A/N: So apparently I write hollonav fanfic now. This is for my friend who absolutely loves this trope. I hope it did it justice. This is totally unedited so there are definitely errors, sorry about that!
Word Count: 1258
“Jackie wants to name the kitten she found Molasses, but I want to name him Quaffle…are you listening to me?”
“Yeah, of course.” Shane is not listening to Hayden. He can’t think of anything he cares less about than what Hayden and Jackie decide to name their kitten. Instead, he keeps replaying the quidditch game from last Saturday in his mind. He’d been two feet from the snitch, his hand outstretched ready to catch it when the Slytherin seeker, Ilya Rozanov, had appeared out of nowhere and snatched it, winning the game for Slytherin and eliminating Hufflepuff from any chance of winning the quidditch cup.
Shane has been thinking about it nonstop since Saturday night, and now it’s Tuesday, he’s on his way to potions, and it’s his first time seeing Ilya since the game. He can picture Ilya’s face as he grabbed the snitch right before Shane could reach it, the way Ilya had grinned at Shane, said “Guess you are too slow, Hollander,” in his lilting Russian accent, before raising his hand triumphantly and floating to the ground.
Every time Ilya flies it’s more like floating, like he doesn’t even need a broomstick at all, more graceful than anyone Ilya’s size has a right to be. Hayden had asked Ilya, once, what he ate to keep up his physique (because Hayden is the kind of guy who goes up to Slytherins and asks them what they eat!) and Ilya told him that he eats a pound of ground beef a day. Shane had tried the diet for a week before giving up.
“You’re not listening at all, are you? Are you still thinking about that damn game?”
“No,” Shane’s face flushes. “I just need to go to the bathroom.” He leaves Hayden, even though potions class starts in less than a minute, and Shane is never late for class. He needs to mentally prepare before he has to face Ilya Rozanov again.
Shane and Ilya had been rivals since their 3rd year, when Ilya transferred to Hogwarts from some wizarding school in Russia, and had immediately been placed as seeker on the Slytherin team. Hufflepuff and Slytherin had played each other for the quidditch cup every year since. Except this year. Shane had missed the first game of the season to a stupid injury, and they’d lost. And now Hufflepuff is out of the running.
Shane is splashing water on his face when the stall door opens behind him.
“Hollander.”
Shane suppresses a groan. “Rozanov.” He nods.
“You will be late for potions,” Ilya says as he turns the tap to wash his hands. “Is not normal for you, to be late.”
“Yeah, well…” Shane shrugs as he trails off. How the fuck does Ilya know he hates being late?
“You are still upset about the game?” Ilya grins. “Is just game, Hollander.”
“Easy for you to say,” Shane mutters as he pushes past Ilya and starts racing to potions class.
Ilya is half a step behind him. “Sorry Hollander,” he says on a laugh, “I do not mean to hurt your feelings.”
“Shut up,” Shane turns into the potions class.
Ilya, as per usual, doesn’t listen to Shane. “God, Hollander,” he says, still only half a step behind Shane, “you wear too much cologne. Smell is everywhere.”
“I don’t see how you can smell my cologne over the scent of your stupid fucking Russian perfume.” Shane’s voice is too loud for the classroom. Hayden motions for Shane to sit down next to him, wide-eyed, but Shane ignores him. His focus is entirely on Ilya.
“Is not perfume-” Ilya catches himself right before rising to the bait. “You are making fun.” He smiles. “Perfume? Is boring, Hollander. You are always so boring.”
Shane opens his mouth to retort when Professor Snape cuts in. “Mr. Hollander, Mr. Rozanov, so nice of you to finally join us.”
“Sorry Professor,” Shane mutters before hastily taking his seat next to Hayden. Ilya just smiles, that same fucking smile, that triumphant grin, Shane hates that smile. He doesn’t know why he can’t stop looking at it.
“As I was explaining before I was so rudely interrupted,” Snape cuts a glare at Shane, who stares at the table, embarrassed. “The potion I have brewed here is amortentia. Can anyone tell me what amortentia does?”
Shane can. Potions has always been one of his best subjects, it’s one of his only interests aside from quidditch which is why it’s one of the few NEWT level subjects he’s taking. He know that amortentia is
“...the strongest love potion in the world.” Hayden’s voice says next to him. “Its scent is supposed to be different for everyone based on what they’re most attracted to.”
Shane knew this already of course, so it makes sense that he can smell his favorite brand of broomstick polish, fresh grass, the metal of a golden snitch, but why can he still smell Ilya Rosanov’s cologne when Ilya is sitting all the way on the other side of the classroom? Shane wipes his sweaty hands across his robes as he spares a glance at Ilya. Ilya isn’t looking at him.
“Today you will be attempting to brew the amortentia potion.” Snape flicks his wand. “The instructions are on the board. You may begin.”
“You okay, man?” Hayden asks. “It looks like you and Rozy were really getting into but then you said…” his voice trails off, like he is coming to the same realization that Shane is.
“Shut up.” Shane mutters. “Tell me about the stupid cat or something.”
Hayden obliges, and Shane tries to put all of his focus on brewing the amortentia and listening to Hayden’s thoughts about names for cats, but that becomes increasingly challenging as the room begins to smell more and more like Ilya Rosanov’s cologne. Shane keeps glancing over at Ilya, but the other seeker is completely concentrated on his potion.
Hayden elbows Shane out of his stupor. He doesn’t remember finishing his potion or cleaning up. Hayden looks at Shane, then shifts his eyes to the back of the classroom. He starts to twist his lip in a grimace but something makes him think better of it. He sighs.
“Good luck, man. I’ll catch you later.”
“Where are you…?” But Hayden is already out the door. In fact, so is everyone else, even Professor Snape. The only other person in the room is Ilya Rosanov. Shane starts walking toward the door, but Ilya stops him.
“Hollander.”
“What do you want?”
“I just…” Ilya takes a step toward Shane. “I have this problem. There are many beautiful girls at this school.” Shane takes a step back. Ilya follows, backing him into the wall. “But I am always thinking about this slow fucking quidditch player. He is so boring, is boring, boring Hufflepuff. But I cannot stop thinking about him.”
“Oh.” Shane takes another step back, and Ilya’s hands come to rest on the wall, caging him in. Shane doesn’t think he minds. “And do you want this problem to stop?”
“I never, ever want this problem to stop, Hollander,” Ilya whispers. And then Ilya’s mouth is on Shane’s and Shane is thinking so this is what it’s supposed to feel like. So this is how it’s supposed to be.
—
Hayden’s a light sleeper, so he wakes up when Shane creeps back into the dorm room later that night. He mutters something that sounds like “diyagetsum?”
“I don’t kiss and tell.”
“Uh huh.”
“Ilya thinks you should call the cat Belini.”
“Ilya, huh?”
Shane smiles.
