obliviate // potterlock

c h a p t e r 1 6

The Owlery was the last place Greg expected to be on the night of the Yule Ball, but he couldn't think of a better place to be. Spending some time alone with Mycroft makes his heart flutter in his chest; all his depressing thoughts about the petrification vanish from his mind. Greg supposes that Myc has that effect on him - when he's around him, his mind is just filled with Mycroft. 

"Be careful where you step," Mycroft warns, slowly traipsing towards a large snowy owl at the back of the owlery. "You don't want to end up falling out of one of those windows!"

Greg gulps in fear. He's never been a huge fan of heights, despite loving Quidditch with all of his heart. With quidditch, he has the knowledge that he has the protection of his broom, but in the owlery, once you fall, you land, and not pleasantly. 

"Who are you sending that letter to anyway?" Greg asks curiously, following Mycroft's careful steps towards the back of the room. Mycroft fetches the letter out of his pocket and stares at the parchment with fond eyes. 

"My parents. I'm just keeping them up to date with what's happening."

Greg tries to imagine what Mycroft's parents would look like but finds that his mind comes up blank. Mycroft is so unique, intelligent and has a dry wit that never fails to make him laugh; Greg just can't think of a person who could make someone so perfect. The excitement of meeting his muggle parents makes Greg want Christmas break to comes sooner. Greg stands beside the Slytherin, curiously looking at the blank parchment in his hands. Greg's face fills with confusion.

"But the parchment is blank?" Greg comments blankly, staring at Mycroft like he's lost his mind. Mycroft merely laughs at Greg's confused reaction. The Slytherin reaches into his trouser pocket and retrieves a muggle pen with a blue light on the end of it. Greg recognises it immediately from his muggle studies; his eyes grow wide in delight. "No way! I've always wanted to have one of these!"

"You know what this is?" Mycroft asks, his face full of surprise. 

"Of course I know what this is! It's one of those muggle invisible pens where you have to use that strange light to see what someone wrote. I learnt about it in muggle studies." Greg continues to stare at the pen in wonder, itching to get his hands on the strange muggle contraption. If the Gryffindor lifted his eyes, he would've noticed the soft smile playing on Mycroft's lips as he stares at the Gryffindor's wonder.

"Do you want to hold it?" Mycroft asks with a small laugh. Greg immediately snatches the pen from Mycroft's hands with a small delighted laugh. Mycroft finds it exceedingly strange that a pure-blood wizard would have such a fascination with the world of muggles, but he finds the fact absolutely delightful!

"How come you write to your parents using this?" Greg asks, finally handing the pen back over to the owner after a thorough examination of the object. He must remember to write this in his next muggle studies essay! Mycroft pauses, a fond smile playing on his lips.

"I suppose my parents feel bad for being muggles, especially for Sherlock's sake. You know how he is. Using this makes them feel like a part of the magic, I guess."

Greg stares at Mycroft with the softest expression he thinks he's ever had. He never thought that Sherlock's parents would be that affected by the whole thing. Sherlock's appalled nature at being muggle-born confuses Greg to no end. He's asked his friend about his reasoning for it before, but Sherlock only walked away in a huff. He doubts even Mycroft knows the reason why. He's been looking forward to spending the Christmas holidays with their parents because they're muggles; he wouldn't want them to change at all.

"Sometimes I wish I was a muggle," Greg mutters, his fingers stroking Mycroft's owl softly. Mycroft looks up at him in surprise. uh oh! The Gryffindor's face goes beat red once he realises that he said that out loud, and he coughs in embarrassment.