Mischief - Book Two of the RP Saga

16. Distractions and Temptations

Whilst this happened, Rachel, oblivious to the behaviour of the redhead just a little further down to her, had finally decided what kind dress she would be wearing to the Ball. She sniggered to herself, why had she thought going would be so bad?

*

Her finger tracing the notice board in the common room, Rachel landed on the date she was looking for. Grinning, she snatched the paper of dates off the wall; the corners and middle crumpling at her firm grasp.

She spun on her heels and bounded back over to Hermione, who perched on the edge of a wooden chair at one of the many desks.

"It's this weekend." Rachel said with a smile, throwing herself into a chair and poking the date several times with her index finger.

"Hogsmede." Hermione breathed. "My grandmother sent me a lovely amount of money, it's my early Christmas present."

Rachel looked at Hermione and smiled, she dropped the paper and instead pulled parchment out to write upon. She scribbled Remus' name at the top and quickly wrote out a brief letter.

Remus,

Sorry I haven't written, I've been so busy with homework, studying and with the Triwizard Tournament!

We have a Yule Ball on Christmas Eve which should be nice, I'm going with Cedric. Arthur Diggory's boy, I'm sure you'd approve!

Hope you're okay, love you lots Reemy.

Rachel P xx

Folding up the letter several times, she sealed it with her wand and writing his name once more on the outside.

"Are you going to the owlery?" Hermione asked, noticing the newly written letter enclosed in Rachel's hands.

She nodded.

"I'll join you then!" Hermione said. "I also have a letter to send too."

"No, no it's fine." Rachel said standing up. "I'll take them both, I kind of want to go for a walk and clear my head a little."

Hermione frowned unconvinced but darted off to find her letter also. When she retuned, Rachel had put on her scarf and was wrapped up tightly; ready to embrace the chilly December air before curfew. Carefully, Rachel took the two letters and gave a final smile to Hermione before darting off out the common room.

In all honesty, Rachel didn't need to clear her head. She was still a little fuzzy from earlier, the excitement just pushing her along. But she felt as though she wanted time alone. It was very important to Rachel that she could have her solitude, sometimes the best company for her was silence.

The clocks quickly ticked as Rachel noticed she was taking far too long, she'd bound to be caught on her way back at this rate. She rolled her eyes and continued at her steady pace, feeling like she couldn't care less about the curfew. What would a few minutes hurt?

She came out of the courtyard and padded across the path to the owlery. The sky was dark and clear, the stars were twinkling and bright, the air was cold and sharp.

"There'll be a frost tonight." Rachel said under her breath, a small puff escaping her lips and disappearing quickly.

Tucking her head into her chest, she battled the cold and hurried onto the stairs up where the owls all lived. During this time, Rachel realised she had not actually wrote to Remus in some time. In fact, this was her second letter to him this year. She pulled a guilty face and quietly vowed she would write at least once a month. Remus deserved to know how many detentions she had received that month.