Dreams arent wishes from the heart (open)

[Emilia L. Mcinnis]

The library was illuminated by a flash of lighting, shortly following it was a bang of thunder that echo through the halls. The sudden thunder made me jump up and fall backwards in the chair. I slowly collected myself as I rolled out of the chair and stood up. A nice large drool spot soaked through some of the pages of my muggle studies book but it was nothing to worry about. "It's probably really late... Why didn't Madame Price wake me up? She normally yells at me for falling asleep..." I questioned before I looked around. From what I could tell, the library was empty. I gazed over at the desk where Madame price would normally be only to see it was empty.

I moved away from my normal table after closing my muggle studies book and when I went to place it in my bag, only to see it wasn't there. I noticed I wasn't as close to the ground as I usually was. I look down to see I'm wearing a green dress, it felt like a corset that reached down to my hips and layered ruffles reached down to my mid thighs. on my feet were black heels, seemed about 3 or 4 inches high. "When did I put this on... i questioned as I went to run my hand through my hair stopped when i realized my hair wasn't down. My hair was down but was pulled back in with a headband. It was in curls which was odd because I never curl my hair. My mind raced to think of an answer to exactly why I was so dressed up. "Oh! maybe... That has got to be it!" I thought of how a while ago, a friend was going to set me up on a blind date and this the day. "I'M GOING TO BE LATE!" I yelled before reaching into my bag, grabbing my wand and dashing out the door.

I was stopped in my tracks as soon as I stepped out the door. It was pitch black except for the occasional flash of lightening that bright light into the hallway for a split second. " Nothing to worry about, It's probably just past curfew... I probably had the date already and wanted to catch up on some studying...... Lumos" I casted the spell and soon enough the tip of my wand lit up. I turned left and moved down the hallway. The clicking of my heels echoed throughout the hallway. I thought I heard someone following me when i rounded the corner but once I stopped walking the thought disappeared. I shined the light up on the wall but there weren't any pictures... It had distracted me from watching where I was walking and I almost ran into a wall. I stopped walking but I continued to hear the clicking of heels and it sounded like they were coming from behind me... I froze up as the clicking grew closer. "Nox" the light died down. I tried to press myself as close to the wall as possible. as the heels grew to a stop, " I know you're in this hallway Miss Mcinnis, Now why don't you be a good girl and come out of hiding." That voice... It wasn't familiar at all... It didn't sound like a professor. The female voice sounded twisted and unwelcoming.

Fear consumed my body as the lightening flashed outside. The woman was facing away from me, she was wearing a dress, it was black and tattered. "Where did she go?" another voice said. "She stopped walking... But she's in this hallway" the female said. I took this opportunity to slip out of my heels and dash down the hall completely blind, I ran into a table that was up against the wall. It made a loud ruckus and what I'd assume was a vase fell to the ground and shattered in to pieces. "Shit" I said. No sense in being quiet anymore, they must have heard the vase crash to the ground. I hightailed it out of there, the second after i turned the corner to run down the next hallway, a red flash came from behind me and hit the opposing wall from me. "Lumos" I said once again, I didn't stop running, I ran for my life. I heard shouting coming from behind me and every once in a while out of the corner of my eye I'd see the red flash. This would be the only time in my life I'd ever be happy someone had horrible aim.

The floor was cold, colder then it really should be... But i didn't have time to think of why the floor was so cold. I turned down another hallway and stopped running, I had to catch my breath before running. The voice got louder by the seconds, they were going to find me, i pushed through my lack of energy and ran down the hall as fast as i could. I realized I some how ended up on the ground floor, I could hear the rain hitting the ground outside. The smell of rain intoxicated me and for a moment, I felt safe but that didn't last long. "Nox" i mumbled. I was now relying on my sense of smell. I did my best to follow the smell of rain which, thankfully lead me to a court yard that had access to the lawns. I dashed through the courtyard, It was only a little lighter out here, I could make out shapes at least. my legs lead me to the lawn, I paused for a moment to look back, I couldn't see anything which made me happy I slowly started to feel safe.

"Stupefy!" the red flash came towards me, without hesitation,"Protego" left my lips. I could only pray that it would work. a light blue transparent shield appeared for just a moment but soon vanished after the red flash disappeared.

"Expelliarmus!" I shouted, only hoping that it worked. The flash of lighting illuminated the sky, It wasn't just two people, it was now five. I turned to run, only to see open field were they could surely get to me easily, I scanned for anywhere that I could do. My eyes locked on to the forbidden forest, I didn't have any other choice. I made my way over there, it had to have been at least 30 meters from where I was. I was drenched wet by the time i got under the tree cover, I started to cough while trying to catch my breath.

The sky rumbled and the rain crashed to the ground. I tried to catch my breath as soon as I could but it only caused me to cough more and louder too. I started off deeper into the forbidden forest, I stopped for a moment to leaned on a tree. My mind was racing to fast for me to even understand about what was going on. I leaned my head against the tree and looked up. My vision started to become blurry as I whined quietly to myself. I blinked and tears escaped from my eyes. "Oh, Now Emilia. You don't have to run an hide. We're just here to get you, It's time for you to join us" I froze up again.

Death Eaters... He is one of them... My father is a death eater! No way in hell am I joining them. I started to run again, thankfully my short moment against the tree let me catch my breath. Running, as much as it pained my feet I continued doing it. The trees started to close in on me, My pathway of running was growing smaller with each step I took, bushes started to crowed my way but I forced my way through them causing my pretty green dress to catch and rip. Tears soaked my cheeks as the rain started to find it's way through the canopy. Sobs started to escape my lips as I stumped on to the ground.

I was terrified.

I scrambled myself back together, having a death grip on my wand, I continued to run as fast as I could. Slowly, the forbidden forest lead into a market. It looked diagon alley but seemed different. I slipped on the cement ground, falling hard on to the ground next to a lamppost. I lied there for a moment and cried. I cried like I've never cried before. My cries turned into a whimper as I tried to muster up the will to stand. It didn't come easily that's for sure, every second felt like an eternity.

My legs were wobbly, They were doing overtime when all's they wanted to do was just rest. I stumbled over to the building on the left, leaning on it lightly for support. I could faintly hear voices over the rain. Salty tears still poured from my eyes and I sniffled. I stopped walking to turn back to the forest. With help from the lamppost, I could see if anyone was coming but I couldn't see a thing into the forest. I continued towards the end of the block to the lamppost there. I rounded the corner to see two people standing next to a lamppost down the street to my left. They didn't look like they were having a friendly conversation. I tried to call out to them but I assumed they couldn't hear me over their own yelling.

One of them drew something, I tried to think of where I had see something like that before but nothing was coming to mind. The only thing I could really think of is how I need help. how I needed to get out of this area and just hide.

Chouk

Pain shot through me starting from my chest and spreading through my body. My body went limb as I fell backwards to the ground... my right hand flew backwards as my wand slipped through my finger tips. my left hand landed on my chest, I managed to lightly touch where it hurt and had enough energy to hold it up to the light. My finger tips were red... blood. My mind thought back to muggle studies. "A gun..." I whimpered. I got shot.

My sobs grew softer as looked up at the sky, I grew tired, my eyes became heavy but a fought to keep them away. a loud scream came from my left followed by loud footsteps. Everything was getting so blurry and distorted. A figure came in to view and positioned themselves over me, I felt my upper body be picked up and held in a cradle fashion being held so close to this person. All's I could do was cry, "I'm not ready to go," I whispered to them as tears fell from my eyes. I couldn't see them, but I could tell from their hold, they were male. He held me tighter "Everything is going to be alright, understand Emilia? You're going to be alright," he promised me but I could tell from the tone of his voice he wanted to believe that. It only caused me to cry more. "I'm scared."

"Me too." he cried with me. He kissed my forehead but I could barely feel it which only caused me to cry more. " I'm tired..." I whimpered. " You're always tired." he joked softly. My eyes grew heavier but I fought every urge in my body to keep them open. I couldn't feel my feet anymore which scared me more, I didn't want to go, I wanted to stay here, I still had so much to do in my life. "I love you" I cried, I didn't know who I was talking to but somewhere in my heart I've told him that before even though I didn't know for sure who he was. my blue eyes gave in... They closed.

Thunk

Emilia's body jolted from her sleep. Sweat tickled down her forehead and her neck like she had been running for miles in the hot sun. she was panting so hard it hurt her chest and not only that but she was crying. " It was a dream..." she smiled and laughed softly as she wiped her tears off of her face. " It was just a dream..." she let out a sigh of relief. She realized how loud the thud was and leaned over her bed to see she had fallen asleep while reading a book. After further noticed, she realized it was her muggle studies book... "Last time i ever read before bed" she commented to herself. she then continued to apologize to any girl that was woken up by her book falling from her bed.

Emilia rolled back over on her side and tired to fall back asleep.

It was no use, she was already wide awake. The dream lingered in her mind which taunted her every time she closed her eyes to try and sleep. It was useless, She pushed her covers off of her and sat up. She twisted her body to reach other her pillow and grabbed her wand. untwisting her body and sliding out of bed she let out another sign.. Maybe it was time to get up and start the day? Didn't matter if it was time to do it or not, Thats what Emilia was doing. She slid her feet in to moccasins that looks strangely like panda's before moving towards her trunk. She did a series of combinations on her trunk before opening it, It wasn't that she didn't trust other girls, she locked it out of habit. Plus, if anyone really wanted to get into her trunk there probably was some charm to unlock it.

She put her wand in her mouth for a moment and she held the trunk open with one hand and dug through it with her other hand. Feeling different fabric's trying to decide if the thing she was touching was what she was looking for or not. She pulled on something only to realize it wasn't the hoodie she was looking for but decided she didn't want to spend anymore time making a ruckus in the room. She pulled out the hoodie and threw it on her bed before closing the trunk and locking it. She stood up, grabbed the hoodie and unzipped it. She pulled it on before taking the wand out of her mouth. She shuffled out of the room and down the stairs to the common room...

The common room was brightly lit like someone was just down here but she couldn't see anyone. Emilia made herself comfortable on the couch only to get up and leave the gryffindor tower. To her surprise, it wasn't raining and actually getting lighter out. It had to be about five in the morning for it to be start getting lighter out. She figured she probably looked like a mess right now but she wasn't trying to impress anyone. She had a horrible night and wanted people to know it so they'd hopefully not ask about it.

Her legs lead her to the changing staircases, She didn't care where they were leading her, she got on and started walking towards the bottom. By the time she got to the bottom they had stopped moving long enough for her to get off. She continued this process down a few more staircases before deciding to walk down a hallway. "ugh" she whined before coming to a stop in front of a bench. She plopped herself down on the bench and leaned back against the wall. Her flannel shorts weren't long enough to keep the back of her thighs from getting cold by the bench but it didn't bother her too much. Actually, it helped wake her up. She closed her eyes for a moment and breathed slowly...

Words: 2500+
Notes: Open and sorry it's so long.
Outfit: pajamas

[Iain Murray]

He'd arrived earlier today. Well. Yesterday, technically. He'd arrived yesterday, some time during the afternoon. Childishly, he'd wandered through Hogsmeade for a bit before finally setting his steps towards Hogwarts (too lazy to get himself a carriage, or maybe just not brave enough to admit that he was a bit afraid the school had changed too much, that it wasn't 'his' or 'their' school anymore - not that it was a school to him now, anymore, of course - it was his job now, home of his employer who had been his headmaster not ten years before).
Anyway.
So he'd walked to school. It had been a bit of a stupid decision, to be honest, especially when it had started raining when he was somewhere halfway and if there was anything he hated it was rain. Sure, he was from Scotland himself and had experienced his fair share of showers and thunderstorms - but that didn't mean he had to like them. There were just no words that could describe the agonizing feel of wet clothing, wet pants, wet skin, everything cold and chafing and.. ugh. No, he just hated it. Just as well that he'd spelled his trunk to be water repellent. (Why hadn't he thought to do the same to his clothes?)

Either way, the entire afternoon had been overwhelming and exciting and amazing. Why Dumbledore had seriously hired him to help out in the hospital wing while the headmaster, of all people, had to know how many injuries Iain had sustained throughout his years at Hogwarts was a mystery to him - but he wasn't complaining! (Perhaps Albus thought that he was in the perfect condition to lecture teenagers about being careful, since he had always ignored such warnings himself and knew what came of them?)
Most of all, in a way, it had been like coming home. Highly social as he was, he'd missed the teachers (apart from the boring ones of course) and the hallwasys and the smell and just the feel of the place (although he would never ever admit that he was that sentimental). And yet it had been different. Moving into the teacher's quarters, for example - not the cozy shared dorms he'd liked so much, but rooms of his own with more privacy and space. Rooms which were cold and impersonal and he seriously needed to personalise them. Typically Iain, he had unpacked his trunk until about halfway and had then decided to do the rest later, taking a walk until dinner. Something inside him had revelled at the way the hallways were so familiar and the students' faces were not (and how curiously they'd looked at him, as no one knew him, apart from, perhaps, a seventh year or two who'd been only firstyears when he'd graduated).
Dinner, as always, had been brilliant. Sitting at the staff table even more so. Really - who'd have guessed!

He'd spent the time after dinner with his new colleague, Poppy, who had been only just beginning when he'd attended Hogwarts and had now grown into a fully fledged matron who knew exactly what she was doing (and when students were faking it). Considering the amount of time Iain had spent in her care, it didn't take a lot of them before they fell into easy conversation, remembering old times and laughing at Poppy showed him the ropes and where to find everything. The first few weeks she'd be working with him, depending on how things went from there (and both knew things would be fine), Iain would do things more independently. There was only one student Poppy did not want to share with him, a 6th year Gryffindor, who apparently had some issue with confidentiality, but Iain didn't mind that so much. Poppy could care for him if that was better for the boy. (Though he couldn't deny being a bit curious.)
Poppy showed him to the staff room after. A few of his colleagues (or sort of his colleagues, anyway, as Iain wasn't a teacher) had been there, drinking tea (or something stronger) and chatting or reading the Prophet, something like that. (Not at all the exciting things that Iain had always hoped there would be in the staff room - like antigravity ping-pong or something.) He'd just fallen into conversation again, it was just natural for him to do so, and by the time the rest went to bed, he'd felt quite at home.

Of course, when he got back to his rooms, he had the mess of his half-unpacked trunk to deal with, so he did that first (as all the mess was on the bed). It took him a couple of hours, but he'd never been a very good sleeper, anyway, so it was fine if he had a few hours less tonight. Just after one am, he got into bed.
And didn't sleep.
And turned.
And tossed.
The bed was too wide and it was cold. The tiles on the floor were cold too - he needed a rug or something.
Iain got up, turned on a set of candles and went to write a letter to his brother (he wasn't going to be able to sleep, anyway). He wrote and wrote until his hand cramped up and he was sure Cailean wouldn't be able to read it.
He missed Cailean.
Fuck.
Running his hand through his hair, he sighed and sat still for a minute (where'd his quill gone, had he dropped it? - oh well).
Another minute.
And another.
He snuffed the candles hastily (spilling wax), cast a clumsy warming spell on his sheets (just a bit too hot to be comfortable), got on.
Turned.
Turned.
Kicked off the sheets.
Oh, sod this.

Reaching for his dressing gown (tartan dressing down, thank you very much), he slipped on the first shoes he could find (trainers) and walked out his door. He'd just walk for a bit until he got tired. He was bound to get tired at some point. And dammit, he was going to have to sleep without Cailean some day! This was madness!
He'd been wrong in his letter to his brother ("It's brilliant, Cailean, you won't believe how everything is just the way we left it! Even the singe marks on the door of the Great Hall!") - Hogwarts had changed. Just a little, subtly, but it had. He wasn't sure if it should make him excited or a little bit sad (and, as a consequence, a little bit stupid - because that's what things did, change; it was just normal). He didn't have time to really think about it, anyway, because just as he rounded the corner, he spotted a bench. A bench with a girl on it. He was about to giggle because she was wearing pyjamas, but then again he was the one wearing a tartan dressing gown, so he shrugged at himself and sat down next to her without warning.
"Trouble sleeping too, huh?"

[Emilia L. Mcinnis]

Emilia nearly jumpped out of her skin as someone plopped down next to her. It had scared her so much that she some how had hit her head against the wall. Her eyes were drawn to the person who had plopped down next to her. "pff, Sleeping? what is this nonsense you speak of." she joked lightly to herself as she rubbed the back of her head.

The pain still lingered a little longer when she would have hoped but she tried her best to ignore it. shaking her head lightly, which only made the pain worse. Her hands reached up to her eyes as she rubbed them lightly.

"but yes, Sleep certainly didn't come easy to me." a yawn escaped her lips. "That's the thing I hate about sleeping, You know you slept but you wake up feeling like you didn't at all..." she stretched a little. She wiped the little teary wetness away from her eyes that had gathered there from her yawn.

Emilia finally decided to look at who had sat down next to her. To her surprise.. she had never actually seen him before... He certainly didn't look like a student, perhaps he was a professor or maybe even a healer. Emilia normally didn't spend any time in the hospital wing, She didn't get sick often and normally wouldn't put herself in situations where she'd get hurt in the first place.

She studied his facial structure, as if she was going through the data base in her head to get a match. There wasn't one... "I'm sorry, but should I assume you're new to hogwarts?" she guessed, well more of suggested perhaps to get a convocation going... until the rambling strarted...

"Did you know if one person is loosing sleep because of stress and another person is loosing sleep because they are worried about something. The stressed out person will get more sleep than the worrier because worriers stay up late basically doing nothing while stressed out people are always doing something which uses energy which in the end causes them to pass out sooner.Although, when they sleep they don't really get any restful sleep seeing has they normally have weird dreams or even nightmares." Emilia always had a habit of talking a little fast when she rambled.

"I'm rambling aren't I? I have a tendency of doing that... I'm Emilia Mcinnis By the way. I'm in Gryffindor" she smiled lightly trying to kill the awkward moment she had thought she felt coming (not like it really was). Emilia nervously ran her hand through her hair, scratching her head slightly simultaneously.

_{sorry it isn't much :/ I'm forcing myself to get in the habit of posting again. next one will be better. pinkies!}

[Iain Murray]

Iain chuckled to himself a little as the girl on the bench jumped up in shock, though his grin faded when he noticed she'd bonked her head. He was about to apologise for startling her like that, but then she started talking and things seemed alright, really, and his amused expression was back as quickly as it had gone. "Sleeping is all the rage, so I've heard. Some people do it every night," he replied with an amused glint in his eyes.
Brushing his hands over his tartan dressing gown, he added: "But what use could sleeping possibly be if we could just be wandering about showing off our impeccable fashion sense, hm?"
A voice in the back of his mind told him he was being completely irresponsible. He shouldn't be out at this hour, let alone encouraging a student to go wandering. Then again.. it wasn't as though he could actually deduct points (nor did he want to) and he would be a bit of a hypocrite if he punished her for something he'd done all his teenage life (and now adult life too, apparently).

A frown crossed his features briefly as he saw the girl shake her head and wince, then rub her eyes - but he didn't comment. She didn't seem particularly concussed and she didn't seem the type who liked to be coddled. If something arose, he was a medic, he could deal with it then.
Iain nodded a little at Emilia's complaining about sleep and lack of sleep and all that. He wholeheartedly agreed. The difference being, of course, that she'd slept a little and he hadn't slept at all - not that that difference particularly mattered. In the end, the result was the same.
He glanced at her and caught her eyes for a split second. Iain hadn't expected to see surprise in there, but then remembered. Oh, right. He wasn't a student anymore. He was an adult. (Silly how such a big difference could seem so easily forgotten.) Part of him was just glad that Emilia didn't run off hysterically after bumping into a stranger like this. These weren't the best of times after all.
Eventually, he looked away. Adult or not, the girl was looking at him as though she was picking him apart and he didn't like that much. He tried not to let on, though, nonchalantly crossing and uncrossing his legs. "Aye, I arrived today, well-" he grinned "-yesterday, I suppose. I arrived yesterday. Studied here in my day, though." He shrugged and smiled up at the high, dark ceiling. "So maybe not that new when you think about it.
Or, rather, that was what he had been about to say - and then Emilia showed an exceptional 'talent' very much like one of Iain's own. It appeared both of them talked too much when they were nervous.

Leaning back on the bench, Iain listened (thinking to himself that this bench was not particularly comfortable - it was just stony and a little cold even). "But.." He paused for a moment, tapping his fingers on his leg - the beginning of a tune. Salute to the Royal Fendersmith. (Oh, didn't I mention? He plays the bagpipes.) "But what about people who are stressed out because they're worried?" he asked, just for the sake of turning things around and confusing things a bit. Iain could be trouble like that, he liked stirring things up.
He laughed a little when she said she'd been rambling. "Just a wee bit, I suppose I can't blame you because that would be the pot calling the kettle black." He held out a hand for her to shake and grinned a little boyishly. "Another native Scot then? I'm Iain Murray, former Hufflepuff." Stretching a little and suppressing a yawn (though he was still far from dozing off), he noticed she was touching her head again.
"You alright, though? Sorry I made you bang your head earlier."

[Emilia L. Mcinnis]

Emilia couldn't help but laugh at what he was saying. He was fairly amusing, It was good to know not every adult in this school had a stick up their butt. "Oh how do I agree with you. " she laughed as she started to fiddle with the zipper on her black hoodie.

Emilia started to tap her panda slippers on the floor. Of course they didn't really make any type of sound, but it was something she liked to do at times like these. When there wasn't much to say or to even do. Her hand reached down to scratch her ankle, She didn't want to scratch it too hard to make it red, but hard enough to feel good.

Emilia nodded as he explained how he had actually studied here. She wasn't sure why exactly anyone would want to come back here, She certainly didn't want too that's for sure... But this is the girl who wants to be a rich 'MILF' we're talking about. Chances of that happening are slim unless she figures out a way to marry someone rich of course. That's what she wants to do and if she puts her mind to it, she'll accomplish it no doubt about that. "So, You're more of returning in a way?" she asked curiously.

Emilia shot him a sheepish smile, she was very curious about this but she was and always been a curious girl about everything. "Also, Why would you want to return to Hogwarts? " she suggested that he answered as well. Emilia could come up with a million and one questions to ask, She was definitely the master at asking them. She could come up with one on almost every subject, both socially acceptable ones as well as dirty ones that should be left for the bed room most of the time. She didn't like surprises so she deals with that by getting to know everyone very carefully just in case someone pulled the 'guess what' game she would have a very good chance of getting it correct.

That question stumped Emilia... What about them? well she could only assume those people would be the most miserable. Wanting to sleep but being unable too, probably almost falling asleep but only to be jolting to reality with their worry trying to consume them. "perhaps those people need to figure out what is worrying them and then stop worrying about it so much, then perhaps the stress will go away. One would be miserable if they were stressed because they were worried. Personally, I'd have someone knock me out if I got so worried that it stressed me out... I don't think worrying a lot is healthy." she stated her opinion at the end. He was free to have his own but that is what she truly thought about worrying and stress.

Emilia smirked lightly before he shook his hand. " nope, I'm actually from just outside of Keighley, West Yorkshire, England." she smiled lightly as she scratched her head. As he apologized for scaring her out of her wits, she could only laugh. " No need to apologize, I'm quite fine." her smile grew brighter.

"May I ask as to way you are up so early?"

[Iain Murray]

Iain grinned when the girl laughed. He liked making people laugh, even if it was at his own expense sometimes. With all her talking about worrying and stress and not being able to sleep he had to admit that he had a hunch that her theory might just be applicable to her. And, well, as a healer he had responsibility to the students, right? To make sure that they were okay.
He watched her smooth a hand down her hoodie, tap her feet on the floor - glad to notice she didn't feel the need to treat him like an adult. What was the fun in that, after all? Iain stretched and winced when a cramp shot up his calf (damn this castle and the cold creeping into his bones making him feel like an old man!). It faded as he flexed his foot.

As for coming back here, Iain couldn't imagine any student not wanting to come back here. Wasn't Hogwarts the best time of their lives for most? Making friends and fooling around and not having to face all those tiny responsibilities that were part of being an adult just yet - heaven.
"Yep, I guess returning would be a better termm" he agreed. "I got a job offer here and I really didn't want to turn that down - working at the hospital wing now." He vaguely gesticulated in a random direction that was sort of where the hospital wing probably was (to be fair, his sense of direction wasn't all that great this time of night). When she asked him why he'd want to return to Hogwarts, he looked at her incredulously for a moment - an expression that clearly meant 'why not?' "Oh, loads of reasons," he said, glossing over a lot of them. "Apart from the fact that it pays well and that I'm back in my home country rather than in London - I expect it to never be boring."

"Not worrying is easier said than done," Iain reminded Emilia (and am I the only one who think that together there is just an abundance of vowels in their names - are we discriminating consonants now?). "Especially these days. People worry a lot, because sometimes worrying is all they can do." He half smiled. "But anyways," he said, glossing over the darker lining his thoughts had dared to persue, "I suppose knocking people out would work - or at least a little. It's a difficult thing to treat, worrying is, usually you just end up treating the symptoms without ever getting to the root of the problem. But aye, worrying is no good and for a short term solution I'd advise knocking out." He couldn't help but chuckle a little to himself as he imagined a fretting mother getting knocked in the head by a cartoon-figure with a hammer.

"Aw!" He pouted and laughed. "Your last name could've fooled me! I really did think I'd found a fellow Scot and here I am sitting on a bench with the oppressor," he teased. "Then again, Yorkshire is practically Scotland, so I'll forgive you," Iain added with a wink. He wasn't that much of a nationalist, not really - though if Scotland could regain independence he would definitely be happy about it. Considering the international circumstances and the threat of a war, however, it was probably best to remain united. Devided we fall and all that.
"Oh, just couldn't sleep," he said with a shrug, glossing over the restless state he'd been in all evening and night. "It's weird, going back to Hogwarts and not sharing a room," he chuckled, realising how silly that sounded. Of course he wouldn't be sharing a room now - and how stupid was it that an adult could not sleep well on his own? "And you? What made you decide to sneak about? Planned a secret rendezvous, have you?" he asked with an amused smile. He sure had, in his days, and he couldn't blame her if she did too.