Open Leave My Shadows Behind

[Harper Alston]

((Open after Sam posts with Emmaline Hopkins-Vance))

The trick to hanging out with Em, Harper had discovered, was finding activities where the other girl could multitask. Em's schedule was almost always full, so Harper tried to find ways to convert preexisting agenda items into hangout sessions. That meant lots of mealtime conversations and group study sessions. It also meant occasionally tagging along with Em on her prefect patrols. Harper had never been a night person, but she didn't mind staying up a little later if it meant she could spend time with Em. She had a feeling she would never see her friend otherwise.

Besides, accompanying Em on patrol was a relatively simple thing she could for her friend. For some reason, Em had decided to set up the patrols so that she was the only one left without a partner. Prefect patrols could be boring even with a partner. Harper couldn't imagine having to do them alone. "Sometimes I think you're too nice," she mused as they rounded a corner somewhere on the fourth floor. "You should've made Ivy or Flynn patrol alone." She paused. "Okay, maybe not Flynn. He'd probably just disappear," she said with a soft chuckle. They passed by some slumbering portraits, and Harper waved her wand, dimming the lit tip. Some of the paintings could get fussy if you woke them. "Have you ever caught anyone out after curfew?" she asked curiously.

 

[Professor Emmaline Hopkins]

Emmaline knew she was always busy whether she spent time in the library, her second home at this point, or was working on prefect duties. She also had a massive article for the Hogwarts Monthly to write. That didn't even include the time that she spent in her classes, taking six this semester alone. There was a lot on her plate. She certainly could handle it. She wanted to experience everything during her last year at Hogwarts, a fact that still did not seem like it could be true. Yet everything did not just involve her extracurriculars and her education. For years, she had been trying to balance a social life along with this, letting that aspect often fall through the cracks no matter how badly she wanted it. Luckily, with Harper as a prefect, Emmaline could balance the two a bit better now. The two of them could patrol the corridors together, a way to both catch up on their busy lives and complete their duties. It seemed like a win-win, especially since Emmaline would patrol alone a lot of this year.

The pair were patrolling the fourth-floor corridor, wands out, lit dimly. It felt rather comfortable having Harper near her. The two had been friends for their whole time at Hogwarts basically, even if Emmaline constantly should have tried harder to have them hang out. She appreciated her friend's understanding more than she could say. The brunette was surprised to hear that Harper thought she was too nice about the patrol partners. Emmaline didn't mind being alone. It seemed like the best option than leaving anyone else out. That was just how she thought. She was always the one to sacrifice. Here, at home with her family. It was just common sense for her.

Emmaline shook her head, letting out a low laugh, as not to wake the slumbering portraits. She could not help but think that Flynn would definitely be the sort to just disappear. And well Ivy; if Emmaline had done that, she would have shown some sort of distaste for the girl. One she did hold ever since she tried to get her own squad in trouble for making the Gryffindor Girls Dorm better all those years ago. She really shouldn't hold onto grudges like that. Just more things to work on. "It seemed like the best option honestly, just for me to patrol alone." She explained not quite sure if this made sense other than in her head. "But I am sorry about your patrol partner" She added in a lower whisper. Emmaline had seen the interaction between the two of them at the prefects meeting. If only, Emmaline had paid more attention to who her friend was partnered up with. She had assumed that Harper got along with everyone. Who could be mean to her ever?

The corridors were normally quiet this time of night. Every word sounding louder than Emmaline wanted it to come out. She shook her head again. "Not yet, but there is time" She joked. Emmaline honestly wasn't sure what to do if she ever caught anymore. She wasn't the confrontational type, even if it was part of her duties. "I haven't even taken house points away from anyone yet." She admitted, again not sure if she really could unless it was for something terribly serious. Part of her wanted to attempt it though, see what it felt like. "I bet you have some interesting prefect stories though" She said grinning at her friend who always had much more adventures than herself. "or do you just enjoy that we don't have a curfew anymore" she again in a joking tone. Emmaline quite enjoyed that fact too. She couldn't be breaking the rules on curfew if she didn't have one anymore.

 

[Harper Alston]

Harper shook her head as Em explained that the best option had been for her to patrol alone. "Like I said, you're too nice," she teased, giving her friend a fond smile. She couldn't say she was surprised. It was just like Em to want to shoulder that responsibility alone. If Harper had been in her place, she would have tried to fix the pairings so that she was with one of her friends. That (along with many other reasons) was probably why she wasn't head girl.

"Oh." For a second, Harper wasn't sure what to say. She hadn't realised that Em had noticed the tension between her and Natalia. Though now that Harper thought about it, that was a rather silly assumption considering she'd confronted Natalia in the middle of the prefect common room. "Don't worry about it," she said, forcing a smile. "You didn't know. And it's not that big of a deal," she said with a shrug even if it did feel like a big deal. Harper generally didn't care what others thought of her, and it wasn't like she'd never had to deal with prejudice before. How many times had she been told she wasn't strong enough, fast enough, smart enough simply because she was a girl? But there was something different about the situation with Natalia. It almost felt dehumanizing having to do patrols with someone who thought her less than because of her blood.

Harper was very glad when their conversation moved on to catching troublemakers. "Maybe we'll catch someone tonight," she said with a grin, even if that didn't seem very likely. So far, the castle had been fairly quiet, the only noise coming from them. "I haven't either. I think I'm too invested in Gryffindor winning the cup," Harper admitted with a small laugh. She would much rather bring any troublemaking Gryffindors directly to Professor Kingsley than take away points herself. "Besides, I'm kind of terrible at telling people off," she said, thinking of the few times when she'd had to reprimand students.

At Em's comment about their lack of curfew, Harper laughed softly. "Okay, I do enjoy that," she admitted. "But don't act like you don't enjoy it too," she said, giving her friend a knowing look. "I'm sure stargazing's a lot easier when you have an excuse to be out late." Harper actually didn't know if Em would ever take advantage of their prefect privileges to go stargazing though Harper hoped she did. It would be a shame if Em only used their lack of curfew to get extra studying done.

 

[Professor Emmaline Hopkins]

Emmaline rolled her eyes playfully at her friend as she mentioned again that she was too nice. Emmaline did not feel that in the slightest, especially with all that was going on in her own home life. She felt like a terrible sister for 'outshining' River in her mother's eyes and even worse daughter for still not meeting her mother's expectations fully no matter how hard she tried. Nice just didn't seem to describe her anymore. But she knew it was all in good fun and family right now was not something Emmaline wanted to dwell into. It was her own problem. She had to deal with it and not burden her friend.

The Gryffindor girl instantly felt terrible for mentioning the patrolling partner to Harper. Maybe it was something that Harper did not like to talk about. Emmaline could tell that Harper felt a little uncomfortable with the situation even if she was attempting to play it off as it was nothing. That was a sign Emmaline could relate to. She had known her friend for seven years now. She could read her a bit more than just a random stranger, of course. But Emmaline let that part of the conversation drop, shaking her head slightly. "As long as she doesn't give you any issues. You've got a Head Girl as a friend now" she said jokingly, well partly. Emmaline would not let anyone treat her friends poorly, especially when Harper always had her back.

The thought of catching someone outside after curfew was both exciting and terrifying. Emmaline could instantly relate to not wanting to take house points, and yes she was a bit biased as she wanted Gryffindor win the house cup, especially in her last year. "We can hope that the troublemakers are all in other houses then" she added with a small laugh. "or at least Gryffindors don't know how to get caught" which probably was the more valid point. There were troublemakers in each house. Emmaline just hoped that her own housemates were a bit more tricky. "Gryffindor does need that cup in our last year. It's been too long. I think Professor Kingsley is going to go crazy if we don't win it soon" she spoke thinking about her kind Head of House.

The talk of curfew did make Emmaline think a bit. She was happy that Harper was a prefect. She had always worried for that single year when Harper was not one that Emmaline would catch her breaking the rules and trumping around the school. Would she have been able to turn a blind eye? The answer wasn't clear, but luckily that was no longer something to worry about. "Who doesn't like being out late? Even if the castle does get a bit creepy at night." Em admitted her blue eyes gazing around the corridor. "I swear these portraits never really sleep. Just pretend to. They are more nosy than" she was going Ivy, but bit her tongue for a moment "well most of the students" she added lamely. Emmaline really had to let that grudge go.

 

[Harper Alston]

Harper thought it somewhat unlikely Natalia wouldn't give her some issues during their patrols, but she pasted on a smile. "You gonna take points from her for me?" she joked, even as she resolved to handle any Natalia-related issues herself. Em had worked hard for the Head Girl title, and now that she had it, she was probably busier than ever. Harper refused to sully her friend's time as Head Girl with her own problems.

She laughed softly. "I think that's the more likely option," Harper said in reference to Em's second point about Gryffindors. You couldn't put a bunch of adventure-loving students in one house and not expect some rule-breaking. "I wonder if the prefects in Ravenclaw have an easier time," she mused. They seemed like the most well-behaved house. She nodded in agreement. "For a while, I really did think we were going to be house cup champions all seven years." Harper wasn't sure what went wrong. Now, it seemed Gryffindor was always last or second-to-last in the rankings. "If we're still behind in May, you should just take 6,000 points from all the other houses," she joked.

It had been a very long time since Harper had been scared of the dark, but even she could admit that some parts of the castle were a little eerie late at night. Unidentifiable noises occasionally echoed through the walls, and it was easy to mistake the statues and suits of armor that lined the corridors for actual people. "Smooth" she teased when Em tried to cover up the fact that she'd been about to say someone's name. Harper was silent for a second, her gaze sweeping along the rows of sleeping portraits. "I don't think I mind the portraits too much. As long as they're not screaming at me," she said, making a face. Some of them could be very loud if you startled them awake. "At least they stay on the walls. Ghosts, on the other hand — they always seem to burst from the walls when I'm least expecting it."

As if to prove her point, a glowing silver figure drifted past the end of the hallway, in the distance. Harper's eyes widened before she giggled softly. "Clearly I am psychic," she joked. "Maybe I should've continued with Divination after all." She wondered if this was the only being they would encounter tonight. Probably not. There were always ghosts and house elves roaming around after hours. The real question was whether they would come across any students.