alone at night

Today had certainly been...interesting, and exhausting, though Sydney couldn't find it in herself to go to the dormitories, she remained in the common room. She was glad that it seemed mostly empty and quiet. She sat on one of the leather sofas that faced the fireplace, using the dim light to read through some of the books she'd brought with her for her lessons. She figured she could use the time to study for her classes.

Leonardo walked down the stairs leading to the boys dormitory. He had trouble sleeping before, but it was something tonight that beats all the other nights with miles.

Walking down, he noticed Sydney sitting near the fireplace all by herself. Felling sorry for her, Leo sat down next to her. "Is something wrong Sydney?" he asked.

Sydney looked up from her book to see the kind face of Leo. "Oh, hey Leo," she said softly, "Im fine. just really lonely lately.... you know?" She shook her head and giggled softly.

Aylee was sitting at the foot couch, at the floor, like she usually did at night, reading. This year she had brought a few books from her home to not have much home-sickness. The light of the fireplace illuminated her page, allowing her to read. It wasn't until she heard movement she looked up. And there was Sydney, sitting in a couch, apparently reading as well.

She didn't feel like talking to Sydney. So Aylee just sighed to herself and looked back down to her book. Then, she heard another movement. Looking up, she saw Leo come and talk to Sydney. Wait for it... Aylee thought, waiting for the Ravenclaw to start flirting with Leo. Luckily, the two couldn't see her clearly since it was dark so Aylee continued reading. She stared at the page, not really caring about the words. Somehow, her ears were focused on Sydney's and Leo's conversation.

"Yeah... I can understand that..." Leo had a lot of experience with being lonely...

"Im just not used to it. Ive never been alone with 3 brothers and my parents. Its so different here... I don't really like it." She turned and looked into the bright flames of the fire. "Its fascinating isn't it?"

"Yes, it is." Leonardo couldn't seem to snap out of the hypnotic feel the fire gave him.

Aylee was still listening. She could hear their soft voices clearly. Lowering her head so her hair covered the view from the other two, she tried to focus on the book's words. But she couldn't concentrate. She had to keep reading the paragraph twice or thrice to understand the words. But she was still listening to the two Ravenclaws talk.

She closed her eyes for a moment, still listening. It's my fault, Aylee thought. She herself was causing Sydney's loneliness and quietness. It was her fault. Because she had to snap at her the other day. Because she had to feel pissed off. I couldn't just shut up! Aylee exclaimed inside her head. She bit her lip and felt a few tears forming in her eyes. I am such a bad friend... Not bothering to wipe away her tears, Aylee quietly closed her book with a small snap, put it beside her and hugged her knees to her chest. She let out a deep breath and tried to bring herself to go back to the dormitories. But the darkness still covered her. She could still listen.

Sydney looked away from the fire when she heard a small noise. She looked over to find the source and saw Aylee. “Aylee? Are you spying on us? Gods, why do you hate me all of a sudden?” She could feel the tears start to form and wiped them before they could fall. Aylee had been her best friend, then she turned on her for no reason. She got up and walked over to her. “Are you…. Crying?” She felt a pang of guilt in her heart and felt bad for yelling at her.

Sydney looked up at the sound of James’ voice. She wiped away a few tears and tried to smile. “Hey, James. I just couldn’t sleep. Neither could Leo. I don’t know what Aylee is doing down here. Besides spying on us.” She said accusingly. She stomped back to her couch and sat down. She crossed her arms and realized she was being a brat. She uncrossed them and sighed. “I’m sorry. It’s been a tough year so far. I’ve lost all my friends…. And no one really likes me. I just…. I hate it here.” She said sadly

Leonardo snapped out when he heard Sydney talking to another girl sitting in the darkness. On top of that, another boy walked down the steps leading to the boys dorm. Leo had seen him before, but didn't know his name. As Sydney told all of us what had happened, Leo tried to cheer her up.

“Don’t bother, Leo. I’m a hopeless case.” She said as she hid her face in her knees. “I’m sorry Aylee for being a bad friend. Is that what you want to hear?” She said with a hint of rage in her voice.

Aylee looked up as she heard Sydney walk over to her. All this accusing was bringing more tears into her eyes and she still wasn't bothering to wipe them off. In the light of the fire, she could see Sydney was crying too. What have I done...? she thought. All she could see herself doing was make everyone else miserable. I am so selfish! Aylee remained silent as she heard James's voice at the stairs. Another person to make hate me...

When Sydney talked again, Aylee felt upset. Upset a thousand times over. The air was really hot and the room was too crowded. Her face was pale, as white as paper. She didn't feel well. She was embarrased. Embarrased for being such a bad friend. Embarrased for being a horrible person. Suddenly, she felt so upset, that she wished that she had never came to Hogwarts. Too late, Aylee thought.

Without knowing what she was doing, Aylee stood up and ran up the stairs towards the girls' dormitories. She wiped away her tears and ran into the room, wanting to crawl in bed and wish that she had never existed.

As Aylee ran past both him and the other Ravenclaw boy, Leonardo heard a question from the other boy, as he thought he had done anything wrong. "I'm just as confused as you..." was his final reply.

Sydney rolled her eyes and said, “Trust me. Its nothing you guys did. Its between me and Aylee. I don’t know what happened. We used to be best friends. I miss her.” She knew Aylee could probably hear them but she didn’t care. She just wanted her best friend back.

"Wait james! Dont go! Please?" She said desperately. She had already lost aulee, she didnt want to lose james too

Sydney crawled over to james and sat beside him. She lied down and put her hea in his lap. "So whats new?"

Sydney sighed and said, “I’ve been better, honestly. Just a lot of drama with Aylee and…. Lucy.” She said the Slytherins name with a hint of rage and jealousy. She was practically mortal enemies with the Malfoy girl, and everyone knew it. “But I’m glad to be back. I’ve missed this place so much. It’s like my home away from home.”

Sydney rolled her eyes and sat up. “James can I ask you something? And can you be honest with me?” She had to know how he felt…