Lydia looked at Theo, then over her shoulder to the clock hanging on the wall, dimly illuminated by the few lights that still burned in the Slytherin common room.
It was almost half past two.
Outside the windows the lake was pitch black, but no more so than it had been when Lydia had crept silently from her dormitory to the couches by the fire.
“Yes?” She said, apprehensively, unsure of whether or not the older girl was about to scold her for it.
Surely there were no rules against not sleeping while everyone else did?
As long as you stayed in hour house?
Her bundled up in a thick, tartan blanked of silver and green by the fire with her charms homework spread out over her lap wasn’t exactly disturbing the peace either…
“I’m just not tired, and Emmeline Rogers snores. ”
For a second, Lydia’s dark eyes darted over Theo’s figure, taking in her appearance in pyjamas and dressing gown.
Her hair looked slightly ruffled, as if she hadn’t bothered to brush it through after twisting and turning in bed.
“Do you realize what time it is?”
For a moment Theo simply looked at Lydia, her face expressionless. Then a half smile flickered briefly across her features, and she said, “Millie snores, too. It sounds like someone sawing wood.”
Usually Theo was able to tune the snores out, but not tonight. She had a Transfiguration test tomorrow, and between Millie’s noise and fretting about the exam, Theo knew that she wasn’t going to get much sleep that night. If she wasn’t going to sleep, then she might as well do some extra studying. So she’d pulled on her dressing gown, grabbed her Transfiguration notes, and crept down to the common room.
She hadn’t expected anyone else to be there. On those occasions when her insomnia drove her out of bed and down to one of the armchairs in front of the banked fire, she generally had the room to herself. So Lydia’s presence had come as a surprise.
