Giselle yawned and stared blankly at her Potions notes, hating how easily her eyes blurred. It was an unusually warm February evening and the stuffy air that swallowed Hogwarts wasn't helping the fifth and seventh years with their exam prep - nobody could concentrate and tensions were running high from the lack of studying. She was currently stretched out on her bed with her NEWT books around her but the stickiness of the sweat on the back of her neck was too uncomfortable to ignore.

"This is hopeless!" groaned Giselle to her empty dorm and she flopped onto her stomach, pushing the book away from her frowning face. The diagram of how to properly extract the horn from a Graphorn bore into the back of her mind as she closed her eyes but the words around the picture could have been gibberish for all she knew, nothing was sticking in her head tonight. Even after ditching the rest of her study group in the fifth floor reading room to get some peace and quiet (Sirius had swapped all of Lily's quills with ones that would spontaneously combust and after the third explosion Giselle knew she had to leave as her laughs were verging on deafening) she hadn't gotten any work done.

The slow creak of the door opening brought her out of her frustrated daze and she barely lifted her head up long enough to catch a glimpse of Mary strolling in, smiling to herself. Her russet cheeks were rosy and radiant and her eyes sparkled more than usual - she was lovesick and Giselle tried not to roll her eyes too hard. Everyone seemed to be getting some and she was trying her hardest not to give in to her jealousy but the snappiness came too easily.

"Evening," she sighed, not bothering to sit up to greet her, "how were the Ravens?"

"Annoyed. No one is getting any work done so Dorcas and I are going out for a walk, Lord knows we need the fresh air," said Mary happily, dumping her school books on her dresser and touching up her make-up in her mirror. Giselle snorted and tilted her head, squashing her cheek into the bed so she could see Mary.

"Going for a walk? Is that what the kids are calling it these days?" She drawled, flicking a book page back and forth to distract herself from being too bitter. Mary blushed madly and threw her hairbrush at Giselle, scoffing until her throat was dry.

"What?! I don't- that's not what we're doing?!" stammered Mary, purposely avoiding looking at the smirking girl on the bed and Giselle shrugged.

"Sure, ok. Just avoid the Astronomy Tower, for some reason everyone uses that place as a walk-in servicing arena and you don't want to get caught with your hands… full. Poor Dorcas, I don't think she'd fancy the attention, she's shy enough as it is," suggested Giselle casually and her smirk grew as Mary continued to stumble over her words. She was very uptight when it came to intimate subjects and Giselle couldn't help but enjoy how red she became whenever they came up.

"You're disgusting," said Mary after a few deep breaths, swapping her robes for a thin cardigan, and Giselle beamed.

"And you're adorable," she chirped back.

"I'm going," announced Mary, fighting with her expressive face to remain neutral as she rushed out of the room.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Giselle called after her, rolling onto her back and kicking the remaining books onto the floor, there was no point in her trying to study anymore. As her eyes traced the swirling, faint patterns in the scarlet curtains she thought of Mary and Dorcas giggling and kissing each other, infatuated with one another and spending all of their time together, and the familiar sizzling sensation of envy returned. She was surrounded by couples, her roommates were constantly talking to each other about their relationships whenever they were together in the tower and it was awfully difficult trying to avoid them. She had to suffer in silence as she listened to Marlene babble on about her wonderful night sneaking into Hogsmeade with Sirius or her amazing evening down at the lake's shore with Sirius or - and this one hurt Giselle the most - the incredible night slash morning they spent in one of the disused Quidditch stands. And yet, she bit her tongue and giggled along with the other girls, forcing herself to be happy for her friend.

But the jealous beast that had manifested inside of her was aggravated and weak, it took a lot of energy to surpass her own feelings and think about her roommate's. Marlene seemed genuinely happy with Sirius, her eyes twinkled in a special way when they were together, she glowed whenever she spoke about him and she deeply cared about his well-being - she was everything Sirius needed and a part of Giselle, no matter how tiny and wounded it may be, was immensely thankful and content that Sirius had someone in his life that cared about him so much; he deserved it. Giselle didn't possess the willpower to move on yet but she knew she could if she kept trying. Seeing Marlene and Sirius happy was enough motivation.

Suddenly the sounds of multiple pairs of feet running up the stairs and muffled chatter disturbed Giselle's thoughtful silence and she dropped her head over the end of the bed, watching the door burst open that revealed the unruly group. It was a good thing she had given up with her revision as they were much louder than usual.

"-but it's just this one time, I swear on my father's grave," huffed James, storming into the girls dorm and collapsing on Lily's bed as though it were his own. "Come on!"

"Isn't your dad still alive?" questioned Marlene, coming through the door behind him, pulling a face at James as she threw her school robes onto her dishevelled bed. Giselle couldn't tell if she was smiling or frowning from her upside-down perspective.

"That's not the point, Marlene!" countered James sourly, sprawling out in a sulk. Giselle kept quiet and watched the scene unfold, wondering what on Earth they could be on about now. This wasn't the first time Marlene and James were at each other's throats.

"If Sirius doesn't want to do it then he doesn't want to do it, James! End of!" huffed Lily, yawning as she came in next and she paused when she spotted her pink-faced friend. "Elle? What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to see how long it takes for all of my blood to rush to my brain so I pass out," she answered automatically, shimmying down her mattress slightly to soothe the ache in her neck.

"Why?" added Lily.

"It's cheaper than alcohol," shrugged Giselle, vehemently ignoring the butterflies that came along with Sirius' arrival. He strolled in last with Remus and Peter, all of whom were locked in a furious whispered argument.

"But he wants to do it! Look! Ask him!" James exclaimed, desperate to continue the conversation and he sat up to point at his friends, "go on!"

"Fine!" huffed Marlene, glaring at James before turning to her boyfriend and offering him her prettiest smile. "Babe, do you want to go and hang out in the kitchens like we planned or did you want to go and do whatever stupid thing James has concocted?" Giselle fought the angry face spasm at the idea of Marlene and Sirius making out in their old spot and finally decided to sit up, keeping her back to the room as she rearranged her stoic expression. The rushing of blood in her ears helped her block out the negativity.

"Well-," she heard Sirius start to say but James jumped to his feet and screamed.

"Ah ha! See?!" he pointed at Sirius and looked at Marlene with a face that inferred that he was always right, "I told you!"

"He didn't even say anything! He clearly doesn't want to sneak about tonight and we've barely seen each other all day so we want to-," she countered hotly, but James couldn't keep his mouth shut.

"Don't give me that crap! You've been stuck to his side since seven o'clock this morning! Try letting go of that leash you've got around him for once!"

"Gosh, I'm so popular right now," sighed Sirius smugly, clearly enjoying being the topic of debate, but Giselle blocked out the bickering as she settled into her pillow, picking up one of her books from the floor as an excuse to divert her gaze. James and Marlene picked an argument with each other every other day over whose turn it was to drag Sirius around the castle and the others barely acknowledged it anymore.

"So did you get any work done?" wondered Lily, straining her voice so she could be heard over the yelling and Giselle snorted exasperatedly, flashing her the empty page of notes.

"Oh loads! I'm pretty much ready to take the written Potions exam right now," she spat coldly and Lily nodded in sympathy.

"You and me both, sister. I've got a meeting with Flitwick tomorrow morning and I haven't even looked at his work yet," she sighed and snatched her fresh towel from her dresser, "I'm going to take a bath and then I'm staying here for the rest of the night. Please, for the love of God, don't get caught," Lily announced for the benefit of the room and James stopped shouting momentarily to kiss his girlfriend goodnight.

"Get caught…?" asked Giselle to the room, hoping to get an answer to their vagueness, and Remus perched on the end of her bed to explain the situation. It turns out that Edgar Bones had disturbed their study session to mock James and Sirius for their lack of pranks this year, he called them both cowards and ridiculed them for being soft now that James was Head Boy. James, being the ever stubborn one, took Bones' words to heart and immediately came up with a plan to prove him wrong.

"-and Marlene doesn't want Sirius to join in," finished Remus, not daring to move his lips in case he got called out for voicing his opinion, "but Padfoot really wants to come with us."

Giselle tried not to smirk as she glanced past his shoulder to observe the troubled boy. Sirius was staring mournfully at his best friend and girlfriend, horrendously torn at whose side he should take, and ideas of how to solve their problem started to form in her brain. She didn't want to listen to them all night and the need to help her friend was bugging her. Since they were friends now, she might as well try.

"Can't Marlene come along too?" she suggested, looking from Remus to Peter who had taken his own spot on the spare bed beside Giselle's. Remus looked unconvinced but Peter shrugged, gently nodding.

"I wouldn't mind," he murmured, side-eyeing the blonde warily, but Remus shook his head.

"She always gets too overexcited and gives us away, and the cloak is just about big enough for the four of us," he argued under his breath, sounding slightly defeated. "I guess we could do it another time…"

"Really?" whispered Peter, scoffing as he leant forward, "Moony, be honest, when do you think the next time we're all going to have a free evening is?"

Giselle stifled her snort and nodded encouragingly, agreeing with his sentiment. The pressure the seventh years were experiencing due to their upcoming exams was getting tougher, free periods and evenings were spent going over job applications and catching up on modules they were anxious about. Given the boys' reputation it was an unbelievable achievement that they were taking their last year seriously, but of course, they were still the delinquent quartet they had always been.

"Yes I know that but someone gets touchy when we bring up how much time they spend together," hissed Remus, inconspicuously jerking his head towards Marlene who had resorted to below-the-belt taunts in the hopes of shutting James up. Sirius was still standing in between them, unable to get his own opinion in, and Giselle noticed how fidgety he had grown - she'd never seen him sweat like this before and the worry looked foreign on his features. He hated how often James and Marlene bickered, he wanted nothing more than for his best friend and girlfriend to agree on something for once but he didn't know how to achieve that. He mentioned in passing to the rest of the group that James and Marlene's rows were starting to get to him and he was helplessly stuck in between them.

"Just let him hang out with his girlfriend, we'll never hear the end of it from either of them if James gets his own way," huffed Giselle, returning to her book and searching for her place again, "can't the three of you do it?"

"No, it's a four man plan," said Remus tiredly, picking at a thread in Giselle's duvet.

Peter groaned and leant him his knees, massaging his heavy eyes. "This could go on all night…"

"-but you could do everything you planned for tonight, tomorrow!" exclaimed James, throwing his hands in the air, and Marlene shook her head defiantly, her blonde curls flying madly around her.

"No way! We've already agreed to explore the Forbidden Forest tomorrow night after Sirius' Astronomy lesson," she asserted, her hands finding her hips as her stance grew with confidence, "just give it up, Potter! You shouldn't even be doing this, you're the fucking Head Boy! Grow up!"

James stuttered over his words, his anger had transcended boundaries he didn't think were possible and he was speechless - he was never speechless. He scoffed, shook his head one last time and looked desperately at Sirius with his best puppy dog eyes. "Padfoot please!"

"I…" Sirius looked and sounded just as lost as James, "Believe me, I really want to but-,"

"Sirius! You can't!" Marlene whined, interjecting his objections with a heartbroken pout, "you can't go! You promised that we would hang out! I thought you agreed you wouldn't take part in these childish plans anymore? What the fuck?!"

"I was going to turn him down but if you're going to be like that then we can hang out tomorrow!" protested Sirius, finally finding his voice, "just let me fuck about this one time, Marls! I've barely seen my friends, we've done something almost every night for two months so please, for the sake of everyone here, stop getting defensive and leave me alone so I can be reckless and stupid! Paint your nails or read a book or hang out with Elle! It's just one night, Marlene! Please!"

Giselle watched with wide eyes and bated breath as Marlene absorbed Sirius' words, calculating her answer as she stared back at her boyfriend with her mouth agape, clearly stunned that he would address her in that tone. The boys glanced at each other, not daring to say a word, and the awkward silence that replaced the shouting was rather suffocating. Giselle scoffed under her breath, hating how quickly the tone of the room dipped, but the clown inside her giggled and praised her for not being the cause of the prickly tension this time. Being the onlooker of an argument was way less stressful than being the arguer.

Marlene blinked dramatically then narrowed her eyes, taken aback by Sirius' outburst. "What, so your promises mean nothing? I thought you wanted to chill out in the kitchens? You said you couldn't wait, was that a lie?" She asked patronisingly, rolling her tongue around in her mouth as though she was inspecting her cheek for injury. The blatant hurt on her face made the boys around her seize up, the four of them trying to work out how to react to her emotions. Remus and Peter kept their eyes on Giselle to avoid listening to the uncomfortable splutters from Sirius but Giselle caught James' eye immediately and she saw the corners of his lips twitched. Her stomach plummeted and she automatically glared back - he wanted to make the situation worse and she needed to shut him down before he caused an even bigger scene.

"Don't you dare," she mouthed at James and he rolled his eyes, putting his hands up.

"Fine," he mouthed back.

Sirius guffawed and stared at Marlene incredulously, keen to defend his corner. "Of course it wasn't a lie! I'm allowed to change my mind, aren't I? This plan is only one hour old! How was I supposed to know when I promised you we'd go to the kitchens that Bones decided tonight was the perfect night to be pranked? You're suffocating me here, babe."

"How am I suffocating you? Of course you're allowed to change your mind but… but…-," Marlene turned to face the trio on Giselle's bed and locked eyes with Giselle straight away. She looked distressed and she needed help - it was the four of them against her and she was (in Giselle's private opinion) clearly losing. Marlene was very sensitive, she was more in touch with her emotions and she felt them very strongly, she was a deep person and Giselle knew for a fact she would have taken everything that was said too personally. Her watering blue eyes widened with her plea but her wobbling bottom lip was too much, she needed to end this debacle now and save Marlene.

"I guess if you guys need a fourth person for your plan…?" Giselle heard herself say as she closed her book, "I happen to be free this evening, I don't know whether that is useful information or not but-,"

"Perfect! Elle, you are a lifesaver!" squealed Marlene, her gloomy face transforming with joy and she gave Giselle her brightest, most dazzling smile, "you are an angel!"

"Well," Giselle muttered, fighting her blushes as she realised that Sirius looked genuinely offended that she had come up with a solution that suited Marlene instead of him, "that is, if you guys want me to come, we could always… I dunno, paint our nails-,"

"Whatever! Problem solved!" exclaimed Remus, desperate to get away from the arguing couple and he turned to face his spectacled friend, "Prongs, it will work with Elle included. Let's go. Now."

The Head Boy could only huff. He was totally over the whole situation and he glared daggers at Sirius for letting him down. "Actually, Giselle is a better option. Don't worry mate, I'm sure whatever you've got planned is worth missing out on a great plan," he sighed sarcastically, emphasising his disappointment with a dull expression. He was less than impressed but he didn't have the time nor the energy and Giselle could see his tolerance for his friend's absence fraying like a strained piece of thread. It was bound to snap if they stayed here any longer.

"Wonderful! This is excellent, you're not gonna regret it when you find out what I've got planned for us tonight, I promise you," purred Marlene, her whole mood flipping like a switch and she sensually smoothed her fingers along Sirius's shoulders and collarbone, wiggling her brows in an attempt to make him smile. By the deepness of her voice, her scandalous suggestion was apparent to the room and Giselle quickly diverted her eyes when James started to snicker, elbowing Sirius in the ribs as his cheeks deepened to a delicate rose colour. He looked rather satisfied with the kitchen plan and agreed to her plan with a quick snog.

That was your thing, hissed Giselle's subconscious darkly, awakening at the sight of the pair's returning affection, the kitchens were your spot. You touched him for the first time down there. Now it's their thing. They touch each other when they're down there, maybe they've already fucked in the same cupboard you two were in-

"Well there we go, everyone is happy!" said Giselle loudly, blocking out the damaging hiss as she climbed off her bed and she looked at Sirius directly, assuming an expression that told him she was pleased with the outcome. "James gets to fulfil his wish to screw with Bones and you get to blow your load, you're welcome," she added, and the boys broke, snickering dirtily at her comment.

Marlene buried her head into Sirius' chest to hide her scorching, embarrassed face as she giggled at Giselle's bluntness but Sirius wasn't as amused as the rest of them. He stared back at her with his most unreadable expression yet and the sight of it chilled Giselle to her core. Was he angry with her for getting involved? He clearly did want to go with the boys but he lacked the testicles to fight for what he wanted, that wasn't her fault. A muscle twitched in his jaw, his teeth were clenched and his eyes betrayed his racing thoughts, but he rushed to rearrange his strange expression as he slid his arm around his girlfriend's waist, leading Marlene out of the room.

"Whatever, the maps on my bed," he called over his shoulder, but he didn't leave without catching Giselle's eye again. Her spine straightened when she saw his silver gaze darkened. "Oh, and Elle? Thanks for helping me bust a nut - I owe you one."

Wooow... Her subconscious howled with laughter, startled yet exhilarated by his comeback. Giselle hoped her panicked groan sounded somewhat affectionate and she forced herself to smile back.

"Mhm, you kids have fun now!" She said falsely but she wiped her smile off the second the four were alone.

"That's it!" she yelled before any of them commented on Sirius' attitude, "I'm banning couples from this dorm! No one is allowed to bring their significant other up here - I can't deal with any more lovers' spats." Giselle was thoroughly thrown off by his last comment and the jitters of euphoria weren't helping.

He owes you one… he he he!

James hung his head and collapsed back onto Lily's bed, turning away in a sulk. "He's so whipped! This is bullshit! He wanted to come with us but as soon as she suggests that he's gonna get head, he's back under her spell!" He shouted over his shoulder, deeply hurt by his absent best friend, but as Remus opened his mouth to agree, Giselle heard herself defending them.

"Give them a break! If they're happy then that's all that matters! In a month or so they might get sick of each other and you'll get your buddy back, and you two live together; it's not like you're never gonna see him again!" she snapped back.

"But he's obviously not hap-," shouted James but he cut himself off when Remus and Peter shot him a horrified look, "I just- this isn't- AH!"

Ignoring the insanely jealous boy on Lily's bed, Giselle rolled her eyes and shoved her boots back on, lazily lacing them before grabbing her nearest sweater. Believing she would be stuck in the tower for the remainder of the night, she had abandoned her bra long ago and she didn't have the energy to put it back on. If they were going to be running at some point then she didn't want the ladies to escape and humiliate her. She thought back to her mortifying experience, accidentally flashing one of Beauxbatons' janitors as she tried to escape her and cringed at the thought of repeating the nightmare.

"Listen mate," huffed Peter, walking over to console James, "if he really wanted to come then he would have turned Marls down. If you really want to get back at him then act like you don't care, you know that would piss him off more than getting angry at him."

James slowly sat up and frowned at him, kicking the curtains childishly. "You've got a point… fine," he slid off the bed and faced the trio who were ready to depart on their next great adventure that included sneaking into the Ravenclaw common room and giving Bones the scare of his life, "Elle, thank you for taking that prick's place, I'm sure you will do a terrific job."

"As long as you don't need a dog at some point tonight then we're groovy," she smirked, trying to lighten the mood and James finally broke a smile.

"Well, actually…"

"Ow! That was my foot!"

"Wait! Wait, wait, wait! The cloak! We left the cloak-,"

"Sshh! You're gonna wake them up!"

"You guys have lost your touch, this is ridiculous."

Giselle, James, Remus, and Peter were currently standing in the middle of the Ravenclaw common room amidst the chaos they had caused with a very big problem standing in their way. It was roughly two o'clock in the morning and the very pristine, elegant common room was bathed in darkness except for the dimly lit vines painted around the room, pulsating soft beams of golden light like twinkling stars on the walls. They had been hiding in the birds' nest for almost two hours, waiting for Edgar Bones and his roommate Robert Fenwick to stop procrastinating their studies and retire to their dorm, but after successfully following them up to their room, they then had to wait for the six Ravenclaw boys to fall asleep. It was agonising and Giselle found herself regretting opening her mouth and shoving herself into other peoples business.

Stupid Sirius, he definitely owes me big time, she thought bitterly as she stood squashed between Peter and James under the cloak. But luckily the six boys fell sound asleep and they started to extract the boys and their beds from the tower without any problems. Giselle had a hard time holding in her giggles and she enchanted Robert's bed to float down the stairs and slide across the tower as though the floor was made of ice. After casting a suitable muffling charm that stopped the boys from waking up, they fooled around with an impromptu game of curling using the beds as the pucks but once the tower's extravagant clock chimed twice they knew they should finish the rest of the plan - but the plan stopped when they used the map.

There was a prefect on the fifth floor corridor beyond the tower - they were screwed.

"Who is it? Can't we just knock them out?" suggested Giselle in a whisper, creeping over to join Remus who was staring at the Marauder's Map. She couldn't believe her eyes when she was first introduced to the map over Christmas but it made a lot of sense - this was how they tracked her down.

"You know, this would be the perfect time for you to turn into a dog," suggested James in a huff, but Peter nudged him, trying to deter him from moaning again.

Remus clicked his tongue and turned the map around to show her the set of footprints pacing near mere feet from their own names - 'Eric Walters'.

"Oh fuck my life!" groaned Giselle, massaging her temples to prevent her oncoming headache, "you could have warned me he was on patrol tonight!"

"I forgot he swapped shifts with your brother! Besides, you tend to growl when I mention Junior-," and as if on cue, Giselle snarled menacingly.

"Prongs, you could work your magic?" wondered Remus, looking innocently at James who gloomily stared back.

"I can't. Remember last time? If the Slytherins see me in stag form one more time then they will hunt me down and murder me. Snivellus suspects that the elusive stag sightings have something to do with me and I can't risk my badge," he muttered saltily, and he looked to Peter. "Worm?"

"Pass, he'll kick me. I just know it," Peter frowned at the exit and slumped, "sorry guys."

The boys looked mournfully at Giselle, using their widest, saddest pout to guilt trip her.

"Elle…?" they whined, and she let out her deepest sigh, feeling a tad subjugated. They weren't going to let her win this, it was three against one. She mentally cursed Sirius again.

"What? How am I supposed to distract him? I can't turn into an animal?" She countered, not going down without a fight, and Remus gave her a stern, knowing look.

"You know exactly how to distract him," he stated, waving his arm towards the door, "you've got this!"

"I'm not snogging him!" she objected, and James stifled his snort of laughter with his hand.

"You don't have to go anywhere near him, just use your womanly charm! Flirt a little, maybe lead him away with a fake suggestion, just keep him away from the door as we sneak the boys out," he told her,his brows furrowed as he pleaded. He looked desperate and she crumbled way too easily. Who knows, maybe Walters will hold an interesting conversation for once?

"Are you sure you don't need an extra wand?" she tried one last time and Peter started to shove her towards the door.

"Nope! We've got it under control! Off you go!" he said encouragingly, and she scowled at him.

"Cheers mate…" she grumbled.

The corridor outside was a lot colder than before, the clouds had cleared in the early morning sky and the open heavens blessed the grounds with an icy breeze. Goosebumps tickled Giselle's skin and she shivered, instinctively crossing her arms to shield her perky nipples from the chill. The nervous butterflies in her stomach flapped in time with her jumpy heartbeat as she scanned the deserted, dark corridor for the lanky Slytherin and she jolted in surprise when she turned on her heel.

"Crouch," growled Walters, slowing to a stop as he spotted her. He was leaning against one of the archways leading to a far off sun courtyard and she automatically smiled at him. Her unusual warmth was suspicious and he stormed over with the intention to interrogate her.

"Good evening, or good morning Eric," she said softly, keeping her spine straight as he came up to her, his sneer as cold as always. She had to tilt her head back to look at him but she refused to cower under his gaze.

"What the hell were you doing in the Ravenclaw tower?" he spat, flicking his eyes towards the tower's entrance and she started to sweat. She hoped the boys' patience would suffice, she was struggling to come up with a plan. She couldn't lead him in her direction as that was the way the boys needed to go, and her gut was telling her he wouldn't let her walk past without trying something. He was standing way too close to her, she could smell his spiced peppermint body spray.

"Oh, you know, up to no good as usual," she purred, giving him a nonchalant shrug, but he didn't believe her.

"Yeah right," he snorted, looking her up and down, "I didn't know you were seeing someone in Ravenclaw."

"I'm not," she countered, and bravely took a sidestep around him, praying he wouldn't touch her. Thankfully, he didn't and she let out a hefty breath she didn't know she was holding. The hot force of his gaze switched from her face to her legs as she started to walk away but she swallowed down the uncomfortable prickles, she did agree to help her friends with their plan after all.

"Where do you think you're going, Crouch? I catch you strutting out of the birds' tower and you think you can sneak off like nothing happened?" He asked scornfully, following her down the corridor, and she nodded, her eyes focused on the darkness ahead of her.

"Yup, you can't give out detentions and you can't deduct house points, you are no threat Eric," she said sweetly, flashing him a false smile over her shoulder and she added a wink when he started to slow down. Something nasty flashed on his face and Giselle's gut urged her to stop - his wand had found its way into his hand.

"You know, I'm getting sick and tired of the way you act around here," he told her in a quiet voice that didn't sit right. Suddenly Giselle wished Remus, James and Peter would come to her rescue. The drawing of his wand was not the direction she wanted to go in and she knew she had to resort to drastic measures to keep his eyes on her and his wand in his pocket.

"I know you think I'm some lunatic blood traitor or whatever shit Junior has said about me but I also know that you have your own private opinion about me, Eric," she said his first name to purposely connect to him and the crease between his thickset brows softened. Behind his shoulder, however, Giselle spotted James emerge from the Ravenclaw tower with Edgar's bed levitating behind him. It was now or never, she had to keep him here.

"What?" spat Eric, but she could hear how heavily he was breathing.

Giselle batted her eyelashes and dragged her feet as she walked towards him, glazing her tongue along her bottom lip. "You know what I'm talking about…" she purred, summoning the facade of a sultry seductress, "I catch you staring at me now and then, when you think I'm not looking…"

Eric blinked hard and cautiously withdrew his wand, flustered by her flirtatious behaviour. "I don't k-know what you're talking about," he stuttered, and Giselle forced a giggle.

"Oh come on Eric, you know exactly what I'm talking about," she hissed, stopping a mere foot in front of him and fighting the urge to smile when she realised that three out of six Ravenclaws had successfully been removed from their tower. She tilted her head and gazed up at him innocently, maintaining his eye contact for as long as possible. The mischievous trio were starting to lose grip with their silence, they were threatening the hold she had on Eric.

"Stop playing with me, I know you hate me," said Eric gruffly, disgruntled by her teasing, and Giselle shook her head. The boys' shoes were squeaking and the prefect in front of her winced at the shrill sound, alarmed by the sudden noise, but Giselle tried even harder.

"Actually," she blurted out, and dared to grab his forearm. He froze and stared at her, dumbfounded that she was touching him, "there's a very fine line between love and hate… besides, hate leads to passion and passion leads to… well, you know...?"

Eric couldn't believe his ears and he audibly gulped, stumbling over his words. The fourth bed had jammed the Ravenclaw tower's entrance and she could see Peter and Remus silently albeit dramatically pulling on James' arm to try and unlodge him from in between the beds. They're taking the piss now, you might have to do something drastic, her subconscious tried to help and she internally sulked at its suggestion.

"You're such a whore, Crouch. Your brother was right," Eric chuckled woefully, and Giselle swallowed her thumping heartbeat that had jumped into her mouth.

"Whore is a strong word, I prefer the term 'open-minded'," she laughed back, "but if you're just going to stand there and insult me then I will take my attention elsewhere. I thought you were smart, you shouldn't listen to Junior. He hit his head a lot as a child, he's not the brightest."

"So… what are you suggesting here?" asked Eric, his voice deeper than ever. He was into it, he wanted it.

A frantic hand wave from over Walter's shoulder signalled that the final bed was free from the jam and they were seconds away from escaping, but just as her eyes switched to gaze over his shoulder, Eric noticed her drifting concentration and turned to look over his shoulder.

Giselle panicked.

"Uh, hey! Eric!" she exclaimed breathlessly, her hands fumbling with the hem of her sweater. Her rib cage rattled from her powerful heart palpitations but she swallowed her pride and cursed Sirius for the third time that night. It was his fault she was here. Eric instinctively looked back at her and she did the first idea that came to mind.

"I've got something else for you to stare at!" Giselle yanked her sweater up, bringing her shirt up with it, and she shivered violently as she flashed him her heaving breasts. Eric's jaw shamelessly swung open and he leered at her, flabbergasted that she had the nerve to expose herself in the middle of the corridor. Seconds felt like minutes and Giselle glared past the hypnotised boy, silently scolding the retreating boys for forcing her to improvise, but the butterflies in her stomach vanished when the sleeping Ravenclaws and their captors vacated the corridor.

"I… Shit! Great rack, Giselle. Let me see if they feel as good as they look," scoffed Eric, his gaze darkening as vulgar thoughts ran through his mind, but before he could take a step towards her - she dropped her sweater and dazzled him with a smile before she visibly gagged. His attempts to flirt were as bad as his insults.

"Maybe next time," she tittered, backing into the shadows to evade his piercing ogles, "but I need to go… I've got another appointment to get to." Shaking off the adrenaline that pumped through her from showing Walters her breasts, Giselle ran from the fifth floor and rushed to think of a path through the castle that would take her down towards the entrance hall without running into Eric again.

By the time she arrived on the grounds, she was sweating like a melting snowman and she tore her sweater off - making sure her shirt stayed down this time. She found the boys at the edge of the glistening Black Lake, gazing proudly at the single bed that drifted out to sea, resembling a lone navy sailboat against the inky horizon. Giselle came to a stop beside Remus and squinted her eyes, trying to work out which Ravenclaw had been pushed out into the waters. She knew the boys planned to hide all six of them around the castle and she prayed for the poor soul who had been moved to the Owlery.

"Who is that?" she muttered, leaning forwards to get a closer view and James snorted, slapping his friends on the back proudly.

"Lets just say that Edgar isn't waking up bone dry," he snickered, throwing his head back in laughter, and Giselle groaned at the poor pun. Remus, fighting his own barks of laughter, started to herd the group back up to the castle but he purposely hooked his arm through Giselle's and looked down at her with a faint smirk.

"So… Mrs Walters, did your future husband enjoy your little show?" he taunted, poking her in the ribs, and she physically pulled a muscle rolling her eyes. Tenderly rubbing her brow, Giselle scoffed and playfully pushed him away.

"The things I do for you guys - you owe me big time," she grumbled sourly, and Remus could only laugh.