Secrets

Chapter 10 - Telling Lies

Kyra had no idea how she managed to make it through her classes for the next three days, let alone get her homework done. She had a horrible time concentrating during their next Defense Against the Dark Arts class. She just kept staring at Justin and remembering how wonderful his lips felt on hers. He caught her eyes and smiled at her a few times, and Kyra smiled back. She tried to find an excuse to stay after class, just to talk to him for a moment, but Professor Flitwick came in at the end of class and asked Professor Bale if he could borrow a half hour of his time. Justin flashed her a quick apologetic look, and Kyra let out a soft sigh.

"Are you all right?" Lisa asked her friend as they gathered up their books.

Kyra nodded. "I'm fine," she lied, following her classmates out of the classroom.

Friday evening she showed up to their M.A.P. meeting early. She told Lisa she needed to return a book to the library, but went straight to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. It was empty, so headed for Justin's office instead. She poked her head in the doorway, but unfortunately, he was with another student.

He saw her over the head of the short blonde student he was talking with. "Have a seat, Kyra," he smiled at her from behind his desk. "I'll be right with you."

She seated herself in the large armchair just inside his office door and waited for them to finish. The student was apparently having trouble with an essay Professor Bale had assigned. Kyra amused herself by looking at the many Quidditch posters and photographs adorning the walls of the office. A portrait on the bookshelf to her right showed a short woman who looked a lot like Justin, a man (probably her husband) and two adorable children who were waving enthusiastically at Kyra.

The student left and Justin called her name. She looked up, and then stood up and walked over to a different chair that was closer to his desk.

"Are you all right?" he asked her, tilting his head as if to get a better look at her. "You seemed preoccupied in class."

Kyra looked at him, and then glanced towards the open door.

He nodded, flicked his wand, and the door swung closed, latching with a soft click.

She leaned forward in the chair and looked into his eyes. "I miss you," she said ruefully. "I haven't been able to think about anything else for the last three days."

He released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and smiled at her. "I was afraid you were going to tell me you were having second thoughts," he admitted, the relief obvious in his eyes. "I haven't been able to think about anything but you, either," he told her. "When Professor Flitwick asked for my help after class, I felt like turning him into a ferret."

Kyra giggled. "I considered a flobberworm," she told him, and they both laughed.

"Why did I try so hard to push you away?" she asked him, reaching out and touching his arm.

"I don't know," he replied, "but I'm glad I didn't listen to you," he smiled at her and placed his hand over hers.

"Me too," she agreed, entwining her fingers through his.

He leaned over and kissed her lightly on the lips. She closed her eyes and sighed happily.

"I wish we had time for more," he apologized, "but we need to get to the M.A.P. meeting." He stood up and squeezed her hand gently before releasing it. She followed him out of his office and to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Hannah, Ernie, and Lisa were already there.

Lisa looked at her sideways. "I thought you had to return a library book?" she asked curiously.

"I did," Kyra lied. "I just ran into Professor Bale in the hallway." Kyra had a strange talent for lying, especially since she very rarely ever did so, but she had a feeling it was finally going to come in handy. Not that that was necessarily a good thing, but it was definitely going to be handy.

Their short tryst in his office helped to calm both of their nerves, and the meeting proceeded almost normally. Kyra and Justin were careful to not do or say anything that might clue the others into their newfound relationship.

Conveniently, Lisa had arranged to meet Terry immediately after their meeting ended, so she, Hannah, and Ernie headed off in different directions with none of them realizing that Kyra had lingered behind. Knowing that as long as Lisa was with Terry she wouldn't be missed, Kyra pointed her wand at the classroom door.

"Colloportus!"

Justin beamed at her. "Very impressive, Miss Bradley," he complimented her.

"Thank you Professor," she said, smiling coyly.

"Didn't I ask you to call me something else?" he asked, raising an eyebrow and walking closer to her.

"Handsome?" she guessed, feigning ignorance.

"That will work," he replied, and leaned in and pressed his lips to hers.

They kissed and talked for almost an hour, which was probably longer than was safe, but it was a Friday night, and they were enjoying being together. Before they parted they arranged their plans for Wednesday evening, just in case they didn't get another chance to talk in private before then. At ten they reluctantly parted, and Kyra again floated back to Ravenclaw Tower. She sat in the common room and talked with Cho, Luna, and Padma for a while, before heading upstairs and climbing into bed. She kept replaying her moments with Justin in her head, wanting to be able to remember every minute detail forever.

~*~