A frown pressed against his lips as he watched his brother’s outburst before he stepped forward to sit on the edge of the bed. The potion was cold as it settled against his pant leg, probably hastily thrown together by the house elves with ingredients locked away in the kitchen for emergencies like that. Basil was pacing the room before he could push him back down on the bed, causing Atticus to just frown at him. “Basil, I know it’s weird, whatever you’re feeling. Love can be a powerful thing.” Although he wasn’t quite sure what his brother was saying. Was he in love with Miss Victoire or was he simply overwhelmed with feelings? He hoped it was the former as it would make things a lot simpler, especially as he mentioned that blasted Lissington.

Atticus snapped his teeth together. “There’s a difference between infatuation like you had with…” He couldn’t even bring himself to spit out his name, although his eyes did narrow and fingers gripped the bottle tighter until his knuckles blanched. What a disgusting little bastard, taking advantage of Basil like that. “You have a curious mind, Basil and probably wanted to do it for the sake of learning. And now that you’ve gotten that out of your system, look at what you have in front of you. A beautiful young lady with impeccable social standing.” A Malfoy would make a great addition to the Foxwood clan, plus he quite liked her.

Standing then, he stepped toward the younger male, hand reaching out to gently grasp his upper arm. He pulled him toward the bed. “It will. Tomorrow you’ll have a fresh mind which will bring better ideas. Right now though, I think it’s time for you to get some rest.”

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