Her head wrapped in bandages, Nasus entered the Great Hall for breakfast the next day, Hajile holding her at the shoulders gently to make sure she didn't steer off in some other direction. There was one moment that Hajile's hand had slipped, and Nasus almost went headlong into a large bowl of glazed carrots at the Ravinclow table. Hajile cried out and grabbed her, standing her straight again. "Oh my dear…" he murmured, kissing her ear. "I WISH it'd been me crashing into that door at 45 miles per hour… instead of you,"

Nasus sighed as she sat at the table, Hermione, Ron, and Harry sitting across. "Hi… guys. Sandwich thanks for trying to help us weed-whacker last night."

Harry frowned, looking to Hajile. Hajile groaned as he sat next to her. "It's a thing now… it should clear up after a few days, Madame Pomfry said."

"The pass bucket butter, please?" Nasus asked in a distant voice. Ron handed the butter to her slowly, wariness in his eyes. Nasus frowned. "No the bucket,"

"She means the juice pitcher," Hajile said, sounding strained. Hermione cleared her throat, looking between them as Ron poured the juice out for Nasus, looking scared.

"It must have been a rough night for you," she said, her voice soft and sympathetic. Hajile looked to her, glaring a little.

"Rough for me? Will you just LOOK at my poor darling?" he said, waving a hand to Nasus; she was busy stirring her juice with a sausage, humming 'Human Behaviour' by Bjork. "Do NOT sympathize with me! I stayed up all night to make sure she didn't drown herself in the toilet, and I'd do it ten more times in a ROW to make sure she was all right!"

"Okay… I get it," Hermione muttered, backing off a little. Hajile's eyes were red, the normal blue getting blurred in the contrast. "Well here," Hermione started, leaning forward and taking up Hajile's cup. "I made this fantastic energy elixir, you can put it right into your juice,"

Hajile groaned and rolled his eyes. "I'll have coffee instead. I'm going to need a straw though," he said, carefully pouring a steaming cup of joe for himself. Hermione bit her lip, eyes darting from side to side.

"I think… I think one fell on the floor," she blurted. As Hajile bent down she quickly leaned to his side of the table and dumped the remainder of her 'energy elixir' into his mug. She sat back quickly, looking to Harry and Ron who eyed her suspiciously. "What?" she said, going to eat her pancakes as uneventful as she could make it. While she waited, Nasus busied herself making a makeshift hat out of banana peels, telling Ron all about her clam dives she used to take off the coast of North Carolina. He nodded along, the most confused expression on his face. Harry tried his best to ignore all this, leaving Ron to deal with it all. He turned to Hermione and sighed.

"So… who do you think is trying to make the Polyjuice potion?"

"Well it's not DRACO, Harry. How is it every time something happens, it's always Draco? So far you've ALWAYS been proved wrong."

"But don't you think that the chances are good? After all, he helped kill Dumberding," Harry said, nodding to the front of the hall. Dumblystomp sat there, chowing on his bacon. Hermione rolled her eyes again.

"For goodness' sake, Harry…"

"Well, look 'o's all passed out on the floor, then!"

Harry, Hermione and Ron looked up, finding Draco standing over where Hajile had been sitting; only he wasn't sitting there at all. "Hajile?" Hermione said, panicking. His mug had remained untouched! No straw, no Hajile drinking, nothing!

"'E's passed out on the floor, 'E is!" Goyle chortled out.

"You'd think that he'd appreciate a cup of coffee proper," Draco said with a sneer. To Hermione's absolute horror, Draco picked up the mug and slugged it down in one gulp. "Ahh… the lil' pansy-boy likes it all sugared and creamed up; can't take it black I suppose,"

Hermione sat back down, her face turning three shades of purple. Harry noticed and leant into her. "What is it?"

"Nothing."

"OI! North! On yer feet now!" Crabbe said, leaning down and punching Hajile in the arm.

"NO FLIPPER NO!" Hajile suddenly cried out, sitting straight up. Draco and his cronies sneered, chuckling and nudging each other. Draco then turned to Hermione, shaking his head.

"To think you go for this git! After all, you should be…" he went to say; he now paused. Hermione covered her face with her hands, mumbling in keening wails. "Are those… are those new robes, Hermione?"

Ron pried Nasus' hands from his hair as she professed to know everything to do with haircuts as her friend 'Sarah' back home did, only she was trying to shear his red locks with a hard-boiled egg. "Back off, Malfoy!" he warned. Draco didn't take any note of this. He pushed Hajile's legs from the bench and sat in his place, staring at Hermione intently.

"Oh… Hermione… Hermy…"

"Hermy?" both Ron and Harry spluttered out.

"I've never quite known just how… how your hair," he reached over, taking a strand. "It shines like sunshine, bees buzzing and flowers blooming in your loins…"

"HEY now! That's enough!" Ron yelled.

"Draco? Commad, we've got to go to Potions!" Crabbe said, trying to grab at Draco's shoulder. Draco flinched away, seething.

"Leave me alone! Can't you see, Hermy and I are OTP!"

"What the hell is that?" Harry blurted. Hermione let out a cry.

"One true pairing. I read about it in 'A Witch and Wizard's Guide to Online Fanfiction Speak'," she said dismally.

"Why is he doing this, though? He's ALWAYS…" Harry started but drifted off. He then looked to Hermione, eyes wide. "What did you put in that drink, Hermione?" he asked urgently.

"Um… nothing, really… just a small combo of, uhm…"

"You made that love potion, didn't you?' Harry groaned out. Hermione bit her lip as Draco began kissing her hand profusely.

Hajile was near death now; after a night without sleep, his head swirled and turned, making him dizzy and generally out of it. Transfiguration was just one huge mess; he really hadn't meant to turn Neville's frog Trevor into a stick, and honestly, couldn't figure out how. Professor MacQuickly rectified it of course, giving Hajile a stern gaze.

He was happy to have done with at the end of classes. All he could think on was getting into bed and forgetting everything. Nasus had been sent back into the hospital wing after she tried drinking an entire three gallons of water. As much as Hajile deeply and truly loved his nummymuffin, sleep was in order. As he rounded the corner leading to their dormitory, a hand suddenly reached out from the shadows and grasped his arm; with a yelp, Hajile's feet left the ground entirely- the strength of his abductor was familiar.

"JOSH!" he cried out, being pushed against the wall by his former lover; Josh's hand went over his mouth, looking back out into the lit hallway. "MMPH!"

"All right…" Josh said, his eyes narrowing as he turned his attention back to the wide-eyed, scrumptious looking lad. "I haven't traveled all this way for nothing. I could care less about magic or crystal balls or whatever kinda crap goes on here. All I know is that I faked a Hogwarts letter inviting me here, I dunno how it got past Durmending, but it did. I came to claim you, just as it's supposed to BE, Casey,"

Hajile breathed hard; Josh's hand left his mouth and stared him down as Hajile fought for words. "Josh…"

"Zeke."

"FINE, Zeke- but MY name is Hajile, and you KNOW it."

The grin on Zeke's face was both ominous and playful. "Oh but Casey- how you used to love it when I used to call you that. Hmmm? Remember?"

Memories of Hajile being tied to a row of lockers, kept in storage on the set of "The Faculty", 'Zeke' tearing his clothes off like a wild animal while yelling "You like this, don't you, kinky-Casey-boy?" flashed through his mind. "Go… no, we can't DO this anymore! Zeke, you're wasting your time-"

"Oh, 'Zeke'?" Josh said slowly, eyebrows raised in interest. Hajile realized his mistake and bit his lip. Josh put his hands to Hajile's cheek, smiling warmly. "Thought I wasn't your 'Zeke' anymore… Casey,"

Hajile shuddered. He tried so hard, so, sooo hard to think of his lovely Nasus, blubbering like an idiot in the hospital wi- NO! She was beautiful, majestic, her brain just pummeled into oblivion, just for a few days! "Ze… JOSH…"

"Mmm… you're such a contradiction,"

Before Hajile could respond, Josh grabbed his face and drew them together, his kiss heavy and passionate. Hajile whimpered, arms going limp at his sides, as he realized no; there was no way to resist. A single, silvery tear ran down his cheek, letting Josh take him over. So familiar, so ready… so painful and full of betrayal…