Fireplace Meanderings

[Grace Concord]

There was something about the first touches of autumn, the leaves starting to change colour and the first touch of winter’s cold that made it a special time of year. OK, so the highlands of Scotland weren’t exactly the warmest of places at the best of times, but as the month drew on the nights started to come a little faster and there was that touch of cold that hung in the air, sharp enough to cut at exposed skin. It wasn’t enough to be uncomfortable, not yet, but enough to encourage any students crossing the courtyards of Hogwarts castle to find their way inside as quickly as possible.

It was, in fact, the perfect weather to curl up by the fire in an armchair, a blanket draped across your legs with a good book. Which was exactly where Grace found herself this evening, as the stars twinkled in the sky above, the windows of the common room like paintings which matched the decoration that surrounded her. If the girl didn’t know better she would have thought that they were art. The girl lifted her eyes from the pages of the book in her lap to stare out of the window, resting her head against one side of the headrest as she stared into the darkness, lost for a moment in thought and the sight of the stars.

@Iliana Tsankova

[Iliana Tsankova]

Regardless of how long she'd lived there already, Ili still hadn't adjusted to Autumn and Winter weather. It was ironic all things considered where she came from but in fairness; British Isles Autumn and Winter was she felt all together wetter than the ones she was familiar with in Russia. She could at least by now almost set her watch by when the seasons would begin to change so she wasn't at all surprised as she made her way into the Ravenclaw common room to find another student curled up with a blanket and book in one of the large comfortable chairs by a window looking entirely lost in her thoughts.

She recalled her own days of doing such when she'd been young, when she had the time and mental energy to let her mind wander. Ili had no such thing anymore it seemed, preparing for N.E.W.T.S and of course finishing up her time here at Hogwarts before she was to set out into the world as an adult; it was all occupying her mind. Along with the continual creeping thoughts of her curiously soft spoken tutor and how easy it had been to open up to him once the realization had come that he came from close enough to be considered home.

A younger student if she had to guess, given she couldn't recall having seen her in any of her own classes but that mattered very little to her; after all they were both Ravenclaw that was what mattered most. The other girl's presence didn't deter her though because regardless of the chill outside she still had to try and work making her way over to another seat near the windows she did her level best not to disturb her. Settling into the chair Indian style with her legs folded beneath her she opened the book in her lap and dug out the quill she'd been using earlier the motion only then seeming to be what snapped the other girl out of her stare causing her to startle and Iliana did as well. "Apologies, I didn't mean to scare you. I was trying not to disturb you."

Holding up her paper and quill she gave her an easy smile, "Was just taking the opportunity and quiet to catch up on some studying."

[Grace Concord]

Grace knew she shouldn’t have been so wrapped up in her book that she completely missed the other girl entering the common room and approaching her. She knew, or at least had heard, that in some common rooms the students took advantage of the lack of teacher supervision in order to play prank on one another, or to act out a little. In other common rooms. But this was the Ravenclaw common room. It was hardly a place of pranks and japes, the rowdiest it got was after a quidditch victory.

The truth was, she’d just felt safe, safe enough to let down her guard and let herself get engrossed in the book. It was why she almost jumped out of her skin when Iliana spoke, her head flicking up as a look of surprise danced through her dark eyes for a moment. It took the teenager a few breathes before a calmness reasserted itself in her eyes, lips curling up into a small smile as she lifted her own book in reply.

“It’s my fault, I got kinda lost in the book and didn’t hear you come in, although reading a history of magic book about the rise of Vlad Drakul was…well probably not my smartest idea.”

It wasn’t that she thought that a vampire, or other minion of darkness was creeping around Hogwarts late at night, the castle had layers and layers of security and wards not to mention the aurors stationed there. There probably wasn’t a safer place in the entire country...but you still heard stories, and it was hard not to think what if in the moment. There was no vampire creeping through the walls but...

“You know, I wouldn’t say no to some company, especially with the rest of the reading to get through. I swear we got assigned it as a cruel prank, I’m having nightmares tonight, I just know it.”

Hogwarts wouldn’t be hogwarts if something wasn’t haunting your dreams and playing on your mind, between defense against the dark arts, and the horrors that were transfiguration mistakes. Grace expected even care of magical creatures or herbology to leave her out of sorts, but not history of magic, it was meant to be one of her safe classes! What was next, was arithmancy going to betray her too?

“What’re you working on there?”

[Iliana Tsankova]

Iliana smiled at her response and nodded, "Why not smart? He's an interesting figure, infamous still today so obviously he did something impressive." She never really considered something not being bright, especially if it meant learning. It was all in how you used what you learned as far as she was concerned.

Grace's comment about it being a cruel prank made her shake her head lightly with a smile, "You could always cast a charm on yourself or your bed to make sure you only have sweet dreams tonight if you are truly worried. I recall a girl when I was a first year who had to have one of the Professors do that due to the nightmares she dealt with." It was her, she'd been that girl.

Coming to Hogwarts had been the first time since her parents murder that Ili had been separated from her Uncle and Aunt, which had finally allowed her anxiety and fear to manifest in the most horrendous nightmares. After far too many nights waking her dorm mates with screams the Professors had checked in and immediately understood the issue. But she couldn't recall if they'd put the charm on her for when she slept or the bed itself, which wasn't a surprise given she only vaguely recalled her first year at all.

Snapping out of her thoughts when Grace spoke again she blinked and glanced down at the book and parchment in front of her, "Astronomy… I need to study more for my N.E.W.Ts and it's not my strongest subject so I'm putting more effort into that." And the tutoring of course, which was slow going though not for lack of effort. For all her skills in her other classes she could afford to take the extra time with this one, as her Uncle often impressed on her that extra effort on your weakness made you stronger in them.