Literally, how are you all so incredibly wonderful? I'll never understand it. Just keep it up, because it's such a blast talking to you all. And SPEAKING of you all being wonderful, I have a proposition: hufflepuffhaleb brought up the idea of making a trailer on youtube for this, and I love that idea! The only problem is I don't have a clue how to do that... but if YOU do, make one for me! It'll be like a contest. Post the youtube links to your videos in the reviews (although put spaces inbetween so FanFiction doesn't remove them) and I'll decide which one is my favorite! And the one who is my favorite... well, I'll think up a cool prize :)

REFERENCES:

"I'd be offended but Monica is freakishly strong." FRIENDS, with Chandler saying this to Ross about moving the couch back in season 5, aka the best season of that show ever.
"Turn to page 394." Snape. Snape. Severus Snape. ;)

REVIEW TIME:

Forever Courage: I was so upset when I heard about that, too! And to make matters worse, they made him PERFECT this season! Not fair :( thanks for the review!
AL3110: Haha well maybe I'll add him in ;) glad you liked it!
Ayoungnovelist: Yep, you caught it!
Sarah: Well to be fair, I think Aria is gonna get SCARY this season now that Ezra is A, which I'm looking forward to. Lucy is gonna get to show off those acting chops of hers! And haha, I was laughing when I wrote that line (does that sound weird?) because it basically describes the entire show. Love the girls and all, but they are INCOMPETENT!
hufflepuffhaleb: Wow, good for you! Well, I'd suggest writing it AFTER you complete your exams. I wrote this story toward the end of the school year during the summer, so I didn't have a lot going on. Unfortunately, school has to come first!
foreverawildandbeautifulmess: I have a feeling you and Aria teaming up would be both hilarious and efficient, haha. And yes, it IS such a Caleb thing to do! #thatssocaleb He's so noble XD
TotalCowGirl: We all would read it in Snape's voice haha. Thank you!
UngluckLiehaber: Don't worry about not reviewing often! It makes it all the more special when you do :) and well I didn't intend on putting Hagrid in, but if I COULD fit him in that'd be pretty cool! And no one wants to be on the other side of Neville's wrath. The kid is a BAMF!
BlackBaby: I'm a FRIENDS fanatic, too! All 10 seasons, baby. And thanks!
S. S. Ezria: Yeah, you got it!
Ava B: Ugh, I love Caleb so incredibly much. He's just so SWEET! And it's so much fun jabbing at Aria's smallness, I'm not gonna lie (mainly because I'm the same height so it feels good to be on the other end). And thank you! I was aiming to write him well, so glad I pulled through!
EmmersonTiriel: That was an amazing comparison you just made. Each day, you reviewers open my eyes even more to this story and what I unintentionally have been doing all along. You're right, Spencer and the Basilisk COULD have a connection. Maybe it's living through her? The possibilities stretch on forever! You'll just have to find out, but you're on the right track ;) and writing for Aria and Caleb is loads of fun. Both are such empowering characters, and they go together incredibly well. I noticed that whenever they interacted on the show, and when they were put in the same house in my story, I jumped at the opportunity :D and hahaha yes, "sleuthing" means "investigating". Not weed. We'll leave the weed to Maya. All of your guesses for A are valid, and at this point you just need to sit and read on to find out!
AvrilRP212: Neville is fun to write for, I must admit :) you'll be seeing a bit more of him, too! And I feel sorry for them, too :( stupid A!
Sgdp1261: Neville would be an ADORABLE teacher! Ugh, I can't. And I know, I love Caleb! He and Ezra are my favorites... and of course one of them is LEAVING while the other is, you know, THE ONE BEHIND IT ALL! I think this show is secretly after my soul or something.
elggup: Does Caleb take ANYONE'S advice? And I miss the couples too :( soon, my dear! SOON!
AddictedToSpoby: Thank you so much! I'm so happy you're enjoying it! More to come! :)
Bagilia: Yeah he is! Caleb is back and better than ever :) and a Tranna shipper? Are you LITERALLY saying such a thing exists? I don't want to live on this planet anymore ._. yeah, Caleb does take that role. But it's just... Vanderjesus... my emotions... also, I'm legitimately afraid if I don't give her the title she'll vaporize me or some shit.

Alright, this next chapter I hope you guys like. You all mention the Hardy Boys ever now and then, and... well... I gave them my own twist, I guess you could say. They're not the Hardy Boys you expected; they're a different combination. ANYWAY, enjoy, and REVIEW!


Ezra stood at the front of his desk, sorting through his notes and preparing his lecture for his upcoming class. He had been on edge a lot lately; Aria always had an effect of making him calmer, more collected, but now she wasn't around to do that, so he had been ready to pull his hair out.

Breaking up with Aria had been a mistake, and he had figured this out early on. But he didn't want to go back to her. He was afraid for her, and always felt that he was holding her back. He didn't know what was going on with her and the girls, but a part of him always felt like it was because of him. Maybe that was true, or maybe it wasn't, but he didn't want to be responsible for hurting her. He'd never forgive himself.

"Ezra Fitz," a squeaky, unpleasant voice called as heels clacked against the hardwood. Ezra huffed, recognizing the voice instantly. He was honestly surprised he hadn't gone bald by now.

"Ms. Skeeter," he said politely, plastering on a smile. "Good to see you again."

"Yes, yes," Rita said absently as she pulled her famous acid green quill out of her crocodile skin purse. Ezra narrowed his eyes, noticing something peculiar about her.

"You know, you don't have to keep wearing those robes," he said, referring to her Hufflepuff robes that she'd refused to take off. "Everyone here knows who you are."

"Do they?" she said, feigning surprise as she reached her hand to her mouth. "Well then, looks like I'm doing my job correctly."

Ezra could feel his blood boil, which was something that always scared him; he didn't like lashing out at people, yet he also did not like Rita. Not one bit. He had read the article she had published about Spencer, and realized that it was indeed her that took his books. That was enough to anger him, but the things that she kept saying about Spencer, and the fact that she exposed Aria and Mike by revealing that Mike was a victim, was enough for him to... well, he wasn't sure what he wanted to do, but it was something terrible.

"Now, I'm back here because I'm looking for opinions," Rita began, ignoring the scowl on Ezra's face. "I'm sure you've read the article that was released this morning - "

"Of course I've read it," he spat, surprising himself again with his animosity toward this woman.

She seemed startled too, but she kept going; she dealt with people like this all the time. "Well, I'm writing a followup article, and I want to interview students and professors to see what they think of Miss Hastings being a suspect."

"I think it's ridiculous," Ezra answered, as simply as possible.

"Really, now?" Rita said curiously as her quill scribbled on the parchment in her hands. "Care to elaborate?"

"Not really," Ezra said stubbornly as he crossed his arms. He knew he was acting like a child, and he frankly didn't care.

But suddenly, Rita's demeanor changed. She looked up, an icy glint in her eyes. "How about giving me something to work with here?" she said in a sickeningly sweet voice.

"Why should I?" Ezra said venomously, the blood boiling inside of him finally spilling out over the top of the kettle. "You're... you're horrible! You're going around telling lies about people, stealing from them, all just for a mediocre story in a newspaper!"

"Well, isn't it interesting that you'd bring up the stealing," Rita said, tapping her fingers so hard against the desk before her that some of her black nailpolish was chipping off, collecting in a small pile on the surface. Ezra froze; did she already know that those books belonged to him? And if she did, what did that mean for him?

"Alright, that's it," someone over by the door said, and both Rita and Ezra turned around.

It was Toby.

"Time for you to go," he growled, and neither Rita nor Ezra needed to confirm whom he was talking to.

Rita firmly grasped her quill out of thin air, squeezing it so hard that the feathers were all ruffled at the top. "Who exactly are you?"

"I go to school here," Toby spat. "I don't like the way you're disrupting my learning."

At this, Rita let out a dry laugh. "Well that is the biggest load of - "

"Bullshit?" Toby finished. Ezra knew it was his responsibility to correct him for using foul language, but he figured it wasn't the right time. Toby stepped forward, contempt clear in his cartoonish features. "I'd like to see what Professor McGonagall thinks about that."

It was clear that Rita was absolutely stunned. Her jaw went slack. But she didn't give herself time to come up with a clever comeback. Instead, she just hiked her crocodile skin bag further up on her shoulder and marched out of the room, pursing her lips and neglecting to say goodbye.

Ezra let out the breath he didn't even know he was holding. "Thanks, Toby."

"Anytime, Professor Fitz."

Ezra bit his lip, hard, before responding. "Actually, you can call me Ezra."

Toby's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Yeah, why not?" Ezra offered up as he sat at his desk. "Especially since I think I know why you're here, and it's probably better that we stay on a first name basis."

"How did you - "

"Because I'm freaking out, too," Ezra admitted as he put his head in his hands. Toby immediately pulled up a chair and sat in front of him.

"I'm so glad that it's not just me," he said worriedly. "I should've never broken up with Spencer, but..."

"But you can't find a way to go back to her?" Ezra asked, and Toby nodded his head.

"I'm the same way," Ezra said with a sigh. "Why are we such idiots? Something is going on with the girls, and we're just... leaving them to it!"

"Well it's time to stop that from happening," Toby said determinedly, and Ezra looked up at him. "I don't know what kind of progress they're making on their own, but they seem to want to keep us out of it."

"So... we do some snooping of our own and just not tell them about it?" Ezra speculated, and Toby snapped his fingers.

"Bingo," he said as a mischievous smile graced his face. "So where do we start?"

"I... have no idea," Ezra answered honestly. "I think the first thing we need to do is get those books back from Rita."

"Consider me on it," Toby said as he stood up from his chair. "I'll figure out where they are, and then get straight back to you."

He then started to walk out of the room, but Ezra stopped him. "Toby!"

Toby whipped around, looking at Ezra with a fierce look in his piercing blue eyes. But when Ezra looked more closely into them, he could easily pinpoint love. He loved Spencer, just like Ezra loved Aria. And together, they would do whatever they could to stop whatever it was that was hurting them. They were a team now; an unlikely one at that, but when had anything in his life been anything close to likely?

"Good luck," he finally said, and Toby curtly nodded his head at this before exiting the classroom.


Side Note: Team Tezra! Ezoby? Whatever have you. They're bromance has begun is what is important! This story is all about bringing unlikely characters together, so I wanted them to team up. You'll be seeing more of these two as a team, and I PROMISE it works! You'll see several different combinations of spouses, actually, and I really hope you like them. Also, Rita. Just Rita. That is all.