The Alternative to Loneliness

Ch. 4

In Hot Water

Colin had been sleeping so nicely, too. Oh, well aside from the usual dreams of getting his film yanked from his camera by Draco Malfoy's bodyguards, he had been sleeping so nicely. Showering, dressing, kissing Luna good morning before breakfast, all very nice and usual. Then people started to point as one owl arrived at the table after morning mail. Not just any owl, Draco Malfoy's eagle owl. There was no mistaking that owl, either. It always pecked any other owl that was around, though they never were. They had learned early on that you never stayed in the way of Draco Malfoy's owl, so they cleared right out on first sighting.

It was like that today, too. Colin had stuffed his cheeks with sausage when all of a sudden, a flock of owls lifted from the Gryffindor table, covering the breakfast dishes with a blizzard of feathers. Then, to everybody's amazement, it landed right in front of Colin and held its leg out at a graceful angle, almost like a ballet dancer pointing his toe.

Colin stared. Ginny reached forward to untie the letter for him, but the owl clamped his beak down hard on her hand, drawing blood. Then it pointed its leg out again and gave Colin a look that clearly meant, "You will take your sodding letter now or I'll feast on your fingers like that sausage you've got stuffed in your face, you filthy little mudblood human."

"A--alright, I'll...I'll take it, then," Colin said and reached forward to untie the letter. The owl looked long and hard at him as he undid the knot with shaky hands, then took to the air without so much as a jump-start. Everybody watched the owl fly away, then looked at Colin.

The small Gryffindor clutched the parchment to him, not wanting to read it in front of everybody. Draco had said that he wanted this to be kept secret. Why had he sent Colin an owl during breakfast, using his well-recognized owl and his family's crest to seal it shut? Everybody would know they were corresponding now.

Ginny leaned over. "Well, what's Snape's little boy-toy want?"

Colin coughed, sending a half-sausage flying into a mound of owl feathers. "Snape's what?"

"Boy-toy," Ginny repeated. "Ever wonder why he gets such good grades in potions? And he gets away with so much shite?"

"Because he's got so much money?" Colin suggested weakly.

Ginny snorted. "Yeah. That's gonna buy off Snape," she said, then nudged the parchment again. "Come on, what's he want with you?"

Colin clutched the parchment tighter. "Er...well...you see..." he began and started stuttering nonsense words. Ginny rolled her eyes and made to grab for the parchment when in a time of extreme desperation, Colin had an idea. "Well, I took a picture of him and--"

"Oh-ho! I see, so you caught him doing something, did you?"

He shook his head. "N--no, nothing like that! I just took his picture, honest! Only he doesn't like having his picture taken, especially by muggle-born, see, and he wanted me to give him back the negatives!"

"So give them back."

"I can't!" Colin squeaked. "I lost them! And he won't believe me! He thinks I'm going to do something with them!"

Ginny got a mischievous glint in her eye and leaned forward. "You really should do something with them," she said.

Colin shook his head. "I--Even if I could find them, I don't want to make trouble!"

Ginny smirked. "If you just give them to me, you won't have to."

"But he'll know where the pictures came from!"

She opened her mouth to continue, then took a long look of his terror-stricken face and changed her mind. "Alright then, you win. Be boring. But if I find them before you do, I'm using them."

Colin breathed a sigh of relief.

When Ginny got up to head outside for Care of Magical Creatures, linking arms with Mary on the way, Colin ran out of the Great Hall and down the corridor to a broom closet, where he could read the owl in private. He didn't have to worry about being late for class, as he had a free period. This was usually the time when he developed his pictures in his makeshift dark room (another broom closet on the fifth floor between the disappearing portrait of Sir Crantus McNagan and the staircase that changed every Tuesday whether it went up or down) but today that could wait. He needed to know if he would be looking forward to a pocketful of Galleons in his future, or a faceful of fists.

Several minutes later he dropped his wand, which let out a loud burst of sparks. It seemed Draco was pleased with the pictures...a bit too pleased. And now he wanted--Colin was sick to think of it--a shower shot. How in Merlin's name was Colin going to sneak into the shower and take pictures of Harry without him knowing? The water wasn't a problem; after Dennis' little drop-in with the squid, Colin had put an impervious charm on the camera to protect it should it fall in the lake. But this? His camera might just get ruined anyways, from an annoyed Harry.

Then again, maybe it was possible. Some of his dormmates showered with their eyes closed to keep the soap out of their eyes. And he might be able to damper the sound of his shutter. If he was really careful, it was possible. He had enough film for this shoot, seven or eight rolls should do it. But was he really willing to take pictures of Harry in the shower?

Well, he supposed it was better than having first-hand experience on the receiving end of a Forbidden Curse.

Just then, the door to the broom closet opened and Colin looked up expecting to find an enraged Filch. Instead, he saw Luna looking around as if she was surprised to find that she had just walked into a dark broom closet. She looked down and though her face still looked surprised, she didn't jump. "Oh Colin. You're standing in a broom closet in the dark." She sounded perfectly calm in saying it, and as if it was a perfectly normal thing to do.

"I--I know," Colin said, stuffing the parchment quickly into his pocket.

"I hope you weren't wishing to stand in a broom closet in the dark alone," she continued. "Because I should like to stand here, too."

"Whatever for?"

"Well, it does seem awfully fun, you know," she said, tilting her head to the side in the almost-pitch dark. "And I think I should like standing in the dark with you. We never do."

"No, we never do," he agreed.

"Would you like to stand in the dark with me, Colin?" she asked as she stepped toward him and placed her hands on his shoulders.

He leaned back against the wall of the closet, feeling his knees suddenly go weak and a peculiar but marvelous feeling start just south of his stomach. "I--" he squeaked and then cleared his throat. "I think I'd like that."

They were the same height, so it made kissing quite easy. Some kids teased him about being so short, but if it meant that Luna and he could kiss like this for hours on end without straining each other's neck or back, that was perfectly fine with him.

Before he was really aware of it, he and Luna were sitting on the floor and more than her lips were touching him. "Uh, L...Luna," he squeaked, though he didn't move away. "What are you doing?"

She didn't take her hand away, but she didn't move it any farther either. "Oh my, do you not like it?"

"I didn't say I didn't like it," he said. "It's just--"

"Well, do you not want me to? Because I won't if you don't want me to. But we were kissing and suddenly my hand was there! And then it was so very nice, I just wanted to have it there more, you know."

"Is that a fact?" he said, his voice cracking. He could feel very well how much he did like what she was doing.

He could feel her cheek plump against his as she smiled and whispered in his ear, "Would you mind so terribly much, Colin?"

She shifted slightly, causing her hand to jostle a tiny bit. He tightened his hold on her blouse and cleared his throat, trying to keep hold of himself. "No, I wouldn't mind," he managed to say, though his voice sounded so funny he almost laughed.

What felt like hours later, Colin climbed the stairs on wobbly legs to Gryffindor Tower. Thankfully his year Gryffindors and Hufflpuffs had double Care of Magical Creatures, so he was able to escape up to his dorm and regroup before lunch. There was no way he could sit down calmly after what Luna had just done to him, not to mention with the prospect of photographing Harry Potter naked running through his mind. He'd really much rather photograph Luna naked and in the shower, he thought.

When he reached the tower, he didn't even bother tossing his camera on the bed before running off to the showers. He'd need his own shower, he realized as the affects of Luna's attention still lingered. As he hopped out of his clothes and tossed them into a corner with his camera, he hoped Harry wouldn't show up. He wanted to enjoy his shower.

He did quite enjoy it, too. Well, that is, until somebody walked in and he dove for his camera, expecting it to be Harry. It wasn't, but it didn't really matter anyways. His lovely shower had been ruined and he was clean, so might as well get dressed and head down for lunch.

Luna was twirling around beside the Ravenclaw table when he arrived. When she saw him, she walked toward him, spinning every other step. People were watching, but then people often watched. She was quite original and he liked that about her. "You took a shower," she noted after leaning forward and sticking her nose right next to his ear and taking a long sniff of his hair.

"Yeah, I did," he said. "Er...I enjoyed the closet. Maybe a bit too much."

She smiled. "I am glad you did. I should like to be in the closet with you again sometime!"

"Hey Looney, are you in the closet?" somebody nearby shouted.

"Come out! Come out of the closet!" somebody else joined in.

Colin was about to tell them to stop, but apparently Luna hadn't heard a thing they'd said as she started twirling back to her table and sat down to her lunch as if she'd been eating all along.

Ginny was rolling her eyes as he sat next to her and he could hear a big ruckus a few seats down. "What's going on?" he asked, clutching his camera.

"Harry's gone and gotten himself detention again," she said. "Apparently Draco smiled at the Titanium Trio and Ron was having none of that, so he threw a bat bogey toward him, but of course it went wrong because he's never been good at that one and it hit Draco's goons instead. Spilled potion all over the room and Snape pinned it all on Harry. So now he's got two weeks of spit-shining scorched cauldrons to look forward to."

Colin's eyes widened. It sounded like an incredibly dirty job, which meant lots of showers, most likely late at night when everybody had gone to sleep. And that meant Colin could catch him in the shower on his own. He was clutching his camera so tight, the flash accidentally went off and he yelped in surprise.

"What's gotten into you?"

"N--nothing!" he said. "Nothing at all. Just the usual."

Ginny rolled her eyes again and turned back to her lunch muttering about sodding Slytherin gits.

Colin was just settling into his meal when the Gryffindors all started shushing each other. He turned to see why and found Snape striding over to them. He came to stand, surprisingly enough, next to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "Potter, " he sneered. "It has come to my attention that you did not cast that spell."

"Yeah, I know," Harry said, glaring back at Snape. "I brought it to your attention."

"Don't get smart with me, Potter," he growled back. "That's five points."

Ron opened his mouth to protest, but Harry smartly elbowed him in the gut. "Shut it," he hissed to him.

"I wouldn't be so careless if I were you, Weasley," Snape said, turning his attention to the tall redhead. "Yes, I know it was you who shot off that dangerous, poorly cast, and misaimed spell off in my classroom. That is why you will be scrubbing cauldrons for the next two weeks using nothing but your own toothbrush.

"And Potter," he said, turning back to Harry with a nasty smile showing off his crooked teeth. "I see you were quick to stop Weasley last time. Why didn't you stop him in the classroom? Fair thought it was funny, thought it would be a real scream to see what would happen. For that, you will sit out your Quidditch practices this week. Just sit there in the bleachers and watch, so you can see all the fun you're missing, and let McLaggen captain."

"McLaggen?!" Harry burst out, standing up from the table. Cormac McLaggen looked up from where he sat at the far end of the table. "Yeah, like I'd ever let Mc-Fucking-Laggen coach my Quidditch team!"

"You don't have a choice," Snape cooed, his words dripping off his tongue like half-congealed grease. "See you on the field, Potter. Or rather, the sidelines."

Everybody watched as Snape walked away, but Colin was looking over at Harry, who was straining against Ron and Hermione's hold on his arms. Colin's hopes fell. No detention for Harry late at night meant no chance of catching him alone in the shower. And no Quidditch practice meant no action shots.

Harry finally managed to jerk his hands free from his friends and he grabbed up his bag. "Harry, where are you going?" Hermione asked, trying to grab hold of him again. "Don't do anything stupid."

"I'm not doing anything stupid," he snapped. "I'm going to take a shower, alright?"

"But you'll miss your next class!"

"I don't have a next class!" And with that, he stalked out of the Great Hall.

Colin shot up from the table and without a second's pause, ran all the way up to Gryffindor tower and to his dormitory. He didn't see how many rolls he grabbed, but he hoped it was enough to get as many good pictures as Draco wanted.

The shower had already started when Colin entered the lavatory. Harry was standing beside it, still fully clothed and his eyes closed in anger. Colin took the chance and shot a few frames before Harry opened his eyes to take off his shoes.

The whole undressing ordeal was nerve-wracking. He knew Draco would want something like this because he certainly wouldn't mind seeing Luna undress. Half the time, Harry had his eyes closed as he'd pause and fume. The other he'd be looking at his clothes. Colin's thighs started to burn with all the ducking out of sight.

Finally, all Harry's clothes were off and Colin took a moment to ready several rolls of film after securing a fresh one (he had used two just for the undressing, he hoped it would be enough). Then, as quietly as he could, he crept forward, over toward the shower stall, and peered in.

Harry was absolutely naked. He had even taken his glasses off (but of course he had. It would be silly of him to wear glasses into the shower). Colin gulped. He had never actually looked at another naked boy before. He'd been around them plenty, but being around and seeing were two completely different things.

There wasn't really much to compare with, just himself and he was unsurprisingly on the smaller side, but Harry's height didn't seem to have told parts of the rest of him that he was short. The taller boy closed his eyes and stepped under the stream of water and Colin hurriedly snapped a few pictures as Harry just enjoyed the feeling of the water, then ran his fingers through his hair, started to lather himself with soap, rubbed the soap in...

...and where in Ansel Adam's name was his hand going! Colin's eyes widened and he had the uncontrollable urge to back out of the shower stall now and run, but continued snapping pictures. He did NOT want to watch another boy do to himself what Luna had just done for him earlier this morning.

But then he thought about Draco Malfoy and his two bodyguards and how if he didn't get the pictures Draco wanted, there might not be any more reason for Luna to do what she'd done.

The roll had run out, so he ducked around the side and with a speed he had mastered after so many years of manic photography, changed the film in a matter of seconds. When he turned back around, Harry was still working. Colin popped on a zoom lens and started clicking feverishly.

He worked through three rolls of film, just on that scene. Colin didn't want to think of it as anything but a scene, because it would mean he had actually watched something real happening. And especially the end. Oh Merlin almighty, he really wished he hadn't seen the end. Lucky Harry had been in a shower with soap.

Colin scrambled back to the far end of the lavatory and started to snap pictures again, using his zoom, but unfortunately he couldn't see Harry's face very well through all that steam. After one really bright flash, he heard his subject give out a startled oath and he quickly hugged his camera to him and crouched on the floor.

"Colin, what the bloody hell are you doing in here!" Harry fumed, walking toward him (Colin was sickened to see) without a towel.

"I--I'm really sorry, Harry! Only they wouldn't stop bullying me and they tried to grab my camera and I ran and I hid in here but I think something may have happened to the camera because it wouldn't stop taking pictures, only now I think it's come to the end of the roll so it's stopped, but I'm really sorry, I didn't realize you were in here!"

"What--"

"Oh, don't worry, it only took pictures of the ceiling and it was really foggy, I'd thought that it was left over from the morning showers, nobody takes showers this time of day and--"

"Colin!"

"What?"

"Just shut up and get out of here!"

"Right!" Colin said and jumped up from where he was. As he ran from the bathroom, he hoped he would never have to do another assignment like this again!