Starry Night, So Bright - open

[Maxwell Arnold Waller]

Starry Night, So Bright

The time was quickly approaching 10:30pm and the fall evenings had begun to overwhelm the brighter summer nights. The cool air blowing cautiously from the direction of the forbidden forest left Max in his classic Gryffindor sweater this evening. On top of his robes is where he took residence along the soft field of the Hogwarts lawns. His goal this eve was to catch a glimpse of the stars before he would need to report back to his dormitory. Of course there was a risk, but he had been at Hogwarts for less then a month and already missed the summer spent with his family. He remembered vividly the starry nights, so bright and passionately lit on the black canvas that was the sky. Him and his father pointing out different constellations and planets that they could see, staying up until the early morning just to make sure they got them all, that was what Maxwell wanted tonight.

He had been there for well over an hour already, un-bothered by the rumbling of students making their way back into the castle for the night. As he laid on the ground, sprawled out with his hands behind his head as a make-shift pillow, he said to himself the different stars he saw.

"Ursa Major...Orion's Belt....The Seven Sisters...Cassiopeia."

He sniffed, a reminder that the weather was not what it once was only a few days eariler, but he took no notice as the beauty of the stars served as a swell distraction. He sat up, reached into his bag and pulled out a medium sized jar. A quick glance around to make sure no one was watching, he pulled his wand out and pointed inside the jar.

"Incandensus", he whispered, as a small spout of fire shot into the jar. He quickly grabbed the lid and screwed it back on tightly, giving him a small amount of light as the sun finally disappeared behind the trees i the distance. He loved the heat cap jar his sister got him from Russia on her travels. She told him that Russian witches and wizards used them on their travels into the north to keep warm. Apparently they have a heat cap spell on them that keeps the jar warm, but never too hot to touch, genius if you asked him.

As time slowly trickled by, Max felt the his eyes grow heavy. He knew that he should probably have headed back into the castle by now, but he also knew that winter would soon be upon them and nights like this wouldn't be possible, and that didn't sit right with him either. He decided to stay only a small while longer before heading back into the castle.

It's not every day you get to see a sight like this.

[Cassandra Lynn Murphy]

Why was she leaving the castle when curfew was so close by? Probably her rebel side taking over, afterall she was in Slytherin so rebellion ran in her personality. Plus she loved the night and the lovely skys. The colors of the setting sun were so nice against the moutains around the castle. Back home she never got to see sunsets so lovely since she lived close to London and all nights she got the lights from the city filling her sky. But it had its advantages... she could go into the city whenever she wanted and on nights when she couldnt sleep then she would disppear into the city until morning and return home before her father woke up.

Like any student she was in her school robes with the green crest of Slytherin on her chest, she was in her robes since she did not feel like changing after dinner plus they were comfortable enough. The breeze went by and she smiled since it jsut felt like such a rush that chilled her after a long day. For the first time in a long time she smiled and it was not forced but this time it was real. In that moment she just felt happen to be at Hogwarts and happy to be outside at night with that cool breeze.

Right then she sat down and did not care for the few people around her. If they said something to her then whatever, if not then she was content. The breeze returned and ran through her hair that she pulled free from the ponytail. She sighed and ran her hands over the grass. It just felt like the perfect evening since she did not have to study so she could relax. Then she noticed a boy from Gryffindor that was staring up at the stars so she looked up at them as well.

[Maxwell Arnold Waller]

The air grew colder still and Max felt a shiver creep through his legs, up his spine and out his arms. He sat up from his comfortable position on his back and held the jar tightly to his chest, feeling the warmth seep into his body. He knew the weather was nothing like Russian winters at the moment, but Maxwell was a bit sensitive to temperatures and tonight was no excuse. He sniffed a second time, his body signalling to him that it was time to go inside, but he was not ready.

A noise a short distance away caught Max's attention. He had received the news of Taylor's Dementor attack only a few days earlier, and although he knew it was a total freak accident, he couldn't help but reach for his wand. Max didn't deal with fear well, and a panicked breath managed to escape his mouth. Not only had it grown colder on Maxwell's excursion, but darker as well and the inability to see the approaching figure was not comforting in the least.

As the noise grew closer he saw it was a young girl, obviously in Slytherin. A quick glance at his watch gave him the time; 10:44pm. They would both have to head back to the castle in about 15 minutes, and although he was a little suspicious of her intentions of being out so late, he knew that that could just be him calling kettle black.

He turned his back to the girl, not sure if a conversation was something he was looking for, nonetheless from a Slytherin girl, and put all his focus back into the sky. He sniffed a third time, which was quickly followed by a yawn. Nearly his bedtime, and all he wanted to do was stare at the stars.

[ooc: haha, obviously max isn't 100% too found of slytherins. feel free to go anywhere with this, just know he doesn't trust you!]

[Cassandra Lynn Murphy]

(OOC: yay this is going to be fun!)

Obviously there was an issue between the two houses but Cassandra did not believe in those issues. She did not fit into Slytherin all that well, after all she was a half blood. No one knew that yet and when asked about her mother, or asked about her family, she just changed the subject. Her home left was not the best, but she knew that he could be worse. In some ways she knew that she was lucky but some ways she felt bad about her home left.

Then she glanced from the stars back to the Gryffindor boy that was sitting close to her. She noticed him yawn but she glanced at the time. "Its too early for you to be tired" She commented to him. It was probably the fact that the night was nice that she decided to talk to him. Or maybe it was her new friend who was rubbing off on her. Astrid was very open and teaching Cassandra to be open and girly. She just felt great for once and wanted to talk to her classmates for once, so even though she did not know the Gryffindor she felt like talking to him.

"besides... the better stars dont come out until later." She added and then looked back up at the sky. It was dark and lovely with the stars like precious gems. This optimism was great for once and she was feeling a bit evil. For once she just felt like a true blooded slytherin. The sorting hat did know best after all, so there was no reason for her to ever doubt it. She pulled her robes around her tighter since the temperature was dropping for the night.

[Maxwell Arnold Waller]

The sun was now almost completely gone. It amazed Max that throughout the day it is impossible to see which way the sun was moving, but at night during that last home stretch it seems like the sun is moving faster than almost anything. As he pondered to himself just how fast the sun must be moving at that moment, he heard a response from none other than the Slytherin girl behind him. He had taken notice of her, but now he had to actually acknowledge the fact that she was very much in his bubble.

"When you're up at 6:00 am for Herbology, than 11:00 at night does make you feel a bit tired", he replied, not sure of what else to say. A small thought crossed his mind, that maybe he had come off a bit aloof or rude. Although that wasn't his intention at all, he decided he wouldn't mind the outcome if that was how she had decided to take it. Maxwell couldn't even remember the last time he spoke to a Slytherin. It wasn't that he avoided them, but being at Hogwarts for so many years makes you develop friendships that you generally don't drift from, and many of his friends happened to be in Gryffindor.

The Slytherin girl commented on the stars, and how waiting longer is worth it. He couldn't deny it, but was still bit uneased by her presence. "It's true, you don't really get the full picture until about 1:30." He found himself now in a conversation that he was unsure about, a very rare occurrence for Max. The usual socialite at Hogwarts found himself really uncomfortable, and while talking to her from his comfortable position on his back again, he was hoping that she might realize the time and head back inside. Being uncomfortable was not a good look for Maxwell, not a good look at all.

[Cassandra Lynn Murphy]

She laughed when he mentioned the 6 am herbology and she nodded. "True that is a bit early." She replied and ran her hand over the grass. She pushed the blades in one direction and then in the opposite. Herbology was not her favorite class and she figured that she would not take it since she would have option of choosing classes soon. Of course most of her time would be filled with potions since that was her favorite class.

"yeah but at 1:30 its just so pretty. I would say it's worth it... I used to live close to the city and my first year here someone brought me out at that time and it was breath taking." She said. It was easy to open up to a complete stranger since there was minimal chances that she would see him again since the castle was large enough. Plus how often would she be out with a Gryffindor. She had been looking up at the stars when they were talking about how pretty it was. Astronomy class did kind of bore her since it destroyed the beauty of the stars as they were.

She looked over at him after a minute and saw that he looked uncomfortable and like he did not want to talk to her. "If I am annoying you then I can leave?" She asked. "I know I did sort of start talking to you randomly." She added and got up. Once she was standing she adjusted her skirt and brushed the grass off of the robes. Although she knew that she should just go in, she really wanted to watch the stars more so if he asked her to leave then she'd just go across the field and find herself another spot.

[Maxwell Arnold Waller]

Maxwell casually listened to the girl's responses. He took small mental notes for future reference, obviously she enjoyed the stars like him and she lived by a city, and though he couldn't say which one for sure, he just assumed London. Most rich pure-blooded wizards came from London, where a majority of the jobs and the Ministry were also located.

The idea of this complete stranger was not so unsettling as was the fact that she happened to be in Slytherin. Maxwell remembered all too well the brutality of that house towards him in his First and Second Year. After a dueling club match gone completely wrong with a Slytherin for personal reasons, he decided to quit the club and generally avoided the green and silver students whenever possible.

However, he was human, and when she arose to her feet in an effort to leave in an obvious response to his rude behavior, he sighed and patted the ground next to him. "No, please. Take a seat."

They had exchanged words for a minute or so now and he figured that if they were going to be out so late, she might as well stick around. Besides, that Dementor rumor made him feel uneasy and the idea of her being outdoors be herself made him feel a bit disturbed. How could he live with himself if something happened to her?

"My name's Maxwell", he greeted, putting his hand out in hopes of a friendly exchange. "Sixth Year Gryffindor and Chaser". He didn't want to be rude, but wanted to be sure that she knew where he came from. He was open to being friendly but their house competition could not be ignored. From what he could make out of her face, she didn't look any older then him, but probably younger, and he didn't remember seeing her on the Quidditch pitch last year as a player. He awaited her introduction, hopefully gaining a bit more insight in this persistent Slytherin girl's agenda this evening.

[Cassandra Lynn Murphy]

She wasnt pureblood and she wasnt rich but she was from the london area only because her father owned a wizard shop in the diagon ally area. It brought in enough money for them to get by but it was just her father and her. It upset her that she had not seen her mom since she was 11, but she kept those feeling deep inside. As they sat there her smiled disappeared since she was thinking about her mom.

Honestly she tried to avoid the whole house issues whenever possible. Obviously you cant escape it when for the whole house points or for Quidditch but that was just friendly in her opinion. It motivated her to work and gain house points for Slytherin. When he asked her to sit back down she nodded and sat with him. "Thanks."

She smiled again and looked up at the stars since there was nothing else to look at by the forest or the castle, although the castle was so pretty. It was such a shame that there was so much history of evil in that castle. The history was just so tragic and she heard that there was more tragedy with the Dementors coming around. Hopefully it was taken care of soon.

"Nice to meet you Maxwell." She said and shook his hand to be friendly. "Cassandra, fifth year and in Slytherin but I dont play Quidditch." She replied since they were introducing themselves. Living in the city prevented her from getting the necesary skills for flying and for playing. So if she tried then she would have failed miserably and fallen off the broom. But she had been to the games since there was nothing else to do on the weekends since who could afford to go to town and spend money every weekend. But Quidditch was a good way to spend the weekend.

Now as far as an agenda she did not have one. It was really just her attempt to make friends with someone or at least ahve a conversation, if more came out of it then she would be open to that.

[Dementor]

A slight chill fills the air as the dementor flies not too far from the two of you. It doesn't see you but knows that you're around somewhere. Be careful or it might spot you.

[Maxwell Arnold Waller]

The girl thanked Max for letting her accompany him. He shrugged it off politely. What was the absolute worst that could happen with her around? It's not like the Slytherin house was toxic or something, and with that Maxwell cast away any disturbances he may have felt by her. A clean slate.

She introduced herself as Cassandra and a Fifth Year Slytherin. "You have a lovely name", he told her, speaking truthfully. It was one of his favorite names. He smiled at her and began to feel a bit more genuine about their interaction. It wasn't going badly at all. "It's a shame you don't play!" He added quickly, "Quidditch is so amazing. I don't even feel human when I play."

Quidditch was a large part of Maxwell's life. In fact, he hoped one day to either by a professional Quidditch player, or some Ministry official. Being a Chaser meant a lot to him and he felt that it was a huge part of his identity. A life without Quidditch was unimaginable and he couldn't see how others did it.

Maxwell felt the conversation about Quidditch ending quickly, especially since she didn't play, and began to move onto another subject.

"So what classes are you tak-"

He stopped speaking quickly as a chill rolled through his body, but this one was different. He felt his eyes grow large as he raised his finger to his lips, hinting to Cassandra to keep silent. He reached for his wand and looked behind him, trying to see what was off in the distance, but it was growing increasingly difficult. The air grew cold quite sharply and he couldn't see through the fog of his breath. He turned to Cassandra once more and whispered, "Keep quiet." He didn't know what was going on but he had a very bad suspicion.

"It's a Dementor!" He said in a hushed tone to his new acquaintance. Of course it was, he could see it clearly now. It was flying by, apparently aware of their presence, but not 100% sure where. Maxwell panicked slightly, and struggled with what to do next. Call for help? Wait it out? Attack it? He was only a Sixth Year and had never even attempted a Patronus, and there was no way in Merlin that Cassandra could either. Why hadn't the school warned them of what to do? Why did he decide to stay out so late. Only a handful of minutes out past curfew and the Dementor strikes, just his luck. He decided that waiting quietly was their best bet...hopefully.

He turned back to Cassandra. "Listen, we need to keep calm. Lay flat on the ground and don't run unless it spots us."

Max took position on the ground, but not before quickly opening his heat-cap jar and extinguishing the flame inside. The air grew colder, and the night darker as he lay on the ground in fear of what could happen next.

[Cassandra Lynn Murphy]

She was actually surprised that he complimented her name. Of course he was a Gryffindor and they were nice people. "Thank you." She said and assumed that he was not expecting a thanks in reply. But she did love her name since it had belonged her to grandmother on her fathers side. Her father always compaired her to that women, her grandmother and her were alike in many ways the main one being from the Slytherin House. But her grandmother was a pureblood and Cassandra did not meet her until her mother left and her grandmother was like 'finally you are magically so we accept you now'. That hurt but she loved her grandmother now that she understood her.

"i do enjoy watching it but I just cant get work a broom very well." She explained. As a first year she tried so hard to fly and could get off the ground, kind of hover a bit, and fly around a bit, but nothing very exciting. "i was at the last game between Gryffindor and Slytherin." She added since it had been a good game. She remembered that they weather was perfect and the game was a good legnth before a winner was declared. Then she remembered going out afterwards like most kids did, even if their house did not win they still went out.

Then she felt the chill and thought it was just a cooler breeze until the temperature dropped significantly. At that instant she remembered about the Dementors. Of course she did not panic but jsut watched him and quietly got her wand out just in case. She took a deep breath and moved onto the ground with him. She got close to him and whispered. "Can you do a patronus?" She asked since she was not sure if a sixth year could. Her dad explained it to her once and if they needed she could try and hope that she did not fail but there was no telling what would happen. Cassandra was keeping her panic to a minimum and trying to not show it.

[Dementor]

The dementor pauses for a moment and starts searching the location. It still doesn't see the two but knows something is around here. It slowly floats closer and closer to the two students...

[Maxwell Arnold Waller]

Maxwell was starting to shiver violently, and fear began infecting him almost quicker than the cool temperature that was continuing to fill the air. Cassandra asked him if he could produce a Patronus, something that even some of the most talented wizards in the world had difficulty doing. He was frustrated, but tried to speak calmly with her.

"Listen", he said, now whispering almost inaudibly in fear of the slowly approaching Dementor. "A Patronus isn't easy to perform, and I doubt either one of us could create one strong enough to get rid of this thing."

He felt the wheels in his brain turning quickly. He knew that if the Dementor continued to move towards them that they would be spotted without a doubt, and being so far away from the castle made him worrisome. If they ran, then they could at least yell while approaching the castle and maybe somehow someone would hear them. Max looked towards Cassandra with a fearful look in his eyes, then back up to the floating demon. What to do?

"Cassandra", Maxwell started, piecing his words together slowly and quietly. "I think...I think we should run towards the castle." He waited for her reaction to sink in, still staring at the Dementor ahead. "It'll find us soon enough and we can yell for help on our way. It's not too late past curfew so Professors or maybe even students are bound to be around."

He knew it was a long shot, but if he had to choose between running for his life and having his soul eaten or laying in the field and having his soul eaten, he thought there best option was probably A. He needed to know what Cassandra thought, and hoped she would be snappy. Maxwell was still shivering, almost at a seizuric level and he was now worried that that could give them away. The Dementor was getting so close that it would soon be able to hear them, or worse, see them.

[Cassandra Lynn Murphy]

She felt the chill and shivered. It was so cold and she could feel her core temperature dropping slowly. There was no way to describe it but it reminded her of being alone in a dungeon on a winter night. She dug her fingers into the grass as she tried to stay still since the shivering could make noise and lead them to the two of them.

"Who cares if we stop them... we jsut need to stall them so we can get to the castle." She whispered back when he lectured her about how only powerful wizards could use patronuses to get rid of the Dementors. All that mattered at this point was getting abck to the castle and they needed to try anything to make sure that they survived. She did not like being lectured by people, but she was tyring to remain calm since they needed to survive.

She listened to his idea and she agreed it was probably the best idea to make a run for it. For a moment she thought about it but when she felt her body getting colder she jsut nodded to show that she wanted to do it. "Alright. we should go now while its still far away." She suggested and waited for him.

She was ready to run for her life and get back to the castle. Now she knew they would be in trouble for being out past crefew. She hoped that detention would be easy and minimum, assuming that they survived. Yes she hoped they survived and she watched him nervously as she waited to see if they were going to run. She was trying to be calm and show no emotions but inside she was terrified and so cold. It was freezing and the shivering was awful. "now?"

[Dementor]

The Dementor looked around but lost interest quickly. It hovered higher and flew away leaving the two students unharmed...for now