Adam was almost certain that now, for sure, Allegra wasn’t going to speak to him again, or she would at least kindly tell him to bugger off already. After being betrayed by whom she considered a trustworthy teammate, surely this would only further confuse and annoy her; he was making things unnecessarily complicated, he could’ve just let her walk, get on with her life far away from his betrayal. But that wasn’t an option for the boy who refused to move on with his night until everything was cleared up, until there were no more mixed signals and no more confusion or hurt feelings.

So he was a little surprised when Allegra actually turned around to face him. He must’ve looked a hopeless mess of lack of sleep, too much candy and a Gryffindor’s red lipstick. His gaze was drained but still aware as the Ravenclaw girl awarded him the sight of her face. He searched desperately for one of her silent messages, for one of those looks that said a thousand things in one brief moment. But instead she looked thoughtful, too immersed in her own search of his own features to tell or give away anything that might let him know how she felt.

Leo’s voice echoed in his head, reminding him of how the beautiful girl had wanted him only for the game, only to gather support from her classmates. But, staring at her grey eyes, Adam realized how incredibly and unforgivably stupid he had been. Lion Boy had lied… he HAD to have lied. Everything that had unfolded after Allegra caught him in the closet wasn’t fitting of a cold, manipulative girl. Cold, manipulative girls didn’t cry when their fake boyfriends kissed other girls. They didn’t run away, they didn’t fill with hurt. They also didn’t care for scrapes on his elbow or cuts on his eyebrow. Manipulative girls didn’t take his hand and offer silent gestures of encouragement and support. There was no way she’d been faking all of that. There simply was no way… No matter how amazing an actress she was, she couldn’t have acted their last kiss, couldn’t have pretended cuddling up to him in her sleep.

…How could he have been so stupid?
Honestly! The big joke in the house was how idiotic Leo was, how easy he was to fool and trick and laugh at. But the real idiot here was him, to have believed any of the Gryffindor’s lies earlier. Overwhelmed with realization, Adam couldn’t bring himself to wonder why Leo had lied, his expression suddenly filling with two very opposing emotions - hope and regret. Hope that he and Allegra had never been on different pages after all, and regret that he had just ruined everything by being a naive idiot.

Adam listened quietly, suddenly awakened, when Allegra spoke about the sun and the moon. He tilted his head to the side just very slightly, waiting for her to go on, eager to hear whatever she had to say. But the girl trailed off, and her eyes filled once again with that sadness that destroyed every part of his being without the least bit of mercy. Nothing, absolutely nothing had ever made his chest ache as much as seeing Allegra sad. …No wonder people usually ran away from these emotions, from the possibility of ever caring for anyone besides themselves.

And then she said it. The confirmation he needed to finally declare himself the biggest idiot in Hogwarts history.
She liked him. She actually, truly, genuinely liked him. And he was an absolute birdbrain not to have noticed earlier, to have let Leo Huntley plant doubt and bitterness in his mind. She liked him! He wanted to smile, to celebrate their mutual feelings by going back to their earlier selves. But he had also ruined it and broken her heart, and therefore also wanted to run into into the lake and let the Giant Squid have him for dinner. In his slightly maddened state, brought upon by insomnia and sugar and emotional turmoil, Adam almost wanted to laugh at the irony of it all.

“…tell me if you were lying about the moon.”
Adam was focused again, alert. He stared at Allegra silently, as if her words hadn’t finished processing, as if they were still floating in the air waiting to get to him. It was… well, it wasn’t what he’d expected to hear from her. But the boy was a little out of it still, a bit loopy, so he smiled slightly despite having nothing to smile about or feeling even a drop of genuine happiness in his body at that moment.

Silent for a moment, Adam shook his head and his smile disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. “I wasn’t lying about the moon…” he admitted softly. “I need her… she lights the path, remember? ...You know the sun’s bloody useless, Allegra.” He chuckled softly at the confession, his voice soft and tired. It was sad. And it was partially the sadness of it that he laughed at, like it was some dark, twisted joke. But now that he’d met her, he couldn’t go back to life the way it was. Life without her. She’d brought purpose to him, and he couldn’t conform to the idea of living without it again.

Without the moon, the sun was pretty pointless.

Allegra's mind was still buzzing with the realization that he might've truly liked her all this time, perhaps even had honest feelings for her in this past week. It was difficult to comprehend, and she found it rather tough to believe, that he had been building some kind of affection for her all this time. The one occasion she truly had hoped he had feelings for her, was the conversation about the sun and the moon. About the two of them. How they felt towards one another, how they complemented each other -- opposites, but very similar all the while. This hope was so easily obliterated by Jane and the past few hours, it hurt to think they were so close to finding something real.

All of that had shattered somewhere between the dance floor and the closet.

She listened with hopeful gray eyes as he explained that he hadn't been lying about the moon, that he needed her, that she lit the path, that the sun was useless. Every word he said tempted her, made her want to lean towards him and let his arms wrap around her and make her warm again. That was what the sun was supposed to do.

Yet as he said it, as she felt her hopes rise yet again, a cold chill ran through her in some soft reminder of the truth. Jane. Jane and that other girl on the dance floor, these girls who had so clearly won his affection so easily. What was the difference between herself and them? Perhaps they were just as important to him as she was, if not more. How was she supposed to tell? None of this had happened to her before, everything was so unfamiliar and it was getting more and more difficult to tell the difference between truth and fiction.

She really didn't know what to do, or what to believe, but she couldn't deny that he seemed to be telling the truth. He seemed so genuine, so tired, wanting more than anything else to put all of this behind them. But she couldn't tell if it was real or if all girls felt like this when they really, really wanted to believe a boy. She didn't trust herself anymore. She'd allowed herself to fall for this guy she'd only truly known for a short time, and now she was hurt. What did that say about her? About her trusting nature?

Allegra had never considered herself a particularly trusting person, but now she felt like she trusted too much, like she gave herself away too easily. It was an awful realization to have; she felt exposed, vulnerable.

But as she looked at him, more than anything she just wanted to tell him it was okay, to hug him and sit with him and hold his hand again. Her fingers were so cold. She wanted him to feel better, even if she felt bad, but it was hard. She couldn't process all that he'd said to her, couldn't understand how him liking her translated into kissing some random girl in a closet.

It didn't make sense, it didn't add up. Leo tried to kiss her and she didn't give in, she couldn't stomach kissing some stupid boy instead of Adam. But perhaps Adam had had a lot more candy than she had that night, maybe it messed with him. She frowned softly, stock still, truly not knowing what to do.

"Leo tried to kiss me tonight," she confided, her eyes darting between his own, searching for some kind of truth she could trust. "And I slapped him across the face."

She paused, honest curiosity filling her expression.

"I liked you, so I couldn't kiss him." She paused again, searching, again. "If you like me, why was it so easy for you to kiss Jane like that?" She asked it so simply but the complexities of the question filled the air. She stared at him, on the border between several emotions, truly not knowing what to do. "Is she so much better at it than me?" It was almost a whisper, but her true fear seemed to show through. Maybe she wasn't good enough for him, not as pretty or exciting. Somewhere deep down she knew she was being stupid, that even if Jane was such a spectacular romantic option for him, that it didn't make her any lesser of a person. But this was her first time being interested in anyone romantically, it brought out some kind of new insecurity in her she hadn't expected. And the insecurity wasn't exactly helped by finding Jane in a closet with Adam.

Before she knew how to stop herself, she stepped closer to him. Realizing her action, she blamed it on the cold night air, a subconscious effort to get warmer, but she knew the truth. She was scared his answer would ruin all the remaining hopes she had and she didn't want him to actually leave her. It was a deep, honest, sad desire, but she didn't want to be alone.

She finally knew what it was like to not be alone, and she didn't want to go back.

Adam watched silently, patiently, as Allegra’s expression reflected a mind that was probably hounded by a million different thoughts, questions, concerns. It wasn’t a good sign, and he wanted desperately to just ask what he could do to fix all of this chaos, if she could just tell him what he needed to do, guide him down the path to forgiveness, he would follow blindly. None of this had ever happened to him before. He’d never fallen in love, never cared genuinely for another person, never felt a desperate need and obligation to make that person happy, to be as perfect for them as he could possibly be. So he was lost. What else should he say? What should he do? What was the right thing to do? Was this even okay, to continue pressuring her this way? Perhaps the right thing to do was to give her space. Perhaps it was to insist. He didn’t know. He honestly didn’t know.

When Allegra spoke again, Adam frowned, confused. Why was she bringing up the kiss with Leo?
“And I slapped him across the face.” Wait what.
That’s not what he’d seen. Actually, he hadn’t seen them kiss either, he sort of just… assumed it had happened shortly after Serina dragged him away. Realization hit him like an ocean wave, almost knocking him over to drown in the deepening sea of guilt and regret. They hadn’t kissed. Leo had tried, the bloody git, but she refused him.

And just when Adam thought things couldn’t possibly get any worse, any more painful or unpleasant or hopeless, Allegra spoke again. She didn’t just not kiss Leo, not because she simply didn’t want to, but because she liked him - Adam - instead. And then she was asking about Jane and wondering aloud if the Gryffindor had been a better kisser and Adam felt about ready to be kidnapped by a gang of centaurs and fed to the giant spiders of the Forbidden Forest.

This wasn’t close to getting any better.

It wasn’t the fact that her questions put him in a horribly awkward position, but rather, they offered him a glimpse at what was running through her mind, at the thoughts she’d been having since finding him in the closet. She offered him a window to see the turmoil in her mind; and to think that she’d honestly been worried about him liking anyone else more than her was haunting.

Adam really didn’t want to talk about Jane or the party or any of it anymore, he wanted them to forget about it and move on, regardless of whether that meant they could go back to normal or… never go back to normal. But that would’ve been too easy, and Allegra deserved an explanation. Her confusion made sense, he understood it. He probably would have been confused too, if she had actually given into Leo’s trickery and kissed the Gryffindor boy despite not liking him at all.

Adam was quiet for a long moment, gathering his thoughts, debating which would be the best way to answer her questions. Part of him didn’t even want to bother explaining anything, he wanted to admit he was an idiot and leave it at that. To even try to explain… he would’ve sounded pathetic, desperately searching for an excuse to make his behaviour seem like it was acceptable. But he couldn’t deny Allegra what she was well within her right to know.

“It was easy because I don’t like her,” the boy finally admitted. It was nothing at all like kissing Allegra. That was something else entirely, and though he had always enjoyed it, it had never been easy. It brought upon too many thoughts and emotions to be easy, and it made it horribly difficult for him to control himself around her. “It was sloppy and unpleasant, it was… fake. I don’t like her, I never did. And she never liked me either, the whole thing was a lame attempt at a distraction.” He figured he should at least explain why he even needed a distraction in the first place, why snogging some random girl had seemed like a good idea at the moment, but he figured the explanations were pointless. At the end of the day, regardless of what Leo and Serina did, he’s the one that screwed up, the one who let himself become bitter and vengeful and completely undeserving of Allegra, or the moon, or any of its light.

He almost wanted to laugh at her last question. Were they in a better place (emotionally, though maybe physically as well, being so close to the forest was a little eerie), and had this not been a genuine concern of the girl before him, he would have laughed at the absurdity of it. “That was the worst kiss I’ve ever had,” he admitted honestly, pretty certain he’d probably been the worst kiss Jane had had, too. He knew it was no consolation, he’d still kissed the other girl anyway, but he had to be honest.

Adam wasn’t sure how any of what he’d said or what she’d asked would affect their relationship now, if he’d made matters worse or better or not changed them at all. He certainly didn’t feel better. He could go on and on the whole night about how he’d been naive, how he regretted everything, how nothing about everything that had happened had truly made him happy, but none of it would fix anything or make him feel better, and he was certain it wouldn’t tend to Allegra’s wounds either.

She was closer now, and he wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around her, to feel her close again, but he could sense the invisible barrier between the two of them, and after everything that had happened he was pretty certain the last thing Allegra wanted was some sloth boy on a sugar rush to force his affection on her. He couldn’t decide which hurt worse - her words, her expressions, her distance… all of it crushing him under the realization that he was responsible for all of it. It was a physical being, this regret, and it weighed on him, making him weaker, even a little maddened.

“Can I… still see you?” he asked after a moment’s silence. He didn’t mean for them to continue their fake-turned-real relationship if that’s not what she wanted, but that she, like the moon, not hide away where he may never see her again. Even if she didn’t speak to him again, or ignored him for the rest of their time at Hogwarts, he could live with that, as long as she was still around, still present even if he entered the room. He needed to know that he hadn’t imagined her, and that everything they’d been through - the good things, especially - had been real.

Allegra listened with actual dark curiosity behind her gaze as Adam began to explain why it had been easy to kiss Jane, giving her an answer she hadn't exactly expected. It was fake. He didn't like her, he never did. Just a distraction. All the words were technically what she had hoped to hear him say, and yet as they came out of his mouth, they didn't seem to heal everything immediately. She frowned slightly at this realization. Why couldn't she just feel better, right now?

She felt numb, she felt really, really tired. Everything was circling in her head, all of his words, all of the things that had happened this entire night, and none of it was coming together easily. She had so much to process, to figure out. She didn't know how to feel, or what to say to him. How do you explain to another person that you never want to see them again and also never want to leave their side? She'd never wanted to run away to hide so much, and have such a strong reason not to.

Allegra didn't feel better, and by the look on Adam's face, it was clear that saying these things out loud didn't make him feel any better either. She was so tired, she felt like she could've fallen asleep right there. But sleep meant going back to the house and dealing with everyone in there, a prospect that didn't sound at all appealing. And sleep meant also leaving this conversation, which was both incredibly appealing and terrifying. If they stopped talking, maybe they wouldn't talk again, maybe he would give up and she would give up and that would be it. And that was terrifying. She didn't trust herself to fix things. She'd always been more inclined to run than solve a problem.

All of this stuff was racing around her head, keeping her glued to the ground beneath them, listening to him and also trying to tune him out so she might think about all of this. It was incredibly confusing. Thoughts were written all over her face, she seemed entirely distracted, until his next few words cut through her reverie and got her attention. As he spoke again, explaining that the kiss he'd shared with Jane was the worst kiss he'd ever had, the strangest thing happened.

She laughed.

Allegra actually started to laugh. It started with a soft snort, the kind of sound that happens when a laugh sneaks up on you in a surprise. She certainly hadn't expected to laugh, but something about the way he'd said that...“That was the worst kiss I’ve ever had.”... Maybe it was just the late hour or how freezing cold she felt, or how exhausted this conversation was making her, but she just started laughing. Giggles started falling out of her lips and, realizing how inappropriate it was to laugh at this moment, she swiftly put a hand over her mouth in an attempt to cover them up. She locked eyes with Adam in a silent, amused apology, as if to say Sorry, I know we were trying to have a fight, but that was really, really funny.

Leave it to Allegra Reynolds to laugh like a weirdo in the middle of heartbreak.

Finally her soft laughter died down as she attempted to contain herself. "I'm sorry," she whispered softly as she locked eyes with him again, sure he must've thought she was entirely insane. Allegra was smiling though, strangely enough, in some kind of darkly amused way. "I'm just..." She shook her head, biting her lip as another giggle escaped from her lips. "I'm just -- trying to put all of this together.." She stared at him, exhausted, but the softest dark sparkle of humor was behind her gray eyes. Brushing her hair behind her ears, she tried to refocus and understand. "We went through all of this..." she laughed again, a tired laugh. "And you didn't even like kissing her!?"

This was hilarious.
Well, not funny 'ha-ha', but really, really funny.
Here they were, exhausted, heartbroken over one another, trying to piece anything they could together, all because he'd kissed someone else, because he planted a big one on some random girl. AND HE DIDN'T EVEN LIKE IT.

She laughed all over again, almost doubling over in her amusement, leaning forward and resting her forehead on his chest without thinking about it. After a few moments, she stood back up straight, placing her freezing hands on his arms as if to help steady herself once again. "Hooo. Hmm. Okay, I'm-- I'm sorry." Allegra smiled before she realized she probably shouldn't be smiling at him, and it fell just slightly. But she was looking at him again, right in the eye, and somehow just a little bit of her confusion and pain lifted with the laughter.

She quieted, finally, and let out a soft humming noise as she tried to regain control of her breathing, re-organizing herself as if remembering they were supposed to be fighting. But it was easy to tell that the air had changed, just a little bit. Just slightly.

After a few long moments, she heard his next statement, which wasn't nearly as funny as the last. “Can I… still see you?” Her eyebrows rose just slightly at the question, she hadn't expected it. The amusement drained softly from her expression; that hadn't quite occurred to her - that she might not see him anymore. Of course, she knew with the events of the night that they weren't exactly in the best place, ever. But it just now seemed to occur to her that her whole running-and-hiding habits might keep them from... well, making this better. If that was even possible. It felt a little more possible after laughing. Just a little.

She thought about his words and before she knew she'd decided, she felt herself nodding. "Yeah. Okay," she said softly, biting her lip gently before she suddenly seemed to remember they were still in the forest. Just barely in the forest, but still, it was sort of creepy. She hadn't quite thought about it when she ran for the trees - how lonely the trees would be, too.

Once again, it felt like the exhaustion was driving her and her brain seemed to forget momentarily that she was supposed to be putting on a bold front. She just wanted to get out of here, get warmer. Without her permission, her freezing cold hand found his own and she started to lead him out of the trees. She kept silent, not speaking a word, and in the next minute they were out of the forest, merely on a hill that overlooked the little cottage. It looked like a mess down there, students still having plenty of fun, the music still going. The party seemed to have no inclination of stopping any time soon.

Allegra released his hand. She stared at their temporary home, wondering how difficult it might be to make her way through all of those people and find her bed and sleep. She knew she it wasn't plausible. Even if she could get there, she wouldn't be able to fall asleep with all the noise and all the things that had happened tonight. She remained glued to the grass beneath them, not wanting to move. Finally, she sat down and sighed softly, truly exhausted from the tears and the confusion. She just wanted to forget about it. At least for right now. Pretend it didn't happen. Was that okay? Was that allowed? She wasn't sure how this worked.

But she sat down in the grass and looked up at Adam, wondering vaguely if he was going to make his way back to the house. Immediately, she didn't want him to. "I don't really...feel great right now," she said softly, honestly. "I really want you to go away," she started, but almost immediately continued, "but I really, really don't want you to go away."

She knew it didn't make any sense, she didn't mean to confuse him, but that's how she felt. "Please don't go away."

For a very brief second, Adam thought Allegra had spontaneously burst into a sobbing fit. His heart accelerated so fiercely in his chest, the boy feared it might burst right through. Oh no. Oh no, no, no, no. He wasn’t sure how admitting that Jane had been a terrible kisser could upset the Ravenclaw this much, but he was immediately certain that he’d lost any chance at fixing things.

Until he realized she was laughing.
Laughing! The sounds emitting from her pretty lips weren’t sobs! It was laughter, the most joyous laughter he’d heard all night, amusement sparkling in her beautiful grey eyes. Adam would have normally laughed along with the girl, since he’d found her question as amusing as she’d found his answer, but he was too stunned to do anything other than stare at her with wide eyes, shock draining the colour from his face. He wished he could repeat the same sentence a thousand times so her laughter would never end, so she’d keep rewarding him with the sound of it, but chances are it wouldn’t be funny again even the second time.

Finally cracking, the Slytherin smiled faintly. No matter how shocked he continued to be, her amusement was contagious, and he suddenly felt nostalgic for the times they’d been able to laugh so freely inside the cottage. Allegra was apologizing now, trying to explain what had caused her amusement, “And you didn’t even like kissing her!?”

Adam’s jaw dropped at this, she wasn’t just laughing at what he said - she was laughing at him! “Wha—are you making fun of me, Reynolds?” he accused with mock offense, only even more amused by this realization, his smile widening. He liked this. He liked her laughter, her amused eyes, and he especially liked being the reason for it, even if it was more because he was an idiot rather than him being any good at making proper jokes.

Allegra’s laughter died out, and with it did the lightness of the moment. Adam could feel the tension creeping up on them again, not quite as heavy as it had been before, but present anyway. Just because he’d made a fool of himself and life was one big ironic joke didn’t mean everything was instantly fixed. Though he wished it could be that way. He’d make a fool of himself everyday, if it got her to laugh like that again. Though preferably in a way that didn’t involve kissing random sugar-high girls.

It was amazing how literally just five minutes ago, Adam thought things couldn’t get any worse. Now, the boy thought they couldn’t get any better. Well, they could get MUCH better, but he felt privileged enough already that the girl he’d fallen for not only let her guard down for a moment to laugh with him, but also accepted to stick around, regardless of whether their relationship continued or not. Adam was even a little paranoid when she took his hand; it was all too good to be true, he couldn’t get so lucky this quickly. Maybe she only wanted his hand to bite it because his ears were too far out of reach. Who knew.

Her tiny hand was freezing, and Adam squeezed it gently to transfer some of his warmth to her, eager to do anything for her, even something as simple as warming her hand. He’d missed it. This had only been going on for a couple hours, but it felt like he hadn’t felt her hand in months, like they had been in bad terms for an eternity. How did time always seem to slow down around her? It was like the world, their world, stopped while the rest continued to move on with their fast-paced lives. But, quickly as she had taken his hand, she had also released it, and Adam found himself holding nothing but the cold night air in his palm. He looked at the girl longingly, like a child who’d just been given a gift to have it snatched right back, while she looked down at the party from the top of the hill they stood on. Just when the boy gathered the courage to reach out and take her hand again, Allegra sat down. The fingers in his hand relaxed and it fell limp beside him, the opportunity gone.

When Allegra spoke, it was as if some invisible force came out of nowhere and hit him hard across the head. “I don’t really… feel great right now. I really want you to go away.” It was as if he’d never heard her laughter and had never held her hand and walked to this hill. He was back where they were five minutes ago, with the same aching in his chest and the same guilt weighing on his shoulders. The words hit him hard, like a brick, and it took him a moment to react. He didn’t even know what to say, he considered apologizing but it wouldn’t have been enough. Nothing would’ve been enough. After a moment’s hesitation, the boy gave a curt little nod, gaze fallen, and began to turn when - “but I really, really don’t want you to go away.”

What?? Adam froze and looked up from the grass to the girl sitting on it. He was exactly like a child in the way his emotions reflected so easily on his expressions; his blue eyes immediately lit up with hope but also with confusion. He didn’t understand what she meant, or why she said it, but the words alone gave him hope that maybe, just maybe, he wouldn’t be exiled to the dark side of the moon after all. So he just stood there, not sure what to do or where to go or what to say or even what to think, until, thankfully, Allegra made it easy for him and asked him simply to not go away.

The entire night had been one insane rollercoaster ride, but NOTHING compared to the last thirty seconds. Adam was mentally and physically exhausted and beaten from the highs and the lows, the ups and the downs, the constant uncertainty. But it never discouraged him from filling with hope every time Allegra opened a door for him, even if she slammed it shut in his face right after.

“Allegra…”
He couldn’t take this anymore, he was literally going mad. When did his life go from simple, not caring about a single thing in the world Adam, to… well, to this Adam? Without another word, the boy sat down next to her, close enough that their arms touched, that he could feel the cold basically radiating from her. In the next moment, he took her hand, intertwining his fingers with hers. “You’re going to drive me absolutely mad one of these days, you know that?” The boy smiled and raised their hands so he could gently place a kiss on the back of her colder one. He didn’t mean it as an insult or a protest. It was actually a compliment, a testament to the girl’s power over him, over his mind, emotions, and body. It was frightening, really, how after being in his life for only a few days, she had the power to do with him as she wished. Even the power to make him lose his mind.

Allegra could see her words sinking in on him, one phrase at a time, the full contradiction of them all seeming to land on him at once. She watched as he turned to leave, as she requested, and she felt her heart sink just to see him even start to go. But as he seemed to register her next request, turning around to look at her, she couldn't help but smile just slightly at his confused blue eyes. It was a sort of sad smile, somehow knowing she was making things difficult for him. She didn't mean to mess with him or confuse him for the sake of confusing him, she was merely speaking her emotions truthfully. She wanted to be alone, but she wanted to be with him more. And that was it.

She watched with curious apprehension as he silently agreed to stay with her, sitting down at her side and immediately filling her surrounding area with warmth. She couldn't tell if he'd become some kind of handsome space heater and was truly dispelling some of the cold or if it was just the relief she felt to have him next to her again that made her feel better, feel warmer. Either way, having him there provided a surprising amount of immediate comfort to her, made her feel better before he even said anything.

Allegra stared at him as he settled next to her, as if trying to understand how he could do this so easily - make everything a little better, instantly, just by being near. She looked down as she felt him take her hand and intertwine their fingers, immediately feeling her freezing fingers begin to warm up in his larger hand. Returning her large eyes to his own, she scanned all his features, relishing in having him so near to her again and yet hesitant at the same time.

It was then that he broke the silence. “You’re going to drive me absolutely mad one of these days, you know that?”

Allegra smiled before she could stop herself, biting her lip softly as she scanned his blue eyes, trying to understand what he meant by that. She stared as he brought their hands up to kiss the back of hers, the warmth from his lips leaving a sort of tingle on her skin. How was he always so warm? He truly was the sun. Even out here, in the middle of the night's cold air, he was still so much warmer than she was.

But she could tell, just by looking at him, that tonight had taken a toll on him. He looked so tired, his entire expression giving away his clear emotional exhaustion. He looked just as confused and drained as she felt inside. Her smile fell just slightly as she watched him, his last statement still under her quiet scrutiny. After a few long moments, just watching him, she finally gave him a response. "People have called me mad for a very long time," she finally broke the silence softly, leaning towards him so she might warm up more. She leaned her forehead against his own, gray eyes still glued to his blue ones. "It's not so bad. Promise." She smiled.

So close to him now, it was hard to force herself to deal with all that had happened that night. Things weren't back to normal by any means, but they somehow felt a little better. Besides, what was 'normal'? Even before tonight's events, they were both pretending to pretend for one another, both trying to conceal their feelings towards one another. This was the first time they'd actually been in one another's company with everything honest, everything in the open. It still hurt to think of Jane, but she began to realize that the hurt was more related to him choosing Jane over her, not truly the kiss. And his mere presence at her side right now, even though it would've been much easier for him to let her run off... The fact that he was here felt an awful lot like he was choosing Allegra.

And he'd just admitted that the kiss with Jane was fake, that it was a distraction, that it was the worst kiss he'd ever had. She smiled softly at the memory.

Things didn't feel healed, but they felt better. Somehow. Either way, she wanted to stop worrying and analyzing for just a moment. She still had things to process, a lot to figure out, but perhaps it could be put on hold. Could she pause the emotional turmoil just for a second?

Whether that was allowed or not in these situations, she quietly decided she wanted to forget about it all for a while. Just for tonight. She was cold and she wanted to be with him, that's all she knew.

She seemed to make a silent decision. After a long quiet spell, Allegra released his hand, separating them just slightly but only so she might get even closer to him in the next moment. She invaded his space the only way she knew how, practically on top of the poor boy as she curled up against him. She was almost on his lap, her legs folding up comfortably so she could lean her head easily on his shoulder. She just wanted to be warm again, close to him again, she wanted to hear his heartbeat and his voice.

Despite leaning almost her full weight on him, he still could've easily gotten up if he truly wanted to. But something about the way she curled up so comfortably on top of him felt like a statement. She seemed to be claiming him for her own, in some way. Her warm sun, her person.

Now settled, she took his hand again and intertwined their fingers once more.

Adam could feel his heart give an excited little jump when Allegra came closer to him, her forehead on his, gray eyes watching him in that curious way they always did. He’d missed this so much. He’d missed her. And it was true that things were still a little off, that everything that had happened was still fresh in their exhausted minds, but it felt so relieving to have the slightest hint of normalcy back in their relationship, for one simple gesture not to leave him confused or guilty or feeling hopeless.

At the girl’s words, he chuckled softly, tiredly. “And here I was waiting for you to tell me ‘we’re all mad here’,” he teased, energy low. It became especially obvious when he spoke and his voice inherited that rough, cracked sound of someone either about to fall asleep or just waking up. But he wished so desperately to stay awake, to speak with her and to see her, just like normal times. It wouldn’t be fair that he fall asleep precisely when things were looking up. Besides… Part of him still worried. What if he just fell asleep right here and, at some point afterward, Allegra changed her mind? What if she became doubtful and he wasn’t awake to convince her to stay, to not hide or run away? He’d been so close to losing her already… he was still close to losing her, and the thought of it terrified him, forced him to stay alert.

Adam was absentmindedly looking down the hill and at the cottage in the distance, its loud blaring music echoing softly through the air. There were still hundreds of kids down there, still tons of dancing bodies out in the backyard, all hyped up from one candy or another. It was uninviting. The boy couldn’t even think about walking back in there, through all that chaos, to the safety of his room. Besides, Leo would probably bring a few girls in there later and Adam was definitely not in the mood to see Leo or any of his girl friends again for a long, long time.

He wondered vaguely if perhaps Allegra wanted to head back in, but had a feeling she probably didn’t. They were alike in that way, and sometimes they could actually be on the same page. Adam put his assumptions to doubt, though, when the girl suddenly released his hand. He turned his head to look at her, worry immediately reflecting in his blue-eyed gaze. After everything they’d been through, he was on high alert, and any distance that Allegra placed between them became an irrational moment of concern for him. But, fortunately, the girl didn’t get up and walk away or suddenly announce that she had no interest in spending another minute with him. Instead, she curled up basically on him, as if he was her very own comfy sofa that she could just accommodate on whenever she wished.

Adam smiled softly at this gesture, allowing the girl to rest comfortably on him before claiming his hand with hers. The boy brought up his free arm, the one she partially laid on, to wrap it snuggly over her shoulders, bringing her even a little closer still.
He couldn’t even bring into words how amazing it felt to hold her again, and he immediately regretted every time it happened and he took it for granted. It was… soothing to have her so near. Like everything in the world could be alright for that moment, as long as she remained in his arms.

Adam was quiet. His eyes were on the party ahead, but his mind was elsewhere, looking back on all the last few moments of the night. It was stupid, he knew, but it was difficult to really push everything away as if it had never happened. The boy rested his head on top of Allegra’s, his thumb absentmindedly caressing hers in their entwined hands. And the more he focused on her presence, the more he became aware of her right there, basically on him, like the tiny, snuggly kitten she was, the more peaceful he became. Slowly, the boy’s sight of the party grew blurrier, his eyelids heavy. Finally, giving into temptation despite his mind screaming at him to stay awake, to stay alert, to make sure to be there if the girl in his arms decides to hide away, he laid down onto the grass, bringing Allegra down with him.

“Allegra…” With the party no longer in his line of sight, Adam looked up at the dark, starry sky instead. It was a clear night, but there were still some clouds lingering, and the moon seemed to walk out from behind one of them at that moment. “If I close my eyes…” his voice was heavy with sleep, his thoughts tripping over each other in his exhausted mind, but he made an effort to put his words together carefully, “If I fall asleep, will you stay?”

Allegra felt more comfortable than she had in a long time. There was some strange effect Adam had over her, some odd kind of trick -- she just felt at home. If she wasn't so tired she might have allowed her analyzing mind to question that, to wonder why he was already such a comfort after just a week. But she was too sleepy, too overwhelmed with the day to allow herself to question anything else.

She didn't want to question, she just wanted to be. She felt entirely protected, like the party and everything that came with it couldn't reach them anymore. His arm around her was like some kind of barrier. As long as she was with him, this close, they could keep the rest of the world out. Tonight, especially, proved that.

Allegra was just noticing his breathing evening out, getting slower, getting more calm with each exhale, when she was gently pulled down onto the grass beside him. She instinctually followed his lead, laying down comfortably on the grass yet managing to keep very close to him. She didn't want to lose this little bubble they had against the rest of the world.

She stared at the sky. The moon, and the clouds, and the stars. Star-gazing was better out here than near the castle. By the forest, there was even less light pollution and all of the constellations were easier to see if you knew what you were looking for. Allegra did, and she was just starting to identify a few quietly to herself when she felt her eyelids getting heavier. Her head still on Adam's chest, the calm of his breathing only seemed to relax her further, forcing her to confront her exhaustion finally after what felt like hours of avoiding it.

Just as her eyelids closed, she felt the rumble of his voice through his chest, the warm crackly texture that reminded her so much of a warm bonfire. “If I fall asleep, will you stay?” She hadn't expected him to say anything, perhaps she thought he was already asleep, and the question caught her off guard. It was a valid concern; she was the girl known for running off, hiding quietly, disappearing when she most wanted to. She only allowed people to see her when she wanted them to see her.

Allegra paused, thinking. It hadn't even occurred to her that she might want to go, she'd been so comfortable, so warm in his arms... The idea that she might want to run away from him after he fell asleep almost amused her. She could see some kind of earlier version of herself doing that. Maybe a version that existed even twenty minutes ago. But now? Now that she was right next to him again... and realizing that he didn't let himself fall asleep until he knew she'd be there when he woke up... Well she hadn't really ever had someone to care whether she ran off or not before.

"Go to sleep," Allegra requested softly. She placed the softest of kisses just on his collarbone, the place she could most easily reach from her spot on his chest. "I'll be here when you wake up." She tucked her head underneath his chin comfortably, gentle as she cuddled closer to him to finally fall asleep.

Adam smiled softly when Allegra ordered him off to sleep, but it wasn’t what he needed to hear. That’s when she continued, and her following words were the blessing he needed to finally close his tired eyes and shut down his hectic mind. “I’ll be here when you wake up.” He wasn’t sure if she’d repeated herself or if that was just her voice echoing in his head, either way, it felt good to hear the words. There was of course, still the possibility that she would change her mind halfway through the night, that she would still run off. But he trusted her. And, either way, just to be safe, he wrapped his arm a little tighter around her, keeping her as absolutely close as it was possible without them merging into one being. He wanted to say goodnight, to at least give her a goodnight kiss, but sleep was unforgiving at this point, tired of being pushed away, and as soon as the boy closed his eyes, it enveloped him and took him away.

It seemed it would be yet another night that Adegra didn’t sleep in their beds.



~*The Next Day*~

Serina was up late the following morning. Well, late for her. It was actually nine in the morning, which really wasn’t so awful, but already the Slytherin felt like she had slept the majority of the day away. Waking up late got in the way of things, like her morning run and yoga stretches and picking the perfect outfit for the day if she hadn’t already done so the night before. It was Sunday, which she quietly thanked Merlin for, as it meant she could spend the day recovering from last night’s party and get the cottage in order before Willoughby arrived from Hogsmead later that evening.

But it wouldn’t be so easy.

Opening her bedroom door and taking a step outside, Serina immediately tripped over a body spread across the doorway. She shrieked in horror as she felt herself fall in slow motion, landing on her hands and knees. Panicked, she scrambled right back up to her feet and looked down at the lifeless body by her door. OHMYGOD, WHAT WAS GOING ON!? Except it wasn’t a lifeless body but rather a sleeping Gryffindor student that had just happened to pass out near her door. And, as Serina made her way to the stairs, she found dozens more students scattered all over the place, like beautiful mannequins that had fallen from the sky and landed ungracefully on her floor.

“UGH.”

Disgusted, and being careful not to trip over any more bodies as she tip toed her way down the stairs, Serina would purposely kick some of the students on her way down, in hopes of waking them up and getting them out of here as soon as possible. Soon as she made it to the first floor, her hazel eyes landed on her saviour - Willoughby’s bell.

Hopping over and tip-toeing around her classmates, Serina made her way to the dining table, on which rested the shiny little golden bell (along with bowls of fruit punch and trays of candy and other goodies responsible for the passing out of half the students in there). “UP. ALL OF YOU. UP, UP, UP! Wake… UP!!!!!” Serina rung the little bell furiously, kicking some of the students on the floor nearest to her.

The cottage filled with groans of protest as students began to wake up, not at all amused with the rude nature of their awakening. “OUT. Out, out, out, GET OUT. NOW!!!! GET THE HELL OUT OF MY BLOODY HOUSE!!!”

Leo, perhaps, was the least pleased to be woken up in such a fashion. The bell's incessant ringing was the last thing his aching mind needed to hear so EARLY in the morning. It was loud, which was the only reason that the sound made it outside of the house, through the windows and open doors, to reach his sleeping ears up on the roof.

He jumped at the sudden disruption of the silence, sitting up immediately. "WHAT, wha-- WHat. What. I'M AWAKE --" he started yelling, rubbing his eyes, mildly afraid that Willoughby had actually come back early from his trip and found his bell, choosing to torture him with its stupid ringing all morning. But when he opened his eyes, he didn't see Willoughby. He didn't see anyone actually, aside from a couple birds, because he was ON. THE. ROOF.

Leo screeched just slightly at the realization, jumping yet again to find that he had been sleeping soundly an entire four feet from the edge of the roof with a two story fall. Super, he'd almost died. Great. Goody. A lovely realization to have on a Sunday morning with an aching head and a sick stomach. He'd had too much fun last night. Being around his old friends, marching around the house doing stupid things... He felt the block of regret set in on him immediately.

But, more importantly, and more pressingly: HOW HAD HE GOTTEN UP HERE? He frowned, brows furrowing, scanning the roof slowly as if it might reveal the night's secrets if he was patient enough. But, of course, the roof said nothing and neither did the two birds perched on the roof. They just stared at him, unhelpful. He growled in their direction, rubbing his face with his hands as he listened to someone chime the bell mercilessly. He was positive everyone in the castle must've heard it too. Everyone everywhere must have heard it by now. There was only one person with that kind of determination at nine in the morning, and she was the only person he still cared to see.

...

"Seriiiiiiiiiiinaaaaa!" he sang as he swung in through the patio door, stumbling over various students on the floor. Leo frowned slightly at the sight of them. Students still being here at this time didn't bode well for him. That would mean several people would be missing from their beds in the dorms this morning, and several Prefects would have many questions that they might direct to their Heads of House or perhaps even the Headmaster. Leo almost let himself worry about this, knowing there would be only one beautiful young, handsome Gryffindor they'd all point back to, but he stopped himself.

There were more important things to be discussed right now. Most pressingly, presenting his parting gift to Serina.

Before she could blink he was in the kitchen, pulling up one of the bar stools rather clumsily, still trying to fully wake up. He'd lost his blazer at some point in the night and one of his shoes inexplicably, but Leo was one of those awful people who could endure anything and still look flawless. He grinned at Serina from across the kitchen. "Well, my dear, I don't think any parting gift has ever been so wonderful," he announced.

"A party and the destruction of your two least favorite competitors' weird little romance??" Leo mimed the shock, the awe, that he felt he deserved. "Wow, honestly, if someone did that for me. For little old me?" He sighed, as if thinking, before flashing her another smile. "Why, I might just reward that person with a date. Perhaps, even a kiss, I daresay?" He wiggled his eyebrows, but he was serious. No joking. He'd given her a GIFT before his departure. What more could she want from him?

What better way to show a girl you care for her than to destroy her enemies' happiness?

Slowly, the impossibly beautiful people scattered all over the cottage began to open their tired eyes, groaning and rubbing their temples as they were snapped out of their pleasant dreams and back to reality. Some shouted in protest, urging the Slytherin Princess to stop if at least for a second before their heads may explode. But it was as if Serina was the only one unable to hear the bell in her right hand, as if its incessant ringing went unnoticed by her ears.

It was rather ironic though, how Serina may have been immune to the cringeworthy sound of Willoughby’s bell, but there were much simpler and more common sounds that made her grit her teeth instead - like Leonardo Huntley’s voice.

“Seriiiiiiiiiiinaaaaa!”
Glaring, the Slytherin turned her head to look at him. Amazingly, despite his disheveled and slightly suntanned look (when did he get to go tanning???), the boy looked amazingly… surprisingly… oh gosh, well, he actually looked kinda sorta slightly handsome. Just a little bit. He still wasn’t totally her type, but there was something amazingly bearable about the boy that morning. For a moment there, Serina almost forgot her default state of annoyance as she looked at him with condescending hazel eyes.

At his words, even the Slytherin had to give in and smirk, successfully exposing how pleased she, indeed, was with his gift. Ah, yes… the destruction of Team Adegra… That had been the highlight of her night, and it was actually a shame that the cameras hadn’t been there to record the epic moment.

“Ah, yes…” Serina started softly, her voice unnaturally sweet and innocent. “Everything I’ve ever wanted in just one night. Hmm, how ever do you do it, Huntley?” she asked, her eyebrows raising slightly as she feigned admiration, slowly walking across the kitchen to where the boy sat by the island. “You’re right. A gift that selfless and kind… it deserves an equally kind reward.” The Slytherin smirked, resting her elbows on the island and leaning across the space to better admire the Gryffindor’s pretty green eyes. “A kiss would hardly be enough, you deserve so much more,” she went on softly, further closing the space between them, eyes locked on the boy’s lips. She was so close she could feel his soft breath on her cheeks, her lips so close to his, so very close…

“HOWEVER.” The girl suddenly pulled back in one swift motion, her movements swift and graceful. Her gaze was condescending again, unimpressed and unamused. “I can’t celebrate until Willoughby officially announces the two idiots are really off the competition,” she explained, even if she felt 150% sure they had dropped out. Neither of them had been seen since the episode by the closet, and Serina was certain that due to the situation, they wouldn’t want to continue sharing the same home for even another minute. “Until their names are off that board” - she pointed to the blackboard where all four kids’ names were written, their points also there - “I can’t celebrate.”

BUT. Even Serina Souza could have a heart and a sense of justice.

“But since I did get to see my friends again and actually enjoy this stupid house for a night…” The girl walked around the island, toward the Gryffindor boy. “…Thanks.” Once in front of him, she leaned in, though still keeping the rest of her body a safe distance away from him, and kissed his lips with a quick peck kiss. She wasn’t about to start snogging the most annoying and stupid boy in all of Hogwarts, but even just a kiss, brief and insignificant as it may be, was a huge sign coming from a girl like Serina. She didn’t give away her affection easily, so her gratefulness must’ve been genuine.

“Now help me get these birdbrains out of here before Willoughby gets back."

FINALLY, it would appear that Serina Souza was understanding the charm of Leonardo Huntley. Finally! It had only taken an entire week, a house party, and the destruction of her enemies' happiness! But even Leo seemed mildly surprised at the true change of character he saw in the Slytherin Princess. Though still condescending, she managed to shock him by not immediately shoo-ing him from the premises as would've been more fitting of her personality.

However, it was in the next moment that his shock truly arrived. She was approaching him. She was coming over to him, she was LEANING ON THE COUNTER. His eyebrows rose to see her actually nearing him voluntarily, something that had perhaps never happened before. But it was her words that truly got him to pay attention.

'You're right' !? It was possible she'd never said that to anyone before, let alone him. He grinned. Perhaps she was finally starting to see his value. Leo leaned forward on the counter, listening with a coy smile as she decided that a gift so selfless and kind needed an equally kind reward. "I daresay you might be right, my dear," he agreed, flashing her a charming grin. He had some dark feeling that perhaps she was just teasing him. It couldn't possibly be this easy to get a snog session out of the queen of the school. She was too proud, too condescending, too... too...

Before he could confront his doubts for too long, she was leaning across the counter, towards him, looking as if she had all the intent in the world to kiss him right then and there. Stunned, his charming facade faded just slightly at her next words, almost somewhat alarmed that she might take him up on his offer. He hadn't even brushed his teeth yet! He wasn't ready for this! He needed gum, he needed breath spray, he needed to comb his hair! Also, preferably, he needed the entire world to know that it was happening. SERINA WAS FINALLY GOING TO KISS HIM. He needed them to be in an ampitheatre of some kind, so the whole school could have their own seats and everyone could remember this moment forever. HE HAD WOOOOOON!

“A kiss would hardly be enough, you deserve so much more...”

Perhaps this was a dream. Maybe he was till up on the roof, dozing. Or worse, perhaps he'd actually fallen off the roof and died and gone to heaven, and this was his version of heaven. It was pretty close, actually, to his personal idea of perfection. But as far as he could tell, this was real. She kept getting closer, and closer, all the while her pretty eyes darting from his own eyes and down to his lips and back. THIS WAS HIS DESTINY. If this was gonna happen here, he wasn't gonna be the one to stop it. No siree. No way. HE WAS READY. Well, as ready as he could be on such short notice. A charming smile flashed across his expression one more time before his eyes closed and he leaned as if to close the distance between them for once and for all.

He waited. And...he waited. Where were those perfect Serina Souza lips to reward him with a perfect Slytherin Princess kiss of a lifetime!? Just as he was about to open his eyes and find her himself, she cut through the tension-filled air like a knife. "HOWEVER."

NOOOOoOOOoOOOOoOO!

He had been so FLIPPIN' CLOOOOOSE.
He should have known something like this would happen, and yet the same shallow heartbreak shown in his green eyes as he opened them with a not so subtle groan of disapproval. He listened with a pout on his face, shaking his head as if to regroup, as she spoke, explaining that she was unable to celebrate until Willoughby officially disqualified them and put their names off the board. He groaned again.

"FINE, I get it, I get it, you need to see the final product. Dang, you can be so cold someti--" he grumbled, his exhaustion somehow returning to him. But he was cut off at her next words. She got to see her friends again, she had a good night... All of these statements barely made it to the young lion's ears before he found Serina Souza herself leaning in and pecking his lips with a soft, "Thanks."

His green eyes barely had a chance to close before it was over, the poor boy unable to even register it happening before it disappeared before his very eyes. Purely stunned, he could only stare, his lips still pouted just slightly as if he might hold onto the moment of the kiss if only he kept his lips pursed just as they were when she deigned to show him affection. He probably wouldn't be able to register this wonderful moment for a few minutes. Perhaps a few hours, really.

When he finally snapped out of it, just slightly, he grinned from ear to ear, somehow knowing how big of a leap this was for Serina to even deign to show him affection at all, even with a peck of a kiss. Part of him, when all this started, didn't think he would actually succeed. He could very easily see Serina denying him a date, denying him a kiss, even after going through all of this. So he seemed genuinely surprised that all of his bold talking, all of his shallow, hopefulness paid off. Just a little bit.

“Now help me get these birdbrains out of here before Willoughby gets back."

"Oh, anything you want, it's yours, my queen," he joked, half serious as he sent an overjoyed wink her way. He jumped up from his seat by the counters and immediately began Project: Birdbrain Removal.

"OI! EVERYONE NEEDS TO GEEEEET OUUUUUT NOOOOOOOW"
"My girlfriend says so." He grinned, quickly running from the kitchen before Serina could personally kill him for calling her that.

He ran outside, repeating this loud yell over and over again, in every corner of the house, in every corner of the yard, until he felt that all of the students were appropriately stirring. He even kicked a few before he went back inside to demand the same excavation of the upstairs residents.

Somewhere up on a hill, Allegra stirred just slightly at all the noise.

Serina smirked at Leo, the way one might to an accomplice, when the boy confirmed he would help her get rid of the mannequins in the house. She was back to ringing her bell as he bellowed for everyone to get out, the mixture of both sounds startling awake even the deepest sleeper. The students scrambled to their feet, picking up their missing shoes and jackets, eager to be as far away from the awful noise as possible. The sight of Gryffindors and Slytherins rushing to get through the door and as far away as possible from the king and queen of obnoxious morning alarms, made Serina grin with satisfaction.

FINALLY, they were getting out!
The girl was actually quite impressed. It seemed that Lion Boy, dull as he may be, could actually get things done. Perhaps if he’d had this sort of determination with Willoughby’s challenges, he would’ve posed a bigger threat to the rest of the competitors. Either way, Serina didn’t regret it. Mute Girl and Sloth Boy had been challenging enough, but with them most likely out of the competition, and Leo dropping out… She would FINALLY win! Victory would be hers!

The girl could hardly stop smiling now. Since the night before, she had been getting everything she wanted. It was as if Merlin was finally looking down upon her and realizing how deserving she was of all things great and amazing. Serina turned to Leo then, smile on her face, when—

“My girlfriend says so.”

The bell stopped ringing immediately, and with almost all of the students gone and Leo now running away, the cottage was suddenly crushed by a deafening silence.
………………. “WHAT?!?!?!?!?!” What—who—WHO did he THINK he was?!!?!?!? UGH, THAT BLOODY IDIOT!!!! She KNEW he couldn’t be trusted!!! Bloody birdbrain!!!! “LEONARDO HUNTLEY I WILL KILL YOU!!!!!” Didn’t he KNOW the avalanche of rumours that his one stupid joke would bring upon!? TOTALLY the last thing Serina wanted to be dealing with right now. Seriously!


Meanwhile, outside…

Despite the setting, Adam slept like a baby that night. Not that this was a great accomplishment for the boy who was known as a sloth for good reason, but after all the craziness of the past night, it was a miracle he didn’t end up waking in a sweat from an awful nightmare or something. No, he slept soundly, his arm never releasing its grip over the girl at his side, always keeping her close, warm.

Until there were bells and screaming and a stampede out on the grounds. Adam’s eyebrows furrowed deeply, blue eyes still shut as he made an effort to remain in the blissful world of sleep. But the noise only seemed to get worse, and the sun had begun shining directly on his face, forcing him out of his slumber.

Adam opened his eyes slowly, squinting at the sun that greeted him like a punch to the face. Rather ironic, really. Wasn’t the sun supposed to be his spirit animal or something? Yet there it was, destroying all the things he loved. Like sleep and a clear eyesight. It was so bright out that he was temporarily blinded. The boy released Allegra’s hand, secretly amazed that their fingers hadn’t parted even in their sleep, to rub his face and eyes until sleepiness slowly wore off just slightly, enough so that his mind could fully wake up and take everything in.

The boy lifted his head slightly just to see Leo running around the yard like a madman before disappearing back inside the cottage. With a sigh, the Slytherin returned his head to the grass. Of course Leo and Serina were already up, and of course they were already causing chaos. Did those two ever even sleep? Did they ever feel the need to just lounge somewhere comfortable for an afternoon and do nothing? Naturally, for someone as adoring of laziness and sleep as Adam was, the other two’s hyperactive nature was a mystery.

After a moment of massaging the side of his head to soothe the inevitable headache that was coming from all of last night’s candy, Adam turned to the girl beside him, his eyes only able to see the top of her head and her tiny body draped comfortably over half of his. He smiled faintly at the sight. “I’ll be here when you wake up.” She hadn’t lied.

But, not wanting to disturb her, Adam remained on the grass, not that he was too eager to get up and head back into the cottage anyway. The place must’ve been a disaster. Suddenly he felt nostalgic for magically-prepared breakfasts in the Great Hall. Absentmindedly, he began to play with the fingers on Allegra’s hand, the one he had been holding through the night. He did so gently, not wanting to disturb the girl; and amazingly, as he held her hand again, her fingers didn’t feel cold at all.

Allegra didn't want to wake up right this second. More importantly, she didn't want to be woken up by the sound of Leo's obnoxious roar filling the air as it always seemed to. Loud, abrasive, annoying. She could hear the bell joining in with its own incessant, annoying sound for all to hear, and she knew immediately who must've been behind such a thing so early in the morning. Serina. Serina and Leo, both causing chaos and all things awful as early as they could manage, as per usual.

Allegra kept her eyes closed even though sleep quickly slipped from her grasp, not wanting it to be morning. Morning meant it was the next day. Morning meant having to go back to the cottage and deal with Serina and Leo, deal with Willoughby's inevitable blow up over all of this. It meant dealing with hurt feelings and difficult issues and she truly didn't feel like doing that right now. Or ever, preferably ever.

But the longer she waited, the more she seemed to take in about her surroundings. Eyes closed, she could feel the warm rays of the sun already playing on her pale expression, indicating morning. She cold smell the dewy grass, still fresh from the new day. She felt someone's warm chest underneath her head, could hear someone's soft breathing and gentle heartbeat. It was a wonderful thing to realize in the morning...company. And yet it also seemed to dredge up the rest of last night all at once. All of it rushed back to her and she instantly decided to ignore it. It was too early to think, to analyze, to worry.

She wanted to keep her eyes closed and maybe go back to sleep. But that was impossible for the girl who always had trouble with sleeping, for as long as she could remember. Speaking of which... Her brows furrowed softly in her semi-sleep state. She hadn't woken up once last night, that she could recall. That hadn't happened in a very, very long time. Perhaps it was all the party last night, the pure exhaustion, or the company... Perhaps all three.

She was distracted from her thoughts as she felt someone playing with her fingers very gently, almost inspecting them softly, curiously. The gentle touch suggested two things: Adam was awake, and for once her fingers didn't feel entirely icy in comparison to his own. Too tempted by the prospect of seeing him, she opened her eyes and quietly ditched her intention to stay asleep for the rest of the day. Her gray eyes fluttered open and she lifted her head just slightly so she might grapple with the world around her.

Drenched in sunlight, she could now see that she'd fallen asleep as close as possible to Adam and had stayed that way throughout the night, apparently too comfortable to shift. She scanned their surroundings, glancing at the cottage before immediately deciding she wasn't awake enough to deal with all of the things that came with going back there. Finally, she turned her gaze to Adam. "Hi," she broke the silence softly, evaluating his expression with her ever-present gaze.

Before he could say much of anything, she readjusted herself just slightly so she could lay on his chest comfortably, now face to face with the boy. She was practically laying on top of him as if he was her own personal bed, but her petite frame didn't seem to do much damage weight-wise. She crossed her arms comfortably under her chin so she'd have something to prop her head upon so she might look at him all the better. "I never want to see Leo and Serina ever again. Can we run away, please?" she asked softly, simply, perhaps kidding and perhaps not. She nudged his chin with her nose as if this would convince him further.

It wasn’t long after he started playing with her fingers that Adam felt Allegra lift her head, confirming with this movement that she was officially awake. He wondered vaguely if his inspection of her fingers had had anything to do with it or, if like him, Leo and Serina’s obnoxious morning show did the trick. Either way, he felt a little guilty for the joy her awakened state brought him. Perhaps she’d wanted to continue sleeping, and waking up wasn’t necessarily pleasant.

“Hey.” He smiled softly when she spoke, his voice still feeling new after hours of rest.
The girl left his side then, only to better accommodate directly on top of him, like he was some walking mattress that followed her around so she could lay on it whenever she felt like it. At the straightforward comment that followed the girl’s new use of him, Adam laughed lightly. It was hilarious because it was so painfully relatable. He, too, never wanted to see the Slytherin Princess or the Lion King ever again. The idea of running away forever, of never having to face anything or anyone else again and just spend the rest of his time with Allegra was awfully tempting. However, with the beginning of a new day, also came a new determination even the Slytherin didn’t know he was capable of.

“And let them win?” asked Adam, raising an eyebrow. There was an unusually determined look to his eyes, one that hadn’t been there at any other point in the competition. But things had changed. After everything that had happened… After all of Leo’s stupid lies and Serina’s persistence to lock him in a closet, Adam was filled with a whole new purpose. It was true that the boy was usually laid-back and carefree, but let us not forget he’d been sorted into Slytherin for a reason. That reason was slowly beginning to awake and present itself.

“No…” the boy muttered thoughtfully, gaze distracted on the tree branches swinging gently directly above them. “This is when we stay, Allegra,” he decided, absentmindedly bringing his arms up to rest around the girl on him, his hands falling easily on her lower back. “Now we have to win.” He looked at her then, as if searching for confirmation that she understood what he meant. And what he meant was pretty clear: revenge.

Allegra's eyebrows rose just slightly as Adam disagreed with her simple, perfect plan, reminding her that running away would allow the awful duo to win. It was true. If they ran away at this moment, Serina and Leo would surely win, both at the competition and metaphorically after what had happened last night. And though she hadn't truly been planning to run off, literally, she was rather startled by the young man's new determination to stay.

She scanned his expression, trying to figure out what was now different about his familiar face. Something had changed. Something fierce was brewing behind his striking blue eyes. She found herself immediately curious to know what he was going on about.

“This is when we stay, Allegra...Now we have to win.” Allegra was fascinated by his words, fascinated by the new way he said them, something very strong in his voice, even when just waking up. She smiled softly at the deeper meaning behind his words. Revenge. She hadn't expected to find him all that ready to return to the competition. Honestly, she thought he might have announced his departure from the house, just to have time alone. To process. She herself had considered withdrawing at some point last night. Perhaps she hadn't even ruled it out yet entirely as an option.

But now, looking at him, she couldn't help but be interested in his new determination. "And how do you propose we do that, exactly?" Allegra wondered aloud, her voice still at its usual soft tone, barely above a whisper. Just loud enough for him and him alone to hear. A few days ago, when they first formed this alliance, she could easily see how they might eventually get on the nerves of the Slytherin Princess and the Lion King. Easily, she could picture Serina and Leo eventually becoming so annoyed with the 'weird' competitors in the house, so tired of being away from their friends, that they might just throw in the towel.

But a lot had happened last night, and it certainly gave them the upper hand. Allegra wasn't sure she had the energy to mess with them again. They'd certainly proven that they could make things as they wanted, when they wanted, at the drop of the hat. Last night, both of them had been Serina and Leo's pawns. She didn't know how yet, or the details, but she could feel that the two had worked together somehow to manipulate them both. It was all too convenient, and it had their dirty work written all over it.

To be totally honest, Adam hadn’t thought that far into his plan yet. Actually, he didn’t have a plan, so Allegra’s question caught him a little off-guard, though it didn’t seem to mute the vengeful sparkle in his eyes. The idea had just come to him literally a minute ago, when the girl in his arms suggested the idea of running away. Even he hadn’t realized the vengeful thirst that had slowly begun evolving within him, ever since that moment he caught Leo trying to kiss Allegra.

“I don’t know yet,” Adam admitted after a moment’s silence, gaze on the tree branches and the clouds once again. “But we were doing well, weren’t we? So we just have to continue.” All was going well until Willoughby decided to divide the group into boys vs. girls, as now Allegra and Serina had an almost unattainable number of points. But Leo, who was certain to be kicked out after this crazy party scheme, would be of concern no more. That left only Serina, and her biggest challenge at the moment was the little Ravenclaw that lay on him. After the Slytherin girl, Allegra had the most points in the house. So, as long as Serina didn’t win any more challenges after today, they were bound to win the competition. Or, at least Allegra was.

After a long moment of silence, the Slytherin seemed to snap back to reality, out of the dark cloud of vengeance and scheming that had occupied his mind. “Y’know… It might not be so hard,” started Adam, looking at the girl again. He smiled faintly, looking more like his original self, before he suddenly turned over, arms still around Allegra’s waist so she may not just slip off him ungracefully. “I bet if we just kiss around Serina enough, she’ll be weirded out enough to leave right away,” he suggested, playfully raising his eyebrows as if amazed at his own genius. With Allegra now the one laying on the grass, the boy hovered just partially above her, one arm still wrapped around her waist while the other supported him off the ground. “I think that’s our best plan.” He smiled playfully and, pulling the girl a little closer, leaned in to meet her lips with his.

The ironic thing was, he was partially serious about this plan.

Allegra could've laughed as Adam admitted he didn't know what his plan was, actually, but she kept her amusement to herself, or at least, she tried to. Still, the corners of her lips turned up just slightly in a smile as he decided they just needed to keep doing as well as they had in the past. It was true that they'd made a pretty good team, thus far. The challenge with the cars on the Quidditch Pitch... She couldn't have done any of that without Adam.

But the thought of fighting against Serina -- crazy, manipulative, die-hard, Serina... It was a lot. And after last night, Allegra was tired. She'd just woken up well rested, but her mind still felt tired, bogged down, a little heavy. So much had changed for her in the last week, in the last twenty-four hours alone, she was still sorting through it all. Part of her still longed for the simple life in the castle, with her normal classes and her books and her routines. It was all so different here, and it didn't seem to be getting any less complicated day by day.

She grew distracted from her thoughts as Adam kept talking, suggesting it might not be all that difficult after all. She raised her head in curiosity before she found her entire world turning upside down. She let out a soft yelp of surprise as she suddenly discovered their roles reversed, her back now on the soft grass beneath them as Adam hovered above her just slightly. Allegra's gray eyes widened in mild, alarmed disapproval but she quickly lost her train of thought to find him so close to herself once more. And then his next words seemed to register in her expression, listening as he suggested they could probably kiss around Serina enough and she'd run immediately.

Allegra smiled faintly at this proposition, her gaze studying his expression in mild disbelief. How could he make her want to kiss him again so much, so easily, after everything that had happened last night? She desperately wanted to kiss him, and yet, as he leaned closer to her to do just that, she felt some soft alarm in the back of her mind go off. A warning, of sorts, reminding her of last night, of all the pain that had occurred from this feeling before. She paused.

Just before his lips found her own, her brows furrowed, she pulled back slightly. She searched his eyes for a moment, trying to find the words to express what she needed to say. "Last night, when I was walking toward the forest, I decided I was leaving the competition and going back to the castle and never talking to any of you again... Including you," she admitted softly, her words tumbling out in a soft rambling river of a whisper. "Because I was hurt." She was still only mere inches from his lips, her breath surely felt on his face, but her eyes never left his own.

"And you changed my mind." Allegra paused. "I still don't know how, or if I should have let you change it, but you did. And I can't leave now." She didn't know how to say the next part properly, the right way to word all of this. She hadn't needed to communicate feelings to another person as much as she had in the last twenty-four hours. She still struggled at times, to say things, to communicate. After a long moment of thinking, she finally continued, "I'm here now, but I've never felt like that before. It hurt, really bad." She searched his eyes, wondering if he understood in the slightest what she was talking about. After an excruciating pause, an evaluating moment, she got to her point.

"So don't kiss me if you can't promise that you won't ever make me feel like that again." Her words were soft but there was an intensity behind her silver gaze, a protectiveness over herself. She was on the brink of letting him in, teetering on the edge between opening up and running away and she had to be sure he was committed to protecting her just as fiercely as she'd always protected herself.

He was close, so very close, and then the moon wasn't there anymore.
Adam, who’d closed his eyes at some point during the past three seconds, fluttered them back open, immediately revealing a startled and alert gaze. Soon as he saw her there, pulling as far away from him as she could in the small space, all sorts of alarms went off in the boy’s head. It was as if some invisible force had picked him up and dumped him right back into the emotional roller coaster of the night before, where he had spent most of his time like this - confused, worried, guilty.

Still, the boy said nothing, quietly and eagerly listening to what she had to say. Each word brought back some of last night’s pain, something he hadn’t expected to be bombarded with this early on the day, especially not when just seconds ago they almost seemed like the old Adegra again. But the thought of her leaving back to the castle, of never talking to him again… Talking. He knew what a huge jump just this simple action was for the girl before him, and the idea of having the privilege of her voice snatched away from him again, where he would be sure he literally would never hear it again, was actually horrifying.

“Because I was hurt.” The boy frowned slightly at this statement. Of course, it wasn’t news to him, but it hurt just as much as the first time he’d realized it or heard her say it. He wanted desperately to apologize again, for as many times as was necessary, but instead he kept quiet, as the girl still had more to share.

When she admitted that he’d changed her mind and she couldn’t leave anymore, it was like a curse and a blessing. Of course, the idea of her not leaving filled him with hope, with an inexplicable and irrational amount of joy, but it also filled him with guilt. He had, yet again, kept her from doing what she wanted to do just for his own selfish reasons. With each of her following words, Adam felt his heart sinking further, the horrible and heavy monster that was guilt greeting him good morning before placing all of its weight on his shoulders.

Perhaps it’s that he was a boy, perhaps it was his more easygoing nature, or perhaps it was the fact that he hadn’t been the one to catch his significant other snogging someone else in a closet, or that he wished so desperately for things to return to the way they were, but Adam had actually, for a moment there, been able to push all of the night before out of his mind. Now it all came flooding back to him at full speed, all the regret and emotions like an avalanche determined to knock him over. He didn’t even know what to say at this point, what could he say? What could he do? He was, once again, lost.

When the girl made her request - for him to promise that he won’t ever make her feel like he had last night again - Adam smiled faintly. It wasn’t an amused smile, it was his reaction to the simplicity but also complexity of the request. Of course he would never do that to her again! He’d rather be run over by a herd of angry Hippogriffs! However, the fact that she even had to ask, to make sure… Obviously, there was still a lot of work left to be done. But he could do it. For the girl he loved, he could do anything, even if it meant starting over from scratch.

Adam had quite honestly forgotten that he’d been about to kiss her, too immersed in her words and the emotions they brought upon, until the girl mentioned it. She was holding their kiss hostage until he promised her. But it wasn’t the kiss he wanted anymore. It was her trust, her respect, her willing affection. “Allegra Reynolds…” he started, and though there was a hint of playfulness to his voice, he was completely serious. “I, Adam Kipling, promise not to hurt you ever again.” He paused, examining her gaze the way she often did to him, yet another of her little things that had rubbed off on him in the past week. “And if I do, you have my full permission to tie me up and feed me to the giant spiders. I won’t protest, promise.” He lifted the arm that was wrapped around her waist to hold up his hand, as if making his promise official.

After a moment’s pause, slightly hesitant now, Adam leaned in again. He placed a soft peck kiss to the girl’s lips, not at all what he’d originally meant to do a few minutes ago, but - baby steps. He needed to earn her trust again before he could just snatch away the big ones. After pulling away, the boy suddenly seemed to have an idea. “…Hot chocolate?” he offered.

Allegra watched Adam seem to process her words, and the slightest bit of guilt flitted behind her gray eyes. She didn't want to remind him of all that had happened last night, any more than she wanted to remember it herself. But she couldn't just pretend that it hadn't happened, or that she wasn't still a little shaken up, like everything was back to normal. Yet still, as she watched him listening, she felt guilty to dredge it all up again.

But it had to be said, as much as she hated saying things, they had to discuss it one last time before they could truly be the team they once were against Leo and Serina. Perhaps this time it might be a different kind of team, more honest between the two of them, no more pretending or lying. The idea of it made her smile softly to herself. She was still watching him, mildly worried she'd just said all of the wrong things. She immediately wanted to take it back, to go back to how it was five minutes ago when he was so happy and leaning in to kiss her in that way that got her heart to jump in her chest. But just a moment later, he was doing just as she asked, promising to never hurt her again.

Before she could help herself, she found a soft laugh escaping her lips as she watched him raise a hand very officially to vow that she could tie him up and feed him to the spiders, should he ever break his promise. She knew he was joking, and yet there was a very real sincerity behind his familiar blue eyes, enough of it to put her doubts to rest for now. Allegra searched his gaze as was her habit, trying to figure out how he had managed to charm her so completely in the short time they'd known one another. Before too long, her thoughts were cut off as she found him leaning in once more, rewarding her with a soft peck kiss, one she returned for the short moment it lasted. “…Hot chocolate?” Allegra smiled faintly at this offer, nodding distractedly, her mind clearly on something else. That peck was most certainly not what she'd gone through emotional vulnerability for. All of that truth about her feelings, even talking that much could be a challenge, and he gave her that? She could sense somehow that he was being careful around her, respecting her space, something she was grateful for and yet something she also found incredibly attractive, ironically. Respecting her space!? Being mindful of her feelings!?

In the next moment Allegra leaned up through the space that separated them, her gray eyes flashing between his own gaze and his lips. She smiled faintly before closing the distance between them in a kiss perhaps more akin to what Adam had originally planned. It was different than the others they had shared in the past, she could already sense some kind of instant, stronger spark in the gesture. Finally, there was no pretending or lying or self-consciousness in the kiss, or wondering who might be seeing or if there was a camera around to catch it for the sake of the competition. Finally, this one was for Adam, and her. Just for them.

Allegra could be surprisingly affectionate and warm for a girl who was always freezing by herself. She kissed him lovingly, somehow losing track of time and place for a while, finding a new determination within herself to express how much better this morning felt compared to last night, how grateful she was to have him respect everything she was feeling, how amused she was about the spiders. After a few long moments, she pulled away from him slowly, her gray eyes fluttering open with vague amusement behind them as if to say, I know we're trying to take it slow and all, and you're being all respectful but I really couldn't help myself.

After a moment, perhaps just to mock him a little, she leaned in and pecked his lips as he had done to her just moments before. "Hot chocolate?" She grinned mischievously before getting up from her spot on the grass and extending a hand to help him up.

Adam was ready to get to his feet when Allegra accepted his offer for hot chocolate, already beginning to push himself off the dewey grass when, suddenly, he found the girl coming up slightly as well, not to stand with him but to kiss him. Like, proper kiss him, in an even better way than he had originally meant to kiss her. It was like literally the entire universe had paused - the birds stopped singing, the wind stopped blowing, the clouds stopped moving. There was nothing, not a single thing going on in this universe that could possibly distract the boy from the feeling of her lips.

How did she do that?! She literally put his entire world on pause, held all of his attention hostage for herself, to be used entirely on her and her pretty eyes and her soft lips. And he knew he had just made a promise to be a good boy and behave and not overwhelm her, but he hadn’t been kissing her then. It was so difficult - impossible, actually - to keep under control when Allegra was finally, after hours of being denied it since last night, kissing him. Without thinking about it, the Slytherin immediately gave in, his hand on her waist again, and when that didn’t feel close enough anymore, it rested gently on the side of her face. It might’ve been only seconds, or it might have been hours that they kissed, he wasn’t sure, but by the time the girl pulled away he was a little breathless. Whether it was from the length of their kiss or the excitement of it, he wasn’t sure.

He understood exactly what she thought as soon his eyes opened and met hers, looking adorably amused. At the realization of it, he laughed, a slightly dazed look still clouding his gaze. He wished he could just kiss her forever, but for now he’d have to make do with moments like this, when she deemed him worthy of her affection.

It was then that Allegra leaned in again, and Adam immediately got the stupidest of happy grins on his face, naively thinking she was about to treat him to another world-stopping kiss. But instead, she pecked him. WHAT?!?!?!?!? It took the boy a moment to react, his eyes delayed in opening again, looking at her like a puppy that had been tricked during a game of fetch. He thought she’d thrown the ball, but she hid it behind her back all along.

“Wha’…”
“Hot chocolate?”
“...OOOhhhhhhhhhohohohoo, mocking me now, are you?!…..” Adam laughed, a mix of realization, amusement, and mock offense in his voice. Within the next moment, he’d leaned in and placed yet another peck kiss to her lips. He couldn’t help it, she was adorable and funny and perfect. It wasn’t easy staying away.

As Allegra stood, the boy followed suit, coming up to his full height with the help of her hand. He took a moment to stretch, only then realizing how truly uncomfortable it had actually been to fall asleep on the grass. Perhaps even worse than that time they fell asleep on the carpet, at least the carpet wasn’t dewy and left the back of his t-shirt damp. Maybe, if they were lucky, Adegra would finally get to sleep on a bed that night. Not necessarily together, though that wouldn’t be a terrible idea either.

After stretching out his back and arms, Adam took Allegra’s hand again, giving her one last smile before beginning to lead the way down the hill and back toward the sunlit, picturesque little cottage. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze as they walked, as if to say, don’t worry about it. We’ve got this, as he assumed she wasn’t any more eager than he was to step back into their cage. But they had to be brave if they were going to defeat the roaring lion that was Leo and the poisonous snake that was Serina.

Allegra grinned as he realized she was mocking him, just a little bit, her gray eyes filling with affectionate fascination with the young man at her side. She returned the soft peck he countered with, but couldn't seem to wipe the smile from her pale expression even as they stood and began towards the cottage. It was only as she truly looked at the place that a knot of discomfort settled in her stomach, and her smile fell. As if reading her mind, she felt Adam's hand squeeze her own and the knot felt better, but just for a moment.

It took them only a couple of minutes to find their way back into the yard, beginning towards the patio door when something stopped them.

Leo was in the kitchen, making sure all non-competition residents had grabbed all of their stuff and gotten out of there, when he realized he might've missed some out by the bushes. Biting the apple in his hand, he was just crossing the threshold of the door, taking one step onto the patio when he saw it. Or, rather, them. He saw... !? Leo stopped dead in his tracks, blinking several times at the two people currently making their way towards the house. What. On. Earth. Was. That. Perhaps he was seeing things. Perhaps the sunlight was blinding him or his conscious was forcing him into hallucinations that might lead to some kind of appropriate guilt. Maybe he was still dreaming! It would make sense, with the whole Serina kissing him thing, after all! But... But... His mint green eyes widened in pure horror as he noticed the obvious details set before him on this Sunday morning.

Allegra.
Adam.
Adegra.
Adegra, walking together in the same place.
Adegra, HOLDING HANDS!?
Smiling faces.
Loving glances.
HAPPINESS!?

No. Noooo. Nope. No. Nooo. No. NOT HAPPENING.
Leo could practically feel his heart stop beating in his chest, his breathing speeding up, his eyes widening in pure horror over the pair currently getting closer and closer to him. NO. Noooo, no no no no, nonononooooo. No way.
NO WAY DID THEY GET BACK TOGETHER!!!!

After last night!? After the absolute emotional tornado disaster that was last night!? Which should've totally destroyed any possibility of a relationship, EVER!? They had managed to run off to the forest and, what? TALK IT OUT!?!?!? NO waaaaaay was that possible. If they were back together, like really back together, that would mean that they wouldn't be dropping out of the competition which would mean that they would stay in the house with Serina which would mean that their names would never get erased from the board which would mean that SERINA WOULD NEVER ACTUALLY LOVE HIM.

He could've fainted right then and there.

But, being Leo and being his tactful, polite self, he merely yelled:
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"

It seemed to go on forever, this sad wail of the doomed, and the poor boy practically collapsed under the weight of his legitimate sorrow. Serina would never be his girlfriend now. Ever. She would probably kill him now, actually. Not only had he failed to get her competition out of the house, he had managed to get them thoroughly angry. Great.

Allegra jumped at the sheer force of his sad yell and stopped in her tracks, instinctually taking a step just behind Adam as if he would be her shield from all the crazy they were most certainly about to walk into.

Serina was upstairs, straightening the last strand of her shoulder-length hair when THE loudest of screams filled the air. By this point, the girl wasn’t even startled by Leo’s spontaneous outbursts. He might as well have been calmly calling her name, for all the shock it brought her. With a quiet growl, the Slytherin turned off the straightening iron and, clad in her beautiful yellow summer dress of the day, walked down the steps of the stairs. “WHAT now, Huntley?!” Just because she was no longer surprised by his dramatics didn’t mean they had become any less annoying.

Taking the last step and officially making it to the first floor, Serina saw them.
Adegra.
The disgustingly happy, weird couple that had half of Hogwarts in dreamy sighs and whispered rumours.
No. NO. What were THEY doing here?!?!?!?!? Serina looked from the couple to Leo, her eyes clearly shouting WHAT are they doing here?! and back to the couple. No, no, no, NO! THIS wasn’t the plan. THIS. WAS. NOT. THE BLOODY PLAN!!!!

It took Serina a veeeeeeeryyyyy painfully long moment to recuperate from the sight of the other two contestants, and when she did, the most insincere of smiles graced her pretty face. “Kipling, Reynolds… We were wondering where you’d gone.” Or rather HOPING you’d been kidnapped by centaurs, you filthy weirdos.

“Hey, Seri.” Adam moved past the other two and opened the fridge door as if it was the most normal of days and Leo’s freak out had been a mere ‘good morning, dear friends!’

Serina glared at the boy. Since WHEN did he call her any nicknames?! Who did he think he was?! Still, she made no comment, too amazed by his eerie tranquility to even utter a word. Wasn’t he supposed to be freaking out?!!??!?! What about last night, when he looked ready to break Lion Boy’s nose?! What the hell happened to THAT?! WHY WAS HE SO CALM?! WHY HADN’T HE DROPPED OUT?! WHY WAS MUTE GIRL STILL HOLDING HIS HAND?! UGHHH!!!DFGHDJFHGJDKFHGDFG.

And then something literally magical happened. Adam pulled out two cups of hot chocolate from the cold box. Actual HOT chocolate had been simply sitting there, waiting for him. Serina, ever the observant one, noticed this immediately, but was still too shocked to process it, to question the strangeness of it. Sloth Boy was smiling at the depths of the cold box as if it was an old friend before finally closing the door, turning around, and handing his weird little girlfriend one of the cups. He then began to search the cabinets, grabbed a box of crackers, and gestured for Allegra to follow him to the living room, since his hands were too occupied to take hers.

Serina watched all of this with saucer-sized hazel eyes.

…WHAT THE HELL WAS GOING ON?!
Soon as the other two were out of earshot, the Slytherin girl hurried over to Leo, leaning in close and whispering fiercely in his ear, “HUNTLEY! WHAT is going on?! I thought you’d got rid of them!!!!” UGHHHHH, this is what she got for trusting that stupid Gryffindor boy!!!

Allegra could practically feel the hatred radiating off of both Serina and Leo as she and Adam crossed into the kitchen, but she didn't comment. She merely watched as Adam opened the fridge, grabbed two warm cups of hot chocolate, and casually greeted Serina as if they'd been friends this entire time. Her eyebrows rose just slightly to find her hands greeted with the warmth of the drink as he handed her one of the mugs, vaguely wondering how the cold box had provided him with something still hot. She didn't question it though, merely ignoring both of the other contestants and following Adam into the living room as he gestured to do so.

She had no real desire to spend any extra time with Leo and Serina than necessary. But she had to admit, it was a little amusing to watch them freak out.

Leo was just trying to get himself together as the couple left the room, one hand dramatically over his chest as if trying to regain control of his heart. But the poor boy found no sympathy from Serina, who immediately turned on him, running over to whisper aggressively in his ear. He jumped away from her just slightly, brows furrowing as he tried to regain control of the situation.

"How would I know what's going on!?" Leo snapped back in an equivalently aggressive whisper. It was rather amusing, really -- two grown people fighting in whispers in the kitchen. "I know as much as you do!" he continued in a startled hiss, glancing around himself as if Adegra might be around any corner at any time, perhaps even in the cabinets. The poor lion looked genuinely shaken up by this development.

He paused, evaluating Serina's displeased expression with mildly irritated green eyes. He knew that after today Willoughby would be kicking him out of the house and out of the competition, leaving Serina here to deal with the aftermath of this suddenly blossoming relationship. Worse than before, she was now up against what appeared to be a very solid team. And Leo would get to go back to his friends, his gallivanting, really everything he enjoyed far away from this stupid competition.

As much as he was irritated by her immediate anger with him, he sighed finally, thinking. "Okay, okay. What do you want me to do?" Leo finally whispered, taking a step closer to the girl. "I'm out of here by tomorrow at the latest," he reminded her, leaning a hand on the counter to get just a bit closer to her so any spying ears might not hear. "I have a day. I'm already out. Willoughby can't punish me any more than he's already going to... You can't do anything if you want to stay in the running." He paused. If Serina had any more diabolical plans in the works, now was the time to reveal them if she wanted him to do all of the dirty work. "What do you want me to do?"

Little did he know that last night was very different from today for the team of Adegra. Last night, they didn't know they had true feelings for one another; it was much easier to prey on people with doubts. Leo didn't know this, of course, but still had a sinking feeling that if they made it through the last emotional disaster, it would probably be unlikely to separate them with another.

Serina groaned, unable to hide her displeasure with this turn of events. WHEN. When did it all go wrong?! Last night, everything had been going so well! Her friends were all here, Mute Girl was crying stupidly, Sloth Boy was slobbering over some random Gryffindor witch, everything was PERFECT!! UGH!! HOW did they even manage to fix things?! It couldn’t be real, it just couldn’t! This HAD to be a prank of some sort. Maybe they weren’t really back together. Maybe they were pretending, just for the sake of getting back at her and Lion Boy. Something here was DEFINITELY off.

Still, Serina had no plan. So when Leo asked what she wanted him to do, she merely hissed, arms crossed with annoyance, “I don’t know!” It wasn’t like the girl not to have a Plan B, but in this case, Plan A had seemed so solid that she was certain there was no need for alternatives! Boy, how wrong she had been.

“I don’t know what to think… This is just too weird,” the girl went on, still whispering as if Adegra were still around trying to hear their conversation. “How could they have made up so quickly? You don’t just get over something like that in one night!” At least, had she been Mute Girl, Sloth Boy wouldn’t have even seen the light of the following day. Ugh, why couldn’t the Ravenclaw be a little more vengeful?!

Giving into the hopelessness of the situation, Serina, who had been glaring at the distance absentmindedly, finally turned her gaze upon the boy beside her. He was an idiot and she absolutely hated him, but… he was her only hope. As he had already pointed out, there wasn’t much SHE could do without getting kicked out. “Huntley, you have to help me,” she finally decided. Exactly how he would do that, she didn’t know, but the order was clear: DO SOMETHING!

Meanwhile, in the living room…
Adam had quite honestly already forgotten about Leo and Serina. It’s not like he wasn’t still bitter for all the trouble they had caused, his plan to startle the other two and continue winning every upcoming challenge was still on, but being with Allegra was distracting. In a way he certainly couldn’t complain about. The joy that came with being with her again, finally on good terms, outweighed the anger he felt for the other two housemates. It was Sunday already, the last day of what would probably be their last free weekend, as there were no more Hogsmeade trips coming up for at least a couple more months, and he wanted to make the best of it, to make up for the time they had wasted the night before.

“Turns out Willoughby’s cottage isn’t elf-proof,” Adam commented from his spot on the couch, raising his cup of hot chocolate slightly to emphasize what he was referring to. Having made good friends with quite a number of elves back at the castle due to the amount of time he spent in the kitchens eating food and napping like a cat, it seemed the loyal little elves continued to look out for their human pet, even in his new temporary home. Which explained all the hot cups of chocolate and coffee he’d been able to enjoy every morning without taking part in any preparation.

He assumed the girl was probably more concerned with what Serina and Leo might be scheming only a few yards away than his connections for hot drinks, though. Taking a sip from his chocolate, Adam glanced back at the other two figures whispering furiously in the background. “I think af—”

“LEONARDO HUNTLEY!!!!!!!! WHERE is that boy?! Bring him to me!!”

The front door of the cottage suddenly burst open, quite literally coming off its hinges in the process, and a furious Willoughby stormed inside. He wasn’t alone, the Gryffindor Head of House was with him as well, as were a couple of students (one of them being Jane) and the Gryffindor prefect.