From snoring to singing. (Ingrid)

[coolasice]

Snore……snort….snore…. For May, the snoring was beginning to get a little irritating. It was coming from her roommate and since six had been going loudly at a strong, steady pace. Now it was eight o’clock and May finally gave in- two of the Ravenclaw first years had already left to sleep in the Common Room, and with a little sigh Katie-may folded her slim legs from the warmth of the bed covers, giggling a little as the snoring roommate fell out of the bed. ‘That should stop her-’ May began to whisper in her mind, but stopped suddenly as the Ravenclaw let out yet another huge snore. Even from the hard, wooden floor she still somehow managed to do it! This cracked Katie-May up and before she could wake up the whole room she rushed into the girl’s bathroom, though not before seizing underwear, a pair of very pale jeans, a long black top and some cream coloured boots first. She kept softly giggling to herself all the while, though wasn’t really sure why. The out-of-bed-snore hadn’t been that funny- one of May’s friends in the room who had also been up had seen it, and as Katie rushed from the bedroom she had merely watched on, unaffected by the little act. May was like that- things which didn’t set others off made her laugh like crazy, and reality funny things often only made her smile.

It wasn’t long after that Katie-May emerged from the bathroom in a cloud of steam, wearing the clothes and smelling of Sage and Orange, a special mixture she had been given to at Christmas. She usually preferred the smell of Jasmine and honey but now often wore the new scent around her presence, finding it more likable as time passed. Now sane and not laughing, she headed to the girl’s joint dressing table and quickly brushed her pale cheeks with some light blush, and setting one light layer of black mascara on her eyes. She always only wore one layer of mascara- her light but long eyelashes needed darkening but any longer and she would fall over. At least, that’s what her brother teased her with. Smiling at her reflection and putting some simple silver studs in her ears before brushing her long, thin, blonde hair into a high ponytail, she left the dorm at eight forty, followed by her tiny tabby kitten. The two headed for the Common Room before changing their minds, and at this point May held Flapjack lovingly in her arms so as to step easily through the portrait hole. She laughed lightly on remembering the time when Flapjack failed getting through the portrait on his own, and instead tripped and had to be rescued by a fifth year who had seen the incident. Hugging her kitten to her chest and trying to stop her bag from getting caught in the portrait hole Katie-May smiled at a few of Leon’s friends. Her brother was in his third year but May liked all of his friends, had met most of them already.

Ignoring the welcoming smells of the Great Hall, Katie-May headed outside and walked slowly to her usual tree, not far from the castle but not close enough to see the colour of one’s eyes on a face beside the castle doors. May often sat under the tree when she wanted to think, sing to herself, read or polish her Nimbus 1800. On that day she came just to sit, maybe to sing, maybe even to read although all she had brought was her History book- and she hated History of Magic. Settling in a comfortable position under the large, spreading branches of the Oak May smiled as Flapjack curled up in her lap and looked around her. It was quite a cold day, though not cold enough for her to shiver. Snow from Christmas couldn’t be seen anywhere, although May could swear she had seen some from her window. The grass was still slightly dewy and damp as May sat down. Pondering what to do she soflty sang the words of one of her favourite songs, her voice flitting to her tabyb’s ears and causing them to flicker. May loved to sing- she had a great voice and knew it, though often didn’t like singing in public.

I don't have to raise my voice
Don't have to be underhand
Just got to understand
That it's gonna be up and down
It's gonna be lost and found
And I can't take to the sky
Before I like it on the ground

And i need to be patient
And i need to be brave
Need to discover
How i need to behave
And I'll find out the answers
When i know what to ask
But i speak a different language
And everybody's speaking too fast

Miniature disasters and minor catastrophoes
Bring me to my knees

[Ingrid Lewis H4]

Who made up all the rules? We follow them like fools. Believe them to be true. Don't care to think them through. I'm sorry, so sorry, I'm sorry it's like this. I'm sorry, so sorry, I'm sorry we do this. And it's ironic too, 'cos what we tend to do. Is act on what they say, and then it is that way. I'm sorry, so sorry, I'm sorry it's like this. I'm sorry, so sorry, I'm sorry we do this. Who are they? Where are they? How can they possibly know all this? Who are they? Where are they? How can they possibly know all this? Ingrid lay in her bed, her arms crossed over her chest - and her crystal blue eyes staring up at the ceiling. Her wheat coloured hair was pulled over her ears in two low pig-tails, it muffled just about everything that needed not to be heard.

Everyone in her dorm was out. Well not everyone. Ingrid didn't know if Sita was in, but she was pretty sure her friend was sleeping. Ingrid couldn't sleep. She had a song running laps in her mind and she couldn't make it stop - thus resulting in insomnia. Alright, it wasn't too late, but normally Ingrid was asleep by now, and she hadn't gotten any; getting the required hours of sleep she needed to function properly the next day in classes. But last night was different and she wasn't aware why. She should sleep. After all she was dreadfully tired. She had been very tired lately and she didn't know why. She was eating properly, getting more than enough sleep, so why did it feel like she was slowing down? Ingrid sighed and rolled over on her side, hugging herself as a tear slipped from her eye. The first tear she had cried in a long time.

People who knew Ingrid Lewis agreed, she never cried. She was an eternally happy little girl and brought joy to those were upset. Ingrid didn't cry. It just wasn't in her nature. But here she was, the same Ingrid May Lewis, crying herself to sleep. Or trying to sleep. There was a commotion downstairs, and Ingrid sat up in her four poster - her eyes wandering around the dormitory, looking for any sign of anyone else noticing it. Ingrid slipped her blanket off and slid her feet into the slippers that were by her bed. She walked to the door and then descended the stairs to see an older Hufflepuff scrambling around the common room - trying to get all her papers. Ingrid rolled her eyes, people. She would help, but the girl seemed to have everything under control so Ingrid headed back up to the first years dorms and decided to get dressed.

She showered quickly and then got dressed in a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. She pulled her blonde hair back down into those ponytails and topped off her outfit witha hat. She slipped her gym shoes on and grabbed her messenger bag before heading back down to the common room and out of that to the Grounds. It wasn't too early. But it was early enough for Ingrid not to be bumped into as she passed people in the halls. She made her way to the large double doors, and slipped out. It was cold, but not freezing, for which Ingrid was grateful. She made her way over to the lake, but a wind picked up and blew her hat in the opposite direction. Ingrid jumped, and chased after the pink hat - it fluttered toward a girl who seemed to be about Ingrid's age. And there it landed. Ingrid bent down and picked it up, placing it back on her head. She grinned at the girl; "Sorry about that..."

[coolasice]

‘Cause…..those…..who think….. May had abandoned her favourite song, and now was scribbling furiously into her short, blue book. It wasn’t really a proper book- a tiny notebook, but was full of all sorts of songs- love, distress, tragedy, complaints, moans, everything. May had filled it with her own songs which she had made, and she wrote them on the instant, as they always came to her without warning. If she didn’t write them down straight away they would fade from her mind instantly. That was why May was writing so quickly and desperately- another song had just struck her thoughts like a melody hammer, and with her fluffy pink pen she scrawled in scruffy, spidery text the words which poured from her mind.

She was just adding the last line of the chorus when she felt a soft, material hat slap her face lightly. She scowled at it, then scowled at the girl who then picked it up. The words began to fade from her brain, slowly, slowly, so she could just grasp them. She pushed herself on her knees, laying the book on the wet grass as she wrote as fast as possible, singing the words out loud as she went by. You’ll never know, no you’ll never know, how much you’re huuurtin’ me, for the way you won’t leeaaave me be… Her voice rang out around her. She was concentrating so much on her song she didn’t even think to remember there was a girl beside her, a smile on her face. May didn’t even glance up as she finished the last sentence, a huge, triumphant grin on her pale face.

Only then did she remember the hat which the girl had now placed on her pig-tailed head, resting it neatly. Katie-May stuffed her work in her bag, flicking the pencil deftly behind her ear as she often wore it while with her inspiration. She notice dher tongue was out from concentrating, and stuck it back in hurridly. The girl before her seemed very friendly even though the two hadn’t even yet exchanged a single word. Smiling too May felt her pale neck grow pinker and pinker, the colour reaching her head and rising quickly. She scowled to herself on the inside, wishing she hadn’t sung out loud.
“Sorry too, I mean thank you, no please- sorry. Don’t tell anyone I was singing, will you? And I wasn’t sticking my tongue out, it’s just a habit when I’m writing my lyrics. My brother has it when he draws too…and sorry about giving you that look, but I was loosing the words…” May noticed with another blush she was babbling apologies to someone who didn’t even know her name, so told her before the situation could get anymore awkward. “I’m Katie-May Harrow, though you can just call me May if you want. You’re Ingrid- I think…” May smiled, not sure what she was saying. Was the girl Ingrid? She recognised her from a class, and blushed again as she looked at her feet. She knew the girl was in Huflepuff, a first year like herself, but that was all- excepting the possability of knowing her name. Seeing the corner of her book sticking out of her bag May pushed her foot out, sticking the book back in as she stood.

[Sita Mehadi H7]

Sita was slightly stressed at the moment. She was losing this tennis match. Losing tennis matches was a necessary thing to do to get good at the game; but still not a pleasant experience nor something to be attempting to do on a regular basis. Everything was moving forward in the usual illogical flow of dreams. Insignificant things took on inexplicable importance in dreams, even when you weren't quite sure what that significance was. Wait... she was thinking properly. That meant she'd pulled herself out of the dream. Sita opened her eyes and blinked at the amount of light already flooding into the first year Hufflepuff girls' dormitory. The day was too much fun to waste (other than Potions of course), and she pushed herself out of bed immediately. Her bare feet padding on the floor, she looked at the awfully large and grand bed she had just got out of (was she really supposed to grow that much? She might need some magical assistance.) and stretched in her purple silk pyjamas.

Blonde pigtails whisked out of the door of the dormitory and Sita followed them. "Hey, wait up!" she called, but it seemed that Ingrid hadn't called her, and the stone floor was cold for her feet, especially painful now the winter had set in. She'd never seen a winter like this in Mossley. It was most likely magical. Sita gave a little sight of disappointment and returned into the dormitory where at least one friend was still sleeping, to don her moccasins so she could get ready for the day. She washed her face and splashed some cold water about her neck and ears to ensure she was properly awake (getting clean was something for the end of the day to relax you; the daylight hours shouldn’t be frittered away on that sort of thing) before returning to the dormitories to dress in a thick, white long-sleeved top which had a cheerful smiley yellow face in its centre, along with some jeans and her trainers. Her black robes with the Hufflepuff crest proudly sewn onto the front went over the top of those to give the bare minimum of complying with school rules about wearing uniform.

Sita picked up her Amiscope from her bedside table as she left the dormitory, shutting the door carefully behind her so the members of her year still asleep in there wouldn’t be disturbed. Hogwarts was a big place and she wanted to be able to be spending time with her best friend more often than she was looking for her, so she’d given Ingy one of the pair of Amiscopes for Christmas. Sita thought they worked by a locating charm – something of the sort anyhow – but of the exact details of its workings she was far from sure. In theory it was supposed to help you locate the bearer of the other Amiscope, by a light flashing repeatedly to show whether they were to the north, east, south, west, north-east etc. of you. Not much fun if it had you heading directly east when there was no floor in that direction - of course you had to use your initiative to find your way. She was fairly sure the locating charm had a distance cut-off point and which it would detect for you no further. It seemed to work around most of Hogwarts, but there were probably some places where the distance was too great and it ceased to function. Sita took it nevertheless – hopefully Ingy would have hers with her.

She found her friend eventually in the school grounds, through a combination of her own guesses as to her likely whereabouts and use of the Amiscope. Scampering across the dewy grass, she built up the tune of the song she had been humming to herself during her search into a frenzy, before bursting into full song mid-verse. A slightly odd climax, but one that seemed fitting to Sita who had been humming the tune over and over to herself for a good while now.
“I just stick out my chin, and grin, and sa –– y …” she sung, hanging onto the last word to build up tension for the triumphant proclamation to follow: “Oh, the sun’ll come out, Tomorrow! So ya gotta hang on till tomorrow, Come what ma –– y… Tomorrow! Oh hello, Stranger!” Sita exclaimed as she saw another girl talking to Ingrid. “Ingy!” Sita greeted her friend joyfully. “Tomorrow! Tomorrow! I love ya Tomorrow! You’re only a day aaa-way.” Sita finished, giving Ingrid a large grin. They’d done the musical together in school when they were in Year 5, so Ingy should know it. Would hopefully remember it.
“I’m Sita Mehadi,” she introduced herself solemnly to the other girl, who she was fairly sure she could remember from the Sorting. That meant she must be a first year. “Hufflepuff just like Ingy.” Sita smiled and held out her right hand to be shaken. “Bit silly to be singing about tomorrow when today’s only just begun, right? Well, except right now I don’t know any work I need to do tomorrow whereas by the end of the day I probably will. So tomorrow’s looking very sunshiny right now."

(('Tomorrow' lyrics are from the musical 'Annie'. )