He was almost sure he had read somewhere that to keep a girl interested you should talk about her. Ask her questions about her family; her interests. Well, ffleurbert had tried, but Ava had derailed his train of thought so successfully that he never really noticed. Faced with the embarrassment of admitting that he neither liked Quidditch nor flew, he promptly forgot that he’d ever asked her about her family.

Later on he would puzzle over the fact, briefly, but ffleurbert was never one to think too deeply about such things, and he steadfastly refused to worry about it.

Instead he listened to Ava’s suggestions.

“We would have the run of the whole castle probably. Just the two of us. Lots of room for lurking."

“True for you, sweet. Though we would be more or less restricted to the hiding part of lurking, as there would be no one to spy on. Mind you,” He added enthusiastically, “Almost anyone we did spy on would certainly be worth it. Because, think about it: anybody other than us, who stayed away from the Quidditch would most likely be up to no good. Which is exactly why we would want to lurk and watch them.” They would of course be exempt from this interpretation; they would be lurking with no evil intent.

From lurking in the castle, ffleurbert’s mind naturally drifted to other lurking haunts, most especially his house.

“Back home is rather good for lurking. The house has a rather splendid back stair, for the maids and footmen and such, don’tcher know. But just right for Skrumph and I to snoop about. Then there was the dumb waiter. That’s a kind of lift thing, from the kitchen to the upstairs butler’s pantry. It’s meant for food, of course, but it will hold a nine year old boy perfectly well. Well, when I say, perfectly, perhaps I should mention that for Skrumph it was rather snug.”

Snug enough that his friend had become wedged, in fact, but as Skrumpkin was extracted unharmed and before his parents found out, it didn’t count.

“The garden is rather good for lurking, even without bamboo screens. The hedge maze would be better if it was actually taller than two feet, but it has its uses. Then there are the paddocks. Not good in themselves, but the hedges are nice. And there is a sunken lane behind the stables that makes for good lurking. You can go all the way onto the commons without being seen, if you are careful.”

He smiled happily, remembering summers past, before even starting at Hogwarts.

“And of course, you can lurk on the roof, behind the balustrade.” Innocently he turned to Ava.

“Where do you lurk, at home, my little bunny?”

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Not Getting Any Younger