A Christmas tree would make it more festive, Oliver thought, looking round the massive front room filled with boxes. Christmas was just round the corner and they'd need to think about decorating. Fred would be better at it though. Oliver wasn't sure what went into decorating. Decorations just sort of appeared at his parents house and in his flat, well, he'd never really bothered.

But they needed to get unpacked first. The furniture had been delivered the day before, so they didn't have that to worry over anymore. But unpacking was going to be a feat in and of itself. And likely they'd be having Fred's family over before long.

Best not to dawdle.

He opened the first box and found clothes so he lifted it and carried it up the stairs, plopping it down on the bed and opening the wardrobe doors. He heard the front door shut downstairs and he smiled as he used his wand to fold a few shirts of his in the bottom drawer. "That you?" he called, knowing it was Fred. "I'm upstairs. Will you bring one of the clothes boxes up with you?"

They never had made it out to buy a bed the day before. So as soon as practice was over, Oliver showered and changed into clean clothes, before apparating to Fred's flat, determined that they'd go out today. He just hoped that George could do without him at the shop for a while.

"Anyone home?" he yelled, as he looked through the flat. Finding it empty, he went downstairs into the shop area, smiling when he found Fred behind the counter. "Lo, love," he said happily, sliding behind the counter with him. "Can you steal away for a bit? I'm taking you out to buy a bed. A very large bed. One that we'll have plenty of room to roll around in... or to invite our 27 closest friends to sleep over in."

They had ended up back at Fred's flat, curled together on the ridiculously tiny bed. Fred had spent a bit of time in the workroom restocking and had then crawled into bed and fallen asleep with his head on Oliver's shoulder.

Once morning came Fred had slipped soundlessly from the bed and moved to the kitchen to make breakfast. Shutting the door had effectively silenced his room so Oliver could sleep while Fred joked with George and made cooking noises. "Here, you eat, I've a sexy naked man in my bed so I'm taking breakfast in there." Fred had laughed at George's smart remark, slapped him on the back and set the tray filled with French toast, whipped cream, bacon, coffee and other sundries floating behind him.

"Wake up, Sleeping Beauty," he called, "I come bearing food."

Oliver got out of practice a bit early. They'd worked hard and he'd begged off going to the weight room after lunch. He'd flooed home and his mother had told her he needed to speak to her. He'd never made such a request and she seemed shocked, but had agreed, albeit reluctantly.

He knew it was hard for her. She'd be in just as much trouble as him if his father found out he'd been home and told her.

Going into the locker room, he showered quickly, rolling his eyes at Flynn's constant comments about marriage, and then dressed just as fast. He apparated to the shop and smiled at Fred as he walked in, kissing his cheek.

"Hey, love. Day going well?" He glanced around. "Can you get away for a bit right now? I won't keep you long."

They'd fallen instantly asleep after returning from the Burrow. There had been biscuits, tea, more discussion, a tour of Fred's old room, and Dad's shed, random discussions of muggle items and then more tea. When Fred woke he couldn't actually remember what day of the week it was.

"Oliver," he said soflty, kissing his temple, "wake up, lover. Do you have practice today?"

Fred bounded into the kitchen. He was smiling hugely and hummed the tune to a particularly raunchy song as he grabbed wine, glasses, cheese, crackers, some grapes, and a container of peanut butter. He got nearly to the door when he remembered one more thing and cast a spell to make the rest of the things float. He then rummaged for a dishrag and fished some ice out of the freezer. He flicked his wand at the celebratory and feast and cha-cha'd his way back to the bedroom.

"I brought bubbly, ice for that nipple, snacks, and peanutbutter for licking of parts of your anatomy later." He leaned down to kiss him. "Did you miss me?"

The night in Paris had been lovely. Oliver hoped that Ginny had enjoyed herself. He'd have to take Fred back sometime alone, though. It had sucked not being able to sleep with him, but he'd not said a word. Oliver hadn't realized how difficult it would be to sleep alone, but it was to be expected. They spent nearly every night together.

They'd gotten back a bit earlier, and Fred had taken Ginny back to Hogwarts. Being close to him all that time and not being able to touch the way he wanted had driven him mad. And now, back home, he'd barely gotten unpacked and couldn't wait to see him already.

He really was pathetic.

And he wasn't sure that Fred wouldn't be needed at the shop. Caving, he found some parchment and wrote him a quick note.

Fred,

I know you have things to do, and I'm sure you're exhausted, but can I possibly talk you into crashing here tonight.

Missed you last night.

Oliver

It had been a long time coming. Well, it seemed like a long time. Fred had written Ginny, telling her to be ready for kidnapping at noon sharp. Now he was striding up to the front doors of the castle. It felt like an age since he'd been here.

He pushed open the door and moved to lean casually against one of the great pillars when he saw that his sister had not yet arrived. Girls. They always thought they needed to primp.

Hermione sat on a park bench and took in her surroundings. Probably two blocks from the Leaky Cauldron, she estimated. Not that she really cared. She needed to talk to Fred eventually, but she wasn't sure if she was in the mood for that day or if she'd rather put it off longer. Really she was here for a break. It had been a very long few weeks in the castle and escape was bordering on necessary.

She looked at the Muggles walking around her and almost smiled. It felt good to blend in. Yes, Hermione Granger thoroughly enjoyed being the center of attention in the classroom, loved having that little bit extra over her classmates, but...there were days and times when she wanted nothing to do with Hermione Granger, not Harry Potter best friend, not Ronald Weasley's...whatever she was.

But to be a person, blended with everyone else, in normal jeans, a normal sweater, a comfortable camisole, that was what she needed right in that moment, to look normal.

...and have her wand tucked away in her pocket.

Oliver had woken that morning, still wrapped around his lover. He smiled as he watched him for a moment, before slipping silently from the bed and going to dress for practice. He would have prefered to lay there with him for a bit longer, watching him sleep, but he couldn't risk being late.

Of course, he needn't have worried. Reese was out once again.

He couldn't help but smirk a bit at that.

It was once again a good practice; everyone was upbeat and they played well. It was nice not to be screamed at for every little mistake. They relaxed a bit.

He showered there afterward, leaning against the smooth tiles, listening to the other guys make smart comments to one another. Dressing quickly, he left, apparating straight to the shop, not wanting to take time to drop his stuff off at his flat.

They apparated back to Oliver's flat and he held Fred a bit longer than was necessary once they materialized. "Did I say thank you for tonight?" he asked, completely content. He'd been worried, after last night, and especially after how things had started out, that he'd ruined things.

But he'd had a lovely time, and he though that Fred had too. "How are you feeling? I didn't even ask... I didn't hurt you did I?"

Fred bribed the gate guard and snuck up into the stands. He had a strange yen for Mexican food and he'd decided to come grab Oliver and spirit him away. After practice, of course. Seeing Oliver on a broom was always a good thing. He counted more than once and came up with only six players. He mastered his expression and took a seat near one of the goal posts, crossing his ankles and settling in to watch.

Fred had made himself a sandwich, made one for Oliver, and plopped himself down on the sofa to eat and watch his wall. It was still raining softly over his head, stopping just out of reach. He thought the colors were relaxing, and the bit of moment combined with the bit of buzz was terribly lovely. "Don't know why no one likes this.." he muttered.

Oliver held Flynn close as the floo swirled them around violently and spit them out in Holly's flat. Oliver had really had too much to deal with the spinning and he was sure he was a bit green himself when they arrived. He was more concerned with Flynn though.

Oliver turned the music on soft and tossed the towel that he'd been using to dry his hair onto the bed. Fred would be there any minute and he was late getting dressed. He'd worked his arse off during practice again today and had a few more bruises to show for it. At least they were going out with some of the team, so he'd not be the only one there with black and blue spots. His arse was still pleasantly sore, although it had been a pain in the arse while he was flying... quite literally.

Chuckling to himself, he walked to the wardrobe and stared into it, wondering what the hell he was going to wear. He heard Fred apparated into the living room and he grinned. "Oy, in here! Come pick something ouut for me to wear if you want me to not look like a bum!"

( Missed you )

The house looked even worse than in had the last time she had seen it. Ginny shivered a bit and edged closer to the others, her hand clenched around Harry's wrist, her heart still pounding from the lingering sensation of side along apparition.

She was quite honestly amazed that no one had raised hell about her tagging along. But, then, the more people they had, the more area they could cover. Harry, Ron, Neville and Hermione all had their faces turned toward the house and she cleared her throat nervously.

"Shall we?" she asked, looking around at the others.

It was after six when Terence finally left the dungeons. It had been much too long since he had been down there. Also, it was nice to be able to help Gin with her potions. He wouldn't have made a half bad teacher. And Nott... well, Nott was a Slytherin through and through. It felt good to be able to speak to someone of his own house occasionally. Aside from Charlie and Charlie's family, he never did anything social that wasn't attached to the Ministry. Perhaps it would be nice to have a friend.

Terence apparated to Charlie's flat and raised his hand to knock before stopping and debating. After a moments thought he apparated into the living area, uncomforatble with the informality, but wanting Charlie to know that he didn't want to have to be formal with him at all.

"Charlie?" he called, stepping around the couch and looking toward the kitchen. "You here, love?"

Fred shifted slightly, kissing the warm skin under his cheek. He shifted slowly, disentangling himself by inches. He could tell from the light in the room that it was still very early. Fred tiptoed from the room, grabbing his jeans off the chair and snagging a T-shirt out of the open bag on the floor.

Twenty minutes later Fred was back with a bag of breakfast food, a huge basket filled with what he had been assured was the 'perfect picnic' and a thermos of coffee. Fred left the basket on the table and took the rest upstairs with him.

Oliver hadn't moved, except to roll to one side and pull a pillow into his arms. Fred set the food down, took a few running steps and pounced onto the bed, landing on top of Oliver. "Morning, Captain!"

Terence watched closely as she stirred the potion; one turn clockwise and three turns counterclockwise with a two-second pause in between. She'd done well, seemed to understand the concepts, but lacked confidence. He saw that a lot in her. He wasn't too surprised.

"Beautiful. Never tell me you cannot perform well in potions again," he said gently smiling at her.

Ron had been staring at the fire for at least an hour, and his nose must have crinkled up almost as long because it sure hurt when he pulled it down from that position. How in the hell had that happened? She'd kissed him! A perfectly easy way to get the worst of it over for him, and he kissed her back. Of course he kissed her back, he did want to kiss her, but how did she end up running off crying? He knew Hermione was complicated, maybe the most complicated girl he knew, but it's what they both wanted, why had she run off.

Ron looked around the rest of the common room, looking for Harry. Ginny was confusing, he'd have some words of advice for him, right? But, as usual, the Chosen One was no where in sight. Any friendly face would do that wasn't a bird... "Oy, Neville? Got a question for you."

Hermione leaned into the post and tried to get her crying under control. Idiot! Stupid, stupid, prat! You do not tell a girl you just snogged what your ex was like, you do NOT! And of course more tears started rivers down her face. Hermione wiped them away again and conjured a kerchief...or tried to. Her concentration was shot enough that the closest she managed was a flimsy Kleenex. She used it, wadded it up, and threw across the hall into a trash can.

Ron had to know better! It was going so well, so wonderfully well, and then he did THAT! Oh sure, Hermione had seen them snogging, plenty of times, walked in on them during rounds more often than she was sure they were aware, she knew how their snogging session went. And their kiss had been so wonderful...to ruin it with...

Now she was getting stares, more than usual. She sniffled hard, and started back into the castle, and once out of sight of the courtyard, took off at a run.

Ron sprawled out over a bench in the courtyard, his feet dangling off one end, his hanging off the other. His robes were in a heap underneath his elbows to protect from the crumbling stone on the bench, and he was looking at his Transfiguration book on the ground in front of him. And that was all he was all he was doing: looking. Reading would have required moving his arms to turn the page, and moving his arms would have required sitting up and arching his back funny, and arching his back funny would have hurt and would drive his knees into the stone. Therefore, reading was not worth the effort, particularly when the assignment wasn't due for another day and a half. He had plenty of time.

Hermione walked into the open air corridor with the intent of heading out to the grounds to find a tree to sit under. As she walked by the courtyard, however, her eyes caught a spot of flaming red hair, and she looked over to find Ron...doing something. She leaned against one of the pillars and watched him for a good five minutes. No page turn. She rolled her eyes and snickered inwardly. Leave it to Ron to put on the illusion of the studying when his time would be better spent actually studying. She walked up and sat down on the bench beside his. "It works better if you turn the page. You don't sit there and waste away a perfectly good afternoon staring at the same page over and over again."

( playing with yourself is fun...sometimes...incomplete )

Fred fell asleep in his arms, under the stars, and Oliver dozed for a while as well. He couldn't have asked for a bettr start to their weekend.

He wasn't sure what time it was when his eyes fluttered open, but his stomach was fervently reminding him that it was past dinner time. He kissed Fred's hair and then his eyelids, nuzzling against him. He hated to wake him... but he certainly didn't want to leave him to go grab food. "Hey," he whispered, "sleeping beauty. Want to roll and let me run grab some food. I'll bring it back and feed it to you."

Ginny had finished classes for the day and went off to find Harry. Between last night and today, her birthday had been wonderful. Mum and Dad had sent her a basket of homemade cakes and a new skirt, and her night with Harry had been perfect. She'd spent the morning with Hermione and her classes had gone well. She couldn't have been happier.

She sprinted up the steps to the boy's dorm and pushed the door open. She probably should have knocked but they boys shouldn't be up there naked this time of day, she figured. If they were, well, it wasn't anything she'd not seen before. Growing up with six brothers made her a bit less shy.

Harry was no where to be found but Ron was sitting on his bed looking through a Quidditch magazine and she plopped down beside of him, pulling his pillow over and shoving it under her head. "Hey," she said. "How are you?"

Oliver packed his bag and slung it over his shoulder. Looking around to make sure he'd not forgotten anything. He hoped Fred was alright with going back to the cottage again. He wanted something familiar, and it held good memories. Memories that Fred had helped build.

He apparated to the shop and took the stairs two at a time, bounding through the open door and into Fred's bedroom, tossing his bag on the bed beside Fred's then nearly knocking them off as he caught Fred around his middle and pushed him onto the mattress, crawling on top, grinning wickedly.

"Hello, gorgeous. Ready to go?"

Ginny kissed Harry goodbye and smiled as she made her way up the stairs to her dorm. They'd not been caught coming back from the room of requirement, and honestly, getting to spend an entire night with him had been the best birthday present she could ever ask for. She felt like she was floating.

She figured the rest of the girls would have left for breakfast already, so she wouldn't have to deal with questions about why her bed hadn't been slept in. She could always say she was with Charlie though, it wouldn't be questioned.

She was still grinning when she walked into her room and stopped at once, already feeling the blush when she saw Hermione sitting on her bed. Don't fucking blush, idiot. She has no idea what you've been up to. Act normal.

"Hermione! What... wow, what are you doing here? Everything all right?"

Draco had worked all day, finishing up everything Severus had told him to do. He owed it to the man after disappearing without so much of an explanation (not that getting drunk with Potter was an explanation that would make Severus feel better). Finally, having completed his last task, he Apparated to Kent.

He showered, and then walked into Theo's closet, still naked. It was probably better if he found something he like before Theo arrived or they'd never make it to the club, and he had every intention of getting out of this house.

It took longer than he expected to find something that didn't make him feel entirely too naked. Theo's Muggles clothes were a bit too revealing. He finally found a pair of trousers and a shirt that didn't look like they were meant to be worn by a second year and allowed him to breath. Now, he only needed Theo and they would be ready

Hermione walked into the Three Broomsticks, Ron right behind her. She looked around until she saw a table to suit them—one towards the center of the room—and walked over to take a seat. She thought briefly about waiting to sit and see if Ron would pull her chair out...he hadn't really gotten himself in trouble lately, so that seemed nearly impossible.

Deciding it wasn't worth the embarrassment of standing there waiting for him, she just took her seat and patted on the chair next to her. She took a quick look around, noting a few other Hogwarts students out and about. She smiled at a group of Ravenclaws across the room and then grabbed a menu from the other side of the table.

On Sunday morning, Charlie had then gone to Hogwarts, and spoken to McGonagall, explaining that they wanted to take Ginny out for her birthday, and managed to convince the Headmistress to let both Ginny and Harry leave the school. He had then gone to let them know about that night. Finally, he sent several patronus asking all of his brothers (and lovers) to join him at The Ivy that night.

At eight o'clock, he and Terence arrived at the restaurant. The dining area was cozy, but upscale. Not something they would usually do, but if they could make it through the night without getting thrown out, it would be something special for Ginny.

The matre d' showed them to their table, set in a corner. At least it would provide them some privacy and there were always silencing charms.

Oliver straightened his shirt and jacket and looked in the mirror again. It was entirely silly to be nervous because it was Fred, and he knew Fred, but he really wanted to do something nice for him. There had been way too much tension lately and Fred deserved a nice night out. He patted his pocked, making sure the weight of the package was still there.

His hair seemed to look worse than normal for some reason and he ran his fingers through it once more before giving up and apparating to the shop. Taking the stairs two at a time he ran up to the flat, knocking lightly when he reached the door and trying to tamp down on the nasty case of jitters he'd suddenly developed.

Fred,

Tonight, 7 o'clock. Be ready for a night on the town.

All my love,
Oliver

Draco stayed at Theo as long as he dared, but eventually he had to return home. He Apparated just outside the land covered by the Anti Appirition Jinx, and walked the rest of the way. As he neared the room, he wanted to run away. He really didn't need to have this conversation with Severus.

He walked inside, trying to be as quiet as he could. If he was lucky, he might reach his bedroom without Severus noticing his arrival. He was aware that he was only postponing the inevitable, but maybe the longer he waited the less Severus would get angry.

Ginny,

Did you intend to kill him? Because if you did, you failed. You could always try again, being a little more explicit this time. It might work.

Sinfully Yours,

Charlie

Terence woke early and rolled over, wincing as he did so. His back still stung a bit, but he'd twisted his wrist wrong and pain shot up his arm. He laid still for a moment, getting his bearings, before slowly sitting up, careful not to wake Charlie. It wasn't yet five o'clock, and he wanted to let him sleep, at least a bit longer. He knew Charlie liked to be woken up, but he hated doing it. And his mind was full of what he percieved to be Charlie's disatisfaction from the night before, whether he wanted to admit it or not.

Maybe he'd wake him after a shower. The warm water would help loosen everything up.

He stayed in there longer than he'd meant to, but it was nice, the warmth, the white noise of the water. He summoned Asa afterwards for a change of clothes, as well as a stack of parchment from the desk in the parlor. He really hated to wake Charlie... so he'd stay, but get some work done as well. He could get a good hour in before Charlie absolutely had to be up. He settled onto the sofa and started writing.

Terence knocked on the door to Charlie's loft and waited, hoping that Charlie was in. It had been another long day at work. He swore that the entire department were conspiring to drive him mad. The interns were completely incompetent and he spent half the morning fixing their mistakes.

He'd skipped lunch to catch up and then Ginny's owl had arrived and completely flustered him. He wasn't sure when Charlie opened the door whether he should throttle him or kiss him.

The kiss won out.

"Hello, love," he said, smiling. He stepped inside and wrapped his arms around Charlie's waist. "How was your day?"

My dearest Terence-

I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news. But the fact is that my arse belongs to someone else so I'm afraid that you won't be able to molest me any time soon. I know this must be difficult for you, as Charlie isn't nearly as sexy as I am, but he'll just have to do. I don't have any problem with you fantasizing about me though, so feel free to put me in any number of lewd possitions in your mind. Ours will have to be an unrequited love. I simply cannot handle any more than the half dozen men I'm servicing now.

Lovingly,
Gin

P.S.- My brother can be an idiot. Please don't let this cloud your judgement of him. Give him a kiss for me, all right? With tongue.

Draco had gone from the Shrieking Shack to Severus's quarters, to reassure the man that he was all right. However, he was pretty sure that Severus would kill him once he found out exactly what he'd been doing for the past twelve hours. For that reason, he was glad that Severus was working on a potion. He left a note, and Apparated to Kent.

Much to his disappointment, Theo wasn't there, although the house elf assured him that Theo had spent the night here and not in school and that he was expected to return. Draco decided to wait, but with each passing moment, his disappointment turned into annoyance.

Terence was tired. It had been a very long day and he'd worked nonstop since he went in at 6am. He'd been productive, though, and had managed to get quite a bit done.

He apparated to his house and tossed his papers on the desk in the parlour before going to pour himself a drink. He couldn't believe Charlie wasn't here yet. He was generally home by now, but perhaps he too got caught up at work after their break. He sprawled out on the couch with his drink and closed his eyes to wait.

Gin,

How is life at Hogwarts?

Terence and I are back from Nice and I was ordered to bring a gift, so I'm writing to let her majesty know that the gift has been bought and awaits deliver. When would it be a good time for you?

Love,
Charlie

The Italian restaurant was fairly well populated when he arrived. But Terence had owled ahead almost a week before and procured a nice table in the corner, out of the traffic. It didn't matter, he knew the owners and he probably would have been able to talk his way into a good table, but he liked to be prepared.

He pulled out a few parchments and scribbled down some notes as he drank his wine and waited on his company. He wasn't entirely sure that Nott would show up, but he had plenty to do if he didn't. Still, he was hopeful that he wouldn't be stood up. It would be nice to hear about the Slythterins and how they were doing first hand.

Nott,

Are we still on for our luncheon on Saturday? I've made reservations for two and am looking forward to seeing you there.

Sincerely,

Terence Higgs

They were alone at last. Fred had enjoyed seeing Charlie, but he hadn't been surprised not to get anything sensible out of Oliver while he was there. He was even less surprised that he hadn't gotten the story from Charlie.

They settled back on the bed, Fred's head on Oliver's chest, his fingers in his hair. "Alright, Keeper mine, will you tell me now what led you to imbibe vast quantities of spirits and then engage in daring battle with inanimate objects?" Fred kissed Oliver's chin and listened to the steady thumping of his lover's heart.

The first thing to made itself known as Draco gained consciousness from his sleep was pain. Pain permeated every part of his body. His neck hurt, his body ached, but nothing felt bad as his head. It felt like something inside his brain was ready to explode.

Draco groaned, the sound itself too loud for his poor head. He felt a warm breath on his face, and his eyes snapped open. Potter, he saw relieved, and closed his eyes again. Then the memories of the night before came flooding back, or at least the memories until his second or third cup of ... something. Mixing alcohol at will didn't qualify as cocktail.

He opened his eyes again. There was a light filtering through the boards on the windows. The candles around the room were almost completely melted. It was amazing that they hadn't set the whole place on fire. The room smelt of alcohol, and there was a bottle lying open on the floor, the wood around it stained by its spilt content. Harry was also on the floor, glass askew and opened mouth. Severus would kill him for this, Draco was pretty sure. Maybe that plan to run away wasn't so bad.

Draco laid a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Harry, wake up."

Draco received an owl from Harry, saying to meet at the Shrieking Shack. He didn't know if this was about the Horcruxes, but he doubted it. Harry would have said some if that were the case. That meant that he had a few hours to get what he wanted to bring.

Around ten o'clock, he Apparated to the Shack, and sat up a row of bottles on the coffee table. He also brought one of those things that played the music from the plastic disks, DC, CD, DT, he could never remember their names. It was the closest they'd get to a club. Now, he only had to wait for Harry, before he could get plaster, and remember not to go back to his room.

Hermione figured she should probably go down to lunch with everyone else, but since she did have a free period before the rush, she decided to take advantage of it for once. She took a good look around the room; mainly the socially recluse NEWT students, a few 3rd-5th years who obviously had opted for a light class load, and a few younger kids who kept looking about with apprehension, wondering if someone was going to send them to their class. Well, the Head Girl wasn't.

She just felt lighter than she had in weeks. She was on good terms with Ginny, good terms with Harry, and Ron...well, situation normal. She grinned as she took a seat a good ways up the Gryffindor table and thought about the night before. Harry actually seemed pleased with his gift, something she hadn't quite suspected. Maybe, hopefully, she'd done something to cheer up his birthday, even slightly.

She grabbed a couple of half sandwiches and some chips, then looked around the room again. She started at the Gryffindor; certainly no one for company there...the Ravenclaw table was just as bare. She turned around and looked across the room to the Slytherin table. In the shadows, by himself...a familiar figure. But what would be said, Hermione Granger leaving the Gryffindor table to join Theodore Nott at the Slytherin table? She looked around the room one more time and reminded herself she was eating with the people that didn't go to the library to study, then went to hide. Who were they going to tell? Besides, she wasn't breaking a school rule.

Hermione grabbed her plate and walked around the long tables, her frizzy curls bouncing with every step. She plopped down on the bench beside her friend and grabbed a tart. "You know, this is a rather nice time to eat lunch don't you think? No usual staring eyes, not fighting for food, no worry about whether the house-elves can keep up with our appetites or not. Really, best time to eat. Oh, want to pass the salt? My chips are really bland. Never mind, I'll grab it," she reached over him and snatched the salt shaker. "So is this why I never see you at lunch, you're always here now? Maybe I'll start joining you. I kind of like the feeling of being in enemy territory."

Oliver had drank steadily until he began having trouble hitting his mouth. Charlie was entirely wrong. Alcohol made everything better. He'd turned on all the lights and was currently laid across the bed with his head hanging off the end and watching the floor spin.

The lamp in the living room was broken, but he'd never liked it. It bloody well shouldn't have attacked him like that in the first place. It should have known that he would beat the fuck out of it.

The table by the bed wasn't doing too much better than the lamp and his leg would hurt tomorrow where he kicked it but it felt fine now.

It was hard to remember why he'd been so upset. And that was exactly what he'd hoped to accomplish. He thought.

Oliver,

Are you free from lunch? We can have take out and eat at my house.

Just let me know what time is good for you.

Charlie

Smithe. Smithe, old man, are you there? The problem we discussed has been addressed.

Theo walked slowly back up the path to Hogwarts. He had been tempted not to return at all. True though it might be, he would never admit that he was returning primarily for the history exam and because he'd given his word to Granger. It was early enough in the morning that he should make it to the Great Hall in time to appear to have had breakfast with the rest of the school.