Kaz and Meru (P4)

"Do you think Ben is a secret agent? There's no way someone can be scared of THAT many things. Hell, in third year, I cast Lumos and he started screaming."

"Yes, I think he's actually a dark wizard, conspiring to bring back You-Know-Who."

"You think he's-"

"I was joking."

"Ah. That makes more sense."

Kaz was lying on his bed, lazily flicking his wand to make shapes in the air. Rowan sat at a desk, working on an essay that wasn't due for at least three more weeks. In an attempt to alleviate his boredom, Kaz conjured a piece of paper, scrunched it up and threw it at Rowan. It bounced off his head, travelling in a long arc to rest in the fountain in the centre of the dormitory.

"Hey, what about Merula? You think she's actually a sweet little girl, like her boggart?"

"You do know that a boggart's form after casting Riddikulus comes from the caster's own mind, right?"

"Yeah, so? What's your point?"

Rowan paused, before scratching out a line on the roll of parchment (already a scroll longer than Snape had asked for, Kaz noticed), and continuing to write.

"You've been bringing her up a lot, lately."

"I suppose so, but that's only because I'm winning this bet."

"Is it?"

Kaz paused, looking up from his impromptu drawing project. "What are you getting at?"

"I think you want to win this bet more than you know. It's not just the money."

"Damn it, Rowan. Stop being so obtuse! What the hell are you on about?"

Rowan glanced at his watch, before placing his half-finished essay into his bag. "I've got to go." He stood and turned. "I'm sure you'll figure it out soon enough." As he left the room and the door swung shut behind him, Kaz heard him mumble under his breath. "Or she will..."

Kaz stared at the door as it settled shut, before sighing and flopping back onto his bed. 'The hell is he playing at? I want to win for more than just the money?' His thoughts settled on the last thing Rowan had said. "Or she will..." 'Does he mean Merula?' Kaz stared up at the ceiling, allowing his eyes to become unfocused and the shapes he had been drawing to dissipate. He cast his mind back, examining all the encounters he'd had with the tiny witch.

He found himself noticing her expressions more and more as he thought. He thought of the way she frowned when she was struggling, the way she nodded while she read her potions textbook, and even the way she stomped her feet when she was upset.

'She's so cute when she blushes...'

The thought came, unbidden to him. Kaz jerked up, shaking his head. 'What the hell was that? She's CUTE?' He got up and ran his hands through his hair. 'Damn, she's getting to me, too...' He took a look at his watch. 'Still over an hour before Potions...'

"A shower...to clear my head." Kaz whispered to himself, heading toward the bathroom.


Merula Snyde paced in her room. Just as that idiot had predicted, she couldn't stop thinking about him. With every step, another of his terrible lines shot through her mind.

'Can you take care of me like that...?'

'Wouldn't want to see me get all wet...'

'Can you kiss it better...?'

'Am I that special to you...?'

'All you have to do is ask...'

"Damn him..." She whispered under her breath. It was the smile that had done it. That damn smile, as he patted her head, had awoken something within her. She had almost physically felt something shift that day, and ever since, he'd been on her mind.

She was at a loss. Whenever she thought about him, she felt the hate that she had built up over the years they had spent in the same common room, but she could also feel something else, deep down, that she desperately wanted to ignore. A...desire.

She stopped in the centre of the room and stomped her foot on the floor. A childish gesture, but it had always made her feel better.

She needed to affirm her feelings, and the only way should could think of was to pull some kind of prank on the idiot. She figured the best way would be to steal his Potions textbook, getting him in trouble with Snape. She wasn't sure what his schedule was like, but she'd heard that know-it-all, Rowan, leaving the dormitory a few minutes earlier, so she assumed he'd left with him. A good thing, too, because she wasn't sure what she might do if she saw him now. At least, by the time Potions started, she would be able to prepare herself.

She left the girl's dormitory, attempting to keep her feet quiet on the stone floor. Her big boots had once belonged to her father, and even though she could easily buy new shoes, she had hung on to them, perhaps out of sentimentality. The door to the boys dormitory was shut, but she was fairly certain no one was in there. Even so, she opened the door as slowly as she could, edging in as soon as it was open enough.

Closing the door behind her, she quickly took stock of the room. She had never entered the boy's dorm rooms before, for she had few friends within Slytherin, and even fewer friends outside.

The room was a spacious, open space, with a high ceiling and a large window open to the Black Lake, casting the entire area in an almost ethereal, other-worldly glow. Roomy four-poster beds were set up at intervals along the room, just like in the girl's dormitory, with desks placed at the left-hand sides of each one. Toward the back of the room was another door, and if it was anything like the girl's side, it led to the bathroom. The bathrooms were usually fitted with silencing charms in order to allow anyone currently using them privacy, but Merula was certain there was no one in there, since during this period only a couple of girls that Merula had never spoken to, the know-it-all and the idiot were present from her year.

Focusing her gaze back on the row of beds, Merula quickly figured out which one was his, since his trademark aviator sunglasses were present on the desk. She tiptoed toward his trunk, unable to escape the feeling that she should be as quiet as possible. Quickly, she undid the latches and eased it open, wincing at the creaking sound it emitted as she did so. She began to sift through his belongings, the occasional frown creasing her face as she found strange item after strange item. Three additional pairs of sunglasses, a beret, some kind of Muggle device with an empty slot inside and several tapes with names on them that seemed to fit with the device. She read a couple of the names, but was unable to make heads or tails of them.

Finally, after minutes of searching, she found what she was looking for. A potions textbook, which she carefully lifted from the trunk and placed under her arm. She stood, and looked around once more, before turning to leave. She began to turn, only to freeze as she noticed something on his bed. A closer glance confirmed that his robes and clothes were indeed strewn over the bed.

At that moment, she heard a sound that made her blood run cold. With the door leading out of the room in sight, she heard a creak as the bathroom door swung open.

"Sn-Snyde? What the hell are you doing in here?"

Slowly and deliberately, she turned, intending to let off a quick insult and bolt out of the room.

When she saw him, her words died in her throat and the world ground to a halt.

He was standing in front of the bathroom door, a towel wrapped around his waist. His hair was still wet, and as she stared, she saw a droplet drip from his hair, slowly rolling down his chest. As her eyes travelled down, she saw clearly defined muscles across his stomach. Unlike Barnaby, who was almost comically muscular, Kazuma Reeds had a sleek, lean build. He had a well-defined six-pack, and even from where she was standing, she could see his biceps tensing.

Her mind dimly registered that she had dropped the Potions textbook when she heard a loud thump, but she barely even noticed.

"U-uh, Snyde? Are you alright?"

At his words, she snapped out of her stupour. "Wh-what the hell am I doing?" She noticed her mouth was incredibly dry. "What the hell are you doing!? Walking about, dressed like that?"

"I just got out the shower, you crazy witch! I wasn't exactly expecting to see you in my room!"

"Th-that's no excuse! Anyone could have seen you!"

"So? I've shared a dorm with these guys for years. It's nothing they haven't seen before."

Merula needed to take control of this conversation right now, before she completely lost it.

"I-I demand you get dressed right now! Do not sully my eyes with this sight!"

"What? You shouldn't even be in here! Did you come here to spy on me or something?"

Ignoring the voice in her head that whispered that this was a bad idea, Merula stomped over to him, poking him harshly in the chest, attempting to ignore the heat she could feel radiating from his body. "A-as if I'd even willingly want to spy on you!" She was fully aware her face was bright red, but she attempted to push past it.

"You sit beside me in all the lessons we share! I was right wasn't I? You really do like me!"

"Shut the hell up, Reeds! I hate you!"

"You're batshit insane!"

"You're an insufferable idiot!"

"I'm BEATING you in all our classes! If anything, you're the idiot!"

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST CALL ME?"

In the middle of their shouting match, they both suddenly realised that they'd gotten much, much, closer to each other. Their faces were mere inches apart. They both paused, staring into each other's eyes. A spark passed through them, an almost electrifying tingle that they both felt, deep down.

Before either of them could process it, they had thrown their bodies into each other, crashing to the ground as their lips locked together in a battle for dominance.