A/N: Alright, I know you all are waiting for the plot to start. I'm getting there; next chapter they should be able to get out and about... not saying where! If America would leave me alone I would be able to get these chapters done a lot faster, but you know him...

Anyway, enough of me. Enjoy!

Chapter Three: The Temporary Parley of Astronomy

Arthur let out a groggy moan, stretching as he fought to pry his eyelids open. The world outside was cloaked in thick midnight darkness, and he checked his watch. 11:57 PM. He had enough time for a nice bath and trip down to the kitchens for a snack before Astronomy. With another yawn, Arthur roughly rubbed the sleep from his eyes and dragged himself out of bed.

The stone floor of the dormitory was chill beneath his bare feet as he quietly padded around his bed, grabbing a clean set of robes and slipping on his shoes before quickly slipping out of the room. He always hated having to get up at midnight for Astronomy, but not because he didn't like dragging himself out of bed; he didn't like it because the other boys in his dormitory tended to be extremely cranky when they were awoken at any time before seven in the morning. Especially Patrick. Arthur slipped out the door of the Ravenclaw common room and into the shadowy corridor beyond.

He headed up a flight of stairs toward the Prefects' bathroom on the fifth floor, which was never used this late since all the prefects would be in bed like good little children after their rounds, and smirked as he tapped the hidden door once with the tip of his wand. He wasn't supposed to be able to get in. Technically he wasn't supposed to be out this late either; even if you took Astronomy, there were strict guidelines on the time frame during which you were allowed to leave the common room and make your way up to the tower. He was about an hour early, but Arthur liked the school when it was dark and silent.

Arthur did a lot of things he wasn't supposed to.

"Reseiro," he whispered, now turning his wand like a key in a lock. Although Alohomora normally worked on locks, the prefects' bathroom had required a special little charm that Arthur himself had devised to break down the wards. The wall suddenly melted away to reveal a solid door, and he reached out to turn the handle and step into the wide space beyond.

The bathroom was lit by the soft glow of a few lamps on the walls, with no one else here save for the mermaid in her portrait on the wall. She giggled when she saw Arthur, flipping her long hair over one shoulder and reminding him uncannily of Francis. He shivered at the thought of that frog watching him bathe, tapping the door again with his wand to make it re-lock behind him. Just in case.

He stripped off his shirt and went to get the water running.

The warmly lit bathroom was misty and slightly steamy as Arthur slid into the hot water, enjoying its engulfing warmth. His feet touched the bottom, but only just, and he smiled, diving under the surface to swim down and lie on the floor of the bath. It was one thing he actually liked about himself; Arthur was slim enough that he could sit on the bottom of a pool and simply watch the other swimmers from below. This was especially fun when he was in a twelve-foot pool, standing on the floor of it as though he didn't even realize he was underwater in the first place.

But it was only fun when the pool was warm. If it was cold, or even slightly on the chilly side, he wouldn't last long before he'd start shivering. Being skinny did have its downsides.

Arthur's thoughts drifted as he surfaced and began washing himself, wondering who all would be in his Astronomy class this year. It never started in the first or second weeks of school, since there was still so much settling in to do, but from this third week forward he would be repeating the same routine every Tuesday and Friday at 12:00 midnight. Arthur's classes actually started at one in the morning, but he liked the routine he'd settled into perfectly well. After all, he had been doing this since way back in the beginning of fourth year.

He sighed, looking down through the rippling water. Had it really been that long?

Arthur finally climbed out of the bath after at least half an hour, shaking his messy blond hair out of his face as he grabbed a towel from the rack. He sat down on the cool tiles of the floor, slowly rubbing the fluffy white towel over his legs and back, gently drying himself off. Suddenly an odd thought struck him; it was one he normally wouldn't have come up with, but now it seemed completely relevant.

All his friends—even Patrick—had already slept with someone. Arthur had never even had a girlfriend. He lay back on the floor, thinking about it for a moment. Girls had never really interested him.

He knew that Gil would take pretty much anyone he could get in his bed—girl or guy. He wasn't really gay, but he wasn't straight either. He was just Gil. Arthur nearly wondered if Francis was the same way, but then he caught himself. He shouldn't even be thinking about that frog!

Arthur sat up, climbing to his feet and finishing drying himself off. He loved the feeling of being clean, and though he would never admit it, being free of clothes. All the same, he pulled his robes over his head with a sigh, unlocked the door with his wand, and stepped out into the darkened corridor once again. Arthur checked his watch as the door melted into the wall behind him. 12:48. Bloody hell, had he really taken that long? He really needed to learn not to get so lost in thought like that.

Arthur decided to skip the snack and headed quickly back to the dormitory to get his school bag before starting the long climb up the many flights of stairs to the astronomy tower.

It was one thing to climb those steps when you were awake, but it was something else all together when you were still half asleep, Francis decided as he started wearily up what had to be the sixtieth staircase since the Slytherin common room. He switched his bag to the other shoulder, finally reaching the landing, and trudged around the corner, out into the moonlit space of the Astronomy tower. The classroom was deserted and shadowy, but leading out of it was a simple stone archway to a wide, sweeping balcony kept contained by only a low stone wall. For a moment he thought he was the first one there, but then a figure on the far side of the balcony caught his eye. Francis thought he had forgotten how to breathe for a moment.

Because a certain Ravenclaw with messy blond hair was staring straight at him.

Arthur's eyes shone like sparkling diamonds in the moonlight, his hair still damp from the bath and his robes flowing in the slight breeze. And these classes are every Tuesday and Friday...? Francis wondered distantly. Somehow he was suddenly looking forward to them.

"Fancy seeing you here," Arthur said dryly, snapping Francis out of it. He shook his head in bitter mystification. "How many classes can I possibly have with you before they run out of bad luck to shove in my face?" he asked with resentment, turning away and plopping down on the low wall. He slung his feet carelessly over the side, as though he didn't even notice the fact that the shadowy trees on the grounds below were so far away they looked like props on a miniature train set.

Francis slowly approached him, sitting down about a foot away. He took a deep breath and said it.

"Je suis désolé."

The words hit Arthur like a freight train. He snapped out of his fuming silence, looking at the frog incredulously. He'd must've heard wrong...

"What did you just say?" Arthur demanded, sure he was being mocked.

"I'm sorry," Francis repeated, sheepishly realizing it probably wasn't much use to apologize in a language Arthur didn't understand. "I don't know what I did to make you hate me, but I'd like it if you didn't hate me. You seem like a dangerous enemy to have."

Arthur was completely caught off-guard, staring at Francis for a second before he caught himself. "Er... Um, yeah, sure. So, let's just- um... start over, then?" he stammered awkwardly.

Francis turned to him with a grin. "Bonjour, my name is Francis Bonnefoy. I just moved here from France, so I hope you'll excuse me for general rudeness. And frequent intrusions of privacy. That tends to be what we Frenchmen do."

Arthur burst out laughing, shaking his head. "Not like that, you frog, but- oh, what the hell? Hi, Francis. I'm Arthur Kirkland. Yes, I am a Muggle-born, and I tend to be cantankerous, so I apologize in advance."

The boys exchanged grins, and Arthur choked down another burst of laughter. "So, we have a treaty now?" he asked.

Francis grinned evilly, almost like Gil. "I wouldn't say treaty... more like a temporary Parley."

Arthur growled and socked him in the shoulder, but he was still fighting a grin. "If that's the case, then you're the one surrendering."

Francis made no move to protest.

They sat in silence for a while, listening to the night and the sounds of approaching footsteps as the other Astronomy students trudged their way out onto the balcony, panting heavily from the climb. Suddenly something occurred to Arthur.

"If you tell anyone about this I swear to God I'll Reducio your arse," he hissed menacingly. "And make sure you die a slow, painful death," he added as an afterthought.

Francis stifled a laugh. "Don't worry, you're not the only one who'd like to preserve their dignity," he replied in a low, conspiratorial whisper.

They exchanged tiny nods and promptly went their separate ways.

Arthur sat down in study hall the next afternoon, stifling a yawn. He set his bag down on the table as Gil flopped across him.

Gilbert smirked, catching sight of the hidden yawn. "And that is why I'm not taking Astronomy," he said resolutely. "I've got much better things to do these nights," he added with a cheeky wink at a girl over Arthur's shoulder.

Arthur chucked his Transfiguration book at him.

"Come off it, you bloody pervert," he said, stifling a smile. Yep; Gil would always be Gil, as surely as the sky would always be blue.

Gilbert laughed, ducking the toss and then leaning down to grab Artie's book off the floor. But suddenly he caught sight of a pair of shiny black shoes approaching on the opposite side of the table, just so happening to belong to a certain Frenchman.

A certain Frenchman whom Artie happened to loathe with a burning passion.

This could not turn out well.

Gil popped up over the table quickly, just in time to see Francis sit next to Arthur as though it was the most normal thing in the world to flop down next to someone who longs to tear your face off, and watched the two incredulously as they proceeded to ignore each other rather than throwing rather extravagant death threats back and forth. He wondered briefly if his epic fail of a spell in Charms could've backfired so badly it had thrown him into an alternate dimension.

"What was the Defense homework for tonight?" Francis asked, digging through his bag. Artie continued editing his History of Magic essay, not looking up as he answered absentmindedly.

"You should really learn to remember your own homework, frog," he told Francis, though he sounded unnaturally good-natured. "Chapter two, page forty-six. Basic rules of how to duel properly. Summary due tomorrow."

"Merci," Francis replied, searching through his book for the correct page. This whole conversation had gone by without either one so much as looking at the other, and Gil wondered again if the Charm had indeed backfired to trap him in some crazy opposite of the real world.

Finally, he had to say something to them.

"Er, guys... aren't you going to try and tear each other's heads off or something?" he asked, failing miserably at offhandedness.

Francis and Arthur continued not looking at each other, although both wanted to exchange smirks at their friend's bewildered state.

"Non," Francis said smoothly, diving beneath the table to rifle through his bag in search of parchment.

"Do you still hate each other, then...?" Gil prompted confusedly.

Arthur smirked, marking out another error in his essay and then rolling it up and placing it in his bag. "Oh, hell yes," he said with finality, holding back silent laughter. He stood from the table and strode away.

A/N: I hope there's some happy fangirls out there... we got Artie naked, what more do you want? Well, I know what you want, but I'm hoping to be able to wait until chapter six at least to change the rating to M.

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