The witching hour {Bev}

[Noalan Bounds G7]

When we are younger a lot of things make us afraid to fall asleep. The monster that hides under your bed, the ghost who whispers in the night, the witch that scratches on the window. Those things keep children around the world awake. As we grow older the monster some how move away, the ghost finds someone else to haunt, and the witch gets tired of scratching on our windows, but we still find things that make it hard for us to drift into our world of dreams. The sound of your parents arguing in the next bedroom, the baby crying, or pulling an all-nighter to finish that paper due first thing in the morning. Things just get more complicated when we grow older; it’s not monsters we can control anymore. Sometimes you toss and turn, trying to wake up, but realize your nightmares are real. And we all just have the nights where we want our mother to tuck us in like we where younger, to look under our beds, close the window and pull the curtains closed. Tonight, was one of those nights for Noalan Bounds. Something just didn’t feel right. The full moon shed its light directly unto Nole’s bed casting shadows on the other beds in the room. The other boys, his room mates, the where all asleep soundly. Nole heard snoring, and mumbling, regular sounds of the night, but it wasn’t soothing like it normally was. His mind just wouldn’t shut off. Too many what ifs, and could have beens, littering his mind. Solutions, problems, he just so much to think about. Like everything with Elaine, that was always somewhere in his mind. His father’s summer wedding, his not finished essays. They just wouldn’t leave him alone to sleep. He only saw one solution, to get up and write. It always soothed him, like a lullaby for a baby.

He made his way down the stairs as quietly as possible, journal in tow. The orange glow of the fire grew brighter with each steps, he walked around the silhouettes of what he imagined to be tables, couches, and chairs. Finally only feet away from the source of the light, Nole took a seat and let the heat warm his bare skin. He had left his shirt upstairs, he wasn’t often forgetful. But sometimes it was good to act out of character. He was already feeling better about this accident; his skin was being warmed by the fire. He no longer felt cold or alone. No, now he felt warm and secure, almost to the point of being drowsy, but no such luck. His mind still ran in circles that could make your head spin. His thoughts multiplying like rabbits. The boy closed his eyes for a moment, to see if re-locating would help him sleep, but after a moment he was no more asleep then before he opened his journal to a clean page. He put pen to paper and began to write. He wasn’t sure what he was writing, and even less sure that whatever it was would make sense, but he let the thoughts, and phrases pour out of him. The only sounds in the room where the crackling of the fire, and the scratching of his pen. After a while, his hand began to hurt so he put down his pen to see what he had written. He wasn’t astonished at his findings. Just lot’s of thoughts thrown together. “You smile ... I find you interesting, intriguing. And you know me. You've heard all about me...” He wasn’t sure what that even was about. His other ramblings didn’t make much sense either.

So he sat there going through his journal. Stopping on occasion to read something he wrote, one called confessions, another was a how-to speech, and these things made him smile. It was as if he was going through his years in Hogwarts through this journal. Descriptions of the common room on his first day, and how he marveled about the spot he sat in now. He read about the first several times he was asked out, he read about his first kiss, and many other firsts. Smiling at the different writing styles he used and the doodles in the margins of the papers. He read about his friends, about his teachers, his parents, his little brothers. He read about his whole life. Reading all of these thoughts he had written down he learned some new lessons, like what may seem like a big deal now, may not be so in the future, he also learned a lot about himself. After what could have been minutes, or even hours he reached the pages about her. From their first meeting, to their second, he saw in the lines how he fell in love with her. He then had to close the pages. Now his mind was starting to slow down. Nole was happier now, the fire still felt good, and he didn’t bother to move, not even after he heard the noise. “Hello?” He called. The noise was behind him, but he didn’t turn his head. If they wanted to answer him, they would.


[Blah, its real short, not my best. but i promise next post ]

[Bevin Banes G6]

Bevin needed her beauty sleep, she really did, but she needed alcohol more than she needed her beauty sleep. She wasn't an alcoholic (even though most people would disagree with how much she did drink), because she didn't rely on it to be happy. It was just something she was so used to having. She hadn't had anything to drink yet because she had been working on her charms essay and as she finished with the last two or three sentences, Bevin decided that it was time to actually get something to drink. Alcohol at Hogwarts was always a fun thing to come by, because you had to sneak it in. Granted, it wasn't like they searched your room or your trunk when you first arrived, so it wasn't extremely hard to sneak it in – but it was making sure you didn't get caught with it that was the tricky part. Bevin never got caught. With an outward sigh, Bevin leaned back on her bed and kicked her high heel pumps off her feet, sending them tumbling to the floor. Her essay lay to the right of her, the ink drying on the parchment. She didn't want to move just yet. Yes, she was being rather lazy.

Finally, after a moment or so of listening to her dorm mates' breathing, Bevin swung her legs over the edge of her bed and stood on her tip toes, stretching her arms above her head enough to reach into the lining of the four poster boards. She pulled out a bottle of some liquor she had taken from her bar at home, not quite sure which one it was, and then she pulled her hair from the hair clip that was holding it back. She needed to unwind a bit before she would be able to fall asleep. She thanked the Lord that she didn't have early classes the next morning. Kicking her pumps aside, Bevin unscrewed the cap from the bottle and took a swig. The alcohol burned her throat as it went down, but she handled it like a professional, moving swiftly around all the discarded clothes in a way that only someone who lived in the chaos would have the ability to. She danced around a pair of stiletto boots that weren't hers and then moved her way down the stairs to the common room in an easy effort, the bottle poised in her hand as she sipped from it.

She was about to collapse onto the couch in front of the fire when she noticed that she wasn't the only one in the common room at such a late hour. She paused in the stairwell, her bottle of alcohol in her hand, and looked at the figure sitting in front of the fire. Noalan Bounds was sitting there, shirtless. Bevin arched an eyebrow at that, and then smirked to herself before sipping once more from her bottle. She wondered how much fun he was willing to have tonight. She wasn't stupid. Bevin knew that Noalan Bounds was one of the hottest guys at Hogwarts, she knew he was someone she probably shouldn't play around with – but Bevin couldn't resist a good piece of candy, and that's all guys were to her. A sweet that she allowed herself when she felt she deserved it or when she wanted it. Another sip from her bottle and a toss of her hair and Bevin was ready to step forward and reveal herself; she wasn't counting on Noalan already knowing she was there. A sly smile crossed her face when he called out, and she easily made her way from the shadows and behind him. She crossed around him just gently so her skirt tickled his bare back and then she sat down beside him, not too far away but not too close either.

"Noalan, what are you doing up so deliciously late, hmm?" Bevin twirled the bottle around a little bit as she tucked her legs beneath her, her blue eyes being lit into an orange tint from the firelight. Her brown hair fell over her shoulder and her smile was solid on her face, a soft grin that made most feel like she was being sincere with them when she was really only manipulating them. As she waited for him to reply, with a patience that was quite unnatural for her, she took a sip from her bottle and then offered it to him with a slight wave of her hand and a daring look in her eyes. She arched an eyebrow at him and smiled slyly again, "Come on, it tastes like sex… really really good sex."

[Noalan Bounds G7]

The way the science of attraction works, is one of the greatest conundrums on earth. If you have ever felt a strange attraction to someone that makes you feel surprised, then you are not alone. If you find that your former feelings of attraction for someone are tainted with the scent of expiration, then you are not the only person. You might discover that the person whom you can barely stand, in your mind known as public enemy number one, can also make you lust for them in ways you can’t imagine. In these ways and others attraction is mystifying, perplexing, and mind-boggling. There is no way to predict who you might develop feelings for, who you might find yourself checking out, or who you just want to get with. A certain seventh year Gryffindor has had many attractions in his life. Many girls whom he just had to go and introduce himself too. Yet, it always took him by surprise. The way his eyes would fall on her, the way his tone would change, it all happened unintentionally, perhaps even when he was attracted to another girl. Tonight, he was taken a back on how much the girl who just appeared from beyond the shadows appealed to him. After all, he was sure he was in love with Elaine, but from the smile on her this girl’s face Nole was feeling himself forgetting all of those things. He was curious about his feelings. He smirked back at her, just as she walked behind him. The fabric of her skirt gently brushing against his back, in a manner he was sure wasn’t by any type of accident.

The girl was familiar, in the sense of the word. He recognized her face. Her smile and voice seemed awfully familiar, but he could not remember her name. Something told him that her name wasn’t one you could forget easily, which made him wonder if they had ever been introduced. And if not, how did he seem to know her, and how did she know him. She was classically good looking. Her hair was brunette and caught the light of the fire making it shine; her eyes were light blue and had a mischievous look in them. She clearly knew this about herself though, she seemed pretty confident in her abilities. “I could ask you the same. Staying out of trouble I hope.” he told, because she did seem like the type to do so. He watched as she got comfortable in her chair, the light from the fire revealed she was holding a bottle of some sort of alcohol. He smiled to himself; it was all very interesting, and becoming very predictable. “But if you must know I couldn’t sleep.” He continued, one of his brilliant smiles was shone in her direction. At the same time he pushed his journal into the shadows, away from her line of vision. Writing was his secret. That was the way he intended things to stay. Plus, even if he was to tell her, he wouldn’t want her reading that particular journal. It was more personal then his journal of poetry, and short stories.

A pleasant silence was before between them as he observed her, only the sound was the fire crackling. She could have been any girl. He knew plenty after all. But she did seem like the kind of girl he only saw around the school. She seemed like one of the girls he saw when he was at events with his mom and step-father. Then it made sense. He probably had seen her at one of those very events. He was dragged to enough to know. Vanessa loved going to charity brunches, she loved attending business parties, it was her world. Her closet was packed of gowns she had worn, and a few she hadn’t had a chance to wear just yet. Cody, Noalan’s step father, loved going to them only because Vanessa liked them. She was the social butterfly in the family. Even if he wouldn’t admit, Cody had made many connections do to the fact his wife dragged him to these parties, and social gatherings. On occasion she was known to bring all her boys, not just her husband but her three sons as well. Nole was brought to more then his twin brothers though. They where mere children, and were too young to just smile sweetly and not wreck havoc. Nole himself would never admit it, but he did on occasion have a good time there. Especially if his best friend, Rachel, was there as well. She attended the parties and events with her mother. Except she wasn’t dragged to them like he was. She liked going, she wanted to learn about the family business, after all she was eager to take over what her father started over fifteen years ago. Rachel was the girl to keep him laughing and smiling through the ordeal so his bad mood wouldn’t affect her.

But Rachel was one of the very reasons he couldn’t sleep earlier. That was the problem when your two best friends dated. Something went wrong and you didn’t know what side to take. He knew technically he should have been taking AJ’s since he knew him first, but that was if they would admit they had a problem. They both had pride issues, and would never admit it, if it was easier to forget. That was one of the reasons he knew they would fail. They held grudges, flirted way to much with other people, never talked about their problems, and he both they had pasts that couldn’t easily be put behind them. But that was their problem, not his. Nole pushed the thoughts of AJ and Rachel aside. When they where ready, they would come to him. Everyone did eventually. Right now he was going enjoy this girl’s company. She too looked like she was ready to enjoy Noalan’s company. He watched as she took a drink from the mysterious bottle. Then she offered it to him. He wasn’t a big drinker, and was prepared to say no. But she made a pretty persuasive cause. “You don’t say.” He told her with a smirk taking the bottle from her and taking a drink. Sure enough it burned going down, but he expected it. He wasn’t friends with Rachel and Nole for no reason. “What are you doing up so late?” He asked after a moment.

[Bevin Banes G6]

"Staying out of trouble? Me?" Bevin posed the question in an honestly offended way, her hand hovering just over her heart and her mouth in a small 'o' shape as she looked at Noalan, "I'm appalled that you would think I would be getting into any trouble." The assumption wasn't, really, that far off from the real truth. She was always getting into trouble, she was just never getting caught. Bevin smiled brightly at Noalan, feeling herself ease into her comfort zone easily. The alcohol had set her a little on edge, but now she was melting easily into that place that Bevin felt most at home in. He finally answered her question and Bevin tilted her head slightly to the right, letting her brown hair cascade to the right of her, blocking the heat of the fire a bit. "Couldn't sleep? Aw. That's a real shame. Though, I must say, I'm quite glad the bogeyman kept you awake – otherwise I'd be all alone, with no one's company to enjoy," her smile was coy now as she looked into his eyes, trying to hold his gaze perhaps to intimidate him or to intimate him, Bevin wasn’t quite sure which just yet. His smile was brilliant, and it probably made every other girl melt; however, with Bevin, it just made her heart speed up because she knew the chase would be that much more thrilling.

The silence that settled over them easily like a film of dust gave Bevin an excuse to really look at him, not that she hadn't done it before. What girl wasn't guilty of looking at Noalan Bounds for a period of time? The difference between those other times and this one was that Bevin was in reaching distance of Noalan, whereas before it was across the room or hall or whatnot. Now, she could really analyse him – see his flaws that were bound to jump out of her eventually. She always found the flaws. She had to, otherwise she found herself falling for the people she tried to destroy. His hair fell rather nicely into his face, just enough to give him this sense of mystery that Bevin really hated. She hated mystery. She loved knowing things the moment she could. His eyes, if looked at in the right lighting, could really set a girls' heart a flutter, but Bevin wasn't any ordinary girl and she tried to see past their eyes into their very soul – and what was revealed there was usually worse than anything else. It would turn her off from a guy faster than if he did something completely terrible. Noalan's personality, though, was what was key to Bevin. He was flirty, he flirted right back at her, and she liked that. No hesitations, no second guessing, just go for it. Like Bevin did. Or at least, she was assuming that was how he was… she didn’t really know…yet.

For instance, the fact that Noalan was a prefect and was still drinking from an unmarked bottle of alcohol sent a chill down Bevin's spine. He hadn't hesitated. He had taken the bottle from her and drank. Bevin smiled brilliantly as she watched him and then she took the bottle back and drank from it again. This time she allowed herself to place what it was. It was vodka with some lime flavour added to it. It had been a gift from some family member or other. She had liked it, but she rarely drank vodka… so she had taken it to school with her after Winter Hols…and here they were; drinking from it. She drank from the bottle again and relaxed back into the arm chair, her head resting on the back of the chair, her eyes closing. Noalan asked what she was doing up and Bevin, in a truly Bevin way, lifted the bottle with a coy smile; "Drinking." She opened her eyes and looked at him again, "I finished an essay for some class," she couldn't honestly remember which class, "And decided I needed a drink, came down here, and found a handsome seventh year sitting all on his lonesome…and shirtless no less, figured… 'hey, why not join him?' and voila! I am here." With a bright smile and a shrug of her shoulders she drank from the bottle again and then handed it over to him once more.

Bevin sat forward now, suddenly, and shook out her long brown hair, trying to get the kinks from the hair clip out of it. She hated when her hair kinked. The alcohol was burning through her body now, causing her to feel warm all over and a little bit more courageous than she would normally (which is quite courageous, considering Bevin had no inhibitions). After another silent moment, Bevin sat back in her seat, still raking her fingers through her hair, and posed a question at Noalan: "So, Mr. Bounds, have you a girlfriend, yet? Or are you stringing along as many as you possibly can, getting their hopes up without really meaning to?" Her smile was coy again. He wasn't seeing anyone, this much she knew, but there was definitely someone who had caught his eye. She wanted to find out who…and she wanted to find out now. After all, Bevin hated mysteries.

[Noalan Bounds G7]

Have you ever been to a lake that was so clear you could see all the way to the bottom? If the answer is yes, then I’m sure you have seen the fish scatter as you approached, or the grass that is in the sand dancing along as the water ripples on top. If the answer is no, I’m sure you’ve been to another type of lake, where the water is murky and you can’t even see your hands in the water. I’m sure you had fun either way. But still which body of water where you more cautious in? The same is true for people as it is for water, you are more cautious towards the people you can’t read and are unsure about it. People who give you an uneasy feeling of hiding something, or people with a hidden agenda. Noalan never was very fond of people like that, but lately he was becoming one of them. Hiding his writing, hiding his feelings, hiding his emotion, he didn’t know he was so complex. So he couldn’t judge the girl before him. Though she seemed to be shocked that he would accuse her of anything, he saw something false about her mannerisms. Not that it mattered. He knew plenty of people who got into trouble, and though he was a prefect he let them off the hook sometimes. Everyone messed up. “Hmm …” Noalan told her with a smirk. “It’s late; you’re up, your drinking, not to mention approaching boys you hardly know. I think that just spells out trouble.” He told her with a laugh and matching her smile, it was contagious. He laughed at her response to his earlier statement. “I’m sure you would have found something else to entertain you.” He told her, getting a bit more comfortable in his armchair.

They often said that curiosity killed the cat. He was very curious about this girl. He wanted to know her name, what year she was in, what her hobbies where, how he knew her. He wanted to know about her. Noalan must have had a death wish. He noticed many things about her. Her playfully teasing, the pleasant sound of her voice, the way she seemed to have a bad girl edge. That wasn’t his type, but she was very appealing, there was just something about her and he couldn’t figure out what. This was puzzling him. Maybe his brain was already asleep and not working properly. He thought about this attraction towards her, there was only one other girl that did that to him. It was a certain Ravenclaw who had a fire red temper, but was sweet and very easy-going. He knew exactly what drew him in about her. She was unpredictable, she was funny and sarcastic, teased him back when he teased her. But there was a difference between Elaine, and this mystery girl. It was a different kind of appeal. There was a silence between them, and not one of those comfortable types like with Elaine, but it would have to do. He was determined to find out why he was comfortable around this girl, wondered why this silence didn’t unnerve him, and wondered once more about her. Right there and then he decided to find out. Even if it killed him, he was a Gryffindor for nothing.

She was a piece of work, the girl was. Her answer was purely sarcastic. But he smiled in spite of it. “Besides the obvious.” He prompted and let her go on. Her real reason was told in some what of a list fashion, as if she was just naming things of the top of her head. At least she wasn’t lying. Noalan was good at spotting lies, after all he had two younger brothers, he had to know how to determine which of them was lying and which was telling the truth. The twins where very different, I don’t want to say ‘as different as night and day’ because that’s too much of a cliché, so I’ll say cat and mouse, but I’m sure that one has been used before as well. But for two people who where very different they got along perfectly, and caused a lot of trouble. Giving Nole plenty of exercise as he chased them around the house. And as far as five year olds went, these two loved to create messes, always blaming the other. Noalan had learned a lot in the art of lie spotting. But his brothers where the furthest thing from his mind. He was in the here and now. “And here you are.” Noalan repeated. Not much had changed since they had first sat down. He just felt a bit warmer, but that was basically it. He accepted the bottle from her again. And took another drink from bottle. The alcohol reminded him of something from his father’s bar at the house. Back when he was a fifth year, he had tried all of the bottles his father had. And he had plenty, his mother had more of course, and Nole and AJ sampled those together.

Noalan felt comfortable, but was put on alert as she sat up unexpectedly. He eyed her curiously. When she sat back down he relaxed, and sunk back down in his chair. Her next question, as her previous caused him to laugh. “No, I’m afraid I’m still single. I wouldn’t say that I’m unavailable, because that would cause a few broken hearts, but if things would go my way, I would be taken.” He told her with a nod, feeling guilty about not thinking about Elaine more. He smiled to himself, thinking about their last meeting. “I don’t know why I’m telling you this. I don’t even know your name.” he told the girl before him after a few seconds. “Let’s play a game.” He continued. “You seem like the type to like games. Ever played twenty questions? Yes I’m sure you have. How about it? Want to play?” He asked, passing her the bottle at the same time. “That is unless you don’t have another game in mind.” Nole wasn’t the type of boy to make anyone uncomfortable, he was giving her a chance to come up with an idea as well.

[Bevin Banes G6]

Bevin laughed melodically, "I do believe you don't know me all too well, which is okay… that's subject to change." She raised an eyebrow at him and shook her head, "I'm always up late, drinking, and approaching boys I hardly know. If I were sober at this hour and sleeping – then there would be trouble. Tonight is just another normal night for me." And it was, too. Bevin was normally up late, drinking into the night. Granted, she usually had company from a Ravenclaw in her year, or the year below her, or even Leo – but somehow the essay had kept her locked away in the tower for so long that by the time she wanted to go out, it was past curfew and well…everyone else was probably dead to the world; except Noalan. She shrugged nonchalantly when he said she would have found something else to entertain her; she would have. If she had gotten bored, she would have snuck into the 6th year boys dorm and dragged Leo out of his sex filled dream to come downstairs and party with her. She knew he wouldn't have appreciated that, because that boy needed more beauty sleep than she did, and was therefore rather relieved that Noalan was burning the midnight oil as well.

After she had told him what she was truthfully doing up so late, Bevin smiled and relaxed back into the chair some more. She knew her reason for being up so late wasn't adventurous, and if she had given that reason to some of her friends back home she would have been stared at like she was an old woman and not this high society young woman that everyone looked up to, but while she was at Hogwarts and nearly alone with a guy who seemed laid back enough to deal with the dullness of her Thursday night, she felt no need to lie about what she was doing. Not that Bevin found much reason to lie anyway. She lied an often lot to get what she wanted, manipulated people and situations to the point of pure imagination, but whenever she was asked what she was doing – why lie? She had nothing to hide, she wasn't doing anything bad, she was just being Bevin and if they couldn't accept that then screw them…screw them all. She ran her fingers through her hair again and looked over at Noalan when she repeated what she had said to wrap up her reply, her smile bright. She was definitely here, and she loved it. She liked it more when there were other girls in the room because then she felt like she was stealing some of their attention, but on nights like this – she enjoyed just having all of someone's attention…and while Noalan might have been thinking about someone else…he was definitely looking at her.

The bottle was put against her lips again and she took another long drink from it, feeling the alcohol burn her throat as it went down and started to spread through her entire body. She felt it relax her limbs as her head started to grow a little bit fuzzy but not enough to make her completely incoherent. Bevin turned slightly in her chair and rested her legs over the arm rest closest to Noalan, her bare legs dangling gently over the edge, crossed at the ankle. She rested her head in the crook of the armchair, her eyes never leaving Noalan as he replied to her question about having a girlfriend. He hadn't told her anything she didn't already know, but she smiled when he said it would break some people's hearts if he said he was unavailable. Not Bevin's. Unavailability had never held her back before, why would it now? Then he said he didn't even know her name and Bevin's smile grew into a rather coy one, "Well, now, that's rather interesting. It's Bevin Banes, as in the daughter of Nicola and Bryan Banes IV. You've probably seen me at charity events by the bar with Leo Keane or off dancing wildly with some really hot guys. I've seen you at them, but of course… never approached you. You're unavailable…" she smirked at him and tilted her head slightly before drinking from her bottle again.

At the mention of a game, Bevin perked up considerably. While it had been quite a blow to hear that he hadn't known her, this would definitely make up for it. She smiled at him as he suggested 20 questions, and then when he asked if she had any other ideas for a game, she smirked with a raise of her eyebrows; "Oh, hon, I have plenty of ideas for a game…but let's play 20 questions…it's the safest choice." The innuendo was there, he could ignore it or take it and run with it as few rarely did. After a beat of silence, she chuckled and swung her legs gently back and forth against the arm chair, "Who goes first, you or me?"