Forever Yours

Chapter 30: "Coming of Age"

"Twenty books?" Septimus frowned, as he held up the small midnight colored handbag; which didn't even look like it could hold one, let alone twenty. "In here?"

"An undetectable extension charm, Mr. Prince," the professor chuckled, as he waved his wand, clearing the chalkboard behind him. "Your mother's idea actually. She said she used it herself while in school. Makes it a lot easier than carrying twenty books by hand, especially the ones that are in there."

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"Septimus!"

"Hey Septimus!"

The thunder from the feet of four boys flooded up the corridor. Brooms in hand, the weather had become considerably better over the last few weeks; and it was on most of the students' minds. Except for one.

"Come on Sept!" Kyle Fuchs shouted, as he and the other three burst into their dorm room. "Weather's nice! Let's go down to the ..."

All four boys came to a dead stop in the center of the room, peering at the sight before them. Their dorm mate and Quidditch Captain was sitting amongst a pile of books and parchment and broken quills; frantically writing down the last passage that he had read.

"Sept?" Justin Burke asked slowly. "What are you doing?"

"Studying," Septimus replied simply, as he brushed his long black hair out of his eyes.

"For finals already?" Mike Palmer chuckled. "They're not for another month!"

"And you never have to study that hard," Carlos Gonzalo laughed along. "You're naturally smart."

"It's not for finals," Septimus muttered, as his eyes scanned over the text in from of him.

"Not for finals?" Justin frowned, as the others ceased their chuckling. "Then what the hell are you studying for?" The four boys glanced at each other before Mike cautiously approached Septimus' bed and carefully picked up a book.

"Self-Defensive Spellwork," Mike said, as he read the title of the book in his hand, before grabbing another. "The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts. Practical Defensive Magic and Its Use Against the Dark Arts."

"Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," Carlos read the cover of the book closest to him. "Defensive Magical Theory. The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection. The Dark Arts Outsmarted."

"Curses and Counter-curses," Justin frowned, as he picked the book up and started flipping through it. "Compendium of Common Curses and Their Counter-Actions. Confronting the Faceless. Asiatic Anti-Venoms.

"Guide to Advanced Occlumency. Secrets of the Darkest Art. Magick Most Evile," Kyle read, and then frowned deeply. "Sept, is there something we should know?"

"No. Why?" Septimus murmured from within the book he was now holding.

"Well, it's just that..." Mike paused, as he rubbed the back of his neck. "You've been holing yourself up the last couple of weeks, and now we find you reading books about defense and Occlumency and...and the Dark Arts. What are you getting into?"

"It's nothing," Septimus said, waving them off. "I'm just doing some extra reading that's all."

"Extra reading," Carlos snorted. "Come on Sept, this stuff is not light reading. We've been roommates for six years, and we never lie to each other. What is going on?"

"And we want the truth," Justin stated, as he crossed his arms over his chest. Septimus slowly looked up from his books on Patronuses, and met the hard stares of his four roommates. He knew they were right, but he also knew he couldn't tell them the full truth. He probably never could.