What took you so long? (Keiba and Humphrey)

Keiba stormed down the secret passageway. No matter how glad she was that Humphrey was back, she was furious with him for leaving her for the better part of two years. Her cheeks flushed red and her eyes sparked with a bitterness she'd never thought she was capable of feeling.

Keiba spun around once she was well into the hidden corridor. "HUMPHREY. STEVEN. WILLIAMS. YOU ARE THE WORLD'S BIGGEST JERK!" Keiba screamed at the boy who happened to be the first person she'd met at Hogwarts.

The dark of the corridor was slightly stifling and she could barely see him, but she knew he was there. Keiba wasn't going to stop until she got answers. "You can't just desert people like that," she said softly.

Humphrey was confused as he followed Keiba. He knew he had screwed up badly, but didn't know it was this bad. Then he realized that he had never owled Keiba. Instantly he understood exactly what was happening, and he knew he deserved it. Tears started to gather in his eyes as he walked with her, knowing he hurt her. Suddenly on the Third Floor she steered into the secret pssage way.

She cornered him and screamed his name at him, telling him he was the world's biggest jerk. All he could do was stand there and nod when she said it. Deep down he knew she was right, and he missed her so badly.

The lighting was bad, and he could barely make out Keiba's expression. But he heard her say quietly that you can't just desert people like that. Humphrey knew he was in hot water, and he was almost crying. Knowing she might reject him after what he did, he began to explain.

"Keiba, I don't know what to tell you. I messed up, but I want you to know that I didn't even know I was leaving until my aunt and uncle were right here saying I was leaving with them. I had no choice. They had cleared it with Headmaster Romain, and my trunk was already being taken to their car. My uncle Billy was diagnosed with cancer. And, they decided to take me out of school while he fought it so I could help them through it." He told her, and then he stopped to let tears roll down his face. Humphrey cried for a minute, then gathered himself and continued.

"Th-the diagnosis was bad from the beginning. They caught it too late. My uncle fought as hard as he could, but after a year of treatment he died. The last couple months have been busy arranging the funeral and burying him. Then my aunt Julia begged me to stay with her for a couple months to help her through it. I wanted to come back to Hogwarts so badly, but I couldn't, not when she was hurting so badly. So, I stayed with her, and then one morning she told me I could go back to Hogwarts. And here I am." he said.

The next thing he did was step up close to her. "Keiba, I am sorry. When my uncle came down with cancer, I didn't know what to do. He was like a father to me. And, I forgot about my owl, I was so preoccupied with helping my aunt and uncle that Hogwarts was driven completely out of my mind. All I can do is apologize. If I need to I will tell you every day how sorry I am, and beg on my knees for you to be my friend if I have to." Humphrey got down on one knee to show her he meant it. Then he asked her in a barely audible voice. "Can you, a-are y-y-you, st-still w-willing to be my f-f-friend?"

Keiba pulled out her wand. "Lumos," she whispered, and she could see Humphrey's face. He was snivelling and hot tears were rolling down his cheeks. Part of Keiba was touched, but the other was disgusted.

"You're pathetic," she spat at him. Keiba couldn't believe how he'd just waltzed back in here, a year and a half later and expected her to forgive him like that. She didn't really care about his uncle; from the way Humphrey had spoken about him, they hadn't really seemed to get on so well.

Then he mentioned the owls, and all the distress came flooding back to her. "You disappeared off the face of the earth, Humphrey. I almost came to the conclusion you were dead." Keiba got right in his face, and noticed how much taller than her he was. She looked right into his eyes and held the wandlight up so she could see. "Not a single letter," she said, shaking her head. "Not one."

Then Humphrey was down on his knees. Keiba, startled, took a step back. She stared at him in a mixture of confusion and distaste. "Get up, Humphrey. Don't be stupid," she reprimanded him, but then the twinkle started to come back to her eye. "Of course I'm still going to be your friend. Just promise me one thing." Keiba stared sternly at him.

Keiba pulled her wand on him, got up in his face, and said Lumos. The light from her wandtip nearly blinded him. Yes, he was taller, but she was much more intimidating than him and had the upper hand. Humphrey knew she had every right to do this, so he wasn't fighting back. "Keiba, you don't have to tell me I'm pathetic. I already know I am. Another thing I know is that I screwed up royally and ended up hurting the person I care about most in the whole world. I can never fix the mistake I made, but I can try to heal what damage I've caused if you will let me." he told her this while she was staring him down. He stared right back, still crying, but looking her in the eye.

"You will, really? Keiba, I'll promise you anything, anything at all. Just name it."

Keiba rolled her eyes at him. He really was a dramatic kid. She looked away and then back at him. "Don't ever desert me again. Otherwise," she began, her voice taking on a lighter and cheerier tone for some thing that shouldn't really be light and cheery, "I'll rip your guts out and sell them to the black market and then I will put your head on a stake as warning." She grinned at him.

"Oh, one more thing," Keiba said, stopping short, as she had just started walking away.

"Do you honestly think I would be dumb enough to desert you again? Keiba, what I do is I screw up royally, bigger than I ever thought I could. Then I learn from it. I couldn't leave you again if I tried, because if I did I would hate myself so much that I would probably die. I promise I won't ever leave you again." Humphrey told her staring her right in the eyes.

"What else did you want to tell me? And, on a brighter note, would you like to see some paintings I've done? They are up in the abandoned tower."

Keiba smiled gently at Humphrey. That really was what he did - made mistakes and never made them again. But there was a little voice up the back of her head that told her that one day he would make a mistake no one could save him from. She brushed that off.

"Hmm? Sure. But first things first," she said. Stepping forward, Keiba whacked her hand across his face. A painful sound echoed through the corridor and she stepped back. "Right. That's settled. Let's go see these paintings of yours."

And with that, Keiba took off along the passageway, a sense of satisfaction dancing around her mind. She had to fight the smirk that was tugging at her lips.

Keiba smiled at him, and what he had been thinking of jumbled into total mush. Then, she slapped him hard across the face. She put all of her weight behind it, and it hurt like hell. Humphrey knew there was a bright red handprint on his face, but he couldn't have cared less. He had his friend back, plus he deserved it. "Finally, I've been expecting the slap as soon as you started yelling at me Keiba. I thought you were planning some evil way to get back at me instead. The paintings are in the abandoned tower in a corner. Just start climbing the stairs until you reach the seventh floor." he told her with a smile on his face.

"But, before we walk up can I get one thing from you? Can I have a hug?" Humphrey asked.

Keiba stopped walking and turned back to him. "Of course you were expecting it, Humphrey," she said mockingly. She grinned and rolled her eyes at him.

"I don't know if you deserve this, but fine," Keiba said as she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

He laughed when she rolled her eyes at him. She did a great imitation of him. Really, it was perfect, dead on.

"I don't deserve it. But I still appreciate it. I've known you were nicer than me all along." he told her. And then he hugged her back tightly. "Come on, I want you to see what I've been working on." And with that he walked out of the secret passage. Narrowly escaping being murdered by a girl much shorter than him.

Keiba grinned and shook her head at Humphrey. He let go and started walking out of the secret passageway. Keiba bounded after him, eager to see what he'd done.