For Better or Worse

[BeautifullyxMad]

Reserved for Lizzie B

The bustling room was about to explode. At least that was how Headmaster, Headmistress... Whatever... Professor McGonnagell was sure it would go. She was almost entirely sure that they all knew about the new marriage law, but only one year at the school was affected. All the seventh years, and because of it, Hogwarts had to make some changes to accommodate to the law. Like double rooms and allowing the paired students to sleep in the same room together. She found the whole matter a thing of Lunacy, especially when they tried to pair her off, and her explanation that she was too old to bear children allowed her exemption from the new law. It was utterly lunacy, as was the speech she was about to make.

"May I have your attention please." she called everyone to attention, and all of the house turned to her, and soon she saw Filch passing out the Ministry letters to the Seventh years they belonged to, and she sighed. "This announcement is for all of those 18 years and older. As I'm sure you are all aware, the Ministry of Magic has instated the marriage law, and each of you have been paired off. Because of this law, there will be a slight change in your life at Hogwarts. For all of those who are affected by the law's constraints, your Ministry letter is being passed out to you."

When Filch gave her a nod to say that they had all been passed out. "Now, if all of you would open your letters and sit with those you have been paired with. There have been some changes to your regular coursework and sleeping arrangements. You and the person you have been paired with will now be..." the next few words felt wrong in her mouth as she watched the students follow her directions. "Sharing a room, and each pair of you is required to take relationship building courses at school, and your designated class has been added to your class sheets. That is all for now. Please enjoy your dessert and head off to bed." she announced, heading back to her seat, and as she predicted, the place exploded with roars of laughter and rage.

-&-

It was the first time since the end of the war that Emily felt completely helpless to what was going on around her. Professor McGonnagell had just announced that their Ministry letters were there, and Emily was far from thrilled. She ran a hand through her brunette tresses of hair, her bright hazel eyes looking at the envelope addressed to her sitting in front of her. She opened the letter when she was handed it, and she quickly read over it. It was a bunch of bull, to her at least, and as she scanned the letter, looking for the name... She looked at it oddly. Finn Hargrave. The name sounded oddly familiar, and as each person was advised to sit with their match, she got up, and once she found Finn, she sat with him. She didn't make much eye contact with him.

This whole law was stupid, and for the first time since she was 12, she was questioning whether or not she wanted to be a healer. Because now she was seriously considering going into Magical Law. This whole law had to be breaking some kind of other magical law... Or something. There had to be a way to prove that this was not right. She could see it in some people's faces. Some were optimistic. Others were totally put off, and others were hard to read. Her eyes traveled over to Finn. Her appointed "future husband," and she could tell he was one that would be harder to read. She didn't mind that though. She wasn't ready for marriage, or for children. She wanted to have a career, be successful, and then have a family. None of this was according to her plan.

Her eyes fell on the most unlikely pair she had seen yet. Megara Luxe and Beau Everwood. One was a playboy, and the other the girl of every man's dreams. That would fall apart, imminently, but Emily's ears perked when she heard the last bit of the announcement and she turned to Finn. They would be forced to share a room? That wouldn't be good, and when they were told to enjoy their dessert, Emily could only look at hers. That wasn't a good thing, and she brought up her wand and she tapped the letter with it, watching it levitate and burn as it did so. Charms were her favorite things, and right now it helped release some inner anguish. What was she even supposed to say to the man beside her?

-&-

Beau Everwood. The play boy of Gryffindor house, had been looking forward to this year of Hogwarts. That was until he had found out about the marriage law. He'd thrown a fit, broke things, and tried his hardest to keep from killing something or someone. However, hearing the announcements at the beginning of this school year, he could feel the urge to break something come back. He blinked his big, dark eyes, and his muscular build got up when they were told to sit with those that they were paired with. Megara Luxe. He'd heard of her. The one all the guys wanted, and Beau could certainly see why as they sat together. She was alluring. However, it still made Beau mad. He was supposed to be young still, and have all the fun and women he wanted.

He wasn't supposed to settled down, and once the announcements were over, he shot an exploding spell at his letter and it blew burning flakes of the letter all around the table. "This is rubbish!" he exclaimed, and he got a few more agreeing yells before he stood. "We shouldn't have to be paired off like this!" he yelled, and a few more yells and nods followed. "Why should we not have the chance to enjoy our lives and then grow up when we're ready?!"

"MR. EVERWOOD!" a voice boomed and Beau sat down when he saw Professor McGonnagell. "I am aware that this law is a bit ludicrous, but that does not mean you are to start a rally on the first day of school. Detention!" she shouted and Beau rolled his eyes a bit and crossed his arms.

"Stupid law." he grumbled, not even bothering to send Megara another glance at this rate.

[Lizzie B]

The first day back was always the most jarring for Finn Hargrave. One minute he was a normal eighteen year old man, or boy, or whatever you considered eighteen to be. He tried to help his father cope with his compulsions, he let him tap the counter four hundred times before he made the coffee, he let him latch and unlatch his trunk until it was time for him to leave. "Dad, I've got to go."
"Two hundred ninteen..."
"Dad..."
"Two hundred twenty..."
"Dad I have to go."

The man's lips kept moving, even as Finn pulled his trunk gently from beneath his fingers, and gave the old man a brief hug. His Dad would be fine without him, he always was. In fact, it seemed to make little difference whether Finn was around or not. Most of the time the two looked right through each other. He caught the bus, like anyone would, and watched the other commuters on the bus as it took him towards the train station. One moment he was anyone, ticket in hand, grey v neck tight against his shoulders and baggy around his narrow hips. The next he was a wizard, stepping through a brick wall, getting on a train. Things were levitating, people were reading newspapers with pictures that moved, it was enough to throw anyone for a loop. He lived two lives. One at home, where he mourned his mother and struggled with his father. And one...one here. One life where the world had come apart, where he had watched it bleed. One world that was struggling to pull itself back together.

In this world, he was engaged to a girl he didn't know.

It was enough to drive him half crazy on the train ride, despite how his friends tried to distract him. Greyson was closest to him, skinny and poetic, with jet black hair and a slight tremor in his left hand when he got terribly nervous. Finn only brought it up once, drawing patterns in the fog on the window. "I don't know man, it just feels wrong. We're all going through the same thing, but no one wants to look anyone else in the eye. We're afraid that we're going to be forced to marry each other if we look too long."
"Finn, mate, look at me."
He obliged, only to find that Greyson was terribly serious. "I, Gresyon Mayfield, will never try to marry you."

This earned a laugh from Finn, it lightened his heart, but it didn't last. The castle didn't look right anymore, one of it's walls still blackened from dark magic. There were faces missing at the feast, and they all felt naked at Professor McGonnagell started her speech. At least, he did. His robes felt loose, even though they weren't. They felt like they might slide off his shoulders and fall straight to the floor. And yet...his collar was choking him. That letter was set next to his plate, and he couldn't open it. He couldn't. His wife's name was written on that page, the girl he would marry. Not out of love, but... necessity. They were breeding them like animals. Oh shit. Oh shit, he was going to be a father. He was going to have a wedding, and kids, and...his collar felt so tight. People started to shift and move, and Finn realized that he'd been too slow. She was going to sit down next to him, and he wasn't going to know her name.

Trembling, Finn tore open the letter. And...it ripped. He held it back together, trying to read the words as quickly as he could. Bull shit, bull shit, explanatory bull...Emily. Emily Graves. He knew who she was, but he didn't know her. There was a little bit of relief as she sat down beside him, and he realized that he was actually completely attracted to her. She was pretty, very pretty. He probably looked constipated. He'd been holding his breath through the whole letter. Finn let the breath out as inconspicuously as possible, staring down at his plate full of dessert. She was burning her letter. She might as well have been burning his soul. She didn't want him? Of course she didn't. He didn't want to marry her either, but...did she have to burn it? Finn crumpled his in his hand, realizing he had no words. He took a bite of a cauldron cake to buy time, noticing it tasted like ash. Had she got ashes in his food? Was he chewing on their burnt engagement announcement? Well, he couldn't spit it out, could he?

Finn forced himself to swallow, looking around the room. A few were crying, a few were fighting, some looked hopeful. Beau 'shagsalot' Everwood was yelling at the top of his lungs like an idiot. Megara Luxe was stuck next to him, looking pissed and beautiful all at the same time. Those two were a disaster. His heart sunk. "You know, our last names aren't really that different. It's just the...Har." That. Wasn't. Funny. Why had he said it?

~~~~~~~~~~~

Her father hadn't bothered to take her to the station. She was eighteen, she could apparate like an adult, there was no need for Daddy to hold her hand. The world was safe now. Empty, so empty, but safe. The train station looked full, but platform nine and three quarters was missing some of the enthusiasm. Some parents weren't sending their children off to school. Some parents were sending one, standing in the same spot they'd once said goodbye to three. She stood and stared, as she often did, watching the tears and the laughter as though it were playing on a screen. Meg had a bad habit of that, removing herself from the world. She wasn't self conscious enough to feel awkward, standing there alone. Maybe that was because she was never alone for long.

"Meg?"

A deep voice called her name, and she looked up to see Derek Churchill in all of his blonde glory, grinning down at her. She'd been with him a couple of times, Derek. He was smart, and funny, and handsome. Of course she'd refused to be his girlfriend, or sit with him at the quidditch match, but they'd had fun in a few secluded places around the castle. She didn't smile at him, but then, she rarely smiled at anyone. She wasn't a smiley girl, or even a friendly one, by most standards. Instead she stared up at him like he was a stranger, not in disgust, but mild disinterest. "Good summer?" He asked her. No one had a good summer. Not a single person on that platform who had turned eighteen could describe their summer as 'good'. "It was fine."
"Listen, I was wondering-,"
"Back off Churchill, you're married."

Now she smiled.

It was Tally, the closest of the few friends that Meg kept. She was a slightly chubby girl with dull brown hair, and mouth that needed to be washed out with soap. She was harsh, a little bit rude, funny, and terribly honest. "Come on you ugly mongrel, you're going to have to carry your own trunk." She told Meg, catching her hand and dragging her towards the train. If anyone could distract her for a day, it was Tally. They set up shop and hunkered down in their seats, just the two of them in a single compartment. When the trolly came by they bought more than they could or should eat, and spent the ride talking and chewing on the sugary delights that the Hogwarts express had to offer. That was one thing they shared, candy. The difference was it made Tally spill out of skirts, and Meg stayed slim, curves only where she needed them. Just enough for them all to wonder 'how on earth she was shaped like that', but never enough to be considered anything but thin. That was the nice thing about Tally. They didn't talk about looks, or weight, unless it was to tease one another. Looks didn't mater in their little world.

Of course, eventually they had to get off the train.

Meg Hardly touched her dinner. It wasn't that she wasn't hungry, but that chicken and potatoes had such little appeal when desserts were coming. When the 'real food' was cleared she waited in suspense for the pies and puddings to appear, but there was something delaying her happiness. The marriage law was always there in the back of her mind, but she tried desperately not to let it consume her. There was nothing she could do about it, nothing at all. It was best to push the painful stuff back, as far back as it would go...but Hogwarts wasn't going to let them forget. It had lost so many, and now, it was demanding that they make it's future students. Her stomach rolled as the envelope was put next to her plate, but she only hesitated for a moment before ripping it open. Like a bandage, quick and painless. Quick and...Beau. Beau Everwood.

Was she surprised? Yes. Maybe she shouldn't have been. He was attractive, he'd had his share of women, and people often assumed that they would become an item. They wouldn't. Or rather, they wouldn't have, if the ministry hadn't been intent on ruining their lives. He was nice to look at, he was nice to listen to, but that didn't mean that she wanted to pledge her eternal love to him. In fact, she wasn't even entirely sure she had eternal love to give. When he stood and blasted his letter to high heaven, she jumped a little. Eyes wide, she watched the paper that had once held her name fall like snow, landing in food all over the table. Finn looked like he'd eaten a piece. She might have smirked, were she not so terribly offended. Professor McGonnagell put a stop to it, but there was no secret as to how Beau felt about their sudden engagement. Or rather, the fact that he'd just been put on a leash.

Oh, and thrown in detention.

"Well, at least that's one thing we don't have to do together." Meg said softly, voice utterly void of emotion. Her expression was dangerously blank as well, as she served herself a generous helping of pudding, decorating the edged of her bowl with candied berries from the platter. She wanted to scream. She wanted to run, she wanted to sob, she wanted to break...but she couldn't. Not now, not ever, she had to hold on to her sanity. If she could just get through tonight, if she could just eat her pudding, maybe things would look better in the morning.

The day she had to stop lying to herself was the day she would lose her mind.

[BeautifullyxMad]

Emily looked over to Finn when he spoke and she gave a soft smile to him and an even softer chuckle. "Cute." she commented. "I kind of wish they didn't give us a bullshit explanation on the page with the name. I feel bad for burning your name, but the Ministry's reasoning, and how they picked people for each other, it was meant for burning. Sorry for burning your name." she apologized before she took up her fork and began eating the small piece of chocolate pie before her, and she sighed, sitting with her head leaning against her left hand and her right hand held her fork that she kept stabbing her pie with. She watched as Beau Everwood got his detention and she smirked a bit. That couple was a definite disaster, but as she sat there, she wondered about things. This was very odd law, that was sure.

She closed her eyes and she took another bite of her pie. She wanted to say more to her future husband but she still wasn't sure what. "So..." she began, and she placed down her fork. "Um..." this wasn't a good way to start off. She didn't know the first thing about the man beside her, and she was almost 100% sure that he didn't know anything about her. Well, that was a lie, they knew each other's names and they knew that they were at least 18 and in Gryffindor house. She gave a gentle smile. "What do we talk about?" she asked him, quietly. She felt awkward in a way. He was cute, very cute, but she also knew that she didn't want to marry or have children right now. She didn't want to have to get to know someone right now, she was still kind of hurt from the war... She lost her mother, the one person she had always looked up to, and now she was kind of lost.

So was her father. She needed to be there for him, and he was openly enraged with the idea because they were already trying to pair him off with someone younger than he was, so they could make children. He had made the comments of sperm banks, but she wouldn't repeat all of what he said. She went to speak again before they were all dismissed to their rooms, and she felt a little awkward as she got up and began walking with Finn. They were sharing a room now, and she hoped that they weren't sharing a bed. that would take it too far, and changing in front of him would be weird, definitely, but she didn't want to think about that. "So... Finn... Tell me something about yourself. I've realized that I know almost nothing about you." she admitted, rubbing her arm with her hand.

-&-

Beau didn't care that he had gotten detention. He wanted to speak his mind, but he knew that he didn't need to get more than one detention in a week. He hated that all he ever did was try to speak his mind and get detention for it. What Meg had said caused him to roll his eyes at her. "Like I want to spend all my time with you." he quipped, and he was glad that they were being dismissed to their rooms, but then again, he had to share his room with her. He'd try to find someone to shag before he got married, but everyone he wanted now knew he was engaged and that was like a rule somewhere that girls weren't allowed to sleep with an engaged man, knowing he was engaged.

He didn't want to be engaged at all though. he wanted to have some more fun, shag a bunch more women, and he wanted to have more fun with his guy friends. Whom he walked with as they left their new future wives behind. He did notice an odd sight. A girl he had never shagged, talking with her future husband it appeared. She was definitely pretty, from the back, and her eyes were beautiful, he could see them when she turned, and he walked over. "Hey there, baby. Want to go have one last night of freedom?" he hit on her, and Emily turned.

"Go away, Beau. I wouldn't touch you with a ten foot pole. Who knows what kind of diseases you'er carrying." she snipped at him, and he rolled his eyes and let out a sigh before he got back with his guys.

"That was a total bust." he grumbled.

"Well, that is Emily Graves. You tried to get with her two years ago man, she told you the exact same thing. And you only tried getting with her to piss off her boyfriend at the time, Lucas." his friend said. "Just deal with it, at least your girl is pretty." he quipped, and Beau shrugged.

"Yeah, but she's not who I thought I would end up with. She doesn't look like she'd be able to cook anything." he commented and his friends roared with laughter.

"Yeah, but at least yours is probably going to let you do stuff at some point. Ours are prudes." they talked.

[Lizzie B]

She smiled at him, and he felt his stomach twist. It was pleasant and painful all at the same time, filling him with nerves. He reached for his pumpkin juice, nearly spilled it, and put it down again. This was going well. She apologized for burning his name, which gave him a little relief. Obviously she didn't hate him, which was more than anyone could say for Beau and Megara. The two looked like they were about to pull out their wands and go at it. Not go at it...as in...no, he was not going to think about that. He wasn't. "It's fine, really." Finn assured her, casting a crooked grin in her direction. He held her gaze for a moment, lost his words, and had to search his plate again to find them.

His heart was pounding.

"Sometimes you have to burn a few names for the good of the people, I understand."

It wasn't fair, this law. Not in the slightest. He didn't want to marry her. It wasn't anything personal, she seemed perfectly...perfect, but he'd known love once. It was hard to settle for anything less. But then, maybe he wouldn't have ever found it? Maybe this was the ministries way of making sure he didn't die alone...and a virgin. There was always that. No. No, his mind would not go there, not when they were about to go up to their room together. She asked him what they were supposed to talk about, and he let out a nervous laugh. "I don't know. Small talk? There's the weather, or...the food, or-," He was cut off by the announcement that they were dismissed, and the smile disappeared, leaving nothing but nerves. "Shall we?" It sounded awkward, wrong, off in some way.

They both stood, and as they started on their way, Emily asked about him. It was the most horrible, open ended question you could ask someone. Where to begin? "Uhm..." he stammered, running a hand through his hair. "Well, I'm a muggle born. I live with my Dad in-," To his surprise, Beau came running over. Finn could do little but gape at the man's gall, though he was about to give him a few choice words. Instead, Emily proved that she could take care of herself, sending the slimeball on his way. Finn stood awkwardly by her side, unsure whether to give her a thumbs up, or tell her 'good job', or pretend he felt jealous. He didn't, not really...just confused. Really, really confused. "Alright." He finally choked, jerking his head towards the staircases. "Come on then." It wasn't an order, but a fact. If they didn't go together now, the staircases were going to move.

As they made their way up to the dormitories, they would notice that there was a new staircase. It was no longer boys and girls, but boys, girls, and couples. It felt like he was marching to his execution as he made his way up those stairs, and even more so as he found a door with their names carved on a plaque. He threw her an uncomfortable glance before swinging open the door.

"You have got to be kidding me."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

His comment was witless, idiotic, something that would come out a five year old. Meg turned her eyes to him for a moment, studying his as though he were a piece of art she was being pressured to buy. Beautiful, sure. But...stupid. And vile, and vulgar, and she couldn't help but wonder if there'd been some mistake. Her eyes narrowed, and she checked the letter again. No, it was him. She was going to spend her life with him. Unless she were to die tragically? That wouldn't be so bad. Not nearly as bad as being forced to lie under Beau Everwood for the rest of her life, while he sweated away his pent up frustration with the utter lack of women he was allowed to shag. Meg returned to her pudding, but even it's smooth, sugary goodness could not settle her uneasy stomach.

Most men would be excited to be dismissed to a room with her. They couldn't help it, the taint of her blood drew them in whether they liked it or not. Beau, however, sprinted away from her as though she had a disease...and went over to Emily Graves. Really? Emily? She was pretty, sure, but she was no Veela. Something stirred inside Meg, something she didn't quite like. It couldn't be...jealousy? What did she have to be jealous about? Beau probably did have a disease. She should be glad that he wanted to give it to Emily, rather than her.

Should be.

She was going to be sick.

Meg stood from the table and brushed her hair out of her face, walking with her usual poise towards the stairs. Alone. Everyone was moving in couples, moving in pairs, and she wove her way among them, sticking out like a sore thumb. And not in her usual good way, either. They were staring, all of them were staring, and someone muttered Beau's name. She got an apologetic glance. This could not be real, this could not be happening. "Meg!" Derek came sprinting after her, but she did not turn or slow. "Meg," he panted, struggling to keep up with her. "You're paired with Beau?" He was stunned, looking as though someone had slapped him. "Isn't it obvious?" She asked him, clearly pointing out the fact that she was walking by herself. Speaking of which, where was his pair? "I thought...I mean...I thought it would be...I thought you and I would be..."
"We aren't."
"But I thought-,"
"It doesn't matter, does it? We aren't."
"I'm paired with Lucille Borgans."
"Good for her."
"Meg, wait."
He gripped her arm, pulling her off to the side. His hands found her face, cupping it in his hands as though it belonged to him. "Derek, stop."
"Meg, you don't understand."
"This is illegal."
"I want you. I only want you."
"Well I'm not yours."
"You're not his either!"
"You don't want me. Trust me Derek, you don't."
She pulled out of his grip. "Meg, please..."
"Go find Lucy."

The walk back to the common room was utterly lonely, and she was barely holding down her dinner. It almost came up as she found their room, the door still closed, it's handle untouched. Beau was probably off shagging some whore, despite the fact that it was illegal. She didn't care. It didn't matter. Their named carved into the shiny wood meant nothing, and they never would. She forced open the door and stepped inside, stopping dead in her tracks. No. No no no. There was one bed, just one, with a canopy and all. Twin Dressers, twin nightstands, everything was paired. Their trunks were side by side on the foot of the bed. There was a tiny bathroom to the right, but as Meg gathered her pajamas, it slid shut with a soft click. Her head snapped up, and immediately she went over to try the handle. No, it wouldn't open. The room was rigged, the room was made to get her pregnant. She hated it, she hated it just as much as she hated Beau. He was probably on his way up now...but it didn't matter. She'd never been shy. She wasn't afraid to change in the open. "Fine." She told the room, and whatever was trying to control her fate. "Fine, you win." She pulled off her cloak, her sweater, and unbuttoned her shirt. Once that hit the floor, she started on her skirt. "See if I care."

[BeautifullyxMad]

His name was Finn Hargrave. He was a Muggle Born who lived with his father. He was in Gryffindor house. And he was her "perfect match." It was odd how much Hogwarts had changed to accommodate to a law. If Dumbledore were still alive, the law probably never would have passed. Thinking of the fallen wizard, Emily couldn't help but to think a lot of things wouldn't have happened. The war would have probably wouldn't have affected Hogwarts the way it did. Maybe less people would have died. Maybe her mother... She shook her head a bit when Finn's voice came again. "Come on then." it had said.

She nodded a bit and followed Finn up into the couples' dormitory section. It was odd, really odd that there were boys, girls, and couples dorms suddenly, and she looked to her name etched into the plate beside Finn's. It looked almost wrong and when the door flung open, Emily remained as cool as she could, but she had to agree with Finn's statement. The room was relatively large-looking. It was the bed that made her wonder. One bed larger enough for two people, or more if you really tried. On either side of the bed were nightstands, and in the room there were two dressers. There was also a bathroom and she noticed her trunk beside his at the foot of the bed and she walked in. It wasn't homey at all, not like Hogwarts used to be anyway.

"It's not going to get any easier standing there, Finn." she said to him, looking over towards him as she opened her trunk and pulled out her wand. It was 8 inches made of white oak with a Thestral hair core... One that she had had since she had turned 11, and it was a lot like her mother's. "Which dresser do you want?" she asked him, but the words felt odd coming out of her mouth. After he answered she flicked her wand and watched as her clothes situated themselves in the other dresser before she knelt down and looked at a few things in the bottom of her trunk. She pulled out the blanket and she placed it over her closed trunk before she headed over to the dresser and pulled out her pajamas. She went to walk into the bathroom and the door shut with a click and she went to open the knob and she rolled her eyes. "Now that's just ridiculous." she mumbled. However, Emily was known for her rather odd ways of problem solving, and she pulled on her long school robes. She then stripped out of her clothes, with her robe on and she pulled on her pajamas underneath the robe and she took it off and placed it over the blanket.

"Take that you cursed room." she said to it, and she looked to Finn with a small, unsure smile. "Sorry if that was a little odd." she apologized. She was in a pair of black and white checkered shorts and a look black t-shirt. She walked over to the mirror and pulled her hair up into a loose bun. "I've never been very comfortable changing in front of others."

-&-

Beau wasn't all too dejected by Emily's turn down. He was actually glad that she did because now he and his buddies had time to chat as they headed up to the common rooms. They were laughing it up and talking, but the moment they got into Gryffindor common room his buddies were taken away by their matches and he just collapsed on the couch in front of the fire. He'd head up in a minute. He would be sharing a room with Meg and right now he didn't want to be anywhere near her. She'd turned him down before he had been the ladies' man he is now, and it was a little hurtful. Perhaps it had been because they were younger, but now Beau was a stud. He didn't want to give that up for a law. And he was sure that she didn't want to give up having guys do anything for her at the drop of a hat for a ridiculous law either.

With a sigh and a few more minutes to clear out his head, Beau made his way up the stairs to the room with his name and Meg's carved in on the door plate next to each other. He let out a disgruntled sigh and walked in, barely noticing anything in the room other than a nearly naked Meg. Didn't most girls change in the bathroom? Or was she going to surprise him with something? He highly doubted the second part, but he found himself staring at her. Her skin was flawless, and after a moment he regained his composure and took off his own cloak looking around the room. He'd seen his fair share of naked girls, but why was Meg suddenly so... enticing. He looked away again and gathered up his clothes to take a shower, but when he went to try the bathroom, it was locked.

"What the hell?" he asked, pulling out his wand. "Alohamora." he said and he tried the door again, but to no avail. He set the clothes down on the dresser nearest the bathroom and sighed. He flicked his wand at it again and he rolled his eyes and hit his head against the door softly. "I can't even take a fucking shower?" he grumbled and then suddenly the door flew open and he fell flat on his face and he scrunched up his face before looking to Meg. "Real nice. Really really nice." he commented, dryly. Of course he believed this was her doing! She hated him and he was pretty sure that he hated her, but he couldn't get the thought of how she looked out of his mind and he snatched his clothes and summoned his things for the shower and shut the bathroom door. Now it wouldn't lock. Really? What was up with this room?

He turned on the hot water and he undressed, getting in the shower and letting the hot water hit his body. Could tonight get any worse?