Work Text:
The Ravenclaw prefect pinched the bridge of her nose.
“Fifth-year, I should be lecturing you on being out past curfew, but I have multiple questions and I don’t know which one to ask first.”
The new fifth year hadn’t even been here for a month and already he managed to break curfew multiple times. Now, he stood right in front of her after two days of being missing from the common room. Not only that, but his disheveled appearance and the fact that he was dripping enough water to form a puddle on the carpet had been cause for concern.
“Sorry, I’m late. Dugbogs.”
“You were out until midnight because of- because of dugbogs?”
“...Yes?”
“Why did you say that like a question,” she sighed heavily. She obviously didn’t believe him. “Listen, I understand that adjusting is difficult, however the rules are there for a reason and you must follow them like everyone else. I doubt you’re even getting enough sleep.”
He smiled sheepishly. “Don’t worry. I promise I am.”
The prefect wanted to ask more, but she was tired and didn’t want this conversation to go on for longer than what was needed. “Just don’t let it happen again. I’d hate to take points away from my own house.”
- - -
Leander had been practicing endlessly since his last defeat against Samantha Dale. Sure, Dorian had a good show against Sebastian in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Leander would give him that, but his charmwork was less impressive. It wasn’t a bad display of skills, it was still clear that he was a beginner though.
As Leander approached the game board for Summoner’s Court he noticed a figure laying on the ground. Getting closer, he soon realized that it was his future opponent who was laying on the grass. Should he wake him up? Did he intentionally fall asleep out here?
Before Leander could come to a conclusion, eyes slowly fluttered open and Dorian slowly sat up. He noticed Leander standing next to him. “Oh, good morning. It is morning, isn’t it?”
“Good morning to you. How long have you been out here?”
“Since this morning.”
“So, not too long?”
“No,” Dorian corrected him, “like ‘stars are still out’ morning.”
Leander was taken aback. “Did you faint on your way to the quidditch pitch? Usually, students aren’t even out this early.”
“It’s nice to sleep under the stars.”
“You slept outside,” Leander questioned. “On purpose?”
Dorian smiled. “Well, I certainly didn’t mistake the grass for my mattress,” he joked. “What are you doing out here this early?”
Leander abandoned all thoughts of sleep and spoke up. “Challenging you to a game of Summoner’s Court.”
- - -
Professor Fig could not believe how the school year had turned out so far. He never expected that the magic, the incredibly rare magic that Miriam had been researching for years, could be wielded by his protege. Despite the dangers that came with it, Dorian was willing to face these trials head on and further explore the mysteries surrounding it. Just like right now as he was expecting to meet Dorian at San Bakaar’s Tower for the first trial, however the student was nowhere to be seen. He thought he would’ve been here already.
As Professor Fig paced in lost thought, he tripped over, seemingly air, and nearly fell.
“Godric’s heart,” he slipped out. Peering closer at where he thought he tripped, he spotted exactly who he was looking for. Dorian had cast disillusionment on himself and was currently napping under the tree… At least he hoped he was napping. “Wake up,” he whispered, gently shaking him awake. It seemed to startle the boy out of disillusionment.
“Professor, what time is it?”
Professor Fig sighed in relief. “Time for you to explain to me why you’re sleeping with Ranrok’s Loyalists so close by.”
“I’m sorry, Professor. I was under the disillusionment charm, so I thought it would be fine.”
“It was fine this time, but in the future please remember that you are in more danger than the average person. Disillusionment is not full proof, who knows what would have happened if they caught on.”
Guilt flashed across Dorian’s face. “I really am sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you.”
Professor Fig gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “It’s alright. The most important thing is that nothing happened. You’re safe.” He smiled. “You know, your disillusionment charm isn’t half bad. Why don’t I show you how to put it to good use with Petrificus Totalus?”
- - -
Andrew Larson didn’t know what to think of the new fifth year when he was told that they would be staying in his dorm room. He had to admit that he was going to miss the extra dorm space, or he would if Dorian was ever actually there. Since the beginning of the year, Andrew had hardly seen him in their shared room. This means that either he was going to bed and waking up while Andrew was asleep, or he was just never there!
He even caught his roommate trying to sneak out of the window with a broom one time. Honestly, Dorian was nice and he liked that he kept his space clean, but he was starting to get really worried about losing housepoints. The only reason he hasn’t said anything yet is because Dorian’s points from class participation seemed to balance out the few times he got caught.
“So, do you think he would care?”
“Sorry, what was that? I spaced out for a bit.”
Mahendra rolled his eyes. “Do you think Dorian would care if I slept in his bed? I injured my ankle in flight class today. I’m too tired to go to the hospital wing right now and I don’t want to put pressure on it by climbing up to the top bunk tonight.”
“I don’t think he’d mind, it's not like he ever uses it.”
To both their surprise, after opening the door and turning on the lights, an unexpected figure sat up in bed.
“Hello?”
“Dorian,” Andrew said, “What are you doing here?”
“I sleep here?”
“I think that what Andrew means,” Mahendra corrected, “is that we weren’t expecting to see you here.”
“In my bed?”
“Well, it’s just that we rarely see you, so seeing you now is a surprise. Mahendra, when’s the last time you saw Dorian in bed?”
“I’d say about a week ago.”
“I remember the same thing.”
“I’ve just been so busy with catching up on assignments that I rarely have the time to properly rest.”
“Please!” Mahendra scolded, “Like I would believe that. The professors wouldn’t have given you any assignments that require you being out past curfew. Do you know what students have been saying about you? You are going to give me an aneurysm with all the rules you’ve broken!”
For a split second, Andrew saw fear in Dorian's eyes, like he just got caught doing something he wasn’t supposed to. “What are people saying about me?”
Andrew made sure the doors were shut. “There have been rumors that you’re going out to fight Ranrok’s loyalists and Rookwood’s men. Is that true?”
He pursed his lips. “There are some astronomy tables that are a bit far from Hogwarts and last time I visited one I didn’t make it back before curfew. On the way, I had a few chance encounters where I had to defend myself.”
“But a few nights a week?”
“I don’t believe you either.”
“Am I always going out to see astronomy tables? No, but I don’t really want to explain myself.”
Andrew looked towards Mahendra. “Well, there’s nothing we can say. We can’t force him to tell us.”
“If you sneak out again, I’m going to tell Professor Hecate.”
This was enough to make the sleepy student stand up from his bed.
“Please, don’t! Professor Weasley is already keeping a close eye on me as it is. I can’t imagine two of them! Listen, I’ve been very overwhelmed recently. I just found out this year that I have magic and I have so many assignments that it’s difficult for me to find time for myself. I really want to explore the surrounding wildlife, especially the lakes.” Andrew had heard about how much the new fifth year loved swimming. Any body of water and he’d jump right in. “I love Hogwarts and all my friends here, but sometimes I need a break. You know what that’s like, right?” He looked at the both of them with pleading eyes.
Andrew couldn’t help, but feel sympathetic towards his plight. “You can’t tell the professor now. Look at his sad face. We’d have to see that sad face every day.”
“Please, Mahendra?” His expression looked like a kicked dog.
“Fine! But you better get some actual sleep tonight. And if you’re going to go out past curfew anyway, don’t get caught.”
“I promise I’ll be more careful.”
“Good. And make sure you join us by the greenhouse tomorrow.”
“Hm?”
“You like wildlife, don’t you? Professor Garlik just grew some plants I think you’d find interesting.”
Dorian rushed and hugged them both, one arm around each. “Thank you!”
Andrew was surprised by the sudden display of affection. “Don’t even worry about it. Sounds like you’ve got plenty to worry about already.”
- - -
Natty hadn’t seen Dorian in a while and she was starting to get worried. After they had defeated Harlow together, most of Rookwood’s operations began to fall apart, however she knew there were still some remaining poachers who would jump at the opportunity for vengeance.
She spotted the most well known student in Hufflepuff from across the Great Hall and approached her in hopes of answers. “Poppy, you haven’t seen Dorian around have you?”
“I think I saw him leave towards Hogsmeade last night. With everything that’s happened this year, I’m sure he’s fine.”
“I know Dorian can handle himself. I just can’t shake the feeling that something is wrong.”
“Is there something wrong with Dorian?”
Poppy waved towards the Slytherin. “Hi, Sebastian. Natty’s got a bad feeling.”
“I’m sure it’s nothing. I’ve seen Dorian get through things I would have never even imagined.” At that moment, Dorian stumbled through the doors. “Speak of the devil.”
“Does he look tired to anyone else?”
He immediately sat down at their table and laid his head in his arms.
“My friend, you do not seem to be doing well.”
“I think last night was one of the most stressful nights of my life.”
Sebastian couldn’t help, but show his curiosity. “Do tell.”
The stressed student ran his palms down his face and gave a deep sigh. “I bought a shop from Cassandra Mason in Hogsmeade. I wasn’t sure about it at first, but I was easily swayed. She needs someone to take the shop off her hands because she can’t see herself running the shop after her husband passed away. She’s selling it at a cheap price. I figured why not? “
“You own a shop in Hogsmeade?”
“Yes, not the point. She asked me to retrieve some things from a chest that belonged to her husband. Seems easy enough, right? Wrong because everything is not as it seems! There was a ladder in the chest. I thought it was a magical basement. The next thing you know the room changed into an entirely different room! At that point, I am stuck in a haunted dungeon with a poltergeist who,” he stared down at his hands, clenching them so tightly it was a surprise they didn't bleed, “forced me to do puzzles the whole night. You know, how I feel about puzzles,” he spoke slowly.
All three friends winced. He may be great at solving them, but he had a notorious disdain for puzzles. They had all seen it first hand.
I knew that bad feeling had to be for something, Natty thought. “That sounds awful. I am glad you came out alright.”
“Thank you, but that's not even the end of it. There were moving mannequins that popped up out of nowhere. I had furniture thrown at me. The entire place turned upside down! I didn’t even know that could happen! And it gets worse.”
“How could it get any worse,” Poppy questioned.
“I won his games and then once I got out of there Penny, lovely house elf by the way, informs me that Mrs. Mason has done this before and everyone else got sent to St. Mungos. So, I go to Officer Singer. We went to Mrs. Mason’s home. Mrs. Mason attacks Officer Singer. Officer Singer tells me to stop her. I guess that’s just what I do now. Then Mrs. Mason, she- I’m pretty sure she tried to murder me,”
“She tried to murder you!?”
“I’m fairly certain. She was throwing boulders at my head. Seemed murderous to me. But I stopped her. She’s getting sent to Azkaban because you can’t attack an Officer and try to murder someone in front of witnesses. The only good thing that came out of this is that I still own the shop and Penny is now a free elf.”
Sebastian said, “That seems like a lot.”
“Does it, Sebastian? I’m sorry. That was rude of me. I’m so tired.”
“It’s fine. It’s too bad your shop is haunted.”
“Only twice a month after nine o’clock.” Everyone gave each other questioning looks. “Believe it or not, I gave you all the short version of the story.”
“Please tell me you aren’t planning on going to class after all that,” Natty said.
“Oh goodness, no. I’m going to bed. If any of the professors ask, tell them I’m not feeling well. Because I’m not. Good night,” he said, even though it was still breakfast.
He wandered off, nearly tripping over himself.
“I’m going to make sure he gets back to his common room alright,” Poppy said.
Sebastian nodded. “I just can’t believe he went to bed voluntarily. That really was one of the most stressful nights he’s had.”