Walt couldn't say he had a good reason to be awake.  His patrol round had ended some time ago.  He wasn't worried over the Quidditch game.  He'd finished King's Solomon's Mines.   He'd done his homework, and he'd spent a respectable amount of time frowning over his CVs and applications before drawing out ley lines on his map.  Neither Brigitte nor Eph seemed in immediate crisis. Blain hadn't written with any more big! news. It would have been a good night for sleeping.  Unfortunatly, sleep alluded him anyway.  It wasn't the old night mare that dogged him.  He seemed to have fallen into a pattern of insomnia, the consistent feeling that he'd left some quandary unresolved, that something was happening and he was missing it.

When he'd finally decided to get up he'd left his wand on the table like usual, pausing without much thought over Eph's bed before shaking his head and reaching back for the wand.  Carefully, carefully, he crept down out of the tower.

Maybe it was self absorbed, but he really hadn't expected anyone to be in the kitchen.  Then again he didn't exactly scour the place when he was patrolling either.  There was often a student or two around.  He definitely hadn't expected it to be Pippa, who seemed to be ready to continue her pattern of not seeing him at his best...unless one really liked navy blue pajamas.

“Ten points from Ravenclaw for breaking curfew, Wallie,”


He looked startled for the briefest of moments, as if she might actually be the one taking the points around here.  Then his face relaxed into a grin and he sat down across from her.  If her hair was sticking up he didn't really notice.  Even with the blanket he could see her bare shoulders, and that reminded him of a certain day at the lake.

"Care for some hot chocolate?"

They'd talked about getting hot chocolate in the kichens together, months ago.  No time like the present.  "Good Prefects probably shouldn't drink hot chocolate.  Drains the super powers.  So Yes, thanks."

A second dainty cup had appeared almost before he finished talking, the house elf providing it slipping away before Walt could blink.  "Homework?"