A Stohn HP AU

Chapter 5

John drew in a deep breath, releasing a light cloud of steam from his nostrils. God, the castle was cold at night. One would think they would use spells on the castle to keep the hallways warm at night, but apparently not. At least, not at night when students were expected to stay in their rooms.

John tried not to psych himself out, keeping the grip on his wand loose and casual as possible. He still felt the speed of his beating heart threatening to escape the confinement of his rib cage and wake up the entire castle. Closing his eyes, John focused on heightening his other senses to guide him through the halls. With his eyes closed, he could now pin down the distant low rumbling of the shifting staircases in the distance, the cold, worn, roughness of his wand and the dusty scent with a trace of magic lingering in the air. John could always either smell or feel the heavy concentration of charms on the castle and people carrying their own essence of magic. He knew that Harry Potter must have found that sense comforting at times, because of the number of interviews where he admitted the fact that Hogwarts was a better home than any.

With John's wandering train of thought, he could now slow down his heart rate. He now no longer made tall, pale monsters in the shadows of the tapestries and corners when he opened his eyes.

John came to a halt. His feet and his journey to calm his mind and heart had carried him somewhere around the third floor. He blinked twice to rid his sight of the black spots that had crowded his vision. As soon as they faded he looked up and right, finding the statue of the one-eyed witch eerily standing, stock-still. John swept his eyes up and down the corridor, finding no signs of movement. Odd. He expected Filch to be wandering and muttering to himself up and down at least one of these corridors. Although, the Squib was getting quite old, and John had a feeling his nighttime wanderings had decreased in the past years he had been at Hogwarts. The school had been pining to find someone to fill in Filch's place once he had passed, though no one had volunteered eagerly. John always assumed after Filch died he would come back as a spirit to haunt the castle and continue his job into at least the next couple centuries.

The adrenaline rush of his nightmare had long worn off, and John was beginning to lose feeling in his face and toes. He cast a nonverbal spell to heat up his robes before spinning on his heel and briskly walking back in the direction he came.

With his eyes now open and his four other senses well adapted to the halls, John made good time on his way back to the kitchens. He was forced to duck into an abandoned classroom once on his way back after he picked up Peeves loudly humming to himself the tune to a Muggle pop song. After that, John felt sure that he would easily make his way back to the common room without further incident. Until he didn't.

Before John turned the corner leading to the first floor corridor when the hairs on the back of his neck stood up, but not from the cold. He froze, sensing another human presence in his close vicinity. John held his breath to check if it was his own breathing that was throwing him off. Unfortunately with the silence magnified, John heard twice as clearly a second pair of light but heavy footsteps paired with quieted breathing, not unlike how John's shallow breath was to not wake anyone or anything.

John had no clue as to who was on a midnight walk as well, but he wasn't about to find out. With bated breath, John inched backwards with his arm out feeling the cold stone of the wall, groping for a sudden transition to wood. Once his near-numb fingers brushed against the metal handle of a door John didn't recognize, he tightened his grip. In a single fluid motion, John muttered under his breath another revealing charm and when the room was found to be empty, he twisted the doorknob as soundless as possible and slipped behind the wood with his front still facing the edge of the corridor. He then closed it with a minuscule click.

John released the tiny breath he was holding, relieving a bit of pressure from his tightened lungs. He leaned up against the wall beside the door and slid down to a crouch. Not wanting to let his guard down, John stayed vigilant enough to listen for any approaching noises. Just when he thought he was safe, the door swung open.