AlsethGosia, What a relief! This twist with the polyjuice is something I was wondering if you guys would find it a bit too much. hahah
Well... if I coment on this it will be spoiler so I won't :x hahaha
He was just going for the most belieavable excuse, but she is drop dead gorgeous, isn't she? :v
'XIII, she is bi... But calm your heart! hahah No one will get in the way of our main couple, alright? That I can assure you. Of other things, though... Now, it would be telling. :P
OstentatiousSulfurWaste, Yeah... but let's pretend Bella was just too shocked by Rodolphus unecessary mental pictures about their professor to even think about using his plan in any way. :v
Chapter XV – Doll me up in my bad luck...
"How is going back from the future any different than simply going back from our present?"
The scientist, for his part, didn't look irritated at all at their repetitive questions. It was a point in his favour. The others lost patience too easily and didn't even know how to explain themselves.
"As I said... Time is like a river current. We can build a barrage to stop its tracks, sure. Nature will protest, flood, but it will not run back to avoid it. Nothing can make the river run back, much like time. So, it stands that we cannot go back in time from where we stand, because it would be us trying to send the river back. BUT... Imagine that you threw a pebble in the river. The ran ahead of the current to see where it will go... You will reach its destination before the pebble, right?" Ron was about to protest, but the man said hurriedly, "considering that it is a slow current!" He cleared his throat then continued "Anyway, before the pebble can reach its destination, you can run back and change its course, or take it out from the river. THAT is the difference. Traveling from the future to our present, you will go back to where you belonged. Nothing will change... Unless you want to change the future, but that's not the point... You want to know about the past, yes?"
Ron nodded... Following some of his explanations... But what does a river current have to do with time? This Doctor the unspeakables wanted them to approve for hiring isn't making any sense... "...I didn't understand at all"
Harry, on the other hand, seemed to have a better grasp of what the scientist said "But traveling back in time is possible. I did it, once. With the same artifact my friend used to send herself to the past now. That's why they brought me here. If what you say make any sense to me, then you'll have your chance to prove you're right. Right now... Nothing makes sense."
"Are you sure you were sent to the past? Not to an alternative reality?" He asked instead of insisting on his crazy river theory.
Harry paused, trying to understand what that scientist meant. Ron was sure that he had the same confused expression on his own face "Alternative what now?" He asked on the behalf of his friend, who seemed to be pondering something.
"Reality." He grabbed a piece of chalk, erased what was previously on the board, and draw a single line. "Imagine this is a river, ok?"
What is with this guy and rivers?! Ron nodded either way, trying his best to pay attention to his explanation. "This is your timeline. Your river. You cannot send the river back, BUT-" He drew another line, diagonally, coming out of the first horizontal line "You can create other branches." It still wasn't making sense... "From your present point, it will create another reality, similar to your own... But not quite. I imagine that there are lots of those out there" He drew plenty of lines going out of the river "So, maybe the past you think you went was just another reality that looked like your own... in the past."
Once more, Ron was lost. Harry seemed to be following along better than him, so he left his friend to ask the questions from now on.
"When I travelled back... I saw my past self disappear. Can you explain why that happened?"
The scientist looked like he didn't expect Harry to have so many details about his travel... "Can you describe how your time-travel experience went? I want to be sure of a few things. Maybe I've been wrong this entire time, and there is a way to send the river back. Time, I mean."
Harry nodded and started his tale of how he and Hermione saved both Sirius and Buckbeak... The scientist was shocked by many of the things they had to go through but stayed focused on the time traveling aspect of it. "It was a paradox" He said finally "You created a paradox within your own timeline. That's..."
The man was agitated, he got up from the wooden stool and started pacing in front of the big, black board. "Ok, it doesn't erase my theory. But I can't explain with it either..."
He looked at his 'river' "Maybe you and your friend simply grabbed a pebble that was in the current, and threw back... to avoid the present destination... hmm..."
Even he seemed to be lost with his river metaphors, Ron realized, as the scientist frowned trying to attach Harry's experience to his own theory. Suddenly, his eyes widened, and he looked up. "You redirected backwards!"
"What?!" Both he and Harry asked.
"I thought you said you can't send a river back!" Ron protested over Harry's "What do you mean?"
He raised both hands, silently asking them to calm down, then went to his river, drew a line coming off it, going down vertically "You can't send the whole river back, but you can redirect another current..." from a certain point, he drew a line going back "To any direction you want." Then up, connecting again to the original river "That's what I believe you did. You and your friend branched out, created another timeline, then connected to another part of the past in your own timeline. Which started the whole paradox. You are basically the lucky one who managed go on living. There will always be one Harry and one Hermione making the changes you remember doing, somewhere in time, in an infinite loop. That's why the 'past' you disappeared. They are the ones locked in a loop. And that's why you are still here, with your memories." He pointed at the square formed beside the river, connected to it. The loop.
No other scientist was able to explain Harry's experience. But Ron isn't sure if he liked that explanation either, even if it made sense.
Harry's eyes threatened to burst out of his face "Then that means..."
"That there must be hundreds of Hermiones out there living in a loop of watching classes?" he made other small squares connected to the river, as he spoke "Yes. That's what I believe." he had a small smile on his face, as he assumed what Harry must have been thinking.
Ron felt ready to pass out. And it wasn't at the idea of being stuck on a loop, it was the idea of being stuck in a loop watching classes. The horror! He felt a whole-body shiver rolling off as he imagined a poor, thirteen years old Hermione watching class after class, after class, after class... Always watching classes!
"But my theory is that those stuck on a loop are none the wiser. They might not remember anything beyond their past."
"So, for them it's like living a normal day? No remembrance of having watched the same class. Or doing the same thing?" Ron asked, hopeful.
"Yes, I believe that they do not keep memories of the day they lived. Or else Harry would not be here now." He pointed at the boy in question. "Or he would remember things differently from you. And your memories of that day seem to match."
"What does it all mean?" Harry asked.
"It means..." He drew a person, a stick person, but convincing enough to capture Ron's attention. He drew hair, eyes and everything, then he drew another line coming out of the river to meet that stick figure. "That your friend probably created another current. Another reality." The Man, Ron hoped Harry knew his name because he could not recall, pointed at the river then at the branch going up "Maybe she isn't in our timeline at all. Maybe she won't even make the conection back."
I don't know what that means, but it doesn't sound good... Ron had felt as if someone was slowly squeezing his heart inside his chest. The thought that Hermione might be forever out of reach made him feel as though he lost her to death itself. "Will we be able to find her, then?"
The scientist shrugged. Oh, come on, you're our last hope, don't act like there's nothing you can do. "Not unless you have a way to trace her magically."
Ron and Harry exchanged a look. There is a way... "Can you build another artifact to send us to other realities, then back to our own? One that isn't limited by time, but goes whenever needed?" He asked hurriedly.
The man looked at Harry, then Ron, then Harry again, slowly a smile began to spread on his face "I've only been working on a theory for the past twenty years of my life." He got up and wrote some of his ideas on the board. Plenty of numbers... and what appeared to be an... Egg? An oversized egg... OOHHH a portal! What kind of muggle numbers are that? Maybe Elizabeth can understand this... Isn't that what mathematicians do? He could ask her to see his memories. "Now that magic is on the equation, it might make things possible!" The man said excitedly, working non-stop on what was his theory of 'elements'.
Harry and Ron shared a smile, they might just find Hermione!
"Dr. Wilkins, sir." Harry got up and extended his hand, the man paused briefly, looking back to face Harry as if he had forgotten they were still there.
Oh, so that's his name... Ron thought, getting up as well watching as Harry and Dr. Wilkins shook hands "You're hired. I'll inform the head of the unspeakable department that you're cleared to work on your project. You can wait for your co-workers to arrive here shortly. They will arrange a place for you to stay, and it goes without saying... do not speak of this to anyone outside."
He nodded eagerly. "I'll carry it to my death bed" The old man seemed to be living his dream, and Ron felt a bit bad for the fact that they would have to erase this guy's memories... He will realize his lifelong dream and he won't even be able to remember it.
Ron had to swallow the sudden sadness he felt, to smile in Dr. Wilkins direction and shake his hand. "Thank you for your help, sir."
"It is my pleasure!" His bright smile didn't lie.
The statute of secrecy sucks sometimes... It was situations like this one that made him hate being an obliviator. At first, he was interested in the salary raise, and all the new skills he would learn to be able to perform the job. Like legilimency, to be able to tell which memories to alter, and all the memories charms to confound, change, or completely erase someone's memories. It was the sort of skill he could brag about due to its delicacy, and attention to details. His friends and family were surely impressed when he showed prowess in his new line of work.
He was a master at what he did, something that usually made him feel proud of himself... But right now, Ron couldn't feel anything except guilt. He would have to make this man forget that his twenty-years old theory was a possibility with magic.
But he had no time to dwell on it. While the old man worked on a way to send them to Hermione's new timeline, they should make sure to keep her wand safe. It was a link to her magic, and their way to track her. We need you, 'Mione. Please, be safe.
"You're going home now?" Harry asked him, as they made their way - side by side - towards the lift that would take them to their department.
At the word home, Ron remembered the woman that would probably already be waiting for him to arrive. She would be beside herself to know that a muggle Doctor was helping figure out the mystery of Hermione's disappearance. Imagining her happiness made him smile, feeling it reflect in his own heart. "Yes. I can't wait to tell Liz that we found someone who has a solution..."
"Could you perhaps call Ginny to have dinner with you?" He looked a bit guilty "I still have lots of things to clear up with the unspeakable department, we have to figure out to explain this man's disappearance to his family until he finishes the project... I'll try to give Dr. Wilkins some days to meet them, but you know how it goes..."
"The unspeakables never want to take risks..." He nodded with a half-grimace, knowing well how hard it was going to be to cut that man some slack. It's unrealistic to expect him to not see his family at all until he finishes this, they don't know how long it would take... But the unspeakables valued secrecy more than common sense.
"Of course, mate. Go solve those bureaucratic details, I'll watch over my little sister." Lord knew she could do with some bit of good news as well...
"Thanks, Ron." He clapped him on the shoulder "Just remember that she eats for two now." His bright smile now was one of a proud father, his child wasn't even born yet, but Ron could see how much love that kid would receive. It made him ache for his turn to have a baby boy or girl of his own.
The lift arrived, and the person inside nodded his head in greeting. Silent and slightly contrite. As if he expected humiliation and harsh words... The golden duo was long past such childish attitudes, and Ron was feeling so happy with the good news they received, he even spared that man a side friendly smile. "Malfoy."
"Weasley." His small smile was sincere, despite his clear discomfort.
Alright, so it was awkward to stand in the same place your past mortal 'enemy' stood. Such enclosed space... with nothing to talk about. No small talk seemed appropriate enough, and even though Draco apologized, the hurt over everything he did was something neither boys could completely get over. They would never understand why that boy didn't take Dumbledore's offer of protection... Why he purposefully chose Voldemort. What made him cooperate so brilliantly for Voldemort's plan to work. As if he wanted his Lord to succeed...
No, they could forgive, but they could never forget. And by remembering everything he did, those two never found within themselves the will to forge a friendship with the blonde. Hermione did, though. Always forgiving... And that is the reason why Ron wasn't surprised when he asked...
"Do you have any news about Granger?"
When Ronald looked at him, he saw true concern in those eyes. He couldn't talk about what he and Harry discovered with that scientist yet, but they could reassure the man, couldn't they? He shared a look with his friend and got a nod in affirmation. "We have news... Nothing concrete yet, but we are positive there is a way to reach her. No need to worry, Malfoy. We will get to her in no time at all."
A smile took over his face, a long exhale showed that he had been holding his breath. Malfoy closed his eyes and looked down, as if sending a silent prayer to whatever power above that took care of fate and its ridiculous twists. "Thanks." He said when he looked up again. Smiling genuinely in their direction "Granger is... Well, she is a real good friend. But I'm sure I don't need to tell you that."
Harry had a smile on his face too "You really don't."
The lift stopped at level two, the voice announcing the departments on that level spurred the man into action. "Well, this is where I leave. See you later, Ron!"
"Alright, mate. See you." He waved in his direction, sparing only a glance in Draco's direction who said a quick "This is me too" And followed Harry outside.
Alright... Time to go home. He smiled to himself leaning against the wall, ignoring the people who entered wearing relieved expressions, all having similar thoughts, no doubt content that the day is over.
Dear Hermione,
I miss you. I hope that you'll be back before you find this letter. Seriously, my baby needs a cool godmother. Fleur doesn't know it, but you were always the first option... Who am I kidding? Everyone knows that there's no one else Harry and I would want for this. You know it, don't you?
I'm so sorry... Please, if you ever get to read this... Just know that I am aware that I was a true prat. I shouldn't have pressured you into something you weren't ready... I-
She sniffed and let go of the quill to dry her tears before they could fall into the parchment.
"Ginny?"
Her husband's voice startled her enough to send away that pressure building in her chest.
"Harry... You're back early... I thought... Well, Ron invited me for dinner, we're still going?" She hid the letter she was writing for a future she hoped it wouldn't come, under the article she was writing for the sports column. Something she should have finished by now.
Tutshill Tornados - The leading team of the England and Irish league - was using tactics from a muggle sport called 'handball'. Up until now, they only lost two matches, because the golden pome was caught too early by the opposite team.
Chet, the captain of the team, and coordinator of the plays they pulled, pointed out that it was with the aspect of the game of passing the ball as often as possible that got them ahead in points every match. Constantly switching flying formations to confound the enemy, and never hold the quaffle for longer than two seconds, led to a fast-paced match where they constantly scored and won the match regardless of capturing the pome or not.
Ireland pulled an historical win over Bulgaria back in 94' with similar tactics. A match that holds great memories for Ginny (despite how the night ended) ...
She would be excited about this other interview she scored with this living legend of their wizarding sport... There was so much she could write about the future of their National Quidditch team... But her mind wasn't in it.
By now, she and Hermione would start corresponding to talk about how things were going for one another. She would be gushing about another exclusive with Chet, and her friend would be gushing about her students...
Tears started to fall again. Turns out that thinking about her lost friend was enough to bring back all the sorrow. Hermione could be alive, but she didn't know which was worse... The eternal hope and expectative to see her again one day... or the certainty that she was gone forever.
The later at least would give her closure... But just the thought of it broke her heart to pieces. They already lost so much... Hermione shouldn't be gone...
"Ginny... What happened?" He quickly approached her, going over her desk to hold her against his stomach in an awkward embrace she was glad to accept. The angle was wrong, she had to twist her body to her left to hug him back... Physically, it was awful, but emotionally? His gesture helped lift a bit of the weight she felt pressing against her chest.
"What didn't happen?" To think that a bunch of blood purists are gathering support to send muggleborns back to the muggle world after they finish education... Those who shared these ideas were as stupid as those who believed in blood purity itself. To do that, they'd have to rearrange all the law surronding the use of magic in the muggle world first, which they didn't even begin to discuss... they only talk about how the quantity of muggleborns entering their world was an attack to the statute of secrecy... As if they didn't want to dominate the muggle world just a war ago...
She stood up to properly receive that comforting hug her husband knew how to deliver, burring her face between his neck and shoulder. "Are you alright?" He mumbled into her hair, leaving soft kisses on top of her head from time to time.
"No..." She sniffed and noticed for the first time that he smelled... different. Not bad, but definitely a new perfume. She'd ask about it later.
"Alright, dumb question..." He caressed her back soothingly and held her close in a protective embrace she was glad to let herself fall into. "What's bothering you?"
She knew that he hated when she blamed herself for what happened, but she couldn't lie... "It's all my fault... She would be here with us right now... If I hadn't... If I just..." She did her best to control her emotions... She knew that Harry was taking Hermione's disappearance just as hard, and it just added to his worries if she kept blaming herself like this... But she couldn't help it. She was the one who pressured Hermione to go for that date on her very first day of vacation. I probably made her feel as though it was better to avoid everyone...
"Shh..." Harry's soothing voice was what made her finally break down in sobs. He seemed to be feeling well enough to deal with her own emotional distress... "We'll find her, Ginny." How? How can you search for a person lost to time? He couldn't read her thoughts, but he was very good at reassurances when he wanted to be. "If she had erased herself, no one would remember her. It's only a matter of figuring out when and where she is. The unspeakables are working on that. I promise you. We will find her."
That did make her feel better... He sat on the chair she previously occupied and pulled her into his lap. "Truly?" she asked, accepting his comforting embrace. He nodded his head pressing her harder against his chest.
One thing about being pregnant... her sense of smell was heightened. So, she couldn't really ignore that strong, different perfume wafting off her husband's neck. "What's with the new perfume?" There was no accusation in her voice, so there was no reason for Harry's heartbeat to spike like that. She could feel it beating hard against her ribcage.
"I'm sorry..." The guilty tone of voice made her frown.
She backed away, with a very serious expression on her face. "Harry James Potter... What-"
"Imperius..."
Her mind got foggy... It felt like... a lover's caress. Why would she fight it? Her husband was comforting her. Yes, her Harry. He would take care of her.
She would help him in a very important mission... To find Hermione... He would find Hermione... They would find Hermione...
When she came to, she was gagged and bound to a metal chair in a poorly lit room, with ugly dark green walls... bare of any of furniture that could help her place where exactly she was. She looked around, and to her shock... Hermione was beside her, in a very similar state...
Hermione?!
"Thanks for your cooperation, Ginny."
She snaped her head in the direction of the voice... She couldn't believe... She glared at the man behind the camera. Let us GO! "HmmHMMMPH!"
"I'm sorry for gagging you, I just can't risk you sending any messages, you know?" His side smile was as insufferable, and arrogant as ever... How could you?! Tears of betrayal sprung to her eyes.
Click.
A picture was revealed... She didn't understand what was happening, but if there was one thing she was sure, is that whoever received that picture would be very worried.
Despite not having a clue of what was going on. Despite knowing, logically, that being gagged, unarmed, and in an unknown location was definitely bad. She felt... Not worried enough to match her situation. Her mind didn't register the danger, yet. Not completely anyway. She stared at her friend who was supposed to be missing, only capable of feeling relief for seeing her here. In the present...
Hermione had a pleading expression on her face, though. As if she wanted Ginny to understand something, but what?
What is going on?
"I'll be back later, don't worry. I'm an accommodating host." When he flapped his cape to make an 'impressive' exit, like his favourite Professor, the smell that lingered in the air finally made something click in Ginny's mind...
Burn in HELL, Malfoy!
- If I can't challenge her with the practical part of my classes, I might as well engage her in debates she might be interest in, am I right, or am I right? Of course, I'm right. She's combative. If I start a discussion she disagrees with - or agree, who knows what her opinion is on evil intent - she might take my class seriously enough to participate.
It would be great if she got over her bias to take the initiative Andie did. If I could show her that I am as powerful as that idiot... (Well, at least Dumbledore believes I am, so...) It should be enough to steer her away from the dark path Voldemort will lead her to.
I have to show her that power doesn't mean greed. Doesn't mean subjugation, and it shouldn't isolate her from the people she loves... On the contrary... Having power means we should take care of those who don't... That's what would make this world a better place, wouldn't it?
Her hand paused on her writings to inadvertently trace the blemish in her skin, hidden by her long sleeved, black dress shirt.
That horrible scar marked her in more ways than one. She didn't want anyone to suffer what she did, and it was with that in mind that she walked away from a career in the ministry. It was as clear as day that there isn't a law in the world that would force a person to stop being ignorant bigots. Education, though... Education had power to bring changes. Knowledge is power.
Unknowingly, Bellatrix Lestrange led Hermione to the path she took to become an educator. No one could ever imagine that it would lead her right back to Bellatrix Black, 41 years in the past...
She grabbed her pen once more and finished her line of thought in that journal.
I'm going to save her. I have to save her...
Sorry, Hermione, it must be getting confusing right? I promise, though, my priorities haven't changed. If she insists on going down that dark path, I'm not going to hesitate. Your future will not be jeopardized...
I just really want to see what kind of person she can be outside that man's influences... Maybe she is evil intended on her own, incapable of caring, and I've been seeing good where it doesn't exist...
But I must try. If I don't... I'll die wondering if I could have done more... You understand, don't you? I hope you do. Because I won't stop challenging that girl until she realizes the error of her ways.
"I know enough..."
She took a bite of the apple she stole from the kitchens before breakfast, and let out a sigh... Her first two classes on Friday were with her NEWT students... She woke up way too early to tweak her lesson plan, turn into something that would definitely engage Bellatrix...
She hoped they were ready for the discussion she would bring... and that her plan to get a certain student's attention worked.
"I don't see her anywhere." Francine whispered in his ear.
Rodolphus himself was staring impatiently at the place where the owls would come through. He needed to know if his father received his letter last night. He spared her a glance, to notice that she was staring discreetly at the staff's table, over the book she levitated and pretended to be reading.
"So? I don't see anything weird with that." He said before cursing the owls in his mind for taking so long. Doesn't mail arrive earlier than this? He went back to watching for any sign of brown feathers. His left leg bounced, and he made no effort to stop. His nervous energy had to leave his body somehow.
"I feel like... Whenever I notice something about her, she avoids that thing to keep me from getting any more information... First with her mind... Then when I noticed how she interacts with the staff... she doesn't show for breakfast."
"It's just coincidence, Fran! Don't let Bellatrix' nonsense get to you, you're starting to get paranoid like her."
Francine shook her head, and went back to eating her breakfast, still squinting her eyes to analyse the professors who talked jovially and passed food between themselves. "You can't read lips from this far. There's only so much you can do with that hawk vision of yours." He smirked, when she huffed and crossed her arms petulantly.
"I can try..."
"And fail. Just eat, get all the nutrients you need today. Our try-outs will be exhaustive. I need you at your best to compare notes..."
He followed his own advice and took a good, healthy bite of his buttered bread.
She shrugged, and finally quit trying to figure out the mystery that was Professor Grey. He couldn't deny that he was curious himself, but honestly, he couldn't care less what was that woman's game. She was nice, she was teaching them what they needed to know, and that was all that mattered. Anything else were details that really wasn't any of his business. Who cared what she was doing for Dumbledore? As long as it didn't affect his life directly - and it really wasn't - he shouldn't worry. It's not like he could do anything about it.
"Did Bellatrix agree with your plan?" She whispered once more.
He didn't have the chance to tell Francine about it. He could feel the muscle of his cheek moving as he smiled excitedly at his friend. "She did!" He whispered back, the low volume of his voice did nothing to hide his excitement. It wasn't like any student would pay attention to them, because they were too engrossed in their own conversations, but it was wise to keep this between themselves. "Man, this is going to be awesome! When she realizes I'm trustworthy, she'll see how great of an ally I can be. Our marriage can be great!"
Bellatrix was delusional if she thought she could single-handedly stop any plans Dumbledore came up with. Still... I'll help. In a way that doesn't really involves me making a fool of myself trying to woo a professor... Really, what was she thinking? It amused him that she believed he could convince a woman at least ten years older that he was a real catch. She thinks I have that kind of game!
He wasn't about to make her think otherwise! If he were to try himself and fail, he would lose what little respect he could get from her. No, she had to see for herself how much of an impossible mission that was. This way she cannot say that I didn't try to help.
Francine smiled sadly, she didn't believe that his dreams of having a happy marriage could come true, but she was clearly amused by the idea as well. "Just be careful. Professor Grey could be dangerous..."
And for someone who advised him to stay away, Francine was strangely engaged in figuring that woman out.
"I thought you liked her..." He frowned, finding Francine's change of heart completely out of character for someone who was willing to defend the woman just... what? Two days ago? "You started a whole debate with Bellatrix about it..."
"I defended her on the principle that just because she is a muggleborn, she isn't any less capable than purebloods. Not because I particularly liked her or anything... Now that I noticed these weird inconsistencies, I can't help but worry. Just promise to be careful..."
He shrugged "I'm not going to be on the frontlines... Bella is the one who will be taking all the risks. I'll just prove to her that I can be trusted with her plans, and secrets."
"Who can be trusted with whose plans and secrets?" Speak of the devil... She bent down, put her head close to his and Francine's, and whispered to both at the same time. "Because to me, it looks like it didn't take you sixteen hours to go around spreading our plans to your doormat." He had left a large space between him and Andie, hoping she would sit there... she didn't. She took the space beside Narcisa, considerably far away... I thought she would want to discuss our plan... He frowned.
"Stop pouting, Captain. It will destroy your rep." Francine joked, shoving a sweet pudding in his face "Eat. It's good for heartbreak, I've heard."
"Ass." He chuckled and accepted the food. He reserved the right to pout, because Bellatrix was being quite difficult, unnecessarily. Like she intended to make both their lives miserable for no reason except 'she didn't want to marry'. As if he did and were the single cause of her problems.
When the owls arrived and he could see a large round package with the shape of a cauldron making its way towards him. Thank you! For once you've done me a favor, Father! He smiled brightly and took that heavy weight without making any effort; ignoring all the stares, focusing on the only person he wanted to notice him. Shock wasn't a word that covered her reaction. She clearly didn't expect such a swift reply, or that he'd take action so quickly.
She'll see, I'm the best man she could have for a husband. He winked in her direction when those wide incredulous eyes found his own. She rolled her eyes but smiled back. His heart raced when he realized what was happening. Any other day she would have shot him a look of pure distaste and try to make him feel like a piece of shit.
He felt his own smile widening with her good-humoured reaction. That, my friends, is what I call progress!
He made his way to his dormitory to put away all their material feeling like he was walking on air.