Chapter 5 - Memory Charm

Ezra tossed his things into his bag haphazardly, trying his best to appear merely nonchalant instead of troubled. Daniella would come around, of course. He just had to give her a little time. He had never set his sights on a girl and failed to capture her heart; he did not want to fathom what would happen to the stubborn girl if he failed this time.

He threw his bag over his shoulder, adjusting it primly and straightening his tie. His face was now its usual mask of ivory-carved handsomeness, refined and precise in its every expression. He was a pureblood wizard, not some flailing, useless mudblood. By Merlin, he was going to act like it.

Daniella kept her wand partially hidden in the folds of her robes, making an effort to hold it loosely, in spite of the butterflies in her stomach. Every time she'd looked at him during Potions class, her determination had wavered a little, and that just couldn't be. She had to protect Jo. He needed her to get this right; he trusted her with his family's safety. And he was her only real friend; that was all that mattered. She wouldn't fail him.

'You can do this.' She repeated to herself. She took in a deep breath, exhaling slowly and silently, lengthening her stride to catch up with Greengrass.

Ezra saw her approaching out of the corner of his eye and felt a growing satisfaction despite himself. Perhaps the temptation of the mudblood had been great, but now that he was gone…

"Permit me to walk you to Herbology?" He said warmly and evenly without turning around.

Daniella looked around briefly, making sure they were alone. She would get in so much trouble if there were witnesses! He turned slightly then. Her reflexes took over, adrenaline suppressing the nerves.

She heard his question, but her wand was already raised. No turning back now. She went through the steps Jo had taught her, murmuring as she tried to change the last three hours of his memories. A few seconds later she lowered her arm, feeling lightheaded after such intense concentration. She held her wand at her side, still alert, holding her breath as she examined the Slytherin boy closely. He didn't attack her immediately... she considered that a good sign.

"I guess I don't have a more interesting alternative," she said evenly, trying to sound dismissive.

Ezra's eyes slid easily out of focus, and he shut them immediately and knitted his eyebrows as though to recover from a hard blow to the head. He stumbled backwards a bit, into Daniella, and then regained some form of composure.

"Pardon me," he murmured, his voice a bit raspy. He cleared his throat. He put a hand to his temple for a moment, shook his head briefly, and gave a dry chuckle. "I'm delighted to be your last resort entertainment."

Daniella crushed the guilt she felt, looking for signs that the Charm had worked. As he lost his balance, she reached forward, thinking he was going to fall, but stopped herself in mid-movement. She slipped the wand into her pocket instead, giving herself time to calm down.

"Seems like you breathed some nasty vapours in Potions today," she said airily. "Can you stand? I'm not going to pick you up if you fall on your nose."

"Quite," Ezra murmured, slightly troubled at the premise of showing weakness in front of Daniella at all. "Nothing a brisk walk outside won't remedy, I'm sure."

His legs felt heavy, and it was an effort to move them, but he pushed forward through the hallways as normally as possible.

"I had intended to give you something," he began slowly, allowing each syllable of his perfectly cultured accent to linger between them. "But you were..." he squinted, battling the sudden mental fog. "...already partnered, and I didn't have the chance." He pointed his wand into his bag, non-verbally summoning a small book with a worn, black leather cover.

"Here you are."

Daniella cast him a sideways glance at his hesitation, but kept her expression even. That meant it had worked, right? He would've sounded disdainful if he remembered who her partner had been, like he always had before. Allowing herself to relax a little, she accepted the book.

"An old book?" She started, opening it to examine its contents. She stopped walking, puzzled. She flipped through the pages, her eyes skimming through the poems to rest on the names of the authors. She'd never heard of any of those, but those were all clearly Muggle names. Muggle poems.

Her heart pounded against her chest and she held the book more tightly to keep her hands steady. Was that a trap? "Muggle poems?" She managed to ask doubtfully, eyebrows raising as she looked up to meet his eyes.

"Yes," Ezra confirmed, his face a mixture of foggy distance and amusement. "And it came from a perfectly normal Muggle bookshop, so you needn't hold it as though it will bite you."

"Do you not like it?"

Daniella's cheeks heated up, but she wasn't going to let him feast on her embarrassment. She closed the book and shrugged off the uneasiness. "I wouldn't guess you would like it." Her smirk was sarcastic. "But thank you, I'll read them with much interest." She put the book in her bag and resumed walking towards the front doors. "I wouldn't picture you in a Muggle bookshop either. Must have been an adventure," she teased.

"I don't hate Muggles," Ezra said defiantly. "Just because I don't want them deeply involved in our societal affairs doesn't mean I can't appreciate their cultural value."

The doors opened, and they stepped outside and into the rising heat of the day. Ezra squinted as the humid air hit his pale, cool skin. He loathed outdoor classes, and Herbology especially.

"Be my partner," he said with a small smile before opening the greenhouse door for them. It wasn't a question.

"So, you don't mind them as long as they know 'their place'!" Daniella said bitterly, then clenched her teeth to keep from saying anything that would turn that conversation into an argument. She didn't know what he could do if she pissed him off right now. And she definitely didn't want to stir the memories she'd just changed.

She breathed in the clear, warm, humid air. At least this part was going to be nice this year, coming outside after spending the morning in the dungeons.

She looked at him, eyes narrowing at his bossy tone, her temper flaring. He seemed to have that effect on her more often than anyone else. "Fine, if you're that desperate for my company," she agreed after a thoughtful pause. She entered the greenhouse and walked over to her favorite worktable. "Careful, Greengrass… you shouldn't fall for a Muggle-lover," she added teasingly. "It'll turn your pretty black hair all grey in no time."

Ezra raised an eyebrow at her snap of temper, but said nothing. He didn't feel like having a row at the moment. If he was honest, he didn't feel like much of anything, except laying down and taking a nice, long nap...

He got so preoccupied in this thought that he stumbled over his own chair, which he gripped tightly to regain balance. He grit his teeth; those vapours had apparently done quite a number on him.

"There are charms and potions to remedy grey hair, but no such thing that quenches my thirst for adventure," he drawled, in an attempt to smooth over his moment of awkwardness. "I refuse to believe that someone as diverse as yourself could be only a Muggle-lover."

Daniella dropped her bag on the table, wondering why had she signed up for this class again. She would rather be outside, by the lake, enjoying a free period. She snorted softly at his remark. "I'm not, but lately it seems to be my main label."

Then, she gave Ezra a long, doubtful look. The guilt was getting more difficult to smother. He still looked pretty shaky and she didn't think that was supposed to happen. "Are you sure you're alright?" She asked tensely. "You look pale."

Tying to find a way to change the subject and distract them both, she asked, "What's your favorite poem in that book?"

"Page thirty-seven," Ezra murmured without skipping a beat, settling into his chair and feeling a bit shaken. "Yes, thank you, I'm fine." He straightened his tie again out of habit, then put an open palm over his Prefect badge as though to make sure that it was still there. Pushing the feeling out of his mind with as much force as he could muster, he adopted his signature smirk and cleared his throat.

"I did the dragon's will until you came
Because I had fancied love a casual
Improvisation, or a settled game
That followed if I let the kerchief fall:
Those deeds were best that gave the minute wings
And heavenly music if they gave it wit;
And then you stood among the dragon rings.
I mocked, being crazy, but you mastered it
And broke the chain and set my ankles free,
Saint George or else a pagan Perseus;
And now we stare astonished at the sea,
And a miraculous strange bird shrieks at us."

He paused to rest his voice, sliding his bag off of the table and onto the floor beside his chair.

Daniella didn't realize she was staring at him until he fell silent. She felt like her world had been turned upside-down, shaken and then turned up again. She looked away, trying to think of something to say. "That's…" she trailed off. Damn, that boy was going to get her in trouble! "…interesting."

The corners of Ezra's mouth curled upwards, not in a smirk, but in a genuine smile.

"I've memorized them all," he informed her, indicating the small book she still held. "After you've read through it, you can tell me yours."

Against her best judgement, Daniella smiled back. "I will," she promised.

Their conversation was interrupted by Professor Sprout. Daniella gave Ezra a questioning look. It looked like the effort of reciting that poem by memory had made him paler. "Can I trust you with sharp gardening tools?"

Ezra had been trying to brush off her worries, but it was pointless to try to pretend that he felt perfectly well. He gave her a wry smile of surrender.

"I'll have the blunt ones, then." He took the small, rounded spade from Daniella's hands, waiting for further instructions. "I just hope it's not fanged geraniums again."

His hand felt soft as he brushed hers briefly. Blinking, she shook that thought out of her mind. By Merlin, she was acting like a silly 12 year old!

She realized Professor Sprout had been telling them what they had to do. She looked around, trying to catch up, until she saw a few fire seed bushes behind Sprout.

"Oh…" Her eyes widened. She'd found some potions in their Potions book that needed fire seeds, but she hadn't thought they would really use them so soon. "Awesome," she whispered. "I'll get one for us, you make space on the table," she said, not giving Ezra a chance to argue before she joined a few others in line to get a good specimen.

Ezra squinted disapprovingly at the fire seed bush. He had only continued Herbology because his parents had insisted; it would help him with his Potions studies, they said. Each lesson he had to endure, however, made him more and more disagreeable.

The heat from the bush was overpowering, and he closed his eyes against it. This was not what he needed right now – if the room had been swimming before, it was doing the breast-stroke across the Indian Ocean by now.

"I'm…" he trailed off, preparing to remove himself from his chair and stopping mid-rise to slump unceremoniously onto the greenhouse floor.

Daniella had pulled her long hair back in a ponytail to work more easily, but her excited examination of the odd looking plant was interrupted by the abrupt movement at her side. "Greengrass?" she called, as if watching him collapse in slow motion. Her eyes widened in shock. She took off the thick gloves hurriedly, her heart now clogged on her throat.

What had she done?! A flash of herself packing and being uncerimoniously expelled from Hogwarts formed in her mind against her will. She fell to her knees beside him, shaking his shoulder gently. "Ezra, can you hear me?" And then louder. "Professor Sprout!"

"I'm alright," Ezra mumbled groggily, knitting his brows. He was clearly not alright, but he would tell a lot of lies to avoid being shaken in that moment. The commotion, however, had caused Professor Sprout to knock over the fire seed bush she had been pruning; she was now busy extinguishing the resulting flames with her wand. "I just need the Hospital Wing, is all. Bit of bedrest."

Daniella looked up at Professor Sprout, clearly distracted, then at the small crowd gathering around them, trying to think, trying to figure out what to do. He was clearly not alright, and it was her fault. Madam Pomfrey would realize what had happened quickly enough, and Ezra would know it had been her.

She closed her eyes for a moment, bracing herself for the worst. "I'll go with you," she decided, trying to help him stand again, as a bulky Hufflepuff approached on the other side to help as well.

Ezra was only half-awake, but he still managed to feel some disdain at needing to be helped to his feet by a Mudblood. He lifted his arm gently but firmly away from the Hufflepuff, clearing his throat and swaying a bit on his feet.

"That's not necessary," he murmured, thoroughly embarrassed enough as it was. "I'm fine, like I said. I'll just go rest…."

Daniella glared at him. "Seriously?!" If he didn't look like he would collapse again if she gave him as much as a light push, she would've probably done much worse. Letting out an annoyed huff, she thanked the Hufflepuff who looked just as willing to punch him as her, before turning her attention back to Ezra.

"Don't even say another word! You're an idiot, Greengrass," she said, and half-carried, half-dragged Ezra out of the greenhouse.

Ezra struggled to keep up with Daniella's pace, but as per her command, said nothing in protest. He realized in that moment through his dulled senses that they were very, very close together. And alone. Something burned in his chest that had nothing to do with noxious potion vapours.

"I had no idea you could be so protective of your fellow housemates," he purred, half-smirking.

"I'm not-" Daniella pressed her lips together. Soon enough he wouldn't be talking to her so smoothly anymore. "I'm not," she repeated, leaving it at that, not sure what she even meant by it. She was finding it difficult to focus on what should be her priority right now.

"I really wanted those fire seeds, you know." She added with annoyance, just to have something to say.

Ezra saw that his jab had succeeded, and resumed his amused silence. The Hospital Wing was not very far away; after they passed out of the heat and into the magically-regulated cool of the castle, he began to feel much better.

"You'll be able to find a new partner if you return now, I expect," he mused, walking with a little more control to the large, wooden doors of the Hospital Wing.

"I daresay if you aren't being protective, you needn't accompany me any further."

Daniella gave him a wicked sideways grin. "Well, it just happens I don't care what you think. I'm going with you to make sure you will not repeat your little 'I'm fine' stunt on Madam Pomfrey. Then, I'll make sure you do what she tells you to do, and then I will make you help me get those seeds." Except I'll be kicked out of Hogwarts before that, she thought to herself.

"It's always the tough bargain with you, isn't it?" Ezra mumbled, pushing open the door. Madam Pomfrey rushed over to him immediately, looking them both over and then deciding, apparently, that Ezra looked sickest.

"What's ailing you, dear? Come and have a sit on the bed." She turned to Daniella expectantly. "Were you both in Professor Slughorn's class? We've already had one in with vapour inhalation…" She shook her head as though disgusted with the thought. "The things they make you children mix up, I swear."

Ezra looked over to see Sabrina resting on the other bed, thankfully asleep; he didn't think she would have appreciated seeing him accompanied by Daniella.

Daniella swallowed hard, eyeing the door as if it was guarding a dragon. Still, it was better to know what was happening than staying outside and wonder, without a chance to fight back. She followed him inside.

Madam Pomfrey's words weren't what she expected, though. Just like she hadn't expected to find Sabrina in there either. But she wasn't going to let that opportunity pass. Relief made her giddy. "Well, they were partners in class today," she said oh-so-helpfully, her chin pointing in Sabrina's direction. "I think something went wrong with their potion. I feel just fine."

"Bless," Madam Pomfrey said under her breath, gently pushing Ezra into a lying position on the bed. He looked slightly embarrassed; he had been so busy staring at Daniella that he, the most talented male potioneer now that Severus Snape had graduated, had landed himself and his partner in the Hospital Wing. It was completely unacceptable.

"Well, dear, if you're feeling fine, you can go back to class; I'll take care of your friend. You can come back and visit him during free period if you like." Ezra gave the woman a long, blank stare, then smirked insufferably.

"Oh…" Daniella murmured, sneaking a quick glance at Ezra. "I… alright," she said, slowly turning to leave.

She didn't want to leave. Who knows what he'd say in her absence? She needed a reason to stay, just in case. She smiled to herself, her back already turned to them.

She swayed a little, bumping against one of the empty beds with a satisfyingly loud thud. She lowered her head, covering her face with her hand, as if she was trying to regain her balance.

"Bed," Madam Pomfrey said curtly, putting a hand on Daniella's shoulder and guiding her to the bed next to Ezra. "Secondhand inhalation is still inhalation; potion vapours can get caught in robes, you know! You can absorb them through your skin."

She hurried over to a small rolling tray with unidentified bottles on it and poured a little bit of the thick, purple liquid into a cup. She handed it to Ezra.

"Since you were directly exposed, though, I want you to drink this. It'll make you a bit sleepy, but it'll clear those nasty fumes right out of your system." Ezra sniffed the purple liquid; it smelled like a cross between licorice and something odd he couldn't identify. He must have looked skeptical, because the Healer felt the need to encourage him. "Go on, drink up!"

Daniella quietly climbed onto the bed, hoping she wouldn't have to drink anything. She really didn't want to spend the rest of the day sleeping. She still didn't believe how lucky she'd been that Ezra had messed up his potion, disguising the effects of her own charm.

She tried not to look too satisfied, but not too sick either until Madam Pomfrey was out of sight. "You heard her," she whispered, a little tauntingly, to Ezra. "Drink all of it."

Ezra held his nose and downed the contents of the cup, making a face as it slid down his throat. He set the cup onto the bedside table, giving Daniella a sly sideways glance.

"How flattering," was all he had time to murmur before the fast-acting potion hit him like a brick wall. He inhaled deeply and rested his head on the pillow, falling asleep as peacefully as if he had been doing it for hours.

Alone with her thoughts at last, Daniella studied his face, the strong features, the smallest hint of a smile on his lips. She allowed herself to wonder about the real reason she'd stayed. He was handsome, she couldn't deny that. He could be very charming when he wanted, just as easily as he could be a jerk towards people he thought of as inferior to him. All of the above drove her mad – and not always in the bad way.

She didn't forget why he had approached her at first either. But, it was just like the saying: keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. Yes, she could play that game too. And it wouldn't be any effort, if she was honest with herself.

She didn't want to be caught staring at him, so she took the black empty notebook and a quill out of her bag.

«I did it, Jo.»

-/-/-

Josiah slid quietly into the library, running a distracted hand through his hair. Studying for Charms was never a bad idea, he figured; if he didn't start now, he would be angry with himself for wasting all of this free time. He looked around for an empty table, but what he found instead made his heart jump into his throat.

It wasn't rare to see Quidditch players in the library, but usually it was the night before exams… and their eyes were baggy and they smelled of firewhiskey. Noah, however… well, there he was. Pored over something or other. Being deliciously attractive and… oh, Merlin! Josiah scolded himself.

He was never going to get any studying done at this rate.

Noah rubbed his face with his hands, annoyed. He looked at the schedules lined up in front of him, then at his own notes and the first draft of a practice schedule for the team. He really hoped he could find their new Keeper in a fourth or fifth year student. He really didn't need any more restrictions in the schedules.

At least he had been able to schedule the Quidditch field for the try-outs in the next weekend. The sooner they had all the team members sorted out, the better. He raised his eyes for a moment, looking around at the nearly empty library, and the few people he'd found were mostly Ravenclaws. No one else would study in the first day of school.

Lost in those thoughts, he wasn't surprised to find Josiah standing there. He grinned over at the other boy. "Starting early this year, aren't you?"

Josiah wondered briefly if Noah could tell that he was hot all over; was he blushing? Was it bad? He pushed the thought out of his mind – it would be even worse to space out for a minute after being asked a question.

"Not as early as you, apparently!" He said with a small, shy smile in return. Taking the conversation as an invitation to sit, he put his things on the other side of the table and lowered himself into a chair.

"Schedules?" He said knowingly, examining the scattered papers all over the table.

"Yeah," Noah nodded. "I definitely won't be studying any time soon," he admitted. "Which I know will get me in trouble, so don't give me the speech," he teased.

He wasn't sure when it had become so easy to talk to Josiah, since they had never been close before. "I just need to make sure I have these figured out as soon as possible, before the other teams start reserving the field. And we're opening the games too, so…"

Josiah smiled indulgently, momentarily shipwrecked in the other boy's eyes. He had never seen eyes that blue before… perhaps he had just never looked that closely.

"There's plenty of time for the speech later," he conceded. "I can help you if you like. If it takes up too much time, you won't have time for much of anything at all, will you? And all those girls who follow you will be very disappointed," he teased back, but the heat crept up his face again.

Noah grinned, relieved. "Thank you! That would be great! I have no method, or so I'm told, so it's always a mess."

His grin wavered a little; he looked at the door before he could help it. "Don't even start… I think that's the best thing about this library. They usually don't follow me here. Don't take me wrong," he added quickly, "the enthusiasm is great and it motivates the team, but…" he shrugged. "It's a little too much, to be honest."

Heat crept up to his ears as he braced for the teasing. His friend Shawn always mocked him for not taking advantage of the attention.

"Sure," Jo murmured, still smiling, picking up a few schedules and leafing through them quickly.

He tried to suppress his delight at Noah's reaction, and mostly succeeded. He followed the boy's gaze to the door and then looked back sympathetically.

"Have you been to the Prefect's bath yet? It's always very peaceful in there; you'll like it, I'm sure." He put a few of the cards in a neat row, then waved his wand, highlighting a few of the free spaces in green.

"Not yet. I thought I'd try it out tonight, if I can find it. Rumor has it the tub is huge!" Noah replied, reaching out to stop him from mixing up his schedules, but it was too late. It had taken him long enough to figure out some sort of pattern in them. His protest died as he realized what Josiah was doing, though. "Uh… right. That's actually very helpful. Thanks," he admitted, sheepishly. "I seem to be saying that an awful lot lately."

Josiah chuckled lightly, organizing the schedules by year and then by free time.

"The boy's Prefect bath has a bigger tub, but the girls' has a wider variety of bubbles," he informed Noah, looking up briefly and then back at the schedules. "There's also a rather flirtatious mermaid in the portrait on the wall who will tell you all about it."

He was silent for a moment, switched two of the smallpapers, then nodded decisively to himself.

"It looks like you have a free space on Thursday at noon. Only this sixth year will be busy; maybe you can convince her to switch."

Noah could only stare, his jaw trying to drop against his will. He'd just made it look so easy. "Seriously, I'm going to keep you forever! You're a lifesaver!" He said excitedly, scratching a few of his notes and adding a few others. His quill stopped suddenly, as he realized what he'd said. Determined not to look up then, he resumed writing down the free periods and who he had to talk into making some changes.

Jo was certain that he couldn't have turned any redder, even if someone used a Color Changing Charm on his entire face. He stowed his wand into his robes discreetly, knotted his hands together, and cleared his throat with a smile.

"I'm really glad I could help," he said, and his voice came out rather small. "Actually, I…" he realized that he didn't have any non-awkward way to finish that sentence, and so stopped. "Nevermind."

Noah busied himself with his notes, but he ran out of things to write quickly. He cleared his throat awkwardly, then looked out the window, not sure what to say. Well done, Ledger, freak him out so he'll never talk to you again.

A couple of students made their way through the yard and into the castle, then. Squinting, he recognized them as seventh year Slytherins. He focused on the girl for a moment. Actually…

"That Slytherin girl you're always with…" he started, not quite looking at Josiah. "Is she your girlfriend?"

"What?" Josiah couldn't stop himself from sounding incredulous, and then he forced out a surprised giggle. "Dan? No, she's… no, we're just friends…"

He fidgeted with the edge of his bag nervously, his cheeks still tinged pink.

"I've never had a girlfriend."

Noah now studied Josiah with poorly disguised curiosity. He raised an eyebrow at him, lowering his voice down to a murmur. "You've never dated anyone? At all?"

"I've… well… that's not what I said," Josiah murmured, feeling extremely vulnerable in that moment. He realized that his hands were trembling, but only slightly. He folded them more tightly into his lap. "I suppose you've dated lots of people…"

He hadn't meant to sound wistful; he looked off to the side awkwardly.

Noah blinked, then finally realized at last what had been left unsaid. His face and ears heated up intensely. "Oh…" he mumbled, then trailed off.

The silence was heavy. He had messed up and wasn't sure how to fix it now. He couldn't help it. A million questions were piling up in his mind, but he didn't dare ask any of them. He realized he really didn't want to push Josiah away now, but he thought he was going to end up doing just that. He'd never been very good at talking about serious things.

"Lots?" He chuckled without humour, avoiding his eyes. "No, not really…"

Josiah let the silence linger for a while longer, not sure how to remedy the situation. So, he'd come out to Noah, although not entirely as he had planned… what if he didn't want to even look at him anymore? He looked back down at his hands and then forced himself to raise his head and smile.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to put you on the spot," he said softly. "Um, I can go now, if you want. Good luck with your practice."

"No!" Noah said too quickly, reaching out to stop Josiah, his loud voice echoing in the silent library. He looked around, expecting to be hushed or glared at, but they were alone in that section. "You don't have to go," he added more quietly, leaning back again. He met Josiah's eyes, the hurt in them making him feel bad with himself. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked… it was none of my business… You can stay, if you want." Please, stay, he thought.

Noah's abrupt answer caught Josiah off-guard, and he looked up at the other boy with wide, hazel eyes. Then, he laughed as quietly as he could.

"You're so nice to me," he mumbled, pulling out the book of household charms that he had bought in Diagon Alley with Dan. "Friends are allowed to ask each other questions without feeling guilty. You shouldn't apologize."

"Nice?" Noah chuckled, tension slowly slipping out of him again, although the butterflies in his stomach had come to stay. "I'll make you tell that to my mother yourself, she doesn't believe anyone would ever say that about me."

"Well, I don't think some friends would take some questions that calmly…" he murmured seriously, thinking of some of his housemates. "I'm glad you're not like that."

"Yes, nice," Jo confirmed, still smiling reservedly. He had come out to Noah, his crush… and they were still talking. They were still friends. He felt so giddy he might have performed a Cheering Charm on himself.

"Do you ask people questions like that often?" He teased, slightly amused as he flipped a few pages into his book.

"Noo," Noah shook his head to emphasize his answer. "No." He repeated. Not that he didn't have questions. A lot of them, to be honest. He fell silent, fiddling with the schedules distractedly. This situation was incredibly awkward; he was sure he would have already deflected the subject with anyone else.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" The words spilled out before he could stop them. "Yeah, clearly I ask no questions at all," he mumbled under his breath, alarmed, eyes fixed on his notes.

Josiah would have been lying if he said the question hadn't surprised him; asking that sort of question was generally more effort than people went to in order to be polite. He was glad that Noah seemed to be okay with his sexual orientation, but if he knew how he felt about him, then….

"No," he said simply, deciding it was best to be honest. "Not for a while now."

Noah nodded, his lips firmly shut. He didn't trust himself anymore; he might as well just start digging a hole to hide in, if he kept that up. Even if Josiah said he didn't mind, Noah was sure there would be an invisible line, somewhere, and he didn't want to cross it. The silence stretched again, as he tried to think of a safe, easy subject.

"I'm sure I'll need help studying if I want to not fail very NEWT. But I'll be very busy until we play against Slytherin, next month. You know… it's Slytherin!" His grin was determined. "You'll come and watch the game, right?"

"Oh," Jo said eloquently, not sure whether he should be more caught up in the studying or the invitation in that sentence. He grinned instead. "Yeah, of course I will. Actually, I wanted to ask you earlier – do you have a spare Gryffindor support button?"

He couldn't help but smile at Noah's enthusiasm; he was almost certain the boy didn't know how cute he was.

Noah's eyebrows shot upwards. "You want one?! Uh, I don't have any with me, but I'll get you one, no problem."

He looked at the clock, then picked up his bag, brushed all the schedules into it haphazardly and stood up. "I should get going, I have some people to talk to about the schedules." He threw the bag over his shoulder. "It was nice talking to you," he added, meeting Jo's eyes for a brief moment, before leaving the library.

-/-/-

Later that evening...

«I'm so sorry I forgot to write! You will not believe the day I've had. First of all, I came out to Noah. Uh, sort of. It was so awkward and yet… not really? It's kind of hard to explain. Anyway, so he knows, and we are still friends. He also asked me if I had a boyfriend; he was so nice about the whole thing. I hope it's not awkward for him and he is just too polite to say so.

Where did you go?! I didn't see you at dinner. I hope dementor-boy didn't corner you or something.

Hope to hear from you soon!

Love, Jo»

Daniella slipped past the Great Hall, making her way into the dungeons. Most students were still eating, but she wasn't hungry. She'd stayed in the infermary long enough to make sure the Memory charm had worked and would remain undetected. She was also reassured by Madam Pomfrey that Ezra would be just fine, but she was still feeling a little guilty. Not that he deserved it, after all he was following orders from her brother. She'd been forced to do it for the sake of Jo and his family.

She noticed the notebook was glowing inside her bag, so climbed down the stairs two at a time. She got into Slytherin's common room, found an empty couch as far from Sabrina as she could and settled in to read Jo's message and reply.

«Jo, I'm so happy for you! That's great news! I bet he likes you. I'm calling it now. You two would make such a cute couple!

I caught Greengrass after Potions and changed his memory. As far as I can tell, he doesn't remember you or suspects what I did. He did pass out in Herbology, but Madam Pomfrey said it was some nasty vapours from his potion. Sabrina was there too, and they were partners. I can't believe how lucky I got. I thought I was going to be expelled…

But everything is fine for now. I'll keep an eye on him, but I think our plan is working. Please, let me know if your parents notice something or someone strange, though.

I'll see you around!

Love, Dan!»