Rambling at Midnight (Maryn and Anyone)

[Professor Neville Longbottom]

Neville Longbottom was a stupid person, but he did have to work hard for the grades he did get. That was why he was still scouring over his Herbology book in the Gryffindor Common Room at two in the morning. He was dreading his N.E.W.T.S., almost as much he dreaded his O.W.L.S. He didn't want to disappoint his Gran, and he definitely did want to bring down the family honor. However, it would be nearly impossible to live up to either one of his parents' sacrifice. Neville looked up from the book and massaged his temples as he looked into the fire. Even though it was late Summer, it still got cold in the stone room. He had stoked the fire after everyone had gone to bed because the chill began to creep in.

Muttering to no one, he said. " Maybe I should start on transfiguration...?" He pulled out a large volume and set on the table in front of him. He looked at the page on animal transformations and gaped a bit. It looked extremely complicated, and he didn't understand how McGonogall expected him to digest all this information by tommorrow. Pulling off his tie, he placed it over the back of the chair. It was starting to become uncomfortable, and he really cherished comfort during these late night study sessions.

[Maryn Livley]

Maryn laid in the closet. Her face was red with blood from being pushed in for safety. She could hear and see everything through a crack in the door. "What do you want from us?" Her grandmother asked. "The locket." The hooded figure said. "What are you talking about?" Her grandfather mumbled. "Search for it." The other hooded figure commanded. "Avada Kedavra!" The figure screamed twice. Maryn saw the whole thing. She heard the sounds on the floor. "Search." One voice commanded. The two searched the house for awhile. Maryn was still in the closet. "Let's go." One figures said. They both left with nothing in their hands. Maryn stayed in the closet not saying a word. The four year old held the locket to her neck promising never to let it go. Tears streamed from her eyes, but she still didn't make a noise. They wanted the locket. They wanted the family secret and she vowed to never let them have it.

Maryn woke up breathing deeply with tears in her eyes. She didn't wake her room mates, but she couldn't calm down. Maryn was just replaying the dream over and over in her mind. However, it wasn't some scary dream. It really happened and she would never forget it. Maryn layed in her bed for some time until she finally gave up the battle of sleep.She ventured down to the common room to find a seat. She just wanted to sit and think. Her hair was a mess, she looked very sick, and she was wearing her pajamas, but she didn't care. Maryn didn't expect anyone to be awake. As she entered the room she saw someone sitting working on something. She clinched her tank top and looked at the boy. "Oh, sorry." She said. Maryn was sorry that he had to see her like this and for disrupting his peace. She took a seat in the very corner. Maryn sat there staring at the ceiling.

[Lavender Brown]

Lavender sat in her bunk looking out the window near her. She couldn't sleep. Too many things were running through her mind and she couldn't seem to silence them. She hated it when she couldn't sleep. It always seemed to happen when she was getting stressed out about school. Though she didn't think she was right now. She threw the covers off of herself and stood. She couldn't sleep and she would not let herself lie in bed if she couldn't sleep. She pulled out some comfortable black pants and a long sleeve gray shirt. She grabbed a book and headed out of the dorm room as silently as she could. She didn't want to wake up her roommates.

Coming down the stair case, Lavender was surprised to see that the common room wasn't empty. In fact there were two other people in the common room. One was Neville Longbottom a fellow 7th year and the other was a younger girl she didn't know. She walked to the chair near Neville and sat down as she warmed herself near the fire. "I thought I was the only one awake. You trying to finish Transfiguration Neville?" Lavender asked. She knew that Neville had to work really hard to get semi-decent marks. She was kind of sad for him. She didn't have to work hard at all to get decent marks. It was kind of unfair. Some people could do well no matter what and then there were others who had to study for hours on end to barely pass a class. Lavender was definitely one of the first people. She didn't really study and yet she still received high marks.

"What's your name?" Lavender asked as she turned to look at the girl in the corner. She seemed to be pretty young, but Lavender didn't know how young. She also looked like she was scared. She seemed to be scared of something or someone. "Are you alright?" Lavender asked as she waited for the girl to acknowledge her question. Lavender shrugged to herself as she waited patiently for the girl to say something.

[Maryn Livley]

Maryn snapped out of her daze when some girl talked to her. Maryn hadn't even noticed she walked in. She was too focused. Maryn's thoughts wouldn't stop. She just kept replaying the events. She was trying to figure out why they wanted the locket. Maryn knew the secret it held, but didn't know why anyone would want it. Maryn was very confused. She had to snap out of her daze again when the girl continued talking to her. Maryn had seen the girl before, but didn't know her. She did know that the boy and girl in front of her were friends of Harry Potter. "Maryn. I'm a third year." She explained.

The girl then asked if she was alright. Maryn had a sudden urge to scream out no and explain it all to a girl she didn't even know. But, she held it in. Maryn knew she could talk to Alyson about it since Alyson was the only one who knew anything about the event. "No, I'm fine." She said quietly. Maryn didn't know if the girl could tell it was a lie. "What's your name?" She asked. If the girl was going to talk to her, Maryn wanted to be polite. She felt awkward. Maryn was so much younger than these two, but she did know many older people. Many older students liked Maryn because she wasn't immature. She was usually smiling, but she understood things and didn't act like a three year old.

[Lavender Brown]

Lavender wondered what was wrong with Maryn, but she didn't seem to want to say. She shrugged. She couldn't make anyone talk to anyone if they didn't want to. She figured it would be better just to wait for the girl to get comfortable enough to talk with her. Maybe she would someday understand that telling people your problems could actually help. She turned back to look at the fire when she heard Maryn ask her what her name was. "Oh, how rude of me. My name is Lavender Brown," Lavender said with a slight smile. She was being a space case again and she knew it. She did that a lot. Always daydreaming. She had her head in the clouds and most people knew that.

"It's not a good night for sleeping is it? You look like you've seen a ghost. Did Nearly Headless Nick scare you? He used to pop up out of no where sometimes and it used to creep me out. Especially when he'd go through someone on accident," Lavender said as she started to talk kind of quickly. She did that when she was bored and she was definitely bored right now. She was actually fighting the urge to walk the corridors. She figured Filch would have a field day with that though. Besides, she might run into Peeves and that would be bad. He'd definitely give her away.

[Professor Neville Longbottom]

Neville pushed his book aside as the girl came into the room. " It's okay. I'm going to have to go to bed soon anyway or I won't be able to get up for class tomorrow. I'm Neville Longbottom by the way. I don't think we've met before." Neville gave the girl a coy smile as Lavender Brown came down the stairs from the girl's dormitory. " Wow, Lavender, I guess we are not the only two up. I saw Cass about thirty minutes ago. She seemed rather frantic. She was mumbling something about her cousin, and transfiguration. You might want to check on her if you see her upstairs."

Neville stretched his arms up into the air and let out a big yawn. Looking down, he saw two huge wet spots on his white shirt sleeves to see a few spots of potion lay on the table. " Oh crap." Neville tried to wipe the stains off his shirt sleeves as he listed to the girls chat about Nearly Headless Nick, the ghost who haunted Gryffindor tower. " I wouldn't worry about Nick. He's docile. I would worry about Peeves though. He is quite the nasty poltergeist. I saw him assaulting a couple of first years the other day with what looked like Bertie Botts. However, they seemed to explode when they hit the ground. Tiny little explosions all over the place wherever they hit."

Finally noticing that the younger girl was upset, Neville grimaced. He wasn't good at stuff like this. He could listen to problems, but dealing with upset females was a whole different Quidditch Game. Walking over to the water basin, he pulled out a pack of hot cocoa and emptied it into a cup. After pouring water into a nearby cup, he took his wand and did a simple spell that warmed up the now chocolaty liquid. After offering a cup to the younger girl, he asked, " Lavender, can I offer you a cup?"

[Maryn Livley]

The girl quickly introduced herself as Lavender and the boy Neville. Odd names. She thought. Just then, Maryn realized she had introduced herself to Lavender, but not to Neville. "Maryn Livley." She said quickly. Lavender then said some things about ghosts. "No, it wasn't a ghost. Well, atleast that kind of ghost." She answered. Maryn had seen a ghost, but it was a memory ghost. It was the memory of an event that occurred long ago. She had to snap out of her gaze again to listen to Lavender.

Lavender and Neville then continued to talk about Peeves. "I'm not scared of Peeves anymore. Well, I used to be, but now he knows I can take him." Maryn let out a small laugh. The previous year, she had sent a few simple freezing charms his way. He was so frightened he went on his way. Maryn's face then changed into its frightened frown. She was frightened. What if those people come back again? What if they know I have it? Maryn suddenly jerked her head a little. She decided to forget about it. She was going to live her normal, cheerful life. Just then, Neville offered her Hot Chocolate. "Thanks." She replied. "So Neville, I'm guessing Potions is not your strongest subject." Maryn said with a smile on her face. After his display, he seemed to have as much trouble with it as Maryn had.

[Lavender Brown]

Lavender watched the girl closely. She seemed so frail at the moment. Lavender had no idea why she was so upset, but it didn't have anything to do with ghosts, since Lavender had asked. Turning to look back at Neville with a smile. She held back the small giggle that nearly escaped when Neville realized he had spilled some of his potion on his shirt. Lavender knew Neville wasn't good at potions, but honestly who really was. After all, Professor Snape favored the Slytherins and everyone knew he hated Gryffindors the most. Lavender held back the contempt she was feeling. She had gotten angry with Professor Snape last year for not giving her good marks in her NEWT Potions class. She had done just fine, it hadn't been her fault that she dropped the murtlap on the floor and when she picked it up scooped up a piece of hair that totally threw off her potion.

Lavender snapped back into reality as she heard Neville's voice. "Yes, Neville. I would love a cup of cocoa," Lavender smiled. She loved chocolate and at this moment she was dreadfully craving a bit. She didn't get much chocolate during this days at Hogwarts. She wouldn't get any until she headed to Hogsmeade, but that wasn't going to be anytime soon. Though, she could probably get a hold of her parents and they would definitely send her some. She shrugged to herself. A little bit of chocolate here and there was enough for her. She craved it, but she could deal with the fact that she wouldn't always have some at her side.

Lavender looked back at the girl who seemed to be holding her cup of cocoa tight. She was obviously scared, but Lavender had no idea why. It must be some kind of family thing, Lavender thought to herself. She pulled her legs up in the chair and sat cross-legged in the seat. She was enjoying the late night and wanted more than anything to learn more about Neville and see exactly who this young Gryffindor girl was. Lavender folded her hands in her lap as she listened.