The Devil Doesn't Bargain (MatD part 2)

Chapter THIRTY TWO - Kiss me, Pull me, Drown me

Minutes ticked by in the clock tower in giant, chest-rattling thrums but somehow, despite the constant reminder, or perhaps in spite of it, we seemed to ignore time all together.

The three of us, tucked into the curve of the clock face, found comfort in old stories and beguiling secrets. We passed them around as easily as one might an addicting snack, pausing only to savor the taste before dipping a hand in for another.

Lucan recounted early Crossed Wands duels where the general guidelines hadn't quite been in place. One of my particular favorites was about the student who had secretly charmed their opponent's socks before their duel and only after the correct flick of a wand had forced the poor student to dance continuously. The duel had been impossible to continue and three other students had had to hold the poor boy down in order to remove the "novelty" socks.

Sebastian listed off all sorts of "mildly inconvenient" pranks he and Anne had pulled off in their early years including one where they had left a note aside Garreth's prized cauldron anonymously apologizing for scraping it even though they had in fact done no such thing. The poor boy had apparently spent all afternoon searching it for the alleged damage.

I, much to Sebastian's amused embarrassment, had told the story of the firework accident in Hogsmeade and the chaos that had ensued. Lucan had been particularly fond of this and took to teasing Sebastian for his naivety.

The conversations continued until Sebastian somehow managed to pull a fit of unmanageable giggles from Lucan and had now found himself roped into the same delirium. It seemed that even the smallest of things could set them off and ignite the tower in yet another chaotic outburst. Though they tried to cover their mouths, the urge was nearly unbearable and the two would end up snorting and howling one after the other. Strings of words and not-quite-sentences bubbled from their lips between the outbursts as the two fought desperately to breathe, though that too was relatively unsuccessful.

The entire thing was incredibly contagious and I couldn't help but laugh right along with them.

It was in these moments that an idea flicked gently in my brain and I begin drifting into my thoughts. The talk of Garreth's cauldron mixed with the boys heaps of laughter had reminded me of one of my earliest encounters with the red headed puppy dog of a wizard and his potion experiment at the time.

The giggle tonic. I believe he had called it.

What a beautiful, "mildly inconvenient" prank it could make.

And what simple, un-violent revenge it could give Lucan if used correctly.

----

The giggle fits had continued as we walked Lucan back to his common room, seemingly only getting worse when passing a professor and attempting to rein it in.

We'd passed Natty in the hallways and her eyes had flicked over the two cackling boys with a growing smile. Catching my eye, she nodded once and continued on her way, grin still latched to her lips.

It was only after we reached the large portrait entrance and Lucan had given us each wildly tight hugs that the laughs had subsided and we waved goodbye with warm hearts and hopeful premonitions.

Once Lucan was safely out of earshot, I wove my hand around Sebastians arm and pulled my face close to his. His breath caught and his eyes closed upon what I could only imagine was instinct.

"I've got an idea." My whisper kissed his cheek and and he peeked one eye open before promptly closing it again and bringing his hand to tip my chin up to his.

"Kiss first. Idea after."

The kiss was battered with my own laugh, curling my lips tighter and hollowing the kiss but Sebastian kissed me all the same, grinning into it with one last peck.