Logan walked down to the kitchen, carrying Peeta as he went. He was feeling rather hungry today, and felt like having a little something to eat.

After tickling the pear, Logan made his way into the kitchen. Peeta hopped out of Logan's arms and walked around, sniffing at everything. Logan put his hands on his hips and looked around, realizing he had no idea how to cook cookies. His hands dropped to his sides as he frowned. He sighed, looking around for anyone that maybe could cook for him. He bounced on his heels, humming a tune to himself as he looked for any familiar faces...that could cook of course.

Lewis had looked EVERYWHERE for Vanilla. Everywhere. Or well, anywhere he could think of. And he really had no idea why she'd left the Hufflepuff Common Room in the first place. It was so unlike her to...well, move. It made absolutely no sense. And the term was almost over and he still hadn't found her. He couldn't just leave her here at Hogwarts. What if something had happened to her! He couldn't look Valerie in the eye ever again. And he'd miss Vanilla like crazy.

Chewing on his lower lip, a look of pure concern plastered across his face, Lewis made his way back to his Common Room when he remembered one place he hadn't looked. One place which was - now that he got to think of it - pretty likely she could be: the Kitchen. Only he still didn't quite know how to get in there. Something about...a painting. Huh.

So instead of going into the Common Room, Lewis turned back around and walked down the corridor again, heading for the kitchen. He had started to rub his temples, feeling another headache coming on, trying to remember how to get into the kitchen. What would make sense...? What kinds of paintings could there be? Did he have to ask somebod-

STARE!

Lewis had stopped dead in his tracks as soon as he saw who was standing right there in front of a painting. Kurumi. And she had..."Vanilla!" He exclaimed in surprise before he could stop himself and took a couple of steps towards the two. Then he halted again, his eyes on Kurumi a little warily. But Treyen had said she COULDN'T remember. Not that she didn't want to...not that that made it any less awkward or complicated.

Back to chewing on his lip again he took another hesitant step towards the Gryffindor, feeling a blush coming on but doing his best to ignore it. "H-hi." So what...did they do now? How could she not remember about what had happened? Would she ever? Did she want to?

The Gryffindor was beginning to think that this had been a rather foolish idea waiting outside the kitchens like she was. Hogwarts was huge and she could be here for hours before the right person walked by. Vanilla didn't seem to think Kurumi was making a mistake, if the cat's purring was any indication that is. She was still confused as to why Vanilla had come to her in the first place. Walnut, whenever he had run off, didn't usually go into the other common rooms to lounge. Well, he had done that once to go see Evelyn, but that was because he had taken a strong liking to the Slytherin.

Sighing, Kurumi was just about to give up and settle for leaving Lewis a note when she heard footsteps echoing down the corridor and her eyes followed to see that it was just who she had been waiting for. "Lewis..." she said a little breathlessly as emotions unknown to her flashed across her violet eyes. Her fingers tugged on her lips softly as a flash of something brightened her memory. But as quickly as it had appeared, it was gone. Still, this did not stop her own eyes from gazing at Lewis' lips for just a brief moment as something within the Gryffindor was triggered. The room felt suffocating again and they had only been relatively close to each other for no more than a minute.

Of course, his attention was first drawn towards his cat, and Kurumi took the steps forward that he seemed unable to so that she was standing close enough now to pass Vanilla off. "She...was in my room this morning and wouldn't leave unless I was with her," the Gryffindor blushed, averting her attention from Lewis' eyes for just a moment to look at the cat in her arms before bringing them back up to meet his gaze. "I didn't know that she liked me that much."

There was a sort of long awkward pause as the two stood there. In fact, the only breathing creature that didn't seemed bothered by this was Vanilla herself and it made Kurumi giggle softly under her breath.

Her eyes never really left his, and it was as if she were searching for some sort of answer. Just what sort of answer to what question was beyond her. There were so many questions right now. So many things that needed an answer. Answers that neither of them had right now.

"I should...give her back to you..." Kurumi said as she extended her arms towards Lewis, an obvious pink glow to her pale features.

Lewis couldn't stop himself from glancing at her lips for a moment, the way she kept on tugging on them catching his attention. "Hi." He probably stared at them for a moment too long before he swallowed hard and glanced back up at eyes. Just in time to see...something flashing across them. Something that made him narrow his eyes a little in confusion. This didn't make any sense. And he wasn't entirely sure he had actually seen what he thought he'd seen.

Maybe that had just been wishful thinking. She still didn't remember, did she?

When Kurumi took another few steps towards him, successfully bringing them close enough for his breathing to become a little uneven. Some part of him wanted to take a step back but then again...he WANTED her to remember. Was there any way he could make her remember? Maybe it was a selfish thought but he was beyond caring right now. This was not right. He deserved...well, what did he deserve? A decent chance?

His attention was back on Vanilla again as he heard what Kurumi said next. She'd been in Kurumi's room?! How had she got up there? And why? "Yes...she's a clever cat." Lewis replied with a small smile, a little lost in thought, before realizing what he'd just said and glancing up at her sharply. "I-I just meant...I'm sure she came to you because she knew you'd bring her back to me." Lewis blushed a little, his eyes still on the cat in her arms.

No. That was not what he'd meant at all. But he just couldn't get himself to tell her that what he'd meant was that Vanilla sometimes did what...Lewis wanted to do.

Surprised to hear her giggle all of a sudden, Lewis glanced back up at Kurumi to meet her gaze again. He wasn't quite sure what was funny but he found himself smiling a little nonetheless. Even though he felt his heart breaking just a little to know that she didn't remember. Not a single thing apparently. Only he wasn't sure what to do about that or how to act around her now.

"Right." He took another step forward to take Vanilla from her. His hand accidentally brushed against hers when he did so, and he bit his lip to keep his emotions under control. "T-thank you." Lewis muttered once the cat was safely back in his arms, not seeming to be bothered too much by all of this but instead just proceeding to purr contently.

He really sometimes wished he was a cat. Life would be so much easier.

Ella was dying for some ice cream. She had been reading all day, promising herself that if she finished her work she could have some chocolatey goodness for a reward. Having successfully finished all her homework, it was about that time! Bouncing as she walked, Ella arrived at the kitchen and tickled the pear to enter. Her eyes went immediately to the fridge where she knew giant tubs of ice cream sat waiting for her. YUM!

She hadn't been paying attention, her mind only focused on getting chocolate into her system like now, and she had walking directly into someone. "Oh! I'm so sorry." She said, rubbing the shoulder that had collided with this mystery person. "You're not hurt are you?" The first year asked, still looking down at her own arm.

Thankfully, Kurumi didn't notice Lewis glance downwards at her lips. Or maybe it would have been better if she had noticed because she continued to trace them with her finger - especially her bottom lip for some reason. There was something there, some sort of touch, a feeling, something that was trapped in the corners of her mind fighting to get out. Or so her feelings were shouting at her. Her cheeks flushed again, and she forced herself to look at Vanilla for a moment. Something in the way Lewis was looking at her...was making her uncomfortable for all the right reasons.

"I just hope she doesn't take her cleverness and become another Walnut," she smiled, inhaling sharply at his next comment. His cat wanted Kurumi to bring the one to bring her back to him? Why would she do that? Kurumi studied Lewis for a moment, noticing the look of confusion that had now faded to a smile accompanied by a blush. Walnut sometimes did that too. Leading Kurumi to places and people when she needed them the most. It was actually how she had found the Room of Requirement back in her first year, following Walnut. Clearly, one (or all three of them) felt that it was about time they were back together.

Kurumi had been avoiding Lewis, rather half-heartedly, since her chat with Treyen. It was just too awkward to be around Lewis, when he knew something that she didn't. Something that she had a hard time believing had actually happened because of her strong feelings for Jonathan. She didn't want to mess that up. The Slytherin had been one of the best things to happen to her at Hogwarts. So...why would she...

When Lewis' hands gently brushed against hers as he took Vanilla from her, she felt as if a jolt of electricity had just shot through her entire body and her right hand acted on its own accord and grabbed hold of his hand softly. She stayed that way, just for a moment, before removing her hand and allowing him to take back what was his. Vanilla looked happy, back in his arms. That was good. Maybe this meant that she would keep to her own common room from now on?

Not that she really minded the situation the feline had caused right now. She was rather grateful to be honest.

Kurumi shuffled her feet and looked towards the still-life painting. She slowing reached out and tickled the pear in it delicately with her finger, looking back at Lewis over her shoulder as the door to the kitchen was revealed and opened. "Lewis..." she said softly, turning her entire body to look at him now. Her palms were sweating just a bit as she pondered her next thoughts, wondering if it was a mistake but deciding to trust her instincts. "Do you want to...join me?" Her head looking down towards the ground again and the prefect chewed on her bottom lip for a few moments before looking up at him with almost pleading eyes. Her hand twitched, moving as if it were about to reach out for his hand, but instead remained by her side. "...please...?"

Logan was about to leave when someone ran into him. He stumbled a little, but caught himself. "I'm fine." he said, turning around ready to yell at the person to watch where they're going when he noticed it was Ella. "Ella?" he asked. "A-are you okay?!"

Uh-oh. Whoever this was, they sounded quite peeved. Ella frowned, continuing to rub her shoulder. "Good. I mean-I'm glad you're oka-" But then this person was saying her name. She glanced up curiously and looking back at her was Logan. "Logan. Hi! Erm-sorry about that." Meaning bulldozing over him in her food frenzy. The first year looked at the gryffindor rather sheepishly, hoping he wasn't cross with her. "Me? I-I'll be fine." Smiling at him, she nodded towards the freezer. "To tell you the truth I was on an ice cream mission." And he couldn't be mad at her for that, right?

"It's okay, don't worry about it." he said, waving a hand. He then smiled. "That's good to know." he said, then glancing at the freezer and then back at her. "Ice cream mission, eh?" he asked. "Well, I can understand the rush then." he said grinning.

He wasn't hurt or mad. Good. A wide smile spread across her face when he mentioned her little mission. "I knew you would understand!" The badger said happily, the bounce returning to her step. "And what were you doing down here? Stealing sweets?!" She crossed her arms, looking at him as though he was a suspect in some sort of crime drama. She couldn't hold the serious face for long, cracking a grin at him.

Become another Walnut? That made him smile again to himself, a little sadly maybe, his eyes still on the cat in Kurumi's arms. He still sort of suspected him being the actual reason Vanilla had found herself in the Gryffindor Common Room. "Maybe he can teach her..." Lewis muttered without really thinking about it, only glancing back up at her when he heard inhale sharply. What had he said? "W-well, since you're my friend and all." Okay, he was probably making things worse. Sometimes it was better to just keep your mouth shut.

Especially because this only brought back memories about another conversation about them being friends...or not friends. No, more than friends somehow. Only she wouldn't remember that, would she? No, of course she wouldn't.

Lewis really wanted to know what was going on inside Kurumi's head. Especially after Treyen had informed her about...what had happened. Was she glad she didn't remember? Did she have any regrets about what happened? Did she even BELIEVE that it had happened? Would she do it again? Did she want to remember everything again? And what would she say if she did? What would happen if she did? Would it...change things? And most of all would it change things for the better?

He froze when all of a sudden Kurumi grabbed hold of his hand, and he just for a second before looking up to meet her gaze, clearly confused. "Kurumi...what..." Did she remember? Was that why she'd grabbed his hand? But then the moment was over and she let go of him again, causing him to sigh - almost a little defeatedly. No, that would have been too much to wish for, right? To hide the display of emotions probably currently in his eyes, Lewis looked back down at Vanilla, stroking her behind her ears a little absentmindedly. It was good to have her back. It really was. If only it would have caused Kurumi to remember too.

The way she said his name made him close his eyes for a moment, trying hard not to allow his thoughts to wander again. Which was working surprisingly well...or at least well enough until he heard her next words. Her question. And how she added the please at the end. It was just too...painfully familiar. Opening his eyes again, he looked up at her face again and debated for a moment whether or not it would be wise to join her. But then again, he'd stopped doing the 'wise thing' some time ago, hadn't he. He just couldn't say no to her. Not when she looked at him like that. "Sure...why not." He finally replied with a few slow nods before taking a couple of steps past her and towards the open kitchen door.

Today was finally the day he'd be going in there.

Logan laughed. "Of course I would." he said grinning. He then chuckled. "Well, I was gonna cook something sweet. But when I got here, I remembered I can't cook." he said blushing and looking at the ground. "So I was about to head back to the common room when I ran into you!" he said, hearing a loud thump. He turned around to see that Peeta had fallen into the bag of flour. "Oh no, Peeta!" he said, running up to the flour bag. Peeta poked his head out of the flour and sneezed loudly, causing flour to fly everywhere. "What were you doing, silly?" he asked, lifting the kitten out of the flour bag. He then saw a little spider scuttling about on the floor. That was probably what Peeta was after. Logan quickly ran back to Ella, not wanting to be near the spider.

"Sillly cat. I think he was chasing that spider back there and fell in the bag of flour." he said to Ella, laughing and shaking his head. He jumped a little as Peeta sneezed again and shook himself, a little bit of flour coming off. Logan dusted the rest of the flour off of Peeta and set him on the ground. "Now stay close to me, okay? And behave." he said smiling at the cat.

Okay, so maybe she shouldn't have inhaled like that. The look of confusion on Lewis' face cause her to chew on the inside of her cheek and look away from him for just a moment. She managed a giggle at his suggestion about Walnut teaching Vanilla a thing or two. That really was the last thing that Hogwarts needed right now were two mischievous cats wandering around the castle, peeing on things that displeased them and thinking they own the place. "I'm sure they would make a lovely couple," she replied, her eyes more on Vanilla than Lewis at the moment. "Just like us." Her eyes widened and they flew to Lewis', reading his expression after he had called them friends. Why was this sort of familiar. And what had she just said? She instinctively licked her lips for a moment and tried to refocus herself.

Why were her lips burning?

"I, um, right, that's what I meant...," she stammered, her right hand going to her temple as if she were experiencing a severe headache. It wasn't like the memories were suppressed in her subconscious, assuming that they were there to begin with, but it was literally like someone had taken a pair of scissors to the canvas of her mind and cut out bits and pieces of them. Borrowed them for their own selfish purposes and left her scrapping the edges of nothing to try and fill in the gaps.

Her eyes met his again when he said her name and she tried her best to blink away the confusion from her eyes, but it didn't work too well. Having these intense and confusing emotions with nothing to attach them too was horrible. It was the worst form of torture possible...only it had to be worse for him. Treyen had made it seem that way at least. Maybe...she shouldn't have...

But he had already accepted her invitation to join her, so there would be no backward glances. Still, the way his eyes had closed just now, not allowing her to see what he was feeling, was a signal to her that she really was torturing him. She felt the need to apologize to him, just what for specifically she was not sure. She stood very still as he walked past her and into the kitchen. It would be best to just act normal, right? Embrace the fact that she didn't have any real recollection of what she had been told had happened. But, seeing the look in Lewis' eyes - the one he was trying to hide from her and not doing a very good job at - broke her heart.

Still, she followed close behind him, shutting the door behind and looked forward to see several house elves running around preparing for that night's dinner.

"Oh! Long time since Miss Kurumi brings friendsies to us," squeaked a house elf as he scurried by the pair. "Will Miss Kurumi be needing her things?"

"Hello, Snickle," she said with a small bow towards the creature. "I-If it wouldn't be too much trouble." She really didn't mind getting her usual baking things on her own if the house elf was too busy.

Ella listened to Logan, a smile plastered on her face, her head cocked to the side. He just looked so very cute standing there, explaining himself to her. The first year reached for his hand when he looked at the ground blushing, not knowing exactly why she had done it. "I-well I can't really cook either. Mom said she was going to teach me but...well you know." And no, Ella didn't want to chat about her mother, not now anyway. She was about to correct him, stating that she had infact bumped into him when a loud noise startled her. She jumped back a step, letting go of Logan's hand. She was relieved to see it was only Peeta, covered in flour, the sight of which caused her to giggle loudly. "That is adorable!" Meaning the cat and the little kitten sneeze. D'awwww. Though Logan rescuing Peeta was quite cute too! Ella looked at Logan curiously as her ran back over to her, wondering what had caused his quick exit.

"A-a spider?" Ella said, instinctively standing on her tiptoes and peering over Logan to look at the bag of flower. "I hope it's gone now." Cause Ella HATED spiders. Though Peeta's next sneeze eased her mind and she looked down at the cat, smiling fondly at the creature. "He's quite the trouble maker, isn't he?" She asked, smirking at Logan. She then knelt down to pet him between his ears, smiling. "But you're terribly cute and that makes up for it, doesn't it?"

A lovely couple. Vanilla and Walnut. Yes, at least one person in his family would get a happily-ever-after then. He still couldn't help but smile some more at this suggestion, though. It would be rather cute, wouldn't it. Maybe they could have little kitties and that would give him a really good excuse to see Kurumi once in a whi-

Lewis was pulled out of his reverie quite suddenly. "What?!" He said, his voice barely above a whisper as he just stared at her for a moment, clearly not quite believing what he'd just heard. Had she meant what he thought she'd meant? Though judging by the shocked look on her face, which was quite accurately reflected on his own, she did. "W-why would you say that?" It usually went against his nature to ask questions which made situations even more awkward than they already were but he just had to know. Where had that thought come from?! Was she remembering after all? Though even if she did, that still wouldn't explain where THAT thought had come from.

He swallowed when she licked her lips but couldn't stop himself from staring at them as if in trance. What would happen if he just reached out and touched them? Feel them against his fingers, feel them against his lips...Lewis didn't even look back up right away when she tried to correct herself. "Of course you did." He muttered more to himself than to her as she finally did glance up at her eyes for a moment before quickly averting his gaze back down at Vanilla.

The way she kept saying things - saying things that had a special connotation to him but to her seemed to come out of the blue - made him want to scream in frustration. It was sheer torture and she didn't even do it on purpose so he couldn't really be mad at her. No, he was mad at...her brain? Or whatever was responsible for her forgetting what had happened. If she told him that she thought that it was wrong what they did and that it could never happen again, then it probably would have been a lot easier for him to live with than...this. Getting his hopes up only to have them crushed again a second later.

Yes, this was definitely worst.

Hugging Vanilla against his chest as if she was able to mend his broken heart, Lewis finally stepped into the kitchen. He heard - and felt - Kurumi follow close behind and close the door behind them. The kitchen was...huge. It was amazing. How could he not have come here sooner? When one of the house elves addressed Kurumi he even managed a smile for it. "Hello." He greeted it politely, shifting Vanilla a little in his arms. She was getting pretty heavy, but he was pretty sure the house elves wouldn't like for her to run around freely here.

Lewis barely resisted the urge to groan when even the house elf called them 'friends' but instead he just closed his eyes for a moment again and took another set of deep breaths. It wasn't the house elf's fault or anything after all. And they kind of WERE friends, weren't they? At least he still hoped they were. Friends. For now.

Accepting a small box from the house elf as he popped back beside her, Kurumi chewed on her bottom lip some more when Lewis asked the very same question that she had been asking herself since the words had somehow slipped out of her mouth. Why HAD she just said that. Would he hate her for not having a reason? Because it was the truth. She didn't know. She wished she could put the focus back on their cats and away from...them. Was there even a them? Kurumi didn't know how far that evening in the Owlery had gone, but it had gone far enough that Treyen was mad at her. And Treyen was NEVER mad at the Gryffindor.

"I...don't know, Lewis," she said, meeting his gaze again and her cheeks flushing a deep pink color. Hopefully her eyes conveyed that she was being honest. She wanted to add that it was just a feeling. Something inside that told her it was true, but that was only going to complicate things. Besides, she was already with someone, and that someone made her feel amazing. But so did spending time with Lewis. Her eyes didn't leave his, so she caught his glance down at her lips and she subconsciously took a tiny step backwards. So...it WAS true then. That the kiss had happened. "N-N-Nevermind..."

Chewing on her lip some more, Kurumi walked over to the counter behind Lewis and set the box down before taking her notebook out from under her arm. She had come here to make something...but now she couldn't remember what it was she had come here for in the first place. Kurumi opened up her calendar to see if there was some sort of hint there as to what she had wanted to so, but saw nothing besides the number 16 written on May 12th and a small balloon in the bottom corner of the day.

She was almost afraid to look at Lewis, feeling the tension in the room and the tug in her chest every time she did so, but she managed to make herself do so. No, make wasn't the right word there either. Nothing was ever really forced with Lewis. So, the looked up at him again, with a faint smile on her lips - trying to put on a brave face for whatever unknown it was the lay between them right now.

Change of topic? Yes?

"H-Have you ever baked anything before?"

Smooth transition? Hardly, but hopefully it would serve its purpose of being a mild distraction. Her eyes fell on Vanilla and then back up to Lewis' face. "I think it would be alright for you to put her down," she nodded. "You won't be able to use her hands if you are holding her." Yes, act normal...try to avoid that conversation for now. Kurumi really couldn't do anything when there were dark spots in her memory, and it wasn't fair not being able to give him an honest answer.

Lewis watched her closely as she tried to come up with an answer to his question. This came as a big surprise and he really had no idea how he should handle this sort of situation. Or any sort of situation involving Kurumi right now. This was just too confusing for words and he regretted having agreed to join her in the kitchen. Was it too late to leave again? Just turn around and pretend he had something else to do. He really should have just left when he had the chance. Left and waited for her to regain her memory.

Though...then what? What would happen if she finally did remember?

He just shook his head a little at her reply. Of course she didn't. How could she. The Hufflepuff however glanced up and met her gaze long enough to see how badly she wanted to remember. How horrible it felt not to. It had to be a scary feeling, knowing that there was something you didn't remember but others did. Blushing when he noticed her catching him looking at her lips, Lewis himself took a step back too. "Oh...I'm sorry." What was WRONG with him?! He shouldn't be thinking about things like that. He should be trying to help Kurumi get her memory back.

Only how?

Vanilla was so engrossed in staring at all the different kinds of yummy food that she'd even forgotten to purr. Lewis couldn't help but sympathize with her reaction though. The kitchen WAS amazing. He already knew where he would be spending most of next term. And if he wasn't quick enough he knew he would be accompanied by a huge cat every time too. Not that he minded. Though, the house elves might.

Lewis turned back around to Kurumi when she spoke up again, meeting her gaze silently for a moment. The way she even smiled at him, caused him to avert his gaze elsewhere though, as he tried to hide the look of hurt that flashed across his face from her. He really didn't want her to see what she did to him right now. It would be as if he blamed her. And he didn't. It wasn't her fault.

Glad for the subject change he just nodded at first before realizing that he should probably help her move the conversation forward a little. "Y-yes. I have...I'm not very good at it though." Surprisingly so, seeing as he was pretty good at cooking. His eyes on the box the house elf had got her Lewis added after a short pause, "You going to bake something?" Was this what she had come here for? Only why would she want him to join her then? Wouldn't he just be in the way?

His eyes followed her gaze back down to Vanilla and he just looked at the cat for a moment. Somehow letting go of her made him feel so vulnerable, so exposed but Kurumi was probably right. He wouldn't be much use when he wasn't able to use his hands. So finally he crouched down and put Vanilla down who immediately went of sniffing at something one of the house elves had dropped. Meanwhile Lewis had got up again and now just stood there, hovering on the spot a little awkwardly, watching Kurumi and biting his lip.

What now?

Kurumi bit her lip, subconsciously, when Lewis apologized to her. He really didn't have a reason to. Wasn't this all her fault? If Treyen was right, which he almost always was, Kurumi had blocked it...by choice. Her heart stung a little, thinking about that. She somehow knew that this wasn't true. She was sure that she would have remembered something like...a kiss...and her eyes even trailed downwards on to Lewis' lips, lingering there for just a moment before shaking her head. "No...I'm the one who should be sorry," she pouted, her eyes lifting upwards to meet his green gaze again. Kurumi hated this. Seeing him hurt because of her.

She bit her lip again and turned her gaze down towards the floor.

"M-Maybe it would be better if..." But her sentence was interrupted by a certain feline who had been released. Vanilla rubbed up against Kurumi's legs and began to purr loudly. Cats were good at reading people, distracting them from thoughts and things they were going to do. Perhaps Vanilla had sensed that what Kurumi was about to say wasn't what she really wanted? Or perhaps it was more not what Lewis wanted? Either way, Kurumi hadn't finished her thought and was instead giggling as Vanilla begged for attention.

She crouched down to scratch Vanilla behind the ears and looked up when Lewis spoke again. She smiled, thankful that the conversation had moved along a bit. Maybe they could both...just forget for a moment. Go back to how things had been before. Something inside Kurumi stirred that that thought. There was no going back now. "Well, as long as you don't burn the kitchen down we won't have a problem," she laughed, trying to keep the conversation at least somewhat light. "Next to the common room, this is the place I spend the most time." Her smile softened a bit more, as did her eyes as the confusion lessened - but not because it wasn't there inside. "Baking...is a passion of mine. A reminder that I am more than just a witch. Something that..." makes me feel connected to my mother. She bit her lip again, hopefully preventing Lewis from seeing the slight quivering that happened.

She stood up now, leaving Vanilla to do whatever it was she was going to do, and picked up her cooking recipe book again. "I...think I was," she said, confusion back on her face. All the signs were pointing to her doing so at least. Only...she couldn't remember what she wanted to bake. "I...usually come here to bake for birthdays...but...the only one on my calendar is...mine." There were a few bookmarks and notes on various chocolate recipes, so she must have been planning on baking something with chocolate while she had been eating breakfast. "Do you...like chocolate?" she asked, looking up at him now and frowning slightly. She really wished that he wouldn't look that way and she really wanted to reach out and take his hand and give it a gentle squeeze. She even move a little to do so, but decided to act upon it by walking up beside him to show him the recipes. "I...I want to make you something, for helping me study for my Potions OWL." Her cheeks were flushing now and her hand pushed some of her long black hair off her neck as she ran her fingers through it. It would be weird of him to help her bake something that was meant for him, wouldn't it? Unless... "You know...you taught me about Potions...so...I could teach you something about baking?"

Was she...? Lewis swallowed hard and licked his lips instinctively as he now caught her looking at his lips. Her gaze made him think back to how her lips had felt against his, and it only resulted in him blushing some more. He really shouldn't be thinking about that, should he? But then again at least one of them should remember. It wasn't something they should both forget. That neither of them should forget. At least that's what he thought.

Now SHE was the one apologizing. He frowned a little in confusion, his eyes not leaving hers as he tried to read them to figure out what she was sorry for. "W-why should you be sorry?" Though, he wasn't entirely sure he really wanted to know the answer to that. What if she was apologizing for the kiss? His mouth had started to twitch again, especially when she started to say something and...never finished. Unfinished sentences seemed to be their thing somehow, huh? Only this time it wasn't his fault she didn't get to finish hers but Vanilla's.

Not that he truly wanted to hear the rest of the sentence.

Lewis looked at Kurumi for a moment longer, mentally debating with himself if he should encourage her to finish her sentence or not. He had absently been staring at the top of her head - as she had crouched down to stroke Vanilla - which was why the first thing that he focused again was her hair. "Your hair...it's back to black." Yes, it probably had already been that way the few times they'd seen each other since the owlery but now was only the first time he'd actually noticed. It was pretty amazing how easily and quickly it could change color.

Moving to lean against one of the nearby counters, he just nodded slowly when she started talking about how much she loved baking. He didn't really know what to do with his hands now that he didn't have anybody anything to hold anymore so one had gone up to his hair, fidgeting around with it nervously. "I-I guess I'll be seeing you around more then next term." Lewis finally commented, not really knowing what else to say and without really thinking about it. He noticed the way she hesitated and then left her sentence open but didn't really know why or what to do about it. So instead he just continued to watch her with just a hint of concern on his face as she finally got back up from her crouch.

Hang on...what?! It took a moment for it to register in his head but when it did Lewis took a small step into her direction, briefly forgetting all about awkwardness and whatever had gone down between them. "It's your birthday?! Today?" And then all of a sudden she was standing next to him showing him her calendar, and there it was...a balloon and the number 16 on today's date. "H-happy Birthday, Kurumi." He said a little anxiously, his eyes flickering back and forth between her face and the calendar a couple of times. Could he...hug her?

He wanted to wish her a Happy Birthday properly, only he didn't quite know if that was okay...or what properly even meant. So instead he just chewed on his lip and nodded when she asked him if he liked chocolate. She wanted to bake him something?! Or teach him how to bake something. Was that a good idea? Lewis glanced around them for a second, trying to buy some time, when his eyes fell on Vanilla who had somehow managed to jump onto the counter and was now staring - or was it glaring? - at him. "S-sure. Sounds good." He finally ended up saying, forcing a smile onto his face as he looked back at Kurumi with another nod.

What could go wrong really? They were surrounded by house elves AND a quite nosy cat.

Kurumi rubbed her neck anxiously, chewing on her lip some more when the question she expected Lewis to ask was uttered. She had an answer for it too, but it would probably only make them both feel worse. No, it would only make Lewis feel worse, wouldn't it? She was the only who only had misplaced emotions swimming around, unable to attach themselves to anything. Maybe she should go to Professor Schirmer, about the whole patches in her memory. Surely there was a charm that could fix this, right? Pulling a few strands of her hair and twisting them around her fingers, Kurumi played with the ends, unable to bring her gaze to look into his green eyes as she said what needed to be said.

"Because...I can't...remember..."

Her voice cracked a bit at this. She wanted to...because it would make things make more sense and maybe she could sort out some of the confusion. Then again, remembering may only complicate things. There were still feelings for Lewis, strong ones, and they were having a hard time attaching themselves to anything...until she looked into his eyes. Then they found their place. But, there were also feelings, very strong ones, for her Slytherin Prince who had finally written her...this morning...on a very important day telling her that he hadn't forgotten her and was thinking about her everyday. Sh tugged on her hair some more, feeling slightly disgusted with herself for letting things get this way.

However, when she looked up again and into Lewis' eyes...those feelings faded and a faint smile tugged at the corners of her lips. He already knew that she wanted to remember, right? That much had been conveyed in her eyes.

Kurumi looked at Lewis with her head cocked to the side like a baby owl and blinked a few times. Her...hair? Was BACK to black?! That meant... Kurumi's eyes widened and she gasped softly when the pieces fell into place. Lewis had seen her when she wasn't in control. When she was vulnerable and weak. She suddenly felt very small and her arms wrapped around herself, as if protecting her from something. "Y-You...saw that...too?" she asked meekly. Not that he really needed to answer that.

She moved just a bit to the side when he leaned against the counter, but her arms didn't unwrap themselves from around her. Nope. They were going to keep acting as a shield for now. "You say that like it's a bad thing," she half teased. About seeing each other more. Maybe it was for him, seeing as she was missing a big part of their relationship...for whatever reason. "N-Not like w-we need the kitchens as an excuse to see each other." Kurumi wouldn't mind a baking buddy after all.

Kurumi was back to chewing on her lip when Lewis wished her a happy birthday, and she suddenly became rather formal and bowed her head modestly in appreciation. "T-Thank you." She pouted her lips for just a moment and shuffled her feet. Lewis was the third person to wish her a Happy Birthday. The first had been Jonathan, which had been a wonderful surprise and brought tears to her eyes. Then Arya, because she had been there when Jonathan's package and letter had been delivered. "I...I don't usually celebrate it...I haven't yet at Hogwarts actually..." Preferred to just let the day go by unnoticed...

It made her wonder when his birthday was. She felt as though that was something that she should know, as a friend...of course. What if she had missed his birthday? She would feel rather awful about that actually. Her eyes went back to Lewis now, noticing the chewing on his lips again. Was there something wrong? Was it about her birthday? "You...you don't need to feel bad about...not knowing," she murmured. "I don't usually tell people." In fact, the balloons and 16 on her calender were the work of her father. Lewis probably remembered him.

Flipping through the recipe book, Kurumi tried to find something chocolate based that didn't seem like it would be too difficult for the two of them to make. Still, something told her that she had come her to make something to do with ice cream...

Lewis just couldn't help it. He had to smile a little when she told him that she was sorry for not remembering. Because that meant two things: 1) She didn't apologize for the kiss and 2) she WANTED to remember it too. Meaning that she wasn't glad she had forgotten, that she didn't regret it. Or not enough to wish to forget about it. It was probably wrong, since she looked extremely upset about it but he just couldn't stop himself from smiling. This was good news. Kind of anyway.

As soon as he realized that he was smiling for completely selfish reasons, his face fell again into a concerned frown as he watched her trying to come up with a solution or at least an explanation to this mess. Kurumi looked confused. Confused and somewhat upset. Which was only understandable seeing as there were chunks of her memory missing...or at least locked away somewhere in the back of her brain. Only why? This didn't make any sense. And seeing her like this was just...well, he could feel a twist in his stomach every time he looked at her.

When she smiled at him all of a sudden, Lewis looked back down, blushing a little. He should tell her that there was no need to apologize. Only...if she stopped he was afraid that she would forget about wanting to remember. And then, maybe she would never remember. So even if it was completely selfish and he hated himself for that he just nodded slowly, more to himself than to her.

OH NO! He knew that look on Kurumi. And he also knew what had caused it. Why had he thought it would be different than last time? At least she didn't turn her back on him now. "I-I did. It was pink...ish. But it's fine, really. I don't care." Okay he had panicked there a little and had just started babbling. The last part could be taken the wrong way, though. Ugh. "I mean...it's...it looks good either way." Lewis finished awkwardly chewing on his lower lip again, this time pointedly not looking at her.

Maybe he shouldn't have brought up the whole hair thing in the first place.

The way she kept hugging herseld, made him want to hug her too. Only of course he did nothing of the like but instead just continued to watch her closely. "What?! No. Not at all. Why would you think that?!" Lewis gaped at her, turning towards her fully as he completely missed the fact that she hadn't been entirely serious. Why would she think that he thought them seeing each other more was a bad thing? That they needed an excuse to see each other? WHAT?!

Her reaction was somewhat...confusing. So he HAD done something wrong. He probably should have hugged her. By not doing anything he'd probably only made things more awkward between them. Why else would she be shuffling her feet like that? "I...I'm sorry, I didn't know if it would be okay to hu-" He trailed off when she went on talking. Oh. Okay, now he just felt a little silly. "Er. Nevermind then." Next topic please. Even though he REALLY didn't get why she didn't like celebrating her birthday. He liked birthdays. So when she went on talking about how he shouldn't feel bad not knowing hers - which he only realized now WAS kind of embarrassing - Lewis shook his head a little. "Why not?" It was probably not a very appropriate question but SHE had brought it up and he really wanted to know what was going on inside her head.

Not only about her birthday but that was a good start.

Shifting a little so he got a closer look at her recipe book, Lewis tried to read all the titles of the pages she flipped through. At some point he just gave up and decided to trust her to choose something. "So...what are we doing? .....baking I mean." He didn't quite know what they were doing so he'd decided to focus on the baking for now.

Kurumi was sort of expecting some sort of verbal response from Lewis after she had spoken, but when nothing came her eyes lifted up to look at him. Seeing him smiling made her heart skip a beat, although she really wasn't sure what he was smiling about. Smiling could only mean good things, yes? Unless that smile was a forced one, in which case Kurumi didn't like that smile. The situation they had found themselves in called for brutal honesty, which the Gryffindor was ashamed that she couldn't give him right now. She wanted to, she really did. Why she just...couldn't.

Biting her lip again, Kurumi tugged on the hem of her uniform's skirt and looked at the ground. "Does...that mean you accept my apology?" Because having Lewis mad at her too was too much to bear. Knowing Treyen was slightly furious with her was hard enough. Her shoulders trembled just a bit, thinking about the possible answers Lewis could give. He DID smile...

But then the conversation was back on her hair and her hands moved towards the hood of her robes, pulling it up halfway before Lewis could finish his sentence. Pink? It had turned...pink. Kurumi knew what that meant, and she chewed on the inside of her cheeks as her stomach tied in knots some more. "Oh..." she finally said, her hood still halfway covering her head. "I-I-It does that..." Obviously. "Did we...did we talk about this too?" Meaning her hair and why she could do what she did. Her eyes drifted innocently from the tips of her hair over to Lewis. She was reaching out right now. Reaching out to try and fill in the gaps that were missing, starting with the small things.

Kurumi found herself a bit surprised by his reaction and her eyes widened and jaw dropped as he turned around and practically flailed in her face. Still, his reaction brought a smile to her face and she couldn't help but giggle softly. "Lewis...I was joking," she said, the tension in the air becoming a little less crisp. She tucked a strand of black hair behind her ear and took a few more steps closer to him.

Only to stop a bit when he began stammering again. Birthday conversation...right. Kurumi frowned slightly, more at the thought of her birthday than what Lewis was actually saying, but found herself confused with what he was asking. "If you could..." she trailed off for a moment and swallowed. He really didn't leave much room for error with what he was about to say. "...hug me?" Kurumi wasn't entirely sure that was a good idea, all things considered, and Lewis seemed to sort of agree with it when he waved his comment off and continued to talk. "I've just...never seen it as something to celebrate," she shrugged, her eyes looking down at the ground now. "Things are...different now...at Hogwarts...but...growing up, well, my existence was something that only my family seemed to be happy about." And even then not everyone seemed to celebrate. "I guess I just never really got over that..." All the bullying that is.

She looked back up at Lewis again, violet eyes meeting his green ones, and she put on her best brave Gryffindor face. "I'm fine, really, just pretending like it is any other day." She had managed so far. Why change anything? "But...what about you?" she asked, turning to the side a bit to look at her recipe book on the counter a little better. "The way you spoke when we first met about your home made it seem so warm...I bet you have amazing birthday celebrations." Something that Kurumi had been jealous of when they had first met. How much Lewis seemed to miss and love what he was leaving behind.

Her eyes were back on the recipe book now, flipping through the pages until she found a chocolate recipe that seemed appealing. "How about..." she said, sharply turning her head to look back at him, only to find that he was leaning over so much to look at her notebook that his face was close, very close, close enough that she could almost feel his breath on her face. "...this..." She swallowed, her finger pointing to the recipe for a chocolate ice cream cake and cookies, but her eyes obviously not looking there.

"Accept your apology?" Lewis echoed, giving her a rather confused look. Okay, now was the time that she shouldn't even be apologizing in the first place. That it wasn't her fault. Only he couldn't. Because he was selfish. And afraid that she would stop trying if he told her that. "S-sure. I just...just don't-" He ended up averting his gaze away from her again, shaking his head a little and chewing on his lip. "Just don't give up trying." He muttered, not sure if she heard him or not but not really caring either.

But yes, that was his main concern. That at some point she would just think it wasn't worth remembering.

When she started pulling her hood over her head, Lewis actually reached out to try and stop her. "Not this again..." In the end he stopped himself just before touching her and let his hands drop to his sides again, another flash of hurt visible in his eyes for a second. So she would still try and hide her hair from him. Even if it was its usual color like it was today. Didn't she see that he really didn't care what color her hair had?!

Though, why would her reaction have changed. She didn't remember the conversation they'd had. "A...little, yes." They'd talked about why she was ashamed and he'd told her that she had absolutely no reason to be. Should he tell her all of that again? Lewis' eyes were now on the hood which was half-covering her head, and they narrowed a little almost as if all of this was the hood's fault. "Please take off your hood again." He finally said softly, still not meeting her gaze and back to chewing on his lower lip again absently.

"Oh." Lewis blushed quite furiously as she told him that she'd been joking. Right, of course she had been. Why was it so hard to understand what was going on sometimes? Like now. With her birthday. Blushing some more, he just shrugged a little vaguely, still not looking at her when she finished his sentence. "I'm not...I'm just not very good at this." Whatever THIS was. All of this was new to him. And the fact that she'd lost all recollection whatsoever about what had happened in the owlery wasn't exactly helping.

Hearing Kurumi go on about why she didn't like celebrating her birthday, Lewis looked back up again and met her gaze. "Well. I'm sure there are a lot of people who're happy about your existence now." He chose his words carefully, watching her face to see her reaction. He didn't want to upset her further after all. But for him it just felt wrong to ignore your birthday. It meant you were a year older now, a year closer to...yes, a year closer to what actually? And now they were talking about him? "I like my birthday. I get cake." And weird presents from his brothers but he usually chose to ignore those. He smiled a little thinking about his previous birthdays and how his next one was going to be his 17th already. Scary really. "I got Vanilla for my 5th birthday." He offered with a nod towards the hairball, who was by now sitting on the counter pretty close to them, watching them closely.

Seriously, what was up with her anyway?!

Finally getting the chance to read through a page - or at least the title - of the recipe book, Lewis nodded slowly. "Sounds...good." Just like her he trailed off when he glanced back up, finding her way too close, way closer than they should be. Or should they be? Swallowing hard, the Hufflepuff started sucking on his own lip a little nervously while his heart started beating like crazy. He froze, staring right back into her eyes, this situation way too familiar - for him at least - but he still didn't know how to react. It was different every time.

Before he got the chance to do or say anything, though, he felt a little bump on his elbow which caused him to look away from Kurumi again. Vanilla had decided now was a good time to bump her head against his arm. Taking a deep breath and without looking back up he nodded once more and repeated what he'd said earlier. "Sure, sounds good." He could feel the heat in his cheeks but he was in no way going to comment on it or do anything about it. This...would only complicate things further, right?

Kurumi's face brightened considerably when Lewis said he accepted her apology, for what it was worth anyway. His tone didn't sound very happy though and it stopped Kurumi's forward movement towards him. She really hated seeing him looking like that. Before she had disliked him being too awkward around her, and the part of her memory that was missing now knew why he had been that way, but now she hated seeing the look in his eyes as if someone had just kicked a cruppy. His next words, while barely audible, still caught the Gryffindor's attention and her hand reached out for his, giving it a gentle squeeze before meeting his gaze. "I Promise."

Because Lewis deserved that much. And so did she.

Kurumi wouldn't admit this to Lewis, or anyone for that matter, but she was afraid or getting that moment back. The way she was now, confused feelings for Lewis aside, was...content. Jonathan had written her and he would be coming back soon. It was everything she had ever hoped for. Everything she thought that she wanted. Losing all that, having it all turned upside down, was scary. Jonathan had been a constant for her when everything was crashing down around her. He was someone she had always depended on...but that had changed. Lewis had been there for her this term as well and was there for her when she needed someone the most. So, in this very moment, holding his hand in hers, something within the Gryffindor told her that being afraid was not a good enough excuse. It was something she had to do.

"Treyen...is upset with me...about all this," she said suddenly, biting down on her lip as she looked at their hands. Which implied that she knew Lewis had spoken to Treyen about it. She squeezed his hand again, as another form of apology.

Kurumi dropped their hands now when Lewis asked, no, when he begged for her to take her hood off. She did so, rather sheepishly, and then flattened her bangs with both her hands. Wait...had he just said... "Again?" she asked, noting the hurt in his eyes when he said that. Kurumi's hand recoiled to her chest and she whimpered softly under her breath. She.Hated.THIS. "Lewis...I..." she started. Did she need to explain again? She probably had already, yeah? That would explain why he looked so sad just now. "I...won't do it again..." As long as she remembered anyway. "I just...I don't like being a walking mood ring..."

He could understand that, right?

Her hands felt empty, now that she had let go of Lewis' hand, but maybe it was better this way? Her eyes stayed on his hand for a moment longer before she met his eyes again, or, erm, tried to since he was sort of avoiding eye contact. "For...what it's worth...I think you are doing just fine," she said as another rosy glow appeared on her cheeks. You know, with whatever it was THIS was. Kurumi didn't really know what she was doing either, and it didn't really matter. She felt comfortable around Lewis, even when things were not comfortable.

She smiled when Lewis lifted his head to look back at her and a girlish giggle escaped her lips with his comment. She supposed that he was right, but she still felt very awkward around the whole birthday topic. Her eyes never left his as the real meaning behind his words was translated there, causing her to blush again and her lips to curl into a smile. "Well...if you tell me when your birthday is I can bake you a cake for it." She was being serious. Any excuse to bake was a good thing for the Gryffindor. So Lewis should just tell her, because they were not leaving the kitchen until she got an answer. "You did?" she chirped, turning her head to look for the feline. "You two have been together for a long time."

The way that Lewis sucked on his lips only drew more attention to them and Kurumi's gaze shifted from his eyes to them for a brief moment. They were...so close now...and she couldn't help but wonder IF the distance between them was gone again, if their lips met, would it bring back that lost time? But that was her being selfish. She couldn't do that again, right? Still, he body was acting against her, leaning forward ever so slightly... but neither one of them ended up making the decision as Vanilla appeared out of no where and distracted Lewis, and her by extension. "Erm...right," Kurumi whispered as she flicked her wand to summon all the ingredients needed and brought the cream to a boil before pouring it over the chocolate and handing the bowl to Lewis with a spatula. "You...think you can stir this until it's smooth?"

Logan felt Ella grab his hand as he continued looking at the ground. He slowly looked up, a shy smile on his face, his cheeks deep red. Logan then nodded. "Well, it's good to know I'm not the only one." he said chuckling quietly.

"I-I hope it's gone too!" Logan said, glancing behind him. Logan then chuckled as Peeta sneezed again. "He is." Logan said, patting Peeta's head who sneezed again. Logan laughed as Ella pet Peeta and said being terribly cute made up for it. "I believe it does." Logan said, kneeling down as well to look at Peeta.