Josh is unloading clothes from his trunk, but looks up when you walk in. He grins widely and thwaps you back, looking quite overjoyed. "Cor, you're a sight for sore eyes, mate. Mind you, my eyes have been on nasty red blotches for five weeks. *winks*

Alex laughs and nods his head. I read that. Good to have you back. It was bloody boring here without you around. Er... well.. Not really boring, but certainly not as fun.

Josh smirks, turning back to his clothes while continuing to talk to you. "T'would seem the old place goes straight to hell when I'm not around!"

Alex nods again and begins to help you unpack. "Well, you know, things have been brewing forever. I think those attacks just set them off.

Josh shakes his head in disbelief. "A bloody shame. Hooch wasn't a half bad old dame, certainly didn't deserve to get incinerated." He looks up at Alex arching an eyebrow. "But it would seem the personal explosions are reverberating far worse than the literal ones."

Alex shrugs and continues to take your things out of your trunk. Holding up an odd coloured shirt and raising an eyebrow at you before putting it with the others and chuckling. "Yeah. I hear Hooch will be all right though. Much as I feel bad about her being hurt, Wood and Flint are excellent coaches." Then he blushes a bit and laughs. "Personal explosions?"

Josh  balls one of his shirts and throws it in your face playfully. "You wear your clothes, Stebbins, and I'll wear mine." He flashes a crooked grin. "And pull your brain cells from the sewer every once in awhile -- I didn't mean those kind of 'personal explosions,' though from what I've read and hear, there are plenty of those going on too."

Catches the shirt and throws it back, laughing. "Yeah. I certainly won't be raiding your closet, Dorny. Don't worry about it." Then he shakes his head at himself. "Lots of explosions of all types around lately. You have to clarify, man. Clarify!" Laughing.

Joshua laughs, too, grabbing the shirt you threw back and folding it up. "Forgive me -- I've been away so long it seems I forgot how to speak Hogwarts! Besides, when you're stuck helping your mum keep her skin lotioned up, you try to avoid thinking about sex as much as possible."

Alex grimaces. "Ug. Don't tell me that, mate, I've just eaten!  You should have written though, I'd have asked my old man if the hospital could send you a nurse or something. Is she doing any better? I noticed you already had an owl."

Joshua rolls his eyes dramatically "Yes, mum must have sent it right as I was walking out the door yesterday. Bloody pain in the arse. Better is a relative word when it comes to my mum. If you mean the shingles, yes, they've mercifully cleared up. It you mean anything else, no, she's worse than ever."

Alex pats him on the shoulder and smiles. "Ah well. At least you're here now.  Back to causing trouble and Quidditch... What could be better than that." He winks.

The huge smile is back. Josh's voice is eager and impassioned, in a goof-ball sort of way "Too true, mate! Too true! Oh, it's going to be a glorious year. That damn quaffle won't make it anywhere near those goals with you and I takin' 'em down. Justin's a crack captain. Best we've had, I think. And Ernie is a-" His face goes a bit dark, leaning toward you and speaking in a near whisper, as if hoping to keep his words private, though there's no one else in the room. "It's not true, is it? Ernie didn't really quit the team, did he?"

Alex is smiling at your excitement, but when you mention Ernie his eyes darken a bit and his smile fades. He nods slowly. "Yeah. Yeah, he did. Moved out of the room the same night... It's been a real mess with him lately. Owen's a great Chaser, maybe better than Ern, but it's not the same...."

Joshua makes a low whistling noise, looking a bit overwhelmed by the news. "Cor, why'd he do a daft thing like that?"

Alex shifts and shrugs his shoulders again. "There's been a lot of... well. A lot of tension with him and Justin. Bad stuff. And Ern hasn't been having the best time of it."

Joshua is clearly baffled. "They're best mates. They always have been. What happened?!"

Alex looks a bit saddened. "It's not really my place to say... But I guess since it's been on the public journals I can tell you a bit. I think... I think Ern was in love with Justin, and then Justin fell for Hermoine and Ern hasn't... well he hasn't taken it very well. And you know Ernie's home life isn't the best... I just think he's had more than he could handle lately."

Joshua gapes about Ernie, not certain he's really heard everything he thinks he's heard. "Did...did you just say Ernie's in love with Justin?"

Alex looks up sheepishly. "Yeah. Never would have thought that, huh? They just seemed like good mates. But I always knew Ern idolized him. I didn't really know everything about what happened until Neville and Hermione made public posts about stuff... I think Ernie was really upset by that."

Joshua sits down on the bed, clearly thinking about it all. After a few moments he looks up at Alex. "Are you talking about Hermione Granger? The genius?"

Alex sits down next you, nodding. "Yeah. Oh. Right. You might not know about that. She and Justin are... together.... and her... her parents died."

Joshua boggles further, feeling his brain might explode from all of this chaos. "Hermione Granger's parents are dead? How did that happen? Is she okay? Where did Justin come in?"

Alex notices Josh looking a little overwhelmed and puts a hand on his shoulder. "Merlin, but I'm dumb. Living it you don't realize how much all this would be in one sitting. Must be hard to take it all at once... not that that's all of it of course." He pauses. "I don't really know how it happened, and I guess she seems okay. I don't really know her all that well. You could ask Justin. They're really close. In love, I'm pretty sure."

"In love," He says this as if repeating it to himself, reinforcing it in his head. He looks distant for a moment, thinking and then chuckles. "Fletchley always was the lucky bastard. Hermione Granger wasnt much to look at when we started out together but she's a walking erection, now." He laughs at his own words, knowing their wholly inappropriate for the weight of the moment.

Alex laughs and nods. "Hell yes she is!" Then shakes his head. "It's good to have you back, Josh. Could have never said something like that to Justin, even before they were dating!"

Joshua laughs boisterously. "Mate, no one's happier than me. Though I guess we're gonna have to watch our mouths around Justin. Knowing him, he's made her sacred territory." Shakes head, then looks at Alex smirking. "Are they...I mean, has he...?"

Alex nods again. "Yeah. Something about her being his 'treasured rose'. And I... I don't know, really... I haven't talked to him much lately and it's not the sort of thing to ask during practice."

Joshua rolls his eye. "Fletchley is such a sap." He pauses again. "Well, poor Ernie didn't stand a chance. You say he's having a hard time of it? And that's why he quit the team?"

Alex nods and then blushes a little. "Well, it's easy to be a sap sometimes. I guess." Then he thinks of Ernie and shrugs again. "Ernie's dealing with with a lot of stuff... First the summer, then that fucking asshole Druitt and." He stops himself, realizing what he's said.  "It's, um, really not my place to tell you a lot of it. I guess..."

Joshua is thoroughly confused. "I'll have to catch up with Ernie today and have a sit-down. I have a feeling he'll be the only one to explain this fully." Joshua lays back on his be, his arms splayed out to the side, "Oh, the drama!" He lies there for a moment, then abruptly sits up and addresses Alex. "And it's still better than being home!" He laughs.

Alex nods. "Don't I know it! I mean.. I love my parents and all... but they're so busy and I'm stuck in London with no mates around. I could get into too much trouble! Besides... things have been relatively good for me this term..."

Joshua leans a little closer to Alex, looking at him quite curiously. "That's right, Alex. You certainly do seem to be in awfully good spirits these days. Care to explain to your dear, dear friend who outweighs you and could easily pin you to floor and pain it out of you?"

Alex laughs and pretends to look indignant. "You think you could pin me, Dorny? Let's give that a try!" Then he pretends to size you up again. "On second thought, maybe I'll tell you. I'm. Um. I'm sort of dating someone...."

"You're a wise man, Stebbins." He winks. "So...who is it? Don't leave me hanging, there -- I can still crush you."

Alex laughs. "Oh yeah!" and playfully punches Josh in the side, then looks sheepish again. "It's. Um. Dean Thomas... from Gryffindor.."

Joshua fakes great pain in his side and doubles over, before looking over and sticking his tongue out at Alex. He sits up again. "Nice try, Stebbins -- I could show you how to really do it." He raises a fist and then laughs, playfully punching him in the arm. As his laughter fades, he speaks, "Dean Thomas, eh? Always seemed like a decent enough bloke. Don't know him well." Looks at Alex seriously. "Is he good to you? Treating you right? I hope he knows I can be a Beater in more than one sense if someone crosses my friends."

Alex grimaces and pretends his arm is broken, feebly trying to raise it. Then he laughs loudly and pushes himself up to sit beside you. "Don't worry about it. Dean is... wonderful to me, really. But I think you and I are on the same page about protecting each other." He pats Josh on the shoulder. "Thanks for that."

Joshua nods and slings an arm around Alex's shoulders. "You're my best mate and I don't take it lightly. Anyone hurts you, they hurt me. I'm glad to hear you're happy. You sure as hell deserve it. You're a real good guy....But I can still kick your arse." Laughs.

Alex grins over and you. "Yeah, yeah. You just keep telling yourself that, Dorny.  But. Yeah. Thanks. It's nice to know someone is watching my back here."

Joshua smiles warmly "Don't ever question it." he sighs. "Cor, things have changed. Remember when you, me, Ernie, and Justin were inseparable?"

Yeah. But it was always divided a bit I guess. You and me and Justin and Ernie." He shrugs. "Maybe Justin and Ernie will patch this us. I know Justin says he's trying..."

Josh's voice is heavy. "I don't know, mate. It sounds like things are pretty bad between Justin and Ernie. Some things just can't be fixed." Josh sounds a bit somber. He's thinking of life at home, where there's a line drawn in the sand that will never be crossed. "I guess that's just the way things go sometimes."

Alex looks over and Josh and tries to smile, and falters. "Well. I can hope, I guess. But you're probably right. It's going to take... a lot. Justin is really dedicated to Hermione, and Ernie... well... Ernie's been thru so much." Alex looks up at the ceiling and balls his hands into fists, then lets them go. That asshole Druitt. It makes him angry every time he thinks of it. "I just... I wish I could tell you, mate." His voice is harder than usual.

Joshua turns to look at Alex with great concern. "What? Tell me what?! Are you okay?"

Alex shakes his head and flexes his fingers again. "Oh. It's just. This thing with Ernie... pisses me off... but I don't know if I should..."

Joshua arches an eyebrow. "What do you mean this thing with Ernie? Something he did? Or something someone did to him?"

Alex closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, obviously trying not to get upset about it again. "Something someone did to him... people have... done a lot of things to him lately."

Joshua's face goes hard and he eyes Alex urgently. His burgeoning rage is clear. "Somebody did something to Ernie? What did they do? Who did it? Sounds to me like there's a score to settle."

Alex opens his eyes and looks at Josh, relieved that someone is reacting to it the same way he feels like it should be. "God. Josh. There's a score to settle. A big one. Fucking bastard Druitt..." He shakes his head.

Josh's eye's narrow and he's almost trembling with rage. His voice is heavy and low. "Who the fuck is Druitt and what the hell did he do to Ernie?"

Alex looks at Josh intently. Really, he knew Josh would agree with him on this, and is relieved that he's looking angry. But still..."Okay. But you have to promise you won't go off on him until Justin knows. I've just been waiting to tell him...."

Joshua is losing his patience. "Out with it, Stebbins!"

Alex nods. "Druitt's a Slytherin, year ahead of us. Not the dumb one. The ass with the greasy hair."

Joshua thinks and you can almost see the wheels in his head turning furiously. After a bit he grimaces. "I know the one you're talking about -- rancid little git." He is adamant "Now what the hell did he do to Ernie?!"

Alex is torn between getting furious at Druitt again and calming Josh down. "He. He corned him in a hallway. Said something about a rumor that Ern is  a good cocksucker.. and...then" Alex falters and turns away, closing his eyes and gritting out the words through clenched teeth, balling his hands at his fists. "And then he made Ernie prove... that the rumor was true." He sits up, face red. "I would have fucking killed him if Ernie hadn't stopped me."

Justin is shaking in anger now. He grabs Alex's arm rises from the bed, tugging at Alex to do the same. He can hardly stand still for a second, he's so physically disgusted and enraged. "That's it, Alex. We're going to find that arsehole and show him what great Beaters we are. I rather think I'd like to hang him up in the Slytherin common room afterwards as an example of what happens when you fuck with a Hufflepuff."

Alex grabs Josh by the shoulder. "Yeah. I know. I want to beat the fuck out of him as much as you do. I've been stewing in it for two days. But we can't do it tonight. It's a good think Ern. stopped me before. We've got to do it when he's away from Slytherin... Won't do much good to try to ambush him in his common room. "

Joshua is still raging. He yells out loudly and punches the mattress so hard you could here the fabric of his sheets ripping. It's all he can do to exorcise some his frantic energy. "Dammit, Alex! I can't just stand here, sit here all day knowing that bastard is out walking around, laughing, probably raping some other poor bastard. I can't stand the thought of it, Alex! I want to rip him in pieces!!"

Alex is nodding fervently, his face still red, not looking at all surprised at your outburst. "Yeah. I know. But we've got to actually be sure we can get to the bastard. He's always surrounded but his fucking dorm mates. We should do it this weekend. After we have a chance to tell Justin.... Justin... he loves Ernie. He deserves to know."

Joshua nods slowly, knowing the logic of Alex's suggestion, but so physically and emotionally amped up, he feels like he's going to pass out if he doesn't beat the shit out of that bastard. "I know...I know...I just...Jesus, Alex! That fucking shithead! Where the hell is Justin? He must be around the castle somewhere. We need to find him now."

Alex looks a bit defeated, he's raged about this already and being angry without an outlet just drains him. "Probably with Hermione. I don't know how to find him. I left him a note... But I know he'll be around tomorrow. And on the Hogsmeade trip. If we tell him after the trip we can get to Driutt Sunday." He puts a hand on your shoulder, massaging lightly. "We'll get him, Josh. We've just got to be smart about it."

Josh lets Alex calm him, if only because he has no choice at this point. Then it hits him how nearly out of control he was, how intense his anger shown, how destructive he felt. It scares him -- enough to force himself to start recreating the facade again. He chuckles. "I may make good marks, mate, but when have you ever known me to be smart about something?"

Alex looks worried. "Don't do that, mate. Don't put up a mask. I know you. It's okay to be angry about it. I almost broke the fucking window..." His voice softens. "It's okay."

Joshua laughs. "Don't be daft, mate. This is me. I don't have anything to mask. I'm fine" He lies quite convincingly, but he's been doing it for awhile...at least to himself.

Alex smiles weakly and pats Josh on the shoulder. "Yeah. Well. We'll get him. Justin will want to kill him as much as we do." He pauses, the adrenaline fading. "Christ but I'm glad you're here."

Josh smiles, this time quite genuinely. "Mate, you read my mind." Thinking, once again how Hogwarts is vastly superior to his "home." Nobody had ever said that to him at home -- unless it involved sitting with his mum for hours on end. No one ever said it like his friends here. He knows this is really home.

Alex smiles back. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry I laid all this stuff on you. And just before the feast...."

Josh gives him a lopsided smile, "Stebbins, if you hadn't laid it on me, you'd have been limping all the way to the food." Joshua joke a lot about violence, but it's not meant in the slightest. In fact, it's rather a sign of endearment.

Alex laughs genuinely, if a bit weaker than usual, and throws an arm over your shoulders. "Keep telling yourself that, Dorny. Maybe one day it'll be true."

"And I'll let you keep thinking that, Stebbins." He smiles at Alex. Desperately glad to be back with the people who love him.

[fin.]