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Peter probably didn’t need the notes. He’d managed to do rather well in this course. But she didn’t need to know that. “How do you stop a brain from leaking?” he wondered. He made a show, though subtly so and only once the Professor had turned around, of plugging his ears as he shot her a questioning look.

“Ah, now that—” Hestia responded with a muted smirk, trying not to attract attention from the professor and the other students, “—is something I’ve yet to figure out.”

“Interesting.”

“Is it?” Hestia asked, smirking and taking another sip of her beer.

Benjy laughed. “Is that all it takes to lure you off? A good project?”

“Usually. Throw in a few beers—” Hestia indicated the one she was still sipping from, “—And you've got me.”

“So you remember everything then?” he prompted. “In that case, remind me never to ask you an embarrassingly bad joke again. If you’re going to remember it forever, that is. And also, maybe you can tell me what I won’t remember from this lesson, being distracted and all.”

“I forget very little,” Hestia confirmed, still scribbling down information and carrying on their whispered conversation at the same time, “And I certainly don’t forget embarrassing jokes. Didn’t realize I was so distracting but if you need help, you can have a look at my notes if you want. Seeing as it might be partly my fault. And also partly the fault of your leaking brain, apparently.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad you’re here, but — I’m surprised you’re making sandcastles with me on a holiday.”

“Well, you asked me to,” Hestia said simply, as if that completely explained her actions. It was a surprise to her as well, she had to admit, even if it was only inwardly. “Although when you originally asked I must say, I thought you were off your rocker. But then you explained and it’s turned into a project, which I always enjoy.”

“Too late to take it back.”

Hestia playfully narrowed her eyes at Benjy for a moment but said nothing, instead deciding to bring her focus back to her sandcastle molding, which she thought was going well.

“So you think I’m impressively foresighted. How flattering.”

“I never said I agreed about the impressive part,” Hestia told him, although she wasn’t being entirely truthful.

“Give it up, Jones. I’m impressively foresighted, and I don’t cheat.”

“Give it up? Do you know who you’re talking to? I’ll only concede that maybe—maybe—one of those things is true.”

“You were the one who brought up Stinging Jinxes. I’m just preparing for every possibility.”

“I suppose I can’t give you shit for being prepared,” Hestia said with a shrug, a smile ghosting her lips before she attempted to look irked again.

“I have a lot of jokes up here,” he said, tapping fingertip to temple. “It might’ve slipped through the cracks between now and then.”

“Ah, leaking out your ears, I understand,” Hestia replied, smirking in his direction before turning her attention to the front of class again, “Not from personal experience, of course, but I grew up with quite a few lads that it seemed to happen to a lot.”

Some of his embarrassment abated as the unmistakable sound of a stifled laugh reached his ears. Okay, he thought, so maybe she wasn’t peeved off. “And it already wasn’t very funny out loud. I couldn’t risk losing anything more in translation.” He chanced one quick, animated look at her to punctuate the sentiment, and then looked back to the front of the classroom. 

“Good thinking on your part,” Hestia amusedly whispered back to Peter after a moment, still attempting to jot down notes from the lecture, “Although you really thought you wouldn’t remember it after the lesson?” It wasn’t exactly a complicated line, at least not from Hestia’s point of view.

Benjy’s grin only grew. It was nice sparring with her — and especially fun being an arsehole on purpose. “Maybe you should. Keep me on my toes, you know? I’ve been thinking my Shield Charm needs work.”

Hestia raised her eyebrows. “I’ll keep that in mind. But that makes it sound a bit like you’re afraid you wouldn’t be prepared for the debate itself, so you’d need to resort to dueling to stand a chance against me.”

“Suspect because you seemed so very concerned about rules after I won,” said Benjy blithely. “I don’t know. Something not concerning a seventy-year-old man?”

“Because I didn’t think you would break them,” Hestia replied, her tone insistent but still light, “Rules provide structure to any competition. Do you want me to throw them out next time we’re against each other in Debate and, I dunno, toss out my notes and throw a Stinging Jinx your way?”

If Peter hadn’t regretted interrupting the lesson to make a very poor attempt at chatting her up before (he had), then certainly he did now. He felt the prickle of hives beneath his skin threatening him. But he had to rally, he had to beat back his instinct to fumble and clutch at whatever cleverness he had left. What would James do in this situation, he wondered? “Just thought I might forget it by the end of the lecture, is all. And it’s not as good written down,” he whispered back.

A stifled chuckle actually managed to escape Hestia’s lips at Peter’s final comment, simply due to the mental image of him trying to pass her a note with his joke attempt written on it. She put a finger to her lips in an effort to cover her giggle, hoping the Professor hadn’t noticed. “Yeah,” she replied quietly, “Written communication would not have had the same effect.”

“I didn’t cheat, and I’m only pointing out that there’s something suspect about the cause and effect you’re suggesting.” He began to shape the first tower, at one corner of the main keep. “He’d be dead pleased if he knew we were talking about him on the beach. Of all the things to discuss, he’d say.”

“Suspect how, exactly? Explain your reasoning,” Hestia asked, adding a bit of sand mixture to the main keep as to prevent it from toppling over, “He really does sound like a character, your granddad. ‘Of all things to discuss’... What do you wager he’d think we ought to be discussing, then?”

“Did not, and I can’t believe you’re a sore enough loser to accuse me — falsely — of cheating just because you lost,” Benjy shot back without hesitation. “Yeah, he’s a treasure.” He said it with a burst of affection, even though he would probably spend the rest of the day trying to keep his grandfather from gossiping with Annamarie about their day.

“Did too, and I only lost because you cheated. There’s no false accusations going on here, Fenwick. I am simply stating all of the facts and making my case,” Hestia pointed out with a smirk, before the bite in her voice lessened, clearly sensing Benjy’s devotion to his grandfather, “He sounds like it.”