The Order of Mischief I

2.5

The full moon had sunk beneath the horizon of the sky, as dawn proceeded to haunt the living. Another night of wolves howling at the glowing ball had come to a blissful end. And the sun graced the sky with its presence, gently prodding the living out from their slumber. But for many, slumber had not met them that night, instead, it taunted them as they lay awake, minds busy with thoughts. The bright light of the new day pushed through the windows, bringing the warmth of the sun with it. Bodies started to shuffle through the castle, slowly. Even those who managed to sleep felt too tired to wake up quickly.

Anya Zion was one of many who barely slept through the night. Although, on her part, it was a wilful decision. She chose to stay up. And now, she would have to pay the price for it. A full day of classes awaited her, consisting of noisy classrooms and hallways. She did not doubt that her brain would melt before the day could end, in hopes of fleeing from her.

But for now, she was tucked away in a cosy corned of the Hogwarts Library. She was seated at a table, her elbows holding her head up as they stood on the flat surface. Between her arms was the heavy book, its pages crispy with age, and the cover barely holding itself together. Apparently, the book she had picked out was ancient - or at least, she decided it was. Her observation was the reason why she refused to let the weight of her head crush the book, thus tethering it apart more.

"Didn't get much sleep either last night?" James Potter asked her, approaching her table and watching as her head perched upwards to look at him. Her eyes opened slowly as she gazed upon his familiar face. She stared at him with a plain expression, as if she did not recognise him. But James did not care to wait for her to wake up fully. He plopped himself onto the chair beside her and said, "I did not sleep well either last night. But why do you look like you barely slept?"

"Because I did not," Anya mumbled as she turned to look at James. The boy stared at her as she brought her head to his shoulder and rested it there.

James Potter, who was used to his best friends leaning on him and asking him for help, froze in the physical contact of a girl. He was more aware of his breathing and fought his nature to ensure he was breathing slowly and quietly; to Anya, it sounded like he had stopped breathing altogether. However, Anya did not care of whether he was breathing, so long as he did not move from his position, so she could sleep for a few seconds.

They remained stuck in that position for a long time before the heiress fell asleep in his arms. When her breathing had grown louder and heavier, James finally relaxed himself. He lifted her head up and readjusted her posture so that she was leaning her back against his chest, as opposed to resting her head on his bony shoulder. He played with her hair as she got a few minutes of sleep, ahead of their classes. Without meaning to, James hummed a song in her ears. The bewitching tune was familiar to the young boy - a lullaby that his mother would sing for him. James always believed that it was a melody that was soaked in magic, made to put any who heard it to sleep.

The repeated rhythm came to a slow and fading end when James had decided that Anya slept for long enough. As soon as the lullaby came to an end, the girl's eyes fluttered open slowly. She welcomed the warmth that radiated from the young boy and let her head rest on his shoulder for longer. While James believed that the girl forgot where she was, to justify her leaning on him, Anya remained silent and hoped he would not notice the comfort she found in his presence.

But the moment did not last for long, for James opened his mouth and called out her name in a breathy manner, "Anya."

She pulled herself up and away from him before she turned to face him and gazed upon his face expectantly. But no response came out from his mouth, instead, the boy just stared at her face as if she was the one who called upon him. Growing frustrated, ever so slowly, Anya gave in and asked, "What?"