Right. Pretend everything's all right and no one will question their motives or pry too deeply into their conversation. Bea nodded slightly and made the effort to keep the slight, tight smile in place, even as Dr. Pomfrey asked if she'd outed her secret to her parents.

"I doubt I would've been allowed to attend today if I had," she replied, her smile growing tighter. It was an honest and likely true assessment. She was lucky her parents hadn't questioned her too deeply about visiting his office just over a week ago. That her cover for missing so many balls and parties of late was that she was feeling poorly.