but a voice within that calls me home

Luna wasn't at all surprised when she and Ainsley managed to make the cage turn into a locket, she knew how smart Ainsley was so it shouldn't have taken them long. "Oh no, I'm not that smart. It was you who made the cage change," She didn't want to take any credit for the charm they were able to get correct, Luna knew that she should take credit if she did a spell or made a charm but it wasn't in her to. She wasn't cocky or full of herself, so if she did something good than she would always brush it off. But she still wanted to compliment Ainsley on how well she had just done, "You also don't need to thank me. I wouldn't want to work with anyone other than you," She spoke softly and hoped that her face hadn't turned bright red from a blush, once the class was finished Luna packed up her belongings and followed Ainsley through the sea of other students.

She couldn't help but smile when she noticed how much happier Ainsley became when she saw her sister, it was nice to see the brunette's face light up with plain joy when the twins were together. She stepped over to the group, even though she didn't share this class with them which was a little disappointing but she did share more than enough classes with Ainsley which would need to be enough. "I will see you all later, have a good charms class." She smiled mostly at Ainsley but her smile still reached the other's, before she turned and made her way to her next class which she would be sharing with Hufflehuff. It wouldn't be as fun but Luna would make sure she did her best either way, besides it wouldn't be long until they could all sit down together for lunch.

---

Eleanor nodded her head as she walked back into the castle from the greenhouse, she was so excited for Charms this year. Not only was Harry in her class but so would be her sister, nothing would be able to crush her current good mood. A smile never left her face as she followed the group through the hallways until they were closer to the Charms classroom, that was when a familiar body was quick to appear and Eleanor's smile only widened at the sight of her twin. "I'm ready now," She smiled at Ainsley before she watched Luna excuse herself as she had to get to her own class, she stepped closer to her sister with a teasing smile across her face this time. "You two seem to be getting closer," She whispered to her twin as she didn't want the other's to overhear what they were talking about as it was a twin thing, something no one else needed to know about.

"I need to talk to you later," She whispered again as she wanted to bring up Harry but only when she could be completely alone with Ainsley, she nudged her side gently with her own as they walked together in step to the classroom. Sometimes it was easy to tell they were twins, although they could still be their own people and they did have differences. Once they reached the Charms room they all took a seat at a desk, Eleanor wanted to sit beside Harry again but she also wanted to sit beside Ainsley as she hadn't seen her since breakfast that morning.

[No problem at all.]

Ainsley waved goodbye to Luna, and promised that they would meet for lunch. She turned to her sister, a slight blush spreading over her face at the mention of Luna from her twin. She grinned, excited to tell her more about the situation when they had free time.

She knew her sister's need to talk to her had to do with Harry, and she couldn't wait to learn more about the subject. Ainsley nodded vigorously -- "let's meet at the library after classes," she whispered slightly, figuring that was the quietest spot in all of Hogwarts. Of course, there was the Room of Requirement that very few people knew of, but the library was much easier to access.

The girls made their way into the Charms room, Professor Flitwick had already set up their classroom for the day. The group found a table that sat all of them, and Ainsley pulled up a chair next to Eleanor. It was good to be in a class with her sister again.



Harry sat on the other side of Eleanor during Charms, with Ron next to him, and Hermione next to Ron. He was excited for class to finally start, so he could go to lunch and spend more free time with Eleanor. He looked at her and smiled, taking his wand out for the class. Charms was a class where you could definitely count on the fact that you would be using your wand, and speaking an incantation. Professor Flitwick was great at teaching, which was great for Harry. Charms was fun, but could easily get boring if you didn't understand the material. Flitwick always tried to make it easy for his students, he didn't like seeing people fail.

Once class started, it went by very quickly. Their class for the day was levitating anvils, which was much harder work than Harry expected. It was just something to get their minds brewing, because Flitwick ensured that the rest of the year would not be so easy. Harry wondered what else there was in store for him.

[So sorry for how short this is, I have to get back to work soon! I'll be on again tonight ]

[No, don't worry about it!]

Eleanor had a feeling that her sister already knew what she wanted to talk about, as Harry had been a subject that they had spoken about before until Eleanor got flustered and changed the subject quickly. She hadn't been ready to admit to herself back then that she did hold strong feelings for Harry, but now she was because she wasn't sure how much longer she could last without being more than a friend to him. Every time he was close to her, she couldn't think straight and she couldn't keep her eyes away from him. "Thank you," She whispered back to Ainsley before they all made themselves comfortable in the Charms room, as the class went on Eleanor found herself already being able to perform the incantation to lift the anvils on her second try. Soon after that it was both Ainsley and Hermione correctly performing the charm, she smiled at her sister proudly as Charms just seemed to fit them both better than other classes. A few of the other students managed to perform the charm as well before the class ended and they were dismissed for lunch, for Eleanor couldn't wait for. So she packed up her belongings and waited for the group before heading towards the Great Hall, "I'm ready for lunch." She smiled as she walked beside her twin through the crowd of other students.

Once she walked into the Great Hall, a smile was quick to form across her face when her eyes landed on a familiar blonde girl waiting for them patiently. "Look who's already here for you," She whispered to Ainsley as they all made their way to where Luna was sitting, she couldn't help but tease her sister about the blonde. It was all for fun, fun that maybe only Eleanor felt but it gave her something to tease her sister about. And Eleanor loved to tease Ainsley whenever she got the chance, reaching the table she sat down across from Luna and grabbed Harry's hand so he would have to sit beside her. Once Ron sat beside Harry, it only left two places meaning Ainsley would have to sit next to Luna.

---

Luna smiled when she noticed the group of friends heading over to where she was sitting, she had only just sat down seconds before they entered the Great Hall. "How have classes been for you all?" She asked in her soft voice as they all joined her at the table, she smiled as Ainsley sat down beside her. "It was good actually, a bit boring for the first day back." Hermione commented as it was only boring to her, as she wanted to get right into the harder parts for the subjects but sadly the Professor's were all giving them a break on the first day back. "I found today to be very pleasant in deed, everyone has been behaving and are acting nice." Luna smiled as the food appeared on the table in front of them, it all looked delicious so she didn't waste anytime in filling her plate with all the different foods that were being offered to them. It seemed like she wasn't the only one who was hungry, as Ron was doing the same thing with his plate and Eleanor wasn't too far behind.

"How was Charms?" Luna asked Ainsley as the others broke off into their own conversations, but Luna was more interested in Ainsley and talking with her before they had another class but then they would be able to have free time and that is what Luna was looking forward to. If she was able to spend more time with Ainsley, however if she couldn't then it wouldn't bother her considering how many classes they were sharing this year.

Ainsley grinned as she sat down next to Luna, reaching for an apple that was in one of the fruit bowls. She took a large bite, the flavor dripping into her mouth as she answered Luna's question: "classes have been great! Charms was a lot of fun," she proclaimed before taking another bite of her apple. "Though I must agree that I can't wait until the professors get into the more interesting things. But it does very much seem like everyone else is enjoying themselves!" Ainsley loved to see the other students eager to learn about magic, it made it seem like the hard work was more enjoyable, because there were other people who were also excited to learn it. Ainsley took another large bite of her apple, and continued to listen to the conversations around her. She smiled at Luna, excited for what the rest of the year would bring the two of them.

"Hey," she said, taking another peek at her schedule. "We both have a small break after these next two classes, you want to go meet down by the lake like we were supposed to this morning? It's beautiful down there, especially once the leaves start changing colors, which will definitely happen in the next month. But right now it's lush and green, and just as beautiful." Ainsley hoped the blonde would say yes, as she thought it would be the perfect place to spend a portion of their afternoon together.



Harry smiled as Eleanor took his hand, he entwined his fingers with her and squeezed slightly, sitting down next to her at lunch and grabbing one of the pre-made turkey sandwiches from the platter. "You were brilliant in Charms," Harry told her quietly. "You even got it before Hermione, I think that's a new record. You have to be the smartest witch I know." Harry hoped that Eleanor knew he was being sincere, as Harry had never met a witch more impressive than Eleanor. She was beautiful and funny, and also incredibly smart, a whole perfect package. He hoped Hermione couldn't hear him, because he didn't know how she would react to knowing she had such tough competition. Luckily, even when Hermione did compete, it was always in good fun.

Unfortunately, lunch was almost over, and that would mean going back to classes and having less time to spend with his group. At least Eleanor was in his house, so they shared almost every single class together, and then they got to go back to the common rooms and hang out, without having to find somewhere else. Harry hated how only the corresponding house could stay in their common room -- he would have loved to invite Ainsley and Luna along to sit with them and play games and joke and laugh, but instead, they had to find a place on grounds that was neutral territory. He didn't think it was fair.

Luna smiled as she liked hearing about how Ainsley was going with her classes, of course she knew about most of the classes that they shared together. But she could just listen to her voice for hours on end and would enjoy every second of it, Ainsley's voice truly was music to Luna's ears and being in her presence was calming for the blonde. "Or do you wish the Professor's would bring up the harder subjects, so you can show off how amazing you are." Luna smiled in a teasing way as her attention was solely on the brunette now, she had lowered her voice as she only wanted Ainsley to be listening to her words. She knew exactly how smart she was, if Ainsley knew was something that Luna wasn't certain on but it was pretty obvious that both the twins were some of the smartest students in Hogwarts.

"I would very much enjoy that, I do love seeing the lake in all the different seasons. I find it peaceful there and I can think without anyone bothering me," Luna smiled at Ainsley as Luna often visited the lake, it was a spot within the Hogwarts ground that she felt the most at ease. She first found the lake in her first year and has constantly returned to the lake, but now she would be able to enjoy the space along with Ainsley which was going to be even more special to her.

---

A warm pink blush was quick to tint Eleanor's cheeks as Harry gave her a compliment, at first she wasn't sure what to say back to him. She didn't want him to see that she was blushing but she did want to look at him, so she turned to face him. "It wasn't that good, Harry. Besides Hermione got the charm seconds after I did," She did know that she was smart but she didn't believe she was smarter than someone like Hermione, she loved Charms and got lucky today in class. She grabbed a bowl of chicken salad for lunch as she wished her flushed face would lessen, but the warmth still marked her skin.

"But thank you," She whispered to him, just loud enough for him to hear before she begun to eat her salad. "Today has gone so quickly, we only have two more classes left." She glanced at Harry as Ron was talking to Hermione about something, and Ainsley was talking with Luna already. "Maybe after classes are finished, we could take a walk around the grounds? Just the two of us," Eleanor was nervous and it was clear in her voice that she was, she didn't have much experience with boys. In fact she hadn't had a boyfriend yet, she had been on a few dates that never went well so she didn't plan anymore with those boys. But she got along with Harry as friends, so hopefully things could continue and blossom into something more.