John flipped mindlessly through his class notes. The words on his page, handwriting and ink all too familiar, words he’d understood only days ago, seemed to read in another language entirely. Was this the effect of a spell, or of his own disinterest? No, no trickery was involved, it appeared, as he began humming a tune to accompany the shuffle of crisp papers beneath his fingers.

It wasn’t long before the sound was joined by a light rapping of fingers against wood. He turned in his chair, startled, to face the figure leaning on the doorframe.

“Hello, John!” said the visitor, in an unusually excited tone.

“Hello… Sherlock. Why are you-“

“I knew you’d need my help with the project, of course,” informed Sherlock, still making no effort to hide his delight as he crossed the room to the other’s desk. “Ah, you know I love an experiment.”

“Isn’t it a bit late to be roaming the Gryffindor dorm?”

“Well, there’s one spot where my brother is actually of some use.”

“Exploiting another fault in the system, hm?” smiled the blond.

“Oh, merely enjoying,” the Ravenclaw grinned back mischievously. “Your experiment is…?”

John stammered a bit before grasping the abrupt change of subject, something he’d become accustomed to soon enough. “I, uh, I gathered a few toads and-“

“Peppermint, powdered moonstone, rose thorn, ashwinder eggs… Interesting! A bit unoriginal, but that’s alright, you’ll pass regardless. Let’s get started then, shall we?”

—-

After presenting the results of his experiment, John took his bow, then his seat among applauding peers.

“Brilliant stuff!” laughed the boy next to him. “Not sure when I’m gonna need a love potion for toads, but that was brilliant!”

John chuckled back a response. As the next student rose to display her final project, he couldn’t resist slipping a note across the desk behind him.

I’m glad no-one saw that.

What?

You, leaving my dorm at midnight with a half-used bottle of love potion. People might talk.

People do little else.

—-

[WHOOPS THIS GOT LONG SORRY ABOUT THE WAIT.]