Bram laughed – still nervous, but his mouth twitching genuinely at the humour of the statement, even if Esteban had caught him out here.

“Then you mustn’t have been paying enough attention to these sofas,” Bram murmured, with a faux-solemn shake of his head and a playful tone he wouldn’t have tried on almost anyone else. “You can find all sorts of things down there.” Maybe nothing so miraculous as an entire solar system, but certainly a few interesting bits and pieces.

But not his textbooks or wand or essay. He hugged the cushion to himself a little more tightly, trying not to let the smile fade. “I’ve lost s– a few of my things.” All of his things.

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