A/N: In the last scene where Nerya narrates the Ainulindalë, the phrases in italics are Tolkien's and not mine, as is the entirety of the story, for which I made a somewhat blasphemous summary.

Chapter 10: Brotherly Affection

the afternoon of January 5th, the day of the students' return, Albus stopped mid-sentence. Nerya followed his line of sight and turned to look at what had distracted him. Aberforth had just stormed down from the dormitories, saw his older brother seated in the far opposite corner and then ignored him and started straining his neck, possibly looking around for an empty table. Since it was the first evening back, though, there were no empty tables.

"Would you mind if I asked my brother to sit with us?" Albus asked Nerya, grimacing slightly.

"Mind?" she exclaimed in incredulity. "Please, do! We've met but never properly talked. It would be very interesting to study you two together." Nerya beamed excitedly, Albus chuckled fondly.

"Don't let him hear you, he'll tell you he isn't a bowtruckle." He replied absently with a fond smile, missing Nerya's baffled expression in his efforts to catch Aberforth's attention.

"I'm intrigued as to the chain of reasoning behind this reply." She retorted, amused.

Albus' fond smile just grew, because of her or the fact that Aberforth seemed decided not to look towards his brother, Nerya couldn't say.

A few moments later Albus had finally managed to gesture to his brother to come over. While the younger stayed put and seemed to be immersed in something of an internal struggle, Albus shot a glance at Nerya; he was smiling amusedly, but the familiar twinkle in his eyes wasn't present. Nerya shot him a quizzical brow.

"He hasn't done his homework, that's why he doesn't want to sit with us." He explained.

Nerya snorted. "You are such a mother hen…" Albus wiggled his brows, still watching Aberforth. "Then, why doesn't he go to the library, or somewhere you wouldn't have a chance to nag him?"

Aberforth seemed to have finished his struggle, because he started coming towards them.

Albus faced her again. "He wants to scold me for not going home for Christmas." The twinkle in his eyes had come back with a vengeance.

"What a fine chance for studying indeed!" she said under her breath, widening her eyes hungrily.

Albus tried not to stare, like he always tried when her violet eyes were overtaken by academical greed.

"Welcome back, Aberforth! How is Mother?" Albus said to his brother, the warmth in his tone somewhat strained, while the younger, without looking at them, drew up a chair to sit between them.

"Fine, she gave me your stuff, I have them upstairs." Aberforth replied in his usual, mumbling voice, but his evident wish to scowl at Albus gritted his teeth and made him look like he was trying to become a ventriloquist. He glanced at Nerya for a fraction of a second and then glared at Albus from under his lashes. "I won't disturb you if I sit here, then?" Even though he was speaking silently, the sarcasm in the word 'disturb' could be heard quite clearly.

Albus tilted his head, his expression polite, but his eyes were challenging. "Of course not! We invited you here, didn't we?" Before waiting for an answer, he turned his attention to Nerya, answering the sly glimmer in her eyes with the faintest twitching of his lips and continued with a hand gesture, "You know Nerya, of course?"

"I have seen her around with you." In a carefully neutral tone that he knew his older brother wouldn't miss the meaning of, he addressed his answer to the books he was extracting from his schoolbag.

Before Albus could respond accordingly, Nerya intervened with a warm smile. "We've met before actually. Hello again, Mr Dumbledore." And she extended a hand to shake his.

Aberforth side-glanced her and his gaze fell on her hand. He shook it hurriedly and returned to his bag to find ink and quill. "Call me Aberforth." Was all he mumbled.

Albus took a deep breath and folded his lips on each other, in an effort to contain his amusement, something that Nerya didn't make at all easier, looking at him with trembling lips and knowing eyes. For a few moments, it was only the scrapings of Aberforth's quill that could be heard from their table.

"Aberforth?" Albus crouched to the table too, trying to see something more of his brother than his profile.

The younger brother grunted without looking up.

"May I ask how come you didn't do your schoolwork during the entire two weeks you spent home?" Albus kept his tone careful and neutral.

He mumbled immediately without stopping his work, "I was too busy justifying your absence to Mother-" he almost invisibly glanced at Nerya and pursed his lips, "our Mother."

Albus would normally start losing his patience at this point, but one glance at Nerya, who seemed to be enjoying herself very much, only fortified his amusement.

"There was no reason for that, since I had explained it to her in my letter. Nevertheless, you will be happy to hear that I have indeed progressed with my studies and your justifications weren't for nothing."

Aberforth just scoffed, his quill dancing frantically over his parchment.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that?" Albus knew he was pushing, but obliging Nerya with some more of Aberforth's best moments was too delicious a temptation to resist.

Aberforth stopped his writing and his eyes darted once more to Nerya for barely a moment, before his quill continued with the same verve. "You could have studied at home." He spat.

"Yes, but we don't have Hogwarts' Library at home, do we?"

"No. We have no library, only a family." Aberforth's venomous tone made him tear a whole in his parchment. He lifted his eyes to glare at his brother. "A family that was asking after you;" he spared a glance at Nerya, "really asking… many times. And I had to be the one to explain." and he shot him a meaningful look that didn't manage to break Albus' neutral expression. He returned his glare to his parchment.

Before Albus could reply, Nerya caught his eye and wordlessly asked him if she should leave them alone after all. They then engaged in a silent and discreet conversation of nods and expressions, about how Albus wanted her to stay, well if she wanted it to, that is and how Nerya was enjoying it immensely but also thought it right to ask if they needed some privacy after all. In the commotion of the common room they didn't realise that Aberforth's quill hadn't started again and he was witnessing the whole thing with a suspicious expression.

Albus finally saw his brother with the corner of his eye and averted his gaze to the room for a moment, damning the fact that his lips kept betraying his amusement. When his attention returned to their table, Aberforth was still staring at him through narrowed eyes.

"How much does she know?" he asked quietly through gritted teeth and his nostrils flared, very much like their mother's did.

Albus' amusement was immediately replaced by a look of horror and even though he quickly hid it, his subsequent blush and averted eyes were enough of an answer.

"Maybe I should go…" Nerya made to stand.

"Well there's no point in that now, is it?" Aberforth whispered in a poisonous tone, looking at her properly for the first time; well, glaring at her would be a better description.

Nerya didn't retreat; she held his eyes on hers, a firm expression on her face. She crouched a bit towards him and whispered. "I know you have no reason to trust me, but I'm not the type that gossips around… or snitches." Her expression had gone from firm to dangerous. Temperature dropped, and a shiver ran through the people sitting in their vicinity, but they thought it was just the cold.

Aberforth was still scrutinizing her, but his glare was gone. Albus pushed back the wonder he was experiencing and placed his hand tentatively on the arm his brother was resting on the table. Aberforth slowly turned his stare to him; Albus internally flinched when he noticed betrayal overtaking his brother's face, but was grateful that Aberforth had his back to the room. He saw Nerya with the corner of his eye pretending to read with a neutral expression.

He sighed before whispering. "She is my sister too, Aberforth. You think I would ever do anything that would put her in harm's way?"

Aberforth face contorted like there were many a thing he had to say about that, but Albus was grateful when he just spat, "Dormitory. Now." before Albus could agree Aberforth had gathered his belongings and disappeared up the stairs.

Albus tidied his expression and absently gazed around the common room again. Too exited sharing their news, no one seemed to have noticed what had happened in their little corner. A sixth year was rearranging the logs in the fireplace. Good. He turned to Nerya again, and he grimaced apologetically. Nerya just snorted, the corners of her lips curled up in a smile. Albus breathed again and his relief pulled his lips into a grin. He wordlessly conveyed the need to follow his brother.

"For as long as you must. I'll keep the table."

"Thanks."

"For keeping the table?"

Albus took his time as he studied her with a fond smile.

"For existing."

The image of Nerya's blush was all he could think of while he ascended the stairs, even though he knew he should be preparing for the storm that awaited him in his brother's dorm.

Albus entered without knocking. The dorm was empty except for his brother, but he placed a silencing ward around the room. Aberforth was loudly 'tidying' his belongings, but before Albus had pocketed his wand, Aberforth was already spitting words out, contemptuously not looking at him.

"Whoever she might be, even if you can actually trust her, why would you do something like that? Even if she is what she seems, why should you mention Ari? No matter how well she might suck your cock, you can't-"

"She does no such thing- Aberforth! How d- when did you-why-" Albus gawped audibly, a blush rushing up his neck.

"Oh, right. You don't really go for that sort of hole, do you?" Albus just closed his eyes and counted to ten, but Aberforth continued all the same, his mocking voice dripping poison. "So, what's with her, huh? How is she better than us mere mortals? You have deep conversations and she shares your magnificent Excellency?" he abandoned his tidying and rounded up on him, his hands clenched into fists, shaking. "You know her three months! You thought that was enough to-"

"THAT IS ENOUGH."

Albus met his brother' glare with narrowed eyes. When he spoke his voice was firm, and he chose to forget his brother's last words. "I know who she is and I definitely trust her." Aberforth scrutinized him. "Let's put it this way." Albus continued, keeping his tone as gentle and patient as he could. "Have I ever said anything to anyone before? Have I given you reason not to trust me in this? Wasn't the fact that I chose to tell her, sufficient proof of her being trustworthy?"

"You are not as clever as you think you are, Albus." Aberforth's dry tone made his older brother sigh resignedly. Albus passed a hand down his face and studied his brother tiredly.

"Well the cat's out of the bag now. No point in talking about it anymore." he couldn't help the coldness in his tone.

Aberforth just looked away with a disdainful sneer. Albus picked up the package from home that lay on the bed and turned to leave.

"And I would prefer it if you didn't tell Mother about it." Albus said as he opened the door.

"Yes, of course, your Royal Highness." Aberforth retorted sarcastically. "But I won't do it for your sake. I'll do it to spare her another concern." He shouted at Albus' back.

"Finite Incantatem" Albus mumbled and closed the door. He took a few more breaths, as he headed to his room to leave the package, and then he made his way back to the common room.

"Ah! Pity. I expected a looong conversation and at least one of you being moved to the infirmary on a stretcher." Nerya looked at him with a faint smile when Albus dropped himself on the chair he had emptied barely five minutes ago.

"Funnily enough, so was I." Albus replied with a sigh and a tired smirk.

"We got a bit more than we bargained for, didn't we?"

"If only he directed half of his wit and efficiency to his schoolwork…" Albus replied with a deFëa ted expression.

Nerya discreetly and wandlessly cast a silencing charm.

"He meant that Arianna was upset you didn't go home, didn't he?" Nerya was frowning and searching his face.

Albus sighed, his face a bit grave. "There are very little things she enjoys anymore… and Aberforth wants her to have all the fun and normalcy she can get. He is pretty determined about that, so he might have exaggerated a bit… I mean, she probably asked after me, but not as many times as Aberforth implied… Anyway, even if I had gone home, what good would it have done? For starters, I would have been in a foul mood, since I would have been forced to be there. That would have agitated her, instead of cheering her up."

"Force is definitely not the best motivator…" she tilted her head. "Out of curiosity, was studying the only reason you didn't go?"

Albus blushed a bit, 'what is she asking?' he wondered internally, a bit panicky. He used his Occlumency exercises to tidy his face and voice into polite interest. "Why else?"

Nerya didn't fail to notice it though. 'What did he think I meant?' she asked herself, a bit confused. "Maybe you wanted to avoid a family gathering?" she proposed with a hint of slyness.

"Maybe that was a perk, yes…" , he tried to look innocent, while he thought 'it's not the entire truth, but at least is a small part of it'.

"Well, it's understandable." Nerya stated.

"Avoiding my invalid sister? How is it understandable?" Albus' surprise and bafflement didn't hide his amusement.

"You are not avoiding specifically her, are you?" she asked nonchalantly.

"No, not her. I love her very much." Albus stated forcefully, but then his face changed. "But I'm so bored there."

"I would never blame you for that. I have always put tremendous efforts into avoiding my family too." Nerya grinned proudly.

"We are nothing more than two bored and strange children running away, then?" He studied her fondly.

"Three cheers for Merlin and Earendil that we found each other."

For a moment Albus' face was overtaken by so many emotions, Nerya's heartbeat went through the roof. It was gone very quickly though, the moment Albus glanced to the crowded common room; he just mimicked her suggestive smile, his eyes still scorching Nerya's insides.

"Three cheers indeed."

Another return that affected them immediately was of course that of Elphias and Albus' other friends, along with all the girls and boys that Nerya had managed to enthrall. The first real consequence of this had made itself known just a couple of hours after the incident with Aberforth; Nerya was reading and Albus was playing Wizard's Chess with Elphias, who was sitting across from them.

"Being sociable is one thing, but not being able to finish a sentence because of all the interruptions is something else entirely!" Albus had mumbled to her in a mock indignation that had failed to hide his mirth with the whole situation, the 15th time someone had interrupted their chat between moves.

Although the first four or five interruptions had indeed annoyed him a bit, having gotten used to relative seclusion, now he could barely contain his giggles, because the 15th was more or less identical with the ones before it. Nerya pretended to relish in all the attention of the people coming to catch up with her and she tried to be as creative as possible, since she was required to answer practically the same questions over and over. She was slightly overplaying it, she knew, but she couldn't help but keep it up, only for their little charade with Albus to continue.

"Did you use a love potion or the imperious curse?" he asked with polite interest, while studying the chessboard in front of him, waiting for Elphias to play his turn.

"Nothing of the sort, if you must know." She replied confidently as she browsed through the Evening Prophet. "It must all be caused by my otherworldly charms." Her smile was the sassiest one Albus had seen in his life.

Elphias thankfully didn't seem to register what Nerya had said – not that it would mean anything to him – because he was immersed in thinking his next move.

In a similar manner the first days of January passed. Each other's acceptance and trust had put both their minds at ease, at least for most matters, and they were enjoying each other's company more than ever. They talked and laughed and tried as much as they could to remain within the boundaries of the little world they had made for themselves during the holidays.

That little world was obviously not left unaffected by the start of term. Along with the lessons that required quite a lot of time and attention, a tidal wave of students had come to flood the castle. Privacy was a thing far from guaranteed anymore; still they tried very hard to steal some time alone. Nerya didn't wholly return to her meal-avoiding strategy, since that was time the two could spend together. She kept the vanishing method she had resolved to during the Break, unless she actually needed to eat or Albus had to sit with his friends; they had arranged it in a way that would suit everyone, wouldn't draw attention and wouldn't slight Elphias and the others. It all added up as it should, however, because when Albus was with his friends, Nerya could tend to her other social obligations.

Their peers seemed to have grown used to her by now, because they treated her more like a part of the castle, instead of a guest. That meant that Nerya didn't have to be so alert all the time; her job was done. If the people around her hadn't found her presence suspicious in the first months, when she was something new and exciting, they would hardly pay attention now. Let alone how Nerya herself felt much more accustomed now to how things rolled and wasn't in such constant vigilance to read between the lines and behave accordingly. But part of her plan to avoid suspicion had been drawing attention on herself, following the mantra, 'the closer you look, the less you see'. Nerya had made sure to be in talking terms with everyone in their year, no matter what house, and she had put great efforts in being well-liked and friendly. And she could hardly start avoiding them now, so she had to continue her little hypocrisies.

The library was ever their refuge, where studies mingled with conversations. Most of the little spots they had made their own, however, where they talked and laughed, or read to each other, or had just sat in comfortable silence with one's head resting against the other's knee, were now cruelly occupied by others. But no matter the difficulties, they soldiered on and made the most of what they could get their hands on.

Yes, their dreamy little world was far from unaffected. And as much as they tried not to, so were they.

Back on the astronomy tower, with a mock professorly look and a pompously expressive voice, Nerya was lecturing about the genesis of the cosmos, after Albus' request of course.

"So Eru Ilúvatar, ah, the first of which means in Quenya The One or He that is Alone and the second means Allfather; he created the Ainur, immortal incorporeal entities, and charged them with creating the universe, Eӓ. He chose a musical theme upon which the Ainur sung the creation into existence, while Eru sat down with a cup of tea and supervised things."

Nerya paused just enough to raise an eyebrow at a hysterically cackling Albus, who couldn't keep it straight because Nerya reminded him too much of a mixture between giddy Dippet and the stern headmaster. He gasped for air a bit and then reassured her with a gesture that he'll behave. Nerya, never out of character, shot him a disgusted look and then resumed.

"Each Ainu chanted upon this theme in the way their talents and tendencies allowed; they could sing anything, as long as it didn't cause a cacophony. I believe that is the notion of free will as well." Nerya couldn't resist the urge to snort along with Albus. She wore her façade again and carried on. "Each separate chant joined in with the rest and formed a mighty choir, that sung the great success, the Ainulindalë. (Though of course it wasn't recorded in any way, therefore we don't really know if it was as good as they say. We can only judge its beauty and grandeur by the result it produced, which was the universe and everything in it; now, I don't believe you've seen Leela Parkins wake up, but that isn't my definition of beauty and grandeur.)" A bit more cackling followed.

"This mighty, beautiful Song," she continued in her pompous tone, "that like it no other was neither composed nor sung upon this plain of existence, started to form amidst the Void, the Eӓ: the Arda, which is your Earth, and everything else, but we won't go there because your mortality will kick in before we leave the solar system."

Albus, in tears and out of breath, clapped his hands to congratulate her. Nerya, after a quick laugh escaped her, continued.

"Now, the silver lining of an otherwise boring and pretty straightforward tale: the little shit." Nerya's lips trembled, and Albus really wasn't helping, choking as he was in his efforts to restrain his mirth. "Our story's little shit, is not little at all. Melkor, the grandest and most able servant of Ilúvatar, participated in the song, of course, but also had some ideas of his own." Albus, not choking now, but on the verge of laughter still, was watching her, entranced, as she assumed a more dramatic façade. "He poured his ideas into his chanting, and a cacophony ensued. Melkor had sung about chaos, disorder, all that is evil and didn't fit into Eru's divine choice of theme. Due to Melkor's skill, his efficiency and intelligence, the discordance wasn't just something small that one could overlook. On the contrary, there were some Ainur that were unwillingly carried away from Eru's theme and found their voices harmonizing with Melkor's. The divine music turned into sour noise, I quote 'a sea of turbulent sound'."

Nerya was looking unblinkingly into Albus' eyes, frozen in place, prolonging the pause for dramatic effect. Albus sat with his knees brought on his chin, the precise depiction of an excited toddler listening to a fairy tale. Nerya continued, her voice low.

"And Eru steps in… wandlessly clears the tea-stain from his mighty robes…" Albus is shaking in his efforts not to laugh, "and brings a new theme, similar to the one before, but fresh and with a new power to it." Nerya continues with a passionate whisper and Albus is mesmerized by her eyes, the mad glimmer in them takes his breath away. "Melkor's conviction however does not waver, he does not resist his unholy -yet creative (she concedes and a whimper escapes Albus) - urges and continues his disrespecting chant, tainting the second theme as well. The other Ainur become silent."

Nerya straightens her body. "For the third time Eru steps in –he hadn't gotten into the trouble of another cup of tea, because if someone knows when to stop, it has to be the Supreme Entity of the Cosmos-" she adds hurriedly and Albus snorts, "and he chooses yet a third theme. But this one isn't like the ones before it. Oh no." she shakes her head and allows her eyes to drift away, to something only she can see. Her voice rings passionate but soft, and it sends Albus' mind into depths full of pictures and sounds, meanings and symbols. "This is, I quote, 'soft and sweet, a mere rippling of gentle sounds'. And it is steady and powerful in its simplicity and it doesn't try to battle off Melkor's cacophony. Instead it enfolds it, takes it into its arms and cradles it, until the noise is not noise anymore, but part of Eru's theme."

Nerya's tone is gentle but passionate, her expression dreamt away and Albus drinks her in with eyes teary but not only from laughter.

"And the music now rings, and I quote yet again, 'deep and wide and beautiful, but slow and blended with an immeasurable sorrow, from which its beauty chiefly came'." A shadow passes through her face, Albus shivers. "But Melkor is not at all pleased with the divinity that has returned to the music. He wishes to be the dominant one, he wants his ideas to sound louder than those of the others'; but he cannot escape the theme, he cannot cause discordance anymore, so all he does is sing louder and louder, hunting his victory only by angry repetition and without the skill or inspiration he has already proven he possesses."

Nerya turned her eyes on Albus again, to find him misty eyed and awe-struck; he realises, surely, Melkor is he, but as Melkor should be. Albus is everything Melkor could have been if he had the strength and purity of heart Albus so desperately, beautifully hangs on to. Her heart skips a bit, he's pale and beautiful and all the fondness and admiration in his face gives his eyes even more depth, reminding her even more of the ocean, of freedom, of heart-breaking serenity and Nerya wants to dive in, get lost, forget every irritating silly little thing that isn't him. Something pulls behind her belly button, urging her hands, her body to reach out to him. Her lips tingle, her fingertips twitch. She looks into the ocean of his eyes, but it's herself she really sees, herself closing the distance between them, half fearing he will disappear if she dares to taste him at last.

"What happens then?" Albus whispers, still immersed in the story and in the blink of an eye images pass through Nerya's mind's eye. She leaning in and Albus avoiding her lips, giving her funny looks, wondering what is she thinking, doing something like that? Albus storming out, or worse becoming awkward in her presence, avoiding her, stop talking to her.

The scaremongering is over in a second, she pushes the thoughts back before the blood rushing on her cheeks betrays her.

Nerya blinks and answers in her usual voice. "Eru rises for a fourth time and stops the music. He congratulates all the Ainur and Melkor in particular for their might and grandeur. He says, he is the Ilúvatar and he chooses to keep Melkor's chant, because he wants him to see what he has brought upon the world." A smirk curled Nerya's lips as she continued. "He furthermore adds that Melkor's ideas wouldn't have passed, if Eru himself hadn't wanted them to, because no one can go against the theme He created, unless Eru himself has a reason to allow it. And his reason under those circumstances, he says, is to show Melkor that, even though he searched for more power than he was granted, he will eventually turn out to be a simple pawn; and his ideas will have their role on Eru's plan, but only because in the end they will lead to things more beautiful and precious and tender than Melkor can imagine."

Her lopsided smile was there, and Albus was torn between admiring it forever and kissing it off her face; but before he could decide what of the two would be tonight, Nerya's gaze had landed on his wrist watch, which was close to his face, because he was using his fist to rest his cheek while he was gazing at her in adoration.

"Holy crap, is that the time?" She yelped and her face fell.

'Not the second tonight I guess,' Albus thought with a bitter sigh, as he brought his watch to his eyes.

"Oh, come on it's barely one in the morning yet. Don't tell me you're tired already!" Albus protested.

"I can go for days with little sleep, you know that." Nerya replied with a touch of smugness.

"Why should we leave then?"

"You'll have to be awake in less than seven hours!"

"Precisely, we have plenty of time ahead of us!" and he stifled a yawn.

Nerya chuckled against her better judgement. "No need to remind you that you're a breakable human who runs around all day and barely has free time anymore."

"Exactly, who knows when we'll be able to disappear again?" Albus whined, looking at her fondly.

"You'll have to survive tomorrow for that." Nerya smiles as she mirrored his expression, but then with a sigh she rose from the steps and extended her hand to help him up too.

At the sight of her hand, Albus felt the familiar shiver overtake his body. Pouting, he took it and rose. "Human nature sucks."

Nerya snorted and dragged him to the staircase. Albus stifled another yawn, while he absently allowed his mind to roam all the possibilities tonight had offered. She was so beautiful and bright, how she glowed as she uttered every word, chosen with care and playfulness . How enticing that mad passionate glee in her eyes was. How soft her hand felt under his, how would it feel upon his naked back. Albus shook his head, ignored another violent shiver and thanked Eru and all the mighty Ainur that Nerya was a step below him and couldn't see his flustered state.

He turned his mind to the story they had shared tonight, in an effort to keep his mind from misbehaving.

"If only he had been a bit more subtle…" He fell into step beside her.

"At least he was true to himself." Nerya made a half-hearted attempt to defend Melkor.

"And what do we have if not our true selves." Albus murmured through his smile, glancing at Nerya. He urged his mind to return to the conversation, lest his eyes betrayed the true place where his thoughts were lingering. "But to preserve that-"

"You need to keep appearances." Nerya finished his thought with a smirk and Albus didn't see what she was trying to hide behind that smirk.

"But that's the true challenge isn't it? Keeping your true self unharmed, while you survive in the world."

Nerya sighed audibly, but Albus thought it was about the conversation.

He was about to follow her into the corridor, when Nerya suddenly doubled back in, seized him and pushed him into the alcove between the door frame and the wall. Albus had the wind knocked out of him, as he felt Nerya's torso pressed against his, her beautiful eyes were widened in surprise and searching his face. In the moment it took him to decide whether he should grab her waist and pull her even closer, the reason behind this sudden proximity was revealed.

"Everything alright there, Professor?"

Albus did grab her waist, but for no amorous reason. He gently guided her to his side and they glued their backs on the wall and their sides to each other, in an effort to make the alcove swallow them both. Thank Morgana that he had a reason to seem so startled and that he hadn't done anything impulsive and stupid. Nerya wandlessly cast a Notice-me-Not charm and grabbed his hand. Albus closed his eyes and tried to reverse his blood flow, so it would go up and not down.

"Ah, Tobias. I thought I saw... You haven't seen anyone around here, have you?" The stern voice of their Head of House asked.

Their eyes stayed on each other until the caretaker and the Professor finished their conference and silence reigned the corridor again.