The dining hall buzzed with rumors of Draco's accident.
They told the whole story only to Fred and George Weasley, who laughed loud and long while complementing the deviousness of Gryffindor's Deputy Head. They offered generous praise to Hermione's fogging and illusion spells, and patted Ron on the head for his convincing portrait of a friend in distress.
Everyone else simply heard that Draco wet his bed from nightmares. When questioned, Neville would only shrug and say, "it smelled terrible." Needless to say, Draco remained another day in the infirmary to mend his nose.
Once he was certain that all of the students had arrived for breakfast, Dumbledore rose and motioned for quiet.
"Ladies and gentlemen," he began. "As some of you know, we have a traditional Halloween feast here at Hogwarts. We on the faculty have decided that this year, we will have two such feasts." Raucous applause rang out; Dumbledore waited patiently for quiet and continued speaking. "The first will be for first and second years only, and will commence two hours prior to the usual Feast. For you older students, we will be having…" he paused for dramatic effect, "something different. A costume ball." The cheering returned in force, causing Dumbledore to pause again. "A special trip to the town of Hogsmeade has been arranged for the weekend prior to Halloween. Those of you who wish to purchase actual costumes may do so at that time. Illusions are also welcome, provided they do not cross the bounds of good taste. Should you wish to go to Hogsmeade, please inform the heads of your house no later than the 24th. Good day."
Willow was curious. She and Grey spent much of the time they weren't working in each other's company. He attended most of her magic lessons, both to comfort her and, she suspected, to be there in case things got out of hand. What he felt he might do that Dumbledore, McGonagall or Giles could not, she didn't know. He came anyway, and usually walked her home afterwards. Over the course of six weeks, though, she had never been to his room.
Today was the day. Classes had finished, she had graded Giles' homework assignments, and her next magic lesson was days away. Buoyed by the success of their plan the previous evening, she figured she would just mosey on over and casually knock. It wasn't like she was going to make a move on him, was it? Just go over, inconspicuously, and say hello. As well as check out his inner sanctum.
That plan, like most, didn't survive first contact with the enemy.
"Halt! Who goes there? Declare thyself, knave!" The voice, English and authoritative, came from the painting concealing his door. More specifically, it came from a tiny man dressed as a knight, who stood in the painting.
"Uh… Willow?" She said tentatively.
"And do you know the password, milady?" came the sweet response.
"N-n-no," she stammered.
"Aaah! You must be a vile harlot then, seeking to poison the heart and mind of my noble sire. I think not, woman. Not while I, Sir …"
"Cadogan, give it a rest," Grey said, popping his head out of the door. He motioned for Willow to come in. "This is Willow. She is a lady. You will treat her with great respect or I will put you back with the tea parties where I found you."
"Of course, my lord. Lady Willow, I assure you I meant no offense."
"It's okay, Sir Cadogan," she said with a laugh. "I'm glad you're so intent on protecting my friend." The knight blushed and offered a courtly bow. Willow stepped through into the suite.
"He's big on the morning coffee, huh?"
"Yeah. I guess he had some major foul-up the last time he was given something to guard. I found him sandwiched between two watercolors of English women having tea. He's amusing, at least."
She glanced around, trying to take in the unfamiliar territory. The walls were mostly bare, but every conceivable countertop and shelf was cluttered with …
"Toys!" she blurted.
"What of it?" He asked, taken aback.
"Your room is filled with toys." She walked over and examined them. "Star Wars. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. G.I. Joe. Wow. Some of this stuff is from when we were really little. Look at this, metal Transformers. Amazing."
"So I'm a geek. Sue me." He said, embarrassed. One of the reasons he had kept her away from here was because of his collection. He was trying not to dwell on the other reasons.
"No, it's okay, just …"
"Really lame and dorky?"
"I was going to say surprising." His cheeks were flushed. He really is embarrassed, she thought, I can't believe it. "You don't give off that geeky vibe. I should know. Xander would think he was in heaven if he came in here. He loves this stuff. If you had comic books, he'd move in."
"Under the bed," Grey said sheepishly. "I pushed them under when I heard Cadogan." She laughed. "What were you expecting, candles and tatami mats?"
"Kind of. I mean, no offense, but what kind of solemn defender of good has a room full of toys and comic books?"
"They make me feel comfortable. I wasn't always the paragon of cool you see here today."
"Want to hear a secret?" She smiled guiltily.
"Sure."
"Before I got all into the witchcraft, I spent all of my time doing two things."
"One of them I know: pining after Xander." They had already discussed Xander at length.
"Yup. The other?" He raised an eyebrow as she let the suspense build. "Hacking."
"Is that so?"
"Uh huh."
"Guess, I'm not the only geek here then." She closed the distance between them.
"You have no idea, young man. No idea." They were very close now, nearly touching. He was a few inches taller than her; he could look right down into her gorgeous green eyes. She smelled like vanilla. He loved that scent. Jess had worn it for years. He really missed it, and here she was, smelling like it, with green eyes…
Vanilla. Jess. Damn.
Willow was sure she was a half-second from testing her commitment to women when he retreated to the other side of the room.
"This is so not good," he said softly.
"What? What's so not good?" What did I do this time? Her insecurities kicked into overdrive as she tried to figure out what she had done wrong.
"This … me … I can't … We'll talk later." He raced out of the room, leaving a completely confused redhead alone with her thoughts.