Cast yourself (you are the spell)

Chapter 48

It's only a simple peck, really, just their lips gently brushing against each other's for a moment or two.

Still, it makes Hope feel dizzy and undeniably overwhelmed. Despite the many times they've done this before, the pace of her heart quickens all the same. She briefly wonders if Josie can hear it.

They only stop kissing when that same pair of footsteps comes close, and then closer yet.  Josie leans away and steps back, but she doesn't disconnect their hands.

"If this is your idea of a fun night sneaking out past curfew..." Elizabeth's loud voice appears around the other side of the corridor, begging for Filch to give them all detention. She finally rounds the corner, continuing, "I must say, I am tremendously disappointed. I have been chasing you around for the last fifteen minutes—"

She stops herself short when she catches sight of Hope. It appears that she hadn't seen her before.

"Oh," she breathes, twisting her face in confusion. She then narrows her eyes, pulling out her wand in a flash and pointing it right at Hope. "Mikaelson."

A moment passes, where Elizabeth seems to come to a startling realization, but not the right one. She still hasn't noticed that Hope and Josie are holding hands.

"Wait." She grins, looking at her sister. She lowers her wand an inch or two, but not completely. "This just got so much better than I thought it would."

Hope gulps down the nervous mess in her throat, eyeing the wand dangling from the blonde's fingers lazily. Her fingers itch to reach for her own wand, where it lies in the sleeve of her robe, but she ignores the urge.

"What should we do to her?" Damn. Elizabeth clearly thinks that this meeting was accidental or something. She starts to babble on evilly, "What about a stinging jinx? Oh, wait, I know, let's do the tickling charm, it should—"

"Lizzie," Josie cuts her off, voice more dangerous and low than Hope has ever heard it before. She steps forward, bringing the pureblood with her since their hands are still clasped firmly together.

"We are not doing anything to her." She takes the last step between her and her sister, coming so close that Elizabeth's wand begins to dig into her stomach. Hope resists the impulse to pull Josie back and stand protectively in front of her.

The muggleborn lowers her voice even further, almost like a hiss. "And you will not touch a single hair on her head."

Hope smirks, feeling a little smug.

Only then does Elizabeth realize that they're holding hands.

"Oh, god." She scrunches up her face in a weird combination of disgust and confusion as she lowers her wand completely, eyes darting between Hope and Josie. "Why are you two holding hands?"

She doesn't give them a second to answer before asking yet another question. "Did Vector curse you with that jinx again?"

Hope cocks her head to the side as that day comes back to her. She tries her best not to zone out as she remembers the feeling of holding Josie's hand for several hours.

Thinking about it now, Hope can faintly recall spending that night trying to figure out who had cursed them.

Professor Vector had been the most likely suspect.

"Wait," she says, pausing. Her gaze finds Elizabeth's, lips parting and closing in a rather undignified manner. "You suspected it was her as well?"

"Duh." Elizabeth rolls her eyes like it's obvious. "I don't even have to be in that class to know it. She was the obvious culprit."

"Right?" Hmm. Maybe Elizabeth isn't the ditzy blonde Hope had presumed her to be. "That's what I was thinking."