Chapter 23 - Groceries

Hours had passed since they'd last seen Ledger, and Johnston was beside himself with worry. Ezra looked at him sidelong; the other boy was folding his hands one over the other endlessly, looking off into the distance at nothing in particular with furrowed eyebrows. Occasionally he would say something like 'maybe it was just traffic' or 'he might have gone to get groceries without telling us.'

Ezra, however, had darker, more informed suspicions. And so it was that when he heard the engine of the motorbroom in the distance (which he'd made a small half-garage for out of a small tree's worth of sawdust), he pulled out his wand and stormed out to meet it.

He took Noah (or what looked like Noah) by the collar and pointed his wand at the boy's neck.

"What object did I think your helmet was when you took me riding this morning?" he asked quietly, between his teeth. Josiah burst through the door after him, also running, looking thoroughly panicked.

"What are you doing! Let him go!" he shouted, trying to pry Ezra away by the shoulder. The Slytherin shrugged him off; Josiah let go, stunned. "He's hurt, let him go! Oh my god, Noah, what happened?" he whispered, wanting desperately to hug his boyfriend without Ezra in the way.

"I'll let him go after he answers me," Ezra murmured purposefully.

Noah wasn't entirely sure how he'd reached the tiny house. He'd spent the last three hours trying to lose the flier on his tail and taking different highways and small secondary roads, in various directions.

Despite the pain that shot through his leg every time he took a turn, he'd made sure he'd lost his chasers, not taking any chances until he was nearly out of gas. Only then had he made his way back to the Formby woods.

Now, dizzy and in pain, he struggled to keep his balance and focus on what he was being asked.

"What? Why…?" And then it made sense. He groaned, swaying a bit as his hurt leg threatened to buckle. "Bowl… you thought it was a bowl…" He pushed the helmet off of his head. His arm hurt too. "No one followed me," he added, in a pained murmur. "It's alright."

Ezra eased his grip on the injured boy, allowing himself to breathe a split-second sigh of relief before hoisting him up on one side. Josiah, still looking confused and scandalized, took the other side, and together they helped the Gryffindor inside.

Ezra had made one couch, two chairs, and two beds in the few hours that Noah had been away. It wasn't much; they could still do with a dinner table, for instance, but Ezra was wary of cutting down too many trees at once. Muggles often flew over woods in planes, and someone familiar with the area might notice a lot of trees missing and decide to investigate.

Once they eased him onto the sofa, Josiah glared at Ezra as though he'd punched somebody.

"What did you do that for?" he asked lowly, clearly fed up with both boys at the moment. The Ravenclaw bent down to pull up one leg of Noah's pants, which were soaked with blood. "Get me the dittany," he said shortly.

Ezra summoned the dittany nonverbally and handed it over, trying to look as docile as possible.

"They might have captured him and taken his place," Ezra said reasonably, trying not to be distracting. "It's protocol-"

"Okay, just - shut up. Just shut up. Everyone shut up. I have to concentrate. And you!" he said, pointing at Noah with one blood-soaked finger before going back to the wound. "I can't believe you. I really can't. I was so worried, Noah Ledger. Didn't I tell you to be careful? What did I say to you before you left, huh?"

The blood on Noah's leg had slowed, and Josiah put a conjured gauze bandage on the gash. The room had fallen silent as per Josiah's request, but he didn't look any happier for it. He began silently examining Noah all over for signs of other injuries; he found one, and started to peel away his boyfriend's beloved leather jacket, which was now trashed.

"I am so tired of patching people up," he said bitterly, although his voice wavered a bit. He looked as though he might cry. "I am so…" he waved his wand with a shaky hand, closing up the scrapes on Noah's arm and patting some dittany onto them with a damp cloth.

Noah winced as they helped him inside, but didn't complain. He felt rather dizzy and achy, and he was pretty pissed off about his motorbike being all scraped up now – although he was certain he shouldn't share that thought with anyone, much less he's very upset boyfriend.

He sat as quietly and meekly as he could, but when Jo exploded, making even Daniella back away slightly, he wished for a moment that he was still alone on the road. His pursuers didn't seem as scary.

He closed his eyes and held his breath as Jo tended the wound on his leg, but he couldn't keep from groaning when his boyfriend removed his jacket. Dry blood had stuck it to the arm. His favorite jacket…

"I'm sorry… I didn't do it on purpose," he murmured guiltily, then decided it was better to stay silent. He wasn't sure what made him feel worse, Jo being pissed off at him, or Jo nearly in tears.

Daniella, realizing she was the only one Jo could vent to or be angry at safely, stepped forward, licking her lips before joining her friend by the couch. "It's alright, Jo. He's back, that's all that matters."

The wounds were mostly tended, but Jo was still fussing over Noah silently. There was a thin collection of water above his eyelashes, but he wasn't crying yet. His hands were shaking, but he could still use them. He could still do this. He could do what he needed to do, but once he was done…

"It's not all that matters," he said quietly, suddenly, and the facade crumbled quickly. Ezra took a small step back, trying to give the other boy space. "It's not all that fucking matters! If there are people chasing you while you're on the bike, Apparate back to me and forget the damn bike, Noah! Or is the bike so goddamned important that you didn't want to come home to me for saving it?!"

He threw the remaining bandages on the ground with impressive force and sobbed involuntarily, cradling his face in both open palms. He took a few shaking, labored breaths.

"You idiot," he whimpered after a few moments, wiping at his eyes. "You idiot, you big stupid idiot. Fuck that stupid bike. I never want to see it again. Idiot!"

He stuffed his wand back into his pocket with some effort and rushed off to one of the newly-generated bedrooms, slamming a door that Ezra had made only a few hours ago. A bit of sawdust fell off of the door frame and floated gently to the floor.

There was silence.

Ezra broke it by clearing his throat.

"How did you lose them, anyway?" he murmured, trying not to look directly at the other boy, for fear it would be incredibly awkward.

Noah flinched, and it wasn't because of his wounds. He'd never seen Josiah like that. For a moment he was glad they weren't outside anymore, or Jo might just hex the bike to run over him multiple times. He opened his mouth, but Jo started to cry and Noah quickly looked at Daniella, at a loss.

Daniella had retreated slightly, not sure of how to deal with such a distressed Josiah.

"It wasn't… I tried-" Josiah left the room before Noah had time to form a full sentence; he stared at the closed door, then tried to get to his feet, cursing as a shot of pain spread through his leg.

Daniella pushed him down onto the couch again, not without sympathy. "Stay here. If he sees you on your feet, he might crack your thick skull open. I'll talk to him." And she disappeared into the bedroom.

Noah sighed, bewildered. He glanced at Ezra, looking away again. "Consider yourself lucky, next time you upset her," he muttered.

He huffed out a breath. "There was one guy on the street. I thought it was Avery, but I can't be sure, it was getting dark," he explained. "He hexed me, got my leg. I lost control of the bike," he lowered his voice then, "and hit a parked car. I think that's when I hurt my arm. I hexed him back and got out of there. Honestly, getting out of the bike and Apparating out of there would've taken me more time. He might've caught up to me," he said defensively, pausing to gauge Greengrass's reaction. "There was someone on a broomstick, so I drove in the opposite direction, all over the town, then into the highway. He was flying high, so I couldn't lose him. So I stopped under an overpass, and used a Disillusionment Charm on myself and the bike. I got out and drove away when another car passed by, to muffle the sound of the engine. I drove around for another hour or two, can't be sure, to make sure I'd lost him, before I came back here."

Josiah stumbled into the bedroom, which was empty except for a few small piles of sawdust and the bed that Ezra had made earlier. There were boxes piled up against the wall, so high that the ones on top swayed threateningly as the solid boy plopped down onto the bed.

He was still crying; his cheeks were on fire.

The door opened and closed, and he sniffled loudly without looking.

"Don't," he said, his voice quivering. He didn't even know who it was, and he wasn't sure he cared. He wasn't sure there was anything that anyone could say to ease the pain that he felt, knowing that he very well could have lost Noah forever because of a stupid motorbike and someone else's stupid war. "Just don't. I don't want to talk right now."

The other form didn't budge, and Josiah uncovered his red, wet face and looked up at his best friend.

"I hate this so much," he whimpered, after a while. "This is so unfair."

Daniella closed the door quietly behind her, gathering herself. It pained her to see her friend like that. When he sent her away, she just took another step into the room. "We stay together, remember?" She asked softly.

She sat on the edge of the bed, resting a comforting hand on Jo's shoulder. "Yes, it is. But we can get through it."

Josiah let her rub his shoulder affectionately, although he continued staring at the floor morosely and sniffling. He could hear Ezra and Noah talking faintly in the next room; the thought just made him more upset, for some reason.

"He should have left the stupid bike," he told his friend, defensively. "That's what he'd have told me. He'd have never forgiven me if I'd done something like that. Can you imagine how he'd react? And there he goes, doing it himself. Like he's replaceable."

He stifled a small sob and wiped at his eyes bitterly.

"Ugh," he sighed. "How is it that you didn't even cry when Ezra came home covered in blood? You were so, so strong for him, and I'm just a blubbering mess."

Daniella sighed. "He should've. But I'm sure he didn't make that choice to hurt you." She squeezed Jo's shoulder comfortingly. "Just look at your story with him. He changed everything because he wanted to be with you. He wouldn't just ruin that if he didn't know what he was doing, right?" She suggested, tentatively.

She lowered her head at his last comment, looking away. "I don't know," she murmured. She'd cried in the shower that night, while he rested on the couch, as the tension abandoned her body washed away by the stream of hot water. But Ezra didn't know that. All he'd seen was how angry she was about the stupid money. "I wasn't strong enough, though. In the end I still doubted him. It nearly cost me his love."

Jo continued to sniffle miserably. Right now, he didn't trust himself to look at Noah, feeling as though he might explode or throw a hex, or both.

"I seriously hope not," was all he could manage to say thickly in reply. "Because it would be very, very daft of him if he did that now."

He listened to her reply, his gaze fixed on the crack between the floor and the bottom of the new solid wooden door. Part of him was grateful that Noah wasn't like Ezra; he still had some trouble expressing himself at times, sure, but he was… well, he was Noah. He had that boyish, affectionate quality, a sweet under layer that nobody got to see but him. What he had with Noah was very special.

He didn't want to lose it now.

He sighed.

"I'm just going to stay in here for a bit," he said feebly, gathering his quilt and scrunching himself up at the back of the bed, near the wall. "I'll be fine. Promise. Don't let Noah come in here, either, or I reckon I'll give him what-for."

Daniella sighed, wishing she could do more for him. But heartaches needed time, as she had found out the hard way. She tucked his covers, placed a light, soothing kiss on the top of his head and promised him no one would disturb him, and that she'd bring him a sandwich later.

She joined the others, giving Noah a tense look when he looked at her with childish-like hopeful eyes. "Just… let him be, for a while." Then, she turned to Ezra. "Could you please take that thing to the shelter you built? It's best if no one looks at it for now," she murmured. "I'll make sandwiches for everyone."

-/-/-

Later that night, Noah lay on the sofa, thinking about what to do. Daniella had brought him pajamas to change into, and he felt much better, but didn't dare going into the bedroom. She'd said Jo wanted to be alone.

Fine, he could wait.

Actually, he could not.

He was uncomfortable and, more importantly, he was done with Jo being angry with him. Noah had scared him, yes, but hadn't he paid for it already?

He huffed, then looked at the door grumpily. He reached for his wand, then searched through his memories. Smiling, he thought intensely of two simple words – I'm sorry – and murmured, "Expecto Patronum!"

He wasn't sure if a Patronus could also deliver the feelings of its conjurer, but he put as much regret and meekness into it as he could. The albatross left his wand, and quickly disappeared into the bedroom, to deliver his message.

Josiah had been looking at the wall for most of the night, picking at the plate Dan had brought him and feeling unsure of himself. He supposed that he might have been a wee bit too hard on Noah - he'd been upset, of course, but he was really just glad his boyfriend had come back alive. He'd been hurt, yes, but not fatally.

He was just beginning to think these things for the thousandth time on repeat when the room became unbearably bright. Josiah squinted against the silver-white light that now filled the room; when he looked up, he saw an albatross looking at him intently. He stared back.

"I'm sorry," said the albatross.

Josiah sighed. Oh, bother. He definitely wouldn't be able to sleep if Noah's bloody spirit bird was going to stare at him all night with that face.

He pointed his wand at the door and, with a subtle wave, removed the Charm that he'd placed on it after Dan had left. The door unlocked with a click.

Still feeling a bit sniffly, Josiah rolled back over and resumed his wall-staring. As much as he loved Noah, and as sorry as he might be, he was going to have to prove it.

Noah perked up when he heard the soft click on the door. He waited for a few heartbeats, but nothing else happened.

"Oh, fine, then…" he muttered, leaving the sofa and quietly approaching the door. Taking a deep breath, he gave a light knock and opened the door slowly, poking his head inside, as if expecting to find a wand pointed at him, or some magically conjured object waiting to be thrown at him. "Can I come in?" he asked.

Josiah, whose face was now buried in his pillow, let out a muffled sigh at Noah's question.

"I wouldn't've unlocked the door if you couldnae, now would I have?" he replied touchily. "Don't let the Charmed air out. It's hot outside."

After a few moments, he shifted and blearily lifted himself into a sitting position from the pillow. He brought the quilt with him, hugging it tightly as he leaned against the wall to look at Noah. His eyes were a bit swollen, and his nose was stuffy, but he was no longer crying.

He looked off to the side at the albatross, which was taking up most of the other half of the room with its large, guilty-looking face. He pursed his lips, but said nothing.

Noah furrowed his brow at the sullen reply. He closed the door, looked at the albatross and, thinking that maybe it had been a stupid idea after all, waved his wand to make it disappear. Looking at Jo made him want to go to him and console him, so he looked at the floor instead.

"I didn't do it on purpose, you know? They attacked me when I was already driving away. It's not…" He closed his eyes and shook his head. That wasn't coming out as he'd planned. "I did my best to return as quickly as possible. I really did."

He licked his lips, hesitating. He'd given it a lot of thought. No one understood why a simple motorbike meant so much to him. They all thought it was just a futile toy for him. It was what it represented that was important to Noah.

He didn't regret any of the decisions he'd made. Not one of them. But the bike was all he had left from before, and he'd worked very hard to get it. So, he'd wanted to keep it with him, yes. But maybe now he couldn't any longer.

He looked up to meet Jo's eyes. "I'll never touch that bike again, if you don't want me to," he said slowly. "If it means you forgive me."

Jo shook his head listlessly. He didn't want to hear this right now. He wasn't sure he wanted Noah to justify anything.

He had done his best.

At Noah's last words, Josiah looked up, his hazel eyes slanted with concern. He looked away guiltily.

"You don't have to give up your bike, Noah," he whispered, making a soft sound that might have been half-chuckle and half-sniffle. "That's not the point. It's not the point at all."

The quilt rumpled to the floor as the shorter boy stood, crossed the room, and buried his face in Noah's muscular chest. He squeezed tightly.

"The point is that I might have lost you, even though you were careful, and we were careful, and we did everything we could," he murmured, finally. "Don't you know how much that hurts?"

Noah looked confused for a few moments, not sure what Jo wanted from him, after all. But he slipped his arms around his boyfriend nonetheless, cherishing the feeling.

"I know," he murmured back, finally. And he did. He loved Jo so much it hurt. He couldn't stand the thought of being there instead, not knowing where Jo was, certain something had gone wrong, and feeling useless to do something about it. He held him more tightly. "I know… but I don't think we'll be able to always avoid that, Jo," he said softly.

He kissed Jo softly. "But I will promise you one thing. I will always find my way back to you, no matter how long it takes."

Jo closed his eyes tightly, trying not to cry again.

"Well, try," he whispered against Noah's chest, his voice quavering slightly. "At least promise me you'll try."

The dam of his willpower that had been holding his tears back finally gave, and more tears came. Jo wasn't sure if they were tears of happiness, or sadness, or anger, or fear; all he knew was that, right now, in the wake of all of these emotions, all of the deaths and attacks and chaos, that he needed to cry and he needed Noah to be there to hold him until he felt better.

Noah was the only person who could make him feel better. Dan did her best, and she was important to him, but she had Ezra - and Ezra had her. It wasn't fair to expect her to be on call for both of them.

It wasn't fair to expect Jo to continue on without Noah.

Their lips met, wet and soft, and Jo sniffled as he pulled away.

"Good," he murmured, managing a small, watery smile. "Because if you don't, I will find you, Noah Ledger, and I will hex you so hard your head will spin, do you hear?"

-/-/-

Noah slipped out of bed very early next morning, leaving a very much asleep and much calmer Jo in bed. He found Daniella in the kitchen. A quick, but thorough questioning later, she was convinced he and Jo had sorted things out and was now sitting on one of the chairs, making a grocery list for them. She added a shorter list with some herbs and other things. She didn't tell him why she needed those, just asked him to get the items if they had the chance and things went smoothly.

Then, she gave him the last two sandwiches that had survived last night and two glasses of milk and went outside, to do… something.

Noah floated the breakfast back into the bedroom. It hovered in midair as he slipped back into bed, slipping a hand around Jo's waist. "Rise and shine," he called softly, teasingly, kissing his ear lobe.

Josiah stirred, opening his eyes slowly against the bright morning light and turning awkwardly to face Noah, since his hip was pinned down. He smiled sleepily, nuzzling into the kiss. Then, he turned and grabbed the other boy's lips with his own. They parted after a few long, hazy seconds.

"G'morning," he said thickly through a half-yawn, stretching. It was then that he saw hovering plate, and his smile widened. "Oooh, you're forgiven, Mister Thoughtful." He fluffed his pillow and sat up.

"Sandwiches for breakfast," he said cheerily, grabbing the plate out of midair and sinking his teeth into one. It was mostly bread, but he could deal with that; he knew they were tight on money, and it wasn't as though he didn't like bread.

Still…

"Did she give you a list?" he asked hopefully, taking another bite.

Noah smiled mischievously. "I thought I was forgiven last night," he purred, planting one last kiss on his neck before backing away to let him sit. He levitated the food closer, until it stopped in front of Jo.

He took the last sandwich and reached for the lists. "Yeah. We better go soon, because it seems like there's not much to eat anymore. She also gave me this," he showed him the second list. "Herbs and… seeds, I think. She said we should only get these if there's no problem and enough money."

"You're extra forgiven now," Josiah replied teasingly, tracing Noah's jawline with his fingers.

He took another large bite of sandwich and reached for the lists in a silent gesture. He pulled them closer to examine them, reading with furrowed eyebrows as he chewed. He sighed through his nose. After a moment of silent pondering, he took the other list, too.

"Some of this you can only get in London," he said, after he'd finished chewing. "Is it even safe for us to go to London? Isn't that how Ezra nearly got himself sliced in two?" He furrowed his eyebrows, polishing off the rest of the sandwich, deep in thought. After a while, he got to his feet. The empty plate lay forgotten on the bedcovers.

"I'm going to get decent," he told Noah with a wry smile. "Since you already are, be a dear and go ask Ezra how he is at Human Transfiguration, would you?"

Noah stuffed the rest of his sandwich into his mouth, pushed it down with the rest of the milk – thinking he'd do a whole lot for a mug of coffee instead – and left the bedroom.

He found Ezra outside, pointing his wand at some trees, further from the house. He waited until the boy paused whatever he was doing. "Hey, Greengrass," he called then. "Josiah wants to know if you're any good at Human Transfiguration."

Ezra stood in front of a large pile of sawdust, wand held aloft. He'd woken up early, due in no small part to the fact that his nerves were frayed from all the fighting they'd been doing lately. He was loath to admit it, but it was taking a toll on him, even as exposed to dark magic as he had been in his youth. He kept struggling with the fact that it could have easily been him casting the curses, torturing people, killing them. Splitting up families and driving people mad with anguish…

How had he not realized sooner? The question haunted him almost constantly. It was the past, though; all he could do now was try to protect the others as best he could with what knowledge he had.

He had just been about to fashion a few tables when he heard Noah's voice behind him. It startled him, and he whipped around at high speed with distrust etched all over his face. Then, as quickly as the reflex had been triggered, he lowered his wand and rolled his eyes shut, sighing.

"Merlin's beard, Ledger," he grumbled, turning back to the sawdust. "I nearly doubled the amount of holes in your head. Don't do that to me."

It took him a few more seconds to process the question he'd been asked, at which point he looked back with an air of slight curiosity.

"I'm decent," he said, after a while. Of course, if Josiah was asking, he meant to use Transfiguration as a disguise on a level that he couldn't accomplish himself. It was a little flattering, but at the same time, the idea made him worry. "Although I daresay that sounds a little more involved than your average shopping trip."

Noah tensed, eyeing Ezra's wand cautiously. He hadn't expected such a reaction from the other boy. He'd understood that kind of reaction the night before. He'd been pleased with it, even. He'd felt like he could trust Ezra to protect Jo to an extent if he was not around. But he hadn't expected him to be that… jumpy, still. It was something to keep in mind in the future.

"I will try not to," he said evenly, still studying the other boy. "I'm not sure what he has in mind. He saw Dan's lists and asked me to ask you that. Do you know why she wants those things?"

Ezra quickly tucked his wand away, not wanting to create any more tension out of the moment than he already had. Then, he took his idle hands and rubbed at his eyes wearily.

"What things?" he asked, having not seen the lists yet. He had eaten breakfast early and come out into the woods, telling Daniella that he needed a bit of time to sort out his thoughts, which was the absolute truth.

"She mentioned she needed some potion ingredients, if that's what you mean," he said, after a beat of silence. "And on that note, I've made a list, as well. Since you're going," he added dryly, fishing around in the pocket of his torn, dirty shirt. He procured a small, ripped piece of parchment with three ingredients on it. They read: boomslang skin, streeler venom, powdered unicorn horn. He handed it to Noah, unabashed.

"In any event," he drawled, looking back at the sawdust and sighing. He supposed he would have plenty of time later. "I'll go back with you. The earlier you go, the better."

"It was mostly herbs and seeds, so I suppose that's it, then." Noah was silent for a while, studying Ezra's short list and thinking of Daniella's as well. He nodded. "Yes, it's best if we plan this properly. Every time one of us goes out, something bad seems to happen. I could use a break."

They made their way back in silence. Daniella was already inside the house, taking dishes and other kitchen supplies out of the cardboard boxes.

"Jo!" Noah called.

Jo, now fully dressed, edged his way out of the small bedroom and into the common area. He was dressed in Muggle denim and a blue t-shirt and had a black wizard's robe draped over his arm like an overcoat.

Also, he was blond.

"I could only do my hair," he said fretfully, running an idle hand through it. "My eyes wouldn't turn, but I don't suppose it matters so much… here, Noah, come here, I'll do yours, and then Ezra can get our faces."

Ezra pondered this for a moment, still slightly taken aback by the Ravenclaw boy's extremely golden hair.

"Beg pardon, but what exactly do you propose I do to your faces?" he asked with careful politeness. "You'll have to be a bit more specific."

Josiah sighed, as though explaining things just at the moment was a terrible bother. He stood on tiptoe and waved his wand over Noah's hair, which turned a deep chocolate brown. He turned to face the taller, paler boy then, holding up a small handled mirror.

"Just get my nose and cheeks a bit, and perhaps my teeth too, I'll tell you when," he said valiantly, inspecting his face critically with furrowed blond eyebrows. "Bloody hell, that looks a mess," he murmured, huffing out a small laugh.

Perturbed, Ezra took a few steps forward and pointed his long, thin jet black wand at the other boy's face. He waved it uncertainly. Josiah's nose elongated a bit, becoming less round and more sharp. He stopped.

"How's this?" he asked, cautiously.

"Well, don't just stop," said Josiah, still examining himself with interest. "You can go on and give it a bit of a bump in the bridge if you like. I always did fancy that look."

Noah stopped abruptly at the sight of Jo. He made an odd sound – a strangled laugh – but then cleared his throat and tried not to frown when Jo changed his hair.

He ran a hand tentatively over it. "I propose you be very careful with them," he grumbled under his breath, but sighed resignedly as Ezra changed Jo's face.

He wasn't eager to have his face changed without even knowing if Greengrass knew how to put it back as it was supposed to be, after. "You can undo that later, right?" He asked, doubtfully, looking at Jo's new face. He didn't really care what Jo looked like, but at the same time he did. He did like that cute, round nose quite a lot.

"That's the easy part," Ezra mumbled wearily. His brows were furrowed in concentration; he was holding his wand very, very carefully, afraid that any sudden movements would turn Josiah into a hook-nosed witch instead of a cover model with a masculine, gently curved nose. "Stop wiggling."

"Sorry," said Josiah, who had been holding his face at different angles to examine the other boy's handiwork.

The cheeks and teeth came next, and by the time he was done, Ezra had to admit that he was not immediately recognizable. The eyes, of course, were similar; there wasn't much you could do with those unless you used a potion, really. Eyes were incredibly delicate and hard to Transfigure or Charm.

Ezra sighed, feeling as though that small bit of magic had taken an hour to complete. Then, he turned to Noah, holding his wand tightly.

"You don't have to look so apprehensive," he said, with slight reproach.

"I have sunglasses," Noah said. It took him effort to not take a step back when Ezra turned the wand at him. Rolling his eyes, he crossed his arms and stood still. "Fine, just get it over with."

Daniella, who had been examining Jo's face in amused silence, perked up. "Oh, I have a pair too! You can use mine, Jo." She disappeared into the bedroom for a minute, to find them.

"I bought them for fun, a couple years ago," she said when she returned, handing them to Jo. "Listen, about that second list. I know some of those things will be risky to get, but I can grow most of them here after you get them, except the Erumpent Fluid and the Wartcap powder. I still have a little bit of each, so don't risk yourselves for those. Bring me the Dittany, the mistletoe berries, the knotgrass and the bursting mushrooms, and we'll be good."

Ezra pursed his lips, trying as hard as he possibly could not to scowl at the Gryffindor's reaction. With a few quick but careful flicks, he broadened the other boy's jaw, widened his nose, and raised his cheekbones. He stepped back, figuring it would have to do, and tucked his wand away again. Josiah, meanwhile, was examining Daniella's sunglasses with amusement.

"Thanks," he told her, affectionately. He put them on and then looked at himself again in the mirror. "I look a bit like undercover Scotland Yard, really," he mused, giving Noah a wide, toothy smile. Then, as she began to speak more seriously, he pulled out the lists and began shuffling through them, as though to aid his memory.

"Well, we'll do our best," he said, giving her an indulgent smile. "But not if we don't get moving soon, that's for certain. Are you ready, Noah?" He looked over at his boyfriend, who was almost unrecognizable, and smiled.

"Wait," Ezra said suddenly, rifling around in his trouser pockets. He pulled out a handful of galleons - four, Josiah counted - and laid them in the Ravenclaw's hand. He stared at them for a moment, touched.

"I thought you didn't have any left," he said, sliding them gingerly into his pocket.

"Those are the last ones," Ezra murmured, not wanting to dwell on the thought too long. "Anyway, boomslang skin is expensive, so don't hold back if you need to use them."

He paused, looking off to the side.

"And be careful," he added to both of them, quietly.

"Yes, please, be careful. And call us if you need anything," Daniella said seriously. She had a knot in her stomach. Every time they separated, someone returned hurt. "Don't be late," she whispered squeezing Jo's hand, before stepping back to let Noah join his boyfriend.

She thought she could still recognize her best friend with relative ease, but she figured no one would pay much attention to them if their general features weren't immediately recognizable.

Noah gave Ezra a short nod. "You too. Take care of everything around here." With that, he joined blond Jo, took his hand and they Apparated out.

It was a clear, warm day in Aberdeen and the alley they were in was empty. The main street was vibrant with life, though. Hopefully, that would work in their favor. "Alright. Let's get this done," he murmured to Jo, letting go of his hand, but walking as close to him as he could, without them tripping on each other's feet.

Jo was thankful for the sunglasses as they arrived into bustling Aberdeen; the sun was out, and it was sweltering. He could taste the air from the harbor, feel the wind coming in off the water, and suddenly he felt a pang of nostalgia so sharp that it nearly physically pained him.

"Let's," he agreed, trying to remain pleasant despite everything. It was just Aberdeen, after all; not much happened in Aberdeen, despite it being one of Scotland's major cities. It was full of hardworking, kind people, and was surrounded still by rural land for miles and miles. As they turned out of the alley, a man with a sheep on a leash walked by them in the other direction. Josiah followed it with his eyes for a moment, grinning; nothing like a good old fashioned sheep on a leash to brighten your day.

The greengrocer was just down the street, and Jo pulled out the list, studying it in advance.

"Alright," he said, trying to sound determined. They reached the door; it opened with a silvery tinkle of bells. The air inside was nice and cool; there were high-powered fans set up in every corner. Jo sighed happily.

"I'll get the produce, you get the dry goods," he told Noah, grabbing a brown paper sack from a nearby counter. "You take the list, I've memorized it already. I'll come to the back and get you when I'm done."

Noah wasn't sure he agreed with going different ways, but he supposed they'd get done faster that way. He took the list and took off. He'd accompanied his mother several times before to buy groceries, but usually he was there just to help carry everything; he'd never paid much attention.

He looked at the list, then up at the shelves, trying to figure out what to get first. He decided to start on the first alley and go through all of them, collecting everything he saw that was on the list on his way.

Finally, all he needed was the rice and beans. He looked up, trying to figure out how he'd missed those. There was a radio playing somewhere, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. Seemed like the news, though; something about criminals.

Looking over to the next alley, he found what he needed, and forgot all about the radio.

Josiah, who couldn't hear the radio at all over the roar of the fans in the front, was happily picking out ripe, juicy tomatoes, fresh carrots, and hearty looking potatoes and stuffing them into his paper sack. He also grabbed a few heads of greens, just to be safe; they only really needed the essentials, and salads were rather essential, in his opinion.

A small, wrinkled man with glasses was watching him as he worked, although he wasn't saying anything. It was a small store, but it had all the groceries they needed. Josiah peeked in the back to see where Noah had gone; he seemed to be holding a large bag of beans.

"He's coming," Josiah assured the man with a small smile before putting the paper sack on the counter between them. There was a box of candies near the register which looked to be chocolate. He pursed his lips and grabbed a handful, setting them down on the counter, too.

He hoped nobody would blame him; he hadn't had any sweets in an agonizingly long while. By the time Noah got back with his half of the shopping, the man had already rung up all of the produce and the sweets. Another minute passed, and he looked at Josiah critically over the top of his glasses.

"Nine pounds two pence," he said gruffly. "D'ye want a bag?"

Josiah fished a small black leather wallet out of the pocket of his jeans and pulled out one of the crisp twenty-pound notes that Ezra had split between them.

"Yes please," he said sweetly, as though he was oblivious to the man's attitude.

Noah looked at the man with a slightly raised eyebrow, but said nothing. They didn't want to call attention to themselves, but he thought the man probably didn't have many regular clients with that attitude.

He waited until Jo received his change, then glanced at the man again and picked up the large bag without effort, heading towards the exit, until something stopped him in his tracks.

There was a large notice board along the wall, filled with promotions, ads for events, a small jobs section and a variety of announcements. It was the picture on a paper that was partially hidden under a county fair ad that made him pale. "Jo…" he called, pointing at the picture.

Jo folded the change back into his wallet, letting the coins fall in haphazardly as he stuffed the wallet back into his jeans pocket. He grabbed the bag of produce and began to follow Noah closely out the door; Noah, however, stopped suddenly in his tracks, and Josiah accidentally on his heel.

"Sorry," he whispered, before looking up to see what Noah was staring at. It took him a moment, but once he'd found it, he knew immediately that something was seriously wrong. He cleared his throat, trying to maintain some semblance of calm even though his heart was hammering against his chest.

"Excuse me, sir, but who's this?" he called out, pointing to the wanted poster, which had a non-moving, black-and-white photo of Ezra Greengrass on it. He looked surly, as per usual, and the picture didn't really look out of place; it would be very easy to believe he was a criminal if Jo didn't know any better.

"Don't tell me you don't watch the telly," the man mumbled with a dry cough. "That there's the lad who blew up Stonehaven. Reckon you heard about that. Scotland Yard wants him for arson and murder, they do. Don't suppose he'll look as smug after he's been rotting in prison for 50 years, d'ye?"

The man let out a wheezing chuckle that made Josiah feel ill.

"No, I suppose not," he said carefully, turning slowly and grabbing Noah by the arm. Together, they exited the building and hurried back down the alley. Once they were alone again, Josiah looked up at Noah fearfully.

"This is bad," he said unnecessarily. "This is really, really bad. Here, give me your bag," he said absentmindedly, stuffing the produce sack into a smaller bag that looked like it wouldn't have held anything bigger than a changepurse. He took the other bag and stuffed that in, too. Then, he pulled his wizarding cloak on over his Muggle clothes and pocketed the sunglasses.

"We've got to hurry," he said, grabbing Noah and Apparating to Diagon Alley.

"Oh, bloody hell," was all Noah could say at the man's words. Would they ever get another peaceful day?

He followed Jo hurriedly, barely having time to take out his sunglasses and put the cloak over his shoulders before Jo grabbed him.

A second later, they were surrounded by wizards and witches, and Noah felt his focus sharpen immediately. Their enemies didn't need to hide here. Among that many people walking by carrying a wand, they couldn't see an attack until it hit them.

He was so focused on the people that it took him a few seconds to realize what was different in Diagon Alley. All the store windows and most of the walls had parchments. The same face looked back at them with that distant, murky look on all of them, and under it, a reward of 1000 Galleons was offered to whoever delivered Ezra to the Ministry of Magic.

"It just got worse," he whispered to Jo. "Much, much worse." Suddenly, he was very glad neither Ezra nor Daniella were there to see that.

He made sure his wand was in his immediate reach and took Jo's arm as subtly as he could. "Just stay close," he said, his voice deep and raspy with concern. If he thought of it rationally, Jo was far better with Charms, but he would do anything to keep him safe. Anything.

Jo was grateful for the crowd; the Alley was busy this morning, and that meant that fewer people would take a second look at them. He was pretty sure that Ezra's Transfiguration work would hold up to scrutiny, but he would also take any help they could get to stay as safe as possible.

Speaking of Ezra…

"Oh my," Josiah whispered breathlessly, fumbling for his wand and resting it against his palm. "Well, they must want him quite an awful lot." He grimaced as ten Ezras scowled at him on his way by.

He hurried to the potion supply store, pushed his way in, and began going down the list at lightning speed.

"Can I help you?" a tall, stately witch asked from behind him, making him jump. She narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously.

"Oh no, no thank you, I'm sure I can find everything," he said, in a pitch two octaves higher than normal. "I'm just in a hurry to get back before it rains, you see, so if you'll excuse me…"

He picked up a basket and threw two bunches of knotgrass into it unceremoniously.

"Do you think Logan did all of this by himself?" Noah asked. "Is he really that powerful within the Ministry?"

They made their way to the potion supply store; Noah tried not to look over his shoulder, although he had the impression people's eyes lingered on them for a second too long. They can't recognize us, he told himself and they entered the store.

He looked over Jo's shoulder at the list and took a jar of bursting mushrooms from the top shelf. "Before it rains?" he murmured to Jo, with a hint of amusement despite the situation. He studied the jar. "Can she grow some of these, or do we need to buy them prepared differently?" He asked, but put the jar in the basket anyway.

He read through the labels hurriedly, trying to find the mint and the lavender she'd also asked for. He put a bunch of each into the basket, then looked around. "Where's the Dittany?"

"I don't know," Josiah whispered in reply, not wanting to think of Logan at any time or place but especially not at this time and this particular place. He bustled around the store like an herb granny, picking up things, putting them down, muttering to himself, and generally looking out of sorts.

"Did she want essence or leaf?" he asked, looking at his list critically. It didn't say. "I suppose we'd really better get both." He did.

After they'd collected all the herbs and seeds she'd asked for, he looked around helplessly and then found the woman's eyes again. She had been staring at them the entire time. It was very unnerving.

"Er, could we trouble you for some boomslang skin?" he asked sweetly. The woman stared at him for a moment, as though she wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry, and in the end did neither and made her way behind the desk where she produced a small golden key and stuck it in the lock of an ornate wooden cupboard. From there, she took out a small box and laid it on the counter in front of them.

"Thank you," Josiah said weakly, setting the basket down. The woman gave everything a once over, looked at the things in Noah's arms, and said plainly:

"Three galleons, six sickles."

Josiah pursed his lips, taking out the four galleons that Ezra had so freely given, and put them into the old woman's hand.

That got a smile out of her.

"Thank you, dearies," she said in a slightly condescending manner that Josiah associated with Ministry officials and bad teachers. "Do come again."

"Just take it, either way," Noah said, but Jo had already done so, so he stood quietly, studying the woman closely as Jo paid. And now they were officially out of galleons. He only had a few knuts and a sickle left.

He missed the days where he could've just gone for ice cream with Jo. Now that he thought of it, they never had the chance to do so and, looking at all the Ezra faces staring at them, he wasn't sure they would ever be able to. He pushed away those depressing thoughts and left the store, looking at both sides of the street.

He recognized a couple Gryffindors further down the street, looking at the pamphlets and saying something, and turned the other way. "Can we get out of here now?" He said, reaching out for Jo's hand.

Jo didn't waste any time in taking Noah's hand and Apparating back to the Formby Wood. When they arrived, Ezra was standing outside of the cottage, doing something with sawdust. Josiah let go of Noah's hand and used it to grab Ezra by the collar instead.

"Get inside," he said breathlessly, without remorse. Ezra flailed a bit, caught by surprise, but he hadn't had time to grab his wand and the hand on his collar was too insistent to argue with at the moment. Once they had all piled into the cottage, however, the Slytherin gave him a scathing look.

"I don't suppose they teach you manners in Scotland?" he grumped, rubbing the back of his neck where his collar had squeezed him.

"You're wanted," said Josiah, unfazed. "There are posters everywhere. The Muggles are after you for arson and murder, and there are about a million posters in Wizarding London calling for your capture as a suspected Death Eater."