ON HOLD before the storm - d.m. & c.d.

Chapter 15

Adelaide

Sleep began to loosen its gentle grip on me, and my eyelids fluttered open lazily. The girls' dormitory was flooded with intense white light, slightly burning my golden brown eyes and causing me to grimace. I grumbled and pulled the sheets over my head, blocking out the world around me for just a moment longer.

I suddenly became aware of how chilly it was in the dorm, frowning as I reached for the thicker covers that had fallen off of me and bunched up at the end of my bed. I then completely encased myself in the blankets once more and shoved my head underneath my pillow in an attempt to muffle the sound of Marietta's obnoxious snoring.

It was impossible.

I huffed and tossed the pillow onto the ground bitterly. A good night's sleep had been hard to come by this past week, and I had finally had a restful night until I was awoken by the combination of the cold, the snoring, and the white light shining against my eyelids. I decided there was no point in trying to fall back asleep and quietly slipped out of bed. The hardwood floors felt like a sheet of ice against the bottoms of my bare feet, and I wrapped my arms around myself to try to retain some body heat.

I shrouded myself in my dressing robe and slippers and nimbly tip toed my way down the stairs, into the common room, and out of the portrait door. I was headed for the Prefects' Bathroom - Roger Davies had noticed my lack of sleep and suggested that in the mornings I wake myself up with a nice warm bath, and that the Prefect's bathroom was the best place to do so. Because he was the Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain he was allowed access to the bathrooms and told me the password, which was tempestas, so that I could use them as well.

The hallways were quiet in the presence of the morning, who's company casted a dreamy haze over the sleeping castle. When I got to the Prefects' Bathroom, I checked the handle to see if it was unlocked before opening the door. I entered but heard a soft, unexpected humming and saw a figure standing at the sinks. I made eye contact with a pair of dashingly blue eyes in the mirror before frantically closing the door in surprise.

"Oh-" I gasped, "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean-"

"Adelaide?" A familiar, honey-smooth voice called. My mouth dried up.

"Yup, it's me," I responded, my voice cracking awkwardly which earned a chuckle from within the bathroom.

"You can come in, I was just leaving." I held my breath and opened the door again cautiously, peering around from behind it to see Cedric standing in front of the mirrors with only a towel around his waist. My breath hitched as heat flooded my face, and I kept my eyes on the ground after I clicked the door shut. He turned around to face me, leaning his hands on the counter behind him and saying nonchalantly, "Good morning," with his usual lopsided grin.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you were in here," I tucked my hair behind my ear, still looking at the floor.

"That's okay, I shouldn't have forgotten to lock the door," he brushed it off, and then reached for a second towel to dry his hair with. "How'd you find your way in here?"

"Davies told me the password." I was drawing circles on the floor with my foot, doing anything I could to keep myself from looking over at him.

"Ah, little snitch," he chuckled and casually strided toward me. He reached his arm out and I flinched away instinctively, causing him to grin again. "I just..." he trailed off, pointing to the clothes that were folded neatly on the counter behind me.

"Oh," I faltered awkwardly, passing the pile to Cedric and finally looking at him from beneath my long lashes. The sight of him resulted in a foreign pull in my low stomach, and I swallowed to dampen my dry throat once more. His hair was dripping into his face and small water droplets were scattered on his torso, almost like diamonds faceted into the skin of his bare chest. My eyes trailed along the perfect sculpture of his body and I suddenly got the urge to reach out and run my hand along his porcelain skin, until a blush returned to my face and I snapped my gaze away from him before I got too absorbed.