late-night look

Close to midnight on Saturday, December 6

"Merlin's blue bullo-" Aiden cursed under his breath, clutching at his toe that he had stubbed on his bedpost as he was trying to sneak his foot into his slipper.  He caught himself mid-swear and looked around.  Good, it didn't look like he had disturbed any of his sleeping dormmates, which meant he could still continue on his solo late-night trip to the kitchens undisturbed and in peace. 

Quickly throwing on a green hoodie, Aiden grapped his favorite baseball cap and tiptoed out of the dorm, closing the door quietly behind him.  He peeked into the common room.  Okay, so there were only a few students still up, but if he acted swiftly he could get past them without catching their attention.  Aiden put on his hat and pulled it slightly down over his eyes, slightly covering and casting a shadow over his face.  Shoving his hands in his pockets, Aiden walked towards the common room door.  On his way, a younger boy met his gaze.  "Mind your own damned business," He hissed.

The instant he entered the kitchens, he was greeted not only with the delicious smell of multiple types of food, but also with the curious eyes of the Hogwarts house elves.  Now, Aiden wouldn't admit this to most people, but he had a soft spot for house elves.  He felt he could relate to them.  Though, yes, some were compensated for their work, they were still ordered around... doing whatever was commanded of them.  They reminded him of little puppets.  He, himself, was a puppet, only much taller much better-looking.

"Young Master.... uh, Young! How could I help you?" Teeter, one of the house elves Aiden had acquainted himself with over his years at Hogwarts had rushed to him.  Aiden allowed a slight smile grace his face.  He sat himself down in front of the fireplace sighed.

"Anything sweet with lots of sugar..... Got any doughnuts?"

"Of course, I'll be right back!"

"Excellent."  Aiden smiled again.  It was silly how such a small thing as a doughnut could make a normally stern person like himself happy, but in life, it was the simple things that truly brought about happiness.  His father had Aiden on an extremely strict diet his entire childhood.  Only on extremely rare occasions was he allowed sweets.  A child who was denied one of childhood's treasures..... Tragic.  Another one of the many things Aiden held against his father.  But at least he could make up for lost time now.  He could enjoy sugar and sweets and whatever he wanted when he wanted.  Hogwarts at least gave him that freedom. 

Teeter brought him a plate with a few doughnuts of assorted varieties.  Aiden first picked up a chocolate iced one.  "Mmmmm!" He hummed happily after taking his first bite.  Heaven in a circle!   Truly the simple things and tastes of life were the most satisfying.  The more complicated and expensive you got, the more havoc you ran in to.  Aiden had observed this growing up.  The expensive things were never good enough.  There always had to be something better to one-up it.  But with simple things, like these doughnuts, it was a 'what you see is what you get' sort of thing.  Aiden preferred it that way. 

A sound caught his eyes as he was taking another bite of his doughnut.  Footsteps.  Someone else was in the kitchens.  Oh great....  Aiden's smile disappeared.  He pulled his hat back down over his face, awaiting the arrival of his fellow midnight snacker.

[Outfit]

In the middle of the December night, Bellatrix woke up sweating and shaking. A very disturbing nightmare had crept into her slumber and scared the Slytherin girl out of her wits. Usually, she wasn't so easily frightened, but this one wasn't like the others; it was terrifying. The sixteen year old looked around warily at the other girls sleeping in her dorm. She was almost jealous that they could sleep so soundly while she was having nightmares. Since it was only a Saturday night, going back to sleep wasn't much of an option. Slowly, she climbed to her feet, put on her house shoes and a hole-filled transparent sweater, and left the dorm. The common room was being avoided lately in case someone like Erin Harper cornered her when she was alone. Where else could she go? Somewhere there were warm memories.

Duke, her toad, croaked loudly on the table where it seemed he guarded her books and studies. No one really bothered her table and how threatening was an old toad that bugged her for Fudge Flies? With a groan, the girl hunted around her usual table for the box, removed a couple of Fudge Flies, and fed them to the toad. Her own stomach growled. A snack would be great right now. That was it! The kitchens! After she left a couple of Fudge Flies for her toad, the younger of the Dark twins scurried out of the Slytherin common room into the dungeons.

This was probably the coldest place in Hogwarts. Any other place was debatable on temperatures. Of course, Bellatrix wasn't a debating person: her word was golden to her. If she said it was the coldest place in Hogwarts, there wasn't a soul around that would argue with her otherwise. Not many, anyway, because no one was that stupid. Along the dungeons she trekked until she came to the portrait hiding the kitchens. She took a careful look around and crept inside. Shortly after arriving, she let out a gasp. Someone else was in there already!

It wasn't like Bellatrix to be on-edge. That nightmare had definitely left the girl shaken up and being surprised by a guy that was (awkwardly) hiding his face with his cap made her a tad angry. Okay. A lot angry. How many more surprises was she going to endure tonight? Well, she certainly considered taking her frustrations out on him, but a wide yawn escaped her. To hell with it. She was too tired to be angry. Without hesitation or regard for privacy, the notorious Slytherin plopped herself into a seat beside him.

"What in the name of Uric are you eating?"

She'd never seen a doughnut before and during her long pause, Bella gaped at it and tried to figure out what it was. How was it made? Why couldn't her mind register anything other than that nightmare?

Aiden knew whoever had joined him in the kitchens had spotted him when he heard a gasp.  A girl, he knew that much after hearing the voice and light footsteps.  Okay, he could relax.  It wasn't a professor and no prefect would be caught sneaking into the kitchens this late at night.... right?  Well, he would assume that if he was going to be getting in trouble for his little venture, he would have heard shouted questions interrogating him already.  At least he could relax a bit.  But now that this girl was here, he wouldn't be able to enjoy his snack in peace anymore.

When the girl sat next to him, Aiden got curious.  He pushed his hat up so he could finally see the identity of his kitchen company.  It was Bellatrix Dark, a fellow class and housemate.  Huh, interesting.  Though it didn't really surprise him to see Bella out-and-about this late, Aiden just had never run into her here before.  He was a regular when it came to midnight kitchen runs... After all, when a boy has got to eat, a boy has got to eat.  And even though Aiden seemed to eat a lot of food, he still managed a slim figure due to his workouts and love for sports.

"What in the name of Uric are you eating?"

Now this caught Aiden off guard.  "Wait, you've really never seen a doughnut before?!  Where have you been all your life?  Trapped in a secluded cave?  Jeez, these things are heavenly,"  Aiden shook his head in disbelief as he took a bite of the doughnut he had been eating before Bella came in, his mouth exploding in sugary goodness.  Taking another doughnut and tearing apart, he offered a half to Bellatrix, "Try one.  They won't hurt you, I promise.  And see, they even have colorful sprinkles."

She raised an eyebrow at his remark about living in a secluded cave.

"No, I've been living with my pure-blood mum and she can't stand muggles--or anything they eat. Doughnuts are considered muggle to her. Ridiculous, I know."

He offered her half of one. It looked delicious enough. The girl reached over to take it, chewed off a good portion, and chewed. Her face lit up with surprise and happiness. It really was yummy! Better than Pumpkin Pasties, anyway. They were about even with Cauldron Cakes on her list now.

"Mmm! This is good!"

Her eyes lingered on the doughnut for a couple of minutes, chewing and nibbling here and there. Conversation and being nice were new for Bellatrix. Her idea of socialization with other students was hexing, jinxing, cursing, and insulting them. Making their life a living hell was her idea of socializing...previously. Now, she was put in a series of situations like tonight where she was trying to force herself to have an actual conversation instead of jinxing someone. It was extremely awkward for her.

"I didn't mean to burst in on you like this. I don't come to the kitchens for snacks, but I ran out of Cauldron Cakes the other night and I won't be able to get anymore until over the holidays. I thought I'd had enough in my stash when I went to Hogsmeade last so I didn't buy any. Guess I was wr--" Bellatrix choked on the word 'wrong'. Habit. "Wrong."

A long, silent pause occurred after that while the sixteen-year-old studied him. She could remember his face, but he never wore anything like what he was dressed up in now. He always looked so proper and business-like. Once she finished her last bite of the doughnut, Bellatrix stirred up conversation.

"I know why I didn't recognize you at first. You're always dressed up like someone who works at the Ministry. Professional and...business-y. Why? I mean, why are you always dressed up like that? Don't you ever dress...y'know, in something like what you're in now?"

"No, I've been living with my pure-blood mum and she can't stand muggles--or anything they eat. Doughnuts are considered muggle to her. Ridiculous, I know."

"Ah.... Understandable." Aiden mused, nodding his head.  Though he, himself, was not from a Pureblood family, being raised by a strict father who had basically planned out every step of your day and life could be comparable to the stricter Pureblooded families in the Wizarding World.  His father would probably give him 'the nutrition talk' as well as a rigorous workout schedule for two weeks if he saw Aiden eating these doughnuts right now.  Ever the dramatic one, his father.

Aiden was relieved to hear that Bella liked the muggle doughnuts.  It was relieving to see a Pureblood who didn't mind eating such, unlike the others who would probably spit on food and toss it aside.  And Aiden thought he could be a snob at times, he was nothing compared some.  But perhaps it was better that way.  Besides, he was only a snob cause he was brought up to be as such.  When not around other people, he could be a decent person. 

"I didn't mean to burst in on you like this. I don't come to the kitchens for snacks, but I ran out of Cauldron Cakes the other night and I won't be able to get anymore until over the holidays. I thought I'd had enough in my stash when I went to Hogsmeade last so I didn't buy any. Guess I was wr-...Wrong."

"You would not be the first one that has happened to," Aiden responded, nodding his head again, "A lot of kids come down here to restock on stuff.  But usually the house elves help them right at the door, so they don't really see me."  He flicked a sprinkle off of his black pajama pants.  "You're okay, though.  Besides, it's not like I own the kitchens. Everyone's free to come and go as they please."

A long silence passed between the two.  Not much of a conversationalist, Aiden turned his attention back to the doughnut in his hand, taking another bite.  His gaze swept the kitchen floor multiple times.  Nope, this isn't awkward at all.. He thought sarcastically.  What was he supposed to say?  Was he supposed to start up small talk?  Ew, no.  Aiden hated small talk.  Things like talking about the weather or what the other person had for lunch was pointless and boring.  Talking about classes was out of the question, too.  He didn't like talking academics unless it was necessary.  It was almost, if not already midnight.... It wasn't necessary.

""I know why I didn't recognize you at first. You're always dressed up like someone who works at the Ministry. Professional and...business-y. Why? I mean, why are you always dressed up like that? Don't you ever dress...y'know, in something like what you're in now?"

Bella's question surprised him and he turned to look at her.  "Uh....." Aiden thought about how to exactly answer her question.  Not that it was hard, but, he'd never been asked something like that before, "Because it's a sign of breeding, according to my father.  I'm going to inherit the family's money and business one day so I have to look the part.  Does that make sense?"  He sighed, "But that doesn't mean I actually enjoy looking like an underaged Minister of Magic.  I can be 'cool'."

The Slytherin girl reached over and plucked another doughnut from the plate without asking. She assumed since he'd offered her one, she was allowed to snack on the rest. Of course, she wouldn't be greedy and not let him have any. Bellatrix was only greedy when it came to her own candies and unless a person had none of their own, she wouldn't share. For some reason, she didn't think to ask. She went ahead and chewed.

"Uh.....Because it's a sign of breeding, according to my father.  I'm going to inherit the family's money and business one day so I have to look the part.  Does that make sense?" But that doesn't mean I actually enjoy looking like an underaged Minister of Magic.  I can be 'cool'."

Shortly after her bite, Bellatrix laughed. Not her usual high-pitched fake laugh that mocked people or came as a fore-warning that she was about to be twice as nasty. A genuine laugh; the same one she gave out over the summer or as of late when she was around Xavier Tawse. The laughter carried on for a bit until her sides were hurting and she made herself stop, though she continued to giggle.

"I-I'm not laughing because you said you can be 'cool', I..." Another giggle spurt. "I'm laughing at the way you said it!"

She giggled more. Ever since Care of Magical Creatures class, Bellatrix Dark had been bursting into spontaneous fits of giggles, laughter, and general happiness. Could her housemate really be affecting her this much? People were beginning to wonder if she really was psycho. After all, rumor had it that she had been the reason Sasha Schalgenweit, Ravenclaw Prefect, had disappeared; that she had done something brutal to him. Her laughter and strange behavior, only adding to the theory of her psychotic state, could be a manifestation of her sanity finally breaking after doing him in. Yet there was truth and logic behind her random bouts of laughter. It wasn't like what the student body was thinking at all.

"That's terrible," she calmed herself down enough that only a wide grin was on her face. "Someone like you inheriting your dad's stuff. That's ridiculous!" The smile faded when her mind brewed on the thought. "If you don't want to, don't. Wear what you want. He's not at Hogwarts, is he? How's he going to know how you dress, eh?"

The idea of a parent forcing things on their kids. Like her mum. That horrid woman. No! She wouldn't get upset over this. Not tonight. She was too tired. Smacking her hand down on the table and setting her doughnut down, Bellatrix stood up and looked at him.

"Stand up. Go on, stand up! I want to see how tall you are. No one ever gets to see you like this, so I'm taking advantage! Come on, stand up."

She took a step back, not realizing what her sentence had just implied. The younger Dark twin, unlike her sister who teased and played and flirted with boys, had nothing along those lines going on in her mind. She never did. It was like she was innocent or pure to the whole idea of teenage hormones. Her blue eyes, however, did focus on him like a large animal watching its prey for an opportune moment to attack.

Aiden smiled once Bella started laughing.  It surprised him at first, but see, he wasn't really used to making people laugh.  He never saw himself as a funny person since, normally, he was too serious to be one.  If he were to be a 'type', you could say he was the 'tall, dark, and... well, not handsome.... (at least, Aiden never really thought so)... maybe silent?  Tall, dark, and silent - yes, that was Aiden's type.  That was the Aiden that the majority of the population saw.  Few really got to see him like he was now.... semi-laid back, smiling, and eating doughnuts.

That's terrible....Someone like you inheriting your dad's stuff. That's ridiculous!  If you don't want to, don't. Wear what you want. He's not at Hogwarts, is he? How's he going to know how you dress, eh?"

Aiden shook his head, "Oh, I don't plan on becoming his puppet, no.  But, this might sound silly, but I'm kind of paranoid, I guess.  I feel like he has eyes everywhere.  And if he did, I wouldn't be surprised.  He owns a private investigation company, the one I'm supposedly going to inherit.  Seriously, it would not shock me in the least bit if one of his 'sources' was here at Hogwarts, and that he pays that person extra to keep an eye on me."

Was that being paranoid?  Aiden didn't quite think so.  It sure would explain how his father knew about every time he cut class or got a detention.  Nothing Aiden did was worthy enough for the professors to send an owl home to his father, so there had to be some other way his dad was getting that information.  It just pissed Aiden off that his father would spy on him.  He was his father.  Wasn't he supposed to give him a pat on the back for having good marks?  Apparently not. 

"Stand up. Go on, stand up! I want to see how tall you are. No one ever gets to see you like this, so I'm taking advantage! Come on, stand up."

He gave her a questioning look, but still did as she said.  Standing up, Aiden dusted off his black pants and turned to face Bella.  "Now, you're not some secret pervert, are you?  Because I would seriously be freaked out if you were," He asked, jokingly.  Yeah, jokingly.  That was rare. 

"Oh, I don't plan on becoming his puppet, no.  But, this might sound silly, but I'm kind of paranoid, I guess.  I feel like he has eyes everywhere.  And if he did, I wouldn't be surprised.  He owns a private investigation company, the one I'm supposedly going to inherit.  Seriously, it would not shock me in the least bit if one of his 'sources' was here at Hogwarts, and that he pays that person extra to keep an eye on me."

"Really? I never thought about it like that. I could always go around slipping Veritaserum into people's drinks to find out which one it is if you'd like? Or I could torture them until they spilled their guts, though I'm not partial to actual Unforgiven Curses. I leave that to the really nasty people."

She grinned at him. It was the truth: although Bella loved to make people's lives miserable with jinxes and hexes and curses, she would never truly harm a person to the point they wouldn't come back from it. Though, some people asked for it way too often. The girl surprisingly wasn't evil--not that anyone else at Hogwarts thought that--but she was easily irritated and extremely moody. She wasn't above or below giving people what they deserved yet when it came to being downright Dark Mistress-like, she couldn't bring herself to do it. She was mean, not evil. There was a fine line - about as fine of a line between reality and dreams.

"Now, you're not some secret pervert, are you?  Because I would seriously be freaked out if you were."

There was another giggle from Bella before she tugged him by the arm into a wider empty space away from the counter. Once there was plenty of room between Aiden and the things in the kitchen around him, the youngest Dark twin studied his physique carefully but quickly.

"If I am, I'm not aware of it and if I notice any time soon, I'll give you a warning. Fair enough? Just stand still, I won't hurt you."

When had she ever said that to another student before? Never. She never told anyone anything like that. The truth was, she couldn't bring herself to think of any man except one. Everyone else was like some unspoken gay friend around her - a girlfriend, if you would, because that's the only sort of feeling she got from anyone anymore. Girlfriend, enemy, or insignificant. Bellatrix was lost in concentration, however, as she circled his body and studied him--making sure not to stare below the waist; that wasn't her thing. Once she came back to stand in front of him, she nodded with satisfaction.

"Here's what I'm going to do: I've got enough money to buy you some clothes. I have great taste, don't worry, and I won't dress you up in anything boys wouldn't be caught dead in. You won't be able to go shopping with me over the holidays, but when we come back from break, I'll let you pick out what you want to keep. Sound all right? Great!"

She didn't let him answer on purpose because taking the chance for him to say 'no' meant he was giving in to his own paranoia. Bellatrix wouldn't have that; no one would be able to control a student at Hogwarts if she could help it--not even their parents. When it came to parents making their kids do things against their will, Bellatrix Dark was the first one to jump in and turn the situation into chaos. Why? Because it had done her a helluva lot of good; she wasn't taking any dragon dung from her own mum. Why should anyone else have to suffer that kind of fate? If she could help them, she would and Aiden was definitely someone she could help.

"I think I'll have another doughnut before I go. I might actually be able to go to sleep! See you in class!"

In a cheerful mood (better than the one she was in when she came into the kitchens, anyway), Bellatrix gave the boy a smile, grabbed a doughnut, and skipped off out of the kitchens down the hall to the Slytherin Common Room. Hopefully, she wouldn't have anymore nightmares that night.