gryffindor: heavy breathing; taking long sips of whiskey, neat. fingers pinching the bridge of your nose, eyes squeezed until grayscale zigzags appear behind your eyelids. fidgeting with the closest object, braiding and unbraiding hair/string/shoelaces/anything you can get your hands on. smiling through pressure; a false bravado of "of course - nothing's wrong!" and sagging shoulders when watchful eyes look away. angry outbursts at those trying to help; a snap in reply, a hard sigh, and a muttered sorry through pursed lips.

ravenclaw: long walks to the library; putting down the textbook to pick up a fantasy and losing yourself in the success of someone else. willfully falling down a wikipedia rabbit hole; a preoccupation with learning something that doesn't mean anything right now. talking in your sleep; dreams providing clarity you need and only sometimes remember. making a list of pros and cons, rambling through decisions until you arrive at the one that makes the most sense (or does it?)

hufflepuff: the comfiest sweaters, with sleeves too long balled up in too-tight fists. cup after cup of cocoa; a sugar rush to keep a smile on your face. at the breaking point, a wicked smile and a need to party - or dance, or drink, or cry, or scream, or fuck - and a sheepishness the morning after. avoidance, and you're damn good at it, a master of white lies and excuses from thin air. calling your best friend to rant and talking through tears; "am i laughing or crying?"

slytherin: running in the rain, meant to make your stomach hurt; pain feeling better than despair, and throwing yourself into work you don't need to do just to feel productive in the face of failure. shutting down the frantic beating of your heart; slamming a padlock shut on the nerves, the tears, the sadness, the worry. telling a wound to stop bleeding and expecting it to listen. showering only as often as you need to to wash the grease from your hair, forgetting to eat and surviving (thriving?) on a liter of coffee a day, but dressing like the media follow you wherever you go.