#htngclosed

Noah left the Gryffindor common room, still quite hungover, he was looking for his wand and he had a good idea where it was, he just hoped that McNamara was still asleep or hadn’t seen his office yet. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as he remembered, after all he had been drunk.

He crept through the halls until he reached McNamaras office, knocking lightly on the door and when he heard no response trying the door, it was still unlocked from last night, he slipped in and groaned instantly, “Oh, it’s so much worse than I remember, Noah what the fuck.” He said to himself, looking around for his wand.

Genevieve stood in the window of the library, smiling out at the view over the grounds and a glass of wine in hand. She could see the chaos of the bonfire and the stumbling of drunk students - fortunately stumbling not too close to the fire itself. She could remember being one of those students herself, not too long ago, She heard the door of the library open and she turned, ready to tell whatever drunk and meandering student it was that the library was closed. Instead, she saw John standing in the doorway. She smiled at him. “What has you up here, joining me?”

Rose sat on the edge of the lake letting the water wash over her feet, she didn’t know how she felt right now, so much had happened in a short time, and she was still processing. She’d stopped by to see Albus this morning and she knew Scorp hadn’t returned to his room. She knew what had likely happened. And she’d been expecting it, as much as the two could deny it, there had been a tension between Scorp and Dom for a long time, she wasn’t stupid, she’d noticed.

She stared down at the water and remembered when she’d been in a fight with Hugo and they’d made up here, at the lake, the lake seemed calming for her, it made her think of resolution, but it wasn’t the place she wanted to be, there was only one place she always wanted to be when upset and only Hugo knew where that was. The treehouse at their home, they’d built it as a family after a particularly hard summer, she often longed for it while at Hogwarts but this lake had to suffice. 

She swung her feet in the water, watchign the ripples as she thought about what she wanted. She wanted to be happy, and lately any time she was around Scorpius, she felt unhappy, insecure, miserable. Thomas asking her out had made her happy and then Scorp had tried to ruin it with guilt-tripping. She deserved to be happy, she deserved someone like Thomas. She rubbed her eyes, that were still puffy and red from hours of crying last night, and wondered if she ought to feel more guilty about skipping class. She’d thought she would, but the thought of being in Potions feeling like this had been too much to bear, especially with Scorp in most of her classes and her partner for most projects.

The semester had finally come to a close, and they were now waffling between Christmas and New Years. Most of the students had returned home and Genevieve had followed their example, spending time with her father and brother. when she had been invited to meet Bryn and Carter at Three Broomsticks. Of course one particular ghoul nerd had backed out at last minute, but she was looking forward to seeing Carter at least even if she didn’t know him too well outside of Bryn yet.

She smiled when she saw him enter the Three Broomsticks. She waved him over to the booth she had grabbed them while she accepted her drink from the waitress with a thank you. “Carter!” She greeted cheerfully, taking a sip of her firewhiskey. “Did you hear the news that Bryn won’t be making it? I’m afraid the resolute drinking and bad choices will have to be on us alone.”

(Otherwise, the conversation they would have had when Gen returned had the Greengrace baby plot not been dropped)

Genevieve’s hands did not tremble when she set her bag down on her desk in the library. All was quiet and the early morning light was glowing blue through the windows onto the dust that had gathered where she had always sat. At 5 months pregnant, she could no longer really hide the fact from the common passerby, but the idea no longer frightened her. Her mind was calm for the first time in a long while, though her nerves were bundled in the pit of her stomach at the thought of when she would see Cecil. She wasn’t sure whether he would really want her home anymore, her letter - note really - having gone unanswered. The nerves bundled tighter when she thought of the other people she would need to see - Scorpius, Bryn, Felicity, Charlie . . . 

She took a deep breath and gently set those thoughts aside. She would deal with them when she had too. For now, she only needed to focus on unpacking. She could get breakfast down in the kitchens if she was unready to face the masses. She heard the library doors creak open, and light footsteps take a tentative step inside. For half a second, her heart leaped into her throat before she realized the steps were too light to be Cecil. She felt a mixture of relief and disappointment when she turned until she saw who it was. “Rose,” she said in surprise.

Rose sighed and rubbed her eyes, she glanced up at the clock and realised she had missed dinner, she sighed and began packing her books away. She’d been in the library since her last class, so quite a few hours. She grabbed her bag and headed out of the library, she stood at the door for a few seconds debating whether to go drop her stuff off or go directly to the kitchens.

After a few seconds her stomach grumbled, making the decision for her. She turned and headed for the kitchens, she was on the stairs when she saw a farmiliar face on another staircase, she waved at her cousin, as their staircases combined to the same platform. “Hiya Louis, where are you headed?” She asked with a smile. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever.”