Coming to a Crisis (Junis)

“Over there, Azrael. The bench. We can sit and talk.” Marius pointed out and Azrael walked out into the courtyard, relieved to find it empty of other students. He was exhausted and tired and just wanted to crawl back into his bed to sleep the rest of the weekend till he had to go to classes again, but the others had wanted to talk, so he agreed to go outside for a while. It had taken Azrael the whole summer to convince his twin to let him take over his body again and it had drained all of his energy from him.

“Now come on, brother mine, I barely gave you a fight, did I?” Seth commented, smirking at him and Cyn leaned against the red-eyed boy, rolling her eyes at Azrael. “I enjoyed him having control for a while. Did you not love the way he killed these muggles last year? I thought it was totally brilliant!” she giggled and nuzzled Seth’s neck with her nose in a gesture of affection. “And he did not kill anyone we like, right?” Corvin interjected, as always trying to cheer everyone up with his remarks, but today Azrael was really not in the mood to joke around. He was still mad at his twin for hurting Junis even though she still seemed to like being close to him, at least he had not been able to throw her off at the sorting ceremony a few days ago.

“You will have to chase her off; otherwise I’ll do it for you.” Seth growled, glaring angrily at him and Azrael glared back. He could not understand why his twin hated the girl so much. He knew that Seth loved to kill people as a sport, but usually he did not hold grudges against certain people; to him it did not matter whom he killed, but the Ravenclaw girl seemed to have managed to piss him off somehow. “Quite right…and she better stays away from now on…”

Junis was aimlessly wandering around the grounds of Hogwarts, deep in thought and not really paying attention to where she was going. Term had only started a few days ago, but she was already confused by all the feelings that were running through her head. The whole summer, she had been trying to distract herself from the two boys that seemed to have taken up a constant presence in her mind. Mio, the brave and friendly Gryffindor who had been the first boy who ever kissed her and who had been writing her letters throughout the whole holiday. On the other hand, there was Azrael; her mysterious, but immensely troubled house mate who seemed to be suffering from schizophrenia and had almost killed her last year.

Still, Junis could not stop thinking about him with interest, but mostly worry, as he really seemed to suffer from his constant fight with Seth, the part of him that had tortured her. Every time, she was around Azrael, she felt scared that the other part might take control of him again and hurt her, but she also felt safe around Azrael, the real one whom she became friends with last year. Somehow, it was all very confusing for Junis, but she was nothing if not determined to stay friends with the older Ravenclaw and support him in any way she could.

Stepping into the yard, Junis found the boy that had been on her mind for so long sitting on a bench all by himself, quite obviously engaged in one of his internal conversations with the other parts of his mind. She walked over to him and sat down as well, keeping her gaze on a tree standing a few feet away from them. Junis decided to not say anything, yet and instead waited for him to come out of his head.

Azrael growled deep in his throat when Junis sat down next to him, annoyed at her impertinence, as it had been quite obvious that he did not want any company right now, or ever for that matter. "Can't get enough of us, can she?" Seth laughed his typical hysterical laughter, as he leaned against a none-existent wall in his mind and Cyn nodded eagerly. "She is quite a pretty bitch, though. Maybe you should just fuck her and be done with it? I'm sure that's what she wants." she added her completely useless remark, giggling in an annoying girly way.

"Useless? Shut up, Azrael! My comments are not useless. I could tell Seth to take over again and this time, he will kill her, right bro?" She smirked at the red-eyed boy who only eerily smiled back at him. “So keep your thoughts to yourself.” Cyn said and started cracking up at her own pun. “Very funny. I would love nothing more than to be able to keep my thoughts from you. Unfortunately, it is not quite possible." Azrael glared at both of the other inhabitants of his head, though he was relieved that Seth did not seem eager to take over his body at the moment.

“I like her. She isn't easily scared off and quite loyal, isn't that what we need?” Corvin threw in, his usual optimistic smile brightening up the atmosphere in his head quite a bit. “Why don’t we make friends with her, Seth?” All eyes turned to Azrael’s twin brother who was oddly silent today, though this eerie smile was still on his face and it made Azrael feel more than just a tad uneasy, knowing that when Seth was smiling, not grinning, laughing or smirking, but a real smile, it meant that someone was going to suffer. And it usually was Azrael himself.

“Quite right, brother mine.” The other boy commented and, pointedly slowly, strolled over to him. “You know that I am a jealous person, don’t you, Azrael?” he asked, a dangerous sweetness in his voice which made the hairs on Azrael’s back stand up straight. “Don’t think that I have not noticed how you look at her, brother mine.” Seth clicked his tongue and shook his head. “You like her, don't you?” Suddenly, Seth vanished from in front of him, only to appear behind him almost immediately, hissing into Azrael’s ear.

“I don’t want you to like her! You can’t start caring for anyone but us, it simply is not right!” Seth sneaked his arms around his chest, pulling Azrael tight against him, their cheeks pressed against each other. “We are one, brother mine, and there is no place for anyone but us here, do you understand? I promise you that I will kill her if you let her in.” he stated calmly, but Azrael knew that Seth’s screaming and hissing and growling were not nearly as dangerous as when he was talking in a calm voice like now.

“Why can’t you just try to be happy for me that there is someone who cares, Seth?” Azrael asked, his voice sounding strained and dejected. There was no one who ever showed the slightest care for him till he joined Hogwarts and even here it only happened recently. Junis had been the one to stand by his side since the beginning, even opting to work with him on assignments and he had actually enjoyed talking to her because of her calm and intelligent mind.

“Because I’m a selfish bastard, brother mine and I do not share. I love you and the others.” “Hear, hear!” Cyn shouted at them, though she quickly quieted down when she received a glare from red eyes. “And I will do anything to protect all of you from anyone stupid enough to try and hurt us, do you understand? I will not let you lead us to destruction only because you are getting a soft heart for some bitch.” Seth hissed and Azrael tensed up at the implied accusation. Shaking Seth off, he turned to glare at his twin, slowly getting pissed off as well.

“I would never risk any of you for a girl, Seth, and you know it! But Junis already knows about you and after all you did to her, she has not gone to the Aurors or one of the Professors.” He started pacing, ranting as he went. “You almost KILLED HER, SETH!” he screamed, only in his head, but his face was clearly showing his struggle within.  “How does that help to keep us safe, Seth, huh? Tell me! TELL ME!” he spat. “You kill, you hurt, you DESTROY! You are the greatest risk to all of us, Seth!” Azrael had stepped up to his brother, boiling with anger while the other boy just calmly watched him rant, a cold expression reflecting in his red eyes.

“I am the risk, Azrael?” he asked, his voice deadly calm and Azrael involuntarily had to shiver in fear of what was to come. “…I see. Then I am sure you won’t mind if I leave you to deal with this … world … on your own from now on. But do not dare to come to me whining when you get hurt.” Seth’s voice was cold as ice and his usually raging eyes were endless tunnels of pitch black nothingness, a truly fearsome sight to behold. He spun on his heels and stalked into the shadows of their mind where even Azrael could not reach him. Cyn jumped back in fright when he passed her and even Corvin and Marius did not dare to utter a word.

When Seth had vanished out of sight, the other three turned their accusing eyes on Azrael who was still looking after his twin, a shocked expression on his face. He never had to deal with the world on his own, never! Seth had always been there to protect him, to even think and act for him if things got too much, but now he was alone and it was scaring him. “He left…” he whispered not realizing that he spoken out aloud.

When Junis felt the older boy beside her tense up, she could not keep her eyes away any longer and turned to face him. Azrael had pressed his lips together tightly, as pained expression on his face, as if he was fighting off something evil and dangerous. But he probably was, if Seth was giving him troubles again. “Azrael?” she whispered in a soft voice, not wanting to startle him into a perhaps violent reaction. Yet, she did not dare to reach out to touch him, as his breathing become more and more strained and a thin sheen of sweat was shining on his forehead. He looked immensely pale and it worried Junis a lot, thinking that he was about to collapse.

What could possibly go on in the older student’s head that upset him so much? She wondered, watching helplessly as Azrael got more and more stiff, his eyes glazing over with madness. If there only was a way that Junis could help him! She would do so in an instance, not caring whether she got hurt in the process or not. Junis was someone who would do anything for her friends and family and Azrael definitely was one of her friends even if it was a very strange friendship, but it wasn’t his fault after all.

Suddenly, Azrael went utterly still and even stopped breathing, his eyes flashing red for a second before becoming dull and empty of life, a very frightening sight for the young Ravenclaw witch. “Azrael! Snap out of it, please!” her voice rang with clear panic and Junis grabbed the sleeve of his robe, shaking him hard to pull him out of his head and into the real world.

"He's gone!" Azrael’s voice sounded far away and hollow even to his own ears. He felt his body freeze up as if someone had pushed him into an ice-covered lake and he started shivering; trembling uncontrollably when he realized the true extent of his blunder. The air around him suddenly seemed to be much too hot and dense, suffocating him and his breath came out in pants, as he began to panic. Azrael crawled at his throat, making gagging sounds, as he fell from the bench, lying trembling on the ground.

"What have you done?" Cyn shrieked, looking immensely pale and more like a scared little girl than her usual obnoxious self, as she sank down to her knees, looking into the direction Seth had vanished from. “You made him leave! He left! He left us alone, you stupid idiot!” Fear made her voice even shriller than usual and Azrael squeezed his eyes shut, closing his ears with his hands, though of course this did not help anything to stop her voice from penetrating his mind.

“D…do you think he really will not come back?” Corvin asked, his lips trembling, as he was about to cry. He was the youngest of them and the thought of his big brother vanishing for ever scared him badly enough that tears welled up in his eyes. “I … don’t know.” Marius admitted in a broken voice, placing a hand on Corvin’s shoulder to offer at least some comfort. “Of course he will not come back! Azrael made him leave!” Cyn shouted angrily, though her eyes reflected despair more than anger and Azrael winced, knowing that he had put it there with his actions.

“ …” His mouth opened and closed without being able to say anything and Azrael suddenly collapsed in his mind. Marius and Corvin immediately rushed forward to catch him and even Cyn seemed concerned for her brother. “I’m sorry…” he breathed and curled into a fetal position, to protect himself from the world, but especially from the other three’s accusing stares.

“We don’t blame you, Azrael. You did not want Seth to leave.” Marius sat down beside him and his calm, fatherly voice managed to sooth his unsettled mind a bit. “We know that you have been under a lot of strain lately and you just snapped today, it can happen.” The older man continued his soft speech.

“But I made him leave, father, it’s my fault if you suffer now.” Azrael looked up at Marius who just shook his head. “I guess, Seth was quite bitchy today as well…” Cyn muttered and cuddled up to her brother with an apologetic smile on her still pale face. “He’s jealous, you know? He thinks when you get close to the girl, you will forget about us.” She explained to him which actually managed to make Azrael chuckle a bit. “Forget you? I can never forget part of myself, Cyn, and Seth should know that! He IS me, after all.” He complained and pulled at his hair in frustration.

“Stop that!” the girl batted his hand away. “We just have to wait till he comes back and then we tell him…” she said thoughtfully and Corvin nodded smiling. “Yes! And maybe you can actually use the time he’s … erm … not here, to make friends with the girl?” he suggested, as always trying to see the positive sides in everything.

Azrael noticed that his breathing was much easier again and he slowly sat up to look at the rest of his family that was still with him. “You think, she still wants to have anything to do with me, after Seth almost killed her?” he asked, not quite sure what to believe and what to do, but the other three nodded quickly. “Yeah…just look at how she is all worried about you.” Cyn rolled her eyes. “It’s almost sickeningly sweet.” She drawled and shook her head, but Azrael could smile a bit because of that.

Slowly his eyes blinked open and Junis’ pale and worried face swam into focus in front of his grey eyes. “I … I’m alright now…I think.” He managed to say, though his voice unlike in his head, still sounded very much out of breath and strained from the breakdown he just had. Azrael could only hope that he had not scared the younger Ravenclaw girl away with this certainly very frightening sight.

There! He had said it again. Someone was gone and had left him, but what could he possibly be talking about? Junis could only helplessly watch, as her older house mate broke down in front of her from some mental battle that went on in his head. She gave up, calling his name, as he did not seem to react to it or even hear it, instead, she looked around, trying to see if she could find someone to help. Unfortunately, the courtyard seemed to be deserted with only a few large crows watching the scene they surely were making.

Suddenly, Azrael began to crawl at his throat, making noises as if he was about to suffocate and Junis slowly began to panic, terrified of having to watch her friend die here. She jumped off the bench when he fell to the ground and dropped to her knees beside him, lifting up his head to place it into her lap. "Please, Azrael, you have to calm down. Whoever left you will come back, I'm sure of it. You just need to relax and wait for him to return, alright? Just relax, Azrael, just relax, please." Junis kept up a steady flow of words, trying to make her voice sound soothing and comforting though it became more and more panicked as he seemed to be gasping for breath.

Finally, the shaking of his body stopped and he relaxed in her lap, resting peacefully, as if he was only sleeping, but from the still fast beating of his heart, she could tell that it was not the case. Junis ran her hand down his soft dark hair, more to sooth her own nerves than his, as he would probably not even feel it to begin with. When she heard his voice, the panic left her immediately and tears welled up in her eyes. "Azrael!" she breathed and pulled him into a hug, resting her forehead against his.

"What ....?" Azrael was completely perplexed when Junis suddenly hugged him and he did not know how to react to such a strange situation. He had never been hugged by anyone before in his life and was confused by the pleasant tingling in his body at her closeness. "Hug her back, you idiot!" Cyn hissed at him, annoyance ringing in her voice as she pushed him towards the other Ravenclaw. "What?...I ... I don't know how." he admitted helplessly and the girl shook her head. "Just put your arms around her, alright? It's not that difficult. Pretend it's me." Cyn told him and made a shooing motion with her hand.

While Azrael slowly reached out to follow her advice, she turned to Marius and Corvin. "I swear, I need to tell him everything when it comes to girls!" Cyn sighed and shook her head, though her voice was more amused than anything. Corvin chuckled softly as Azrael put his arms around Junis' back. "Aww how sweet. He really likes her." he commented and Azrael had to stop himself from growling at him. "I'm sorry..." he breathed instead. He did not even really know for what he was sorry. For chasing Seth away? For letting him hurt Junis? Or for making her watch his meltdown? Maybe for all these things, but it didn't matter now. Azrael was just relieved that she was still with him.

Junis was more than surprised to feel Azrael hug her back, but it only made her cling to him even harder. She was relieved that he was alright and up to talking, even if it really did not make much sense to her. “What are you sorry for Azrael?” she asked, her voice muffled as her face was pressed into his shoulder, but she did not care. He would have heard her and she did not want to pull back yet. It was the first time, Junis had seen Azrael show any form of physical affection towards anyone and even if it was only due to the shock from having a breakdown, she would try to savor it for as long as possible. “Will you be okay?” she asked softly, running her hand trough his dark hair, to sooth him, but also herself.  

Somehow, Junis had never felt so comfortable in anyone’s embrace before; so right. Just like she belonged with Azrael. She shook her head, pushing back slightly with a guilty expression on her face. How could she think that when she was dating Mio? He was such a nice boy, maybe a little reckless sometimes, but very loving and protective. Still, there was something about Azrael that drove the Gryffindor from her mind and she felt bad for that.

A shudder ran through his body, as all the pent up energy left him exhausted and drained. Azrael sagged against the other Ravenclaw with a sigh and rested his head on her shoulder, not caring if she would mind or not. Right now, he just wanted to sleep and never wake up again, but at the same time, he did not want to let Junis go again. She felt so good in his arms and now he even could understand Seth a bit; his fear that there might be more between the two of them. “I knew it!” Cyn cried out and clapped him on the back. “You’re prefect together and Seth will see that too…in time…whenever he comes back to us.” She sounded doubtful and Azrael could not blame her. He too had never seen his twin so angry at them before.

“Forget about Seth for a minute and focus on the girl, son.” Marius chimed in with his calm voice, bringing all their eyes back to Junis. Just in time, as she was asking him a question at that moment. “I’m sorry for everything. For letting Seth hurt you and for … having to watch this.” Azrael admitted quietly. When she pulled back from him, he looked at her, slightly confused, but it made talking easier, so he did not comment. “I guess… you deserve to know what’s been going on.”

Junis reached out and softly traced his cheek with her fingers, mapping his face, so she would never forget how he looked like. “You don’t have to be sorry. I saw how much you were struggling and I am so relieved to see that you are alright again. I was really worried about you, Azrael.” She told him quietly, looking into his eyes. He did seem a bit troubled about telling her, as he said, what she deserved to know and Junis quickly shook her head. “You don’t need to tell me anything. I … I think I can guess most of what happened anyway. You had a fight with … Seth, right? And … left you?” she concluded carefully.

Azrael’s eyes widened when she touched his face, but he managed to nod. “She got it quite right, but I don’t think, she really understands the severity of the situation…” Marius commented and the other two nodded. Even Azrael had to admit that his father was correct and he felt the need to tell Junis the whole story. “You see… I can hear voices since I can think…I really can’t remember what happened before I turned , but since then I can hear the voice of Marius, who is like a father to me, Cyn who is my sister and Corvin, my little brother. And Seth, of course, my twin whom you had the displeasure to meet already.” He explained to her, looking town at his lap, to avoid her bright blue eyes. “Usually they help me to deal with everything even if it can get quite…” “Careful!” Cyn shrieked at him and he had to smile slightly. “…distracting, sometimes.” Azrael finished his sentence to the satisfaction of his sister. “But now … Seth left us because we had a fight.”

Junis calmly listened to his story. So he had four voices in his head that were his family. Now she could understand why it had to be so difficult for him to lose his twin. “Oh Azrael! I am so sorry to hear that.” Junis exclaimed, a worried expression on her face. Even if she was scared of Seth, she could understand how hard it had to be for Azrael to be without him. “Will he return? … What…what was the fight about?” she asked carefully, not wanting to upset her friend again with the question.

“You want to tell her?” Marius asked calmly, obviously leaving the decision up to him and Azrael nodded shortly. “I guess I will… she’s still here right? So she deserved to know.” He answered his father before turning his eyes back to Junis. “It was about you actually.” He stated bluntly, not meaning to accuse her, but he truly did not know how else to tell her. “He told me to stay away from you because I would be a danger to all of us if I would let you any closer. And I said that by hurting people, he is the danger to us and then he left.” Azrael hang his head dejectedly, remembering the icy expression on his brother’s face. He felt guilty now to accuse him of such things when Seth had always tried his best to protect them, but even he could not call his twin back now from wherever he was hiding.

Shock was visible on her expression when Junis heard that she was the cause for Azrael’s pain and his separation with Seth. “I … I’m so sorry, Azrael. I really did not want to come between the two of you.” She said quietly, her head lowered in sadness. The last thing she wanted was for her friend to be forced to decide between her and his twin, but she also did not want to lose him. “I just want to be there for you, Azrael. I would never try to get between you and your brother. I … I care for you a lot. And… I just want you to be alright.” Junis admitted and looked back up at him with hopeful eyes.

Junis did not understand just what she was feeling for the older Ravenclaw, was it just friendship? Or something more? He only thing she did know was that she wanted o be close to him and make sure that he was okay. “If there is anything I can do, you just have to say so.” Junis could not stop herself from reaching out again to touch his face.

“I knew it!!!!” Cyn shrieked excitedly making Corvin and Marius jump in surprise. “I knew she cared for you. Kiss her! You have to kiss her now, come on, Azrael!” she pushed him towards Junis, but he shook his head. He couldn’t just kiss her. He had never kissed anyone in his life. Except Cyn on the cheek, but that hardly counted. Rolling her eyes, Cyn slapped his arm in annoyance. “Was I not right so far, huh?” she asked and Azrael had to nod. She had been right in that Junis cared and that she would be there for him even after all that had happened. “Exactly. So go and tell her that you need her and then kiss her. She’s already unable to stop touching you anyway! DO IT!”

Making up his mind, Azrael licked his dry lips and leaned closer to Junis. “I … I need you to be there with me…” he whispered quietly. Somewhere in the distance of his mind, he thought that he had heard the echo of Seth’s voice, warning him of doing such a stupid thing, but for once, Azrael closed his mind to him and placed his lips on hers, kissing a girl for the first time in his life.

Junis was surprised when the older boy leaned closer to her, but his request was something that made her smile. Of course she would be there for him, no matter what kind of problems they would have to go through, she would definitely face them by his side. When Azrael kissed her, she felt her body freeze up for a second before the shock left her and Junis leaned into him, deepening the kiss which was so very different from any she had ever received. Hesitant and careful, as if Azrael had never done something like that before and he probably hadn’t, but it still held so much yearning and suppressed passion that Junis had to kiss him back.

Mio! Suddenly, her boyfriend’s face flashed before her eyes and Junis hastily drew back from the other Ravenclaw, shacked at what she had just done. She would never cheat on someone and that she had actually just kissed another boy shocked her immensely. “I-I’m so sorry, Azrael… I can’t do this. I-I have a boyfriend.” She stuttered, pulling back even more till she was kneeling next to him, Junis looked at Azrael with a guilty expression. “I really want to be there for you Azrael, but …as…as a friend. Okay? I’m sorry if it sounded different.” She tried to explain, but inside her heart, Junis knew that she would rather keep kissing him.

“Wh..what?” Azrael looked up when Junis drew back, confusion colouring his grey eyes. What had just happened? In the one second she had been kissing him back with such gentle affection that it had taken away his thoughts; even Cyn had been quiet for a moment. And then she just pulled back and told him she had a boyfriend? “A  … boyfriend?” the term “boyfriend” kept echoing through his mind; again and again, but he still had difficulties understanding what it meant.

“She has what?” Cyn shrieked, though this time not in annoyance, but in anger. Her usually sparkling eyes were dark with a deep loathing for the other girl and had Azrael been any clearer in his mind he had been glad that she could not escape his head. Otherwise, even Seth would have looked like a kind person in comparison to what their sister would have done. “Oh …” Corvin looked shocked and sad and even Marius seemed speechless.

“How dare she lead you on like that!” Cyn hissed in pure hatred, her eyes glaring daggers at Junis while Azrael was still too confused to even understand what was going on. The only thing he knew was that he felt bereft when Junis had pulled away from him. “She has a boyfriend, Azrael! That means, she has someone to kiss, to fuck, to LOVE!” Cyn screamed into his ear which finally snapped him out of his daze, making Azrael stumble backwards, away from Junis. “I…I’m sorry.” He managed to press out, not able to focus his eyes on her before he pushed himself up, more or less running from the yard towards the closest empty space he could find.

“Azrael, please, don’t be sorry.” Junis tried in a soft voice. She had not meant to hurt him, but from the utter shock she could read in his eyes, she had done just that. Damn it! Why did she have to kiss him back? She had enjoyed it. That was the point. She had enjoyed kissing him and to be honest, Junis had enjoyed the kiss much more than the ones she had shared with Mio before. Should that tell her something? Of course it should, but right now she had to calm her friend who seemed close to another breakdown and Junis did not know how many more Azrael would stand.

“Azrael, I’m sorry. I should have told you before.” She tried again, but the older boy wasn’t listening at all. On the contrary, he seemed to have blanked out completely and was now stumbling away from her. Getting up, Junis ran after him, but she lost him in the many corridors of the old castle. “What have I done?” she asked herself in despair, tears filling her eyes. She might just have destroyed the one friendship she valued the most and for what? For a boyfriend? To be honest, Junis did not even know if Mio was that to her. So far they had only called themselves friends with benefits and the past few minutes had made her realize that she loved Azrael, not Mio, even though she cared a lot for him as well. Making up her mind, Junis decided to talk to the Gryffindor and explain her feelings, hoping that he would understand.

half an hour later...

Junis was pacing up and down in front of the lake, waiting for her boyfriend to come and meet her just as she had requested in her letter. After what had just happened with Azrael, she needed to clear things up with Mio and she could only hope that he would understand her feelings, as complicated as they were. But to be honest, by now they were pretty simple. She loved Azrael, her troubled Ravenclaw friend, but she also wanted to keep Mio as a good friend, if he still wanted to be that for her. Finally, Junis heard hurried steps approaching her and she turned with a sad smile, looking up at the Gryffindor. “Hello, Mio, thank you for coming so quickly.” She said quietly.

Mio was confused. Why did Junis want to meet him by the lake? So far they had always met somewhere in the castle to have some fun, but her last letter had sounded rather urgent and … almost as if she was bothered by something. Running over the grounds, he reached the lake and called out to his girlfriend. “Hey Junis.” He said, noticing immediately that something was wrong, so he pulled her into his arms and brushed his lips against her cheek. “What happened?”

Junis smiled and breathed in the warm scent of her boyfriend, immediately comforted by his presence. Mio always had that effect on her; calming her with just his gentle eyes and manner. “I think I messed up.” She admitted quietly, burrowing her face in his strong chest. The steady beating of his heart relaxed her a bit, but she was still tense.

“You messing up? My smart Ravenclaw girlfriend?” Mio asked chuckling warmly, though he did not actually feel like joking. He was actually very perceptive even if he often did not show that to most people, but Junis behavior unsettled him. “What happened? Come on, you know you can talk to me about everything.” He told her, keeping his voice calm, so it would be easier for her to tell him whatever was bothering her so much.

His comment actually managed to make Junis laugh a bit and she pulled back slightly to smile at the Gryffindor before turning serious again. “I … I kissed Azrael.” She admitted quietly, lowering her face and eyes to the ground in guilt and shame. No matter how much she cared for Azrael, Junis had never meant to cause Mio harm. The one person who always managed to cheer her up and make her smile.

Mio sighed and ran a hand through his hair when she told him that she had kissed another boy. After reading her letter, he had already expected something like that, but that the other guy was Azrael, the weird Ravenclaw, was quite a surprise. “Do you…love him?” he asked, his voice still calm. Mio had never doubted that what went on between him and Junis would not last very long and a year was quite some time, but he would like to know if she had truly fallen in love or just found a better guy to have fun with. He would be able to accept the former, but the latter would hurt him a bit in his pride.

Looking back up at Mio, Junis could not hide her surprise. He seemed to calm and not at all upset by what she had told him. “I … Yes, I do. I told him that I have a boyfriend, though which hurt him a lot…I wanted to talk to you first before doing anything.” She said, her eyes not leaving his dark brown ones. “You’re…not …angry?” Junis asked carefully.