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WHEN ALBANY FINALLY RETURNED to the dormitories that night, she was eager to collapse into her bed. She'd spent the remainder of the evening and dinner with the twins, and though her spirits were soaring once again, they were thoroughly exhausting people to spend so much time around. Their bubbly energy was unmatched by any, and after parting ways with them and coming down from such a high, Albany felt ready to sleep a whole day.

Faith had been chatting idly with Viola when she entered, a weary smile still on her face. The former had straightened stiffly on her bed upon noticing her friend's presence, and bid Viola a hasty goodnight as she pulled her sleek hair from its loose ponytail.

"You missed Charms earlier," she remarked as Albany approached, and something about her tone made Albany's mood drop with her stomach.

"I know," she replied nonetheless. "I was busy."

Faith raised an eyebrow. "It's not like you to skip class."

Albany shrugged. "Interviews," she said easily, which wasn't entirely a lie. "They can drag on forever."

She wasn't entirely sure why she was lying to Faith; it wasn't like her friend would snitch on her, or get angry with her for missing a single Charms class. Yet she didn't feel ready to explain that she had reconciled with the Weasley twins; a wrenching gut feeling insisted she kept that to herself. She'd tell her soon enough, she thought, because she wouldn't be able to hide it from her best friend forever. Especially not if the infamous redheads would be openly approaching her once again, and spending time with her away from Faith.

Faith's lips were drawn into a firm line, though she didn't make any further comments, reaching down to pull her duvet over her legs. And then, as if on a second thought, she turned to Albany again. "They can't be fun."

Albany had accepted that the conversation was over, and had been tucking herself in when she glanced up in surprise. "The interviews?"

Faith nodded, and smiled sympathetically. "If Rita Skeeter is the one interviewing you, anyway. Her articles are really interesting, but I've heard she's a bit of a cow in person."

Albany raised an eyebrow playfully. "Interesting?" she echoed.

Faith rolled her eyes with a laugh. "You know what I mean. They're the perfect mix of overdramatic rumours and actual facts."

Albany personally wasn't sure where the facts were in Skeeter's articles, but giggled nonetheless. "Sure. But yeah... they're not much fun."

Faith's expression softened. "Sorry you had to miss class to spend quality time with her instead."

"It's fine, don't worry about it," Albany said quickly, and swallowed any lingering guilt. "Goodnight, Faith."

"Night, Al."

Sleep came easier than it had been the past few nights. That said, no amount of reconciliation or time spent with friends could completely relax her troubled mind. She woke with a start after dreams of fire and smoke, drenched in sweat and trembling lightly.

Faith was fast asleep in her bed, as were the other Slytherin girls. Albany let out a wobbly sigh, wrapping her arms around herself as the chill of the dormitory made the hair on her arms rise. She wasn't sure how much more of this she could keep up before her body gave up on her; she hadn't been getting nearly enough sleep recently, and often felt too nauseous to eat. Nevermind the actual tasks, the mere stress of participating in the tournament was going to kill her.

She fought back frustrated tears, rubbing harshly at her eyes before pushing back the duvet and throwing her legs over the edge of her bed. She was too awake now to go back to sleep, and didn't particularly want to, anyway. Whatever about curfew and detention; she desperately needed to get fresh air and distract herself.

She didn't bother to touch her hair, aware that it was already a tangled mess, though threw on a hoodie to keep herself somewhat warm. And then she was sneaking through the common room and out into the cold, dark corridors of the dungeons, hugging herself for comfort.

Albany didn't exactly have anywhere in mind she wanted to go, but the mere act of wandering aimlessly was calming enough. She didn't care too much if she got caught, though was confident enough that she wouldn't, quiet and wrapped in darkness.

She had reached the upper floors of the castle when she noticed a faint light out on a bridge between two towers, and tucked herself behind a wall with a sharp inhale. However, after waiting for two long minutes for the light to pass, she peered out from her hiding spot; the light hadn't moved.

Perhaps it was better safe than sorry; she knew she should really just return to her dormitory and attempt to salvage what she could of her sleep. But curiosity pulled her from behind the wall, and gently pushed her outside onto the bridge, approaching warily. The figure wielding the light was slight and short, too much so to be any teacher she could think of. The hair on her legs rose as a breeze blew over the bridge, and as she shivered, the light swung rapidly in her direction.

Harry Potter's confused face lit up behind the wand.

"Potter?"

"Bronwen?"

Albany narrowed her eyes slightly, squeezing herself a little tighter in defense. "What are you doing?" she asked in a low tone.

Harry's bemused expression fell. "I could ask you the same thing."

Albany tensed her jaw, though relaxed it on a second thought. There wasn't much point making the Gryffindor her enemy, despite his reputation with the majority of Slytherins. They were both facing the same issues at the moment.

"Couldn't sleep," she admitted, letting her gaze fall.

Harry's stance softened; he seemed caught off guard by the show of vulnerability. "Me neither," he said quietly, and returned to leaning on the wall, green eyes admiring what would have been an impressive view of the castle grounds, had they not been draped in shadows.

Albany copied him gingerly, resting her elbows on the rough stone. They stood in silence for a while, though it wasn't entirely uncomfortable. She let her eyes adjust again to the dark, and thought she could make out Hagrid's cabin.

"How do you feel about it?" Harry asked, and sounded reluctant. "The tournament."

Albany swallowed hard. "Nervous," she admitted. "Really nervous. You probably stand a better chance than I do, if what people say is true."

Harry glanced up at her curiously. "What do people say?"

Albany shrugged. "Your magic is really good," she explained. "Cause you're the Boy Who Lived, and all that. You might not be top of your classes, but your practical magic is unmatched."

Harry scratched at his forehead sheepishly. "I dunno about that," he said, a breathy laugh concealing his embarrassment. "Though there's worse rumours about me, I guess."

Albany frowned, because he wasn't wrong, though didn't say anything in response. "How do you feel?" she asked instead.

Harry let out a long breath. "I'm not sure," he said. "Everyone thinks I entered myself, and that I'm all full of myself, or whatever. Even my best friend won't believe me."

"Fuck them," Albany said blankly, and Harry seemed startled by her response. She stifled a laugh at his expression, not unlike a deer caught in the headlights. "What people think and say about you says a lot more about them than it does you. Reputations are created by people who don't know the whole story. Who you really are is down to you alone."

Harry processed this for a minute, returning his gaze to the grounds below. "Thanks," he said after a moment of contemplation. "You know, you're smarter than you look."

Albany raised an eyebrow.

"No wait, that came out wrong — I mean, nobody's ever told me something like that before, and it's good advice."

Albany smiled in amusement, sure such wise words were Merlin and Arthur's influence. When they weren't constantly bantering, they had solid stuff to say. Her smile fell slowly; she didn't want to say she missed them, but....

"No worries," she said. "And realistically, I could probably do with taking my own advice." Though it wasn't going to save her in the Triwizard Tournament, she thought bitterly.

"You don't seem very Slytherin," Harry remarked.

Albany laughed. Were all Gryffindors so close-minded? "I've been told," she said with a grin. "Don't let Draco Malfoy represent all of us. I'm not always in a bad mood, but I'm definitely a Slytherin."

"How did you end up entering, anyway?" Harry asked. "You mentioned you didn't want to that time."

Albany bit her cheek. "I dunno if you've seen me hanging out with the Weasley twins much," she began, "but we're kind of — er — friends now, I guess. And I'm sure you know how badly they wanted to enter."

Harry nodded attentively.

"Well, I was of age, and they found out... so naturally they wanted me to enter them. But I... I don't know, I guess I was too worried about the tournament, and I didn't want them to get hurt or anything, but I couldn't exactly say no to them either. It... it's stupid, I basically just entered my own name instead. I never thought I'd get chosen, but here we are."

"That sounds brave to me," Harry said confidently, and Albany glanced to him, surprised. "I think you've got a better chance than you give yourself credit for."

In Albany's bemused silence, he continued, albeit reluctantly. "Well... skilled magic will only get you so far. If you're willing to take risks, you've got as good a shot as anyone."

Albany blinked, unsure of the younger boy's logic, but appreciative of his support. "Thanks, Potter."

Harry gave a small smile. "I guess I was too quick to judge you before."

"And I you," Albany agreed. "Us Hogwarts champions, we gotta stick together."

Harry nodded. "We don't have to win, but we can get through this. Especially if we work together."

Albany smiled. "I don't mind that idea so much, actually." Faith was going to murder her for this.

"I can see why Fred and George like you," Harry said, and Albany glanced over to him, eyes a little wider.

"Oh?"

"Yeah," Harry said. "Ron kept giving out that they were hanging out with a Slytherin, but you're not bad company." He frowned. "He's been wrong about a few things recently."

Albany felt her stomach sink a little at that information, but set it aside. Take your own advice, she reminded herself. Ron Weasley could say whatever; she had bigger problems than whether the twins' younger brother approved of their friendship. "He's your best friend, right?"

Harry nodded, though his eyebrows had furrowed somewhat. "Yeah. Though... we haven't been on the best of terms since I got chosen."

Albany bit her cheek. It was a little weird, how similar her situation was to Harry's. "Well, if he's a true friend, he'll come around eventually. Until he does, he's not worth your worry."

Harry nodded slowly, gaze low. "Thanks," he said, though it was stiff this time, and his fist was tense around his wand. "I'm angry at him... but I miss him. I wish he could just see the obvious—"

He stopped in his tracks, spine straightening quickly as he turned away from Albany. Then, she saw it too; a wand light was bouncing along gently, headed their way.

"Nox," Harry hissed, and they were plunged into darkness. "Guess it's time to go back to bed."

"Yep," Albany agreed under her breath, wary of the professor drawing closer. "Don't really fancy detention tonight. See you around, Potter."

"Night, Bronwen."