𝙥𝙖𝙡𝙚 𝙖𝙦𝙪𝙖 ➪ 𝗆𝖺𝗋𝖺𝗎𝖽𝖾𝗋𝗌

𝐶𝐻𝐴𝑃𝑇𝐸𝑅 𝑂𝑁𝐸

➪ MINT GREEN ➪

"KILL ME NOW."

"As much as I would like to do that, Loki, I can't." Loki turned her head from her work and glared at the boy. "What? You said it."

"Yes, but that doesn't mean you have to comment," she replied before swiftly turning back to her assignment. She sighed, ready to pour her ink all over the parchment. "Nicolas, can you help me?"

The boy that lounged on the couch laughed. "What are you doing?" He inquired, looking over to her.

"Potions," she huffed. "Slughorn assigned it a few days ago, but I was sick. Now it's due tomorrow and I'm not even halfway through."

Loki grabbed a fistful of her short raven locks and groaned. Nicolas sucked in a sharp breath. He stood up from the couch and strode over to his fellow Hufflepuff. Peering over her shoulder, he read through the paragraphs she'd written so far. After a moment he clicked his tongue, a habit he'd taken up since he'd started at Hogwarts.

"You could talk about the different properties of it," he shrugged, his eyes scanning the text again. "Yeah. You haven't done that yet."

"Oh, shit," Loki's eyes widened. "Thanks. I completely forgot."

The girl dipped her quill in her ink and began furiously scribbling away again. The sixth-year male chuckled, sauntering back to the couch. He laid back down, shutting his eyes. For a few minutes, he just laid in silence, listening to Loki's quill scratching against the parchment.

The girl sighed. Her hand ached from all the writing she had done in the past hour. Dinner was going to be soon, and then she wouldn't be allowed outside. With throbbing in her left hand, Loki placed down the quill and corked her ink bottle.

"I'm going to go outside for a bit," she told Nicolas. He hummed in acknowledgement.

The girl gathered her things up and headed to the dormitories. She could barely open the door with her hands full. Loki quickly placed her things on her bed before turning to her drawers. She snatched the leather-bound book and quickly exited the dormitory, and then the Common Room.

Loki wandered out of the lower floor, her pace quick. She rushed up the stairs, excusing herself when she needed to pass some fellow Hufflepuffs. She was glad when she finally reached the courtyard.

She smiled at students as she made her way to her usual spot near the corner where she could see most of the rest of the grounds. Loki quickly pulled out the book, untying the rope that held it shut and opening it. She flicked through the pages until she landed on an empty piece. Loki had had the inspiration in her head all day. She desperately needed to get it out.

She pulled out the pencil she always had on her and pressed it to the paper. Without thinking, her hand became to sketch. She smiled at the sound of the pencil making short, quick strokes on the paper. The familiar smell of it calmed her down.

Every so often, when she'd draw a little more and liked how it turned out, Loki would check the watch that resided on her wrist. She finished off another few branches, nodding at them, and flicked her wrist over.

7:10 pm.

Loki frowned. She gently closed her book, hurriedly tying the rope, and stood from the seat. Loki finally realised that the sky was much darker, and everyone had disappeared from the courtyard. She sighed. Clutching the book tightly, the girl quickly ran in.

The loud sound of her footsteps didn't matter to her. She was ten minutes late to dinner. She was annoyed by the fact. When Loki was only a corridor away from the Great Hall, she slowed her steps to a normal walking pace.

As soon as she turned the corner, the smell of food punched her nose. It made her mouth water. The voluminous sound of chatter also immediately caught her ears. She stepped closer, silently thanking Merlin when she wasn't the only late one.

Loki slipped into the Great Hall. Her feet carried her to the Hufflepuff table, where she quickly scanned it. Her eyes caught on a familiar face near the other end, Nicolas laughing at something. The girl swiftly made her way down, apologising and excusing herself until she reached the boy.

"Hi," she murmured, smiling as she took her place beside him. He glanced at her from the corner of his eye before turning back to his chicken. "Sorry. I lost track of time."

"All good," Nicolas grinned. He lifted his arm and patted her shoulder.

"Can you pass me the potatoes?" Loki asked. She wanted to put her slight tardiness behind her. Nicolas nodded, grabbing the small dish.

Unbeknownst to Loki, at the same very moment she scooped out the butter-covered potatoes, two Gryffindors, also Sixth-Years, were out in the courtyard. One of them was lighting his cigarette as the other sat on a certain seat near the corner of the courtyard. The boy smoking the cigarette turned away from his friend and took a drag. The boy sitting carefully watched the corridor beside the yard.

He sighed, laying back on the seat. His head touched down, but instead of silence, there was a slight crinkle. The two boys, both hearing the surprisingly loud noise, furrowed their eyebrows. The boy laying down sat up and his cigarette-smoking friend walked over to him.

"Oi, Remus, what was that?" The smoking male asked. His friend shrugged and turned around, his eyes locking on the piece of paper he'd rested his head on.

"It's... Art?" The boy called Remus frowned. His hand gently grasped it and lifted it up, trying to make out the picture in the darkening light.

The sound of footsteps echoing nearby made the two jump. Remus and his smoking friend quickly gathered their things. Remus shoved the paper into his robes as he and his friend ran inside. They'd have to wait until later.