Love, Sex, and Confusion

[LANA LOSCE]

Lana's first week at Hogwarts was more difficult than she imagined. Being in the seventh year, preparing to take her NEWTs by the end, they were learning the most challenging of subjects, which wasn't hard, but the workload was preposterous! She was keeping up, but just barely, considering the sheer number of classes she was taking. It was astounding that she managed at all.

It was finally the weekend, though it didn't mean much of a reprieve. Professor Snape, the Potions Master, was her Head of House, so she felt an even stronger need to do well in his class. He had assigned several rolls of parchment for an essay on love and lust potions, choosing three from the list, giving their history, effects, comparing them, stating their differences, how they could be improved, and many other things. Instead of going outside to mess around like most of the school, Lana hurried to the library with a slip of parchment, giving permission to get books from the Restricted Section. With no specific title listed, Madam Pince reluctantly allowed her entrance there, though she swept by every few minutes to keep an eye on her. Lana could see why. The large tomes gave off a dark presence, radiating power, fear, and evil. She shuddered as she eyed the titles, grabbing seven that looked promising before bringing them to a nearby table.

From her bag she pulled out the two rolls she had already written using knowledge from the top of her head, placing an inkpot and her quill beside them. Where had she left off? Ah, yes. Desiderium Intimum, a potion that forced the dinker to reveal their innermost desires and forcing an unnatural fixation on those desires. It wasn't strictly a lust potion, so it hadn't been on the list, but she had discussed it with Snape. Lana had argued that while it wasn't strictly a lust potion, as the innermost desire of a person could be not just anyone, but anything, but it was normally used in such a manner as the majority of people, particularly the adults that the potion was mainly used on, had a deep desire based on carnal urges or foolishness of the heart. As most people would be writing about the more obvious potions, such as Amortentia or the Libido Crevit Serum, she was hoping to choose more obscure potions to impress the dour wizard. The only problem was a serious lack of material on those she had chosen, particularly the fact that most books that contained them would be banned from the school library or found hidden in one of these large texts. Resigning herself to a weekend spent pouring over books, she grabbed the first one to begin flipping through its ancient, yellowed pages, hazel eyes sharp as she scanned the index, keeping page numbers in mind. Not that she would stick only to those pages. There was no telling what glancing at the other potions might offer her essay, should any of them even mention the other potions or useful information for other parts of the essay.

[LUX LOSCE]

The seventh year was by far the most challenging, students always said. Like the fifth year, only magnified. Lux was sure she could do it. She didn't mind studying, liked reading and writing, and loved learning. Potions was easily her favorite class, so a big essay on love and lust potions was more of a welcome challenge than a daunting task. Lux had immediately gone through all the potions she knew of that would fit in each category, and came up with a few that she was sure no one else would. There were a few more popular ones that Lux was sure would feature in everyone's essays and, like Lana, she was determined to stay away from them. The only problem was that the instructions demanded that her work be cited. That was always annoying to Lux, having to find what she already knew in someone else's words for the sake of a citation. Nevertheless, off to the library she was.

Upon arriving in the library, it didn't take her long to find a familiar face. Lux's own lit up when she saw her best friend, nose-deep in a pile of books. It was so good to see Lana; Lux swore she would never take even just the sight of her for granted again. For what felt like forever, she was sure Lana had been dead. It had been some insanely wonderful twist of fate that brought them to Hogwarts, and now, Lux wanted to spend every possible moment that she could with her best friend. Lana didn't seem to mind either; Lux knew she had missed her just as much. Not to mention, this was her first year at Hogwarts, and she needed Lux's guidance. It certainly had nothing to do with the flip-flopping of Lux's stomach, the warmth of her palms, or the skipping of her heart, Lux told herself. She was just happy. Happy that Lana was back in her life.

"Finding anything good?" Lux asked with a smile, coming up to the table that Lana was at and setting down her supplies. Several books she owned, as well as some parchment rolls and plenty of ink. Her favorite sky-blue quill was tucked behind her ear. She was all set for this essay, as well as her Herbology essay and Arithmancy problems. The weekend was just one big study hall to Lux.

[LANA LOSCE]

Desidirium Intimum, Odite Amori, and Sexus Somnium. Lana repeated the names of the three potions she had chosen in her mind so that she would easily pick them up if she came across either of them in the various chapters she read. After several pages she had gone from sitting nice and neat in her chair, as her mother had always taught her, to slouching over the table, both legs stretching to her right, elbow on the table, head in her hand, tongue poking out from between her lips, and spinning her eagle-feather quill around in her fingers. The words were faded and hard to read, heavy perfume making her head spin as she struggled to focus. Damnable books! At least once she got going, the material was actually very intriguing.

Such as a bond to force someone into sexual slavery. It was morbid, especially with those pictures! But interesting. There was also a magical bond for those wishing to enter a BDSM relationship, which she learned all about for the first time today! Wow, the things people could get into! There was another spell to curse someone with strange fetishes. Hmm. If she rewrote her essay she could remove Odite Amori and include that one instead. She was sure Snape would accept it. It would be strange, yes, but extremely fascinating. He wouldn't be bored reading her work, that was certain.

She was reading a chapter about marriage bonds when her work was interrupted. It took a moment for her to register that someone was speaking to her and even longer to realize it was Lux. Lana blinked rapidly as her friend came into view, then grinned at her. She couldn't help herself. More than anything, Lana loved spending her time with Lux. Even though she had a lot of work to do, she wouldn't mind distraction from her beautiful best friend. "A bit, I suppose. I'm thinking of redoing my essay. Remove Odite Amori and put Carnalis Depravatio in its place. Unless...do you think he'd mind if we had four instead of three? It would be very long, though." She frowned then considered her list of notes that was beside her essay. The potion to turn hate into love wasn't quite as interesting as one to create sexual perversion. Then again, the potion to create sexual fantasies was probably the one she should replace it with. Desidirium Intimum was staying, regardless. It was the one she had fought for, after all. "How much do you have? I just finished my second roll, but if I rewrite...Hmmm..."

[LUX LOSCE]

Lux's smile grew, if that was even possible, when Lana looked up at her with a grin. Her friend looked... cute, she supposed was the word, sprawled out across her books. She always poked her tongue out whenever she was concentrating particularly hard, Lux remembered fondly. Neither one of them could work in a very confined and orderly space, though. It wouldn't be long before piles and piles of books and parchment covered the table.

Lux chuckled a bit when Lana mentioned redoing her essay. Lux had overheard her discussion with Snape about Desiderium Intimum while waiting for her friend after class. She remembered leaning against the doorway and just letting her eyes take in her best friend while she debated passionately with the professor. Lux found that she never grew tired of looking at Lana. It must just be another symptom of missing her for so long.

"Careful, I'm the resident overachiever here," she teased when Lana wondered about researching four potions instead of only three. She came around to look over her friend's shoulder at the book she was reading, squinting a bit to make out the faded text. "Good, I was going to use Odite Amori," she murmured absently as she took in the text before her. "Where did you find this one?" she asked curiously, lifting up the front cover a bit, not enough to disturb Lana's reading, but enough to get a peek at the title.

"So far I've got books on Odite Amori, Lustus Fornicio, and Romani Rastus. So far I've only got three rolls on Odite Amori, and I just started Lustus Fornicio," she said, pulling up a chair next to her friend and spreading out her materials the way she liked. "Though I'm thinking of dropping that last one. It's a bit popular, even if it's not the most well-known..." she trailed off, stealing the Ultimate Potions Encyclopedia from Lana's pile.

[LANA LOSCE]

She giggled at Lux's teasing, shrugging her shoulders. "Three it is, then!" Especially since the blond mentioned doing Odite Amori herself. "It's yours. I have plenty for the other two and Carnalis looks promising." She glanced back down to her book to continue, but found her eyes drawn back to Lux's face. Merlin, she'd never get anything more done at this rate! Shaking her head, she tried to force herself to concentrate when Lux began looking at the book. "Wha...Oh. Restricted Section. Snape wrote me permission and I got all my books from there. Feel free to use these," she said, motioning to the other six she hadn't touched yet.

Lana nodded approvingly at her friend's choices. "I don't think Romani Rastus would be a bad choice. Unless you have something else you'd rather do. I've already found plenty of interesting topics in this book. Did you know there's a potion known as the Merciful Rape? I forget it's proper name, but that should tell you the sort of things I've found thus far." She shook her head, placing her hands on either side of the book, reading back through the part about marriage bonds, though she found herself glancing at Lux frequently. It was so nice to have her back. She could hardly believe it!

Pursing her lips as she neared the end of the chapter, she grabbed another of the books to flip through it for reference. Surely they didn't mean? She froze, gaping at the book. Why would anyone need that? Shoving the text away, stuffing a spare quill in it to save her spot, should the pages turn over, she pulled the sex book towards her. A potion (or lubricant) that permitted easier anal intercourse. Why in Merlin's name would anyone want...Now pushing her parchment aside, she pulled the book closer to her. What she had assume was a text book wasn't, though she had to question why it was in the Hogwarts library. There was a potion to fill a woman's breasts with milk, even when she had no children. For those out there who enjoyed the taste, were turned on by it...Her cheeks flushed. While seeing the various spells and potions for sex was easy to swallow, this was not. There was a longer chapter that explained BDSM more thoroughly. With her mind off of professionalism and learning, she could only stare agape at the explicit content.

"Lux!" Lana breathed. "Do...Why would...? This books talks about sex between two women and between two men. But why would...Do people really...They can't...Can they?" Lana had never heard of such a thing! Men and women got married, had babies, and that was how things were. She had never heard of two women or two men being involved before. How did it even work? Lana swallowed hard, pushing the book over to her friend, blushing more at the moving pictures showing a man fellating another man while a woman had her head between another's legs. Both couples were very enthusiastic in their work. As strange as it was, she found she couldn't take her eyes off of either picture.

[LUX LOSCE]

"Merci boucoup," Lux replied elegantly, even dipping into a small curtsy before righting herself and giggling. So she had Odite Amori, Lustus Fornicio, and maybe Romani Rastus. Lana didn't seem to think it was a bad potion to use, but Lux was still on the fence about it. She started flipping through the Encyclopedia, shaking her head when Lana mentioned a Merciful Rape potion.

"Oh yes, there's some strange ones out there. I found one called Coita Sodomi, which basically means "sinful sex." It's a potion in itself, but it seems to double as a category for all of these related potions I found that are just more potent versions of one or two characteristics of Coita. You wouldn't believe what people come up with," she recounted, a shiver running down her spine as she remembered her readings on the subject. It was in one of the books she had brought to the table, the one hiding at the bottom of her stack. "I would use it if it didn't make my skin crawl," she said convincingly, feeling a bit awkward as she flipped through a few more pages until she finally admitted, "...Although it is intriguing."

They continued their research in silence for a few moments, with Lux mainly flipping aimlessly through pages of the Encyclopedia while her mind churned over Coita Sodomi. There were so many potions in there... ones for making a woman "ready" against her will, as well as the version for a man. There were potions specifically designed to seduce a married man or woman, and Lux had finally closed the book tight, feeling both sick and exhilarated, when the book went on to explain in detail of the potions' effects. Not to mention very colorful stories of how exactly they were used... The stuff at the back was even more raunchy, and Lux hadn't been courageous enough to do any more than flip through it.

The way Lana said her name made Lux jump self-consciously, as if Lana had looked into her very thoughts and was scolding her for being so audacious. But she was staring in intrigue and horror at a book in her hands, immediately arousing Lux's curiosity. She scooted closer, eyes wide as she heard what Lana had found, then saw it for herself. Two men, two women... Lux found her eyes glued to the pictures while she struggled to find her tongue.

"I... I've heard of something l-like that once or twice in passing, but I didn't actually think... I mean, the whole point of sex is to... why... how are they doing that?" Lux spluttered in wonder, finally giving up her "moral" argument in favor of blatant and unbridled interest. The pictures were so lewd and explicit. She kept looking from the men to the women... Lux couldn't see the faces of the performers of the acts very well, being that they were buried someplace... inappropriate, but the faces of their partners... Lux flushed deeply as the woman furrowed her eyebrows, mouth wide in what was obviously a deep moan. So much for her "why would anyone want to do that" argument.

[LANA LOSCE]

Coita Sodomi being mentioned captured her attention. Sinful sex? What did that even mean? How could sex be sinful? Unless it was rape or something. The entire point of sex was to create children to keep the bloodline going. Everyone knew that. Though some people had very particular interests in sex that Lana just didn't understand. Rafferty acted as though it was a death sentence when he learned of his impotence. Truthfully, it wasn't something Lana knew much about. Lux seemed hesitant about it, so Lana could only imagine what it did. "I bet it's interesting, though. You could probably write a lot about it. It would be a bold move, I imagine. Professors here could probably use a bit of entertainment and surprise."

The two worked for a while in silence until Lana made her discovery. Teeth gnawed on her lower lip as she watched Lux take in the images. She didn't seem to understand it much, either! Looking at the pictures, she felt a bit strange. It looked...good, she supposed was the word. Lana swallowed hard, flipping the page to be greeted by more pictures. Heat spread through her body, her stomach felt strange, and even down there was feeling...different. Pressing her legs tightly together, hands twisting her shirt tightly, she glanced over the passage nearest her. "What have you heard about it? Does it have something to do with a curse or a potion?"

[LUX LOSCE]

"I suppose I could," Lux reluctantly agreed, though in reality she was a bit too eager to discover what else was in that book. She was a bit braver with Lana around, she supposed. "Maybe I will," she decided, surprised and a bit frightened by the interest she took in the subject. Nevertheless, she was about to dig the book out of the bottom of her pile before Lana found something even more shocking. A book depicting sex between two people of the same gender... Lux's cheeks flushed instantly, a reddish-pink hue that only seemed to deepen the more she stared at the moving pictures.

Lux mentioned having heard of this kind of thing before, and immediately Lana wanted to know everything that Lux did. Unfortunately, there wasn't much to tell. When Lux had said that she'd only heard of it in passing, she really meant "in passing." Certainly not enough to think that people actually did this sort of thing. Even if they did, Lux would have been positive that it would be rare and underground, with no written material on the matter.

"There was a boy in my third year, but I didn't know him very well at all. He was in Hufflepuff house," Lux began, still unable to take her eyes off of the picture, and painfully aware of her shirt against her breasts, the fabric scratching in a way that both teased and pleasured, however slightly. Lux was desperately hopeful that Lana couldn't see the two erect little peaks beneath her shirt that she was sure were there. The thought made her blush even deeper, though her stomach did another strange flip.

"Anyway, there was a rumor going around that he... did this," Lux continued, waving her hand to the pictures. "It was only ever a rumor; the boy himself never said anything about it, one way or the other. He eventually transferred because he was bullied so badly. But the rumor wasn't about a potion or a curse or anything... the rumor was that he did it because... he liked it," Lux finished, having to whisper the last three words. She swallowed hard, shifting in her seat. "It was just a myth as far as I was concerned. I don't know if it's a curse or not. I guess we could find out," she suggested timidly, scooting her chair closer to Lana's so she could read the book better.

[LANA LOSCE]

Lux explained a rumor she heard about a boy and he had been bullied. Lana frowned. Then she said he had done it because he liked it. "So...so sex. People really like it?" she asked timidly. Lux scooted her chair closer, making Lana blush even more, though she moved closer in response. It was a bit weird being so close with pictures of two girls doing those things right in front of them. Leaning over to read, she found it hard to concentrate, more aware of Lux's presence than ever before. To read better, she had to lean over Lux a bit more, chest pressing against her friend's arm. She gasped quietly, but didn't remove her eyes from the book, hoping Lux would take it as a response to something she had read.

Speaking of reading...

Taking a deep breath, her eyes scanned the pages open in front of them, struggling hard not to let her eyes stray to the pictures. If sex was supposed to be pleasurable, no wonder some people seemed so preoccupied with it. She had heard more talk about sex this week than she had her entire life. Licking her lips, Lana glanced hesitantly to Lux. No, don't even think that...The fact that her mind even went there made her want to jerk away from her friend. How would it feel to touch someone like that? Good, apparently, but she didn't really know much of anything about sex to have any ideas about it...

Swallowing thickly for what felt like the millionth time, Lana opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. After a moment, Lana closed her mouth, shaking her head in frustration, turning back to the book. "Well...I...I haven't seen anything about spells so far. I just...Wow." She laughed nervously. "If there are potions," she said, reaching across Lux to turn the page, "they'd be really interesting for the essay."

[LUX LOSCE]

"I... guess they do. I can't imagine why," Lux replied, wrinkling her nose a bit. Even if all of this was interesting and even strangely... exhilarating, it was a bit gross to think of putting one person's body part inside another person's body part. Still, she couldn't deny that this was exciting her in a way she had never experienced before. "But how do you explain the Weasley family?" she joked a bit awkwardly, though there was an honest question hidden in there somewhere. Was it really that much fun? Was that why Cornelius, her only boyfriend that hadn't lasted long at all, was so eager to try it? That certainly hadn't been very fun, and Lux hadn't even let him finish. Then again, he hadn't been doing anything like this...

Her thoughts were cut off when Lana suddenly pressed against her arm, and Lux pressed her legs together, feeling an odd rush of heat down there. She forced herself not to give any indication of what she was feeling, swallowing hard again and twisting her fingers in her shirt. She could not take her eyes off of those pictures. She tried to read, and conquered the passage in choppy sections, because the pictures would always strain for her attention and her eyes would dart back to them.

"I don't see anything about spells either... maybe it is a potion. Do you think Snape would let us use it?" Lux asked Lana, licking her lips despite herself as her friend pressed against her once more, reaching over to turn the page again. It had to be a potion. Lux refused to believe that people did this sort of thing because they liked it so much... though the expressions of the people in the pictures told a very different story.

[LANA LOSCE]

Lana tilted her head, still eyeing the pictures. She didn't get it much, either. Maybe the pictures were exaggerated. Hearing mention of the Weasleys, Lana looked up confused. "Weasleys?" Who on earth were the Weasley family? "I imagine it would be worth a try...just to see." Honestly, she was dead curious about it now, though apprehensive, as well.

It had to be the work of a spell or a curse or a potion, surely. Nothing like that could be natural, could it? "I'm sure he would. It fits into the category. He did have that list of potions, but he let me use Desiderium Intimum anyway. I don't see why not. As long as you weren't being vulgar with it. I imagine it would show dedication, knowledge, and a healthy talent for research." She smiled uncertainly, rubbing her thighs together. Why did her body feel so strange? Was she getting sick? Or maybe the heavy perfume of the book was getting to her.

Heart racing, Lana shifted in her chair, careful not to move away from Lux, closer if she could. For the life of her she wasn't sure why she was doing it. It felt nice being pressed against her friend this way. Lana let her head rest on the blond's shoulder, reading the book from that mildly uncomfortable position. Or pretending to read. With how hard focus was, it was even harder when she was doing whatever it was she was doing.

"Do you think it's...it's bad...doing things like that? You said that boy, he was bullied, yes?" she asked, not sure she wanted to know the answer. "Only I haven't seen anything...wrong...yet. Have you?"

[LUX LOSCE]

"They were Harry Potter's friend Ron's family. Ron had like six siblings, so seven altogether..." Lux trailed off, just thinking about all of that sex to create seven children. If it was as awful as it had been for her, why would anyone want to do that? Unless, it wasn't so awful at all. "Just to see," she echoed Lana with a small nod. She was almost irresistibly curious. And her mind was going to the strangest of places... That first night she spent with Lana, the way her stomach flipped when her friend undressed... the warm feel of Lana's soft skin against her... the way her heart skipped now whenever Lana took her hand...

Lux swallowed hard again, forcing the thoughts away. Lana was her best friend. How weird would that be? Not to mention that all of this stuff wasn't exactly smiled upon. But still, when Lana rested her head on Lux's shoulder, the blonde could barely hear what she was saying. It was like Lana's voice was so far away, and Lux's entire body was focused on every part of her that was touching Lana.

"I imagine it would," she finally said a bit breathlessly, when Lana's words finally clicked in her head. Still, she was far more focused on the contact between them. Swallowing hard, she pressed a damp, shaking hand to her skirt before taking Lana's hand in her trembling fingers. A jolt immediately shot through her body, and Lux blinked at both her surprise and her stupidity. They did this all the time. It was no big deal! So why did it suddenly feel like so much more?

Lux tried to focus back on the book, letting the pictures and explicit explanations reel her in, feeling another urge to shift her weight in her chair. She tried to move as little as possible, swallowing again and nodding when Lana asked again about the boy she knew in her third year.

"He was bullied, yes. But... no, I don't think I've seen anything wrong... Inefficient, perhaps, I mean, no children would come out of this. Different, certainly, and that's more than enough reason for a child to be bullied. But wrong..." Lux shook her head, feeling an odd sense of relief come over her. She didn't see anything wrong with this at all.

[LANA LOSCE]

"Oh, right," Lana said, feeling a tad foolish for not recognizing the name Weasley. Everyone knew about Harry Potter and his sidekicks, the gangly red-haired Weasley and the intelligent Muggle-born. At least Lux didn't think too terribly of her curiosity about what they were seeing.

With all they were looking at, she found herself hyper-aware of every inch of her own body, inside and out, as well as Lux's. How close they were, how it felt when they were touching. Wasn't it strange? Did people normally think like this? Lana had never felt this way before, this suffocating heat spreading from her stomach and lower regions to the rest of her body. Her heartbeat was so out of control. Surely Lux could feel it? Hear it. The whole castle could probably hear it. Lana swallowed hard, but instead of pulling away as she knew she should, she moved ever closer.

Lux didn't seem to think there was anything wrong with it. Lana bit her lip, glancing from the pictures in the book to her best friend. She knew what she wanted to say, to ask, but she couldn't, could she? Opening her mouth slightly, she would linger that way before losing her courage and closing it again. She flipped the page another time with trembling fingers, wondering what it would be like to kiss Lux's neck or shoulder, to flick her tongue out and taste her skin. Lana bit her lip harder, shifting her legs, wishing she could alleviate that strange ache deep inside of her. It was such an odd thought. Why would anyone think like that? What if she accidentally did? How would Lux take it?

"Maybe we can look through it in one of our rooms," Lana suggested quietly, face heating up as she spoke. "So no one sees us with it, you know."

[LUX LOSCE]

It was pretty safe to say that Lux had never felt like this before. Her face felt flushed, her stomach was constantly flipping, and every part of her skin that was touching Lana's felt like it was on fire. All of these feelings made her head swim, and she could feel her heartbeat in a few inappropriate places that she'd never felt it before. She could barely take her eyes from the graphic art and explicit passages in the book, the actions and sensations described in it making her shift and rub her thighs together, often crossing one leg over the other and squeezing to try to get some sort of relief. When she could take her gaze off of the book, her eyes immediately went straight to Lana. That gorgeous dark hair, deep brown eyes, olive skin, lips so full and soft... It only made Lux's heart beat harder, and she quickly averted her eyes back to the book, where the cycle would begin again.

Lux wanted more. She couldn't explain it, but she wanted to touch more of Lana. She wanted to feel her heartbeat, to see if it was pounding as hard as her own. She wanted to see if those eyes could get even darker. She wanted to hear Lana make those sounds the book described, and she wanted to bring Lana all of the pleasures they were being taught. That was what friends did, right? They helped each other out. Lux just wanted to make Lana feel good.

That couldn't be right.

Lux shook her head a bit, blinking hard and wondering if there was some sort of a curse on this book. This was not the way friends thought of each other, she knew it. But the book did seem to hold some sort of a spell over her, even if it was nothing like any spell Lux had ever encountered. And it was making reality seem more than a little blurry. Even more confusing was that Lux was just fine with that.

She jerked a bit when Lana spoke, feeling her weight shift again and sending a tingle shooting from between her legs through the rest of her body like an electric shock. Lux swallowed hard, hoping Lana couldn't hear it, but her mouth was so dry. She licked her lips softly and nodded, glancing with glossy eyes over Lana's shoulder, then her own. She was thoroughly engrossed in the book, but that faraway part of her that was still a bit rational knew that they shouldn't be caught with something like this. The library was too public of a place to be feeling the things that were coming over Lux.

"Yes," Lux cleared her throat; her voice was strangely raspy, and tried again. "Yes, we should. There's no one home at my dorm right now... everyone's in class." Good old Ravenclaws; they were all overachievers and rarely ever made room for down time.

With trembling hands, Lux gathered her things, leaving library books for someone else to put back. She was already craving Lana's touch again.

[LANA LOSCE]

With Lux's agreement, Lana excitedly grabbed her belongings, grabbing her friend's hand to walk to Ravenclaw Tower. That was normal, at least. They always did this. She craved touching the blond, but the moment she did she felt suddenly awkward. With everything they had been seeing, wasn't this strange? Not wanting to seem bothered by the whole thing, Lana didn't let go, hoping Lux didn't notice how sweaty her palms were.

It took forever to get to the Tower, but Lux was right. Hardly anyone was in the common room, then her dorm was cleared. Lana flopped down on Lux's bed, flipping the book back open eagerly. Her heart was racing faster now. Here, they had privacy, were completely alone. Not that it meant anything. Only they wouldn't be interrupted or judged for what they were seeing. "Maybe we should close the hangings, just in case," Lana suggested, eyeing the blue curtains around the bed. While her mind was struggling hard against its own imagination, she hurriedly explained, "So if anyone comes in, they won't see the book. They might talk and I've enough people talking about me as it is." Being a transfer student, plenty of people were interesting in her, and ti was growing old fast. "Now wh...oh yes, potion. Right."