Chilling by the fire

Luke was sat in one of the big red armchairs next to the fireplace, working on some Potions homework. He didn't like homework, but it beat getting detentions. The teachers had come to know how much he loved Quidditch, and some of them had decided to purposefully give him detentions that clashed with practice, so he made an effort to at least have something to hand in, though the something may not always be that good.

He looked around the room, seeing if anyone else was doing anything exciting. It was too late to go out and practice and - well, he would have been perfectly happy playing outside, but multiple Prefects were in the room and he'd learnt over the years that detention wasn't worth it. He made up some nonsense to finish the Potions essay and decided to call it a day. He'd never do well in Potions, so didn't see the point in wasting any further time on it. He rolled up the parchment and put it to one side and relaxed back in his chair, wishing the morning would come sooner so that he could be out on the pitch again.

Cecilie had been trying to just relax in her dorm and doing some of her homework there. But soon she had enough and ended up joining with others in the common room. She wasn't really that close with anyone here right now. The girl took a deep breath and wondered what to do now here.

The girl ended up sitting one of the armchairs next to the fireplace, the girl was actually wearing her pajamas, as it was about time to go to sleep soon enough. She just waited people to calm down and leave the common room to their dorms. So it will be all quiet. "Oh, hey," she said to the boy who wasn't far from her. He was one of those who was crazy of qudditch. She herself didn't really play it. She could watch it.

She was afraid of heights. So flying wasn't for herself. So no quidditch for her either. So the girl always was even careful when it came to staiars and towers.

Luke noticed a slightly older girl in one of the other arm chairs say hi as he glanced around the room. Not wanting to be rude, he smiled back at her. Apparently he could come off as cold sometimes, though it was only because he was often daydreaming about Quidditch. He'd never intentionally do so.

"Hey, it's Cecilie, right?" he asked, recognising the girl as a sixth year. He knew most of the people in his house by now, well, except some of the first years. He was pretty good at remembering people's names and faces. Most knew him by now too, if only because they heard his name called out every Quidditch match - not that they really knew him, but they knew his face. He remembered her, he thought she was a bit like him in a way - despite both being on friendly terms with most in Gryffindor, they were still by themselves in the common room.

"You still up doing homework or just relaxing tonight?" he asked, not really the best at making conversation, but he would always try.

A loud yawn announced the arrival of Ducky Baker, clad in his pajamas and scratching his back as he stumbled into the common room. He passed Lily Potter who was absorbed in some advanced Potions book and gave her a lazy pat on her shoulder by way of greeting, before dropping into an armchair across from CeCe.

"Hey CeCe," he said, yawning again, before leaning back. He caught sight of Luke just behind him and he sat up. "Yooooo, Sutcliffe!" He stretched out an arm towards his fellow fifth year for a high five.

"What're we all up to tonight, then?"

Kole trudged into the common room, water cascading off his drenched clothes and creating a squishing sound with every step he took. Despite his soggy state, he offered a greeting to his housemates, raising a hand in acknowledgment.

As he shook his head, droplets of water sprayed in all directions, resembling a wet dog after a bath. "What's everyone up to?" Kole asked, his voice tinged with curiosity. He seemed oblivious to his appearance, as if the dampness did not bother him in the slightest.

Cecilie smiled and nodded her head. "Yes, it's Cecilie, but people tend to call me Cece," she said with a smile on her face. So she wasn't very used to being called Cecilie, even some professor had begun to call her that. Anyways it didn't matter to her. "Just relazing, had enough of it for today," she said with a smile. "It's all back at my dorm room, on my bed still," she said.

"Oh, hey Ducky," she said to the boy when he greeted her. These two were some of the most decent boys for sure. Also they came here to Kole, the boy who she knew a little bit but was younger than him. "Oh, hey Kole," over the years she had learned quite many of the people's names in her house but was she friends with them, not necessary. "Oh, nothing yet. Just relaxing," she did finally also reply to Duckyy's question.

"Ah sure, CeCe, I'll remember that." he said, annoyed at himself for not knowing that. "I've just finished the rest of mine by making it up, never going to get a good mark any way so not much point in it." Luke wasn't good at a lot of subjects, so had decided to embrace it and work with what he was good at - namely Quidditch, but also he was alright in Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures. Those were the only ones he was really focussing on getting a good OWL in now. Well, plus Muggle Studies, but he just took that as an easy option really - being muggleborn he could pass that easily.

"Yo Baker, what's up?" he fived his mate, "I was thinking of some more Quidditch strategies for Jack. Can't go outside now, so it's the next best thing." his one track mind slowly was swaying back towards the game "You been out practicing Kole?" noticing the boys appearance. Kole had joined the team this year and was a pretty good chaser. Of course that was what sprung to Luke's mind first, not stopping to think that there were things outside of Quidditch that people could possibly be outside for.

Kole chuckled in response to Luke's inquiry about his recent whereabouts. "No, not this time, Luke," he replied, settling onto a cozy spot on the floor near the crackling fire. "Actually, I accidentally took a dip in the lake," he admitted with a wry smile. Despite his damp clothing, Kole felt comforted by the warmth emanating from the fire.

"We're all here relaxing, and Kole's out there swimming laps," Ducky recapped with a laugh, throwing his head back. He'd snuck a smoke before coming downstairs and was feeling properly relaxed, shifting as he sunk deeper and deeper into the cushions.

"You boys and that Quidditch team," he said, shaking his head. "Couldn't be me, Dyllan seems to be working you hard. But it's paying off, your record is going strong!"

He turned his head to look at CeCe. "You a Quidditch fan, Cece?"

Cece smiled and listened the boys. When they began to talk about quidditch she just sighed. "oh I see. Good for you. I can't force you to study. Just do what you need," she said simply.

When was asked if she was fan of quidditch. "Well I can watch it but never ever play it. My own reasons," she said there with a small smile. Her first year flying with broom was already disaster. Heights are not her friends.