Can't Sleep?

Adelaine sat up in her bed and yawned, wondering what time it was. Standing up and stretching, she walked over to the window and peered up at the sky. It was dangerously cloudy, so she couldn't see the stars or the moon. There was a storm coming.

"Hmmm."

She was just going to lay back down when she noticed one of the beds was empty; Marigold's bed. Tomorrow was the Hogsmeade trip, perhaps the girl was just too excited to sleep..or perhaps it was her aunt that kept her awake. Adele threw her shift on and quietly tiptoed down to the common room. She spied Marigold sitting by the fire and went to join her.

"Finally opened the other letters, I see?"

Adele plopped down in a big cushy armchair, then froze when she heard footsteps behind her. Why was everyone awake tonight? Seamus padded across the floor with two cups of tea and gave one to Marigold.

"Oh, hi dare Adele, didn' know ye were up," he said, passing her the second cup of tea. "'ere, you take dat one an' oi'll go make ano'der."


((OOC: MADISON WHAT DID I JUST SAY ABOUT NO MISTER AND MISS?? Also, I didn't know we had a hot water basin, how nice ))

Adele sipped her tea and glanced at the dying fire. It was getting chilly in the common room, and she was only wearing a short-sleeved little shift.

"Seamus, do you know that fire spell?" she asked as the lad sat down in the chair next to her.

"Wha'? Oh, yeah," he answered, pulling out his wand. "Incendio."

The flames shot from his wand and the fire was roaring in an instant. Much better, she thought with a smile. She took another swig of tea and turned back to Marigold just as the girl was holding up the sack of money.

"Oi know if I 'ad tat much money, I'd save it all," Seamus confided, not able to take his eyes off of it. "Tat much would carry me along ter be a knight."

Adelaine's stomach fluttered a bit at the thought of Seamus becoming a knight.

"He's right," she said to Marigold. "I mean, obviously you can't be a knight. But one can certainly move up in the world with money."

Adelaine's eyes opened a little wider when Marigold said she was only taking 50 galleons. How much was in there? Adele could spend 50 in a heartbeat in the bookshop. Plus, there would be other Hogsmeade trips during the year, whether they were permitted or not.

"I really love Defense," Adele noted, finishing her tea. "Renoir has a very interesting style of teaching, doesn't she?"

"More tea, Adie?" Seamus asked, not waiting for a response as he took her cup and went to make more.

"And flying is amazing, as well," she went on. "Do you think you'll join the team next year?"

Adele gratefully took the tea from Seamus, taking a long sip of it. Truthfully, she had never really had tea until Hogwarts. Highborns never drank it often, gravitating more toward wines and spiced milk and juices. Commoners drank tea because it was far more affordable, and easier to find leaves.

"Ta snakes tink Harcourt's a loon," Seamus commented, furrowing his brow. "But, dey tink anyone who's no' a dark wizard is soft."

Adelaine nodded, thinking back to their old Charms professor. Wilkins-Gregory was nice as could be, but he knew what he was doing and was very skilled. That didn't matter a bit to the Slytherins, though; they talked behind his back every day.

"I still can't believe Arry got a lesson from him," she laughed, pretending she didn't notice Seamus staring at her the past five minutes. "Turns out she's a right natural."

"Who's Arry?" Seamus squinted, as if trying to picture her face.

"I've never met a bad Gryffindor," she chimed in, her eyes nowhere near as cheerful as her voice may have sounded. "And Arya is certainly loyal."

Adele's mind was racing. She tried to stay on topic, but she couldn't help thinking of her conversation with Nadia a couple weeks ago. Talking of betrothals and lords and ladies and all the nonsense of the world they lived in.

"In fact..." she trailed off.

She didn't even realize she was pouring her tea onto the floor. All she could picture was the lordling, Rickon, and joining House Trystain. Adelaine looked between Seamus and Marigold. They were two of her truest friends, surely she could confide in them.

"Father is getting closer to sealing the deal," she started, looking rather helpless. "Within a month it'll be finalized and I'll be betrothed to Lord Rickon."

She grimaced and held her breath, waiting for their responses. These things were always kept on the down low when they were just in the works, no one ever spoke of a marriage contract before it was official.

"At least it's the younger Lord Rickon," Adele mused, drinking from her empty teacup. "And he's..nice enough. Only 27..."

No matter what she said, though, she couldn't find the bright side of this situation. She smiled sadly at Seamus when he mentioned marrying for love. It was a nice thought. But that just wasn't an option for her. Adelaine's future consisted of being married off to a high lord, whom she most likely wouldn't meet until their wedding day, and being his lady wife. For the rest of her life.

All the previous talk of flying and Quidditch made Adele feel...risky. She wasn't content with waiting until January to fly again, or even waiting until morning. She had a better idea.

"Let's get out of here," she said firmly, hopping up and heading toward the stairs to the girl's dorm.

"Whattya mean?" Seamus asked, standing and scratching his head, confused.

"Let's go!" she whisper-shouted. "To the Pitch, let's fly!"

"Ye're mad," he exclaimed, grinning and heading upstairs to change.

"C'mon, Marigold."

Adele ran up the stairs, changed into her breeches and tunic, and ran back to the common room. Seamus was there waiting.

Adele grinned at her friends. She through the hood of her cloak up and pocketed her wand. They were going to do exactly what Arya had done - hopefully without the impromptu lesson from Harcourt.

"I know a way," she smiled slyly, patting the wand in her pocket.

"Les 'ave a go, den!"

Seamus followed, and Adele assumed Marigold did too.

Ariette looked around her. Her four-poster bed near the window was all decorated with gold and red and she lied in her bed, wondering what to do. She couldn't sleep, without knowing why. Most of the time she would be able to sleep without even knowing that it was raining outside. Sometimes she was too much of a deep-sleeper, that she didn't really notice anything while sleeping.

Ariette sighed. It was useless. She got up and, after putting her nightgown on, she went down the steps and sat near the fire, deep in her own thoughts. She looked at her watch. 01:18. She would have to do with the sleepiness later that day. She might as well meet a few students her age while going into Hogsmeade...

She got up and stretched. She then went to look at the Notice Board in the Common Room and started exploring every bit of it, taking everything in.

I better go back to bed, and soon.