Everywhere, Everything

ix. Good Doggie(s?)

    That night, Hermione tossed and turned in bed, lying on one side and then the other. Tigerlily could hear her, the rustle of bedsheets ringing in her ears as well the muttering Hermione was doing.

    "Hermione," she hissed. "Stop that."

    Hermione's silhouette sat up immediately, her frazzled hair like a halo around her head. She hopped off her bed and padded over to Tigerlily's.

    "You're awake?" she whispered, squinting in the dark as she sat on the edge of the bed.

    "Obviously," Tigerlily whispered. "You won't stop moving and it's driving me mad. Besides...I'm a bit worried about the duel..."

    "Me too!" Hermione said, and Tigerlily shushed her because Parvati stirred in the bed next to them. "Sorry."

    "D'you really think they'll do it?" Tigerlily asked Hermione, frowning.

    "Of course they will. They're such idiots — so selfish — "

    "Alright, well," Tigerlily interrupted, pushing the covers off herself. She glanced at her digital wristwatch on the nightstand. "It's eleven o'clock."

    "We have to stop them." Hermione said.

    "What if we all get caught? Won't that lose us more points?" Tigerlily asked worriedly. She'd lost her House one point already, and she felt like she couldn't afford to lose some more.

    "We won't." Hermione assured. "Trust me."

    So Tigerlily nodded, hopping off her bed and putting on her pink bunny slippers. Hermione was wearing a matching bathrobe over her pajamas, but Tigerlily remained as she was, comfortable in her green plaid ensemble.

    Together they went down to the common room, careful not to make any noise. Once they'd made it down the spiral staircase, Hermione stopped abruptly, making Tigerlily bump into her.

    "What is it?" she whispered, looking around nervously.

    "Should we tell a prefect?" Hermione said, more to herself than to Tigerlily.

    "I don't want to be a snitch..." Tigerlily muttered, pursing her lips.

    Hermione seemed to consider this, though it was hard to tell since it was pretty dark. Finally, she huffed.

    "Alright. Come on, let's wait for them here." She said, leading Tigerlily to a large armchair in a dark corner of the common room. They huddled together, Tigerlily hugging her legs to her chest as Hermione tapped her fingers on the armrest as they waited.

    It was a couple minutes past eleven-thirty when Harry and Ron descended the spiral stairs to the common room. As they crept around couches and tables, Hermione flicked on a lamp next to her, making her and Tigerlily's presence known.

    "You!" Ron said furiously, glaring at them in the dim light. "Go back to bed!"

    "I almost told your brother, you know," Hermione snapped, pushing herself to the edge of the armchair. "Percy — he's a prefect, he'd put a stop to this."