Two Sides, One Coin ((Col))

[Bradley Jameson]

Featuring Angel, Katie and Santiago.

The Student Lounge was practically empty, save for the five of them. They had a habit of staying there till as late as possible on Friday nights, what with end of classes for the week. Mainly it was for Katie's benefit, otherwise they would be in the Gryffindor Common Room. Bradley was constantly poking Katie's nerves about it, and nine of out ten times they would end up bickering back and forth like the cousins they were. Bradley watched from beside her as Katie threw her head back and laughed, long dark hair cascading like a midnight waterfall across her neck. Her skin had always been pale as a ghost's for as long as Bradley had known her, and even he could not deny her ethereal beauty; it was the reason she was so sought after by boys and men alike. Bradley loved his cousin fiercely, even if he would never admit it, even if all they ever did was argue. Despite her infuriatingly stubborn personality, Katie had a good heart, and she had always, in her own subtle way, looked out for Bradley.

Bradley's eyes moved to Angel sitting beside her; Angel, who was smiling prettily, always demure, always docile, yet within that outward innocence there lay a loyalty capable of going great lengths for those she loved. Angel was the opposite of Katie in many ways: dark-skinned where Katie was white, warm chocolate eyes compared to Katie's clear glass-green that pierced right through you; Angel was embracing whereas Katie was brash, but they shared compassion and generosity that had brought them together as best friends. They were inseparable, much like Bradley himself and Colin. Bradley remembered his crush on Angel, back in their fifth year, and still smiled upon it wistfully. He still had a soft spot for her - always would, because when Bradley loved, he loved with all his heart - but he no longer pined for Angel the way his sixteen-year-old self had. Bradley had long since moved on.

That was mostly thanks to Santiago. Bradley's gaze cruised from Angel to his dorm- and housemate, who sat quietly beside his girlfriend, arm slung protectively round her waist. Bradley had never begrudged his friend; he was hardly his fault, who Angel chose, and Bradley had a lot more pride and honour than that, though admittedly he had been a little jealous the first few months when he'd realised Angel liked Santiago, not him. Thankfully that had passed relatively quickly, and then Holliday had come along - and hadn't that been disastrous! - but at least it had helped to take his mind off of Angel, and it'd taught Bradley that dating any girl was not going to change the fact the girl you want doesn't want you. Santiago was a terribly good guy as well, and he and Angel deserved each other, and Bradley couldn't be anything but happy for them now. Santiago was not only his dorm- and housemate, but also his teammate for Quidditch too, and he trusted him implicitly.

Finally, Bradley's eyes landed on the boy sitting on his other side, watching with unhidden fondness the twinkling blue eyes, mop of messy dark hair and animated chatter. Colin was his best friend; always would be, even if they spent half of the time (probably more) bickering like an old married couple. Sure, Bradley mock-bullied Colin most of the time, but everyone knew they were like two sides of one coin. Colin had helped Bradley become less 'pratly', which although Bradley would never on his life admit, he did appreciate. He'd never noticed how cocky and spoilt he was until Colin had come along, and then with the help of his other closest friends - Angel, Katie, Santiago - Bradley had moulded himself into a better person. Sure, sometimes he was still condescending and arrogant - he could hardly help it, he was his father's son after all - but he was able to access the compassion he'd always held in his heart, and Colin Morgensen had been the key to that.

"I think it's time for bed," Santiago joked once everyone had stopped laughing. He carefully pulled up a sleepy-looking Angel with him as he added, "I think someone's had a tiring week." The couple said their goodbyes and left the Student Lounge, followed closely by Katie, leaving Bradley and Colin sitting quietly side by side.

"Tired?" Bradley asked Colin. Neither of them were; they often stayed up late together, usually in the Student Lounge because they'd wake people up talking in their dorm. "Hey," Bradley suddenly said after a short, comfortable silence, "I was thinking... do you want to go on holiday with me this summer?" He looked across at Colin to gauge his reaction. "We've never been and it'll be... fun, y'know, celebrating graduation. You don't have to worry about the cost, it'll be my birthday present for your eighteenth. Just you and me, anywhere you want to go. What do you say?"

[Colin Morgensen G7]

There were times, rare but still in existence, when Colin wondered why not one of them seemed to be the odd person out in their little group. With five people, at least one should play second fiddle to the other two pairs but that never happened. Colin and Bradley were best friends, as were Katie and Angel. Surely that made Santiago the odd one out. But no. He fitted in with them far too well; he was one of them. All but Katie were Gryffindors, so Katie should be the fifth wheel. Except that Katie was Bradley’s cousin and Angel’s best friend. So, with Katie being Bradley’s cousin and Angel’s best friend, and Santiago dating Angel and Colin being Bradley’s best friend and both of them sharing a room with Santiago, life worked out pretty well.

Colin had been slightly worried, though, when Angel and Santiago had started dating. Not just because it would undoubtedly cause some changes to the dynamic of their little quintet, which it had. If they ever broke up, the entire group would face some conflicting decisions that would have to be made. The source of his worry had rather stemmed from his knowledge of his best friend. Angel and Santiago, whether together or separate, meant a lot to Colin but Bradley was his best friend, the first and foremost claimant to his loyalty. Colin had slowly come to understand a lot about Bradley Jameson over the years. For one thing, the blonde Gryffindor wasn’t quite the prat he had once been, and he was as clear as glass, at least to Colin, a lot of the time. He had been initially surprised to realise that Bradley was more than a little fond of Angel. The two didn’t seem compatible in the slightest. Angel was...Angel; sweet and innocent and as close to innocent as Colin had ever seen. In comparison, Bradley was a lumbering oaf who didn’t always stop to think for himself unless Katie or Colin smacked some sense into him. Still, whatever Colin had privately thought of the pairing, he had silently supported his best friend as much as he possibly could have without outright sitting down with Bradley and ordering him to just tell the poor girl that she had unwittingly attracted Bradley, and God help her for it because Colin wasn’t going to be sorting out their romantic tension after a fight.

Angel and Santiago worked well in a relationship – not better than Bradley would have been as her boyfriend, Colin would never say that. Bradley would have loved Angel faithfully had he been her choice but Santiago did no less. Love couldn’t be predicted or controlled. He was just glad that everything had worked itself out without too many complications. There had been a little while of suffering through Bradley’s simmering jealousy but Colin had simply called him a prat more often and that seemed to have done the trick. Bradley would never get everything that he wanted, especially with people. It was better for him to learn that now, even if Colin still felt sympathy for his best friend’s unhappiness. There was a difference between forcing Bradley to realise if he was behaving like an idiot or a spoilt bully and taking satisfaction from his pain. The latter was something that Colin would never do, whereas he had done the former roughly five times a day for years. So Bradley wasn’t perfect, the same could be said for himself, or Katie and Santiago and Angel, and just about everyone else in the entire world.

“Goodnight,” Colin called quietly, grinning at Katie softly as she found herself following Angel’s and Santiago’s example in heading off to bed. This was a routine that they were used to. Angel, Santiago and Katie padded their weary way to their own beds long before either Colin or Bradley yawned for the first time. The two of them stayed where they were merely out of respect for the people in their dorm, and a little bit of laziness that refused to let them walk to the common room only to sit down in chairs there when they were already seated comfortably. “Of course I’m not tired,” Colin rolled his eyes expressively. “Don’t ask stupid questions, especially if you already know the answer.” Bradley seemed to be over Angel, Colin mused as he thought over the events of the past few months while absent-mindedly tugging at the frayed edge of his sleeve, though he would never ask if that were truly the case. Had Bradley wanted Colin to pat him patronisingly and tell him that everything would be okay then he wouldn’t have been the boy Colin had befriended. Actually, if Bradley was like that then Colin wouldn’t even be able to believe that he was related to Katie. That Ravenclaw was more independent than anyone Colin had ever met.

Surprised, Colin glanced sideways at Bradley before shaking his head, smiling wryly. Some things would never change, but at least it seemed as if Bradley had developed some more tact regarding his financial situation. Bradley was rich and Colin was most decidedly not. “An eighteenth birthday present is usually some expensive dress robes or a nicely carved chess board or something along those lines. I’m not going to let you pay for a holiday for me,” he informed Bradley calmly, Irish accent thickening slightly as a trace of indignation entered his voice. He had his pride. Fortunately, he knew Bradley too well to let his offer dent more than the very outer surfaces of his proud nature. “We should do something to celebrate graduating though. I mean, I never thought you would even make it to sixth year, let alone getting so close to actually graduating!” He had, however briefly, considered inviting Bradley over to the flat above the apothecary for part of the summer but that idea had been almost instantaneously dismissed as ridiculous. He couldn’t imagine Bradley in the little rooms that Colin and Richard lived in, let alone popping down to help out for a few hours. The image was nearly as ludicrous as picturing Colin in the Jameson household. “We could go camping, or visit Ireland or somewhere for a few days if the idea of sleeping rough is too distasteful for your royal highness.”

[Bradley Jameson]

Of their own accord, Bradley's eyes mirrored Colin's roll, though he didn't deign to retort his best friend; there seemed little point in doing so, and Bradley had long since grown out of the compulsion to win every battle (though that didn't stop him from trying ninety-nine per cent of the time). Both boys sat in comfortable quiet, secure in their skin in each other's presence. Bradley didn't know anyone else he could feel as peaceful with; certainly not Katie - his cousin constantly put him on edge - and although he was good friends with Angel and Santiago, Bradley would always be wary of hanging out with either of them too much, for fear of damaging their relations. With Colin, there was no discomfort, no pressure, no distance. Bradley didn't need try to be anyone else or become something he wasn't. Colin was home.

"I'm not buying you clothes, Colin," Bradley grumbled, suppressing yet another eye-roll. "That's a present for girls; that's what I always buy Katie." He snorted, half amused and half exasperated. "And I bought you a chess board a few years back, remember? I'm running out of ideas for you, Morgensen." It was no lie that Bradley had exhausted ideas for presents for his best friend. He'd never been a gift kind of guy before Hogwarts - before Colin - but then he'd made friends, and the girly flambuoyancies of Katie and Angel had rubbed off on all of them, so now even Bradley was made to buy presents for every special occasion - usually birthday and Christmas. It was painstaking on the whole, especially when buying for Santiago (girls were easy, they wanted girly things, but boys?), but Bradley always made sure Colin's presents were worthwhile. They were more often than not glamorous and expensive, but heartfelt, but the eighteenth was the big one, and Bradley had no idea how to top his previous gifts.

"It's not paying for you per se," Bradley pointed out, a whiny intonation to his words. "I already said, it'd be a present from me. C'mon Col, don't fight me on this. Let me get what I want for once." He was about to continue to push Colin, knowing a fight of wills was soon to begin, but was sidetracked by his best friend's comment. "Oi Morgensen, I was always going to graduate, and top of my class too, and you knew it the moment you met me," Bradley said with indignation and a hint of smug as he levered a punch lacking strength at Colin's arm. "You, on the other hand, falling all over the place and losing your books; you didn't look like you'd last a day, never mind seven years." Bradley's smile was fond, though, as he insulted Colin; after all, they'd been through so much together - it was a lot of time they'd spent in each other's company, and Bradley wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

"I can sleep rough!" Bradley protested heatedly, drawing himself up. "I'm not that sheltered." Bradley had been camping once in his life, and he hadn't liked it one bit, but he wasn't about to tell Colin that. Anyway, if Colin wanted to go camping, Bradley wouldn't refuse him, even if it was in the middle of a ditch. "You come from Ireland, though, you idiot," Bradley then pointed out, "what's the point of going camping there? Unless you want me to visit your Mum with you; you know how much she likes me." Bradley smirked; he'd only met Caroline once, but she'd taken an instant shine to Colin's best friend. Arthur, on the other hand, had been less than friendly towards Colin the first and only time they'd met.

"You really want to go camping?" Bradley finally asked with a sigh. "You're not going to change your mind, are you?" Seven years ago, Bradley would've pushed and pushed. Nowadays, he'd given up on that, because Colin was one heck of a stubborn git (which was probably why they got on so well). Instead, rather than arguing for his own way, he took matters into his own hands. Bradley looked Colin straight in the eye. "Not even if I told you I've bought two Muggle plane tickets to the south of France for two weeks?" Bradley was well aware Colin was not going to be best pleased - he was weird like that, he'd never been like normal people, which is what Bradley loved most about him - but he was ready for the onslaught. "Here's the deal, Morgensen," he said quickly before Colin could start yelling at him. "I'll come camping in the heathen woods with you, wherever the hell you want, if you let me take you to France. Tickets - Muggle tickets, for Merlin's sake, Colin! - have been bought, no word of a lie. Don't make me waste my money."

Oh yes; Bradley was not beyond blackmail to get what he wanted. And he wanted France. Well, Colin and France.

[Colin Morgensen G7]

“Boys need clothes too.” Colin huffed with mock-irritation, casting a jokingly suspicious glare in Bradley’s direction. He couldn’t really picture himself in dress robes though. Where would he wear them? They were hardly practical or comfortable attire for sorting through ingredients in the back room of the apothecary. “Or is that how you got Holliday to go out with you, by parading around naked until she begged for you to show some decency?” As much as he had been bemused by Bradley’s choice of girlfriend, and Colin had tried to dissuade him from asking her out a fair few times before letting Bradley make his own mistakes in dating the arguably psychotic Ravenclaw, Colin did very much enjoy teasing Bradley about the girl. Even Katie had tried to deter her cousin from dating her roommate but there was no changing Bradley’s mind when he was determined to do something. That only gave the two of them the right to tease him mercilessly though, at least in Colin’s and Katie’s eyes.

“Oh yeah.” Colin nodded thoughtfully, a small smile appearing at the memory of that bloody chess board that Bradley had given him for his fourteenth birthday. He was still pretty damn sure that the board or the chess pieces had been cursed though. There was no other way that Bradley could beat him so easily, without even making it look like he was trying and he had told his friend as much but only received comments on his lack of thinking skills that made him incapable of coming close to winning a match. “I still don’t understand why the chessmen cheer whenever you open the box. They hate me.” A wry question about whether Bradley’s father had been allowed access to the present at any point before Bradley had tried his hardest to wrap it was on the tip of his tongue but Colin swallowed it back before it could spill from his mouth. They both knew that Arthur hated Colin; there was no need to point it out any further than it already had been ever since he had first met Bradley’s father. At the very least, Colin had been able to understand a little bit more about why Bradley had been the way he had been at the start of first year. No one raised by Arthur Jameson could ever be thoroughly skilled in social situations.

To be truthful, Colin doubted that he would be able to win this argument. As he had remarked to Katie while watching him make a fool out of himself over Holliday and Georgia, Bradley’s stubborn streak really became clear when he wanted something. At this moment, it seemed that his heart was set on dragging Colin off to some probably ridiculously overpriced resort in a foreign country for a week or two. “It would be paying for me and you know it. That’s why you’re whining so much about it: because you know that I’m right,” Colin stated firmly, frowning haughtily at Bradley for the insult about his younger self. The expression was one that he had stolen from Bradley when he was in one of his more spoilt moods. “I never once lost my books. You always hid them, I’m sure of it. And I always got them back eventually.” So perhaps he had been a tad bit incompetent during his younger years. Hogwarts was a far cry from the tiny primary school he had attended in Armagh. It was expected that he would have taken a bit of time to adjust to the new surroundings.

“Your definition of sleeping rough is not having silk pillowcases to rest your head on at night, mate,” Colin pointed out teasingly, grinning at the sight of his friend’s outrage. “Sleeping rough, really sleeping rough, includes having to sleep on twigs because you’re too exhausted to bother wasting the effort moving them all and cooking your own dinner, eating it even if it’s burnt because there isn’t anything else to eat and hunger is even less appealing than burnt food.” Not, of course, that Colin had ever been camping except for the childish expeditions he had embarked upon with Will during their childhood in Ireland. He wasn’t quite sure why but Colin was quite sure that real camping would be slightly different to pitching a small tent in the park near Will’s house and attempting to roast marshmallows over the small candle that Mrs Dempsie, Will’s mum, had given them. “I haven’t been back to Ireland in ages actually; Mum only moved back there late last summer and I didn’t get to see her then.” Uncle Richard had needed him in the apothecary, and Ireland was a long way from Bradley when they had made plans to meet up in the last week of summer. “But, uh, let’s not go camping there. Not in Armagh anyway.” Will would be overjoyed at the chance to reveal the truth of Colin’s camping history with Bradley, and then the prat would tease him about it forever. Colin would not be putting himself through the ordeal of his oldest childhood friend meeting his best mate if he had any choice in the matter.

“I don’t really want to go camping. I mean, it’s not my dream holiday and I don’t think you would survive it, to be honest. I’m just saying...it’s a bit more reasonable than you kidnapping me away to some other country.” France. Muggle plane tickets. Bought. Already. Without really giving Colin a chance to argue. Bradley had clearly gotten sneakier over the years. There had been a time when he wouldn’t have thought ahead to buy the tickets before even asking Colin about the idea. “That’s underhanded,” Colin complained, genuinely annoyed with Bradley. “Almost Slytherin in nature, I would say.” No present should be that expensive. He didn’t know precisely how expensive two weeks in France – was the south more expensive than the north or even the west or east, for that matter? – but Colin doubted it would be within the limitations of his budget. Plus, he couldn’t leave Uncle Richard alone in the summer for two weeks! The summer was Richard’s time to relax a bit more, somewhat secure in the knowledge that Colin could run the apothecary almost as well as the older man could. Then again...Colin eyed Bradley thoughtfully, a slow grin curling his lips. Two pairs of hands were better than one, right? Two weeks of leisure in France in exchange for two works of hard work in the apothecary seemed fair to Colin. “New deal,” Colin proposed, his wide grin holding a hint of slyness as he locked eyes with Bradley squarely, blue clashing with blue with equal determination. “I’ll go to France with you, no arguments, no complaints. Unless the flight makes me sick. Then I’ll complain as much as I bloody well want to. In return, you’ll spend two weeks helping me and Uncle Richard in the apothecary to make up for him losing free labour while I’m in France. Deal?”

[Bradley Jameson]

"Boys don't need other boys to buy them clothes," Bradley snipped. If it was one thing he had never bought Colin, it was clothes; they were much too girly a present for his best friend (not that Colin was much of a manly man, but Bradley had more respect for him than that). "That's what female friends who have nothing better to do than squeal incessantly when they go shopping together, hand in hand, think is their job to do," Bradley complained, trying hard (and failing somewhat) not to sneer at the sheer thought, and then scowling when he remembered some of the simply atrocious gifts Katie had bestowed upon him over the years. That sly witch.

At the mention of Holliday, Bradley's scowl darkened considerably, and he cast Colin a warning look. "She fell for my manly charms," he sniffed, "and my money." Bradley tried not to look too miffed, and once again failed. "Before you say 'I told you' for the thousandth time, I completely blame Angel and Santiago. Holliday was just a... distraction." He trailed off, thoughts dancing daringly with the memories of the two months he'd spent in Holliday's company. The truth was that Bradley had needed to forget about Angel, and Holliday had been more than willing. It turned out that she'd wanted his family's wealth, and after the effects of loneliness had worn off, Bradley had been quick to dump her, with the help of Colin. Thankfully she'd then moved to France the year after, and Bradley had never heard from her since.

Bradley put up his hands in mock surrender and innocence, and tried not to smirk. "What can I say? I am the King of Wizard's Chess," he said smugly. However much Colin protested, Bradley pawned him at the board game, hands down, every single time. Colin just wouldn't admit that Wizard's Chess wasn't his forte (that and Bradley had spent his entire childhood playing this alone, with nursemaids and their butler, with Katie, with his father even, and it was no doubt his favourite game; he'd always had a tactical mind).

"Don't be an idiot, Colin, you're never right," Bradley snorted through his grin, then laughed. "If I hid your books, then you burnt mine!" he accused, recalling their first year when they were sworn rivals, and spent every waking hour trying to make each other's lives miserable - only to discover that they were becoming friends and not at all enemies. "They never looked the same," Bradley pouted, thinking back on his textbooks and how they were now stacked neatly somewhere in the loft of the Jameson mansion, thanks to their organised butler, along with all the textbooks Bradley had used over the last six years. He'd never thrown a single one out; every one held doodles and drawings, little notes he and Colin had written to each other when they were bored during class. Bradley liked to look back at them and smile.

"They're not silk right now," Bradley protested with a slight frown. Or were they? "I could do that," he continued to say stubbornly, crossing his arms and staring Colin down. "I can handle anything you can handle." Truth be told, Bradley would despise going camping, but he wouldn't admit it - especially wouldn't allow Colin to think he was weaker than him. "Are you going to go?" Bradley asked, losing the competitive, childish tone and switching to a seriousness he tended to reserve only for his best friend and his father. He knew, without saying it out loud, how much Colin missed his mother; they were extremely close, and Bradley had always envied that special relationship - a relationship he would never have because he'd never known his mother, barely even a photograph because his father forbid them, and Arthur was hardly close to Bradley, had never really even tried however much he loved his son. Bradley envied Colin, but he'd never begrudged his best friend's happiness, and he didn't want him to be unhappy; nor did he want Colin's mother to be unhappy, for she was a lovely, kind woman, who had treated Bradley with indiscriminate kindness. "We can go there too, together," Bradley offered after a beat of silence, before adding sheepishly, "I won't pay. Promise."

Bradley soon found himself protesting again, his pride a little hurt. "I would survive it!" he grouched. It was camping, it couldn't be that hard. "And it's not kidnapping if you go willingly," he pointed out stubbornly, still adamant he would make Colin come to France with him of his own accord. "It's not underhanded," Bradley sniffed, turning away and shrugging without a shred of guilt or shame, "I just want to take you on holiday, as a present. Talk about grateful." He huffed as though irritated, though they both knew Bradley was merely faking it, and was not at all annoyed with Colin trying to refuse him; he'd expected it, after all, and had carefully and slyly planned ahead of him. "As if a Slytherin would go to such lengths for a present for their friend," Bradley scoffed, not at all insulted because he knew Colin didn't mean it really, and they constantly offended each other anyway, poking into back-and-forth banter.

"Oh Merlin," Bradley groaned, shaking his head exasperatedly, though he grinned through his words, "you're going to be the worst flier ever, I can just tell. Just keep a bag to your mouth at all times, Morgensen." Actually, Bradley had never been on a Muggle aeroplane either. He had quite an extensive knowledge of Muggle technology - he had taken the subject for OWL and was interested in it, plus Colin had come from a Muggle background and he'd spent a lot of time with him outside of Hogwarts - but he had never experienced flying; he only knew that many people got airsick or something. Bradley was sure he wouldn't be one of those people. Appraising Colin with amused eyes as he offered a different deal, Bradley eventually crooked a grin and said, "Deal. Working with your Uncle Richard - can't be that hard. It'll be worth the two weeks in the French sun. You'll see."

[Colin Morgensen G7]

Bradley, much as Colin hated to admit it, did have a point. He would never even consider buying his best friend clothes, for numerous reasons. Firstly, Bradley just wouldn’t appreciate it since he considered it a ‘girly’ type of present. Then there was also the fact that Colin wouldn’t have the slightest idea what to buy in the way of clothes and the additional reminder of his financial status at the very idea of buying clothes for his best friend. Bradley wore silk and...other expensive clothing material; Colin wasn’t exactly up to date on the latest fashion trends for pratly purebloods. No matter what the material that formed Bradley’s clothes was, it was inevitably going to be found in one of the shops that Colin scoffed at and strode right past when he was shopping in Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade. “Katie has dragged you along shopping with her before,” Colin pointed out, unwilling to pass up the perfect opportunity to tease his friend, “and she usually pulls you along by the hand if you’re being stubborn. Does that make you her female friend, Bradley?”

Oh dear. Colin shot a hastily apologetic smile in Bradley’s direction. Maybe it was too soon to tease about Holliday, but it was such a long time ago! Though the girl had been quite unnerving. Out of the two, Colin couldn’t be sure whether Holliday or Georgia had been the more unexpected of Bradley’s girlfriends. On one hand, the greedy psychopath. On the other hand, the Slytherin whose appeal Colin had never been able to see. Bradley obviously just had bad taste in girls. Yet another aspect of life Colin could tease his friend about, especially since he had never really seen the attraction in Angel that Bradley and Santiago both clearly did. “And what a distraction she turned out to be,” Colin finished cheerfully, patting Bradley’s shoulder encouragingly. “It’s not every day we get to chase away a money-hungry girl who wants to have your children, and your bank account.”

“Being the self-appointed king of the most boring game in history is nothing to be proud of,” Colin stated firmly, crossing his arms across his chest. He hated playing chess, and not just because Bradley always beat him. Although, seriously, he had to be cheating in some way to win every single time. Bradley never lost and it just wasn’t natural. No one was that good at chess. Maybe it was because the chess pieces, especially Colin’s own for some reason, preferred Bradley. Colin was sure that they shuffled about on the board when Colin wasn’t looking to ensure Bradley’s victory.

“Says he who copied off my homework,” Colin muttered in disgruntlement. If he was never right then why did he always get somewhat decent marks and guarantee Bradley the same when he let him copy? Sure, he wasn’t going to graduate top of his class in anything but neither was he an idiot. “Stop pouting, you prat. You started the entire thing anyway. I haven’t forgotten the time I woke up an hour late because you convinced Santiago and Owen not to wake me up.” He had been scrambling around in panic that morning, sprinting in to the Charms classroom almost twenty minutes late and without breakfast. It had been perhaps a month or two after that incident when Colin burnt an array of Bradley’s textbooks. He had been aiming to incinerate all of them but he had been disturbed by footsteps bounding up the stairs with endless enthusiasm. Even then, Colin had been oddly attuned to Bradley.

“The alarming part in that sentence is the ‘right now’. Are they being specially cleaned so that they don’t lose their softness?” Colin teased light-heartedly. His younger self would have been disgusted by Bradley’s self-indulgence. Silk pillowcases? Was cotton not good enough for wealthy and spoilt purebloods? He had been jealous, just a little. Everything had seemed to come so easily to Bradley Jameson. It wasn’t fair. Colin and his family had worked hard for everything they had while Bradley didn’t look as if he had worked for even so little as a day in his entire life. Colin had learned differently since then. Work came in different forms, and it existed both for people like him and those like Bradley. “Probably,” Colin admitted without hesitation. He didn’t even need to think about it. If Richard could spare him for a week, which he would because he had a soft spot for Colin’s mother since they were old friends, then Colin would be off to Armagh in an instant. “I was planning to invite you anyway, if I ended up going. Mum would love to see you again; she thought you were ‘absolutely adorable’, which is obviously her phrasing, not mine. I know you too well to ever describe you like that.” It had actually been quite entertaining for Colin to watch his mother fuss over Bradley like a second son even though they had only spent a short time together. Colin hadn’t been so well received by Bradley’s father but it hadn’t really bothered him. Arthur was precisely how Colin had always imagined his own father to be. He didn’t need the approval of someone like that; it would be just as bad as actively seeking out his father to ask his opinion on Colin’s life.

Poking at Bradley’s pride was still one of the most amusing games Colin had ever invented; his reactions were rarely disappointing even after so many years. Only Santiago knew for sure that the reactions were what Colin aimed for but the fellow Gryffindor just shook his head in good-humoured remonstration and never spoke up to inform Bradley of it. By now, Bradley had almost certainly guessed anyway. No matter what Colin said, his best friend wasn’t an idiot. Not all of the time anyway. “I never said that I would go willingly though; that makes it kidnapping.” A thought occurred to him, making Colin sigh patiently. Bradley had taken Muggle Studies but that was no match for experience in the Muggle world, even if Colin had never actually flown anywhere before. “Do you even have a passport, or know how to get one?” Colin himself didn’t have one but he at least knew the basics of applying for one. He wouldn’t be bothered by being needed to help Bradley figure out the paperwork but it was always fun to needle Bradley about any knowledge he lacked about the world Colin had came from.

“You’re going to be worse than I am,” Colin predicted simply to be contrary. “So I’ll request plenty of bags for you, and maybe a seat far away from me because some things I simply don’t want to watch.” He had more experience with Muggle transport than Bradley did anyway, surely that worked in his favour. Aeroplanes couldn’t be that different to buses, ferries and trains. Bradley’s evaluation of the deal made Colin grin, through he quickly shook hands on it before enlightening his friend about the truth. There was no way he was going to miss the chance to watch Bradley work hard during the summer, even if Colin did have to trail around after him and redo everything that Bradley had attempted. “Uncle Richard is a harsh boss,” Colin informed him brightly. “We’ll be waking up at four every morning to have breakfast and prepare everything for the day ahead. I get twenty minutes for lunch, but you might get longer because you’re more likely to sue for mistreatment than I am since I live with the man. The apothecary is open late during the summer, because everyone seems to want something at odd hours. Then there are some ingredients that can only be picked at midnight or at 2AM or some other unreasonable hour. Prepare yourself to survive on very little sleep, but you can back out at any time if it’s too much for you to handle.”

[Bradley Jameson]

Bradley flushed at the mention of being dragged shopping by his evil cousin. "Well, she's not my male friend, is she?" he snapped, glaring not with malice at Colin. He knew exactly how to push his buttons; which was why they were best friends. "And it's not like I follow her like a-- a dog or something. She's just so damn persistent," Bradley complained, thinking back on the times Katie had demanded he accompany her into Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade. That's what girl friends were for, like Angel; why did Bradley have to do it, just because they were related? He wasn't Katie's play toy! "Have you tried saying no to her?" Bradley added with a grumble. Fortunately for Colin, Katie never mistreated him; she was always cooing about how sweet and lovely Colin was. Bradley had snapped at her during their first year, when he and Colin had been mid-feud: Why don't you go and pester him then and leave me the hell alone! To which Katie had replied, without missing a beat, You like him, Bradley Jameson, more than I do, and you need to admit that sooner or later. As usual, Katie had been right. Bitch.

"Well yeah, at least she was good for something," Bradley acquiesced grumpily. Sometimes, he wondered if he only attracted insane women: Katie, for one; Holliday was, as Colin put it, 'psychotic'; and Georgia hadn't exactly been much better. Angel was the only female he'd met and had a close relationship with who he wouldn't describe as completely and utterly nuts. "Wizard's Chess isn't a boring game," Bradley said with firm conviction and a teasing smirk, "you're just no good at it, and you're a sore loser." In truth, Colin was by no means a sore loser; Bradley was. "I only copied off your homework once or twice," he said breezily in the face of Colin's indignation. "It's not like you've never copied off me. What are friends for, eh mate?"

Colin still thought Bradley had started their rivalry. Bradley gave a dramatic sigh. "No I didn't. I was reminding some... pathetic guy that he was... pathetic, when you set upon me, ranting about my 'pratliness'." Bradley rolled his eyes, though they smiled at the memory nonetheless. "You started it, Morgensen. Though I shan't complain; otherwise we wouldn't be sitting here right now, bickering like children." He sent Colin a pointed, knowing, but amused look. "Anyway, not waking you up for a class and being ten minutes late is hardly anything compared to burning my books!" he added with an angry squawk.

"No, Colin," Bradley bit back, relishing the childish argument even if he knew how silly it was, that he was eighteen and still acted like an infant. "I meant that my pillows here aren't ever silk. Hogwarts doesn't cater for kings, you know." Everything back at home was a hundred times more luxurious than Hogwarts; silk everything - pillows, bed covers, carpets, clothes... the lot. Arthur Jameson liked to show for his wealth, and the family mansion was the pinnacle of his pride and joy. Bradley hated it. "She did, did she?" he smirked when Colin said his Mum thought him 'absolutely adorable'. "Well, I'd love to see Caroline again too." Bradley's face shuttered off for a moment, considering the terrible idea of bringing Colin back to the Jameson household; neither his father nor Colin would appreciate it. However, if Arthur left on some big business trip for about a week, he could invite Colin to sleep over. That would brighten up his summer considerably. Then again, what with plans for holidays and graduating so therefore needing to get a job, Bradley doubted there'd be time for boyish holidays wasted in their house swimming pool. They were adults now; grown men. Even if they didn't act it.

"Passport?" Bradley blinked owlishly, processing the word through his mind, before starting with a sudden abruptness against the couch. "Oh damn, passport!" he exclaimed. "I forgot about that!" His head snapped towards Colin. "Of course I don't have one, you idiot! I'm a wizard, not a Muggle!" Falling into the sofa again, Bradley heaved a sigh. "I'm going to have to do some more research," he said listlessly. "Maybe I could fake a passport with a spell or something instead." Bradley quickly got over the fact he lacked a passport, though, smirking at Colin as he said, "We'll see, Morgensen. We'll see who's sick." Bradley had never met Uncle Richard before; from Colin's stories, he'd never felt inclined to. However, if that was what it took to get Colin to come to France, Bradley would take the risk. "He can't be as awful as my father," he stated blandly, thinking of Arthur, the proud slave-driver. "Four?!" Bradley then spluttered, caught by surprise. "Isn't that a bit extreme, Colin?" He was quick to change tack, though, once Colin had issued the indirect challenge. "Back out?" Bradley snorted, "Don't be ridiculous. Bring it on! A deal's a deal."

[Colin Morgensen G7]

Hah! Colin had simply known that mentioning Katie and her relentless quest to make Bradley enjoy shopping (though Colin preferred to think of it as the girl torturing her cousin for her own enjoyment) would succeed in bothering Bradley a bit. That was his sole reason for mentioning it when it would have been simpler and easier to just stop arguing with Bradley over something they were both in agreement about. “I don’t have to say ‘no’ to her.” Colin smiled angelically, tipping his head to the side to regard Bradley with a bemused expression. “Your cousin would never want to torture me with something like shopping. For one thing, I won’t let her buy any clothes for me and secondly, she loves me too much to subject me to her company while she’s shopping. Even I know that she can be a bit...intense when she sees something she wants, especially if she thinks someone else is trying to grab it before she can.” Truthfully, Colin almost respected Angel and Bradley for surviving those shopping trips with relatively few complaints for what he imagined Katie made them endure. She was a slightly a scary girl when she wanted to be, Katie was. Which, Colin supposed, made him lucky for being in her good graces even if she did pet at him like a kitten. He knew it was a form of love but, really, did he look like he had fur and a tail?

“There’s a bright side to every dismal situation, as Mum always says. Nothing is ever less than sunny in her world though, you know what my mum’s like.” For a woman who had suffered through a hard life, Caroline Morgensen tended to see the good in everyone, which was proven by the way she had clearly seen something of worth in Colin’s still mostly nameless father and also ignored the pratliness of Bradley to find the compassionate personality hidden within him. What had taken Colin months had happened within moments for his mother; Colin had put it down to either a female or a motherly thing before completely disregarding it. As long as two of the most important people in his life got along, who cared about the reasoning behind it? So, for what it was worth, Colin had faith that his mum would have seen something of value in Holliday that the rest of them had missed. She couldn’t have been completely covetous and insane, surely. “I’m not a sore loser. I always let you win.” Colin lied, nodding for emphasis. “Yes. I let you win; you just can’t see it. My skills are too great.”

“Yeah but...you always copied the easy homework. Who needs help with Potions for Merlin’s sake?” Colin shook his head, caught between bemusement and amusement. He would never be able to understand how Bradley so completely failed to understand what Colin considered one of the most interesting subjects offered as a class. “You were reminding some pathetic guy that he was pathetic,” Colin repeated mockingly. “If that doesn’t prove to you how much of a prat you were then you must be an idiot, Jameson. He never did anything to you and you just started insulting him. Someone had to interfere, and you’re damn lucky I did. What would you do without me in your life?” The added comment about their childish feud remained unanswered by Colin. Someone had to give way or this argument would carry on through the night; neither of them would ever admit to being in the wrong about that incident even though Bradley had started the whole thing off. He just wouldn’t confess to it.

Oh, the poor thing. Hogwarts didn’t supply silk pillowcases? Colin could cry with sympathy, he was sure. “Why should the school cater for kings, Jameson? The closest thing we have is you, and you’re only a jester. The very thought of you ruling a kingdom makes me shudder in terror,” he teased bitingly. If only because Bradley being in power would indirectly lead to Arthur Jameson having more power than he already did, the idea did make him want to grimace with horror. Even at his worst, Bradley had been tolerable to some extent. Colin could not say the same for his father. “I’ll write and say we’ll be over at some point during the summer then. We should go during August. Mum wrote to tell me that a family from Kerry have moved into the village and they were discussing going to see some of the festivals there. Apparently they’re trying out Puck’s Fair first, and that always happens in August. You might even be crowned King of the Fair if you’re lucky.” Colin’s mouth trembled with the effort of not laughing at that point of the conversation. He was betting that Bradley would be mostly ignorant of any Irish festivals that Colin hadn’t explained to him over the years so he couldn’t wait to see the look on his friend’s face when August finally rolled around. The King was always a goat, Caroline had explained in her letter while expressing her befuddlement at decorating an animal with ribbons for such a purpose, but it sounded like a fun event so she had communicated her eagerness for Colin to experience it with her for the first time.

Typical. That was just absolutely expected behaviour from Bradley. Only Bradley could forget that he would need a Muggle passport if he wanted to take Muggle transportation to France. “Don’t worry about it,” Colin gestured dismissively, both shoulders lifting in a faint shrug. “I’ll take care of it, since I’m the one with experience of the Muggle world. Visiting for a few days doesn’t count, Bradley,” Colin added hurriedly before any argument could be provided by his best friend. He knew him too well to expect that Bradley would let any comment pass by without chipping in with his own opinion. Richard could send him two copies of the necessary paperwork, and getting the photographs taken would be simple enough; all they had to do was not add the liquid solution that made wizarding photos move. At Bradley’s evident surprise, Colin smirked triumphantly. He had known that his friend wouldn’t be able to cope with working in the apothecary for two weeks. The first few days would be the hardest for Bradley though, Colin guessed, with the abrupt shift from the lazy, wealthy lifestyle to getting up ridiculously early every morning and never getting quite enough sleep. He wouldn’t make Bradley work for the whole two weeks if he thought that his friend truly hated it; he wasn’t that mean. He wouldn’t mention that to Bradley though; he would just interpret it as an insult to his manliness or something. He was irrational like that.

[Bradley Jameson]

"Katie loves you more than she does me and we share blood," Bradley complained with false resentment, lip pursed in an annoyed pout. "Merlin knows why. You're an idiot. What do girls see in you that they coo over you so much? You're not a cat. And even if you were, you're hardly cute." He shot Colin a pointed look. No one hated Colin; it was impossible, even if he was clumsy and tactless and dorky; he was too nice for his own good, and girls in particular loved to coddle and mother him like a child (Angel and Katie being prime examples). Bradley wasn't jealous; but he did treat such feminine behaviour with unhidden disdain. "Katie's always intense," he snorted, half amused, half horrified when recollecting accompanying his cousin shopping. It was an event to be avoided at all costs; even a weeks' worth of homework was better than an hour in the presence of Katie whilst shopping.

"Your mother is too nice for her own good," Bradley said, a hint of fondness in his exasperated tone. And so are you, his mind added as he stared into Colin's boyish, innocent face. "Whatever, Morgensen." Bradley smirked. "Face the facts: I'm God and you are my... manservant." However, a scowl quickly overrode Bradley's triumphant expression. "We're not all Potions geniuses, Colin. At least I excel in all my classes." Whereas Colin was a good student on the whole with a particular flair for Potions (much to the chagrin of one particular Professor Snape), Bradley had always been exemplary in every class, but with no outstanding talents, except for Quidditch. Potions was admittedly Bradley's least favourite subject; not just because he had no natural talent for the study, but also because he despised Professor Snape. However, seven years of mutual hatred had morphed into a burning passion to prove the oily man wrong. Bradley struggled most with Potions, but he'd still taken it for NEWT, determined to do all the traditional and preferred subjects to become an Auror (despite the fact he was inevitably going to start at his father's company). Still, Bradley was miles better at Transfiguration, Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts and Herbology in comparison to Potions - especially Defence. Hence why every now and then he copied off Colin, taking advantage of a class shared with him where Colin was actually better.

Bradley looked thoroughly affronted at Colin's accusation. "He was pathetic, Colin," he repeated firmly. "He was trying to follow me around just because of what I was. The minute he realised who I was - Bradley Jameson, no really?" he Bradley mimicked in true mocking annoyance, "he was all over me. He turned into a pathetic boot-licker, and even you can't deny that was what he was, Colin." Bradley scowled intensely, irritated by the mere memory. "Contrary to popular belief, I do not enjoy special treatment because of my family name." Nonetheless, Bradley managed to smile at Colin. "Well, life would certainly be less interesting without you around," he smirked. "I'll have you know that I would be a magnificent king. In fact, I'm almost sure I carry royal blood in these veins," he added with a practised air of arrogance.

Bradley stared at Colin with a raised eyebrow. "What are you on about, mate?" he demanded. "Puck's what?" He lurched for Colin across the couch, grabbing him by the neck and bringing his face into his lap in a swift move. Head-locked, Colin couldn't move, and Bradley was free to noogie him as much as he liked - with just enough force to hold him down but not overdone as to bring about pain. "Stop using Muggle terms, I'm a wizard, remember?" Bradley snipped, before finally letting a spluttering Colin go with an unrepentant grin. Colin's hair was a wild mess after Bradley's surprise attack; not that it had been neat and tidy before, but now it was truly shambolic. Without a word, Bradley's arm reached out, his fingers moving to flatten Colin's mop of black with a fond smile he wasn't even conscious he was wearing on his face. "I'm glad you're coming with me," Bradley finally said after a short silence. "To France, I mean. it'll be our last summer... you know." He glanced up, searching for Colin's reaction and trying hard to swallow the indescribable lump forming in his throat. "We're leaving at last."

[Colin Morgensen G7]

Bradley had picked up on his train of thought again, Colin grinned to himself. Just as he had been protesting to himself that he wasn’t Katie’s little pet to fuss over, Bradley had complained that Colin wasn’t a cat for girls to coo over. That sort of thing was happening more and more over the years. “I happen to think that I’d make a very handsome cat,” Colin stated calmly, flashing a satisfied smile at his friend with his next words, “and apparently girls agree...What girls though? I haven’t noticed any girls.” His brow furrowed slowly, trying to recall any giggles directed his way recently. Bradley was generally the centre of female attention out of the two of them, barring Katie and Angel of course. “Katie’s not that intense,” Colin defended placidly. “She’s smart, and sweet. Maybe not to you,” he teased lightly, “but she’s certainly sweet when I’m around. Must be my natural charm.”

“Yeah,” Colin agreed quietly, shadows falling over his face as the firelight flickered and shimmered in the darkness. Had his mother not been too nice for her own good, Colin was very much aware, he would never have been born, illegitimate and unwanted by his unreliable, unknown father as he was. “She really is. Uncle Richard once told me that she was always like that; they were really good friends before he went to Hogwarts and he hunted her down the winter her family kicked her out of the house. Apparently there was one time when some jerk was picking on her and she just bought him a drink and invited him to sit with them.” The man had then been Uncle Richard’s boyfriend for nearly two years before, well, Colin wasn’t entirely sure about why the relationship had ended. During the late summer nights when they were working shoulder to shoulder while cutting up ingredients for the next day, Richard tended to tell him stories involving his mother in full, without even cutting out bits that Colin would really have preferred him to, but that particular story was one that had never been given a real ending. Sometimes the past was too painful to speak about though. There was no reason for Colin to dig around in the past just to satiate his own curiousity at the risk of hurting the only father he had ever known. At the change of subject, Colin’s smile reappeared instantly, bright with the chance to tease his best friend about coming in second to him in something. “You’re not excelling in all of your classes until you beat me in Potions. And we both know that that will never happen.”

This was one area of life where Colin would never be able to empathise with Bradley. Their lives were too fundamentally different. The idea of a sycophant following him – plain, poor Colin Morgensen with no rich connections except through his friends – around was absolutely laughable. What would they possibly want from him? Free ingredients from Uncle’s apothecary? Help with Potions homework? What a stupid, impossible idea. Colin didn’t have the temperament to properly deal with people like that anyway. That didn’t mean that he didn’t chuckle at the stories Katie told him about her childhood with Bradley, although Colin’s mind still couldn’t quite accept the image of Arthur Jameson as a loving parental figure. Something about it just clashed with the utterly cold expression that the man had been wearing when Colin had met him for the first and only time. “You have royal blood alright, mate,” Colin sniped instantly, not missing a beat as he fell into the rhythm of their customary banter. “You’re a royal pain in the arse sometimes.”

“Oi!” Colin let out a rather unmanly squeak at Bradley’s surprise attack, both hands ineffectually trying to smack around his head in the hopes of dislodging his friend. “Honestly, Bradley,” Colin sniffed upon his release, automatically shifting in place to allow Bradley easier access for smoothing it down. He had messed it up so he could damn well fix it; not that Colin’s hair was ever anything more presentable than the rest of him, scruffy clothes, scuffed boots and all. “If you wanted me to practically sit in your lap while you molested me then you could have just asked.” His tone held no heat or spite though. Sadly, this sort of thing happened more often than one would think but Colin couldn’t truthfully say that he minded. Colin was, after all, a rather tactile person at times and it was a sign of affection, just like when Katie tugged at his clothes and offered to buy him a whole new wardrobe of stuff or when Santiago and he had a mostly silent half hour of peace every morning before Bradley woke up. “Anyway, you’ll find out what Puck’s Fair is when we get there. I’m warning Mum not to tell you if you ask.” Their last summer. A last summer after a last year. It made sense, Colin supposed, but that didn’t mean that he wanted it to happen that way. Who said that it had to anyway? This wasn’t the end ofr all of life as they knew it. Was it? “I don’t want to leave,” he murmured, voice escaping almost as a whisper. Hogwarts had been a home for seven years and, ridiculous though it may be, part of Colin wondered if saying goodbye to the castle also meant saying goodbye to Bradley, to Katie and Angel and Santiago and everyone else he had befriended and loved.

[Bradley Jameson]

Bradley rolled his eyes emphatically. They'd had this conversation several times before, and no matter how many times Bradley spoke the truth, Colin did not get it. "All girls love you," he said impatiently, "they're everywhere, you're just blind and extremely naive and stupid. Idiot." Bradley scrunched up his nose and barked disbelieving laughter. "Smart, I'll give you, but sweet? Don't be ridiculous, Colin; Katie's the spawn of the Devil, she's not sweet. That's just a disguise, to deceive you into thinking she's a goddess, which she is not, thank you very much."

Bradley frowned when he watched an invisible shadow fall over Colin's face. He was unused to his best friend not smiling, not laughing, not doing anything cheerful. Colin was always happy, except when admonishing Bradley for being a prat, whether annoyed or truly angry (which Bradley had been on the receiving end of a few times during the odd fierce row, and they were lethal; not that he'd ever admit that to Colin). "It's better than never being nice," Bradley said quietly, catching Colin's eyes and smiling just a little. Better than my father, he thought darkly to himself.

Bradley shrugged carelessly and smirked. "As long as I beat you in everything else, I will always be better than you." At Colin's cheeky quip, he punched his best friend lightly in the shoulder and shot him an annoyed look that looked worse than he felt. "As if you've ever done what I've told you to do," Bradley said with a roll of his eyes, exasperated and fond at once. "You'd be the worst manservant in the world, you know." He looked at Colin with some trepidation, wondering what this 'Puck's Fair' was; it sounded foreign and very, very Muggle, and this worried Bradley. He liked Muggles, especially Colin - loved to learn about their fascinating culture (unlike his father, who treated them with unhidden disdain; Arthur could've easily been a Slytherin in a past life) - but he didn't like surprises.

Bradley's eyes watched Colin with evident sadness, a heavy tugging on his heart in response to his mumbled words. "Neither do I," he managed to force out, half scowling without realising it. "But I promise..." Bradley found words escaping him and struggled to form them once more without being sappy and feminine - everything he did not stand for. "I promise I'll always be there. If you need me." He looked at Colin, unwavering and sure and very, very determined. "You'd be nothing without me, Colin Morgensen." Finally, Bradley cracked a smirking grin, refraining the urge to envelope Colin in a hug out of sheer affection.

[Colin Morgensen G7]

As much as he loved his best friend, there was only one conclusion that Colin could possibly come to: Bradley had finally lost all semblance of sanity. Colin would definitely notice if girls liked him. He was sure of it. Besides, even if he didn’t notice, Katie and Angel would, maybe even Santiago would take notice of it if he could separate himself from Angel for long enough; one of them would have told him before now. This was probably just one of Bradley’s well-meant attempts to help Colin fix whatever Bradley thought was lacking in his life. “Sure, sure,” Colin agreed patronisingly, “girls are just falling over themselves to get to me. But you do know that you’re related to Katie, right?” One dark eyebrow rose slowly, almost in time with the grin that spread across his face. “If she’s the spawn of the Devil, which she’s not, then you’re also connected to the Devil somehow. Is that what you’re trying to imply?”

“It’s much better than never being nice,” Colin agreed instantly, his eyes studying his best friend absent-mindedly. Neither he nor Bradley were particularly lucky in family matters. Sure, Colin had his mother (and he loved her more than anyone else even if he couldn’t live with her) and Uncle Richard, even if the man wasn’t his real uncle, but his father was presumably a deadbeat, a loser. Better that than what Colin really suspected him to be: a married pureblood who had seen Caroline as a worthy distraction from his wife. The only thing he actually knew was that his father was a pureblood, and that was simultaneously too much and not enough information for Colin’s liking. As for Bradley, well...Arthur Jameson wasn’t the nicest of men, from what Colin had seen. At least he had Katie though. And Colin. Bradley would always have Colin. They were practically each other’s family anyway.

That ego of Bradley’s would get him into trouble some day. For the moment though, Colin just sent him an exasperated glare and let the issue slide. They had had that argument many times before; once more wouldn’t solve anything. Colin would always firmly maintain that Bradley had to beat him in Potions (which would never, ever happen unless Colin was sabotaged) while Bradley would stubbornly stick to his argument that overall excellence was better than being generally good and excelling in only one area. “Then it’s just as well that I’ll never have to be your servant then, isn’t it? I may get told that I dress like a house-elf but that doesn’t mean that I’ll act like one. Merlin knows what sort of crazy demands you’d make from me if I did have to obey you. ‘Col, polish my boots; Col, do my homework; Col, go shopping with Katie for me’.” Deliberately pitching his voice a few octaves higher, Colin mocked his friend even as he scooted a bit further away to escape the inevitable resulting attack from Bradley. The boy just couldn’t take a joke sometimes.

“Hey.” Suddenly realising that Bradley was just as affected by the thought of leaving as Colin himself was, he reached out to lay a hand on his arm, wordlessly encouraging Bradley to look at him. “Leaving won’t change anything,” he stated firmly, all doubts evaporating when faced with Bradley’s solid gaze. “You’ll always be my best friend, I’ll always be better at making potions than you and I’ll still try my hardest to wake you up early every Saturday morning just to annoy you. I promise.” Overtaken by a yawn, Colin covered his mouth hastily as he rose to his feet, offering a hand to help Bradley up if he wanted to join him. He knew better than to fight against what his body was telling him. Falling out of a regular sleeping pattern would mess him up when it came to summer and working in the apothecary again. “I’m tired. You coming up or staying for a bit longer?”

[Bradley Jameson]

Bradley spluttered indignantly when Colin once again did not seem to believe him. "But they are!" he said fervently, exasperated at Colin's lack of belief in him. "You just don't see it, you idiot!" Whilst girls fawned over Colin's 'adorableness', despite his ignorance of it, Bradley had never denied his own appeal to women; they'd always clung to him since he was young, and he'd always hated them. He didn't have time for women most of the time. Angel had been the only exception to this rule, when his hormones had finally kicked in, but then she'd rejected him, and so he'd made the most of his apparent attractiveness, dating first Holliday and then Georgia. They had been disastrous, though, to say the least, and definitely a waste of time, now that Bradley could look upon them in hindsight. There had been other casual relationships with girls, but usually physical; that was usually the only importance they held in Bradley's life nowadays - one of a sexual nature.

Bradley snorted through his amusement. "I might as well be the Devil's son," he said as he sent Colin a pointed look. "Considering who my father is and how often you call me a prat. I'm hardly going to end up in Heaven now, am I?" In all honesty, though, Bradley had always been a straight-laced boy, who never got into trouble and was the star of most of his classes. He was golden, untouchable, and generally well loved (with the exception of Slytherins, who despised him with a passion), and even if someone didn't like him, they didn't tell him so, unless they went by the name of Colin Morgensen (and his cousin, but she didn't count because they were related).

"That is exactly what I would do," Bradley nodded smugly, imagining the wonderful image of Colin doing his every bidding, at his whim and fancy. "But alas, we're on equal footing," he lamented mockingly, cuffing Colin carefully on the cheek with the edge of his fisted knuckles. Bradley had always been quite a handsy, touchy-feely guy, especially with fellow boys (as girls were way too sensitive as well as delicate; even poking Katie elicited an exaggerated, over-blown reaction); he liked having that intimacy with Colin, this comfortable space between them.

Which was why Bradley didn't even react when Colin's hand touched his arm, and he looked up to see his best friend smiling encouragingly at him. A small smile began to grow on Bradley's face as Colin talked. "You'd better keep that promise, Morgensen," he murmured, and took Colin's hand that helped to haul him to his feet. "Of course I'm coming with you," Bradley snorted, intimate moment lost between them. "I'm not staying down here on my own and have some prefect find me." He scooted after Colin, falling into step beside him, arms casually brushing. "To bed," he nodded, smiling.