Busted

[Matthew Cosgrove]

After the eventful night that was the Yule ball Mathew just couldn't sleep. Half way through a book about Vampires his uncle had sent him for Christmas he realised one of the main reasons. He was hungry, After spending all his time and energy at the ball on Alana the Ravenclaw had forgotten to eat a thing. His stomach in a full on grumble Mathew climbed out of bed and pulled on the first pair of clothes he could find, a ratty pair of jeans and the Ravenclaw sweater he got the previous year and made his out through the common room and into the main castle. There was only one place to go when you were hungry at Hogwarts in the middle of the night. The kitchens. Mathew hadn't made an impromptu trip to the kitchens since his third year but he could still remember the mountain of food he had left carrying cradled in his arms. The thought of it made his stomach growl in anticipation.

The corridor that led to the kitchens was eerily silent as Mathew made his down into the lower levels of the castle trying to remember the way to the kitchens. Soon as he got closer the silence faded and he could hear someone coming out of the kitchens. Mathew pressed himself to the wall to see who it was coming out. It was a familiar face, he remembered her from the Halloween feast and had been hoping to run into her at the ball but he got distracted. "Ellie?"

 

[Ellington Hayes]

It wasn't often that Ellie was out of bed after curfew, but only a select few professors and some of the students knew about her condition, those students being her family and Lucas. She tried to keep herself as separate from the rest of the school as possible due to her condition and rather preferred to be on her own. There were select cases where she would interact with others, like class, or with the Monthly, which was sometimes difficult to navigate when she was trying to pretend to be normal, but she trusted most of the people on staff and believed they wouldn't pry, nor would they try to get her outcast if they were to find out about her condition. At least she hoped so. As it was, sneaking into the kitchens for supplies was only a last resort, it was easier when everyone was asleep. The house elves mostly expected her these days and usually had things set aside for her when she got there. She preferred to not tell the students why she was sneaking around, it was bad enough that she had to constantly cover herself and be ashamed and disgusted of what she was. She didn't need the whole school ashamed to be around her.

It only took her near on fifteen minutes to get everything she needed into a bag. She'd be able to hustle to the Cavern in the morning. For now, she tried to be as silent as she could as she crept out of the kitchens, but she was too busy trying to keep quiet and she managed to trip slightly and it the floor, bag and all. Someone called her name as she stood and she was soon face to face with a boy she'd seen around and spoken to a couple of times. She mostly didn't see him much because she was always staying close to the gardens. She quickly moved to fix up the collar of the jumper she was wearing and made sure he could see nothing as she gave him a small smile. "Hi, Matthew. Fancy seeing you here?"
​

 

[Matthew Cosgrove]

Matthew hadn't expected anyone to be down in the kitchens, not after the spread that had been put on at the ball but here stood Ellie, a girl he didn't know very well but he liked all the same. He had enjoyed his time with her at the halloween feast and had seen her around since. Ellie was a little odd though, normally a prerequisite for Matthew friends but he felt like whenever he was around her she was guarded and hiding something. Each to their own, Matthew had always though so he wasn't likely to pry into the girls private life, it was just a feeling about her that he couldn't shake.

"Midnight snack? Looks like your stocking up for a long winter," Matthew chuckled as he eyed up all that the Gryffindor girl had taken from the kitchens. "Did you leave any for me or should I come back tomorrow?" Matthew chuckled, some people didn't always appreciate his sense of humour but he hoped Ellie wasn't one of those people. Matthew walked a little closer to Ellie as he approached the door to the kitchens. Still intending to go inside to stock up for his own purposes. The Ravenclaw hadn't seen her at the Yule ball and had in fact been looking out for her until he ran into...her. Perhaps in his distracted state he missed her dancing, or maybe she hadn't been there at all. "I missed you tonight, you not at the Yule ball?" He asked hoping the question wasn't too intrusive.