked at him.
“Do they ever stop?”
Harry shook his head.
“Not once they’ve started.”
“Now,” Marcus announced, taking charge, “we’ll begin at the beginning. Did you fancy Georgina before today?”
Adrian stared at him.
“You know I did.”
“How long?”
Adrian hesitated.
“Since last year.”
A collective murmur ran through the boys. Theodore leaned forward.
“A whole year?”
“More or less.”
Fred whistled.
“That’s a long time to admire someone from a distance.”
George nodded.
“Particularly someone as difficult to overlook as Miss Goyle.”
A Ravenclaw boy grinned.
“She’s nearly six feet tall!”
“And built like a professional Quidditch player,” another added.
“She is a Quidditch player,” Harry pointed out.
Marcus folded his arms.
“All right. So why didn’t you ask her out sooner?”
Adrian’s smile faded slightly.
“Because I thought she’d tell me to piss off.”
The boys laughed.
“Fair enough!”
“Can’t blame you!”
“She probably would have!”
Adrian laughed ruefully.
“That’s what I thought.”
Marcus shook his head.
“I had the same problem.”
Theodore turned towards him.
“You were frightened of her too?”
Marcus gave him an incredulous look.
“Have you met Georgina?”
More laughter followed. Adrian shook his head.
“She’s not like that when you get to know her.”
Harry smiled.
“I could say exactly the same about Victoria.”
Ron looked at him.
“You frequently do.”
“And I’m frequently right.”
Hermione smiled into her cup. Theodore slapped the table.
“All right. So you finally asked her out. What happened when she came downstairs this morning?”
Adrian’s expression softened.
“She looked beautiful.”
Marcus rolled his eyes.
“We know that. We were there.”
“No,” Adrian said, smiling. “I mean, she looked absolutely beautiful.”
A few boys exchanged amused looks. Fred clasped his hands dramatically.
“Tell us more!”
George leaned forward.
“Tell us more!”
Several boys caught the rhythm immediately.
“Did she smile when she saw you?”
Adrian laughed.
“Yes!”
“Did she take your arm?”
“Yes!”
“Did you walk into Hogsmeade together?”
“Of course we did!”
Marcus grinned.
“And did you spend the whole walk staring at her?”
Adrian went red.
“Not the whole walk!”
The boys roared.
“HE WAS STARING!”
Harry laughed.
“Leave him alone.”
Fred turned towards him.
“Potter, you spent half your first date staring at Victoria.”
Harry reddened.
“That’s different.”
George raised an eyebrow.
“How?”
Harry considered. Then sighed.
“It isn’t.”
The laughter doubled.
“Where did you take her?” Theodore demanded.
“We walked around the village. Looked in some shops. Went to Honeydukes.”
“Did you buy her anything?”
“Roasted chestnuts.”
Marcus blinked.
“Chestnuts?”
“Yes.”
“Georgina Goyle?”
“She likes chestnuts!”
George nodded solemnly.
“A promising start.”
Fred grinned.
“Nothing wins a girl’s heart quite like a warm bag of nuts.”
Hermione closed her eyes.
“Fred.”
“What?”
“Please.”
Ron was laughing too hard to speak. Adrian shook his head.
“You’re all idiots.”
Marcus leaned forward.
“And then?”
“We went to a tearoom.”
There was a brief silence. Then Theodore stared.
“A tearoom?”
“Yes.”
“With Georgina?”
Adrian gave him a flat look.
“No, Theodore. With Professor McGonagall. Georgina went off to wrestle a troll.”
Harry burst out laughing. Marcus slapped the table.
“All right, all right!”
A Hufflepuff boy leaned closer.
“What did you talk about?”
“All sorts of things.”
“Like what?”
“School. Quidditch. Our families. Things we like.”
“Did she laugh at your jokes?”
“Yes.”
“Did she tell you anything embarrassing?”
Adrian hesitated. Then smiled.
“She told me she once rescued a kitten.”
The boys stared.
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