Breath-Drarry COMPLETE

Chapter 23

–Scorpius POV–

The sheep's in the meadow,

The kye's in the corn,

Thou's ower lang in thy bed

Bonny at morn.

I woke up and sat up on my bed, groggily feeling my face with a near-limp hand, grimacing at how oily it felt.

I sat there for a few seconds, looking around the dorm room. There's nobody here.

...What time is it? I wish there were windows here.

I rubbed my eyes, closing them tightly, and ran a hand through my hair. The bedsheets were neatly tucked in and picked up in the bottom bunk, while I could see the blanket sloppily hanging off the edge of the bed in the top bunk. I should get to know them. Maybe give the top bunker a lesson on personal hygiene.

As I completed that train of thought, what Delphini said months ago flew like a passing thought, with all the weight of definitive truth.

You're nothing. Nothing but an inconvenience.

Just like that, the idea of getting to know them left a bitter taste in my mouth. I clicked my tongue on the roof of my mouth and languidly got off my bunk.

I opened the door to the bathroom and began freshening up in the shower. There's enough oil on my face for fried sweet plantains.

The Hogwarts showers were, luckily, self-adjusting. I preferred the strong, single stream mode on the showerhead. Turn clockwise three times; one, two, three. I relished in the satisfying click of the showerhead settings.

I felt the stream run down my back, working to clear the tension I had felt in my back and neck for weeks now. I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath, letting the water engulf me.

I hadn't been sleeping right. I always woke up in a twisted position. One time, I even fell off my bunk. Worse still, none of my roommates wake me up; they just leave me there, on the floor. Ever since I told Garrett's friend to leave me be, they've all been giving me a funny look. A glance out of the corner of their eye, examining their blind spot to see if I was there, lurking. Sulking like a cryptid. Or so I tell myself.

That might as well be what I look like now. I brought my hand up to my face, feeling just under my eyes where my skin sank and softened. I sighed. This lack of sleep is doing wonders for my complexion.

The knots in my back had all but dissipated. I reached a cold hand to my right shoulder, massaging it. I got in a better angle so the water could hit my left shoulder directly. I sighed in relief.

Canny at neet, bonny at morn,

Thou's ower lang in thy bed,

Bonny at morn.

I found it funny that I mumbled the old lullaby my father used to sing to me when I was little. I still remember it. It had been taught to him by his mother, my grandmother. I can recall his voice when he sang it; this indescribable, sweet sound. It certainly helped that his voice wasn't that deep to begin with. I remember his warm embrace, and how he tucked me in.

It's in old English, Scottish words sprinkled in here and there. I did some research on it; a book in the library just so had the lyrics. A mother puts her baby to sleep in the crib, reflects on the goings-on in the world, complains about her children, and goes to sleep. Sounded like an ordinary day for my dad.

In between tossing and turning, I whispered this song to myself, making sure that all my roommates were sleeping. I curled into a ball, and then I could finally sleep.