Being out after hours was never the best idea. With lurking teachers and prefect around every corner you had to be especially cautious about where you walked and what you did. Kirby Gracean was nothing new to sneaking out after the curfew dawned. She really didn't agree with curfew when she wished so hard to read or to walk. She ran silently out of her dorm and into the secret passage way as always.

She knew nobody dared to lurk down there after all the scary stories of death and murder that was supposed to have happened down in the blackness. But she wasn't one to get scared easily and often lurked down there and in the secret room at the end of the corridor. She casually stroked alone into the darkness alone smirking lightly as she did so.

Huck had only admitted it to Gracie, but he was really very nervous doing these night patrols. Logically he knew that the castle was just about the safest place he could be, and that there was no way Mr. Strelnikov might be lurking behind one of the paintings just waiting to leap out and cast an unforgivable curse on his face. However, Huck had never been a creature ruled by logic, and to that end he stalked about the castle on his night patrols ready to jump out of his skin at a moment's notice.

Most nights he held his wand under white knuckles, his pale and flickering lumos giving him nowhere near the level of comfort he always hoped it would.

He felt especially chilly that night and had bundled himself in a huge, oversized hoodie that he only wore on days when he was feeling particularly down on himself.

Huck rounded the corner and squeaked in shock as he found a girl on the other side of it. Once the initial panic wore off, he cleared his throat and tried to sound more masculine and imposing. He hadn't actually written anybody up yet, and didn't honestly expect to then. "Right, ah..." he tried to think quickly of what prefects past had yelled at him when they'd caught him. "...oh! What, ah... what are yis doin' out of the dorms at this time 'o night?"

Kirby smiled happily that she had not been caught yet again. Why were people so empty headed to believe anything. Sure the ghost of an ex student lurked in the far room but he was friendly enough. She knew that from her person meeting with him on many occasions in her time at the castle.

She slowed quickly as she heard approaching footsteps. It couldn't be the ghost he never left footprints on his trial so why was she hearing this? Was someone there? Then she started slowly walking again towards the room she aimed to get to as she did most nights when she was unable to sleep.

Rats! She thought as a small light lit the corridor ahead of her. She had indeed been caught. She took in a deep breath ready to run for it if it was a teacher. But then she saw him. Murky blonde hair shone in front of her. A prefect! She exhaled relieved as he came closer to her. She prayed he was no normal Slytherin and bias to all gryffindor students hoping he wouldn't deduct house points from her. He was absolutely stunning. She had seen him around but never really spoken to him as he was in a different house to her Slytherin to be exact. When he started questioning her She got slightly lost in his appearance. "I.. I couldn't sleep so was going to keep Cedric company" she stammered answering him with her velvet voice coming.

Huck was momentarily worried by the look on the girl's face. It looked like she might puke on him at any moment, and he was really not in the mood for that. He flipped through the invisible rolodex in his brain, trying to remember her name. God, but he was tired. It started with a "k" sound, he was fairly certain. Kingsley? Concord? ...like the grape? Or the jet? ...Caroline?

He was nowhere sure enough to make a judgment call on it, anyway, so he fell back on the usual tactic he espoused in such situations-

change the subject!

"Lookit, pet," he began, trying to sound cool and together. "Whatever vaguely illegal, weird thing you're plannin' to do with yer little boyfriend can wait til sunrise, don't you think? He'll probably prefer the lights on, anyway."

Kirby listened as aggravation took over her face. Did he even know whom cedric was? Did he have no idea to where he currently stood? He was in the so called most haunted place in the entire castle. "Cedric is dead he is the student who haunts these halls. You do realise where you are don't you?" she asked and explained as she changed the subject.

She had heard so much about Ward saying he was a complete jerk and not someone to be messed with. Even though she was not one to judge and listen to what others say she could not help but have a slight caution with him. Especially as at that moment she was the one breaking the rules.

The poor boy's head was already throbbing. Honestly, he was beginning to regret his cavalier insistence on taking the full courseload he had scheduled at the beginning of the summer. When he'd made those choices he'd been... a solid human being. He was getting tired much more easily anymore; he couldn't deny it. At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to crawl into his bed and pass out.

Oh, the star crossed love story of Huxley Ward and his comfortable bed. It seemed it was never to be.

He rubbed furiously on the bridge of his nose trying to alleviate the pressure of his headache. "Look, right, I don't care if he's the ghost of Freddie-bleedin'-Mercury. I can't have yis skulkin' about the halls like a damn creepin' Jesus. Yer just lucky I don't care enough to write people up. Do you like, do this every night??"

Kirby watched as the fair haired boy grew frustrated. He didn't seem bad as people had said he was but she thought that may have been because it was the middle of the night. He rubbed the bridge of his nose obviously trying to relieve a headache as it was the normal thing. But when he explained he would not write her up and asked if she did this often she couldn't help but smile. There was no hiding it. Why was this boy asking? So he would catch her another night or because he was generally interested. "Most! I have trouble sleeping. I always have. Headache?" she asked him concerned as she moved his hand slowly from his nasal area.

Huck was about to go on talking when he realized just what she was doing...

Wait, just what was she doing??

He shook her hand away, his face a frozen mask of apprehension and general skeeved-out-ness. He didn't break eye contact- mostly out of fear that she'd try to put a hand on his already battered face again- and stuffed his own hands into the kangaroo pouch on his hoodie for safekeeping.

A number of things crossed his mind as possible things to say to defuse the palpable awkwardness. Most of which, he supposed, would get him into mild to moderate trouble with Professor Morgan, or worse- with the weird new headmaster that he had yet to speak to personally.

He cleared his throat, knitting his brows to help him think. "Right, ah.... look, bit stupid, isn't it, tellin' the kid with an attitude problem and a position of some authority that yis sneak out yer room every night?"

Kirby was really unsure why she had admitted her evening forbidden strolls to a boy she had just met who also happened to be the Slytherin prefect but for a strange unknown reason it did not bother her at all even though he was certain to find some way of causing her trouble. "I don't know and you have no obvious attitude problem in my eyes you seem like any normal seventh year boy. But why are you changing the subject. I can ease it if you want. With the innuendo spend" she told him truthfully but with the concern still in her velveteen voice.

Huck's face scrunched more. "It's funny that I seem like a seventh year boy when I'm a sixth," he commented wryly, scratching his stomach through the worn fabric of his hoodie. "As for the rest of it, I've no damn idea what the shit you're on about. Have you been bootleggin' gillyweed in the broom closet?"

The blonde attractive girl sighed flicking her curls behind her. This was hopeless she fared she had never been the best at communicating with others especially those of the opposite sex so why was she even trying to? Nothing would change so suddenly. "If you have a headache try the innuendo spell i learnt it through cedric." she whispered quietly her voice almost so secret that it was seductive.

Huck gestured at his battered face impatiently. "A headache?! Do I look like the kind of person who has the capacity to recognize a headache? Chrissakes!" Casting a glance up the hallway, he continued, "Look, I'm out with Comer tonight. If you don't go back to your dorm he's gonna write you up." Me, he added in his head, I can't be arsed.

He was silent for a moment, the gears turning in his head. Then, knitting his brows in thought, he frowned. "Wait a minute, the 'innuendo' spell?? Is this a joke I should be walking into, or what?"

"Fine suit yourself ward. Church writes up? I highly doubt it. But i will go. I am not one to argue" Kirby stated slightly smug as she turned around to walk away. Nothing was knew to be brushed aside so she wasn't going to get down hearted about it now of all times. She flipped her golden locks behind her to head back to her boring and lonely common and dorem room releasing a sweet smell of vanilla.

Damnit Huxley! Why, oh why were you made a prefect? Honestly, what was Morgan thinking making this guy a prefect? Not that the other options were that much better... but still. It probably wouldn't be so bad if he would stop wandering off. God... And Jazz had warned him about this too. She said it took him half an hour to find him. Well unfortunately for Church he didn't notice how long he had been alone. Which made backtracking difficult.

With an annoyed huff Church dove down one more corridor, content with abandoning Huxley if he didn't find him this time. The boy wasn't worth the time wasted in searching for him. Someone could be on the floor just below them, which was where he was supposed to be. Well actually that was unlikely. So far no one had been caught on any patrol, that Church knew of. Still, that was beside the point. When Church got ahold of Huxley-

"Oh speak of the devil," Church muttered as he saw the silhouette of someone walking towards him. "Where the hell have you been, Huxley? I've been looking-" Wait, what? Why was Gracean here? "What. The. Hell? Why are you out of bed?" Church demanded. "You realize that you're getting written up now, right?"

Great. Just what Church wanted. To have to write someone up. Paperwork was always so fun. "Look, just get back to your dorm. I have to find Huxley still." And with that Church continued to pace down the hall.

"Comer. Its not what it looks like i could not sleep so was getting sone prep for choir done. Oh and wards just to the left of here. He saw me before. Please leave me to get my work done you know what it is like." kirby gracean exclaimed as she saw him church one of the people that she actually classed as a friend within the school.