Closed Under Cover of Darkness

[Kauri Morales-Tipene]

There weren't a lot of things that made Kauri nervous, even in a place like Hogwarts. Professor Styx definitely, the forest, the thought of how close graduation seemed to be creeping, and really long essays. Those were about the only things he could think of. However now, Kauri definitely had to add nighttime patrol to his list. He had never been very good at staying up past the bedtime his parents set for him, even when it was required for late night Astronomy classes, and even if he somehow managed to get through the entire patrol awake, what would happen if they actually caught anyone? What if someone attacked them, or they had to chase someone? As scary as the class was, for once Kauri was actually relieved not to have dropped Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Wanting to get some late studying done, Kauri had agreed to meet Corrine outside the Prefect common room before their patrol began, so they could get ready, and he could ask the older girl any last minute questions he had. He was especially grateful to have been paired with someone older, the reassurance of being able to ask Corrine's help soothing some of his nerves. As Kauri hovered outside the room a little early waiting for his partner to arrive he found himself suppressing yawns, wondering if the pressure of knowing he needed to stay up late was somehow making him even more tired than usual. He shifted from foot to foot nervously, trying not to let himself go so far as pacing. He would need that energy to stay up as late as they needed to tonight.

 

[Corrine Lagos]

Corrine was a bit excited about the patrol tonight, not because she especially loved patrols but Kauri had seemed really enthusiastic to be a prefect and she was enthusiastic about getting to help another student. Everything she knew about being a prefect, she'd learned from asking Amber questions during patrols and observing the older prefects in her own house, so she was happy to pay it forward. And, Corrine had always had a special interest in Kauri, ever since she'd seen Tristan be just horrible to him. No one had deserved what Corrine had heard Tristan say to Kauri, and even though she would probably never bring it up to Kauri, it had made her always a bit curious about him and how he was doing. Thankfully, the whole thing with Tristan hadn't seemed to dim Kauri's spirit, or if it had, he'd had a lot of spirit because he had seemed perfectly pleasant when they'd spoken briefly during the prefect meeting and then again to plan to meet up.

After saying goodbye to her boyfriend, which was still so weird to think let alone say aloud, Corrine headed to meet Kauri for their patrol. She spotted him in front of the prefect room where they'd agreed to meet up and gave him a little wave as she headed over. "Hi Kauri!" she grinned. "Are you ready for your first patrol?" she asked.

 

[Kauri Morales-Tipene]

Kauri didn't like the fact that he was nervous, and he liked letting other people see him as anything other than cheerful less. So when he responded to Corrine, even he could tell that his enthusiasm was a little over the top. "Hi!" A little embarrassed, he quickly toned it down, nodding in response to her question. "I'm ready, I'm just... kind of nervous." Kauri hoped it would help his troubles to actually voice them out loud, and talk to someone with more experience. "I've never been out this late before, and it feels weird. Even though I know we're supposed to be staying out, it feels kind of like we're going to get in trouble. Plus, I'm really bad at staying up late. I'm already getting kind of sleepy." The late hour was only one worry of many, but Kauri didn't want to drop his entire panic attack on Corrine's shoulders at once. He still wanted to prove himself a good prefect, and do a good job of stepping up to the responsibility. "I'm sure I'll be fine though, tonight will go great." Kauri was quite sure that in the end, there was no problem that couldn't be solved by being optimistic and positive.

 

[Corrine Lagos]

Nodding sympathetically, Corrine listened as Kauri spoke about being nervous. She could understand that. It was easy to remember back to last year and how nervous she had been when she was getting ready for her first patrol. She mused at how much she had grown because she was not nervous at all as she stood in front of Kauri. "Aww Kauri" she reached out a hand and rubbed his shoulder. "It will be great. We'll be together the whole time" she reassured him. "I remember going back to Gryffindor after my first patrol and practically running because I thought I'd get in trouble if I got caught." Amber and Hayley's dorms were on lower floors and she had to go the last few floors alone. "But even then we'll be together" she added with a friendly smile. "Maybe you'll feel less sleepy if we start walking?" she stated, gesturing to the stairs.

 

[Kauri Morales-Tipene]

Kauri looked up at the feel of Corrine's hand on his shoulder, his somewhat strained smile turning to one of relief at her reassurance. "Thanks." He said happily. It was true... if anything went wrong he didn't have to worry about handling it all by himself. Corrine would be right by his side to make sure there weren't any problems they couldn't deal with. He listened to the story about her own first patrol, giggling slightly. "Oh no!" Kauri said with a smile. He hadn't even thought of what it would be like walking around by yourself after a patrol ended, and found himself doubly glad to be matched with someone from his own house. He nodded in response to her suggestion, and started walking with the older girl. "Sorry in advance if I yawn." he added, not wanting to be rude. "Do you ever get used to staying up so late?"

 

[Tristan Collins]

Tristan didn't have to patrol tonight, which he was glad about. But as a prefect, he still felt like he had a certain... freedom when it came to curfew. Of course he wasn't going to break it on purpose, but he had taken a bit more of a risk hanging out with October tonight. Now it was nearly time for curfew, and Tristan was on his way back to the Hufflepuff common room. He intended to get back in time, but wasn't hurrying as much as he might have if he hadn't had the prefect's badge on his chest. His mind was on this year and the potential it had. It hadn't started very well, but if he focused on the positives he would be fine. Perhaps he wasn't brotherhood president, but he had the prettiest girl in his year as his girlfriend and Vivian on the side. He also had some of the best grades in his year, and he was still very happy to have been made a prefect. It would do well for his career options later.

Tristan was actually smiling slightly as he thought about this, when he noticed two people conversing in the corridor that he hadn't expected to see together. He stopped and stared at them for a moment, watching them talk together. Corrine and Kauri was a dangerous combination, and his mind started to race as he tried to think of why they would be talking together. As far as he knew, the only thing they had in common was him. Corrine had seen him break Kauri's heart, and had been cold to him ever since. But as far as Tristan had known, Kauri hadn't known that Corrine knew. He narrowed his eyes and approached, unable to resist the urge to know what was going on. He was quiet as he approached, hoping to catch some of their conversation. But he only heard Kauri say something about yawning, which couldn't be important. "Well, this looks cozy." He said, a small smile on his face. He looked between Corrine and Kauri, his expression casual but his eyes taking in their faces in case they looked even a little bit guilty. He was certain they had been talking about him.

 

[Corrine Lagos]

Corrine shook her head at Kauri's question. "I'll let you know" she chuckled, happier by the moment that she and Kauri had been partnered for patrols. He was just so pleasant. Corrine heard the addition of a third voice before she saw his face, but she knew who it was right away. She'd adored that voice only a few years ago, though it had changed with age, to her it had changed far more than that. She turned her attention to Tristan Collins, fighting hard not to roll her eyes at him, though it was impossible to keep her smile. It fell off her face. "Well, I mean it was but you're here now" she replied, her manner curt and her blue eyes icy cold. She was surprised by her own words, but Tristan brought something out of here these days. It didn't help that she was standing next to Kauri right now, the boy who'd helped her realize Tristan for who he really was. Every time she had to speak to him, which thankfully wasn't often these days, or every time she overheard a snippet of conversation he was having, Corrine wondered which of her classmates had slipped her a confusing concoction or hit her with Confundus. She knew neither had happened, and she'd really just been that dumb to fall for Tristan's charms. But now that she was dating Cullen, someone who treated her and really everyone well, she really couldn't understand what had come over her.

 

[Kauri Morales-Tipene]

So far, patrol with Corrine was shaping up to be far, far nicer than Kauri had expected. It was a relief that so far, all his fears seemed to have been in vain. Whatever they may encounter in future, he trusted the older girl would look out for him if necessary. Of all the things to encounter though, Kauri's heart sank as the worst case scenario came walking over to them out of nowhere. Great. Kauri already had to spend far, far more time with Tristan than he wanted to running the Brotherhood, did Tristan really have to approach him when he was doing other things? Before Kauri could say anything though, Corrine had greeted Tristan, and the surprise almost knocked all the discomfort out of him. What had happened between Tristan and Corrine that would make her so cold towards him? Kauri hoped it wasn't anything like what had happened to him, though the expression on Corrine's face clearly said whatever it had been was something bad. Unsettled by the cold tone of the conversation, Kauri did his best to summon up a smile, trying to at least appear to be on good terms with his vice president. "Er, hi Tristan... It's pretty late, are you going back to the common room?"

 

[Tristan Collins]

The cold reaction Corrine gave him wasn't a surprise, though it did make him think of the days when she'd had a very obvious crush on him. He remembered the time she had sent him a rose and accidentally signed it, and the memory made him smirk slightly as he looked at her. "I see. I apologize for my lack of coziness." He said coolly, looking at her and then at Kauri. "I was just curious what the two of you were discussing." He added, though he didn't think he had to explain himself. Kauri was a little less cold to him, but he probably only kept up the pretense because they were working together. "I am. It's pretty late for you too, you know." He pointed out with his eyebrows raised slightly. Then he paused, thinking it over. "Or... wait, do you have patrol duty tonight?" He glanced between them again. "You're paired up?" The amusement had left his voice, and he frowned. How had he not noticed that at the meeting? He had only focused on who he had been paired with, and on who October had been paired with. He'd spent the whole meeting ignoring Kauri and the fact that he'd been picked as prefect, which had clearly been a mistake. He looked at Corrine suspiciously, wondering if she had arranged this somehow. "Aren't you friends with the head girl?" He asked her pointedly. He was sure he'd seen them together.

 

[Corrine Lagos]

Corrine couldn't hold back the eye roll she'd been containing once she heard Tristan's response. She was surprised at how easily Kauri seemed to converse with him. But she'd already determined Kauri was just a nice person, far nicer than he perhaps should be she was realizing now. Tristan didn't deserve any kindness, not after what he'd said to Kauri. Corrine wrinkled her nose as Tristan explained he was just being nosy. She didn't have to wonder why he cared. Corrine and Kauri had both seen Tristan Collins at his worst. No, that wasn't true. They'd both seen him at his realist. They'd seen him when he hadn't been wearing a mask. It was kind of marvelous that he could keep and shed the facade as he needed to, though why he had it on now was a mystery to her. Corrine nodded her head, her blue eyes thing between Kauri and Tristan after she'd done so. So she caught the look of suspicion that the Hufflepuff gave her. She was confused by it, unsure of what he was insinuating though that there was an insinuation was clear to her. "We're friendly. We patrolled together last year. Why?" she asked, not sure where he was going with this line of questioning. Then it dawned on her and she nearly laughed. She couldn't be entirely sure, but she was beginning to think Tristan was less confused about their pairing and more nervous about it. Corrine bit back a look of amusement as she cut her gaze away, reaching to straighten her perfectly straight badge. "I'm also getting friendly with Kauri now. Isn't that right?" She smiled at the younger boy. She didn't want to make Kauri feel awkward but if it made Tristan feel a little awkward, she wouldn't mind.

 

[Kauri Morales-Tipene]

Kauri had never felt so disconnected from a conversation he was technically part of in his life. Whatever had happened between Tristan and Corrine, it must have been disasterous. He didn't think he had heard anything about them having dated, but maybe he had missed something. Whatever it was, must have been major. He watched the polite facade slide from Tristan's face, glancing between the two of them uncertainly. It felt as though Tristan and Corrine were having a coded conversation that Kauri just couldn't understand. He didn't know what the Head Girl had to do with anything, but he at least understood the last thing Corrine said, smiling brightly. "Yeah, she's been really helpful. It's my first patrol, so..." Kauri shrugged nervously, the familiar anxiety at the thought of being out after curfew creeping back into his stomach. "Corrine's been great."

 

[Tristan Collins]

Tristan didn't like this, he didn't like it at all. Corrine and Kauri being paired up was too coincidental to really be a coincidence, and the two of them becoming friends irked him. Corrine had known about his breakup with Kauri, and now the two were all buddy buddy. Were they going to spread the word? Try to ruin his reputation right before his final year? He narrowed his eyes as he looked at Corrine, who told him she patrolled with the current head girl last year. Then she went on to say that she was getting friendly with Kauri, and it made him uneasy. He could tell she knew it was, and he didn't like that in the slightest. Then Kauri spoke, and of course seemed not to have noticed anything. Tristan could never tell his his innocence was an act or not, and it was getting on his nerves. "I see." He said, his voice clipped. "I'm glad she's been... helpful." He added, unable to think of anything else to say. He couldn't say anything directly about the situation without bringing things to light that were better left unsaid, but there was something going on here, and Tristan was unhappy about it. He glanced at his watch and muttered a curse under his breath, it was almost curfew. "Well, I should get going." He said, and he fought to keep his voice casual. He was probably not going to even make it back to Hufflepuff in time, but he hoped his badge would protect him from being a minute or two late. "Have fun on your patrol." He added coldly, looking between them before turning away.

 

[Corrine Lagos]

Corrine was happy to hear Kauri describing her as being helpful. It was what she had been going for. She remembered her first patrol and how anxious she had been. She also remembered how helpful it had been to have someone older to help and guide her. She was glad to have been able to pass along to someone else. Tristan didn't seem happy about it, which made her enjoy it all the more. She hadn't expected him to be so upset about the news. She hadn't thought about this as news at all, in fact. Tristan so rarely crossed her mind these days unless he specifically did something in class.

Happy to hear this conversation seemed to be coming to an end, Corrine gave him a fake smile. "Oh, we will" she added as brightly as she could manage. Then she rolled her eyes and turned away, eager to put some distance between them. That had been such an unwelcome interruption in what had been a fairly pleasant few moments. "Should we continue, Kauri?" she finally said after a few moments of composing herself.

So sorry for the delay