Dead of night ;

Nic only spent time in the library when his common room was too full of people for his liking, but when he did go he liked to have the quiet corner to himself. He walked up to someone sitting at the table, rolling his eyes to himself before grumbling out, “you’re in my seat.” 

Head tiling to the side slightly, Andromeda quickly debated which route was best to take - her polite side was urging her to move. It was only a seat, after all. But her upbringing told her to remain quite still. This was hers after all, despite what he said. Raising her chin slightly, she chose to do what seemed the easiest - finding the middle ground. “Come on Nic, it’s just a chair. Can’t you take the one right across from me?”

“You’ve really got to start paying better attention Reg,” Andromeda lectured despite letting out a slight laugh. “Though if it was History of Magic I don’t blame you - pretty much everyone zones out. In my year, at least.”

“Oh, hey.. I just discovered an amazing thing.. it’s a muggle Drink and it’s called Tequilla.. Can I tempt you for a glass.. Or did you want me to read your palm?” She slurred is a light and forced happy voice..

The corners of her mouth turning down slightly, Andromeda glanced over at the girl with a worried expression, wondering how to best approach the situation. “That’s really rather kind of you, Sybill, but I think I’m okay for now. You might want to...take it slow though, okay? You don’t look so great. No offence or anything.”

“ well, that changes everything. i hope you don’t get that pulsing vein on your forehead like she does when she loses her temper. ” teased rabastan softly as he kicked his feet up on the table, one over the other. 

“Of course not - I may have a temper but mother would hardly approve of it being that visible.” It was unladylike, undesirable - just another part of a personality to be diminished. At least she had learned to conceal that particular aspect, and it was hardly half as bad as someone of their house mates temper. 

“terribly so, but i’ll just have to endure. classes aren’t nearly as boring as some of the pureblood functions we’ve attended, so i’m sure i’ll do fine. oh don’t remind me, i’m stuck doing OWL’s this year, and bella’s on NEWT’s. you might be the luckiest black this year. though don’t tell mother i said that. she’d think me mad. so with your free time…maybe i’ll get you to help me. we’ll see.”

“That is very true - plus the clothes are more comfortable. Some of the dresses weren’t bad, but the feeling of suffocating for hours on end in one wasn’t appealing.” Their school robes were hardly flattering, but they made class more bearable. Plus, the jumpers were much better when it was weather permitted. “A first! Though now I have to start thinking about what NEWT level classes to take and I... still have no idea what I want to do after school. But of course, I’d be glad to help anytime.”

Marlene definitely felt sick. She was fairly certain it was from the two rides she had already been on and something about fried oreo cookies, but watching the ride she shook her head. “No. Nope. At least you’re not asking me to get on that with you because I’d have to hex you into outer space or something equally as tragic. How can they keep going? I think that one person has been on every ride twice so far and I could barely do two as it is.” She frowned, crossing her arms. 

Eyebrows raising slightly, Andromeda did her best to keep her face devoid of emotion, an art form in her family. “I assure you, I have no intentions of going on that ride. Or any of them, depending. This is not....something I am used to seeing or being around.” It was a bit intoxicating though - seeing how much fun everyone was having. Despite the complexity of the machines, those who chose to endure them appeared to enjoy it. Good for them, really - it must be nice seeing a part of your other world brought into your magical one.

Ted was barely able to contain the rush of excitement he felt at her offer, getting a better grip on his bag as he nodded as calmly as possible, “Yeah! Yeah, sure, that would be great. Totally wicked. Thank you for offering.” None of this automatically meant anything would ever happen between them, but he was at least comforted by the fact that they got along well and probably would end up being friends, if nothing else. He would be okay with friends. “We should get going, then, if you’re sure.”

If you’re sure. The only thing Andromeda was sure of was that inviting him to hang out by the lake with her was edging the line of dangerous idiocy. Things tended to spread fast around the castle, and the last thing she needed was one of her sisters, Bellatrix especially, finding out about who she had chosen to spend her spare time with. It shouldn’t matter, though, who he was. It didn’t to her - so why not? Maybe everything would be fine. She clung to that unrealistic hope as she did her best to give him a reassuring smile. “Yeah, of course. But don’t thank me just yet because I’ll have you bored in five minutes when I start going over Charms notes.”

“Yeah, just the one–Hailey. She’s three years older than me, and a total monster before breakfast, so I can relate a little.” Ted couldn’t help but think Hailey was probably a bit more manageable in the mornings than the other two Black sisters, specifically because Bellatrix seriously intimidated him, but he kept the thoughts to himself, not wanting to accidentally offend Andromeda. “Other than breakfast, though, Hailey is the best, like she and I are super, super close. She’s probably my best friend, y’know?”

“That’s really sweet - that you guys are close and all. It’s nice to actually get along with your siblings.” Despite their differences and upbringing, Andromeda made sure to do her best to keep Bellatrix and Narcissa happy. They got along most of the time, as well as three sisters could at least. The tables could easily turn with them constantly at each other’s throats, but then who would they have? Realizing that the hallways were getting a bit busier, she glanced around with a slight hesitation. “You know, I was actually just - on my way to study, actually, which I usually do by the lake. Would you like to join me?”

“No worries, my sister is the exact same in the morning. If you try to talk to her before she’s had any coffee, she’s likely to bite your head off, so I’ve got plenty of experience just in case.” Ted had spent countless mornings avoiding Hailey until he finally learned to just start brewing a pot if he got up before her–if he hadn’t, it was likely he wouldn’t be standing where he was just then.

“Oh, I didn’t know you had a sister,” she exclaimed before biting down on her lip at the realization that naturally, she didn’t actually know anything about him - other than the fact that he wasn’t all that great in charms. “Do you have just the one, then? My sisters and I got used to ignoring each other until we were all at the breakfast table - even then it wasn’t always that cheerful.” Between her attitude, Narcissa wondering about her appearance and Bellatrix not always knowing when to stop, the Black house definitely had some eventful mornings.

“I will absolutely take being even one of your favorite people, and eternal appreciation, too–though, really, that one isn’t, like, a requirement. Just seriously preferred to attitude.” If he could, he would at least try to keep that offer up for awhile. Ideally it would be kept a surprise until he turned up one morning with a large mug of coffee and a compliment, but he ultimately decided it would be far too creepy to just show up at her first class of the day. Perhaps just at breakfast then.

“Understandable, attitude first thing in the morning isn’t something I think anyone wants to deal with.” She tried to be as nice as possible, but she could only force herself to act a certain way for so long. Give her at least half an hour before kicking everything into gear. “I’ll be grateful regardless, swear. I can’t function without caffeine, sadly, so seeing it is probably the best part of my day.” That, and finally getting into bed and sleeping - how other people stayed up all night all the time blew her mind.