A Midnight Walk [open]

[Nikole Talley]

Nikole was usually very strict on herself about following the school rules, but for some reason she couldn't sleep and had decided to take a walk. So she put her school robes on and headed out. If she were going to be out after all, she was most definately going to be dressed appropriately. After walking around aimlessly for a while, she realized that she didn't have the slightest idea of how to get back to the Ravenclaw common room.

She kept walking along silently listening to her own footsteps echo down the halls. If only she knew how to find her way back... Then she realized that this walk had in fact helped her and now she was tired and wished she were in her bed. As she let out a yawn, she heard something nearby. Freezing in her tracks she could hear the footsteps more clearly, someone was coming her way.

[Jac Shaw]

Jac had been to the kitchen again and was returning to the common room when she saw a Ravenclaw girl. Jac, always looking for a laugh, quickly changed her appearance so that she looked like Prof Vance. She stormed up to the Ravenclaw and boomed, 'what are you doing out of bed?' It was obviously in the professor's booming voice and not her own. 'Explain yourself,' she boomed once she was standing in front of the girl.

[Nikole Talley]

Nikole jumped when she heard the voice of Professor Vance. Of course the first time she was out after hours she was seen by a teacher, and Professor Vance was definately not the teacher she would have chosen to catch her out at night. "Good evening, Professor," Nikole said in a polite voice. She had already been caught, there was no reason to be rude.

"I was just taking a little walk," she said answering honestly. "So really I have no good reason to be out here." She was way too tired to come up with a lie, so she had just decided to be honest and accept whatever punishment was coming.

[Jac Shaw]

Jac was trying so hard not to laugh. "Well, that is unacceptable," Jac boomed. "Detention," she shook her fist in fury, "and seventy four thousand points from Ravenclaw ..." she trailed off and changed back to her 'normal' self and finished, "for falling for such an obvious trick." Jac doubled over and began laughing.

She had her hands on her knees and she was laughing so hard. She wiped a tear from her eye and stood up. "I'm sorry," she chortled and patted the girl on the shoulder, "it was just too good to pass up." She laughed again and smiled at the Ravenclaw. "I'm Jac, by the way," she smiled, "good to prank you."

[Nikole Talley]

Nikole's face turned a bright red as Prof. Vance turned into a girl. She stood with a look of shock on her face as she tried to gather her thoughts. As realization started to set in, Nikole started laughing. When she finally managed to stop she looked at the girl, as the girl was on the floor laughing. "I can't believe that you just did. That was terribly mean, but as long as I'm not in trouble, I can't really be mad," she said with a smile.

"I'm Nikole. It's nice to meet you, Jac...You're a metamorphmagus. How fascinating!" Nikole said finally fully aware of what was going on. She couldn't believe it. That was such a rare ability. She could feel her face starting to go back to it's usual color.

[Jac Shaw]

Jac was still laughing when Nikole spoke. "It might have been mean," she said, "but it was very funny." She stood up straight and hushed her laughing. "Good to meet you too, Nik," she said, streaking her hair with warm autumn colours. She liked the brighter colours, purples, reds, but streaking it was her current favourite.

It took less time for Nikole to get that Jac was a metamorphmagus then most people. True, her obvious display gave it away but even so, not many got it so quick. "Correct," she said, smiling and standing taller. "Thought it would take you longer, well done." She clapped the girl on the back and laughed. "What do you want me to change?" she asked.

[Nikole Talley]

Nikole watched as the girl streaked her hair. "That looks very nice," she said with a smile. Still very fascinated by the fact that this girl was a metamorphmagus. "Why would it take me longer?" she asked curiously. "It was rather obvious."

Nikole thought for a moment. "Hmm...." What did she want the girl to change. Finally she answered, "Nothing, I just want to see you unchanged. After all your impression of Vance was impressive enough," she said with a nod of her head. She thought that it would be better to see the girl for who she really was. After all, Nikole was already very impressed by the girl's impersonation of Professor Vance.

[Jac Shaw]

Jac was surprised at the girl. "Well," she said, scratching her head, "it usually takes people a while coz they think they're seeing things but yeah, I guess I was pretty obvious." She snorted a laugh and smiled. She wasn't used to people say it so fast but the fascination was always there.

"Nothing?" she asked, "are you sure?" Jac put a hand on her hip and looked the girl up and down. She wasn't used to that one either. It was usually some sort of animal she was asked to change into, squirrels seemed to be the most popular choice. "Very well," Jac said. She changed her hair so that it hung loose, short and dark around her face and her eyes turned dark too. She was a tall girl, lean but muscular and thin. She smiled and held out her arms, spinning on the spot slowly. “There you go,” she said.

[Nikole Talley]

"Hmm..." The girl standing in front of Nikole wasn't too much different from what she had been before. "Lovely," she said with a nod of her head. It was good to see what Jac really looked like.

She had noticed that the girl seemed surprised by what she said. "Do I surprise you?" she asked curiously. She thought for a moment trying to decide whether she did something that was strange or even remotely unusual, but she couldn't think of one.

[Jac Shaw]

"Why thank you," Jac said and took a bow, smiling. "It's not every day I hear that I'm lovely." Jac giggled and smiled at the girl. It wasn't every day that she ran into a Ravenclaw at this time of night either. But she wasn't complaining, it was cool to meet someone like Nikole.

Jac shook her head at her question. "No," she said, "it's just that I'm not used to being asked not to change how I look. It's ... refreshing." She grinned at the girl. "What you doing up at this time of the night? And out of your nest too?" Jac was very interested in these questions.

[Nikole Talley]

"I couldn't sleep for some reason," Nikole said with a sigh. "So, I became curious of how different the school would be at night with no one else...well, at least not many other people out and about the corridors." She looked around the empty corridor and then turned back to Jac.

"And I hadn't really considered the fact, that I don't often wander the corridors, and I seem to be a little lost." As Nikole said this she starting wondering what time it was. She knew it had been very late when she left her common room, but she couldn't even attempt to guess how long she had been out.

[Jac Shaw]

"Well, that's certainly not good," Jac said. "Sleep is always important." She couldn't think why anyone would ever struggle to sleep but then remembered Grace slept little for the first few months after she had come to stay with Jac. It wasn't the best time in her life, given, and Jac hoped nothing like that was going on in this girl's life.

"Lost?" Jac repeated, and laughed. "Clearly not an avid night stalker like some of us." Jac smiled at the girl and added. "You're on the fourth floor. Where do you want to be?" She was up for helping someone out and was in no rush to get back to her own common room. She too looked up and down the corridor for prefects, professors, or worse, ministry officers. She had met a few of the latter recently and knew it was not all that pleasant.

[Nikole Talley]

"Yes, sleep is very important," Nikole said thinking. "Umm...I suppose I should return to my dorm, although I'm not certain I'm ready to go to bed. It's so peaceful out here," she said with a smile. She did love for it to be quiet usually.

"I've never actually been out of my common room at night before," she said. "I'm usually too afraid of getting caught...but for some reason that didn't seem like a big deal tonight. I think I'm beginning to not care as much...about getting into trouble at least," she said thinking about all the other things she constantly worried about.

[Jac Shaw]

Jac looked around the quiet corridor as the Ravenclaw spoke. There was a sort of peacefulness that captured the castle at night. It was something she now realised she sort after. All her wonderings and gallivantings at night had been to find some peaceful retreat. Jac smiled as this realisation crossed her mind and it reassured her in some small manner that she was still trying to find that one peaceful harbour.

Jac turned back to Nikole and smiled. "Well," she began, her hair getting a little longer and a little browner, "we're on the east side of the castle right now and you want to get to the west side of the castle to get to the Ravenclaw tower. We'd best be off." Jac quickly thought about the best way to get there and walked passed the girl. "This way," she said happily.

[Nikole Talley]

"Okay," Nikole said in a very cheery voice. She quickly followed behind Jac. She listened as their footsteps hit the ground and echoed around them. She started randomly tapping her foot as she walked along to change the rhythm of the footsteps.

"Hmmm..." She stopped for a moment. After a second of hesitation, Nikole jumped into the air her feet hitting hard on the ground, and a louder echo filled the air around them than what had been there. "It is so easy to disrupt the silence," Nikole said to herself.