As time ticked past, Basil made every effort not to look too closely at any part of Ms. Farris’ face. He glanced in her direction once, startled suddenly that the corner of a letter was going to accidentally catch her in the eyes from his fumble, and an apology hung off the tip of his tongue. Buggar, he was being rather a klutz wasn’t he? Luckily, she seemed safe enough from that peril and Basil let out a small breath as the prefect went digging around in the folds of her own skirt. He chanced a glance this time out towards the entrance of the owlery again to see if anyone was coming. Blessedly, this misfortune seemed to be theirs to share alone.

At last the end of a wand was procured and Basil couldn’t help the relief that washed over his face. He fought the urge to thank Ms. Farris exorbitantly and instead gave the girl a short nod as she - very logically, if he did so note - pointed out that he ought to cast the unsticking charm. “Of course,” the brunette responded, ever gallant.

He gave the wand a wave and it flickered in his grasp a moment, stubborn and resistant, but ultimately Basil’s determination won. He muttered the spell under his breath for added insurance and soon enough his arm managed to wrench free. Thank bloody Merlin.

Sitting back on his haunches, Basil clenched and unclenched his fist trying to bring circulation back into his frigid fingers. Finally, he thought, moving to crawl off of Ms. Farris as quickly as he could. Then, offering her a hand, he felt the tip of his nose and ears tinge pink. “I beg your pardon, Ms. Farris,” he said quickly, moving to a stand. “This has been… a most unfortunate debacle.” Then, reddening even further: “Will you ever forgive me?”

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