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"We need to get this done, Dev. Look, I'll just run back up to my dorm.." Justus began calmly, pulling a cig from his pack. "Really, it's no big deal..."

"J- the room isn't silenced yet, watch it! Merlin, Dev, what's your problem today?" Justus took a step back, away from the enraged, heaving teenager.

Circinus’s heeled boots tapped against the cobblestone floor at a steady pace, the history professor glancing at the thick-framed portraits enjoying afternoon naps on either side of the corridor, his thick brown curls bouncing with each long-legged stride. He had completed a week’s worth of grading in a handful of hours serenaded by the bored hum of his desk fan and the whisk of his automatic air freshener sighing clouds of perfumed disinfectant in his office. This had allowed him time to lounge in his claw-footed bathtub immersed in scented bubbles for two hours. His mood was subsequently light and relaxed.

So when the distinct crash and shatter of wood echoed to his right, Circinus nearly jumped from his meticulously scrubbed skin. Brandishing his wand and approaching the stretch of wall – occupied only by a bulky statue – Circinus prodded the stone with his wand. Only two weeks before Peeves had delighted in sending the castle in a flurry by erasing dozens of doors and wrecking havoc in their rooms, going so far as to smash London’s computer. Naturally the sassy professor of Muggle Studies had locked the revolting little pest in a cage and had hidden him in the dungeons somewhere as a time out. Surely he wouldn’t have gone back to the same prank so soon after…?

“Peeves, you nasty beast, what are you up to now?” Circinus demanded, the charm melting away to reveal the room it had been hiding.

"What?" Devlin stood, nearly naked, curls thrown wildly about his face and his cheeks flushed red with anger and blush.

It wasn't registering in his mind what he'd just heard, what Justus was saying. But after a few moments it finally hit him and he looked around the room desperately. Besides the equipment and the broken vanity,there were only a few tables and chairs, an old bucket and mop, and some random odds and ends.

Not quite thinking, Devlin dived behind the vanity, getting bits of broken mirror embedded in the palms of his hands and knees. But he was successfully hidden from sight.

Justus moved to stand in front of Devlin, who was still crouched down on the floor. He reached down a hand to pull his friend up by the arm, and kept Devlin behind him.

"Professor." He said coolly, staring Circinus down.

The teacher had been able to spot the boy not because of a flaw in his hastened hiding but because his eyes had been drawn to the shattered glass and had simply traveled from there. Justus had only become visible to him when he'd side-stepped before the blond.

"Ah," Circinus murmured, eyes flicking between the pair; Devlin was miles of creme-pale skin and gently tousled golden girls, and Justus was a picture of relaxed rage, almost challenging in the way his body subsequently shielded Devlin from view. "I see. Not Peeves at all-- oh, Wildsmith, you're bleeding, aren't you?"

Devlin barely flinched as Justus did first one hand, then the other. The equipment case was near the end of the table so Justus pulled out a few clean cleaning cloths and lightly dabbed Devlin's hands before wrapping them up. Devlin stared down at the floor, shivering lightly.

What were they going to do? What was going to happen?

Devlin whimpered as Justus pulled out a somewhat large shard of glass from his knee, squeezing his eyes tightly and clenching his fists around the cloths.