Glory |A. Potter|

Fifty

The Hogwarts grounds were quiet in the morning. There was something undeniably magical about running down the path to the Black Lake before the sun had risen yet, the light just enough for Jane to be able to see where she was running at. Water droplets clung to the plants around her feet, silence enveloping the grounds with the humans asleep—the Forbidden Forest never slept, always tranquil—Jane's eyes wide open as she took in the beauty of nature around her.

This was one of the times Jane was thankful she was an early riser. Her morning run was rather refreshing, woke her up properly, although by the time she had reached the Black Lake she was tired, having not ran or exercised for a couple of months now. At the shore, she stopped, caught her breath, pushed the curls that had left her ponytail back behind her, slowly brought herself to straighten up and raise her head.

The morning light was slowly breaking out, moving above the treetops to the lake, sparkling water greeting her and almost blinding her. A slow smile formed on her lips as she watched the sunrise, before the clouds moved to obscure the view. It was as if that was her cue to leave, slowly run all the way back to the castle. Jane pushed herself to run up to the castle despite her exhaustion, quit running the moment she reached the courtyard. She trudged down to the dungeons a while before the students started to rise.

When she got in her dormitory, the girls were still sleeping, but she found Cleopatra on her bed, watching her with her eyes of gold, head rising at the sight of her. Jane offered her a smile and a pet on her head as she passed by her to reach for her uniform. She withdrew in the bathroom and made quick work of washing herself and getting dressed to allow the others to get ready in case they woke up. Jane had overestimated how much the girls slept, though, because by the time she had finished, they had yet to wake up.

She gently shook Ramona awake with a slight smile, not taking her sigh to heart as she moved back to the mirror to get herself ready. Ramona joined her just as she was putting on her eye-liner. The two girls got ready in companiable silence, their routine rather short. They left the dormitory together, bags slung behind their back, neither of them saying a word so early in the morning. They reached the Great Hall at a reasonable time, Scorpius and Albus already there, waiting for them. The moment they sat down opposite the boys, Albus raised a brow at them.

"What happened to you today?"

His question was aimed at Jane, notorious for arriving at the Great Hall sooner than anyone else. Ramona didn't attempt to stop her chuckling from being noticed while Scorpius had his attention on the Professor walking by the table to give them their timetables. He took it as Jane replied.

"I went on a morning run."

Her friends looked at her as if she had gone mental all of a sudden as Scorpius handed over each schedule. It was him that spoke up. "Why?"

"I don't want to lose my physique," she shrugged as she looked through her schedule. "Who in their right minds puts Transfiguration in the first period?"

"Someone who wants us to suffer," Albus replied as he scowled at the parchment, Ramona's sigh meant to convey her agreement. "I have a free period next."

"Ancient Runes," Ramona piped in. Scorpius and Jane looked at each other before she spoke up.

"We've Potions."

"And then Divination," Ramona finished with her own schedule.

"We've Defence Against the Dark Arts," Scorpius spoke for himself and Jane as Albus sighed.

"I've Astronomy in midnight. Why would they have me wake up for only an hour? It doesn't make sense."

"Monday seems awful for you," Scorpius sympathised, "do they at least let you sleep the next morning?"