"Er, Alex?" I asked. "I know that this situation [i]stinks[/i], but that doesn't mean that you should march into anyone's bowels to find the source. There are other ways, you know," I said, biting my tongue so I don't smile.

For a moment, I watch him toss his wand back and forth. "You know that confuses your wand, right? If you try casting a spell right after tossing it around, there's a possibility it might come out the back end and hit you. Try it if you don't believe me," I said. "Anyway, I'm glad, at least we're not stuck here for the entire year."

"My "[i]connections[/i]" ARE shady, Alex. I won't even deny it. But if you want to be the best you need to have an open mind and watch your own back, not other people's back. That's how I got most of the things I have in my chest, if you really want to know." I shrugged, trying to pass it off. Truth be told, I had experienced a few scares, but with a few aids I was able to get around fairly easily. No one even knew the difference, which was fortunate.

I stood up after putting my essay into my bag. "Well, it's late, although I'm glad we did this NOW instead of waiting till the night before class starts again," I admitted. "I don't know about you, but I need to get my things ready if we're going to go tomorrow." It came as a bit of a shock when Alex stood up too.

We headed back to the common room, avoiding a big group of Slytherins that were shooting us dirty looks. I had been tempted to curse them, but resisted.

"Well...goodnight, Alex. I'll meet you down here at 9 tomorrow? That should give us plenty of time to...well...grab a quick bite and then dash out the doors to the carriages. But hey, it's late. I'm not getting my stuff ready tonight."

After shooting him a smile, I turned and headed up the stairs, the door to the girls' dormitory squeaking shut behind me.