The moment the words had left his mouth, Lewis regretted saying them out loud. That just sounded plain pathetic, didn't it? Though, yes, that was exactly his biggest concern, exactly that. Though, at least now she knew what was on his mind, what he thought about all of this. Not that it was EVERYTHING, but at least it was a little part of what was on his mind right now. She had to remember. She just had to. So maybe saying it hadn't been such a bad idea after all.

Only why were his cheeks flushing with color then?

He felt like electrical sparks were running up his arm from his hand when Kurumi reached out to take it. She promised? Well, that was a relief. Plus the way she squeezed his hand made him smile a little, while releasing a breath he didn't even know he'd been holding. "T-thank you." He replied, a little flustered by all the emotions washing over him right now. He did however manage a small smile for Kurumi, this time even meeting her gaze for a second.

Of course it would be easier for her not to remember, but...it just didn't seem right. Or fair? Or was that just his ego talking? Anyway, the way she didn't let go of his hand right away made him want to tug on it - just like she had done a few days back - to make her come closer. Only...he shouldn't. And he wouldn't. It would only result in more awkwardness after all, right?

"You talked to Treyen?!" Lewis stared at her for a moment before starting to shake his head slowly. Oh, of course. That must be why Treyen had known about how she wasn't pretending but actually couldn't remember. Something told him that he'd actually told him that too but he really couldn't remember much from that conversation. Probably because he'd sort of stopped listening once the Head Boy had told him the truth about Kurumi's weird behavior.

When Kurumi let go of his hand again, Lewis almost reached out to take it again, already missing the touch. But he didn't. Because now they were back on her hair. "Mhm. We've talked about this before." About her hiding from him. Oh, but that had just sounded a little bit accusing, hadn't it? Ugh. "I'm sorry, I just...that's why I said again. I shouldn't have. Sorry." Couldn't she just remember and uncomplicate things?! Or at least uncomplicate things considering. Considering she still had a boyfriend. Who she liked. Loved. Or whatever. He didn't really like thinking about that. And a walking mood-ring? Maybe he should have read up about this some more. "So...the colors mean something?" HUH, he could have figured that out on his own, right?

At her next words Lewis did look up to meet her gaze, throwing her first a confused look which was quickly replaced by something which almost resembled a smile. "You think?" He blushed a little as he glanced back down at the floor, before looking back up as if he just couldn't keep his eyes off her face. It was just so hard when he had absolutely no clue how to act around her or whatever kind of situation they were in right now.

The quite girlish giggle coming from her surprised Lewis somewhat but he tried his best to hide it. What was so funny? Why was she laughing? Or giggling, rather. Though, he didn't comment on any of that, not even when she dropped the subject of her birthday. He still made a mental note of her birth date. For next year. So he would remember. Because not celebrating it at all was just inacceptable. "My birthday? November. November 13th." He replied with a nod and a small smile when she mentioned cake. One more excuse for them to meet then. Not - as she had pointed out earlier - that they needed an excuse. Lewis glanced at Vanilla again, smiling a little to himself. "Yes...we have. She reminds me of...home." Yes, home.

He wasn't sure if he should thank Vanilla for the interruption or poke her but it was too late to change anything now. The moment was over. And it probably was better that way. Still some selfish part of him wished that the moment had led to...something else. "Hmm?" Oh, the bowl. "Oh, s-sure." Lewis blushed a little as he took the bowl and spatula from her and quickly moved to lean against the counter again and started to stir like he'd been told. Yes, he could do this all day. And good thing they were back to talking about baking again.

What were they baking again? He had forgotten the moment he'd looked back up from the recipe book and found her this close to his face.

Kurumi was surprised, even a little overwhelmed, at the weight of those two words and she felt even worse about the current situation. What had happened between them, it was clear to the Gryffindor as she looked into Lewis' eyes that it meant a lot to him. A lot didn't even begin to cover the wave of emotions she saw sweep across his face and in his eyes causing her to blush even more. Was she supposed to say 'you're welcome'? That somehow seemed to be way too formal for how far they had come. Instead, she gave his hand another gentle squeeze and nodded her head.

She just wished she knew where to begin. It wasn't just the moment they had shared together that had gone missing. There were other things too. Small things like arriving to her Care of Magical Creatures final a day early. Misplacing her quill. Kurumi had been thinking of it as stress due to OWLs, but with those underway and halfway done...that stress was also vanishing. She frowned a bit, a feeling of uneasiness washing over her like a dark storm cloud.

Her attention was taken away from these thoughts when he spoke again. "Y-Y-Yes," she nodded, a slight glimmer appearing in the corners of her eyes. She chewed on her bottom lip, turning her gaze away from Lewis for now as she tried to sort her thoughts. No matter how much sorting she did, however, they always came out a jumbled mess. She really didn't know what else to say, so she was back to her old mannerisms. "I'm sorry...I don't want to...hurt you..." But it was clear that that is all the situation called for. Hurt. Confusion. Disappointment. All of it hindering on one very emotionally unstable Gryffindor.

She was back to frowning again, just how much had been taken from her? The way he said things didn't offend her in anyway, she was more ashamed that she had put him through another awkward display of her lack of self-confidence really. "You...don't need to apologize," she said, shaking her head. "Really." Hopefully he wouldn't have to go through this talk again anytime soon. When he asked about the colors, her eyes widened a bit and she shifted from chewing on her bottom lip to the inside of her cheek. "Y-Y-Yes....depending on emotions. It...usually only happens when there are really strong emotions. I-I-I've been able to learn to control the smaller changes..." She shuffled her feet a bit anxiously, stepping a little bit closer to Lewis as a subconscious message to herself that doing so gave her some sort of protection. She felt more vulnerable the more space there way. "Blues are usually sad....oranges for embarrassment...red when I am angry...pink when I feel..." She trailed off there, leaving that last sentence unfinished and instead ran her fingers through her long black hair as a sort of distraction.

Kurumi sort of just nodded when he asked for confirmation, her lips pouting slightly as they formed a shy smile. He certainly seemed to be more in control of the situation than she was. "I'm going to remember that date then, November 13th," she said, already flipping through her planner to the next year and removing a quill from her bag to write down his name on the day. See, now there was no way that she would forget. Kurumi followed his gaze on to Vanilla and noted the hint of longing in his voice when he mentioned home. Kurumi wasn't too keen on going home, knowing what waited for her once she got there, but she remembered how apprehensive Lewis has been when she had met him on the platform that first day. "You'll... be home soon," she smiled softly. "Both of you."

Her lips curled downwards a little, thinking about summer...being away from everyone and everything here that brought her comfort. It was the part of the term she hated the most...leaving Hogwarts. It felt like more of a home to her than anywhere else. "I'll...miss you...over the summer," she said suddenly, the words leaving her mouth before she realized that she had even been thinking them.

The girlish smile did not vanish from her face as Kurumi set to mixing up some ingredients of her own in a different bowl, making some whipped cream and the rest of the cake batter and putting it into the over to bake before turning her attention back to Lewis to see how his mixture was coming along. Kurumi was strictly business now - she was baking after all - and she grabbed a small spoon from one of the drawers and leaned over him to dip it into the bowl to take a quick taste. "Perfect," she chirped, cleaning the spoon off and dipping it back in, holding it up towards his mouth. "Try for yourself." To be a good baker, you had to constantly test to make sure things tasted properly. It was in the holy bible of baking.

Ella merely nodded. It was nice, feeling like you weren't alone. That's how Ella felt the moment she arrived at Hogwarts.

"So..." Ella said, shifting her attention from Peeta to Logan once again. "Ice cream? I'm starved!" Without waiting for an answer, Ella walked towards the large freezer and pulled out a giant tub of chocolate ice cream. She smiled sheepishly at him as she heaved the ice cream on to the nearest counter. "Now where do you supposed the bowls are...or shall we eat with our hands..." Kidding, of course. But she was hungry!

Another squeeze of her hand, another blush on his cheeks as he tried his best not to make too much of their touch. She felt bad for not remembering. Which was also why she couldn't remember what had happened the last time when they'd been squeezing each other's hands. Which was probably why he should take his hand out of hers again. And quickly too. This only led to more confusion and left him quite flustered.

His attention was briefly diverted however when Kurumi confirmed once again that she had talked to Treyen. Now Lewis really wished he would have paid better attention to what the Head Boy had been saying. What was Kurumi thinking about all of this? Had she even told Treyen? The way she was apologizing right now made him give her hand a soft squeeze now as he replied with a shake of his head. "Don't...it's...it's just-" Yes, what was it just? Treyen had said it wasn't confusing and that had been BEFORE either of them had realized that Kurumi didn't remember a thing about it. But still, it was the only word that came to Lewis' mind that would best describe their situation. "-confusing." And not just the part about her not remembering.

"I do..." He did feel the need to apologize. Because there just was a small part of him which was mad at Kurumi for not remembering. Well, maybe not mad at her per se but...why couldn't she just remember?! And he knew, he KNEW it wasn't her fault - or at least assumed it wasn't - but it still sucked. But Lewis really didn't like that part of him, that part that thought like that so even if she wouldn't know why he felt the need to apologize. "I really am sorry." For...making this so complicated in the first place. For mentally blaming you for not remembering. Just in general.

Kurumi seemed to be embarrassed about something when she answered his question. Though, something told him that it wasn't only because of what she could do. No, there was something else... Lewis just nodded and took mental notes of what she was telling him, slightly shifting into student-mode. Until she shuffled closer to him which broke his concentration and made him go back to chewing on his lip again, gazing at her. He frowned a little when she trailed off without finishing her sentence. Pink meant...what? "...happy?" He guessed before realizing what they were actually talking about, and quickly averting his gaze towards a random house elf hurrying past. Was it happy? REALLY happy?

Turning fully to Vanilla now, he absentmindedly stroked her behind her ears, inducing loud purrs from her as he half-listened to Kurumi turning pages in her planner. "Yes." He was by now more talking to Vanilla than Kurumi, not even really realizing that the Gryffindor was in the room too. "At first I couldn't wait for this term to end...then I was kind of hoping it would never end...and now...I'm not so sure anymore." It wasn't until now that he realized what he'd just said was true, was what he'd been thinking about in the back of his head the last few days too. Some part of him REALLY just wanted to go home right now. To go back to normal again. Or as far as that was possible anyway.

Her words brought him back to the present again, and Lewis turned his head a little to look at her over his shoulder. A sad smile was playing around his lips as he stared at her for a moment, chewing on his lower lip again. "I..." He trailed off, meeting her gaze for a second before letting his eyes dart around the room again. "I'll miss you too." And he would. A lot. Even though, there was some part of him which told him that it would be good for him, for them, to be apart from each other for a while. It still hurt to think about not seeing her for the summer months.

Lewis tried hard not to stare at Kurumi too much as she hurried around the kitchen to...do other things required for this cake. Or were they even making a cake? He didn't know but he'd been told to stir so he was stirring. Stirring whatever was in the bowl Kurumi had handed him. Even though he had absolutely no idea what was even IN that bowl. And his hand was slowly starting to hurt too from all the stirring. Just as he was about to switch hands, his eyes briefly back on the mixture inside his bowl, Kurumi was suddenly standing right in front of him again. With a small spoon. And then she tried what he'd been stirring and Lewis couldn't help but watch her curiously. Perfect? "Well done then I guess." Since HE hadn't actually done anything. Only stirring. And that really wasn't that hard. So really it had been her who'd done all the work.

Wait...he was supposed to try now? Lewis just stared at the spoon for a moment of hesitation before glancing back up at Kurumi's face again, meeting her gaze. Without being able to looking away again he quickly took the spoon into his mouth while at the same time reaching up to take it from her. Uh. He was probably supposed to say something. Only somehow looking into her eyes had been so distracting that he hadn't even paid much attention to how the mixture was. "Good. Yes." He finally said once he'd removed the spoon from his mouth again, offering it to her. She'd called it perfect so it had to be good, right?

Okay, next step?

Kurumi's body was telling her to get a little closer to Lewis, but she was trying her best to resist the temptation of doing so. As he had just said himself, this was all very confusing. Kurumi couldn't even begin to imagine what it must be like for Lewis, remembering everything, and then having to be around her who remembered nothing. While Kurumi's emotions were sort of just floating in space, seemingly harmless, Lewis had them attached to something. A very real memory. It broke her heart knowing that she was the source of the confusion.

Which she had already told herself several times.

When his hand squeezed hers, Kurumi's body reacted on its own and DID step a little closer. It only seemed natural to do so. Why would she take a step backwards when he was showing her a genuine sign of affection? Kurumi wanted to hug him. This whole thing was just one big mess and it wasn't fair. Why did THAT time have to be taken away? Couldn't what she had eaten for breakfast or perhaps turning in a homework assignment have been taken? Kurumi would have gladly given up house points if it meant that the frown on Lewis' face would go away. She wasn't entirely sure what it was he felt like he had to apologize for, but since they both appeared to be very stubborn and insisting that they had something to be sorry about, one of them needed to accept the apology again. "We...are apologizing a lot," she said as she stated the obvious with a faint smile.

Kurumi fluffed her bangs a bit more, feeling awkward about the whole conversation about her hair. It still wasn't something that was easy for her to talk about, and that wasn't Lewis' fault. Even if she no longer trusted herself, she trusted him. Completely. "Happy...is...part of it...." she mumbled, idly twirling several strands of hair around her index finger. "Yellow usually means just happy..." Her eyes hadn't been on him, but they were now and they were searching his face for the strength to put into words the rest. "Pink...doesn't happen very often...and only around specific people..." She was really going the round about way of explaining this. "Um...it used to....around Treyen, but it doesn't anymore...it does...around..." she paused now, choking on her own words as she had to mention his name. "...Jonathan..." She paused again, her hand still holding his and her fingers interlaced with his just for a moment while she finished her thought. "...and now....it does with you..."

Was that enough? Did that explain why her hair turned pink around him? Not that she could remember it doing so...and she almost wished that it would just do it now so she could at least have that confirmed. For all she knew, they had been in the Owlery around sunset and her hair had only appeared to be a pinkish hue.

She looked down at the floor again, her lips pressed tightly together and her bangs falling over her eyes. "Lewis...I...can't..." No, that wasn't the way she wanted to start out what she wanted to say. Shaking her head, she brought her gaze back to his. For some reason, saying this sort of thing, emotional charged words, were easier when she was looking into his eyes. "I feel things, for you, Lewis. There is something there, but it is detached because....because..." Because a very important memory had been taken from her. "...because a piece of it is missing." Did that make any sense? Her eyes were sort of shimmering now, confusion settling back in, and she bit her bottom lip harder than usual. "I just need....time...." Literally.

Leaning against the counter again, Kurumi softly nodded her head as Lewis spoke. Leaving Hogwarts was usually a mixed bag of emotions for everyone. Almost everyone. "I'm...never really ready to leave Hogwarts," she said, a naive smile dancing across her lips. "Almost everything that is important to me is here." Her eyes lingered on him for a moment longer than was needed when she said that, and she shoved her hands into the pockets on her robes, swaying on spot. "Lewis....would it be alright if I...owl you over the summer?" He could say no. Kurumi knew it was a selfish request and that it could potentially just be more torture for him. Which is why she was giving him the option.

She just knew what months of no communication could do to people...

Kurumi had forgotten entirely about what they were baking now, despite the timer on the over dinging moments earlier. Right now her entire focus was on Lewis and whether or not he would entertain another selfish request from her. Hopefully he would answer her before the cake burned.

"Yes, ice cream!" Logan said excitedly, bouncing on his heels and quickly walking after Ella as she headed over to the freezer. Logan clapped his hands with glee as she took out the ice cream tub and put it on the nearest counter. "Yes, eat with our hands because we're STARVING!" he said, and after a pause he added, "just kidding. Yeah let's find some bowls..." he said, looking around the kitchen.

Ella giggled when Logan said they should eat with their hands. She rolled up her sleeves playfully, pretending to get ready to dig in. When he added that she was kidding, she let her arms slump to her sides in mock disappointment. Then the first year smiled widely at Logan and turned on her heel towards a series of cabinets. Bowls had to be there somewhere...

Ella checked the cabinets one by one, looking for bowls. Pots and pans...No. Flour, Sugar, Baking soda...No. But then in the fifth cabinet Ella checked, "BOWLS!" The first year grabbed the two largest bowls she could find and handed them to Logan. "Now for spoons!" These proved a little harder to find and after looking for quite a while, Ella settled on two wooden mixing spoons that were drying near the sink. "These will do." She said happily, heading back over to the counter. "You want to scoop?" Ella asked Logan, smiling excitedly.

Logan laughed at Ella. She was so adorable! ....and to think, a year ago he had thought girls were gross 'cause they had cooties. Silly Logan. That was kids stuff. And he was a man now! ...well...sort of.

Logan watched as Ella looked through the cabinets and finally found some bowls. He then hopped up and down as she got the spoons. "Yay!" he said, his voice cracking, but he was too happy to care. "Sure!" Logan said as she asked if he wanted to scoop. He took a spoon and scooped out plenty of ice cream into each bowls. "I hope I'll have room for seconds!" he said giggling. SUGAR RUSH!

Ella smiled sheepishly at Logan when she felt him watching her. "What?" She asked, running her hands through her hair nervously. Why was she suddenly nervous?

It was Ella's turn to laugh as Logan began hopping up and down. She shared his excitement and couldn't help but hop a littler herself. She watched, eyes wide, as Logan scooped the ice cream into the bowls. She dug her spoon in and placed a spoonful into her mouth. All she could do was nod enthusiastically when he mentioned seconds. After she swallowed, her hand shot to her head and she scrunched up her forehead. "Agh! Brain freeze!" Brain freeze was the worst!

Logan snapped back into reality once Ella said the word 'what'. "I don't know. You're just so cute." he said smiling at her, surprised that he actually said that out loud.

Logan giggled with happiness as Ella hopped with him. He then began digging into his ice cream. "Ah, heavenly goodness!" he said, his mouth full of ice cream. Logan swallowed his ice cream before laughing a little as Ella said brain freeze. "Oh no!" he said. "No need to fear, Gummy Girl! Candy Man is here!" he said, pulling her close to him. "I know how to get rid of a brain freeze, so you don't need to worry!" he said.

Fire engine red. That's the color Ella's cheeks turned when Logan said she was cute. "I...well...t-thanks." She said, looking at him shyly.

The first year giggled as Logan dug into his own ice cream. This was the best! She was grateful that she swallowed the ice cream that had been in her own mouth as Logan put on his super persona. "H-how do you get rid of it?" She asked, rubbing her temple with her hands and jumping up and down. Brain freeze was no fun!

Turns out, Lewis didn't even have to tug on her hand to make her come closer. Kurumi did so all by herself. And it made him blush, thinking about the last time they'd been standing like that. Quite exactly like that, really. His eyes briefly went down to her hand holding onto his and he started chewing on his lip again, while doing his best not to move his hand or fingers too much. He didn't want to make this more awkward or confusing than it already was.

But maybe that would just be what Kurumi needed to get her memory back...

Before Lewis got the chance to think things through - and probably make the wrong decision - Kurumi spoke up again, making him look back up at her face. They WERE apologizing a lot, weren't they? "We shouldn't be..." The Hufflepuff replied softly, shaking his head a little as he met her gaze for a moment. Apologizing was never a good sign. It meant that they both had something they regretted and while it wasn't the kiss itself for either of them, there still was something related to it that both of them wished hadn't happened, or wasn't happening. Now, why wasn't he sure if that was a good or a bad thing?!

He watched her with his head slightly cocked to the side, waiting for her to tell him what pink meant. Maybe happy had just been wishful thinking. Maybe pink just meant awkward or something and he'd just made a complete fool of himse- "Oh." So yellow was happy. And pink was rare. Only Lewis wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. Hang on, her hair had turned pink around Treyen?! Now that didn't exactly help with figuring out what pink meant. She was friends with Treyen as far as he knew so pink could just mean that she liked somebody.

Or not. Lewis winced inwardly when she mentioned Jonathan's name but tried his best to keep it the feeling of hurt out of his eyes. She had sort of stumbled over the word too so it wasn't like she was comfortable talking about him around Lewis. But...had she just...said that her feelings for Jonathan and him were the same? How...what...his mind went completely blank for a second and he swallowed hard while he squeezed her hand without even thinking about it. "You mean..." He was too confused to form coherent sentences anymore apparently, so he just settled with gazing into her eyes, looking for a clue whether or not he had just understood her correctly.

He couldn't quite contain a gasp when she averted her gaze and said the words he least wanted to hear. Not again anyway. Even though he knew they were true. And sort of out of context a little this time. What couldn't she do? He wasn't asking her for anything right now. Only to remember. And he knew that that was beyond her control, or at least thought so. So what was it she couldn't do? Be friends with him? Be close to him? Was he supposed to go? Did he want to go? Did she want him to go?

Swallowing hard when she met his gaze again, Lewis just nodded slowly, her words making his heart beat increase. So the FEELINGS weren't gone, just the memory was. "S-sure, I understand." As long as she didn't give up trying to remember. That was all he wanted right now. Though...no, "Actually...c-can I ask you something?" He was chewing on his lip nervously again and his mouth had started to twitch. "D-does it...does it feel...wrong?" While he really wanted to look away from her he didn't but instead held her gaze, his heart beating so loudly he was almost sure she could hear it.

Lewis blushed when her eyes rested on him, and he couldn't help but smile a little. "I...am just a little torn this year. But...yes, I'll be kind of sad to leave Hogwarts for the summer." What if over the summer everything changed? What if when they got back for next term, Kurumi was a completely different person? What if they wouldn't see each other at all over the summer? Or hear from each other at least. But Kurumi seemed to have at least that part covered. "Of course, Kurumi. Please do." Just in case she needed somebody. Or in case she remembered and didn't know what to think of it. That had been his greatest fear actually, that she would remember over the summer and he wasn't anywhere within reach so she chose to think of it as a mistake or something.

He had set down the bowl of something onto the counter, without noticing how Vanilla immediately went over to peek inside, sniffing at the sweet mixture.

Kurumi complexion was like one of the roses in the student garden now, after hearing Lewis say that they shouldn't be apologizing. He was right, again, they shouldn't be apologizing to each other...but there was someone else who needed it. Someone who Kurumi cared very VERY much for. Someone who, even after all this, she still wanted to see...hug...and just be around. Jonathan didn't deserve this...and Kurumi felt like she didn't deserve him, but this also implied that Lewis was second best. Left overs. A back up plan. And he was anything but that. To Kurumi, both of them were amazing. The best thing for her. Which is what made this so hard. She cared SO much for them both...

So much...

Her thoughts were distracted when Lewis squeezed her hand again and her eyes found his. She wished it didn't have to be this way, loss of memory aside. Part of her just wanted to move forward right now. But she couldn't do that. THAT wouldn't be right no matter how much she wanted it now. Her eyes sort of watered up a bit, looking into Lewis' eyes, and she did notice him chewing on his lip again. Did he really have to do that? Draw attention to them?

Eyes flickering downward for only a brief moment before returning to his eyes when he asked for confirmation, Kurumi tried to keep her face as neutral, but her eyes always betrayed her...along with other things. His question was a weighted one, more so than she would admit to herself right now, and all the while she was trying to compose herself to answer...her hair was doing it for her. Ebony locks lightened and began to turn pinking starting at the tips and moving their way up towards the roots. Kurumi didn't notice this though, she was too busy trying to figure out one, what Lewis was really asking, and two, how she was supposed to answer.

She never got the chance to though, at least not that question's answer.

She nodded when he asked if he could ask her something. Really, he could ask her anything. If nothing else, although they were way past that point already, they were friends and friends talked to each other about everything. Which reminded her that she really needed to talk to Selina...about all this. Selina would set her straight...although, Kurumi wasn't sure that she wanted the red-head to do that.

Kurumi couldn't help but gasp when Lewis finally asked his question, her heartbeat increasing, and her hand squeezed his again, lacing her fingers with his. She still hadn't noticed the change in her hair color, but it was certainly noticeable now. Shaking her head first, Kurumi's eyes never left his. "No..." she whispered. "...it feels...right..." Which made her feel guilty because she wouldn't have found herself in this position if Jonathan had never left. If his father hadn't decided to take him away. Her eyes moved to the floor now, as her cheeks continued to glow.

Or would she? The way their hands somehow always managed to find each other seemed to imply that maybe the Gryffindor was just being naive.

"So much that it frightens me..."

She hadn't meant to say that bit out loud, however. It had been a thought that had flashed through her mind, registered, and somehow managed to slip past her lips before she could stop herself.

Her eyes went back to his face now, when they were talking about writing and letters and overall leaving Hogwarts. "That's...actually the best place to be in, you know," she smiled. "Feeling torn about being here or at home. It means that you love them both." Just in case, you know, he felt bad or something about wanting to be home. Kurumi was just...afraid of going home, because going home would never be the same again. After this summer, everything was going to change and Kurumi still couldn't force herself to face the gravity of the situation. Her mother...wasn't going to be here this time next year, or even in three months' time. Kurumi bit down hard on her lip, hoping that the pain from the action would numb the feeling of dread that suddenly had washed over her. Still biting her lip, she managed to look at Lewis and a weak smile. "T-T-Then you can e-e-expect a lot from m-m-m-me."

Kurumi didn't notice Vanilla peering into the bowl Lewis had set down, but she did notice a rather...unfavorable smell coming from the oven as the cake inside began to burn.

Did she agree with him? Lewis tried reading her expression but couldn't make a lot of it. Except for the blushing there was absolutely no reaction from her. And the blushing only made him blush some more for no apparent reason. The way that - presumably - something he'd said or donebrought tears to her eyes made him chew on his lip some more, while throwing her a rather confused and helpless look. What was going on?!

If he hadn't been watching her so closely, he would have probably missed the look that flashed across her face, and was clearly visible in her eyes for a moment. It confirmed what he'd been thinking. So pink did mean...and even IF he had missed the look, he would have known for sure a second later when her hair did exactly what they were talking about. Turn pink. This time he could actually watch it change color, the pink slowly creeping upwards from her ends to her roots until her hair was completely pink.

His gaze had shifted away from her eyes and up to her hair while his lips curled into a smile, yes, a grin almost. There was still a hint of sadness in his eyes but he was now smiling quite genuinely at her hair. "Uhm...Kurumi..." Okay, seriously, what was so amusing about this situation? But there was just a part of him that just found this extremely...entertaining? Maybe because there had still been a little bit of doubt inside of him about if the whole thing had actually happened. Now that seemed to be like the final proof to him that it had. And proof to her too in case she'd still had any doubts.

Feeling a little light-headed Lewis even reached out and caught a strand of her now pink hair, his eyes briefly leaving hers. Only to flicker back up the moment she finally replied to his question. He had dreaded that answer really. Because if she said that if still felt wrong then it didn't really matter if she remembered or not. No, because then it could never BE right if it didn't at least FEEL right. Which was why when he heard her answer he couldn't contain a sigh of relief which immediately made him blush but not look away this time. Her answer implied that there was still hope.

He didn't even know what he would have done if she'd said yes, it felt wrong.

The look on her face was a little inconclusive however and it made Lewis chew on his lip again, feeling a little guilty just by looking at her. It had to be utter chaos inside of her now. Her next words made him gulp and instinctively tug on her hand a little to make her look at him again. "It...it scares me too..." He admitted, shuffling his feet a little nervously, his eyes still trying to meet hers to convey to her that what he was saying was actually true. It did scare him. Because there still was a part of him which screamed WRONG! at him every time he was near her. She just...wasn't available. And he wasn't sure if she would be any time soon.

That was the best place to be in? He wasn't so sure. He assumed that being somewhere in the middle would be good, but those feelings of extreme longing about one place and then the other didn't exactly feel too good. "Mhm...I guess so." Lewis replied a little half-heartedly, shrugging as he returned to stroking Vanilla behind her ears. When he glanced back up at Kurumi, his eyes immediately went to her lips as he noticed how hard she was biting her lower lip. "W-what about you?" Meaning, if she was also looking forward to returning home again. He was quite sure she wanted to see her mother again soon, just in case.

Lewis nodded and a offered her a small smile as she told him he'd get a lot of owls from her this summer. "Just...just know, you can always owl me." Yes, and there went that idea about it maybe being a good idea to not hear from or see each other for a while down the drain. Because there was part of why he'd called this scary before. He really couldn't stand the thought of not hearing from her all summer.

His nose had started to twitch a little, but it was only now that Lewis noticed why. It smelled...weird. Almost as if some of the cooking was going wrong. Though then again he had hardly ever heard of a house-elf who couldn't cook or accidentally let the food burn. So when he allowed his eyes to dart around the kitchen a little - he had almost suspected Vanilla to have gotten too close to the fire - they finally fell on...the oven. "Oh. Uhm. Kurumi...?" He was looking over her shoulder at the oven she had put the cake in, a rather uneasy look on his face. This didn't look too...good.

Kurumi's mind continued to come in and out of consciousness as she thought and over thought and lost herself in all that she was feeling. She still didn't know what she was doing. How things had gotten this far. Why she couldn't remember. Why she ---

Kurumi snapped back to the present when Lewis said her name and she searched his eyes for a moment, feeling a bit confused. Had she been zoning out for too long? But then she saw a smile on his lips, a smile that she hadn't seen much of recently and her heart skipped a beat. What was me smiling about though? She hadn't actually said anything yet, so that couldn't be it. It wasn't until his other hand was reaching towards her face that she realized what was going on. Violet eyes followed his fingers as they took a lock of her hair and a small gasp escaped her lips. Her body froze, not really knowing how she should react to this and the walls she had been trying to build up, contain her emotions and herself like a responsible person, came crashing down. No, not crashing. They just vanished. Perhaps never to be rebuilt again.

Her hand twitched, wanting very much to reach for her hood, but she had promised that she wouldn't, so by her side it stayed. "Now...you know," she whispered. If nothing else she had said until then hadn't confirmed it, then this moment did and Kurumi could no longer deny it herself. Her cheeks were matching the pink hue of her hair now, and her gaze drifted from his fingers toying with her hair back to his face just in time to see his expression shift into one of relief. She smiled faintly, glad that Lewis was happy. It was important to her that he was, but she couldn't shake the feeling of guilt that was weighing inside her heart and she had to look away.

But it didn't last long as soon Lewis was tugging on her hand, drawing her closer to him. Why did...this feel familiar? The gently tug that implied so much more than just wanting the other's attention. There was a brief flash of something, but it was gone before it could register completely in the Gryffindor's mind. Her eyes returned to looking into his and she felt her breath catch when he said he felt the same. Violet eyes flickered towards his lips again and she began to rub her thumb against the palm of his hand.

Her own lips were throbbing now for multiple reasons, but the immediate reason was the fact that she was biting down so hard on it. "I...I'm afraid of going home," she said softly, leaning her shoulder against his. Petrified was the better word for it really, but the slight trembling of her body surely delivered that message to Lewis. "I don't know if I am strong enough to face...what I have to..." She was back to biting down on her lip and her nose scrunched up at the pain. She wanted to be strong, needed to be, but she felt the weakest she had ever been and the tears were already threatening to make another appearance. Lewis much be so tired of seeing her cry. It was like a curse of being a Hufflepuff. You were always seeing her tears. A glimmer of a smile appeared on her lips and in her eyes, however, when Lewis encouraged her to write. And write she would. She needed him, more than she was able to realize, and before she realized it she had her arms wrapped around his neck to hug him. She wasn't looking for anything more than this, a hug, but the feeling of being this close to him...it gave her strength.

After a few moments of staying the way they were, Kurumi's nose twitched and she looked back at Lewis before glancing towards the oven. "OH NO!" she squeaked, unfolding her arms from around his neck and rushing towards the oven door and throwing it oven. A thick black smoke billowed out of it and Kurumi waved her wand to banish it. "Oh...no..." she frowned. "Lewis...I'm sorry...the cake..." It was ruined. With another wave of her wand, she banished the burned mess and looked at the bowl of cream filling. Now what were they going to do with that?

Logan ignored Ella's deep red blush. He smiled at her. "You're welcome." he said, when suddenly Peeta hopped on his shoulder, causing him to lose his balance. But he caught himself by grabbing the counter. "Peeta! Careful!" he said, his face now almost as red as Ella's. He glanced at her and laughed nervously.

"You..." he looked around. "Hot cocoa!" he said as he spotted some cocoa mix on the counter. He quickly made some.

He wasn't sure if it would work, but it was worth a shot, right? Logan handed the cup of cocoa to her. "Try that!" he said. Cocoa and ice cream. Now that was a treat! He decided to make his own, so he went off to make some more for him.

Ella's eyes grew wide when Peeta jumped on Logan, almost making him fall. "That was close." She said, laughing. "Peeta you're a little rascal!" She raised her eyebrows at the nervous laughter but didn't comment on it.

Hot chocolate? That was the cure. Well if it worked, Ella would be extremely happy and even if it didn't...hot chocolate was delicious! Ella took the cup and gulped the hot liquid down, hoping it would work. At first, all Ella felt was a warmth in her throat and a pounding in her head. Weird. Then, the warmth spread and she no longer had brain freeze. "I-I don't believe it! It worked! Yessss." She bounced up and down for a moment before setting her cup down and picking up her spoon again. Brain freeze wouldn't prevent her from eating more ice cream, no way! She smiled at Logan sheepishly before sticking the spoonful into her mouth. "Mmmm."