Gorgeous Nightmare (Open)

[Scarlett Rosen]

ScarlettFreakingRosen

It was late, she didn't know the exact time, but she had been out here long enough to know that it was late. The dungeons weren't a nice place to be at night, or in the day really, but the night always felt creepier. When she had first arrived at Hogwarts they had terrified her, but now they just felt safe, creepy, but safe. Once you had navigated them successfully and somehow lived to tell the tale, they lost the original fear factor.

So there she sat, leaning against the old, cool stone walls in a pair of black pajamas, painting her nails. Her dyed red hair was flowing loose, reaching down to her waist and trailing slightly on the floor as she concentrated, lips pursed.

To an outsider her hair might have suggested a Gryffindor alliance. But this girl was all Slytherin at heart and she would never waver from them.

She gave a small smile and gazed at the dark purple nail in approval, seeing it only by the sickly yellow light cast by one of the many torches that lined the walls. There was no reason for her to be out here, at least not one that would satisfy most.

She had been tortured with another nightmare, another one about her Grandmother. They were very frequent and they would haunt her for days on end, keeping her awake at night. Scarlett couldn't bear to sit alone in her dorm, listening to the peaceful breathing of the other girls. Instead she chose to spend her nights having a little wander around the castle and tonight she had settled on the dungeons.

The air was cool and slightly damp, but she didn't mind. Suddenly she twisted her head curiously, sure she had heard footsteps from somewhere to her left.

[Shendeth Potter]

Insomnia. Even the heaviest sleepers had some nights once in a while, when sleep just wouldn't happen. So after who knows how long of just lying awake in the dormitory, Shendeth had finally given up and slipped out of bed. Maybe a walk would help. Maybe it wouldn't, but at least it was something to pass the time. The common room was dark and empty, but he walked right through it to the dungeon passages beyond. There were rules against getting out of bed, yes, but no teachers, nobody except the Slytherins ever came to this part of the castle. And as a Slytherin he knew it well.

Every sound seemed louder this time of night, but the cool atmosphere was relaxing and he didn't expect to be meeting anyone. He walked slowly through the narrow stone passages, following the light of the torches that were still flickering in their frames. The path he followed was random, but long and winding. There were no other sounds. And so it was a complete surprise when he rounded a corner to find a girl there, just leaning against the wall.

He stopped walking, but on a closer look vaguely recognized seeing the fifth year around before. It was just another student like himself. "Uhm.. Hi." he said, having no better reaction and wondering what she was doing there.

[Scarlett Rosen]

ScarlettFreakingRosen

She held in a laugh at the surprise that crossed the boys features as he rounded the corner to find her there, as calm as anything. She smirked slightly, screwed the cap of the nail polish back on, slipped it into her pocket and stood up. She looked him up and down, knowing she had seen him before somewhere.
It took a moment of staring before she realized he was a fellow Slytherin, she suspected he was younger than her though, she hadn't seen him in any of her lessons and she knew most of the 6th years fairly well.
"Uhm.. Hi."
She grinned at that, tossed her red hair over her shoulder and moved closer. Extending a hand to the boy she replied.
"Hi. Scarlett Rosen, nice to meet you."

She studied him silently, wondering what it could be that drove him to the halls this late at night. Not many were willing to venture into the castle at night, if there was no obvious profit for them anyway. The castle was monitored by prefects and head boys and girls as well as teachers. But most weren't stupid enough to come down into Slytherin territory and those that were tended to keep their distance.
So what was he doing here?
Maybe, like her, he was plagued with nightmares. Or maybe he just couldn't sleep.
Well, there was one way of finding out.
"What brings you here, so late at night?"

[Shendeth Potter]

If there was surprise on his face it lasted only a moment, to be replaced by the usual cold lack of emotion displayed to other people, but it looked as if it was enough to notice. He didn't much like being smirked at. Oh well, he did feel a bit foolish. The girl seemed alright. Shendeth took her hand to shake when she held it out, and the smile he gave her in return was only a little bit forced.

Scarlett Rosen.. he hadn't heard of her before, but well now he had. "Nice to meet you.. I'm Shendeth." he replied, introducing himself in turn. He didn't like being called by or associated with the last name he had to use, so that would suffice. Nobody at school used it unless they had a death wish.

There was a pause in which they looked at each other in the silence, and then she continued by asking what he was doing there. Easy enough question. "I couldn't sleep." he answered honestly. "You?"

[Scarlett Rosen]

ScarlettFreakingRosen

Her dark brown eyes flickered in the light of the torch as she considered her options. Shendeth seemed nice enough and he was a fellow Slytherin. Also he hadn't given his last name, suggesting it was something unsavory or something that would be looked down upon by his house. The Rosen name however was well respected within the houses, it's rich diversity meaning she was rarely looked down on by one single house.

Scarlett smiled and nodded in response. She licked her lips and glanced around, as though for a second she honestly thought there might be someone behind her.
"Nightmares. I don't like sitting in the darkness while people around me sleep."
She spoke with an honest that she rarely used, preferring to lie her way out of everything, even if just for the fun of it. She wasn't sure why it was him she told, but meeting someone in a cold, damp dungeon in the middle of the night changed people.
"Not many people are willing to wander the halls at night and less the dungeons. You must be pretty confident of not running into people, I am guessing this isn't the first time.

[Shendeth Potter]

He saw her glance behind her even though there was nobody there or any noises that he had heard; so maybe she wasn't as confident as she looked down here either. "Oh." he just said in response.

Shendeth wasn't the least bit nervous by being here now but it was a creepy place; he would have doubted it's true helpfulness with nightmares if he hadn't almost been in her place once. Just getting away from the dark dormitory helped, although he had sometimes taken the risk and gone up out of Slytherin territory entirely. It was better there... unless of course the real thing happened.

But that was just Shendeth scaring himself a few years ago, it hadn't been that bad and he never had nightmares now. Of course more often than that he had gone out just because he wanted to; although he wasn't really a troublemaker the bedtime could be such an irksome rule at times, and therefore one to be ignored. It wasn't nearly as easy to get caught here as it was in the rest of the castle. "No, it isn't." he agreed.

[Scarlett Rosen]

ScarlettFreakingRosen

Her mind wandered for a moment as she spoke of her nightmares. She was sick of seeing her dead grandmother, it was something Scarlett had never got over and it seemed unlikely that she ever would. There had been so much blood, and she had been so young. Just the thought made her flinch internally, she was far to cautious to wince in front of someone she didn't really know.

They boy seemed almost unwilling to communicate, quiet and withdrawn. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes and instead licked her lips, missing the familiar taste of her ruby red lipstick. She looked him up and down and asked swiftly, voice becoming colder and holding more authority:
"What year are you in?"
She didn't need to know the boy's emotional history, but a few facts would certainly help should she run into him again, which, given he was in her house, seemed very likely.
"Do you know the time?"
She wasn't really interested in the conversation at that point, more of whether she need to move or not. not always, but occasionally someone would patrol along the corridors, sometimes Snape and sometimes a prefect. She had already gotten a few detentions last year and she didn't want anymore to add to the list.

[Shendeth Potter]

Shendeth didn't miss the slight change in the girl's tone as she asked what year he was in. It would have been a little annoying but it wasn't like they were trying to make friends. They just happened to be in the same place. He didn't much care whether they continued to talk or not.

"Fourth. And you?" he answered back in the same tone she had asked with. It was admitting that he was younger since he was one of the youngest in the year but it wasn't like she could be that much older. If he was seeming quiet and withdrawn to her, it wasn't an act. In fact he didn't even realize it. That was just how he was.

He shrugged when she asked the time. "No, I don't." there weren't any clocks around here but it had definitely still been dark outside the window when he left. Well it was always dark except for the middle of the day since they were so far under the lake but nobody else was up.

[Scarlett Rosen]

ScarlettFreakingRosen

The girl picked up on his cooler tone as soon as he spoke, but she didn't feel any remorse. Shendeth was nothing to her, except a possible ally at this point. But Scarlett didn't rely on younger students to fight her battles.
"Fifth year."
She sighed slightly as he answered negative to the time question and, deciding this conversation was going nowhere, spoke again.
"You can't sleep and neither can I. Let's not stand here and wait for the sun to rise. Let's do something. I don't care what as long as it is interesting."

A small grin crossed her features as she stared at the younger boy, she was ready for anything. Scarlett lived for the thrills and this standing here was so dull in comparison to the fun of danger and excitement, however limited it might be.
"Come on boy, throw me a bone..."

[Shendeth Potter]

At first he didn't know what to say. She was right, he didn't want to just stand there attempting to talk with her. It had gone on long enough, any longer would be boring since they didn't know each other and there was nothing to talk about. But what could they possibly do at the middle of the night that would be more interesting? Taking a step back Shendeth studied her silently in the dim light of the torches.

"Actually, I think I can now. I'm going back to the common room."

There was nothing else for it. If she didn't come up with something to do then there was no point in continuing the meeting. What she thought of him didn't matter. If she was disappointed or laughed at him so be it. He turned around and started walking back down the corridor that was the quickest way back. Best try and get some sleep before the night was over.

Unless.. reaching the end of the corridor he paused. Normally he was not really reckless but perhaps it was infectious. At any rate something came over him enough to make him look back at Scarlett over his shoulder. Although no new ideas came into mind this late at night, and therefore his destination had not changed he returned her devious grin. The look he gave her might just have said, 'well, aren't you coming?'.

But much more likely it was just a smirk at her for no real reason other than to be annoying.