Lemon Grass and Sleep

ALL NIGHTER

I mumbled incantations under my breath with my eyes closed, wand slowly moving through the air with total precision as I memorized spells and hexes as best I could.

The time had finally come, O.W.L.s began tomorrow.

"Soot, can you be a bit quieter," John muttered, eyes glued to his notebook as he tried to memorize every word on the page.

"Maybe go out into the common area," Jeremy suggested, "I think there are some people out there doing the same thing."

"Alright," I sighed, picking up my textbooks and shoving them in my satchel before walking hesitantly out into the common area.

It was filled with students mumbling and murmuring, a low buzz was present no matter where you were in the room. There were no empty table spaces and enough textbooks to fill the library three times over; random school supplies flew through the air as a few students practiced locomotion charms and leviosa precision.

"No, get it through the loop without touching, if it touches you'll get points off," one girl said to another quietly as I passed them. No way I was going to get anything done while I was in here, so I silently made my way into the hallways.

I rubbed the sleep from my eyes roughly, stumbling through the halls and making sure to peep around corners to make sure Filch wasn't sneaking about trying to catch students. Soon, I was in a back hallway somewhere I didn't quite recognize, then again almost all of the hallways look the exact same.

For a moment I struggled to gain my bearings, and I stood still in the middle of the hallway and glanced back and forth. There wasn't a single door to be seen, and I honestly couldn't even remember how I had gotten here.

"Bollocks," I muttered, deciding to just try and turn back around and find my way back to the dormitory.

"Oh," I quietly gasped as I turned to find a door I hadn't seen before, probably because it seemed to blend into the wall so well.

While it was tall and pointed at the top, the material was made of a dark gray wood that seemed to meld into the walls. I hadn't ever seen this room before, then again I hadn't usually made my way to this part of the building in my spare time.

"Pardon me," I mumbled to the still air as I gently pushed the soundless door open to find a sort of sitting room.

It was small and square, and looked similar to a tea parlor or a personal library. There was one large couch sat opposite a crackling fire that looked like it had just been made, and comfy pillows and blankets filled an open closet to the left. A solitary desk made its home in the right corner with a small window just above it looking out into the forest below.

"Well then," I said, pleased with my findings. This would be the perfect place to spend the night studying for my O.W.L.s--nobody to bother and nobody to bother me. Just how I liked it.

I would have to show Glinda this room later in the week, she'd love it. And Fred and George probably already knew about it, with how they had basically memorized the entire grounds by now.

My satchel emptied out onto the desk nicely, and I found that there was just enough space to set them all out just as I liked, which I usually had to go to the library to do. The fire felt nice and warm on my back and I went back to saying my incantations, louder now that I had nobody to bother. I could actually practice locomotion charms myself now that I had my own space, and I found myself laughing as I made the pillows dance around in a little circle before tumbling back down to the carpeted floor.

Before long, dawn began to break and I checked the time to find it was going to be breakfast time soon. Sadly, I gathered back up my books to head back to the common area.

Stepping out of the room I found the hallway just as empty as last night, but in the daylight I could clearly see I had made my way across the castle to the seventh floor in my midnight stumblings.

"Hello there, Barnabas," I muttered, shooting the tapestry a salute before rushing to the shifting staircases to go get ready for breakfast. There would be no time for sleep, only eating and last minute cramming.

"Soot?" I heard a familiar voice call behind me, and I turned to see Glinda herself, looking perfect even at six in the morning.

"Baker, what on earth are you doing awake at this ungodly hour?"

"Likewise," she approached my side and followed me as I went back to the common room.

"I actually found this amazing little study room on the seventh floor, did you know about it?"

"We have a study room?" She asked quizzically.

"I'm assuming not then, and yes, it was amazing! So cozy and quiet, the fireplace must be enchanted too, because I never even had to tend it."

"Sounds like my kind of party," she commented, "You'll have to show me that later, we can study there tonight."

"Of course, I was thinking we could also-"

"Invite the boys?" She smirked, "Of course, only if you promise not to snog in the corner, and actually get some studying done."

"Glinda," I fussed, "I swear, sometimes I wonder if you know me at all."

"What ever could you mean?"

"As if I would choose to snog over studying the night before an exam," I scoffed, readjusting my satchel as we approached the common room.

"Right on, I forget some of us are lame! I'll be waiting here, hurry up. I'm hungry."

"Right away, your highness," I sarcastically replied, rushing into the common room to change and wash up.

"Merlin, Soot, we thought you'd been kidnapped," Jeremy startled at the sight of me.

"Yeah, we couldn't find you in the common area and got worried when Halla said you had left."

"Cedric went after you, but came back soon after. Not like we blame him, though, he has exams too."

"Right, sorry. I found a little corner in a hallway and just practiced there. It was actually very peaceful."

"You're the only one I know who could possibly considering studying the night before O.W.L.s to be remotely 'peaceful'."

"I am simply built different," I smiled, finishing getting changed as I pulled on a new sweater and grabbed my satchel again to go meet Glinda back out front.

Going to breakfast did not help my nerves at all. Even the bravest Gryffindors looked like they were shaking in their boots and might throw up the pancakes on their plates.

"Eat up, you're going to need the stamina to get through the exam without passing out," Glinda said, taking up her fork with a slightly shaky hand.

I looked down at my plate and closed my eyes, praying to whatever was listening that I would do good on my O.W.L.s.