The Castle at Midnight

[Edward Wolfe]

Edward stepped out onto the school grounds, not even bothering to listen for Filch or that insufferable cat he loved so much. The old man probably didn't have much time left in his life, anyway... why should he want to spend it trying to hunt down students who snuck out of bed. This wasn't to say that Filch had never caught him, he just would never be able to do it again. Edward moved faster than him, and he'd finally learned how to get that bloody beast off of his trail. Oh, how he hated cats. How they could be associated magic was beyond him... they were just filthy fleabags as far as Edward was concerned.

He'd been perfecting the art of sneaking out since his second year. That was the first year his brother instructed him to sneak out to the forest with him. As it was his seventh and very last year, the protective, older Wolfe wanted to set up a meeting place. It got a bit dangerous with the centaurs and other magical creatures around, but they didn't disturb anything, and they were still quite young, so the centaurs didn't attack them. Now, he snuck out just to be out of the castle at night. He didn't, of course, need to go all the way out to the forest. Anywhere would do.

The grounds lit up at night in a way that the daylight could only dream of - the silver moon casting long shadows across the vastness of the grounds while the numerous stars lit up the sky. In contrast, the Castle stood, a golden monument to all that was ancient and magical. Edward loved Hogwarts more than his own home. Not only could he question things while he was here, but he could sense the old magic that loomed through the castle walls from the towers to the dungeons.

He could spend hours on the grounds, just looking around at everything or laying in the damp grass while he watched the stars. He didn't really sleep as often as he should have, but he never felt tired after a night like this. Tonight, he situated himself on one of the walls in the courtyard, staying safely in the shadows and out of sight should any teachers wander out. Crossing his hands over his stomach, he looked up at the sky and began to think about all the things he couldn't think about in the presence of his friends or family... thoughts that might put him in danger should the wrong people find out... questions that had been plaguing him for years now.

tag;; open

[Aimi Traverhing]

Aimi wandered the corridors careful to remain undetected by any of the teachers or that goddamn caretaker filch, the last thing she wanted was another detention although sometimes it was fun to watch certain teachers squirm under threats and promises she made. Even now in her final year at the place she was still finding new corridors and passages and it was one of these that brought her out into the shimmering moonlight that shone down on the courtyard and her, it reflected off her own pale, sickly looking skin a feature that she hated about herself but it ran in her family.

She stepped cautiously out of the shadows that melded her to the schools exterior and began to cross the courtyard quietly seeking a place among the various structures around. Of course her pet and friend slithered along behind her following every hiss and rasp that Aimi's tongue made. It was the one thing she had never questioned, her ability to converse with snakes and even now her confidence in dealing with them shone through as she gave it instructions to keep a close eye for anyone around and warn her. She moved next to one of the many walls and began to scale her eyes across it looking for the easiest way up.

[Edward Wolfe]

A slight smirk crossed Edward's features as he heard light footsteps entering the courtyard; he was not alone. Shifting slightly, he looked down to see a girl rather than a teacher - which was slightly unexpected. He'd been so sure that someone heard him coming out this time... but the castle did make enough noise on its own, like all old buildings. It was a wonder it was ever quiet at all with all of the talking portraits and ghosts who rarely slept, but even at Hogwarts, there were times of stillness.

Pressing his chest flat against the wall to steady himself, Edward reached a hand down for the girl when he noticed that she was going to climb it. He had no doubts that she could find her way up (he had, after all,) but he was always partial to shocking people, and it was the polite thing to do, he guessed. She was a Slytherin like himself, after all, and who would help them if they did not help each other?

Edward recognized Aimi, even in the faint light of the moon, but he didn't really know her well at all. It was simply by familiarity that he knew her at all, as he normally didn't pay attention to other people in classes. They ran in the same circles, though, and it was hard not to notice people you had most of your classes (not to mention dinner) with for six years.

[Aimi Traverhing]

She had just managed to get a footing on the wall and was reaching blindly up to get a grip on a higher part of the wall when she felt her own hand make contact with anothers. She immediately reclined letting her foot slip to the ground almost clumsily and glanced upwards having to squint to get a better view of who was up there already. Seeing Edward reaching down to help her up she let out a hesitant sigh of relief having feared it was someone she would have rather not run into. Even though she only knew his face from classes and around the common room, he was a slytherin and well it couldn't hurt to accept his help, so carefully she grasped his hand and allowed him to help her climb the wall.

Once atop it she quickly removed her hand from his and brushed down her robes, a small smirk starting to pull at the edge of her lips as she half watched him lying flat with his chest against the wall. She could hear the faint hisses from her pet as it slithered through the courtyard keeping watch for her. Finally she spoke in low tones so as not to disturb anyone or anything that may be lingering nearby "Thank you, do you make a habit of sneaking up on girls?"

[Edward Wolfe]

Edward's smirk deepened at her surprise, holding back a laugh at the perturbed look he caught in the moonlight, and again at her relief. He knew it was easier for him to see her (as she didn't have her hair shadowing her face in the position she was standing in,) and that just made their situation all the more amusing to him. When she took his hand again, he helped her up before sitting up again.

Smoothing out his shirt, he chuckled softly. "You can hardly call that sneaking up on you... I was already here," he challenged, leaning against the castle again. He wondered what could possibly have possessed her to come out here at this time of night, but asking that would open him up for answering the same question, and he didn't feel up to giving explanations. "And You're very welcome," he added, still smirking.

[Aimi Traverhing]

"Technically you did sneak up on me because you failed to announce your presence before trying to give me a heart attack" she teased her eyes no longer lingering over his appearance but scanning the surrounding scenery taking in the countryside that she could only experience here, that thought in itself sent a flicker of sadness across her face. This place had been more of a home in the last few years than her parents house in the city could ever be, leaving it was going to be difficult but she knew like all things she had to move on eventually and forge herself a new place she could call home, perhaps even one day love as much as she loved this old castle, not that love was a word she ever used having known not what that feeling was, simply infatuation and lust were the two emotions most commonly perused by her.

Her eyes caught a little movement upon the horizon and she narrowed them before slinking further back against the wall forgetting Edwards presence for a moment. She let words roll off her tongue in parselmouth sending yet another message to her trusty friend upon the ground. Even though she was on her guard she was starting to relax, the night air and moonlit scenario around her taking her worries away as if carried by those blasted garden gnomes she hated so much. The warm wind whipping around her as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath as her hair flowed around her face freely. Finally though she remebered she was not alone and turned back to look at the boy sitting on the wall not far from her

"So what brought you out here anyway?" she asked not really interested in his response but she thought it would be only polite to try and strike up a conversation

[Edward Wolfe]

Edward chuckled softly again, his eyes moving to the grounds as well. He sat in silence as she spoke in parselmouth. He'd heard that she was special, so it didn't surprise him too much. Being a parselmouth earned a position that was either feared or revered, and one would become well known either way. He'd even once heard his parents speaking about her talent (although their intentions may have been a bit more bitter than deserved.) He hadn't, however, noticed the creature to which she spoke when he'd noticed her. How could he have missed it? This new presence was one that might've been a bit unsettling for Edward if he felt the least bit threatened at the moment. They were, of course, just sitting there, so he had no reason to worry about the girl or the snake.

His own silence lasted a bit longer than hers, allowing himself time to consider a good enough answer. Reason had nothing to do with why he was there, really... it was mostly an inclination towards the solitude of the night and a real habit than something he thought about. Shrugging, he decided to say, "I'm not sure, really... just boredom, I suppose. And yourself?"

Unlike Aimi, Edward didn't really feel the need to get into a conversation to keep up social norms. No one snuck out at night to have a conversation with someone else... unless, of course, they had asked them there. He was, however, a bit curious about why she was there, and since she'd been the one to initiate the conversation, he felt it was safe (if not polite) to ask in return.

[Aimi Traverhing]

"I guess boredom and the fact that you can explore certain parts of the school better at night without prying eyes" she replied smiling softly at him before turning her head to look back over the grounds. For now she was quite content to sit in silence his body language making it clear he was neither in the mood for conversation.

The tranquility of this place had always amazed her and she revelled in it to a point. There were only so many places one could find to sit back relax and reflect upon things or even work out what their next steps would be. For her she knew she wanted to research more into her familys dark history but she wasn't about to miss out on some fun along the way especially when the risque type was what she was. She'd quite happily have settled just for someone to take the edge off her boredom at nights but it was unlikely that was going to happen anytime soon, as many of the boys were scared of her that being partially her own fault for giving the impression at times of being a maneater but hey if she couldn't have a little fun now and then she'd be a lot duller.

After a time, her snake came slithering along the wall past Edward and began to entwine itself around her feet as she crooned gently to it her fingers tracing its scaly hood "Now now my pet he isn't doing us any harm let him be" was infact what she was saying to the adder

[Edward Wolfe]

Edward nodded in agreement, his eyes scanning the courtyard. The night was unusually still, but that only added to the calm being outside at night always tended to bring upon him. Edward was the type of person who was rarely bored. Even when he was sitting through an utterly boring class, letting his mind wander would get him through it. It was probably how he spent so much time alone like this even though he was quite sociable.

He just barely noticed the snake sliding past him, and by the time he had, there was no point in jumping (which probably would've been his initial response had he noticed it before it made its way over to her.) Edward didn't mind snakes, though... not any more than any other creature, at least.

He watched their interaction curiously. It was a strange talent, being able to speak the language of animals - one that several kids dreamed of, he was sure. "Is it like having a pet, or is it like talking to another person?" he asked. He imagined that the relationship would be quite different when you were capable of holding a conversation. That was quite critical for human relationships.

[Aimi Traverhing]

Aimi continued to concentrate most of her attention on the snake that was intertwined around her feet but she did tilt her head towards Edward when he asked her the question. She took a moment to think over her response before answering " Its a bit of both, he understands what i'm telling him and can respond to an extent but there are some things that if i was to talk about he simply wouldn't understand, do you understand what i mean?" she ended her answer with a question because if he didn't understand what she was getting at she would have quite happily explained.

She continued to watch both the snake and Edward, from what the snake was saying she could tell the boy was nervous and she didn't blame him, afterall who wouldn't be when faced with a creature such as the one that was in such close proximity? "You don't need to worry about him though, he won't attack unless he senses i feel threatened or am shown physical violence" she added trying to put him at ease as she ran her fingers over her pets hood.