RESTRICTED {{SEB}}

[ada]

Well, apparently she had freaked him out, if there was anything to draw from the confused expression on his face as she tapped his knuckles, and the way that he was practically repulsed by the suggestion of lying. Ada got the whole ‘what the hell is this strange nosy girl doing to my knuckles’ thing. Really. She knew she hadn’t come off as a very kind person up to this point—not exactly the healing type—and some suspicion as she pulled her wand out of the waistband of her jeans should only have been expected. Especially for someone like Seb, who had to be paranoid if he wanted to stay undetected. Hell, she’d been the least bit naïve about how the strange Gryffindor boy wouldn’t bother to look through her boring old scrolls, especially not rifle through her bag—and look how that had turned out. Paranoia could only be expected in this line of work. She contented herself with the knowledge that his facial expression changed by the time he realized what she was doing. See? She may have been nosy and awkward and obnoxious and of very little help, but there was at least one thing she could actually make better.

But he was appalled by the concept of lying? Oh yeah. That fit right in with spying. You got the opportunity to tell the truth so much. And Seb seemed to really know what he was doing in this whole horrid game—not exactly the type that she expected to hate lying. Ada herself wasn’t really fond of the whole business. Oh, she could deceive people damn well when she put her mind to it—she’d hold her blue eyes wide and blink innocently up at whoever suspected her, and usually they swallowed whatever story she was trying to feed them. There were exceptions, of course, but overall she was quite the good liar. Maybe that was why she hated it so much—she knew that she’d be believed. Knew that she’d successfully trick whoever she was talking to. So it taught her to use it wisely, unless she wanted everyone around her to be woven into some web of lies.

This immediate dislike of the idea confused her, at first. But then she realized that he wasn’t thinking about himself lying, he was thinking about Kim lying. And the little girl who’d written the letter did seem like the prevailingly innocent type. But there was no such thing as a human who didn’t lie occasionally. Even tiny white lies came out of the mouths of the best people. However, she was beginning to understand that Seb was a little crazy over this girl, and she didn’t blame him. She knew how having a younger sibling was, and she could imagine how much more intense it would be if you were the only one there for them. So she simply cast a sympathetic glance at him as he held an internal debate about it, not quite sure what she should do.

Oh, but he was smiling. Not happily, but it was an improvement. And then Ada found herself being pulled in close to him, and her breath caught again. Shit. What was this? The hug and her reaction to it? Neither of them were easily explained. And things only got worse when he kissed her forehead and called her a genius. God. What was wrong with her? Mel had dated this one really affectionate guy back in high school, and was very huggy and had done the whole cheek-kissing thing as a sort of greeting. He’d been far more affectionate than Seb was being right now. But somehow, this was making her freak out a little. Lovely.

And then it was over, leaving Ada stunned and blinking in his wake, trying to get a grip on herself. Eventually, she did. Just in time to walk over to Seb as he was writing a letter, catch the address as being “Kimmy” and then she backed off a few feet and let him finish, staring out the window as she gave him some privacy. She’d been nosy enough tonight, Seb deserved what little space she could still give him. Oh. Right. She still had the letter that she’d basically stolen, clutched in her hand, basically creating a permanent crinkle in the surface. She left her post by the window to walk over to the little coffee table and deposit the folded letter there, attempting to smooth it out before she straightened up and scanned the room for Seb.

He was at the window, releasing the little owl and telling him something on his way. Ada took a few steps closer, not sure how to act. At all. She’d never been smooth. Ever. Let alone when you factored in real secret-sharing and drama into the picture. So she just barely skimmed her fingers over his shoulder, watched the owl disappear for a second, and then gave a tiny smile and said, ”I really hope she’ll be okay. You’ll let me know, right?” Damn. That was none of her business. But…she somehow felt like she had some sort of part in all of this now. She sure didn’t want to be kept in the dark if that little girl ended up getting caught. She would damn well do something about it. Ada got upset just thinking about it. ”I mean, you don’t have to. But…I’d like to know if anything happens to her. Kim.” Ada’s lips twitched towards a pursing, her cheeks threatening to blush before she swallowed the feeling.

[seb]

Watching as his sisters owl became a speck and then was gone completely Seb's thoughts were lost in what the little witch might be up to at that moment. Yes witch..just as he was a wizard. What were the odds that two children of magic could come from a set of completely muggle parents? But they had.. had to have. The school would have known had that not been the case right?... after all only in the last few years had the center made their break through in being able to fool the trace.. make an underage wizard fall off of the ministry's grid of magical tracking. Sebastian tried to think if he knew of any other sets of muggle born siblings and found him self scoffing at his own efforts. As if he would know? He might have sat next to a pair in the Gryffindor common room and been none the wiser for it.. that was his business after all right? To stay apart from others..know as few details about them as he could and thus keep a shadowed distance between his own hidden life and and any curious minds. A little mystery and absence of knowledge went a long way in presenting a rather intimidating barrier.

Gentle fingers grazed the surface of his shoulder reminding him of the one exception to that rule and he tensed slightly at the contact before forcing his muscles to relax. She didn't deserve that, his typical reaction to all things friendship oriented. It was because of her that some shred of a chance was winging its way to Kim. Because of the kind hearted courage of a girl who refused to be cowed by his front and, for some unfathomable reason, had sought tonight to heal him in both physical and mental ways alike. Heal a bloke who'd been rude, nosy.. arrogant.. and in general as big an arse as he could manage... why?

His thoughts on these questions, he shifted as she spoke, his gaze settling on her in the moonlight spilling in from the window, and found himself unable to look away. Intense blue eyes so sincere they tugged painfully at his heart started back at him. The golden waves of her hair were turned an almost unearthly platinum silver in the ghost light shining in on her and for a moment he found him self reminded of the the unicorns they'd been shown in his first year care of magical creatures class years before. The purest and most innocent of creatures.. knowing only goodness and light and love.. and in that moment he found he could believe it of the girl who was now asking to be kept informed of the trials of a little girl she had no reason to show the least bit of interest in, let alone compassion for.

With a sudden jolt reality set in to warn him that he was in fact staring. It did so with a nervous twinge in his stomach that manifested itself in a hard swallow and the jerking of his eyes to the window..its ledge.. anywhere else.. only to glance, drawn back to her own again. Bloody hell, what was the deal? ...Could the girl be part Veela? Was that where this spell, this 'trance' he'd only just broken from had originated? .. True she was beautiful.. gorgeous even.. though when she'd taken the step up from 'cute' to that he couldn't say.. but he'd been close to beautiful woman before..hell, he snogged more than one on any given night.. and none of 'them' had ever sent his gut twisting and nerves on edge.

He mentally chewed for a moment on her request and finally gave a nod and a hesitant, small smile of agreement.. gratitude even. This girl's quick thinking when his own panicked mind had failed him could very well make her his sisters savior.. a pebble in the pond of life could make some awfully big ripples on the surface, ripples that shifted things in the depths.. altered how circumstances grew and the direction in which individuals in it would chose to swim in Kim's young life. For that small gesture and its potential for positive effects he found there was little he wouldn't do to make the girl before him happy at the moment. " Sure, right? .. I'll let you know as I hear from her..find out things.." Turning his gaze back to the moon beyond the window his features shifted as if trying to find the right expression for a rather foreign event, finally he managed to get out in a gentle if awkward voice as he glanced back at her.. " and Ada... .. . .. .thanks... "