An Apartment in London

Holly felt happy. She had a nice job, nice friends, and the occasional nice boyfriend. Now, since she had moved out of the house, she had a nice new apartment. It was nice and modern, and very clean. All of her stuff had been moved in, so she decided to have Eric come over and hang out for a bit.

Which he's doing. So, he arrives, and knocks on the door. He hopes Holly comes quickly, because he couldn't even feel the tips of his fingers.

Holly practically sprinted at the door, throwing it open and letting him in. "Hey! How have you been?" she greeted, closing the door behind him so the cold wind and snow wouldn't get in.

He bustled in, his hands at his mouth, trying to warm them with his breath. "I've been better," he said with a big grin. "Either way, I'm pretty happy to be here with you now! You know, winter's never liked me that much..."

"Really?" Holly asked, going to the coffee table and lighting a magical flame in a jar. "What's so bad about winter? Oh, you can hang your cloak in the closet, if you wish."

"Umm. Thanks! So,.. You know what?"

"What?" Holly asked, going into the kitchen to fix something. "Want some tea?"

"Sure! What kinds do you have? And well, the other day, at work, my parents sent me a letter.."

"Pretty much any kind!" Holly laughed, but fell silent when he told her that he got the letter. She knew what was up with his parents. "Oh. What did it say?"

"I don't know. Just trying to put me down.. you know.. But Nicolas saw it, that's the problem.."

"What do you mean, Nicolas saw it?" Holly poured some sweet tea, and brought it into the living room where Eric was, handing him a cup. "How did he see it, did you show it to him?"

"No, he opened, it." Eric sighed. "He opened it and read it while I wasn't in the room, and when I came back, he finally gave it to me. I mean, it's my fault for him to be so curious, but... I'm so embarrassed."

"What?! Eric, that can't be your fault if he opened it! If it was clearly addressed to you, he should have kept his nose out of it."

"We're really close now, though. I should have told him more about my personal life, right? I don't know. There's that, and the fact that it's absolutely mortifying, and also the letter wasn't nicest." he said and looked down at the floor sadly. He felt bad telling this all to Holly suddenly, but he really had to get it out. He may be a grown up now, but he will always be very in touch with his feelings, especially at times like these.

"What did it say? The letter," Holly inquired softly, taking a sip of her tea.

"They were happy that I have succeeded but that I'll still be their mistake of a messed up son of theirs. But it's fine, because sent them a blank envelope filled with bubotonus pus inside it, they'll have quite the pleasure when opening it." Eric smiled that old schoolboy smile of his.

"What?! I can't believe that they'd send you a letter like that!" Holly set down her tea, and hugged Eric tightly. "Good for you for sending that letter back to those jerks."

Eric blushed. He hugged Holly back tightly. Then... he felt something. And immediately pushed her away. Easily, since he was strong now from being an Auror assistant.

Holly stared at him like he was crazy. "Eric, what was that for? I was just giving you a hug!"

"N-nothing!" he said shyly and crossed his legs. "H-how about more of that tea?"

"Why are you crossing your legs and stammering like that, Eric?" Holly asked slowly, eyebrows raising. "Tell me."

"More tea please!" he said anxiously, red to the ears.

"Your ears are really red, too," Holly remarked, taking a few steps toward him. "Are you suuuuure nothing's wrong?"

He lifted his hands and covered his ears. "Shut up..." he mumbled.

Holly glanced down at his crossed legs, then back to his ears, which were red, which must mean he's embarrassed. "Eric, please tell me that your ears are red because you really have to pee and not because of something else."