Smoke or Fire

[Ezra Shaffer]

Ezra Shaffer made his way up to the Great Hall after a good night's sleep. He went over to the Slytherin table, taking a seat near some of his fellow Slytherins. It was still too early in the morning for the blonde haired boy to take notice of the individuals around him. He had been out until curfew last night with Karah as she filled him in on what she had done over the summer after he had left her house. Ezra liked her family though he did think it was odd that she lived with her two sisters, brother-in-law, and niece who she had no knowledge of until she started school at Hogwarts. Lindsay had her hands full with a daughter and the magical menagerie while Audrey was all into her musical career which was actually doing very well. It left Ezra and Karah with plenty of alone time that was greatly appreciated by the Slytherin boy. He still could not shake his feelings for the Gryffindor despite the fact she insisted she loved Michael. Ezra could not help but feel envious of the Ravenclaw who held so much of Karah's affections. Karah was Ezra's best friend, and he honestly wanted her to be happy. He simply knew that he could make her a hundred times more happy than Michael ever could.

Last night, Karah had been worrying once more about the rumors that were started in the gossip magazine last semester. Ezra didn't really know Azolla all that well despite the fact that they were in the same house. Still, he had a feeling that the magazine wasn't all smoke even though he told Karah it was all talk. He was protective over his friend and he didn't want anyone hurting her. Ezra had been looking for Azolla since they arrived back at Hogwarts but he had been unable to find her. Ezra just wanted a few words with her to see if it was all smoke or if there was a fire underneath the smoke.