Layla usually wasn't the kind of human to probe around other people's stuff, but what else was there to do when her boyfriend went off worrying over nothing? She tried to calm him down; however, the thought of those incompetent(as he prefers to describe them) wanna-be chefs mutating the food with their unwashed hands into unspeakable horrors fueled his paranoia until it finally drove him mad. Ethan rushed out of his room in lightning speed with Shakespeare tagging right behind him, leaving his girlfriend as she leaned on his door, rolling her eyes.

And she wasn't particularly fond of going over his stuff especially. She remembered the last time she did this sort of stuff when he wasn't around was when she was like eight or something.

All she found were books, books, and even more books. And just when she thought she finally found something interesting at the top of his old book shelf as she was scaling it, the whole entire thing toppled over her and left her trapped in a pile of text books until her mother dug her out. She still had that stupid math equation etched into her mind thanks to all those hours of that text book plastered onto her face. But, to be honest, it did help her on that one test…

Today, though, might yield something interesting. From under his bed, Layla pulled out a good-sized, wooden trunk littered with dust.

Layla's eyes set a curious gaze over the dusty trunk for a few seconds. They shifted over to the orange cat hanging over her head. "What do you think is in here, Ginger?" she asked the cat.

"Meow…" the cat meowed.

"Ugh, whatever."

Layla continued to mull over the trunk. Going through all these years she's known Ethan, he has never once talked or even mentioned this secret secret of his. How long has he had this? Why hasn't he told about this. But most importantly, what exactly is in it?

Inhaling a deep breath, Layla blew and scattered the dust.

"Aww, man!" she coughed the words out. "I can taste how old this thing is." She spat out the last of the dust and moved on to unhooking the hinges. The top flipped open with a heavy thud echoing across the room. Like pulling the unknown out of a magician's hat, the first thing Layla uncovered was… Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone?

"And what do ya think you're doing going through Ethan's stuff, huh?" an amused voice chuckled from behind.

Her vision swiveled behind and came in contact with a pair of long legs. Following up that was a white lab coat gleaming under the bright light, and further up that was a pair of kind eyes staring down at her through clear glasses.

"Oh, uh… hey Mr. Malcolm!" Layla said in a rushed greeting. Ginger did the same with her own tired yawn. "What are you doing here?"

Dr. Malcolm and Layla got on good terms a long time ago when she finally realized a greater fear than murderous scientists in lab coats: murderous clowns in clown suits! But besides, the two were practically friends, or semi-friends actually. You know, two people who got along well but don't really socialize with each other much. Layla hasn't seen Dr. Malcolm much more than usual actually. Her mother included. Maybe it's because they're too busy doing whatever government-hired scientists do on secret experiments or something along those lines.

Anyways…

"Came here to check on a few files on my computer when I just so happened to find you going through Ethan's stuff. Now, the better question is, what are you doing here?"

"Uhhhhhhhhhh…" was her only response as her brain worked overtime for a reasonable explanation. The worry drove her head to glance back and forth nonstop from his awaiting gaze to the book in her hand. Out of options, she held up the book to him. "I was reading some Harry Potter?"

It was almost as if the book shocked his expression into surprise. He knelt down to Layla's level and grabbed ahold the book, analyzing every corner of it. By the looks of it, the book might as well be something baked from fresh from the printer. In fact, it still had that new, enchanting book smell. "Where'd you find this?" he asked.

"Found it in this old trunk under Ethan's bed. See?" She scooted a bit to allow Dr, Malcolm's hands to dive inside the trunk.

"A robe?" Layla questioned at the sleek, black fabric Dr. Malcolm held out.

"Not just any robe," Dr. Malcolm said, cracking a wider smile. He shifted the robe to point where Layla could spot a symbol of a fierce, roaring lion engraved on the fabric. "What we got here is a Gryffindor robe."

Layla nearly tripped on his words. "Wait, Gryffindor? Like as in, Harry Potter?"

"What other house comes in orange and red and a lion? Definitely not Sltheryin, I'll you that." Dr. Malcolm further pulled out a pair of round glasses and some kind of pointy stick. "Ever read the series?"

She placed a thinking finger under her chin. "Um… do watching the movies count as reading the books?"

He laughed. "He's probably gonna start growling at you if you say anything like that to him."

"Why does Ethan have all of this anyways?" Layla asked, swinging the stick as if casting a spell.

"I gave it to him," Dr. Malcolm answered. "Well, most of it anyways. That stick you're waving there used to be a tree branch that Ethan ripped off."

"Since when was Ethan a Harry Potter fan?" she asked, setting the stick down. "I mean, I don't remember him fanboying the franchise when we were younger."

"Since before he met you. You'd be amazed the expression he had as a 5 year-old dinosaur kid getting his claws on his first Harry Potter book in hard cover. Kids with his I.Q just loved getting their books in hard cover."

Layla poked her head inside the trunk, discovering a perfectly aligned row of the Harry Potter franchise still preserved in pristine condition, all of them in hard cover of course. And further inspection lead her eyes to spot a neat stack of those temporary tattoos of lightning-shaped scars. The mark of a true fan. What's next? A Harry Potter doll?

Layla's curiosity was spiking. "All right, how much of a fanboy was Ethan?"

"Not the most hardcore fan. Believe me, I've heard and seen the real ones, but Ethan definitely did some crazy stunts in the name of the franchise."

Crazy? Stunts? Ethan? Those three really didn't mix well together in Layla's head. "Like, what kind of stunts?"

Dr. Malcolm let out smalls laughs and a smile at the fond memories stirring in his head. "For starters, there was this one time the security cameras caught some kid-sized dinosaur completely tearing apart the janitor's closet."

"Why the heck would Ethan break into the janitor's closet?"

"So he could steal the janitor's mop. Guessing it's cuz it's the next best thing to a flying broom."

"And he needed a flying mop becauuuuuuse…"

"Because e wanted to show everybody that he could fly on his magic mop across the entire goddamn island. Would've been fine if you asked me, if it weren't for the fact he was gonna do it by jumping off the goddamn roof."

Layla tried to imagine it: a sweet, little, innocent dinosaur kid wearing the goofiest, round glasses imaginable with said glasses blending perfectly with wizarding robes and an awesome lighting scar on the muzzle, all the while preparing to fly off into the sunset with a magic mop ready to take off.

"No way! Did he survive?"

"Why yes, I did… as evident to my presence that gives adequate evidence to my survival."

Dr. Malcolm and Layla simultaneously turned their heads towards the half-pissed half-embarrassed voice to find Ethan trying to appear intimidating in his stance that wavered in shyness as his locked gaze on the two couldn't decide to border on anger or embarrassment.

Log: An old obsession

For so long I have prayed that my love would never unearth my darkest secret. It has proven to work for so long, I had almost brought myself to believe there is a great, all-powerful god answering my prayers.

But now, it seems, that god has decided to ignore my pleas for today.

Yes, it is true that I was once a Harry Potter fan (or fanboy as Layla would put it). Yes, I admit to committing very heinous acts in the name of Harry Potter. And yes, I do find myself regretting every crime I have done for the love of the franchise (most notably my thievery of a magic mop).

But you must understand, Harry Potter is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, works of literature I have ever read, rivaling even Shakespearean literature. At first book it had already enchanted me with its mystical aura and sparked within me a blazing fire that could not and would not be quelled until every single Harry Potter book was burned into my memory.

It was a happiness before I met Layla. But when I couldn't share my happiness with anyone… I began to feel the dark clutches of depression on my heart.

And when I met Layla, I feared this wild child would reject my happiness so I never once told her of my fondness of witchcraft and wizardry. Even as she matured (at last somewhat) I still feared her rejection.

Now, however, I know she loves me and would never harbor any odious thoughts on me and what I love.

So maybe I should cease this foolish fear and share with her my Harry Potter obsession

Dr. Malcolm continued to spin endlessly in his chair as the computer's loading screen tested his patience. About five minutes later, the he finally managed to access his secret file labeled Pictures.

He opened it.

And what was revealed was an endless stream of a young dinosaur showing nothing but pure, unmistakable joy. Dr. Malcolm's grin grew as he moved to each picture. From Ethan's priceless face as he received the Gryffindor robes to him standing at the edge of a roof preparing to fly off on his mop.

But what nearly got Dr. Malcolm to tears was seeing a lightning-bolt scarred Ethan in his goofy glasses and his wizarding robes as he held his wand proudly towards the sky, a fierce and prideful gleam in his eyes.

Then Dr. Malcolm closed his eyes and tried to imagine all of that innocence gone. He tried to imagine Ethan, with blood-filled eyes of a merciless killer, bearing down a helpless human at gunpoint as his bloodstained claws drop droplets of red blood of his countless victims,

But he just couldn't.

He just couldn't imagine Ethan being anything like that.

Hey guys! Sorry for taking so long! Stuff's beeen happening. Anyways, I hope you take your time to review!