When heaven sent you !-!--!-! Lyra!

[WILFORD BAILEY HAYWARD]

Will was considering just taking the night off from prefect duty, but he doubted that anyone would honestly take up his offer to sleep for the time being. Even at this time of night he was still up, but it had been hard to go to sleep knowing that just around the corner every time he wandered down the hall was a strange house elf always waving to him at some point. There were foot-steps in the halls at one point, and it was a little late to be out of their dorm at this hour. Sure prefect duty wasn't all it was cracked up to be, but even in his own mind he was considering it to be rather peaceful compared to other jobs the school had. Plus this seemed to be the perfect opportunity for him to actually get used to the authority that the school used to pass down the laws of anyone not going by the rules of the school.

Assigning house points and decreasing them was up to him as he knew that the headmaster would listen to him should anyone have a problem with him. Plus, he usually could defend himself if he's pushed hard enough, but even with his shaggy brown hair it was normally hard to conceal his emotions. There was a stupid smile on his face as he was walking down the hall just wearing the hufflepuff colors rather well at the same time. Even as he was making his way towards the grounds, as that was usually an area that some students liked to practice at. Even a few managed to sneak out, but he was sure that there was a certain hufflepuff still out rather late at this time. Sure, practice was important, but Will thought that only to a certain extent you could play that silly sport. It was a sport he enjoyed watching, however, wouldn't always watch it whenever there was a game, he'd rather do prefect duty.

Just like he was now, the usual hufflepuff colors on the vest, shirt, and dress pants were always common these days even in Hogwarts. Sure, he liked the common robes that most of them had to wear, but sometimes it got rathre boring seeing the same clothing all the time. Will had really wanted to start a trend that would be reknowned throughout all of Hogwarts, however, it seemed he was going to be devoid of getting to know what it was like to actually have that opportunity. A light sigh escaped his full lips as he brushed a stray hair of his out of the way of his eyes now hearing the sound of a broom whipping through the air. Just as I suspected, were the only words he could think of to say to himself. The wind blowing through his hair was indeed rather nice compared to the nice weather within the hallway.

"So which house am I deducting points from for making all this ruckus out here at night when all students are supposed to be in their respective dorms," he stopped speaking when he saw the yellow colors fly by. Plus he got a pretty nice glimpse of her figure as she had flown by, realizing it was one of the other Hufflepuffs, so he was going to be a little lenient this time as he was pulling up his robes around him having worn them knowing it was a little cold outside. Waving towards the person in the air to get their attention, but shouldn't be hard as he yelled "Lumos!", that lit up the night sky quite brilliantly. Hoping he hadn't caused the person to be blinded, he moved the wand so that it was held out in front of him instead of up in the air in the flyer's vision.


Notes; Whee , first post technically in a thread. xD

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[LYRA KARA THORNTON]

lyra frowned, watching her team descend and shoulder their brooms, heading off to shower. she herself stayed in the air, hovering so that her light grey eyes could gaze over them for a moment as she made sure they all headed back to the castle. lyra sighed, only using one hand to grip the firm wood of her broom, the other running through her thick blonde hair as she thought back over the practise.

it hadn't gone well. infact, it had gone terribly. the quaffle had been dropped numerous times, bludgers all over the place, people squabbling with each other and pushing and yelling. it'd all been so wrong. what a great way to start her seventh and final year. lyra was ecstatic that she'd made the quidditch team captain this year; she'd always loved quidditch, found it a perfect escape from the real world sometimes. she was always fully emmersed in the game, with good strategic plans and ideas and all up for keeping team morale high. she wanted to be a proffessional quidditch player when she left hogwarts, and she'd already seriously been contacting a few teams she was interested in ... and they seemed interested in her chaser abilities in return. which was, well .. excellent.

but this practise had not gone well. letting out an exhale of irritation, lyra threw the quaffle hard, sighed, and then urged her broom after it. it was a good broom, a skyrocket 200 - which had taken a lot of saving to get, but was completely worth it. she raced forward, catching the large ball as it fell, clutching it and practising a few moves and manouvers as she headed up the pitch and then tossed the quaffle into one of the hoops.

she kept practising, detirmined to fly away her aggitation, annoyance and restlessness until it got darker, not noticing as the sky turned first an incandescent pink, and then a navy, and finally ebony. she kept practising until it was too dark to see much more but the faint glistening of the goalhoops in the moonlight, and hear the whistle of her broom through the air. she sighed, pulling up and dipping low to drop the quaffle into the box with the others as she flew past it low, flying back upward and figuring since she was already breaking rules, she'd stay out and enjoy the night sky for a little longer.

and then the voice came to her out of the dark. "So which house am I deducting points from for making all this ruckus out here at night when all students are supposed to be in their respective dorms," she knew that voice and she rolled her eyes with a grin. prefect. a hufflepuff prefect at that. a fifth year she believed. she was just about to pull up, still several metres from the ground when a flash of really bright light blinded her. "argh!" she exclaimed, hands letting stupidly go of the broom for one second to cover her eyes from the intrusion of the light, and the broom wavered, tipping her off.

lyra made a noise of surprise, slipping from her perch on the broom and just about managing to whip her right hand out and grab it before she fell. dangling in the mid-air, not that far from the ground but not wishing to take the fall, she just managed to swing her right leg up over the broom and regain her seat. she breathed out and carefully lowered the broom to the ground, where she dismounted and planted her feet firmly on the pitch. "hey next time, give a gal some warning!" she rolled her grey eyes lightly and flashed the boy a grin to show she wasn't annoyed.

" so ... that house would be hufflepuff buuut .. you don't really want to dock house points do you? i didn't realise the time." she half pleaded, already not in a great mood right now, or in good form with her team mates after the practise, and she really didn't want them to wake up tomorrow and find points docked from hufflepuff because their team captain had forgotten to check the time whilst letting out her frustrations...


ooc , hehe my first post with her on here too! (:

[WILFORD BAILEY HAYWARD]

Will was considering her offer even as he had been watching her fly around, after all it had been partially his fault for making her almost fall off her broom. Even as amusing as it had been to see the Quidditch captain almost losing her grip for a change compared to all the other times he watched her flying fluently through the air. There was an aura about her that drew him to her, and he was damned if he was going to take points away from Hufflepuff for this one minor incursion. Perhaps he could just let her off with a warning as most of the other prefects did with their own houses, as he was lenient with the rules from time to time. Plus, this was Lyra they were talking about, not some two-bit floozy that would get worked up over nothing.

Reconsidering his actions, he hadn't even said anything when she had finally landed on the ground, "I'm shouting out Lumos! Lumos!" he said in return, now being a smart ass. Of course, it was probably the sense of humor that got him here, even though he was rather shy around pretty girls like Lyra. Well, Will considered her pretty in his own terms, however, he had barely gotten to know her the last few years since he had been too busy paying attention to school or hanging out with the house elves. Thinking for a few more minutes as the night seemed to waft around him taking in his form, but the yellow kind of stood out even in the night. Of course, the lights around the Quidditch pitch were still up which meant that she had obviously been here for a while. Wondering what could have caused her to stay out this late.

"Yes, but I'm afraid rules are rules, I need to at least give you a stern warning before you do something like this again. Plus, I'm sure you were well aware of the time as soon as night hit, cause after hours you're supposed to be in the grounds or in your respective common room, just so happens to be mine. Would you like an escort back so you don't get lost?" he asked in a calm, yet smooth voice that didn't show annoyance or anything bereft of that. In fact, he was just finding solace in the fact that she was quite nice company to have around. Will didn't normally talk this much, but since she had broken one of the rules might as well tell her which one.

"Also, I gave you fair warning about the light when I spoke to you about it, but you just had wind in your ears so you couldn't hear me, that's all," he stated matter-of-factly with his rather odd robes flowing around him. Then he just smiled towards her once more, while waving his wand, "I'm Will by the way," he added.

OOC: Sweeeet

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[LYRA KARA THORNTON]

"I'm shouting out Lumos! Lumos!" lyra grinned lightly and rolled her grey eyes; which had become almost black in the dark light until his wand tip had lightened the swathes of ebony around her. in honesty, she hadn't realised exactly how late she was. sure, she'd known after some time that she was past curfew but not exactly sure how late late actually was. looking into will's cute face, obviously very. oops. "shouting? i didn't hear a thing." she teased back, shifting her broom onto her shoulder so she could carry it better.

"Yes, but I'm afraid rules are rules, I need to at least give you a stern warning before you do something like this again. Plus, I'm sure you were well aware of the time as soon as night hit, cause after hours you're supposed to be in the grounds or in your respective common room, just so happens to be mine. Would you like an escort back so you don't get lost?" she grinned lightly, not able to help it. she never very was good at looking contrite when she was getting told off, and the fact that he was a fifth year (well she thought he was) made it that bit more funny in her opinion. not that she was laughing at him or anything, but she just found this kinda funny. well at least he seemed to have lightened her mood a little already. "well i'm awfully sorry for the trouble i caused, won't happen again, sir." okay so she was teasing him a little again, but hey, she was always out past curfew ... she couldn't help it - she was a spontaneous, impatient person. if she suddenly had the idea of going out and practising quidditch in the dark well .. she'd do it, and kinda damn the consequences. but it meant that sometimes she did need someone who'd hold her back ... because she did get into a lot of trouble at times. she should be thankful it wasn't one of the teachers - they would not have been so leinient, and she was sure they'd punnished her to write lines or clean trophies or something along those lines.

which was why her tone was sincere this time as she said, "thanks ... and sure i'll walk with you." lyra said lightly. "hang on one sec," she added, as she trouped back to the box containing the quidditch balls. being seventeen, she was perfectly at liberty to use magic whenever she wished now, even outside hogwarts, and so she withdrew her wand and sent the box vanishing back to its proper place with a small incarntation. well it saved her having to drag it all the way back to the supply cupboard right?

once that was done in a few moments, she headed back to will, just in time to hear his "Also, I gave you fair warning about the light when I spoke to you about it, but you just had wind in your ears so you couldn't hear me, that's all," she nodded, her long blonde hair tumbling forward over both shoulders with the movement, and she reached a hand that wasn't holding her broom to impatiently push it aside. "it's okay, i wasn't really paying attention. got too involved in the whole flying part." she smiled and rolled her eyes at herself, a little annoyed that she had actually almost fallen and humiliated herself but hey .. she should have been thinking outside the quidditch pitch.

"I'm Will by the way," she smiled lightly and nodded. "i know... fifth year right?" she asked, sure that it was but double checking. she didn't know all that many people, but she'd gotten to know quite a few and she'd seen him around, heard of him .. all that jazz. "i'm lyra." she said in return, not sure if he'd know her or not, even as a quidditch captain because after all, not everyone loved quidditch the way lyra did ... some people hated it. but hey, who was she to judge. "shall we go? before i get into more trouble with you?" he grinned, showing she was teasing and she nodded toward the looming shadow of the castle.

ooc , (:

[WILFORD BAILEY HAYWARD]

Will was still seriously considering giving her a penalty for being out this late, and yes if a teacher had been out, he definitely wouldn't have been lenient. No matter who the teacher was, unless it was the headmaster, or perhaps one of the heads of the houses. Even the prefects had a soft side to them at times, but it was late. She was lucky he wasn't in a grumpy mood while he was actually letting her off easy right now. Unable to comprehend why she'd be out at this time, but he had heard rumors about her being a trouble-maker. Then with a serious face he turned to her, "Well, don't go out alone again, and next time I might not be as lenient. Five points from Hufflepuff.." he said to her clearly.

Even as they were walking back to the castle, it did indeed loom over them, but he wasn't intent on returning towards the common room just yet. Instead he veered off the path towards the lake that was near the quidditch pitch to just stare at it. After all it wasn't that late, was it? Just a little sight-seeing would do them both good for the time being. Known to do this at certain times during his night patrol, but he was waiting until she commented on him taking house points away. Eventually when she was about to start speaking he attempted to change his attitude about it as a smile came to his lips, "Oh my bad, I forgot, same house, five points won't be taken off, I was just joking, so why are you out so late besides just practice. I'm sure you knew what time it was, and yes fifth year...you're a seventh year, and the quidditch captain? Score for me on all accounts right?" he said in a sarcastic tone for a moment...but then stopped himself from being too harsh.

After all no one had explained to him why there were even rules for the seventh years in the first place when half of them barely listened to some of the prefects. Of course it's hard to actually take anything seriously when your last year is supposed to be the fun one. The only house that didn't give him problems at all was Ravenclaw, but there were just he few as he almost forgot to even tell her his name. Sure, it was a major factor to continue the conversation, perhaps he'd play coy and just go with a fake name to tease her. Ah, but she would know who he was easily. "My name is Will, and I doubt you could get into any trouble, as I'm usually lenient with house members, unless it happens again for the same reason, next time at least have a snitch out so it's more believable you know?" he teased her knowing that's not what her position was. As most of the time it was the seeker that did that sort of thing.

It was obvious he was joking when he chuckled about that part of his sentence, while waiting for her to catch up as he had already started walking off expecting her to follow him.

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[LYRA KARA THORNTON]

"Well, don't go out alone again, and next time I might not be as lenient. Five points from Hufflepuff.." lyra looked at him and sighed, running a hand through her hair. "really? great. " her tone clearly expressing her tiredness and lack of enthusiasm for the taking away of points. well could you blame her? her first quidditch practise had been totally crappy, it was late, she'd accidently skipped dinner and now a fellow hufflepuff was docking house points. she could imagine the daggers she'd get from people already...not like five points was a lot or anything but it was enough when your team were mad at you for yelling. looks like she'd need to suck it up and dash out some appologese.

"Oh my bad, I forgot, same house, five points won't be taken off, I was just joking, so why are you out so late besides just practice. I'm sure you knew what time it was, and yes fifth year...you're a seventh year, and the quidditch captain? Score for me on all accounts right?" she blinked at the sarcastic tone, wondering if she'd insulted him unwittingly or something, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye and biting her lower lip. she hadn't meant too .. the thing with lyra was that she was a very joking person who did love to tease people..but it was in good nature. the only problem was she had a big mouth at times, and that could often get her in trouble but still .... she hadn't meant to offend. looking contrite, she ducked her head slightly and nodded. "yeah seventh year and captain...." she said quietly, still chewing her lip before realising he asked why she was out so late.

lyra sighed and shook her head. "had practise earlier but... it didn't go too well, and i was taking my frustrations and stuff out and trying to work on some new moves and all that...." she shrugged lightly, knowing she'd also kinda been avoiding any chance of runing into a teammate...or someone inevitably asking how the practise went. which she'd kinda been hoping to avoid too. she knew why else she'd been frustrated... the anniversary of her parents death loomed ever closer on the horizon, and as ever, lyra just wasn't ready to face it. she'd been letting her work load build up too, so that by the time the date came in two days, she'd be able to work so much she can't think, then be so tired she could sleep...hopefully. well that was always the plan but ... well she was already finding it hard to sleep at night, the thoughts she was trying to avoid circulating on these days before the big terrible day instead. she yawned and quickly went to stifle it, glad that it was too dark to see the circles under her eyes. she didn't want questions.

"My name is Will, and I doubt you could get into any trouble, as I'm usually lenient with house members, unless it happens again for the same reason, next time at least have a snitch out so it's more believable you know?" lyra raised her eyebrows, hearing his teasing tone. "ah then you don't know me well enough.." she grinned. honestly...lyra could very easily get into trouble. as he headed up to the castle she moved too, prefering to walk with him than by herself. "and i'll have you know i'm a chaser." she rolled her eyes lightly, glad she seemingly hadn't offended him.

[WILFORD BAILEY HAYWARD]

Will was already starting to raise an eyebrow as she said this, and sure the night was brilliant right now. Even as he was tempted to visit and stop by the lake on the way back. The way it sparkled in the moonlight was quite refreshing, and it seemed the castle was looming far away from him. Licking his lips softly he soon started to stretch his back even as he was thinking about how this could have been way better for the both of them. Even with the many disruptions that the school year had to offer, Will was considering just telling her that he was rather fond of her.

Why was he thinking that of the seventh year captain already? That was too soon, and he cursed his hormones at this time of year. No, he was going to wait until he actually had a valid reason to ask her out or anything of the sort, perhaps by the time the year was almost over he would do so. Planning this now was absurd, and he hadn't even gotten to know her yet despite being in the same house for so long. Then again, he barely talked to anyone, but he was always hanging out with the house elves. There were so many rumors you caught from the little imps at times.

"Obviously you're tired to the point you can't tell when I'm being serious or when I'm not, of course I would be down in the kitchen chatting with the house elves normally, however, I decided to just go for a stroll outside when I heard a broom whirring through the air. Lo and behold, the quidditch captain, really wanting to practice before the games coming up, huh?" he asked calmly now, his voice having returned to it's normal dull tone, although it was still slightly deep at the same time. Those sky-blue eyes of his piercing the night sky as he stared straight ahead continuing to walk forward.


OOC: Nooo, my muuuuuuuse is dyyying.

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[LYRA KARA THORNTON]

she walked quietly beside him, revelling in the fact that it was so peaceful and strangely comforting to walk with him. she didn't feel the need to make small talk or say anything, and it wasn't awkward. will was remarkable mature for a fifth year. especially a guy. lyra knew a lot of fifth year males who'd been completely idiotic and annoying and cocky, either trying to come on to her or pull pranks on her or annoy her. needless to say it was a refresing change that this fifth year hufflepuff was a calm, cool-headed guy who for whatever reason made her feel quite comfortable.

"Obviously you're tired to the point you can't tell when I'm being serious or when I'm not, of course I would be down in the kitchen chatting with the house elves normally, however, I decided to just go for a stroll outside when I heard a broom whirring through the air. Lo and behold, the quidditch captain, really wanting to practice before the games coming up, huh?"lyra glanced at him. how had he known she was so tired? she'd made a point not to show it, not even when she'd yawned. she rubbed absently at her eyes and smiled vaugely. "you chat to the house elves?" she asked lightly, having been down a few times to sneak food a few times. "they're always so friendly. " she said lightly, finding their enthusiasm endearing.

"sorry to disrupt your patrol then." she appologised lightly, kinda meaning it. she knew how sometimes it was nice to grab some time to yourself, and how annoying it was when people interrupted it. she hesitated when he spoke about her wanting to practice. "yeah kinda.." she said slowly, chewing over the idea of maybe coming clean about what was worrying her. she didn't really know him but there was this air about will that kinda made her feel he was okay to confide in.. "...it's a nice way to escape too. you know.... when the real world decides to give you problems, flying's always been the way to forget them...well for me anyway. i know some people do other things to put them out of mind for a while." she shrugged lightly, shifting her grip on the broom. when she was flying, she could forget everything for just a little while, remember nothing but the way the wind whipped her long hair back from her face, tangling its cold fingers through it...the way the broom turned with her every thought and slight shift in slim torso...the way it felt when you went speeding from one side of the pitch to the other...and then went through the pitch boundary to soar over the tips of the forbidden forest.....

she shook her head, dispelling the ideas and coming back to the present quickly as they headed up to the castle, not wanting to do what she knew she would otherwise - be thinking so deeply she misplaced her foot and awkwardly fell, or perhaps missed some of will's words or something as such rude and embarrasing. no, she had to pay attention, tired as she was. will was a nice guy, she wanted to listen to him.


ooc , awe it's okay. mine is a liiiiittle... /:

[WILFORD BAILEY HAYWARD]

Will was considering what course of action he should take while chatting with her, but he was unsure of where to go with the conversation right then. Even so he knew that Lyra would have caused this much trouble in the first place. Having mentioned that this area was off limits during night many times to her whenever she talked about it in the Hufflepuff common room. Normally he would have stayed quiet about it, but there had been a few complaining about how none of the prefects did anything about it. So he decided to set an example in a way by acting on his impulses.

Plus, he didn't want to be seen as the prefect that let everyone off the hook in Hufflepuff. Of course, it was mostly true, as he tried not to be biased, but it was hard to when a lot of the other houses usually picked on them just for being in this house. It gave them no right to bully people, and in that case it was usually Slytherin doing most of it. Sure, he didn't like the whole house rivalry thing, but when it came down to calling muggles names, that drew the line. Most of Will's actual friends were muggle-borns or even just half-bloods that were usually mistreated by those uptight people that were prude about purebloods.

Even so, he was now considering Lyra's words when she mentioned being alone, "I was only kidding, not like I'd take house points away from my own house, but of course I would if you were insulting a muggle born or pure blood. I just can't stay quiet when that happens," he spoke up to her. Soon looking to her, as his deep voice seemed to hold a strong resentment towards anyone that did insult them. Blushing a little as he usually didn't reveal that much information about himself right away, however, even as shy as he was, Lyra brought the best out in him right now. Sure, that wouldn't last long, as he soon usually went silent for a while.

Even most of the walk had been him just being quiet, and her doing most of the talking. Plus, when he did have something to say it wasn't useless babble that didn't lead anyone astray at all. In fact, he was quite blunt at times it was ridiculous to the border of hilarious. "Well, also, I do understand, which is why I prefer being alone when I talk to the house elves, then again, I'm usually shy and quiet in general," he responded without even missing a beat. Smiling warmly towards her, and he noticed a beautiful glow around her face. Some might consider her average, but he found her to be rather gorgeous...although he wasn't going to say anything until you know he got to know her better.

Sure, she was the captain, but Lyra was also in her seventh year, so he doubted she would have an interest in him at this point. Perhaps he was going to be surprised.

OOC: Awe, poor Will needs confidence, but I'm saying it's too early to even start them in a relationship at all though. xD

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[LYRA KARA THORNTON]

"I was only kidding, not like I'd take house points away from my own house, but of course I would if you were insulting a muggle born or pure blood. I just can't stay quiet when that happens." lyra glanced at him as they walked, his face highlighted slightly by the silver of the opaque moon. she shook her head, tumbling locks splaying about her at the movement. "i would never. the people that do that need to learn that everybody's equal in this world, magic or no magic." she frowned slightly, thinking back to a time she'd heard a friend of hers insulted by some very idiotic fourth year slytherins. lyra had not been best pleased by their potty mouths, and in fact sent a hex or two their way - a hex that had gotten her into a lot of trouble, but had definetly been worth it.

it wasn't fair on people to go around degrading muggles or muggleborns. it was true what she'd said - everyone was equal in this world, everyone had problems and issues to work through, everyone had the ability to feel emotions, so why should some go around thinking they had status over others? authority and respect should be earned, but that didn't mean that they were better than anyone else. everyone was the same, but not everyone realised it.

she could feel his eyes on her, and her own flickered to him, catching his blush and wondering if he was used to talking so much. whenever she'd seen him around he hadn't been one of those fifth years throwing themselves into loud conversation right in the middle of the common room. "Well, also, I do understand, which is why I prefer being alone when I talk to the house elves, then again, I'm usually shy and quiet in general,"

lyra smiled gently, hugging her robes tighter to her as a wave of cool air lifted her locks and brushed them aside, the cold causing her to shiver slightly, and remind her that this wasn't summer, and the nights did tend to get cold. "not many people understand..." she said gently, tone implying that she was complimenting his ability to, and that she wondered if she'd found a similiar being here. it was true though, hardly anyone understood the need, sometimes, to be alone...to have the freedom and just, not think. sometimes it was nice; to escape. "shy and quiet?" she repeated lightly, glancing to him and grinning slightly. "well you're a nicer guy than most, and being loud and obnoxious is definetly not the way to live. " she said, thinking of those she knew and, also, about how her big mouth, her ability to jump implusively head first into things, and her ability to just be upfront and blunt at times did get her in a fair few duels...and quite an amount of trouble, hiding a small blush as she realised she'd complimented him without thinking about it. but hey, she thought he was cute, and so far he seemed like a decent guy. especially compared to all the other fifth year guys out there. why not compliment him? "loud, implusive people like me need people like you to hold us back ... s'all about balance." she grinned, hoping that made sense to him. well it was true..without the quieter types, the grounded people, she was pretty sure the world would be a much more unpleasent place.

ooc , n'awe bless him xD lols and yeah i understand about that (: they need to get ta know each other more first XD

[WILFORD BAILEY HAYWARD]

Will considered the turn of events, and just a few minutes ago he had been about to actually deduct house points too. Sure, it was his own house, but he had to be fair towards everyone. Luckily it was Lyra, the girl he actually knew was nice enough to just go out to practice and nothing else. Plus he couldn't remember if seventh years could actually stay up as late as they wanted, but it didn't really matter to him. How much sleep she got when they got back to the castle was totally up to her, but it seemed to still loom so far in the distance. It felt like a marathon just walking past shadows as he sometimes jumped at the littlest thing like a spider crawling down from a tree branch landing on his face.

That freaked him out and he instantly swatted it away accidentally killing it as he heard thunder pour in the background...although it was just his heart thumping against his chest as he was terrified of spiders. Clutching at his heart he soon leaned over lightly to catch his breath, as he was breathing rapidly. Flushing deeply, he didn't want to speak about that incident at all, and hoped she wouldn't ask about it either. Sure, there were other creatures on some of these trees that liked to lounge there so an unsuspecting person would end up with a mouthful of cob-web or a fly within their mouth only to complain about it. It could have been easily avoided had Will decided to go at least thirty metres out of his path as he felt the sensation of a cob-web having been tangled up through his hair.

The spider was long-since forgotten soon as he waved his wand, saying a spell to clear the cob-webs from his hair as he gave the tree a slightly annoyed look. To any other on-lookers it would have looked amusing how he actually fussed over his appearance, but he was good at what he did. Nowas they continued on their way towards the castle, the marble path was opening up as he could see the arches towards the doors. At least they were now safe, and he knew for sure they were, even though the grounds keeper should have stopped them at least once on their way back through the Grounds. It really didn't concern him anymore, and then spoke as he turned to look at Lyra, admiring her beauty secretly.

Sure, she may have looked like just another Quidditch player, but Will saw a certain glow around Lyra that most wouldn't, it was sort of like love at first right. Of course he really didn't believe in that nonsense at the moment more or less viewing her as a friend right at this moment. "Well, I can see why you would be out here then, but wouldn't going down for a nice cup of cocoa with the house elves be more relaxing?" he shrugged his shoulders figuring he'd at least offer her somewhere to go, but then again they were already both breaking the rules as is seeing as how he wasn't supposed to be out here after hours either. Sneaking around the halls would be easy as he knew the corridors like the back of his hand.

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[LYRA KARA THORNTON]

lyra's eyes, irisis coloured dark steel by the darkness of night, strayed toward the looming shape of the great castle, drinking in it's magnificent structure - the strong stone of the walls, the pillar shaped towers stretching right up to touch the tips of the far away silver moon ... all in all it was an awe-inspiring sight, one lyra had learnt not to take for granted. after all, she wouldn't be here this time next year. she'd be...anywhere she supposed.

she didn't know where she'd end up; possibly whereever the wind took her seeing as her aspiration was to become a proffesional quidditch player, and therefore she'd most likely be up on her broom for a lot of time. she wondered if any team would actually take her - she'd been told she'd be good enough, and she had plenty of detirimation and drive to aim for it... but she wasn't naive enough to think she was the only good chaser out there. lyra knew there was a lot of talent out there, and it'd be tough competition to beat to get a place on a good team. but who knew. she was more a 'go by the moment' kinda person, which was why she dragged herself away from the impending doom of her parents death anniversary, and dreams of the future to think about where she was right now. right here. that was what mattered.

she sighed quietly, shaking her head slightly and suddenly heard will, seeing him make a movement from the corner of her eye. altomatically, she jumped in surprise and spun to face him, wondering if perhaps some stupid slytherin had dreawn from the shadows and tried to curse them or something. lyra had even drawn her wand and peered suspicious around before realising that it was some sort of creature that had fallen on will. "ew spider." she muttered, making sure there were no others around as she saw will see to the one that had fallen on him. he didn't appear to like them either and she completely understood. spider... just urgh.

"you alright?" she asked once it was gone, smiling slightly but not want it to appear like she was laughing at him. after all, she understood his pain, she was about to offer to help with getting the cobwebs from his hair when he did it himself, and so she quickly stowed her wand and said no more about it, quite sure that he wasn't one of those people who would enjoy laughing it off for the next five minutes, and possibly would rather not speak of it again. lyra obliged without a word, and continued on beside him, shifting her grip on her broom once more as her hand grew tired on the polished wood, transfering it to her other hand instead.

"Well, I can see why you would be out here then, but wouldn't going down for a nice cup of cocoa with the house elves be more relaxing?" lyra thought about it and shrugged lightly. "it's nice to go speeding round the quidditch pitch... get the adrenalin running and all. " she grinned lightly, knowing she would prefer more to go off on some sort of adrenlin kinda thing when she wanted to forget something, than sit and actually have a chance to stew over it. she liked to escape and flying made it easy. hard to think about things when you're trying to hold onto your broom and all that. "but ... did you want to grab one now? seeing as i've already broken curfew aaand you're a prefect?" she asked, now that he'd mentioned it she rather fancied a nice cup of hot chocolate before going to bed. maybe it could help relax her before she tried to sleep. if she could sleep. "if we get caught you can always say .. that i blackmailed you?" she teased lightly, glancing at him and letting her full lips stretch into a friendly grin.

ooc , nowt to say XD

[WILFORD BAILEY HAYWARD]

Will was starting to look down at the ground for a moment and then when she was mentioning going to where he suggested grinned slightly. There was nothing more exciting to him than going to visit the elves when they were busy making hot cocoa for whenever he wanted. Sure, he was easily convinced to do other things, but Lyra would find he was too gullible at times. Even though the spider incident had left him breathing rather quickly at the moment, and then regained his breathing to a regular pace. Sweat poured down his body, but even in his prefect robes, it was a late hour right now. Will wasn't even tired at that exact moment in time, continuing to walk along the enclosed grounds towards the looming castle.

Sure, the silent night was welcomed, but at times it was eerie enough to make him wish he had an accomplice at certain intervals or at least a partner to walk with him. Weren't prefects usually paired up at nights anyways to fend off evil hoarders stomping through the castle at times, but that thought made him chuckle a little. Even with the little startling spider incident, he soon had forgotten it at this point, and once they reached the looming doors. His hands reached up to the handles, slowly lifting up the ancient handles up to a 180 degree angle to pull on them. Using what strength he had to pull them slowly open most of the way, but it wasn't really hard as it made a light creaking noise when he did so.

It almost made Will's heart beat race at how slow he opened the doors, but soon he stood behind it so that Lyra could enter first. "Would you like to go back to the common room first to change or rather not risk the chance of being caught doing that?" he asked her softly, being quiet since he knew that there was going to be someone roaming the halls this late at night. As for earlier, "Don't worry about the spider I'm used to those by now, they're crawling everywhere when you don't want them to," he said to her. "Ladies first," he added politely gesturing towards the desolate hall way. Definitely looked deserted, which was odd for the castle.

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[LYRA KARA THORNTON]

as they headed in quiet toward the castle, lyra glanced at will's profile, noting he was quite a bit taller than her, even if he were two years below. she often found it quite odd how tall guys could be these days - she was sure in her fifth year she was no way as tall as a lot of them were these days. and of course, the boys all seemed to suddenly shoot up to 6ft, whilst she herself remained a meek 5ft1. which .. well, she would rather stay small than be tall but still, being small could be annoying at times. then again, at least it made people undermine you .. which was great for when you could surprise them with a fiesty response and a good hex.

" so do you patrol by yourself every night?" she asked curiously, having seen him out on occasion, but never this late. then again, normally she was better at sneaking in unseen if she was out later than she was supposed to be. she knew it coul get really dark out here, and well .. a little spooky at times - especially during winter when the mist crept up from the forest to cover the grounds. but still, lyra usually quite liked the quiet and peace of the night .. until it got eerie. so she wondered if will minded being by himself, or usually had a patrol partner or not. because maybe, if he didn't, she would offer to walk with him sometime. even if she wasn't a prefect ... she was rather enjoying his company, and well, who knew, maybe he might have been enjoying hers too.

she paused as will went to open the doors, about to step forward and help to find him already having opened them anyway. "Would you like to go back to the common room first to change or rather not risk the chance of being caught doing that?" lyra chewed her lip thoughtfully and glanced down at herself. she still wore her quidditch robes, and carried her broom. but they weren't too muddy or anything, so she shook her head with a small smile. " no it's okay." she said lightly, "thanks" she stepped inside, pausing in the corridor and taking off the outter flowing cloak-like layer, and then pulling off the jumper, revealing a simple top underneath. well it was warm, and this way she didn't have to lug so much around. it didn't take much to bannish the clothes and brooms with a flick of her wand, knowing they would appear within her dorm and be safe for whenever she returned tonight. "see... i'm prepared." she grinned and shrugged lightly, hearing will as he said,

"Don't worry about the spider I'm used to those by now, they're crawling everywhere when you don't want them to," lyra shuddered delicately and pulled a face. "urgh i know ... i found one in the dorm room the other day .. much too big for my liking. and i have to say .. i am one of those girls who scream upon sight.." she grinned lightly and shook her head at herself, muttering 'lumos' and looking left and right. she knew the way to the kitchens - being from hufflepuff it was kind of a given. the kitchen was only a few metres from their common room - and she knew it wouldn't be far. "do you know what proffessors are on watch tonight?" she asked, knowing a few of them patrolled at night to keep an eye out for wandering students.

ooc , nowt to say XD

[WILFORD BAILEY HAYWARD]

Will was looking left and right, and then even as she was speaking to him, he was holding up a hand for a moment. Even after entering the castle, the hard part was traversing the many different rooms to head towards the basement towards the area where the house elves cooked up the food. That was in the basement near the Hufflepuff common rooms so it shouldn't be that hard to traverse their way through the maze of a castle. Even if they had a chance to walk all the way around Hogwarts in one day, he was sure they would find many super secret entrances, and then they'd move around probably. There was never a set corridor that was hidden, and then reappeared elsewhere.

Just like the moving stairs, it almost seemed like the passageways themselves moved a lot, but he was slightly wishing he had a map that showed him the whole castle like the Marauder's Map. Not that he had heard about the map, but he knew of certain magical items that did show where people were at times. "No, usually I have a partner with me patrolling the halls, but they're asleep right now. I just wanted to go outside to think, but you were just having bad luck at the time of when I found you outside flying around," he said to her.

Well, this was an interesting turn of events as he was speaking to Lyra as if she were actually a friend of sorts, but he honestly wouldn't mind hanging out with her more if she so wished it. Even with their antics going on right now, he felt slightly bad for even being out of the common room at the moment. Maybe it was Lyra having a bad influence on him as he usually saw her sneaking out of the common room at late hours when he was heading up to his own dormitory. Plus, he usually wasn't on prefect duty then, and watching the common room really wasn't his own problem at the moment. Sooner or later the next prefect would be coming around in the morning to do their rounds.

Shaking his head softly for a moment, "Well, spiders are definitely not going to be in the dungeon, I usually kill them upon sight despite how much I hate touching them. Yeah, that's pretty useful," he mentioned to when she made the broom and quidditch robe disappear. Sure, they were good at that sort of thing, Hufflepuffs making things appear when they needed them. Once again, he was soon looking around the corner and the coast was clear most of the way towards the kitchen. "Well, I'm gonna say that there is usually just one patrolling at night, but they never think to look in the kitchen, ever," he finished his sentence, it was obvious he sneaked out a lot more than Lyra might of thought he did.

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[LYRA KARA THORNTON]

"No, usually I have a partner with me patrolling the halls, but they're asleep right now. I just wanted to go outside to think, but you were just having bad luck at the time of when I found you outside flying around," lyra glanced at him and nodded, grinning slightly and rolling her eyes. "yep .. see usually when i sneak out late, i make sure i don't get caught." she shrugged slightly, speaking the truth. well there was no point not admiting she snuck out on occasion but still. she did think she'd seen him out with a person or two during the evening, albeit normally earlier than now. which made her wonder if he always wandered by himself out this late after the patrol with the other person.

"Well, spiders are definitely not going to be in the dungeon, I usually kill them upon sight despite how much I hate touching them. Yeah, that's pretty useful," lyra nodded, usually doing the same thing ashamadly. she didn't liked killing them.. but they were so freakin' freaky. she looked left and right, used to keeping lookout whilst sneaking out. well in honesty she didn't do it every night ... just on occasion if she needed to escape or think or something. a starry night sky in the grounds was always a great place to think ... especially during summer. winter was colder but..that was a given really.

"Well, I'm gonna say that there is usually just one patrolling at night, but they never think to look in the kitchen, ever," lyra nodded, taking note and watching will as he checked around the corner. she grinned lightly. "ah ha ... see you sneak out just as often as i do.." she could tell he was used to sneaking at least a little, and she followed him around the corner, suddenly hearing footsteps behind her. "run!" she whispered, damn sure that there was someone coming up from behind. she burst forward into a run, reaching to grab will's hand or arm to try and encourage him to run too, not keen on getting caught by a proffessor tonight, adrenalin pumping at the thought, causing her to race for the kitchens and slid to a stop. sure that the proffessor was about to turn the corner, she tickled the pear until the entrance to the kitchens opened and looked at will, presuming he was behind her. "quick." she whispered, flashing him a grin and ducking into the kitchen.

ooc , nowt to say XD

[WILFORD BAILEY HAYWARD]

Will was slightly chuckling at the fact she tries rather hard not to get caught, but he was usually off prefect duty whenever she was sneaking out. "I know you sneak out all the time, I usually hear someone in the common room, then again I'm the quiet type, I hear a lot that most people usually wouldn't unless they listened close while being deep in thought," he said to her smirking playfully at her. It seemed he could reveal his softer side to her, but he was usually silent when it came to talking. Only answering questions that he needed to while she was asking them to him.

Of course he was also just rambling about random thoughts that came to his mind, and now wondered how they actually left the Quidditch pitch to head down to the basement. Only because Will had actually suggested it he was sure, but there were bound to be other reasons he couldn't think of at the moment. Even as he was in the hallways and the corridors of Hogwarts, it seemed that the tension was much higher when he was helping a student out instead of guiding her back to the dorm. Then again, he could just explain he wanted a snack while on his prefect duty so he just strolled casually down the hall towards where she was.

Knowing he might be called a fool, but even as the foot steps he heard had faded away he almost bumped right into a teacher. The teacher was looking forward with another one and then he quickly did a round-a-bout hoping not to get caught. Goosebumps traveled along his frame, and he made his way down the stairs, slowly sauntering towards the kitchen. Closing the door behind him as he hadn't been paying attention to where he was walking. Licking his lips in slight relief, he soon looked up to see the house elves looking at them as they entered the room. Hilarious as it may have been he wasn't about to call this a perfect evening.

The perfect evening had been earlier when he had seen Lyra flying through the air, her hair whipping in the wind, and the way she had landed. Oh yes, that was funny to him, and then he had a thought as he spoke to her in return. "Next time, don't leave me behind, I ran, and almost ran into the teachers...then again at least I would have gotten away with being out this late," he added sagely nodding to her at the same time. Walking up to the house elves, he asked for white hot chocolate and suddenly it appeared in his hands. Steaming hot and he took a sip of it...Mmm..delicious as always. They could just stay here for all night, but it wasn't like Will to pull an all-nighter, not that it would affect him at all since he could sleep during the day on a weekend at least.

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[LYRA KARA THORNTON]

as they both made it into the kitchen, lyra paused to listen to the pass by and letting out her breath. normally, she wouldn't really have cared that much about getting caught but well...she got caught the other day so she was already in the bad books, plus she had been having a bad day... she wanted to have a hot chocolate with will and well.. she didn't want him to get in trouble because of her either. see that was the heart of it - she didn't want to get him in trouble. because prefect badge or not, you could still get into trouble with proffessors.

lyra paused to push aside the rush of adrenlin the whole 'amost getting caught' thing had caused within her, spreading through her viens like wild fire, and quickly made to compose herself. she let out a breath slowly and then headed into the kitchen properly after will. following the fifthe years lead, lyra placed an order of hot chocolate and found one pretty much straight away thrust within her graps. her hands were colder than she'd realised, and the hot drink soothed her throat, warming her right to her very core as she sipped it's delicious taste in delight.

"Next time, don't leave me behind, I ran, and almost ran into the teachers...then again at least I would have gotten away with being out this late," lyra glanced at will and felt a jolt of guilt, which was quickly splayed across her face. "i'm sorry.." she said quietly, face immedatly contrite. she thought he'd been right there behind her when she'd told him to run. she thought he'd been safe. she blinked at his last words. "what? really?!" she asked in slight disbelief. she'd thought the curfew was strict on everyone. huh ..

lyra raised her eyebrows slightly and went to perch on a stool beside a great wooden table, sipping her hot drink once more and glad that it didn't burn her lips, or tongue or throat as she drank it - surprised at just how good it tasted. she stretched her legs out carefully, luxuriously and glanced at will with her grey eyes. "thanks.." she said quietly, utterly sincere. "for everything.." meaning the being so nice to her and everything.

ooc , nowt to say XD

[WILFORD BAILEY HAYWARD]

Lounging with the house elves this late at night usually wasn't like Will at all, normally he would have suggested just going back to their dorm room to sleep. None-the-less here they were in the kitchen getting a hot beverage instead of sleeping, and he was just tempted to stay here for the night. It wasn't like anyone else, but the headmaster or Louis would barge in here undetected. Plus, he knew fully well that Louis wouldn't have really minded them hiding out in the kitchen getting caught having fallen asleep. Not that it was important at this time as he continued sipping the delicious white hot chocolate.

It was warmed to the right temperature and as it slid down his throat gave him the most heavenly feeling he could think of, relaxation. Plus the fact that he was able to out-smart the teachers in thinking he was just a rat or mouse...as they had said on his way down the stairs noisily. Luckily, he knew they wouldn't follow in pursuit due to the fact that whatever they were chasing was faster than them by a long shot. Only a few of the teachers he couldn't escape while doing his prefect duty, but he was usually in the halls at the right hours to catch students that were out of bed doing naughty things. As Will was thankful he hadn't walked in on anyone snogging either, that would have been rather brutal to his ego. Plus, since he was slightly new to the whole love aspect, he was wondering what this pit in his stomach was every time he saw Lyra whenever she was in the common room.

Sure, she stood shorter than him, but even with her short stature, she still had a lot of spunk in her for a little girl of her own age. Plus she had curves too, barely noticeable at times, however, Will had noticed them on many an occasion. Sneaking a peak whenever she was going down to Quidditch practice, but it wasn't like a sneak peek that would label him as a pervert. More of a sneak peek at what her hair style was that day and what she had on, as her style changed almost every day. Smiling towards her as he raised his cup up, speaking softly to her, "Why? I'm just doing my job as Hufflepuff prefect to make sure you stay out of trouble, cheers," he said joyfully to her.

Lyra may not know it, but she brought out Will's wilder side, the one that usually only appeared when he was defending himself from the brutal onslaught of words from Slytherin's or any other house that looked down upon Hufflepuff as a house itself. The people within this house were exquisite and thought he should make it a point to make Hufflepuff a known house in his own rights. Looking to Lyra, he decided to share his logic with her too, "I think every house should know that Hufflepuff doesn't take crap from anyone else, and we're just as like to defend ourselves as anyone else, no matter what the case," realizing his outburst may have been rather random.

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[LYRA KARA THORNTON]

she sipped her drink lightly, revelling in the sweet taste of it. really, there was nothing like a hot chocolate with the house elves and will. well... not that lyra had every done this before. sure, she'd snuck out a lot in her seven years of hogwarts, but she'd thought of coming it - apart from once, which was actually the time she'd stumbled apon the kitchen. see, she'd been trying to find somewhere to hide as a proffessor had almost caught her, and she'd run straight into the kitchen. but since then, she'd never really been here, prefered the open air of the quidditch pitch or a quiet walk in the grounds. still ... this was really nice. for once, her impatience that often had her up and about all the time was curbed, taken over by a calm and tranquility she didn't often have.

"Why? I'm just doing my job as Hufflepuff prefect to make sure you stay out of trouble, cheers," lyra grinned lightly and raised her mug in a 'cheers' guesture before sipping it again. "well you do your job well." she said with a smile, utterly sincere. it was true, he took his job seriously, and she liked that about him. what surprised her when she carried on that thought was...well... she liked him. end of. she wasn't sure what bit about him that made her like him, but she did.

"I think every house should know that Hufflepuff doesn't take crap from anyone else, and we're just as like to defend ourselves as anyone else, no matter what the case," lyra looked to will in surprise, not sure where that came from but nodding in agreement. a lot of people thought that hufflepuffs were easily trodden on because they weren't 'uber smart' like ravenclaw, or 'uber brave' like gryffindor...or sly like slytherin. but hufflepuffs were hard workers and they could be smart or brave just as much as the others. " what made you say that?" she asked lightly, curious. " someone been messing with you?" she added, frowning slightly at the thought, feeling a slight flash of protectiveness over will at the idea of someone 'picking' on will.

ooc , nowt to say XD