Chapter Text
Prologue: By The Sidelines
“But here I blur into you.” Margaret Atwood
Todd Anderson liked hiding. Or, well, he didn’t like being perceived—which meant he didn’t like being seen. It wasn’t hard, really. He didn’t even have to try most of the time. It was always busy at Hogwarts with students crowding in every corner, Todd found it quite easy to become a blurred face. In fact, in his first year, Todd was proud to say that even his professors were startled when they noticed him.
“Have you always been there?” Professor McGonagall asked him once when he has first mustered up the courage to ask a question in class from his corner.
After that, he also startled his classmates from time to time. It was fun at first, to see people jump at the sight of him but after the first year, a few Slytherin students had started calling him 'Creepy Todd'. And after that he went back into his shell. That name stuck with him for the first half of the second year before Charlie Dalton, his childhood friend, had beaten those students up. Charlie got a week of detention for that, but people stopped calling Todd 'Creepy Todd'. Well, at least not to his face anyway. And definitely not in front of Charlie.
Todd desperately wished he were in the same house as Charlie. In the vast number of kids gathered at Hogwarts, Todd did not have a single friend. That is—if you didn’t count Charlie. Despite the rest of his family being in Slytherin, Charlie was sorted into Gryffindor. Todd wondered if he was disappointed but Charlie had beamed brighter than he has ever seen. And then Todd was sorted into Hufflepuff. He had laughed at himself for even entertaining the thought of being like Charlie.
Even amongst most of the kind natured Hufflepuffs, Todd found it hard to engage with them. Occasionally, his fellow Hufflepuffs—especially Knox Overstreet and Gerard Pitts—would invite him to join their study groups. He had joined once in their third year because they were Charlie’s friends too. He also knew they were looking out for him at Charlie’s request. But when he had left to get a book, he overheard one of their friends from Slytherin say it was uncomfortable because he seemed like a stiff. Charlie hit him in the head with a book but Todd quickly gathered up his things and excused himself. He bumped into a person on his way out but he didn’t even look at them and ran away after mumbling a sorry.
“Todd!” Charlie called out as he grabbed his arm when he caught up to him in the corridor.
“Here,” Charlie handed one of his books, “You dropped it when you bumped into Neil. Anyway, don’t mind what that chameleon had to say. He doesn’t have anything better.”
Todd knew of Neil. At Hogwarts, who wouldn’t? The golden boy, charismatic, talented and full of life. He was someone you knew was meant for greater things, like he carried the weight of a dream too big for the world around him. That’s what people said anyway. Todd knew of Neil. He didn’t know Neil. Heck, if Todd was being honest, he didn’t even know what Neil looked like besides the glimpses of dark, neatly combed hair when Todd occasionally looked up from the ground when he heard Charlie nearby. He knew that they were friends but Todd never approached Charlie when he was with his friends.
The first time Todd had seen Neil, actually seen him was at a Quidditch match.
The stands were packed with excited students, the air buzzing with the electric anticipation of the Quidditch match. Todd sat on the edge of his seat, nervously gripping the edge of the bleachers, his eyes scanning the field below In his three years at Hogwarts, he had never attended a Quidditch match. It was too noisy, too much people and honestly, he wasn't sure why he’d agreed to come. But Charlie had begged him to be there.
"You have to come, Todd," Charlie had insisted, a grin on his face. "I swear, you’ll have the time of your life."
So, there Todd was, a bundle of nerves on the edge of a crowd that seemed alive with energy. He had never been much of a Quidditch fan, but when Charlie played, he knew better than to stay away. Besides, he'd heard of Neil Perry—everyone had. The boy was practically a legend in Gryffindor House, but Todd had never seen him in action himself. Not until now. And he sort of wanted to finally see him.
The game kicked off with a wild rush of motion—brooms taking off, Chasers darting for the Quaffle, and Beaters already swinging their bats to knock Bludgers into play. Todd barely caught his breath as the game swept into full motion. He searched the field, trying to spot Charlie, who was easy to spot with his wild, unrestrained energy. But it wasn’t Charlie that caught his eye first.
It was Neil Perry.
Neil was soaring above the rest of the players, his dark hair ruffled by the wind, his eyes sharp and focused, almost predatory as he darted past a Slytherin Chaser, evading a Bludger with effortless grace. There was something about him—something magnetic. Todd had heard the rumors, heard the stories about Neil's skill and his ability, but seeing him in person was entirely different.
Neil’s movements were fluid, like he was part of the air itself. He wasn’t just playing Quidditch; he was living it, as though the game and him were one. Todd watched, mesmerized, as Neil passed the Quaffle to a teammate with an almost casual flick of his wrist, but the precision was remarkable. He was a leader, commanding the game with an energy that resonated through the crowd. His confidence was infectious.
Todd's breath caught when Neil soared closer, eyes locked on the Slytherin Keeper. Without missing a beat, Neil darted forward, faking a move and then swerving to the left to score an effortless goal. The Gryffindor side erupted in cheers, and Neil didn’t even break a smile. He just nodded to his teammates, as though he had done this a hundred times before.
Todd couldn’t tear his eyes away from him. There was something about Neil—something otherworldly. He had seen players on the field before, seen their skills, but Neil... it was as if he was born to play Quidditch. The way he held himself, the way he owned the game—Todd couldn’t help but be captivated.
A few rows behind him, someone yelled, “Come on, Gryffindor! Show Slytherin how it's done!” But Todd barely heard it. His gaze stayed fixed on Neil, watching as he led the charge again, this time on a daring offensive move, shaking off a Bludger in a way that made Todd’s heart race just from watching.
It wasn’t just the skill. It was the way Neil commanded everything around him, how he moved through the air with such fluidity, how he made the impossible seem effortless. Todd felt a sudden, strange pull—an admiration, a sense of awe that he couldn’t explain. He wasn’t quite out of it even after the match.
“Hey, Todd!” Charlie’s voice broke through his daze, and Todd snapped his attention back to his friend, who was grinning at him. “You were looking at Neil like he’s some kind of god or something, huh? I noticed during the match.”
Todd flushed, embarrassed. “I... uh, I guess.”
Charlie had laughed and nudged him, “I told you he was amazing. He’s got that natural talent. You should try and talk to him sometime.”
Todd’s heart skipped at the thought, but he wasn’t sure if he could manage it. Neil Perry seemed like the kind of person who didn’t need words to communicate. His presence alone was enough to captivate anyone who came across him. Todd felt a mix of admiration and insecurity bubble up—he wasn’t like that. He never had been.
Ever since Todd had seen Neil at the Quidditch match in their third year, he had always kept an eye out for him whenever he was around. At first, it was just a passing curiosity—nothing more than an intriguing figure in the distance. But with time, it had turned into something a bit more obsessive, a bit more consuming. Todd found himself studying the way Neil’s hair fell just so, the arch of his brows when he was deep in thought, the way his lips curled when he was about to say something sarcastic. He could almost memorize his features by now, like a well-practiced spell he’d cast a thousand times. Every glance felt as if he were piecing together a puzzle, one that had no clear end in sight.
And now, here Neil was, standing before him in the corridor outside the Charms classroom, with that slight smirk on his face. It was a smirk that seemed to speak of mischief and secrets, a look that made Todd's heart race in a way he had never quite understood. Two years ago, standing at the bleachers, he would’ve never imagined Neil ever looking at him.
How did they even get here in the first place?