``insomnia <family/open>

[gooddontalwayswin]

Bellatrix ran a hand through her hair as she stepped into the third floor corridor, wondering what had possessed her to come there. It wasn't unusual for Bella to wander at night these days. Ever since her initiation as a Death Eater, lack of sleep had been a problem. But now, the young girl was plagued by chronic insomnia. And if she did happen to fall asleep, nightmares would come.

Bellatrix sat down on a bench, too exhausted to continue walking. She hugged her sweatshirt tighter to her small frame; the school was awfully cold at night. Bella was glad that she usually wore sweatpants to bed, as they were currently keeping her legs warm. As for the sweatshirt, it was a good thing she had grabbed it before leaving her dormitory.

She turned, pulling her legs and feet up on the bench as well, and looked out the window at the nearly full moon. Beautiful as it was, the moon never made sleep any easier. Tonight it illuminated the grounds, allowing Bellatrix to see the Whomping Willow and the Dark Forest with unusual ease. Her pale hand slid through her hair again, pulling the long strands away from her face. She hugged her knees, and allowed her head to fall down a bit.

Bella sat like that for a long while, wishing that sleep would come to claim her, but, as always, nothing of the sort happened. It was so queer how she could be so tired and yet so incapable of sleep. Bellatrix would have found it much more amusing if not for the exhaustion. She heard footsteps behind her, a sure sign that someone had entered the corridor. Bella summoned the energy to hope that it wasn't a prefect, and turned her head around to see...

[bugock]

Safira couldn't sleep that evening, perhaps she was just anxious because summer break was so close that she could almost taste it. Half the teachers had given up trying to teach their antsy classes and mostly did practical review. But there was the troubling aspect that the history of magic teacher had been kidnapped from within the walls of Hogwarts. The very thought of that made Safira nervous. After pulling on jeans and a sweatshirt (her prefect's badge pinned to it) with flip-flops, Safira had decided to see if Demetri was in his office. Safira paused when she saw her younger sister on a bench, she looked awful. Without being invited, she sat beside her. "You okay, Bells?" asked Safira.

[gooddontalwayswin]

Bellatrix let go of her legs, letting them slide down instead of up like a barrier between her and Safira. She was genuinely glad that it was her sister that had come across her, even if Safira was a prefect. Even if she couldn't tell Safira everything, he sister was always there for her. "No, I can't sleep," she said quietly, though loudly enough for her sister to hear. Bella sighed slightly.

[bugock]

"That makes two of us," Safira sighed, although she couldn't help but feel the reasons behind their similar cases of insomnia were different. Bella seemed changed to her older sister, something was dramatically different about her. But what Safira was uncertain. Nor did she really want to bring it up for discussion, as to Safira, her younger sister often behaved unpredictably these days.

[gooddontalwayswin]

Bellatrix nodded, though inside she was a bit surprised that Safira was losing sleep as well. That was a bit unlike her older sister, who always seemed to get everything right. "What are you losing sleep over?" Bella asked, noticing that Safira wasn't even dressed in uniform, as she usually was when she left her dormitory.

[bugock]

"To tell the truth, I'm not sure," said Safira, absently putting her hair into a loose braid to keep it away from her face. "I guess I miss my bed at our house, just not mum." She made a face when she brought up her mother. She and Pansy had never gotten along terribly well, but not as horribly with Draco. Safira could remember the days when she used to get along with her father, before he started cheating on Pansy, before he drank excessively, before the drugs.

[gooddontalwayswin]

Bella nodded, trying to understand this thought, though it was a bit challenging for her. Her house hadn't held very pleasant thoughts recently and it didn't seem to be changing. Her bed would just be another reminder that she was her father's pawn, even while he was in prison. She should have been liberated, but instead she was trapped in a cycle that she was unable to escape.

[bugock]

"Are you sure that you're feeling all right, though?" asked Safira, a bit concerned as Bella did look rather peaky to her. Almost as if she was, or had been, terribly ill. She laid a gentle hand on Bella's forehead, and drew it away after a moment. To Safira, she didn't feel as if she had a fever, but she could just feel it, something wasn't quite right.

[gooddontalwayswin]

Bella allowed her sister to put her hand to her head, as if testing her temperature. She knew that she looked sick, even when she tried to cover it up during the day. Bella could convince most people, but not Safira. "Just tired," she replied with a shrug. She didn't really have another explanation for it, without revealing the whole Death Eater business.

[bugock]

"I suppose so," said Safira, if it were someone other than Bellatrix, she might have offered to make a sleeping potion, but things tended to go wrong whenever Safira attempted to help her younger sister, so she remained quiet. Her thoughts wandered to Demetri, their relationship was flourishing into something deeper and more passionate than she had ever experienced before. And the danger of it all only added to the thrill, Safira sighed lightly.

[gooddontalwayswin]

"I guess I'm a bit worried about going back home," Bella added after a moment. "It's not like Mom will be any different without Dad around. Worse, perhaps." There was sort a mad fury in Pansy's eyes these days, and more than once, Bella had found herself worrying about Vivienne, stuck up inside the house with only a crazy woman for company. If she was allowed to, Bella would have long ago gone to visit. But now, she didn't want to go home. She didn't want to see innocent Vivienne and her angry mother every day. The thought was somewhat frightening, especially since who knew how often the Death Eaters would call?

[bugock]

"Well, mum's certainly not herself," said Safira. "Seals herself away in her parlour most of the time, I don't think we'll have to worry about her." At least Draco wasn't going to return from his incarceration for a long while, he seemed to hate all his children, probably her the most because she had been sorted into Gryffindor, and therefore viewed by him as a traitor to the Malfoy lineage.

[gooddontalwayswin]

"Well that's a good thing, I suppose," Bella replied with a small hint of a smile. She was really thinking, however, that she would take a crazed Pansy any day over a normal version of Isabelle. Even when the vampire was in a good mood, she was fairly awful to be around, though Bella followed her obediently anyway.

[bugock]

"Maybe not healthy;" said Safira, small frown on her lips. "But certainly a plus since we won't have to deal with her much." She felt sorry for poor Vivienne, stuck at the Manor all day, and the interactions she had with Pansy weren't bound to be pleasant ones. She made a mental note to spend more time with her once school let out; her way of making it up to her.

[gooddontalwayswin]

"Yeah," Bella replied, with a nod toward Safira. At least her sister wasn't questioning her too much today, as Safira seemed to do a lot. Bella supposed she was just worried about her, but it was nice not to have Safira in her business that evening. "We'll have to take Vivienne out somewhere; she must be awfully bored," Bella commented after a moment. She felt bad for her younger sister, being stuck with Pansy for so long.