ins o m nia ::open::

[zabini]

Hyperion padded down the stairs into the empty common room barefoot, in his pajamas and robe. The clock on the back wall told him it was two in the morning, Wednesday. He settled himself down on the couch in front of the slowly dying fire, knowing he was going to be exhausted come the morning, but for the life of him he couldn't sleep. Hyperion stared blankly into the fire, before drawing his wand and making it stronger with a spell. Extra warmth instantly washed over him, Hyperion sighed contently, picking up his book that he had left on one of the tables.

He began to read leisurely, appreciating the quiet, although it made every noise sound ten times louder than it would have been during the day. He hadn't been there long maybe five minutes, when his ears picked up the sound of footsteps from the stairs that lead to the dormitories, apparently Hyperion was not the only person awake that night...

[girlingreen]

Cora ran a hand through her long hair as she came down the stairs from her dormitory in her pajamas. She hadn't been able to sleep that night, though she usually was tired out by long afternoons at the Three Broomsticks. But she hadn't worked one Tuesday and now she couldn't sleep.

Cora spotted Hyperion reading in the common room and her eyebrows raised slightly. She hadn't expected anyone else to be awake, but certainly not Hyperion. He didn't really seem the type to have insomnia. "Hey," Cora said, plopping down on the chair that was near the fire and curling up slightly.

[zabini]

"Hello Cora," said Hyperion, looking over his book at his fellow Slytherin fifth year. She was the other fifth year prefect. They knew each other, but Hyperion wouldn't go as far to say that they were friends, merely acquaintances. Because of his observant nature, he knew a lot of people, but his only friends were Seamus and Julie. Hyperion mentioned nothing about the late hour, they both very well knew it was late.

[girlingreen]

Cora gave Hyperion a small smile. "How are you?" she asked quietly before staring into the fire. There was really no point in discussing how neither of them seemed to be able to sleep, so they might as well have a conversation like it was the middle of the day instead of the middle of the night. Cora had never really spoken to Hyperion much before, though, she didn't really even know what he was like.

[zabini]

"I'm well, thank you," said Hyperion, closing his book lightly- it was rude to read and talk to someone at the same time. That and he knew he was a terrible multi-tasker. Hyperion needed to be able to commit his full concentration to one thing at a time in order to perform his best. This made him an ideal beater, that and his tall, muscular frame. "What about yourself?" Hyperion asked, giving Cora his undivided attention. He observed the way she sat, what she did with her hands, looking for social cues.

[girlingreen]

Cora nodded and rubbed her toes absently, as they were cold. She remained curled up in the chair. "I'm good, thanks," Cora replied, not knowing what else to say. She certainly wasn't going to admit that she couldn't sleep if she hadn't just come from an exhausting night at work or that she was starting to get sick of being a Death Eater.

[zabini]

Hyperion nodded, but found himself continually trying to figure out Cora. Something was bothering her, but what he had no idea. She seemed restless, almost, as if she needed more stimulus than the average person. Hyperion himself was this way, hence why he had taken up two of the more difficult elective subjects, arithmancy and ancient runes. He enjoyed figuring out what was going on with people, Hyperion found humans to be like puzzles, sometimes difficult, but it gave you an immense sense of satisfaction once you put them together.

[girlingreen]

Cora fell silent, not knowing what else to say to the quiet Hyperion. They hadn't really talked before, though they had led the first years to the Slytherin dormitory after the start of term feast. Even then, they hadn't really talked. Cora stared at the fire and moved her hair out of her face.

[zabini]

Hyperion was half-tempted to gaze into the fire as Cora was, but he was still busy trying to figure her out. She, as most others were, was a very intricate person. He tilted his head to the side for a moment in thought. "Is something wrong?" Hyperion asked, his observant nature would not quit nagging him that there was something going on that she wasn't sharing.

[girlingreen]

Cora jumped slightly and turned back to look at Hyperion. It was odd that he had picked up that something was bothering her, usually Cora did a good job of hiding her problems. She supposed that was just another one of the issues, though. She rarely let anyone in. "No, I just haven't been sleeping well," she replied, lying for the most part. She hadn't been sleeping well, that was the truth, but that wasn't what was bothering her.

[zabini]

Hyperion raised his eyebrows, but said nothing. He usually wasn't pushy when he knew something was up, unless of course it involved Seamus or Julie, then he would be relentless, but he really didn't know Cora all that well. If she wanted to share, fine, Hyperion would be there to listen. His thoughts drifted over to his book, but he left it closed on the end table as of now.

[girlingreen]

Cora had to refrain from blurting out everything, like she was very tempted to do. She didn't know Hyperion very well, but he seemed like a good listener, and he definitely didn't seem judgmental. But Cora remained silent; she knew that she couldn't tell anyone. She vaguely wished that she had a bottle of firewhiskey so that she could calm down a little bit.

[zabini]

"I'm going to go to the kitchens for a late night snack," Hyperion said suddenly in the silence, disrupting the quiet rhythm of the fire popping in the grate. He set his book off to the side, nobody was going to disturb it there. At least not at that hour. "Would you like to accompany me?" invited Hyperion. They were both prefects, so they did not have to worry about getting in trouble for being out at this time of night.

[girlingreen]

Cora shrugged slightly. She wasn't all that hungry, but she definitely didn't have anything better to do and didn't want to sit in the common room alone. "Sure, that would be nice," Cora replied. She uncurled herself and stood up. Cora figured she could just get something small to eat, it would be kind of funny to see the house elves, anyway.

[zabini]

"Excellent," said Hyperion, standing up and smoothing his bathrobe. The stone floors were frigid beneath his bare feet, but he did not mind it too much. He led the way out of the commons and into the deserted hallways of the dungeons after dark. It was still, even the ghosts moving about seemed to be sleeping. Hyperion wondered why most of the undead residents of Hogwarts favoured the dungeons, not all earth-bound souls had to be glum.