Uh oh. ((maryn livley))

[illiya]

The Gryffindor common room was fairly quiet on the second night of the school year, an odd occurrence for the usually rowdy and joyous Gryffindors. A small fire crackled in the hearth, lending some measure of warmth to the fabric of the overstuffed couches before it. Usually these couches would be filled with students all lounging about sharing stories of their summer adventures but tonight the mirth of their laughter was conspicuously absent. Almost no one remained in the large beautifully decorated room, having opted instead to seek refuge in their dorms among close friends. The ghost of the attack on the Hogwarts Express still clung to every part of the school and lay like a heavy pall over the students within her walls. The soft tap, tap, tap of bare feet on flagstones announced Illiya’s entrance into the common room. She was dressed in blue flannel striped pajamas which were a bit too big for her and it made her look down-right lanky and underweight. Truth-be-told, Illiya could eat more than most grown men in a single sitting but never seemed to gain much weight. Her father always said it was the blessing of youth and that she would eventually grow out of it. Illiya rather hoped not.

She slipped into the common room trying not to draw attention to herself or to interrupt anyone as she was so prone to doing by no fault of her own. Thick unruly strands of hair, too short to fit into the ponytail Illiya had wrangled the rest of her locks into, but too long to be content behind her ears, hung down into her face as usual. She absently tucked one back behind her ear again only to have it refuse such capture and return to it’s preferred position soon after. She had long since stopped being bothered by her hair’s refusal to obey her whims and did not even make another attempt to push the hair back again. A worried frown creased her brow and she absently began chewing her bottom lip, casting furtive glances about the room as if looking for someone.

After a few moments searching, Illiya moved to the portrait hole and stared at the entryway. She looked to be considering the merits of sneaking out that way but certainly didn’t seem dressed for someone who had plans of breaking curfew. Illiya looked around behind her once more with a note more nervousness to her glances and this time seemed to be deciding whether anyone was watching closely enough to see her slip out. In one corner chair, nestled down in the cushions and all but camouflaged by the flickering shadows cast by the fire, another slightly younger Gryffindor girl caught Illiya’s eye. They locked gazes for a moment and Illiya looked away quickly hoping the other girl hadn’t actually noticed her odd behavior. She stared again forlornly at the portrait hole but seemed a little less certain now.

[Maryn Livley]

Maryn was sitting in a chair in the Gryffindor common room. Few people were in there and she needed the alone time. Maryn had so many friends that she barely had time to herself. She often came to sit by the glow of the fire. It made her feel warm inside. The Gryffindor common room was one of her favorite places in the school. It always seemed cheerful just like Maryn herself. Maryn was known for always being happy because she seldom had a frown on her face. After the train attack however, her friends were quite worried by her behavior. She wasn't cheerful like usual. She was upset that Laura Pennington had died for no reason, but now she was better. Her friends still kept a close watch on her, but not tonight. She was glad they gave it a rest. As she looked into the fire she felt sleepy. She hadn't had a decent nights sleep in days. Maryn gently closed her eyes. She decided to rest for a few moments.

Maryn awoke about thirty minutes later when she heard a noise. She could hear someone’s feet moving, but they weren’t moving towards the dorms. She quickly snapped up in her seat. She was a very curious person. Maryn saw a girl a little older than her move for the portrait. Maryn laughed to herself. The girl looked much like herself last year. Maryn had left the common room numerous times last year to discover if Hogwarts was any different at night than in the day. Sometimes she would even leave to escape her friends crowding nature. Maryn had always been a rebel and she wasn't afraid to admit it.

Maryn got up and walked behind the girl. "Nice try!" Maryn laughed. "The secret is you have to wait until everyone is in the dorms and if they don't leave, using Confundus doesn't hurt." Maryn laughed again. Maryn had used the confusion charm a few times last year. The side affects were brief and the victims were funny to watch as they looked at everything in a dumb fashion. Maryn wanted the girl to know she wasn't a tattle tail and wasn't going to say a thing. "Maryn Livley." Maryn held out her hand with a smile on her face. "What exactly are you sneaking out for?"

[illiya]

Illiya just about jumped out of her skin as Maryn came up behind her, the other girl’s voice breaking Illiya’s worried concentration on the task at hand. Illiya spun about and looked at Maryn in surprise, her tension easing somewhat at Maryn’s calm and friendly demeanor. She smiled shyly and bit her bottom lip again, “wasn’t REALLY sneaking out,” she mumbled around her bottom lip, “jus’ need to look for someone.” She managed the smile of the abashed and guilty and then turned back to the door for a moment. “y’see, my owl, Quagmire, he’s….well…..he has some special needs from time to time. He gets…confused easily and I’m worried he won’t know where to go, or worse, that he’ll fly off some where and forget where he is.” Illiya rolled her eyes and gave an embarrassed chuckle. “Last year he flew all the way to Albania before realizing he wasn’t supposed to be there. The only reason we know where he went was because of the collar he was wearing. Apparently he’d stayed with some Albanian farmers for a week before coming back.”

Illiya pushed her glasses back up onto the bridge of her nose again as the constant battle to keep them there seemed far from won. “I just want to go up to the owlery to see if he’s gotten there ok.” Once more, Illiya turned back to Maryn, this time to look at her in a new light. Maryn had obviously been out before, she’d said as much just a few moments ago. Illiya, who had never thought to sneak out in the middle of the night and risk detention, was sure to get caught if she went alone, but if she brought someone who was experienced in this sort of thing……

Illiya smiled mischievously at Maryn and motioned with her head towards the door. “Maybe you could show me how? Or even come with me if you like.” This sudden streak of rebellious bravery struck Illiya as strange since it wasn’t the norm for her, yet somehow it seemed right. She was a Gryffindor after all, perhaps some of that trait for which Gryffindors were known was finally rubbing off on her. She shivered a little from nervousness and a little from excitement, the rush of danger seemed suddenly intoxicating to her. ‘What’s wrong with me?’ she thought, ‘I could get house points taken for this.’ Yet somehow, suddenly faced with the decision to do something she shouldn’t and risk trouble or sneak back to the relative safety of her room, Illiya found herself more and more drawn to the idea of going out the portrait hole.

[Maryn Livley]

Maryn smiled as Illiya told her she was going to make sure her owl got back ok. "I can't imagine an owl getting that confused." Maryn giggled. Maryn's owl, Morgen, was always very prompt in her timing. She always made sure the letter was delivered and she returned promptly. Maryn then thought that she might be up for a trip to visit Morgen. "He flew to Albania?" Maryn said laughing. "Thats funny." Maryn thought many things were funny, but this truly was funny. Maryn adored her owl. After the Diagon Alley attack, her parents made her stay home and as weird as it sounds the only friend she had was Morgen.

Illiya asked Maryn if she could show her how to sneak out or come with her and show her how. Maryn thought it over to herself . She was in the mood to do something mischievous. "Follow me." Maryn answered. If they were just going to the owlery they could do so easily. After they were out of the portrait Maryn stopped for a second to explain something to Illiya. "First of all we can't cast Lumos. It's too bright" She explained. "Next if a teacher finds us there is nothing I can do because I've never been caught by a teacher. But if a students finds us, the Confusion Charm is easy and painless." Maryn told Illiya all this in a soft whisper. "If we run into Mr. Filch, I can help. We just have to cast Silenco. It may sound silly, but if we meet him it's scary and we will probably scream." Maryn smiled. "What are you waiting for? Dare to be different." Maryn smiled and started to walk towards the owlery. MAryn wished she knew a spell to make her feet quiet, but she didn't.

[illiya]

Illiya’s smile grew into an absolute grin when Maryn agreed to come with and even led the way out of the common room and into the now dark and deserted hallway on the other side. It wasn’t until the portrait hole closed behind her that Illiya thought about what she was wearing and wished she could just go change really quickly. She shrugged off that idea as Maryn began explaining the rules of the game to her. Illiya searched the waistline of her pajama bottoms for her wand and panicked a little when she couldn’t find it. Glancing back at the portrait hole, Illiya whispered, “My wand! I left it inside!!” As she turned, the meager light in the hallway revealed the length of polished wood which at that moment was being used to keep her tangled bun on top of her head. The Fat lady in the painting sighed dramatically and whispered right back, “Check the back of your skull, dear.” Illiya reached her hand up and soon her trembling fingers found the worn and familiar handle of her own wand. She pulled it out and held it up triumphantly in front of Maryn, her long brown locks falling about her face in frizzy waves now that they were no longer restricted to the bun. Illiya’s face flushed deep red. “Never mind.”

She followed Maryn as silently as she could, wincing at the slap of her bare feet on the floor. She swore that each footstep was echoing loud enough for someone to hear her from a mile away but wasn’t sure how much of that was her own over-active imagination. The two girls made their way swiftly through the halls with Maryn leading; her steps carried the confidence of practice while Illiya struggled with numerous ways to roll her feet so they didn’t sound so loud. By the time the got one floor up, Illiya looked like she was trying to walk an invisible tightrope, her arms out to balance her as she daintily put one foot in front of the other. Finally, with a sigh, Illiya gave up trying to walk silently, realizing she’d never get there at this rate, and instead opted to simply stay as close as possible to Maryn.

Illiya had to admit, the castle was just as beautiful by night. She’d never seen the halls like this and it was lovely in it’s own way; like the whole of the castle changed. The high ceilings gave way to darkness giving the impression of a great void above them and sconces hung here and there along the walls. None were lit now so only moonlight filled patches of hallway before them, lending all in it’s path a silvery glow. The spaces between windows were tunnels of darkness and Illiya kept Maryn in her sight by watching the lighter sections ahead and silhouetting Maryn against them. Since lighting a wand was out of the question, it lent their little mission more of an aura of danger. There in the darkness, Illiya knew no one would hurt them (they were at Hogwarts after all and no one would dare attack the school, right?) so she let her imagination wander a bit. She fancied herself and Maryn as Aurors hunting down dangerous criminals as they crept along the hallway. She knew well enough that no such thing would happen but it was fun to pretend for this instant, the first big adventure at school, that they were in mortal peril in some death eater’s lair. Would they be ambushed? Would they find the evil scum hiding in his throne room???

Illiya’s fantasy was shattered a moment later though and all flights of fancy regarding aurors fled her as the clink of a lantern was heard up ahead. Suddenly Illiya was sure she’d rather face the death eater than be caught by a teacher out there in the hallway, dressed in naught but her pajamas. She grabbed Maryn’s arm and jumped to the wall, hoping the shadows would hide them. Her wand was already gripped firmly in one sweaty palm and she waited to see what Maryn would do.

[Maryn Livley]

Maryn laughed as Illiya panicked while looking for her wand. When the fat lady finally found it behind her ear Maryn almost had to cast the Silencing charm on herself just to make her be quiet. Then, Maryn and Illiya started their journey to the owlery. Maryn was having a blast. This made sitting in her chair in the common room look horrible. Maryn led the way as Illiya followed. Maryn was sure of what she was doing and would not let them be caught. It was not like they were going to do something bad. Illiya just needed to check on her owl and Maryn just wanted an adventure. Maryn was a brave girl who always wanted to do the unthinkable. She wasn't scared of getting caught. The worst that could happen was Gryffindor could loose house points or she could get destination. She didn't mind getting detention and the house points she would get back later in the year.

As they continue their quest to the Owlery, Maryn could see Illiya wasn't as sure as Maryn was. This was probably her first outing after curfew. A few seconds later they heard a click of a lantern. Illiya grabbed Maryn's arm and pulled them to the wall. Maryn could tell Illiya wanted her to do something to keep them from trouble. Maryn could hear the faint sound of Mr. Filch from down the hall. "Seen anything, Mrs. Norris?" Mr. Filch asked to his cat. The cat meowed in reply, but Maryn was she they hadn't been seen. Maryn suddenly had an idea and motioned Illiya to follow her. Maryn moved still against the wall, a few feet until she reached a tapestry. Maryn didn't want to use verbal spells and her mom had taught her non-verbal ones so she thought. "Mobiliarbus." Maryn watched as the moving spell hit the tapestry and it fell into her arms. Maryn signaled Illiya to keep following her into the hole where the tapestry had been. Maryn had used the short cut before and knew it ended a hall away from the Owlery. When Maryn and Illiya reached the end of the passageway they climbed out and Maryn sighed. "Close one." She said in a whisper. "Almost there." She said and continued to walk towards their destination.

[illiya]

As Illiya and Maryn stood pressed against the wall hiding from Mr. Filch, Illiya could swear they were about to get caught. Rumor was that Mr. Filch rather delighted in tormenting students who’d been caught and a thousand unpleasant images flashed through her mind as to what he would do to them if they were found. Her grip tightened on Maryn’s arm as the voice of Filch and the cry of Mrs. Norris rang out in the hallway. Suddenly Maryn was moving again and Illiya reached desperately for her. ‘Has she lost her mind?!’ Illiya thought with a note of panic. Suddenly a tapestry on the wall moved without word and Maryn disappeared behind it. Wordless magic was taught to much older students and Illiya remarked to herself that Maryn had more hidden talents than she had originally thought; then moving as quietly as possible, she slipped into the hidden tunnel behind Maryn and followed swiftly down the dark corridor. Her feet were almost numb with cold by now and again she wished she’d thought this through a bit better before hand. ‘I shall have to plan my spontaneity a little more carefully’ she mused and she groped blindly in the darkness for the Maryn’s shirt.

As her fingers found the fabric and wound tightly into it to stop Maryn from moving too far ahead, Illiya hefted the weight of her wand in her other hand to reassure herself that it was still there. Finally, after a few tense moments where Illiya was sure they had found an unending tunnel, they emerged out of the other side. Illiya looked back at the tapestry that had just fallen back in place over the tunnel, and noted that you couldn’t see any hint of the secret passage there. She would have to make a mental note of this tunnel as it seemed useful and she wondered how many other little secrets were hidden in this castle. She could only imagine and for a moment, she wanted to go find them all. Common sense regained control shortly thereafter, though, and Illiya decided one adventure a night was plenty for now.

Maryn smiled that knowing smile of hers and said they were close to the owlery already. Illiya looked about and realized they were closer than she had originally thought, standing in the familiar hall just off of the owlery, though she had not recognized it at first in the pale moonlight. Maryn moved off down the hallway and Illiya quickly rushed to keep up. They slipped like shadows down the corridor and found the door to the stairs; Illiya could already hear the soft calls of the owls up above them. Illiya opened the door just a bit and slipped inside with Maryn. They headed up the steps quickly and emerged at last into a tall bell shaped room with many long, open windows. A chilly breeze wafted through the area and brought with it the pungent odor of owl droppings. Illiya looked down with a bit of trepidation and suddenly found herself grateful to Professor Flitwick for teaching her a good cleaning charm. “Eeww.” She whispered softly. “That’s GROSS.”

Illiya just couldn’t bring herself to move any further through the room and almost gagged at the soft squish between her toes as she shifted her weight. “Quagmire?” Illiya called out as loudly as she dared. Her inquiry was met with nothing more than the soft rustle of a few wings but no bird was forth coming. Clearing her throat, she called a bit more loudly, “Quagmire?”. Still no response. Finally, Illiya glared up into the rafters and grumbled, “I’m gonna kill that ruddy bird! C’mon, let’s go. I’ll write in the morning to let father know he’s disappeared again.” AS she turned to leave however there was a sudden rush of wings and a large barn owl, his white face and large dark eyes shining in the moonlight, landed on one of the windowsills. Illiya turned back to the sound. “Quagmire!” she called in a soft but excited voice. “Where have you been?” she chided. Her tone and features softened as she watched the bird roll his head almost upside down at her question. “I suppose it doesn’t matter. Just stay close to the castle so I can send mail if I need to.” She said lovingly to him. Quagmire clicked his agreement and continued to view his owner upside down. Illiya shook her head and sighed in mock frustration, then turning to Maryn said “Well, he’s here, which is a relief. Shall we head back now?”

[Maryn Livley]

Maryn continued to walk down the hallway. She could tell that Illiya that questioned Maryn's non- verbal magic abbility. Maryn's mother was in Ravenclaw and decided to teach Maryn many of the things she knew. Maryn was very skilled in a varity of magic and her mother had even tried to teach her the Summoning Spell which was taught to students about forth year. Finally they reached there destination and Illiya was calling he owl. Maryn went over to Morgen and patted her feathers. Illiya had almost given up when she found her owl. Illiya then said something to Maryn about going back now. "Yea, we shall." Maryn smilled. They had made it without being caught.

Maryn started to walk back. She decided to not take the passage way, but instead avoiding it using a counter hall. Maryn looked around making sure Filch was nowhere in site. He wasn't so she continued on. They walked throught halls. The darkness didn't scare Maryn one bit. Finally, the reached the tower. Maryn turned around to Illiya as she stepped inside after saying the password. "See, that wasn't so bad." Maryn laughed. Maryn had rather enjoyed their adventure. She had need the fun and she got it.

[illiya]

After the adventure they had in getting TO the owlery, Illiya was grateful for the relative ease with which they made it back down to the common room and she blew out the breath she didn’t know she’d been holding as they entered through the portrait hole. Maryn seemed so relaxed about the whole thing and joked easily about it. Illiya allowed this carefree mood to wash over her and simply basked in the joy of having successfully broken the rules without getting caught. That wasn’t as hard as she’d expected and a little part of her rejoiced at the idea of perhaps going out again on a different night. She smiled at her new found co-conspirator and said “I think I’d like to see the Astronomy tower sometime later this week.” There was a note of mischief in her voice and she threw Maryn a wink before rushing up to the warm thick covers she knew were waiting for her. As she entered the dorm room quietly and crept to her bed, Illiya reveled in the rush of what she’d just done. That was more fun than most of her classes had been in the whole three years previous. She snuggled under her covers and pulled them up to her chin to ward off the cold.

Oh yes, she most definitely would have to do this again, and as she drifted off to sleep, the careful and studious part of her mind was beaten into submission by images of daring, dark corridors, and secret passages.

[Maryn Livley]

Maryn could see Illiya enjoyed herself. Maryn knew she would. She had turned many people into the adventurous person she was, but she had more fun with Illiya then any of the others. She could tell Illiya was the most uncertain person Maryn had ever taught, but she also thought she learned the most. Maryn was satisfied with the whole experience. She had left the stuffy common room like she needed and Illiya had something new she could remember. Illiya then said that she might want to visit the astronomy tower later that week and she winked at Maryn. "I'll probably be busy." Maryn said with a grin on her face and winked back. She was giving Illiya the code for "I'm free." Just in her own language.

Illiya retreated to her dorm and Maryn followed her, but turned to the third year girls dorm instead. She smiled to herself, but it was a different smile than her usual one. She had just done something she hadn't done in a while, be herself. All the attacks made her a little bit different. She needed the experience she just had. Maryn then closed her eyes and fell into a night time land where everything was right in the world.