Bane and Bliss (Open!)

[Jake Keisinger]

If one could ignore the smell of owl droppings and crunching rodent bones under their shoes and as witches and wizards, one would hope most could, the Owlery was a surprisingly pleasant place to be. It wasn't out of bounds like many of the blessed few highest towers in the castle were, so you didn't risk getting yourself into trouble if you trekked your way up here. It was nowhere near loud, certainly not during the day - owls were creatures who preferred stealth, after all, so quiet was a must for them. And if not stealth, then certainly sleep. And they didn't mind a jot if you came up here, so long as you didn't do anything stupid to wake them up.

And sleep a great many of them still did. It was verging on late Friday afternoon, yes, and some had already departed their perches for the night in search of a meal. However, most of them still dozed in the perches above Jake's head, the occasional golden or green or black eye popping open to offer a sleepy glare or a bleary hoot before the perpetrator settled again. If they weren't, of course, off delivering a letter. Flying out over the Forest, little specks of feathers quickly merging into the browns and reds of an Autumn landscape. Which was another reason why it was nice up here at the present - the colours outside were always nicest at this time of the year. And Hogwarts certainly wasn't lacking in trees.

Jake yawned widely. Autumn or not, though, the Professors were giving the Seventh Years absolutely no leeway. Study, study, study. Essays, essays, essays. Homework, homework, homework. Exam, exam, exam. All nighters were practically becoming the norm. It certainly didn't make life any easier when one was on their House's Quidditch Team, not that Jake would dream of dropping his position as Beater. Quidditch was the one bloody thing he could actually muster some excitement getting out of bed for these days. Merlin, and it wasn't even halfway through the year yet.

Another wide yawn, and he propped his elbows up on the window from whence the owls came and went, resting his tired head on his fists.

NEWTs were going to be the death of him.

He'd sent his mother's owl back a good twenty minutes ago, knowing the elderly, narky Cirrus would be far easier to deal with if he was sent on his merry way back to his mistress. The great snowy had done his time at Hogwarts, many, many years ago, and was never eager to stay around. Thankfully, Jake's own little sweetheart, Natasha, was not of the overtly jealous or ridiculously prideful sort, and had thus not minded too much when he'd forgone sending her off with his letter in favour of Cirrus. In fact, she'd seemed surprisingly mellow all things considering, but then again, it was entirely likely she'd much preferred the idea of an extra snooze in favour of being forced out into the sunlight when others were more willing. She was exactly like her owner in that respect - eager for a lovely snooze when the opportunity presented itself.

Though for Jake, snooze was the fast and loose term at present. He'd do far better if he holed himself up in his bed and hibernated for a week. Yet another yawn escaped the lad's maw; he didn't even bother to stifle it, simply shaking his curly head slightly before letting his head fall with another soft thwump onto his upraised fists.

"Must be nice to be an owl, 'Tash. You get to sleep all day unless I absolutely need you."

A soft-spoken but no less indignant hoot was the response, and Jake chuckled, voice broken with tiredness at the end of another school day. Stifling another yawn, he reached over to smooth his owl's russet-red feathers back in supplication, petting her absentmindedly until it seemed all offence was forgotten, and Natasha was reduced to the same sleepy mumblings as Jake himself was fast becoming reduced to. Less than that, even - the soft hoots and shuffling of many wings, the sheer quiet in the Owlery otherwise, the cool, tangy breeze...it was the undoing of anyone. Especially anyone suffering a lack of sleep, and thus, without even consciously realising, Jake's head nodded in his hands, eyes sliding closed and body drooping just slightly. Not quite enough for him to fall over from standing, but certainly enough to be considered just a little more than a light doze.

[Seamus Finnigan]

Seamus had promised his mum that he would write to her and often particularly considering he was chosen as the Gryiffindor champion and yet he had done no such thing. He felt terrible about it as he knew she was worried about him but life and things had just been so busy that there was hardly and time to sit down and write a letter as he was spending time in class, preparing for the next task, doing homework as professors took no sympathy on those who were elected champions. Then there was serving detention for any explosion he caused which were happening a bit more often than usual. The explosions didn’t bother Seamus, he hadn’t lost his eyebrows since first year but the detentions were murder. There was quidditch practice and then he had to try and squeeze some time in to be with his friends which left little time to write and send a note home.

In addition to not having much time for anything, when he did have time to write a letter home he didn’t have time to get to the owlery to send the blasted thing off. Thus he had written his mum a note and then didn’t get a chance till now to actually race up to the owlery to send the note off. It was funny the time he had the most spare time was the time when very little could be done due to curfew and that was late at night. But today was a day where there was not qudditch practice and he actually was able to not manage a detention. Sure he could spend time with Neville and Luna but he was starting to feel bad about not sending off his letter as his mum he was sure was now worried sick, so Seamus decided to catch up with his best mates later and send off his not slightly old and out of date letter to his mum. He’d make up for it later because he didn’t have time to re-write and then send it off it was either write a new note and not send it and have it wait forever or send an old one. Sending the old one got news even if it was old news to his mum and it verified that he was still alive , which he was. He didn’t think or anticipate that he would be dying any time soon due to the competition or at all even but mothers had an odd way of thinking of great horrors that could befall their children or at least his mother though not over protective did. He knew she worried more than she let on.

Thus Seamus ran up to the top of the tower and was surprised to see another person there in the tower. Keisinger, Seamus wondered what he was doing and he looked a bit closer realizing that he wasn’t reacting to his presence and he realized that he was drifting off to sleep! He thought he was busy and wearing out and yet there was Keisinger, of course he was in NEWTs and he heard those were murder.

”Not goin soft are ya Keisinger?” asked Seamus thinking that a bit of good natured teasing wouldn’t do any harm and that way the guy wouldn’t have to be too embarrassed at falling asleep. Keisinger was a pretty good bloke and a rather good beater. Though on the pitch they were enemies per-say Seamus go along with most of the qudditch players in general save for the Slytherins.

[Jake Keisinger]

so what we muck up

so what we don't sleep
we're just havin' fun
and we don't care who see's

* * * * * *[/center]

If he'd been of a more nervous disposition, the lack of noticing Seamus's approach would have put him on edge, and his voice would have given him a downright case of heart failure. Fortunately, Jake was the sort who was slow to react most days - especially off the Quidditch Pitch, jokingly his one true love and the only thing he gave his entire undivided attention to - and thus, while his body startled a bit from the shoulders down, he didn't do anything too dramatic upon discovering he had company. Like...falling out of the window, or something.

"Mm...ugh..." The Seventh Year yawned widely, making a half-hearted attempt to bat at the very obviously out of reach Seamus before giving up and leaning back against the sun-warmed stone that made up the glass-less window pane, brown eyes...er, eyeing off Seamus with something somewhere between reproach and baleful amusement. He could have been embarrassed, and he might have been if others - especially a Professor or a girl, bloody hell - had caught him, but with other guys, especially mates, it was a bit hard to be mortified. Though he'd probably done him a favour; if he'd fallen any more asleep, he'd have practically ended up on the floor. And while Jake didn't mind getting a bit dirty on rather frequent occasions, even he didn't fancy waking up to owl droppings smeared across his face.

"Come here, F-finnigan." Another yawn and a playful, half-hearted attempt to swipe at the out of reach Seamus again. "Come here so I can beat you to death."

Another yawn, though this one he managed to stifle, giving up his attempts to get at the Gryffindor for a moment in favour of letting a rather affronted Natasha use his waving arm as a new perch (as opposed to tearing off a finger, as she seemed rather close to doing...abusive to him, fairly nice to others, she was, the strange owl) before looking up, blinking the sleep away from his eyes so he could better focus on his fellow student and friend of a sort.

"You're looking ridiculously energetic. Got a letter to send?"

livin' young and wild and free

so what we go out, that's how we're supposed to be

Notes: Sorry Carrie, testing my new pretty coding shizz. xD