i wish i could record my dreams

Jinx blinked sleepily as she shuffled down the corridor leading to the kitchens. Still half asleep, she rubbed her eyes and groped her way down the dark hall, shivering at the emptiness of the school, but also slightly grateful that there was no one around to tell her off for wandering around after hours. The reason for her late exploration of the castle was not that strange. Having woken up in the middle of the night with hunger eating at her and a semi-functioning brain, Jinx had decided that the only possible course of action was to get something to eat. It was unusual for her to wake up during the night, she was usually a heavy sleeper and had no problem drifting off to dreamland but tonight had proved different from other nights.

Jinx yawned and closed her eyes, almost falling asleep on the spot if she hadn't come into contact with a wall just a second later. She frowned and reached out a hand to feel the seemingly dead end, only to find that in the short amount of time her eyes had been shut she had managed to walk into the wall on her right. She blinked sleepily and turned around, resuming her slow walk through the corridor. A few short steps later and the unfamiliar archway that was the entrance to the kitchen ended her search. Hoping the house-elves weren't awake at that late hour, Jinx tickled the fruit-painting and entered the kitchen, almost falling down when she missed the small step and looked around. There didn’t seem to be anyone there, and even if there was it was too dark for her to see them.

Jinx spotted another smaller archway at the back of the large room and went up to it. Assuming it was probably a pantry of some sort, she walked through it and was proved right in her assumption at the sight of numerous packed shelves adorning the walls. Jinx squinted in the darkness and reached for a cauldron cake on one of the higher shelves. Unfortunately, the stretch was too much for her disorientated half asleep body and she stumbled, tripping on her feet and falling to the floor in a bewildered wide eyed heap.

The fall startled her awake, and she frowned, pushing herself off the floor in an attempt to stand up. As soon as she put her weight on her leg, however, a searing pain shot up from her knee and she sat back down with a small cry. It was then that she noticed the sharp piece of glass lying on the floor and that must have been under her when she landed. Sure enough, the knee of her pajama was ripped, and crimson blood was starting to seep through the material. Jinx pulled up her trousers and inspected the gash. It was quite large and bleeding badly. "Ouch." She winced and looked around for her wand to clean in up only to remember that in her haste to get to the kitchen she had left it in her dorm. Jinx sighed and leaned back against the wall, hoping for someone to come and help her out of the mess she had gotten herself into.

Walking the corridors at night definitely wasn’t something Elijah had signed up to do when he joined the Imperium Squad. If Majere wanted people patrolling the halls then he only had to get Wilson to do it and all of the students would be scared away. He just wanted to go to bed or annoy Julia or go and see Lily. He would have paid good money to scare the be-Jesus out of the Fat Lady he didn’t think the Gryffindor’s would have appreciated the screams that would evidently wake them up. It would entertain him enough but he didn’t care at that moment in time.

Elijah held his wand a little higher as he entered the school. He had been patrolling the grounds and there had been no signs of any students, it was just him and the vampires in the woods. The chilly air had brought him back inside and he was thankful for the warmth of the castle. Elijah wrapped his cardigan around him a little tighter and cursed his mother for the strange things she sent him in her boxes every week. It was a warm piece of material but it made him feel very feminine and he wasn’t sure if he liked it.

Eli made his way through the entrance hall and took a detour on his way to the Room of Requirement and headed to the kitchens. He had a feeling his mother’s elf, Twinkle, would be there waiting for him as for some strange reason the little elf never slept. It was a little unnerving at times but she was a ball of energy that seemed to spring from absolutely no where. He wandered up to the portrait and tucked his wand behind his ear. He tickled the pear and stepped inside. The portrait swung shut behind him and Eli walked further inside.

The kitchens were dark and Eli didn’t even want to try fumbling around to find the pantry or whatever. Instead he Incendio up at one of the chandeliers and lit up the room. Twinkle bounced out from behind one of the tables and rushed over to him. She propelled herself into his arms and Eli caught her, chuckling slightly. He put the little elf down and she grabbed his hand, dragging him over to the kitchen area. She took a bowl of soup off of the side and held it up for him to see. It looked and smelt delicious. Eli was proud of her; she’d definitely picked up some tips from the other elves.

“Master, a girl in the pantry there is.” The elf informed him. Eli’s eyebrows knitted together in confusion and glanced back at the elf that looked at him innocently. Clearly his mother had let her watch Star Wars again. He glanced at the elf once more before walking over to the pantry. The door was open slightly and he nudged it open with his foot. He took his wand out from behind his ear and held it out. He spotted the girl on the floor and he frowned a little before walking over and leaning down in front of her. He smiled a little and nodded. “’ello Jinx.” He murmured, looking down at the gash in her knee. “What have you done?” he chuckled.

Jinx grimaced as blood carried on seeping from the wound, and briefly contemplated calling for a house elf, before the sound of footsteps made her turn around to see who was there. It was a boy, by the looks of it. Not a Hufflepuff, but that was as much as she knew. She shaded her eyes with her arm to keep the light out of her face and looked up curiously. Nope, unfamiliar features, no recognition whatsoever. Which made it all the more surprising when the stranger leaned down in front of her and said, very clearly: 'Ello Jinx.'

Her first reaction was defensive. She narrowed her eyes at the guy and said, very slowly 'How do you know my name?' And how do I not know yours? The last part of her question wasn't said aloud but might as well have been. Okay, so it wasn't the friendliest greeting but who knew what who he might be? You never knew what you could find at Hogwarts during the night-hours. Students, houselves, professors, and...students. But students could be dangerous. Sometimes. Oh what was she expected to do- glomp him?

Her second reaction was disbelieving. 'What have you done?' the stranger said, and chuckled. Chuckled. Jinx was not a very patient or friendly person by nature and this was not an ideal situation for her to be in. Cutting her knee on a piece of glass and getting found by an (apparently) complete stranger in the middle of the night was not exactly helping bring out her 'nicer' side. So really, she couldn't help what she said. 'Oh, y'know, I just fell off the Eiffel Tower. Nothing to worry about, I'm sure I'll be fine.' No, she really couldn't help what she said. Jinx scowled at the guy and shifted slightly. Sarcasm had a time and place, she knew, and now was not the time or place to be snapping at someone. Especially if said someone was the only visible possible savior she had.

Sighing, Jinx ran a hand through her hair and let her gaze flicker to the Cauldron Cake that was lying a few feet away from her before looking back at the stranger. She looked at him for a moment, reassessing the situation before deciding that the least she could offer was an explanation.'I was trying to get that cauldron cake there-' here she indicated the fallen cake, 'and I kind of...umm.. fell.' She said, eyes defiant- daring him to laugh at her. Perhaps it was her grouchy not-fully-awake state, or her throbbing leg, but Jinx wasn't feeling too happy at the moment. And if the chuckling stranger thought her predicament was funny..Well, she didn't know what she'd think, but it wouldn't be good.