"Coach Winchester?" Claire calls out as she bounds down the stands towards the playing field.
"Claire?" Coach says, pausing a long winded and dramatic description of his latest Star Wars inspired Quidditch plays. Krissy tries not to be too obvious in her relief.
"Can I borrow Krissy? It won't take long?"
He gives Claire an incredulous look that makes Krissy have to hide a full on giggle in her sleeve and try not to trip off her broom.
When the incredulous look isn't enough to discourage the bright fire of expectation in Claire's eyes he actually answers her.
"No, dude, you can't 'borrow' my best seeker in the middle of practice when we're a week out from the inter-house championships. What do you take me for?"
"Dad?" Claire tries, and that's pulling out the big spells because she hardly ever calls her father's husband 'dad' especially not on school grounds. "Can I please borrow Krissy?"
She even follows it up with what Krissy knows is her patented 'innocent' face which always works on Professor Novak.
"Dude, double no!" is all that it gets her from Coach Winchester, however.
Claire deflates a little, hopping from one foot to the other as she tries to think of a way to impart her obvious urgency to her recently adoptive parent. Claire glances over at Krissy with a pleading look but Krissy just shrugs back at her. She's not sure what sway she thinks Krissy has on these proceedings but whatever they are they're significantly overestimated.
"It's about The Project!" Claire says with urgency. "It's important."
Damn it, now Krissy is going to be off her game for the rest of the afternoon wondering what opportunity they've missed just because she was in her training sessions. It's a good idea though even if it isn't true because Krissy is pretty sure that Coach is just as invested in The Project as she and Claire are.
"You just had to say that loud enough that she could hear, didn't you?" Dean sighs. "If I don't let you two do whatever it is you're doing, then Krissy's just going to be off her game all afternoon now."
Claire just shrugs, unrepentant as usual.
"Fine, ten minutes, but that's it. If she's not back on that broom and catching snitches in ten minutes, I will dock ten points from your house instead, understood?"
"But Gryffindor is your house too?" Claire points out, in what she probably thinks is a persuasive tone - she's never quite happy to just win. It makes Krissy feel unreasonably fond even as she rushes to land and not waste another moment of this unexpected boon of time.
"I know that," the Coach says with a very slight smile, "that's why you really shouldn't make me do it!"
He waves both girls away and blasts his whistle to bring the chasers in instead.
Krissy scampers to follow Claire all the way to the back of the stands, eager to find out what development in their plot could have brought her here at this time of day. And, if she's 100% honest with herself, just eager to be near her best friend for a few minutes, always so darn eager.
"Well?" Krissy prompts when she gets sick of waiting for Claire to explain.
"You'll see," Claire says with a little too much glee in her voice for Krissy's safety, if you ask Krissy. It's okay though, no one bothers to ask Krissy these things.
So Krissy follows Claire out of the Quidditch pitch and through the statue garden, towards the Herbology sheds. She kind of wants to be annoyed, or agitated at least, but she can't be. Not on a day like this. The sun is bright and warm on their skin and the gardens smell like herbs and the very last of the spring rain. Everything has been washed clean by last night's storm but dry from the warm sunny day. And Claire looks lovely in it. The sun reflects of her golden hair and catches in her eyes. Her skin practically glows with the magic of the day and her own exuberance. Krissy has to wonder if she's part sun sprite as she bounds along the garden path with her robes catching in the light breeze. Okay, so Krissy may have it bad for her best friend. It happens, alright.
Claire spins and places one finger to her lips, and unnecessary reminder for secrecy and quiet as they sneak through the back fence and into the Herbology gardens.
"Look," Claire whispers as she pulls Krissy down behind a handy hedgerow. Krissy's skin feels too tight where their hands touch and she tries to ignore it in favor of the urgent distraction.
On the other side of the hedge are both the objects of The Project happily chatting just out of earshot.
Professor Meg Masters, Defence Against Dark Arts and Head of House for Slytherin, is leaning against the outside wall of one of the Herbology sheds. Professor Anna Milton, Charms and Hufflepuff alumna, paces in front of her, gesturing as she speaks while Professor Masters smirks at her. Whatever they're talking about seems to be important but not overly stressful, they both pause to laugh at whatever Professor Masters says in response. It's adorable, even if Krissy wasn't the default captain of the 'Maston' fan club.
Krissy tugs on the sleeve of Claire's robe and gives her a look that should quite clearly communicate the 'And?' that she wants answered.
"We've got to help!" Claire whispers back.
Krissy peeks back over the hedge for a second. She's not so sure there's any help required. Prof. Milton looks totally smitten with her best friend as the two teachers chat, and Krissy is pretty much the school expert on being smitten with your best friend ,so she should know.
Unfortunately, the source of all that expertise is looking at her expectantly, so Krissy whispers, "How?" instead of no.
"Just a little charming charm?" Claire says looking even more hopefully at Krissy.
Krissy isn't usually the academically adept one. Just about any other form of magic and Claire could conduct her meddling alone. But Krissy is really good at two things, Quidditch and charms. Krissy sighs.
"Isn't that kinda, you know, rapey?" she hisses back, very aware of how close they are to getting caught even without getting magic involved.
Claire looks shocked. "No way, just a little conversation starter not like a love hex or anything!"
Krissy bites her lip and thinks about it, she actually seriously thinks about it, because she's really that smitten.
Right, okay, she can do this. Just a little honesty charm. Because really, it is so obvious that Meg and Anna are in love, at least it is to everyone who has even seen them look at each other. They just need to admit it! It's kind of perfect really.
Krissy slips her wand from her sleeve and tries not to get lost in the thrilled glint of Claire's eyes. Luckily Krissy plans to be an Auror when she graduates and this particular honesty charm is one she's practiced more than often enough to get it right, even with Claire looking all gleeful and irresistible next to her.
"Veritatem revelare interios-" Krissy starts to mutter, flicking her wand through the required motions towards their two talking teachers.
"Hello?" and that's Professor Masters. Talking. To them! Well to their hedge row anyway. Oh slu-
"Oh, slugs!" Claire shouts, she grabs Krissy's hand and starts to drag them both away from the hedge at a full on run. But not before Professor Masters is stalking up to their hiding place with a surprised look on her face.
Krissy stumbles and the last flick of her wrist goes wide. A shower of white, gold and green sparks spills up and around them all. Oh no… Krissy trips and pulls Claire all the way down with her.
Krissy is pretty sure she hears Professor Milton outright giggle but she's too distracted to take much notice of that right now. Too distracted by the way Claire is looking at her. Looking at her like she hung the stars. Looking at Krissy the way Krissy wishes she could look at Claire!
"I know we ought to punish them both, but I kind of don't want to," Masters is saying somewhere far off. Somewhere that isn't that deep shimmering blue of Claire's eyes on Krissy's. Somewhere that is therefore infinitely less important.
"They just remind you of us at that age," Milton says with a chuckle.
"Can you blame me?"
"Not one bit. Let's leave them too it, I think that truth hex Chambers just threw is going to sort it all out for them anyway."
Krissy only half notices that the professors walk off hand in hand.
"Kris?" Claire half speaks and half breathes.
Krissy just nods, she doesn't trust herself to speak to Claire at all while under the influence of this particular charm.
"You know I've been in love with you for years, right?" Claire says, and that wicked sparkle is back in her eyes.
"No!" Krissy says, finding her voice in the face of that particularly huge revelation. "No, I didn't know that at all! If I did, I probably would have kissed you a whole lot more."
"Well then" Claire says, confidence back full force. "You'd better start making up for lost time, hadn't you?"
It is, all and all, a very honest kiss. So's the next one. And the spell's worn off by the third but Claire uses her tongue to do something far more magical and that's even better.
Later that night, the rest of Gryffindor House are incredibly relieved to find that Krissy and Claire have finally sorted out their interminable mutual pining. So relieved in fact that they totally forgive the loss of ten points due to Krissy being half an hour late back to practice. Best ten points they've ever lost, if you ask Krissy.