Gilderoy was awakened the next morning by what sounded like something wet slapping against the wall between his and Lucius' bedroom and the bathroom. It took him a moment to wake up fully and realize that Lucius was in the shower, and the noise was him flicking his hair back as he washed it.

Gilderoy propped himself up on one elbow. He glanced out the window – it was still dark outside – then lay staring at the door to the bathroom. The noise really was annoying, and now that he was awake he wasn't going to be able to go back to sleep for awhile.

A few minutes later, the water stopped and Lucius came out of the bathroom. "Oh, are you awake?" he said, drying his hair. "Pity, I wanted a few more minutes to myself."

"I could hear you."

"So I gathered. You might want to take your shower now, since no one else is up except the nurses and there won't be any problems getting hot water."

"All right." Gilderoy got up and moved to the counter. "Where are the supplies?"

"I imagine they're back in Contraband where I left them," Lucius said, rolling his eyes. "I'm neither your keeper nor your servant. Get them yourself."

Gilderoy blinked. Clearly Lucius was in one of his less-than-pleasant moods. "What happened to you?" he asked.

"What do you mean, what happened to me?"

"You were so different yesterday, and now – "

"I suppose a decent night's sleep did me some good, and I snapped out of whatever oddness it was that I was in last night."

"You can't just pretend it never happened, Lucius."

"Well, whoever is doing that?" Lucius said, giving him a strange look. "It happened. And now it's over." He finished drying his hair and started looking for something to wear.

Gilderoy gave an exaggerated sigh. When Lucius didn't respond, he got up and walked out of the room and to the counter, to see if he could get the things for his shower out of Contraband.

When he returned to his room, Lucius was sitting on his bed, staring out the still-dark window. Gilderoy had learned this was a normal position for Lucius to be in, but he couldn't keep from commenting on it.

"Waiting for dawn?" he said.

"No," Lucius replied. "The window faces east is all. It's somewhat – hard – to look anywhere else." There was something in his voice that Gilderoy couldn't place; something not so much sinister as oddly sane.

"Are you upset? If you are, did I do something to make you that way? Because if I did, it's not – "

"I'm not upset," Lucius said, leaning back against the wall. "I just think it's time for me to leave."

"But you can't decide that!" Gilderoy argued. "Have you spoken to the doctor yet? I mean, you're still on checks and – "

"I'll be gone tomorrow," Lucius said. "Now get in the shower, Gilderoy."

"Lucius – "

"Get in the shower."

Gilderoy wasn't sure why, but he did as Lucius told him. The shower was extremely brief, compared to the usual. When he came out of the bathroom a few minutes later, Lucius was gone.

He dressed as quickly as possible, then went down into the main hall. Several of the other patients were there, listening to the most politically correct music the nurses could find. Lucius was sitting where the walls joined farthest away from the other patients. He didn't look like he wanted to be joined anytime soon. Naturally, Gilderoy marched right over and sat next to him.

"Damn," Lucius said, "and here I was thinking I'd finally lost you."

Gilderoy ignored that. "Are you really leaving tomorrow?"

"I do believe that's what I said. I'm sure you're pleased."

"Why would I be pleased?" Gilderoy said, a look of mild puzzlement on his face.

"You probably don't like me. I know I hate you. I won't have to spend another night in your room listening to you talk in your sleep. You won't have to deal with me not liking you. Shall I continue?"

Gilderoy thought that over. Then -

"…I talk in my sleep?"

Lucius sighed. "Yes."

"Oh…why do you think I don't like you? I like you just fine."

Lucius gave him an odd look. "And dare I ask why you like me so much?"

"Because you're a beautiful person, for one thing." Lucius froze, and for a second Gilderoy was afraid he was going to yell.

"You think I'm beautiful," was all he said.

"Yes," Gilderoy said, smiling at him, relieved that he wasn't going to make a scene.

"I don't know whether I should be flattered or offended," Lucius said.

"Pardon?"

"Nothing."

There was a pause.

"Well, this is an awkward moment!" Gilderoy announced brightly.

"And I thank you so much for making me aware of it, Lockhart." Lucius stood up. "I'm going to talk to Marlene. I don't want you following me."

"That's fine, Lucius."

Lucius turned and walked away, leaving Gilderoy alone in the corner of the room. Gilderoy stayed there for awhile, thinking about what he had said earlier. He wondered why Lucius hadn't seem pleased at his compliment. Gilderoy knew he would have been pleased if someone had called him beautiful…but then, Lucius wasn't pleased about a lot of things. It probably shouldn't have surprised Gilderoy that the appreciation of beauty was lost on him.

A few minutes later, Gilderoy looked up and noticed that Marlene was leaning against the wall by herself, watching the patients. Figuring that Lucius must have finished saying whatever it was he needed to say, Gilderoy got up and went to Marlene.

"Where did Lucius go?" he asked her.

"He's in your room, where else would he be?" she said. "We barely get him out here to eat as it is. He doesn't want to grace us with his presence for too long, I suppose."

"Is he really leaving tomorrow?"

"I suppose he is, if that's what he's decided." The look on her face told Gilderoy all he needed to know about what she thought of that arrangement. "I had better go check on him," she added, leaning forward and pulling herself away from the wall. She started down the hall, and Gilderoy followed behind her.

Marlene knocked lightly on the door before pushing it open. Lucius was sitting at the desk, his quill scratching against the piece of parchment in front of him. Marlene looked at him, nodded to herself, then moved aside to let Gilderoy in. He walked inside and sat on his bed. Marlene backed out, shutting the door as she went.

Lucius continued working intensely for a few more minutes. Then he raised his quill from his parchment with a flourish and turned to look at Gilderoy. For once he didn't look disappointed or angry to see him.

"Here," Lucius said, turning around and holding out a piece of parchment to Gilderoy.

"What is it?" Gilderoy asked. He tried to reach out and grab the parchment and failed. He stood up, walked over to Lucius, took the parchment from him and sat down on his bed again.

"I don't know what it is. But it reminds me of you."

Gilderoy stared at the parchment for a moment. It was all written in a large, sweeping hand with plenty of decorative embellishments. Then he started to read. It was a dark piece, one that ultimately left Gilderoy feeling like perhaps he shouldn't have asked to see anything Lucius had written. His eyes scanned down the scroll, not so much seeing the words as feeling them. The last stanza gripped his attention and kept it there.

When the seas have been forged

Heaven freezes

And hell opens

You know I'll stand there

In the hollow

Waiting

And wondering

Where I'll

Be

When

It -

"Stops," Gilderoy said as he finished reading.

"What are you talking about?" Lucius said, giving Gilderoy a look that said he knew exactly what he was talking about.

"Well, it's not finished. You certainly can't leave it that way," Gilderoy said, getting up to hand the parchment back to Lucius.

"Keep it," Lucius said. "I don't want it. And it's supposed to be like that."

Gilderoy stopped where he was standing. He unrolled the parchment again and scanned over the writing on it. "And somehow…this is me?" he asked.

"Yes. Take that as you will." Lucius stood up, brushing past Gilderoy and coming to stand by the window. The sun was shining outside. The contrast between that and the writing Gilderoy was holding was incredible.

"I think it's very – "

"I'm not asking you to like it, Lockhart."

"Oh," Gilderoy said. Then he realized how rude that sounded. He tried to think of something more to say. He settled on "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For giving it to me, of course. I really do like it. It's just…not what I was expecting."

Lucius nodded slightly, then turned and went back to his work. Gilderoy rolled up the parchment and put it inside the dresser, on top of his robes.