The Amazing Thing About: Trust. Chapter twenty-five.

Sometimes it was best to just sit and take everything in. Getting a moment to do that was the difficult part. She'd managed to get away from Hannah while Kelly was writing to Oliver. Cas and Tasha were in class so she didn't have to worry about them interrupting either. She hadn't even seen Fred, George, or Lee for a few hours so she felt she was safe to just pick one of the benches in a less occupied corridor and plant herself. She had a book open in her lap to appear busy but really all she was doing was trying to take stock of her emotional state.

If it wasn't for Victor nearly taking her breath away in the common room that morning she'd have been fine. She'd come down a bit late after trying to make her hair look perfect only to find him waiting for her. At first it'd been completely innocent when he said he was only waiting so that they could have breakfast together. But when Victor glanced around and realized the room was temporarily empty he took that chance to pull her in for a kiss that left her knees weak.

Eliza was completely swept up in the moment and was clinging to him until he was the one who put an end to it. Apparently he'd been more aware of their surroundings and parted from her at the first hint of company. He'd grinned down at her and swiped his thumb over her bottom lip, eyes lingering. Merlin, she wished she knew what he was thinking in that moment. Boys could be so frustrating! How could he just do that and not show a sign of being bothered so quickly. She was a fumbling mess all through breakfast and spilled eggs across her lap when their hands brushed. What was wrong with her?

"What are you doing?"

Eliza jumped and her book fell to the floor. She quickly leaned over and picked it up while shooting a glare at George. She occasionally wondered if the twins were still always looking for a way to startle her though they'd cut down on it. She looked around expecting Fred to pop out from some nook or cranny and give her a heart attack but when he didn't she let out a long breath. "Thinking."

George sat down next to her and looked from her face to the book in her hands. "About?" He asked.

That was the question of the year wasn't it? What was she thinking? Letting Victor get her worked up the way he did. It seemed so easy for him when just last year she'd been so determined not to even think about being with anyone until she was finished with school. Maybe not even after. The idea of adopting ten ferrets and living in a secluded cottage had become an appealing thought. Eliza figured it couldn't hurt to get some advice from George. "That conversation on your birthday." She said. It had replayed again and again in her head once the hangover subsided. When she'd gone to Madam Pomfrey for nausea and a headache the woman had looked suspicious but hadn't said anything about it.

George grimaced as if the recollection of that night left a bad taste in his mouth. Eliza assumed it was the reminder of how the Firewhiskey tasted. "I barely remember that conversation." He said. Fair enough. He had been pretty far gone by the time she'd decided to 'stealthily' sneak back to her dorm. She'd nearly fallen down the steps three times, giggling as she went.

"Fred brought up Victor. How I've been doing my hair recently because of him." Eliza motioned to her hair which she hoped still looked presentable. It was a rather windy day.

He frowned. "Okay?"

"He's right." Eliza sighed. It was a little strange to admit it out loud.

"Uh-huh and?" He wasn't able to follow where she was going with it.

She was dancing around what she really wanted to get advice on. "I don't know. It's weird, right?" She turned slightly towards him on the bench, tucking one leg up underneath her. "Last year I was so adamant about not getting involved with anyone and now here I am having these thoughts and feelings. It's weird." Eliza dropped her gaze to the book and toyed with the cover of it just to give her something to do with her hands.

George looked confused. "Are you saying you're in love with him?" He asked.

The question made Eliza's heart drop into her stomach. "No!" She exclaimed but then sighed. "I don't know. It's way too soon to think about that stuff but..." She trailed off. Thinking about 'love' and relationships was just alien to her. She still had a lot she was working through from her last disastrous relationship so it wasn't surprising that she was wary of being with Victor but she did want to try. That was the scariest part of all.

He nodded but his expression stayed the same. "But you're thinking about it."

"It doesn't make sense to me either." Eliza muttered. "I just get all weird and excited when he's around." She said. The way her heart fluttered nervously whenever Victor looked her way was embarrassing. She'd felt something similar when she'd started getting closer to Connor. It was similar and yet nothing alike at the same time. Confusing.

George shook his head and cleared his throat awkwardly. "Iz. I don't want to hear that." He said and his tone made her frown until she realized where his mind had gone.

"Not like that, jerk." Eliza chuckled and shoved his shoulder. "Not always anyway." She added with a smirk just to watch him squirm. The way he shuddered dramatically and made a gagging sound was worth it. "What? You can't tell me guys don't think about that." She continued and he refused to look her in the eye.

"Of course we do. We just don't talk about it with our girl friends." He said, brows furrowed.

Eliza tilted her head. Hadn't they talked about enough already to squash that sort of awkwardness? Hell, he knew who she lost her virginity to. How was her asking him about this more uncomfortable than that? Was it because he was on the receiving end of the questions now? "Why not?" She asked.

George glanced at her, then up at the ceiling as if hoping lightning would strike him down where he sat. "Because it's weird."

"But I'm curious. What's it like from the guy's side?" She asked with a poke to his shoulder.

"Can't you ask Luke about this stuff?" He sounded a bit flustered.

At the mention of Luke she thought back on one of her letters to him asking something similar but less direct. "I tried that. He refused to answer." More specifically he'd said it was weird to talk about because she was basically a sister to him. He said the last thing he ever wanted to think about was her having any sort of physical intimacy with anyone no matter 'how great of a guy' they were.

George laughed. "Smart man."

Eliza rolled her eyes and shook his shoulder. "C'mon. I need answers." While she really did want some advice it was also fun to watch him struggle not to crack. He looked physically pained at her prodding.

"Isn't there a book on this somewhere? You like books. Go find one." He said. Eliza highly doubted she'd find what she needed in some dusty text about reproductive functions. She might as well just read trashy romance novels to get a better idea.

She leaned forward and messed up his hair. "That's not the same as getting first-hand experience from one of my closest friends." She said laughing until he batted her hands away and began running his fingers through to straighten his locks again.

"It's because we're friends that I don't want to talk about it." He said. At the questioning look she gave him he chuckled. "Trust me. If you knew half the stuff we think about you'd never talk to a single one of us ever again."

Eliza felt like he was exaggerating but she sat back and thought about what he said. Maybe he was right. It may be better if she didn't know. "Hmm.''

George patted her knee. "How about we stop talking about this and do something fun? I'm bored." He said before standing. He looked like he was more than ready to drop the whole conversation and Eliza figured it was better to let it go. "Fine. What do you have in mind?" She asked tucking her book under her arm and getting to her feet.

He scanned the area before they settled on a small group of boys wandering away from them. "I have an idea." His face suddenly split into a grin. "C'mon." He quickly grabbed her hand and began tugging her along. All the way to the greenhouses she asked him what he was planning but he just told her to help him get some Bubotuber pus. It was easy enough to get but she didn't understand what he'd want it for. They both collected some but he told her that they'd need more and by the time they were done both of their pockets were full of jars of the nasty gunk. The smell was the worst part.

It wasn't until he was leading her towards the dungeons that he finally explained his plan. They waited for the coast to be clear, sticking to the shadows. There wasn't a whole lot of movement in and out of the Slytherin common room during that time of day. Still, they waited until there was a large enough time gap between students coming and going. Then they moved quickly and began dumping the pus all over the floor in front of the common room and a little ways down the hall.

After they'd used up everything they had collected they ducked back into a small cut. "That'll be a nasty surprise." George snickered and Eliza shushed him as the door opened and three girls stepped out. They were too distracted by whatever they talking about to notice the floor and after the first one slipped the other tried to sidestep only to slide on another patch. The third girl tried to step out to help her friends up only for her shoe to slide out from under her on yet another spot. With all three of them on the ground the girls began to shriek as their hands came into contact with the pus causing their hands to develop large sores and pustules. One of the girls made the mistake of touching her face, passing the substance to it.

Alerted by the sound two boys appeared in the doorway and looked from the girls to the halls. They looked around, faces red. If it wasn't for George poking his head around the corner a bit too far they wouldn't have been discovered. "Weasley!" One of the boy's shouted and George laughed. "Oops." He said and took off leaving Eliza standing there, shocked that he would just ditch her.

"Jerk!" She shouted as the boys cleared the path and started towards her. The sight of their wands had her chasing after George with Rikki bounding after her like some sort of comedic parade. Eliza ducked as she heard one of the boy's shout and a hex fly over her head. It caused her to scoop Rikki up and pick up the pace in case they decided to aim for him.

Eliza spotted George heading down a hall up ahead and chased after him. Over his shoulder he was shouting about how it was all her idea. That he was just an innocent bystander. "Was not, you traitor!" She shouted back at him. A few more curses flew at them as they took off down another corridor and then another. They made quick turns to lose them before bursting into the library and heading for the bookshelves for cover in case they were still on their tail. Once she caught up to him she gasped for air and shoved him before letting Rikki down.

"You're a jerk!" She hissed.

He was laughing, hand over his mouth so as to keep the noise down. "It isn't my fault you're a menace to the school." He teased and turned to jog away from her. Eliza quickly dove for him, her hands grabbing him by the arm to pull him back. "Whose the menace?!" She asked. He turned and laughed at the look on her face.

"You're so red." He wheezed and she scowled. "I wonder why." She said and let him go once she was sure he wasn't going anywhere. He was only faking her out though and the second she released him he made a break for it and she chased him around to the other side of the bookcase. The moment she caught up to him, though, he took off again. He was toying with her and when she spotted the librarian coming their way she was quick to snatch him by the sleeve. She motioned to the librarian at his confusion and nodded before they slipped out the exit without a peep.

The moment they were in the hall, though, George took off again with Eliza on his tail. There was no sign of the Slytherin boys from earlier. Eliza assumed they'd returned to take care of their friends and laughed. If they got the pus on them as well that would be perfect. As she chased after George she got an idea in her head. It reminded her of playing tag with her friends when they were kids so when she caught up with him she tapped him on the shoulder and said. "Tag. You're it."

George looked lost for a moment before he grinned. "I'll give you thirty seconds head start." He said glancing down at her legs.

Eliza frowned. "What makes you think I need a headstart?" She said defensively.

"Twenty-nine, twenty-eight, twenty-seven..."

Eliza bolted with Rikki bounding after her. At least he was getting plenty of exercise. She cut through the courtyard and through a crowd of students and kept her eyes peeled for things that would either block him from seeing her or from getting to her as quickly. The 'headstart' wasn't nearly as long as he'd said and she could hear his loud footsteps echoing off the walls.

She chanced a look back to see George just a few feet behind her. "Cheater!" She yelled as she dodged two students she nearly knocked into. They shouted as she apologized and took a sharp right. Poor Rikki kept going straight and had to double back to follow her. A few Durmstrang students pointed and laughed as she darted past them and cheered something she couldn't understand. But she was more focused on the way George's footsteps sounded like they were getting closer and she hopped over one of the short walls to cut back through the courtyard.

Eliza basically just made a circle and stumbled a bit as her foot slipped on the grass. "Crap!" She hissed and pushed herself to go faster. It had been enough of a slip to cost her precious space and as she made it back into the halls George had her around the middle from behind and was laughing. "Not quick enough." He said and she yelled again about how he cheated as he lifted her off her feet and spun her around making her dizzy.

"You said you didn't need a head start." George teased as he finally set her down yet didn't let go and she tried to catch her breath. Her legs were a bit weak from all the running and she glared at him over her shoulder.

"I don't want to hear it from a cheater." She grumbled and tapped at his arms to let her go.

"Eliza?"

She blew her hair out of her face. Some of the strands had fallen from the ponytail she'd wrestled with that morning trying to make it perfect. She probably looked a mess. When she turned her head to see Victor standing to the side looking between her and George she laughed. "Hey." She greeted at the look of amusement and confusion. George let her go and looked smug when she glanced his way.

"Weasley!"

Their heads all turned to see a group of Slytherin boys heading down the hall their way. Apparently the two boys from earlier had gone to get some friends but it didn't appear as if they'd seen them just yet. They were shouting up and down the halls looking for George and Eliza got a sudden idea for a little revenge. She cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted. "He's over here!" As loud as she could.

The look on George's face was priceless as he gaped at her. Eliza quickly grabbed Victor's hand and tugged him in the opposite direction as the group picked up the pace. "C'mon." She said and stuck her tongue out at George who then turned and took off. Eliza pulled Victor along to get out of their way hoping they didn't recognize her. She laughed as they ran past hoping he got away but thoroughly enjoying getting him back.

"Now THAT was fun." Eliza said as she looked up at Victor. When he glanced her way she didn't know what was going through his mind. In the next moment he was pulling her along with him down another corridor. "Where are we going?" She asked with a laugh but he was quiet as he looked around before turning toward her and pulling her into him. She was confused but he made his intentions very clear when he lifted her chin towards him. Eliza barely had time to suck in a breath before he was kissing her.

There was an urgency to his kiss as he pressed her back and she felt the cool stones through her robes. She reached up and cupped Victor's face with both hands, tilted Victor's head the way she wanted it, and kissed him harder, running her own tongue along the seam of Victor's mouth. He was more than eager to open up to her and Eliza ran with it. Whatever he was needing she wanted to give it to him in that moment.

When Victor finally pulled away she almost whined but she bit down on the inside of her cheek and leaned against the wall. "What was that for?" She asked. His kisses were rarely chaste anymore but they weren't usually so full of need as the one they'd just shared. It had her heart slamming against her chest and her hands itching to pull him back in. She was very grateful that they were in the halls of the castle and not somewhere private because she had a feeling she wouldn't have stopped. Eliza considered putting a ban on his mouth being anywhere near hers.

"I don't know." Victor said tucking the stray strands of hair behind her ear. "Seeing you like that..." He rested his forehead against hers and just held her to him for a moment. "You looked really cute." He said though it sounded like an excuse. Who kissed someone like that because they looked cute?

She smiled and tugged on his tie to bring him down for a brief kiss and patted his cheek. "Next time I look cute just tell me." She smirked.