"He attacked Devon?"

"Yeah."

"And you attacked him."

"Yes."

Char smiled, shaking his head. Aly flushed slightly and kept her eyes straight ahead. She smiled slightly at Ginny and Dean as they turned into Madam Puddifoot's. After explaining the situation to Devon (reluctantly, of course), she ran up to the common room, talked to Natasha, and then met Char in front of Honeydukes and she hastened to explain everything.

"You two are going to end up in Azkaban together."

"Hey!" Aly said indignantly. "I wasn't the one to stupefy him."

Char smiled again. "And you attacked Adam."

"Yes." They had stopped in front of the post office. "I thought he was a complete idiot for attacking him."

"Thought he was?" Char said, smiling at her playfully.

"He is," Aly sighed, staring up at Char. "I gave him a black eye."

"Way to go!"

"Is that sarcasm?" Aly asked, frowning. "Because I really didn't feel happy about it."

Char grinned and shrugged. He opened the door for her and they entered the post office, greeting the man at the front. The office was completely empty, save for the owner.

"Hello," Char said breathlessly, walking up to the front. "Two letters, please."

"One galleon, three sickles." They split the money between them and then sat down at a table equipped with parchment, quills and ink.

"Writing to your mum?" Aly asked dipping her quill into the ink.

"Yeah. Just a bit of a warning."

"Same here."

They continued writing in silence for a few minutes. Char peered over at Aly frequently and raised his eyebrows.

"You have nice handwriting."

"Thanks."

Char scanned her letter quickly. "Writing about Adam?"

Aly looked up at Char quickly, and back down at the letter. "Oops!"

She took out her wand and cast an Obliteration charm. A whole paragraph of the letter about Adam was erased. Char looked on in surprise.

"I forgot. She doesn't even know that I still talk to him."

"She has no idea?"

"None at all."

Char frowned with disapproval. "Aly, I think she of all people should know."

"I'm not sure how she would handle it," Aly replied plainly.

"You'll tell her though. Before this is all over."

Aly met Char's eyes. She nodded hesitantly.

"I'll hold you to that," he grinned. Aly smiled and finished writing her letter. Then the man up front came up from behind them and tapped Char on the shoulder, smiling friendly as he turned around.

"You might want to finish that letter, sir. We'll be closing down in ten minutes."

"T-ten?" Char stammered. "How short are your hours?"

"Noon to three, sir."

Char looked up at the clock hanging on the wall next to the door and noticed that it was in fact, ten till three. He sighed and put on a slight smile. "Um, alright, then," he said hesitantly. "I'm just about finished."

The man nodded and walked over to the door and changed the sign. He walked back over to the front. "Just put them up here," he said patting the counter, "When you're finished." He walked to the back of the room and they heard him open a door. Char nodded and turned back to Aly, frowning. He sighed and signed his name on the parchment. Aly handed him her letter and Char got up and set them on the counter. Aly stood up and they both walked out of the post office together. Char took her hand and they continued walking to the castle. Aly frowned as she watched the Honeydukes shop close for the day.

"Three hour postal service," Char grimaced, shaking his head. "The hours get shorter and shorter."

"Well, what'd you expect, Char?" Aly frowned. "The doors will stay open all day? People are paranoid."

"Truly, what are the chances of him coming here?" Char snorted.

Aly waved her hand in his face. "Hello? Haven't you been paying attention? First year; his soul is embodied in our teacher. Second year, he has his soul inside of a diary. Fourth year, he bewitches the cup so he can use Harry's blood to reincarnate."

Char frowned as she went down the list.

"Finally, he appears at the Ministry of Magic in plain sight. What makes you think he just won't pop out in front of us now?"
Char rolled her eyes and looked away. "I hate it when you're right."

"So I've noticed." Char's eyes narrowed as he looked down at Aly, who smiled brightly.

"You're a little devil," he said, his brown eyes twinkling.

"Did the horns and tail give me away?" she teased. Char smiled and they kept walking.

"What did you say to Devon?" Char asked suddenly as they wound their way through the trees and shrubs ascending to the castle.

"Firstly, Adam lied. That memory charm wasn't strong enough to erase his whole memory," Aly started. "So he remembers everything."

"And?"

Aly smiled. "Surprisingly, he has given his word he won't say."

"What? Really?" Char asked, daring to believe her.

"Yeah. You see, I already talked to Natasha. She knows." Aly smiled again. "Devon loves Natasha. I mean, he's head over heels for her."

"What a surprise."

"I know, right? Anyway, Devon loves her so much and he knows that betraying us will make Natasha blow her cap. Therefore, in order to keep Natasha and make her happy, he won't say a word."

Char frowned. "I'm lost."

Aly sighed impatiently. "Devon loves Natasha. I'm Natasha's friend. If Devon betrays me, than Natasha will hate Devon and then he'll be a poor miserable sap."

"Oh! So, in order to keep to girl, he's keeping his mouth shut."

"Exactly," Aly nodded. "He's being pretty good about it, too."

"I just don't know how many more people can find out before it explodes in our face," Char sighed. "It seems like too many people know about everything that's been going on already. Amanda, Hayden, you (no offense), Natasha, Devon...Adam...how many more people will find out before it all just falls apart?"

"It won't," Aly said reassuringly. "Because no one else is going to find out. I promise."

Char smiled and squeezed her hand gently. Then he smiled mischievously.

"So, if I knew a secret about a friend...say...Amanda. If I spilled her secret, what would you do?"

Aly took the bait. "I'd kill you, for sure." She raised an eyebrow. "What kind of secret?"

"I dunno if I should tell you because you'd kill me," Char shrugged, as they entered the castle.

"Depends of the level of the secret," Aly replied. "One a scale of one to five."

"Hm...Four and a half?"

"Really? Talk!"

Char smirked. "Quite frankly, I don't want to die."

Aly scowled.

"She and Damien have been skipping History of Magic for the past week and half to snog in the broom closet."

"Are you serious? And they haven't been caught."

"Nope."

"Wow," Aly said.

"Are you still going to kill me?" They started heading towards the common room.

"No. Because technically, I forced you to tell me. In the end, though, you'll be dead."

"Why is that?"

"Well, I'll probably open my fat mouth; she'll want to know who I heard it from, and I'll tell her it was you. Then she'll come after you like a lion, kill you and then bring you back to clean up the mess."

"Well, that brings nice images." He smiled.

"It sures does," Aly agreed brightly.