Easter was another holiday that Apollo enjoyed as once again, there was no Greek god or goddess of the holiday. His family didn't even do anything at all and therefore, Apollo could happily stay at Hogwarts over the break and far, far away from his family.

“What's got you in such a happy mood?” Daphne Greengrass questioned cautiously, never having seen the boy with what resembled a smile upon his face. She exchanged a worried glance with Cassius who simply shrugged unknowingly before he then returned to his book. 

“I can get away from seeing my family for an extra two weeks,” Apollo responded gleefully before shoving some more porridge down his throat, way too happy to care that the food item was much too hot and bland.

Daphne sighed softly, sadness seeping into her as she thought over how Apollo was so much happier without his family. That didn't feel right to the Greengrass girl whom deemed family as the uttermost important thing in the universe. She only hoped that perhaps her friend will have a family of his own one day, and be as happy as he was at that very moment.

“I'll be glad to get away from your pessimism for a few days,” Cassius muttered causing Apollo to shoot him a glare before a bright smile was once more replacing it.

“And I'll be glad to have some peace and quiet,” he responded, Cassius merely rolling his eyes in response. Daphne looked between the two boys for a moment before turning her attention back towards Apollo who was currently buttering a piece of toast.

“Are you sure you'll be alright?” The Slytherin asked in concern, leaning forward to get into Apollo's line of sight as the boy was focused on making sure the jelly he was placing on his toast didn't fall off or get on his hands. It was proving to be a rather difficult task. “You know that you're always welcome at my house.”

Apollo glanced up at that, taking note of Daphne's earnest expression before he was dropping his toast in annoyance. “Yes, I'm well aware but I'd rather spend the break in peace and not be harassed by your parents on when we're finally going to get together.”

Daphne pursed her lips, a sour expression on her face, resembling someone who had eaten a raw lemon. “Yes, but -”

“No, Daphne,” Apollo cut off whatever the girl had been about to say, causing her to let out a breath in exasperation. The Hufflepuff didn't enjoy seeing such an ugly expression on such a beautiful girl therefore, he cleared his throat before adding, “But thanks for the offer.”

Daphne, coming to the realization that there was no point in arguing with a boy who was known for winning many fights, closed her mouth with a nod. But although she gave up, she wasn’t too happy about it, something she made very clear to Apollo whom simply ignored her. The Slytherin held no power over Apollo and she couldn't force him to do something he had no desire to do. Meanwhile, Cassius ignored the bickering pair. He really did wonder why he remained friends with them, or at least why he still chose to sit with them. 

“Oh, would you look at that, it’s time for you to go now,” Apollo cut Daphne off as he noticed other students beginning to leave the Great Hall, all the while ignoring the glare the blonde sent his way.

“We’ll continue this when I get back and I’ll also be sending you Howlers everyday,” Daphne huffed in annoyance as she gathered up her things, Cassius doing the same while still holding on to his book, which Apollo hadn’t been able to catch the title of - not that he cared what the boy read, though. 

“And don’t expect anything from me,” Cassius added in, not even waiting for a response before he was walking away, briefly saying his goodbyes to Daphne who soon followed his lead.

Apollo smiled as he watched his only two friends (if they could even be called that) leave for Easter break, a large smile resting upon his face at the prospect of having two weeks alone. “Looking forward to it.”

-

The Petrou boy’s time alone didn’t last long before he was running into the person he always dreaded to catch sight of. Blaise Zabini.

As soon as Apollo caught sight of the Slytherin rounding the corner, he quickly turned back around towards the direction he came from. He wasn't fast enough, however, as hurried footsteps were heard before his name was being called out. 

"Apollo," Blaise called as he jogged to keep up with the Hufflepuff's fast pace. "You're just the person I was looking for."

"And you're just the person I'm trying to avoid."

Blaise chuckled. "Oh, Apollo. We both know that you like me a lot more than you claim to."

Apollo huffed in annoyance, stopping in his tracks which made Blaise nearly crash into his side before he stabilized himself, shooting the Slytherin a glare. "What, Zabini?"

"Thank Merlin you stopped," Blaise panted, trying to get back his breath. "You're a hard one to catch up to, Atalanta." He finished it off with a wink that Apollo merely rolled his eyes in annoyance at.

"That's kind of the point." Apollo deadpanned with a glare. "Is there any reason why you were looking for me or was it just to be annoying as usual?"

"Ouch," Blaise laughed as he placed a hand on his heart. "You hurt me, Algea."

Apollo sighed in annoyance. "Will you ever stop with the comparison of me and Greek gods and goddesses?"

Blaise pretended to think about it before shaking his head. "Probably not, you're much too fun to tease." Apollo's glare hardened so much so that Blaise was actually concerned for his safety and therefore decided to get on with what he wanted from the boy. "Okay well I heard you were staying at Hogwarts over the break and I thought since I am too, that we should hang out."

Apollo's brows rose in surprise although he was awfully suspicious of the proposal. "And why on Zeus's earth would you think I'd want to do that?"

The Slytherin boy laughed at that, finding it quite hilarious that Apollo actually used Greek mythology to curse. He then shrugged carelessly, although he had to admit that he was a bit hurt at Apollo's apparent disinterest in his offer. "Thought it would be more entertaining than being alone."

Apollo's blue eyes narrowed suspiciously as he hummed in thought. "Alright, I'll meet you at the library after dinner."

Blaise was shocked that Apollo actually agreed yet his expression remained passive, merely a smirk making it's way on to his face. "See you there, Apollo." And with that Blaise was walking away, leaving Apollo dumbfounded as to why he had actually agreed.

-

Maybe I can still back out, Apollo thought, sure that Blaise wouldn't miss him. But even so, the boy found himself walking towards the direction of the library and when Blaise waved him over once he noticed him, Apollo knew it was too late.

"Nice of you to show up, Apollo," Blaise greeted with a sickly sweet grin.

Apollo merely rolled his eyes as he sat down, taking the textbooks, parchment and quill out of his bag once he was settled.

"So," Blaise paused for dramatic effect, leaning forward with his chin in his palms. "What are we doing?"

Apollo glanced at him before replying, opening his Herbology textbook. "Studying."

Blaise pouted like a child and Apollo almost found it endearing in a way. Not that he'd ever let the boy know that, of course. "Wait," Blaise commented once he noticed the title of Apollo's book, "are you studying Herbology?"

Apollo rolled his eyes in annoyance. "No, I'm not studying at all - in fact, I'm not even here. I'm just a figment of your imagination."

Blaise paused before putting on a charming grin, looking over Apollo up and down and then shooting him a wink. "Well then my imagination is very kind to me."

Apollo choose not to comment although he did scrunch his nose up in disgust as he continued reading about boring plants.

Blaise, however, was not content with the silence and spoke up once more. "Why would you need to study anyway, couldn't Sprout just pass you?"

A huff of annoyance left Apollo's parted lips. "No, Zabini. Professor Sprout isn't prejudiced and wouldn't allow someone of her house to merely pass without doing the work like some other head of houses would."

There was silence after that and Apollo decided not to comment on it. He looked down at a flower on his page, the hyacinth, and couldn't deny it's beauty.

Having Apollo mutter something akin to 'pretty' under his breath, Blaise leaned over to look at what exactly could draw the Hufflepuff's attention away from him. "It's pretty, but not as pretty as me." He flashed the easily angered boy a charming smile, showing off those pearly white teeth.

Apollo did glance up then, doing a full once over of Blaise and then once again. He took in the boy's beautiful, dark and rich skin. The short cropped hair that many couldn't pull off yet Blaise could. His oval face with high cheekbones and long, slanting eyes, of which were a gorgeous dark brown. Even though they were sitting down, Apollo knew Blaise was tall, yet not quite as tall as him. Apollo knew the boy was attractive, yet he also knew how vain he was and decided to tease the boy as the Slytherin had done to him many times before.

"You're alright," he concluded with a careless shrug of his shoulders before he returned to his Herbology book.

Blaise scoffed in offence. "Alright? I'm much more than alright! I'm one of the best looking students in this school! With my care for detail and being kind to my skin, you can bet I look better than any other boy -"

Blaise was cut off by the sound of Apollo laughing. It wasn't a fake laugh that was harsh and menacing. It was soft and light and his blue eyes twinkled as he did so. It was one of the most beautiful things he had ever heard.

"You're much too easy to rile up, Zabini."

Pointing towards Apollo's split knuckles he countered, "Is that so? I'm not the one getting into fights because someone glanced at me during breakfast."

Apollo's cheeks turned red in embarrassment, already knowing that he had a small temper and not enjoying the fact. He turned the page of his Herbology book and found a very interesting plant he'd thought he'd share with the boy sitting next to him. Just in case he wanted to go up against him, Apollo wanted Blaise to know how easy it would be to end him.

"Hmm, apparently there's this plant whose venom is deadly enough that a few drops can paralyze someone."

Blaise doesn't look too alarmed as he looked out the window, enjoying the sunset. It was beautiful and Blaise loved beautiful things. He didn't even glance over at Apollo as he idly replied, "That's interesting, I'll tell mother."

Apollo looked over at Blaise with wide eyes, the boy still not looking at him as he sneered. "I don't want to be apart of your family's murder circus - I've got enough of my own."

"Cute date idea: planning murders." Blaise looked over at the Hufflepuff then, Apollo noticing an opposition between his voice that had been lilted in amusement and his eyes which were dark and hard.

Apollo's lips twitched upwards for a moment before he drawled out, "How very Slytherin of you, Zabini, living up to the preordained aesthetic." He then pointedly looked away, writing down some notes from his Herbology book.

"Call me Blaise." When Apollo looked back at the boy, he was smirking softly as he ran his pointer finger alongside Apollo's spare quill feather.

The Hufflepuff paused, not sure how to proceed before making up his mind that it wouldn't be too awful of a thing to use Blaise's name. "Fine...Blaise. Now, shut the fuck up and let me study. Your pompous voice is giving me a headache."

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Here's a new chapter for all you lovelies! This has been written a while ago but never posted...whoops. But in some exciting news, we are almost done part 1 and then we can move on to gof!

Let me know what you guys think of this chapter! What do you think about Blaise and Apollo's little hangout in the library? Any predictions?