If I May Be So Bold (A Harry Potter Universe Fanfiction)

52.

April 2035

ELLA

Ella had prefect duty as usual on Thursday and Logan had tagged along again. They'd been given an exorbitant amount of work that week, so while Ella had gotten up to do a quick patrol of the main corridor every half an hour or so, they'd mostly stuck to her dad's classroom, quietly plugging away at their assignments.

They'd barely spoken all night except to ask each other questions about what they were working on.

As they were packing up their things to go before Logan had to be back in his common room for curfew and Ella had to check-in with her dad, who was also on duty that week, Logan turned to her and said, "So I wanted to ask you something."

Ella looked up. "Sure," she said.

"This weekend... Saturday... it's my birthday. And I wondered if maybe after choir we could do something. Like, other than work on the song or study."

Ella's heart rate picked up. "Yeah," she said. "I'd love that."

"Maybe after choir?"

She nodded, unable to keep her smile contained.

"Cool," he said, and then he smiled, too.

They hitched their bags onto their shoulders and walked out of the room. Ella never kissed him in there. It didn't feel right in her dad's classroom. She felt sure that he would know, somehow.

Instead, she walked with him to the top of the marble staircase and they dropped their bags back on the ground and hugged, holding on for a whole minute. Ella did not want to let go. She'd have given anything right then to be in the same house, to share a common room.

Logan kissed her before he let go, just for a few seconds, and then he reached down, picked up both their bags, and handed hers back to her.

"Thanks," she said softly.

"See you tomorrow," he said, and kissed her one more time. Ella had to stand at the top of the stairs for a while after he'd headed down to the dungeons, just to get her face in check before she went to the teacher's lounge.

Two other prefects were in there already, signing out and updating him on what, if anything, had happened in their areas of the castle. Ella stood back and waited for them to finish and leave before she picked up the quill herself.

"Hey Ella-Bee," he said through a yawn when they were alone.

"Hi," she said, signing her name under OUT on the sheet.

"Anything to be concerned about?"

Ella shook her head. She could've gone and hugged him and left then, but she didn't want to.

"I know it's curfew, but I can stay for a few minutes?" she asked.

"Sure, sweetheart. What's up?"

Ella shrugged. She perched on the edge of a chair. "Nothing in particular. I just feel like I haven't talked to you in a while. I've been so busy studying for O.W.L.s."

This wasn't the only thing she'd been busy with and they both knew it, but he was good enough not to point it out.

"They're coming up fast," he said instead. "But you'll be more than ready."

"I'm kind of nervous," she admitted. "I mean it's over five years of stuff we've learned and I don't remember every single thing I've ever done."

"You won't need to know every single thing," he told her. "Just the big stuff. You'll do just fine. You're a good test taker, your spells are consistent. You have nothing to worry about."