Antidote

Chapter 7 - Talkative

A peaceful slumber was, in fact, not what she got. 

Tea Kettle decided to continually shift positions at various hours of the evening, her tiny paws stabbing Jolie's ribs, stomach, and limbs with every shift. 

Deciding to forego any more attempts at a deep sleep, Jolie roused herself and stood from the bed. 

It was far too early to be awake. 

Darkness still bathed the dungeon dorm. It must be around five or six in the morning—no light yet filtered through the windows, making sure the Black Lake lived up to its name: Black. 

Jolie let her eyes adjust to the darkness. Slowly, the silhouettes of her roommates' four posters came into view.

She pulled her wand from beneath her pillow and murmured, "Lumos."

A dim light began to emit from the tip of her wand. Glancing around, she saw that each of her roommates still slept soundly, curled up amongst their dark silken sheets. 

As quietly as possible, Jolie went to the end of her bed and opened her trunk. 

She tugged out an old, threadbare wrinkled jumper and yanked it on over her vest. After pulling on a pair of thick, woollen socks, she trudged silently out of her dorm and into the deserted common room.

It was Wednesday, January 19th she noted as she looked over the notice board. 

She and her friends would soon need to work out the details of the Yule Ball as it was only a little over a week away. 

The ball fell on the same day of their first Hogsmeade Weekend of the new year—they would need to go to the Three Broomsticks and get Theo to charm Madam Rosmerta into supplying him with a bottle or two of firewhisky. Theodore also still needed to purchase a tie that would match Jolie's dress. She would remind him at breakfast. 

This evening would be Jolie and George's seventh study session for their antidote.

The sessions had actually, so far, gone off without a hitch. 

George had reluctantly accepted the list of goals she'd given him at their first meeting, but, as she had predicted (and relentlessly hoped) upon seeing her own list that she'd written for herself, he had gone right to work without question. Without talking at all, really. 

It was miraculous. 

On their fourth—or fifth?—meeting, he'd rolled his eyes as she passed him his Objectives List, but he took it and began his research all the same. They'd only shared maybe a total of six sentences with one another since the first meeting. 

Jolie couldn't possibly have dreamt of a better result.

"Good morning to you, then."

The husky voice caused her to jump, breaking her from her thoughts. 

She whirled around to find Draco standing in the archway of the entrance to the boy's dormitories, holding a thick book. 

He seemed a bit floored to see her, his brow arched. 

She understood why. Jolie was, by no means, a morning person. 

She preferred to sleep until the last second and often found it incredibly difficult to wake. She was a terribly heavy sleeper. 

Him being awake was no real shock, though. This was a frequent occurrence for him—maybe more of a daily ritual. He was always an early riser. Draco enjoyed the solitude of waking before everyone else.