° His Sunshine °

- eleven -

"So, if you say the incantation alone, the rat may wriggle a bit, maybe his fur will fade... sniff... but nothing else will... will happen. Now, include the movements with the incantation, and you may get a wonky goblet... sniff. The goblet will probably have some fur though and might have a... sniff... have a tail. To get the perfect goblet, you need to visualise it... sniff, sniff... sorry, um, you need to visualise it, do the movement... sniff.. and say the incan... incan... incantation. Understand?"

Nicholas did not look like he understood. "Why are you here?" He asked, looking at Quinn as if she belonged on a different planet.

"Rude," said the girl, her red tinged nose scrunching in irritation. "I'm trying to help you here."

Nickolas raised an eyebrow, his eyes scanning Quinn carefully as he considered how to broach his point. "You look like death," he finally said, deciding the best thing to do was be truthful.

"Well aren't you a charmer today," Quinn grumbled, plopping her elbow on the table and using her hand to rest her head. Her untamed ginger curls bounced with the movement, random strands getting in her face.
Nickolas's hand twitched, his eyes focusing on those stray hairs. It took a little effort to take his focus away from them and instead meet her red rimmed eyes.

"You're sick," Nicholas said. "You should be in bed resting, drinking hot chocolate and reading Emma."

Quinn gave the handsome boy in front of her a funny look. How did he know she liked that book?

As if reading her thoughts, Nicholas rubbed the back of his neck and smiled sheepishly. "I may have noticed you reading it a couple of times during dinner."

"Oh," said Quinn quietly. He noticed her? "Um, a rest does sound... sniff... nice. And maybe Hermione will let me cuddle her. She usually does when I want to but she's been a bit stressed lately and it's making her a little... erm... what's he word? T-something."

"Temperamental?" suggested Nicholas.

"Temperamental," Quinn agreed. "I'll go bed later. You're test isn't too far away and I said I'd help you."

Nicholas once again took in Quinn's state. Her normally semi-tamed curls were wild and free, clearly they'd been neglected this morning if the tangles were anything to go by. Her big blue eyes that usually shone were cloudy from fatigue. Her sore looking nose could rival a cherry. And her lips, normally soft and pink, were pale and chapped.
"Quinn, honey, you're clearly not in the right state to help me tonight. You're tired and not well. Please, go back to your dorm and rest."

"But I can't," Quinn whined, giving him the sternest look she could. Which, in her current shape wasn't particularly effective. "I promised I would get you a good grade."

"You're cute. And you are keeping your promise," said Nicholas, making his voice gentle. "How about, next week when you're better, we'll do a three hour study session instead of two to make up for the rest of tonight. Deal?"

Tilting her head to the left, Quinn hummed as she considered Nicholas's offer. Just when he was about to bargain further, Quinn's face broke out into a grin and said "Deal!"

Nicholas sighed in relief and began packing their things. "Come on, I'll walk you back to the Gryffindor portrait."

🦋🦋🦋

Quinn knew the moment she saw her friend's and brother's faces she was in trouble.

The second she stepped through the Fat Lady's portrait and into the Gryiffindor dormitory she was met with Hermione's concerned expression, Ron's worried frown, and Harry's scowl.