An Art of Balance

Chapter 22: Moonglow

Warning: very small mention of alcohol, blink and you'll miss it

The sounds of music and laughter were immediately muffled as the heavy round oak door shut behind her; by the time Lizzie had reached the end of the tunnel, the sound of the party going in the Common Room was barely audible anymore.

She stepped into the dimly lit stone corridor and shivered; the damp air in the dungeons was always more on the cold side, but coming out of the heat of the Common Room, Lizzie's arms were covered in goosebumps in no time; she wished she had taken the time to put a jacket over the old team jersey she was wearing.

Looking left and right to see in which direction Orion had been going, she could just see him rounding the corner of the path that led up to the Great Hall. She set after him at a light jog, partly to catch up with him but also to drive the cold out of her body.

As Orion heard her footsteps behind him, he turned around; a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth when he realised who had followed him from the bustling party. By the time Lizzie reached him, he was leaning against the wall at the foot of the stairs with his arms crossed in front of him.

"Tired of the party already?" he asked after Lizzie came to a halt. He flashed her that crooked smile of his that made it that much harder for her to return to a more steady breathing rhythm.

"Same as you apparently." Lizzie took a deep breath that forced her heartbeat to return to a more normal pace. "Where are you going?"

"I don't care much for huge parties with so many people," he admitted. "I find the attention we get after a successful match often gets too intense. And besides," he chuckled silently, "McNully was too preoccupied tonight to be good company."

The image of Murphy's hands buried in a mane of red locks flashed through Lizzie's mind. She had to chuckle as well.

"Yeah, his attention may be elsewhere tonight," she giggled. "So what are you going to do now?"

"The castle is very quiet at night; it's easier to let your thoughts flow freely in the dark," he answered. "I'm going to seek respite from the crowd at my favourite place."

Lizzie raised her eyebrows. "The Quidditch pitch?"

"Second favourite place," Orion conceded.

He pushed himself off the wall and started climbing the stairs that would take him to the ground level. After a few steps he turned around to her. "Are you coming or not?"

Lizzie felt her lips curl into a smile as she nimbly hopped up the steps as well. It was foolish and reckless, but the mixture of alcohol and adrenaline coursing through her body made her ignore the warnings in her mind for good.

Orion quickly checked to see if no one was around before they crossed the still brightly lit ante room to the Great Hall and continued up the grand staircase that would lead them to the various wings and towers of the castle.

After they had left the Entrance Hall behind, it had grown considerably darker; almost all torches had already been extinguished for the night. Luckily, the light of the moon shining through the windows was bright enough for them to not have any need of their wands.

Neither of them spoke as they wandered past countless statues and paintings, dipping in and out of the silver light illuminating their path. But it wasn't an uncomfortable silence; both of them were enjoying the other's company without the need for any words.