spirit in the night.

[Jacob Muscowequan]

It was a strangely warm night, Jacob noticed. He had been searching the castle for something new, something he didn't really expect to accomplish considering he'd walked the halls so much. But he also knew that Hogwarts was full of surprises. However, those surprises normally pounced on him when he wasn't looking for them so the Gryffindor tried his best to pretend he wasn't. Like that would work. But something he did discover was that it was indeed warm, odd for the time of year but Jake wasn't going to complain. As he reached the top of the long staircase, the open doorway blew a warm wind into the corridor and Jacob breathed in deeply.

The boy jogged up the last few steps and walked out onto the platform. He was always happiest outside. Despite the vastness of the castle, Jacob had still fallen victim to cabin fever more times than he would have liked. Now that he was outside again, Jake smiled and crossed to the edge of the tower. Looking down, the boy carefully swung a leg over and sat down. Jacob rested his back and head against the wall and looked out at the sunset. The colours of the sky were beautiful and the shadows cast on the ground were just the same. He had always been told this was all the creation of the Great Spirit, the Creator, and as he looked out at the landscape, he knew a being greater than himself must have had some say in this beauty. Closing his eyes slowly, Jake took a deep breath in and just enjoyed the night.

[closed]

[Beau Hopkins]

For once Beau was in a good mood. He didn't feel lonely or somber, and he had finally worked out whatever it was that was bothering him about his music. It fell into place, it seemed, with the combination of meeting his two housemates, Derrick and Josh. They too were musicians and whatever had been wrong with Beau seemed to sort itself out. It was good to play again, and to write music again. It made the sixteen year old a happier person by far, and more social at that. Another thing it did to him was make him a bit restless. Beau wasn't a talkative person by nature, but having the constant sound of music ringing in his ears made his mind busy. It was hard to sleep, but he didn't care so much. He would rather have something to think about than sleep with nothing at all on his mind.

The towers were quite a distance from the Hufflepuff common room, but for some reason the open sky called to him and he decided to respond. He climbed up the flights of stairs, careful to avoid any authority figures that might be prowling. He didn't know if it was after curfew but he wouldn't chance it.

As Beau finally made it to one of the towers he continued up, letting himself up onto the top of the tower. Vast skies awaited him, and a small smile revealed itself on the boy's face. He had almost forgotten how much he loved being outside. A slight stirring rustled his thoughts and he immediately scanned the area, surprised to see another person there he jumped slightly. " Merlin... what the hell are you doing? " His voice sounded harsh, but more to cover up the fact that he had been scared by looking over and seeing something other than emptiness. The question was a bit stupid now that he thought on it, but then again he couldn't exactly take it back. " Erm... sorry mate. Gave me a fright. "

[Jacob Muscowequan]

Jake cracked an eye open at the sudden outburst but didn't turn his head in the direction of the voice. He smirked slightly when he heard the apology and he finally looked over. Jacob's eyes landed on the boy who had joined him. He appeared to be maybe Jake's age or maybe a little older. He watched the boy for a moment as he sauntered forward and he flashed him a smile.

"You wanna join me?" the boy offered, swinging his legs back over to edge to face the newcomer.

[Beau Hopkins]

Beau shifted his weight from foot to foot as he shrugged his shoulders slightly. He didn't much appreciate the other guy's smirking at him, but there wasn't much he would be willing to do about it. " Yeah, sure. " He finally responded with a light nod of his head as he walked over and sat on the edge of the tower. Dangerous as it was to be perched on the edge like that, it also gave a sense of freedom. He breathed in the air deeply with a small smile as he enjoyed the moment.

He diverted his gaze from the skies and back to the person on his right. " So... who're you? " He was pretty sure that the kid was in his year, he had seen him in some lessons and all that, he just didn't really know who he was. " I'm Beau Hopkins, Hufflepuff sixth year. " It seemed that the whole introducing yourself to someone was getting easier each time Beau had to do it. He hoped it was a trend that would eventually lead up to him feeling at ease around others.