It was as if an occult hand had reached down and scrambled Basil’s brain, given how dejected the man looked. At least he sat down on the bed without arguing, leaving Atticus to call a house elf to procure a sleeping potion without questions. Basil would feel better in the morning, that much he was sure of, as long as he took the sleeping potion and it didn’t plague him with nightmares of what could have been. (Maybe it might be? Miss Victoire would understand that he hadn’t been in his right mind but the feelings were… there? Were true?)

Grey eyes shifted toward the man as he kept speaking; pursed his lips together to keep from frowning. “I know. But, Basil, if you want to court her, you need to take it slow. Show her that you love her instead of erm… professing your love so boldly.” Whatever the hell that was. He sighed quietly as his brother kept on rambling. Freezing at the mention of bloody Lissington and the very mention of love, Atticus snapped his teeth before he sighed quietly and turned toward him; the grey eyes his brother looked at him were wild, a hair desperate for answers he couldn’t give. Atticus frowned at him as he stepped forward. He could lead him away from the daft redhead, make him break whatever was forming between them, especially if what he felt for the Malfoy girl was stronger. Real. “That’s become one was a farce and someone you trusted led you astray. But Miss Victoire you have a solid friendship with, hm?” Of course they did.

Atticus moved to sit on the edge of the bed, handing him the drink that Basil didn’t even seem to notice. He sighed and balanced it on his leg. “Maybe you drank something, or ate something to amplify those feelings, but they wouldn’t have just surfaced out of nowhere. They were buried.” Buried under the false feelings that he might have for Lissington. Burn them, lose them, Atticus didn’t care what happened. “But it feels good, doesn’t it? To be in love with someone? We can come up with a plan tomorrow when you’re feeling better on how to approach her.” It was complicated with Anthony… but if this was real then he wanted to push Basil toward it before he went back into his shell. He moved to hand him the potion again.

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