You are getting sleepy...(Gemma)

[brett]

Regulus Black stood in the shadow of a large pillar just off the stair case near the great hall. It was eerily only the flicker of flames from near by torches and the ocassional far off footsteps. Inside Reg's mind was equally as quiet, thinking in whispers so he could better here the approach of the care taker. He flipped the dark hood of his cloak over his head putting his face into shadow. This was going to be an interesting night.

Reg was awaiting the arrival of Gemma Avery, a Gyffindor Seventh year who had helped him discover a likely cure to his sleeping problems. Tonight he would be returning the favor. He touched the black leather of the bag slung over his shoulder, even though the bag contained a tent that once you were inside appeared to be the size of a typical apartment the bag weighed barely a pound. Ah the wonders of magic.

Regulus wondered if Gemma would have thought to put silencing charms on her shoes as he had. He wondered if she even knew the charm, not that she would be incapable of learning it Reg just couldn't remember if it was taught in class or if he had picked it up in one of his trips to the library. In any case it shouldn't be long now and either he heard her footsteps or he didn't, as long as she came down the stairs he could see her arrival.

[gemma0avery]

Gemma Avery quietly made her way down the halls of Hogwarts, her stocking covered feet making no sound as she moved on. Yes, she had taken off her shoes so she wouldn’t make any sounds… She’d also been smart enough to cast some spells on her cloak. It didn’t make her invisible or anything, it just kind of made it seem like it was the most natural thing in the world for Gemma to be wandering around the halls at that time of night. The spell only didn’t affect someone that was specifically looking for Gemma then. Ingenious, no?

Gemma took a deep breath, letting it out in a sigh as she neared the staircase. Gemma was… Nervous. She was reasonably so though… Tonight could be the night! This could be the night she finally figured out what was wrong with her sleeping problem! And once she figured out why she couldn’t sleep then Gemma could start doing stuff to make her problem go away! And before she knew it, maybe even by Christmas, Gemma could be getting a good night’s sleep! Oh the possibilities where endless!

Gemma grinned at the thought of a good night’s sleep as she took another deep breath and let it loose. Yes! There we go! She just needed to concentrate on getting a good night’s sleep and then she wouldn’t freak out about staying out all night with a cute Slytherin guy she had a crush on… Yep, it’s all about focus!

[brett]

Regulus heard Gemma let out a sigh from the bottom of the staircase and appeared from his shadowy hiding spot. "No shoes...interesting choice," he commented looking at her feet. "I personally prefer a silencing charm, but whatever works," He shrugged. Reg made sure to keep his voice low as he spoke and the shots at his shoeless companion may have been a bit unnecessary, but he couldn't help it. "We should go," he said quietly quickly reminding himself they had a purpose.

Keeping his hood up as a safety precaution Regulus crep to the large front door pushing it open slowly, and just enough for Gemma and himself to squeeze through. No need to take a risk by opening the door anymore then he needed to. Once they were out he closed the door just as cautiously as he had opened it. They were locked out now, but they wouldn't need to return till morning anyway so that was a non factor. And of course being the cunning snake that he was Reg knew of a few secret passages that led from the forest into the dungeons.

This should be an interesting night to say the least. It had been sometimes since the younger Black brother had been out camping. He and Sirius had gone numerous times in their youth. Of course their parents hadn't approved so they would say they were going to stay with their uncle who sometimes did come with them, but more often stayed at home to cover for the boys while they slept out in the nearby woods. That very same uncle had been helping Sirius out financially after he 'ran away.' It was because of this that his uncle shared the fate of the nephew he so kindly helped. A black mark now cover what was once a small profile portrait on the tapestry in Grimmauld.

[gemma0avery]

Gemma grinned as they crept out the large front door. She couldn’t help it really, it felt like some kind of cheesy spy movie the way they were quietly creeping about the school grounds, all it needed was a cheesy background song. Probably something… Pink Panther-ish would fit best, or maybe the classic James Bond theme. Yeah, James Bond would fit perfectly.

Gemma found herself quietly humming that exact song as she slipped her shoes on, still following Regulus, who seemed to be lost in his own thought, towards the Forbidden Forest. She could be doing worse things than humming though… Like she could be freaking out about how if they were caught she would probably be expelled. Or freaking out about the fact she was going alone into the forest with one of the most well-known, wickedly evil Slytherins there was how could kill her in her sleep if he wanted. Or once again the fact that she was going to be staying the night, ALL ALONE, with one of the cutest Slytherin guys she’d ever met!

Still humming the James Bond theme, and slightly wondering if it was getting on Reg’s nerves, Gemma did her best to calm down and get ready to go to sleep as soon as possible once they reached their destination… So far it wasn’t working though. All that she could really think of at the moment was that damned James Bond song, that was now stuck in her head and REALLY starting to annoy her, and the fact that she had her wand tucked up in hr sleeve and it was poking her quite painfully in the wrist.

[brett]

Regulus shot Gemma a glare or to as she continued to hum that stupid song. What was it anyway, ugh, why did he care? 'Just remember you owe her, you owe her,' Regulus repeated over again in his head. At least it was just humming, nothing loud enough to be heard by anyone they couldn't see. Not getting caught was Reg's number one concern, otherwise he would have turned around a long time ago and told Gemma to shut it. But that was unnecessary noise and they were almost to the forest now.

Finally at the forests edge Reg crept into the darkness, he made sure they were a safe distance in before he lit his wand. "Lumos" he muttered causing a soft light to emit from his wand tip. Holding it out in front of him he could barely see five feet in front of him, but that was all he needed. Reg had two options one clearing was his hiding spot, his safety zone, it was small and secure, only one other person knew of it...that he was aware of. The second was larger, not as well closed in, and not as deep.

The second one served their purpose best. As far as he could tell it had been used for camping in the past. It was barely 25 feet into the forest, not nearly deep enough to be attack by anything dangerous, but with just enough cover that you probably won't be found. Of course it was a bit hard to find the way there as it had been awhile since Reg's last visit. Lucky for him he had a pretty good internal compass and soon enough found the spot, "Here we are," he said relieved. "What'd you think?" he asked forgetting he had been upset with Gemma as he put down his bag and waved his wand to begin magically setting up the tent.

[gemma0avery]

Gemma was finally able to stop humming the James Bond theme song, but only because she had started going over songs her band would sometimes play in her head. Luckily though this time Gemma was able to keep from humming or anything else.

“Pretty nice.” Gemma commented after casting lumos with her own wand and using it to look around “How’d you find a place like this? Must spend a lot of time in the forest, eh?” she questioned as she continued curiously scanning the area. She noticed that Regulus was setting up a tent out of his bag, which kind of interested her since she and her grandfather camped a lot. They did it the Muggle way though and she could figure that his tent was probably one of those nifty wizard ones that were almost like a house inside. They were nice and all, but she kind of liked a simple Muggle tent.

Continuing on with the simple thought line of camping trips she’d taken with her grandpa, including one during which she’d fallen in the river and gotten drenched but had refused to use her grandpas coat to warm up with out of pride and the fact he probably needed it, Gemma was able to relax and for once since that afternoon not get distracted by the thought she was going to be staying the night in the woods with a guy she barely knew and had a crush on.

[brett]

"Most of my fourth year actually," Reg smiled. "I think I found this clearing third year though," he added thinking that was right. It was either third or second, hard to remember that far back. First and second year Reg never really went deep into the forest because of the Forbidden moniker that had been placed on it. By about third year a mix of boredom and strong sense of adventure sent him onto a few exploratory walks wherein, he believed, he had discovered the campsite. Fourth year Regulus had become cocky enough to believe that he could take on anything that may attempt to attack him in the forest, and when that was combined with his usual spot by the lake constantly being taken he started exploring the forest for new places to think and hide away from the rest of the world.

Regulus till hadn't ventured all that far into the forest considering how dense it probably was. He wasn't exactly afraid of getting lost because he generally had good sense in direction. Not to mention he always brought his broom when exploring new territory so if worst came to worst he could fly up and over the forest if necessary. The reason that he tried to stay out of the deeper areas of the forest was that he had been fortunate so far encountering only a few hostile creatures. A giant spider which he had petrified and then dismembered as those were the best spells he knew at that time. As well as a few others, including Centaurs which had only seen him at a distance and hiding and some cloaking spells worked nicely in that instance.

Looking to the tent Regulus saw that it had finished setting up nicely. Being a perfectionist he went around and checked the stakes and general structure for good measure. After he was satisfied he looked to Gemma "You ever been camping before?" he asked unable to remember if she had mentioned this before or not. He waved her over not waiting for the answer as he ducked into the tent. Looking around the inside was much larger than it would seem. Reg took a deep breath allowing memories to flow back to him for a moment. He looked around the inside of the tent, which was about the size of a smallish apartment, with two bunk beds, small kitchen area, a pull-out sofa, as well as a table with three chairs where meals were had and and additional few sitting chairs. It was quite nice really. Of course it was a bit out of date now and much larger ones were available, but this one would suit his purpose just fine.

[gemma0avery]

Gemma had been ready to answer that yes, she had in fact been camping before… But before she could Regulus had ducked inside the tent. Gemma shrugged and undid her lumos spell before following him inside.

“Wow, it’s like a house in here…” Gemma commented as she looked around, a slightly mystified look on her face. Yeah, it was probably obvious now that while she had been camping she’d never used Wizarding gear before… Guess this night was definitely one of firsts. First night out with a guy she didn’t consider as a sibling, first night being friendly with a Slytherin guy, and first night using Wizarding gear for camping. For some reason she vaguely wondered if Regulus had marshmallows, she could roast them over the stove or even use a spell. That would be tasty…

Ack! There Gemma went again, her mind skipping randomly around from thought to thought like a sugared up grasshopper! But that wasn’t really something new, she’d never been to stay with one train of thought for to long, not even when she was a child… Maybe that was associated with her sleeping problems, maybe not… Who knew, maybe her focusing problems were some kind of mental disorder that should be medicated or spelled… Then again, maybe not.

[brett]

"More like a flat really," Regulus commented smirking as he looked back at Gemma. Some how he had known she had never been amping before, at least not his style of camping. Which in Reg's opinion was the same as never having been camping. It felt almost homey inside the warmth of the tent. Afraid that Sirius would have no where to go Regulus had written Sirius a letter offering him the tent, only to receive a semi-polite declining of the offer as he would be living with the Potters. It had been a slap in the face at first, but now Reg was glad he got to keep the tent for himself.

"So do you want top or bottom?" Reg asked Gemma as he made his way over to the beds, tossing the now empty duffel bag beneath the bottom bunk. When they were younger Sirius and Regulus would have competition during the day, collecting firewood(without magic) or racing usually to decide who would get the top bunk. Now that he was 16 however it hardly made a difference to Reg as to where he slept.

"Or I could just take the top one off if you prefer," Regulus added remembering this third option. He wasn't sure how Gemma felt about bunk beds. It really wouldn't be any trouble to unhook the top bunk and bring it down next to the bottom one. Actually he supposed that positioning would be most conducive to studying Gemma's sleep, or lack there of.

[gemma0avery]

Gemma looked slightly nervous for a moment as she mentally wrestled with the idea of sharing another bit of her past with Regulus, but after a moment or so her spontaneous will to befriend Reg won over and she decided to spill the reason why she’d never get on the top bunk of a bunk bed ever again.

“Sorry, I have a terrifying childhood memory of being pushed off a bunk bed head first by my cousin… I’d rather take the sofa…” Gemma told him with a slight smile as she continued to look around the flat-like tent in an amused way. It was odd, but Gemma had started to notice that she could be amused or entertained by some of the randomest, simplest stuff! Like that morning she’d been amused by the pattern in the wood of her desk, she’d been absolutely mystified by the different shapes she could find for almost the entire class! Or a few days ago when she’d spent most the night making shapes in the shadows of the fire in the Gryffindor Common Room!

Looking back at these moments Gemma felt like quite the imbecile actually… I mean, what kind of person would be entertained by stuff like that other than a small child or a complete idiot? She caught herself sighing aloud at this realization and sincerely hoped Regulus didn’t hear.

[brett]

Regulus shrugged, "You could just take the bottom one," he offered not wanting Gemma to feel as though she couldn't sleep in a bed because of a bad experience. "But if you prefer to stay away from the bunk all together the couch does pull out," he added vaguely motioning to the couch figuring he didn't need to show her where it was. After all the tent wasn't that large and everything was in plain view, but the hand motion was more of a habit thing.

"My Uncle used to sleep there when Sirius and I went out camping with him as kids," Reg said the smile running away from his face as his sentence ended taking him away from his childhood and into the present. So strange to think how much had changed. The summer of Reg's second year was the last time he had been camping with his brother and Uncle. There was some tension between the brothers after two years of being forced to hate each other during the school months. But in the woods none of that had really mattered. They didn't have to be a Slytherin and a Gryffindor, they could just be brothers...sometimes Reg missed those days.

But there was no use in recalling them now, and Reg quickly shook his sentimental state. Now was not the time to show weakness, in front of a Gryffindor girl who he should not even be associating with. He owed her, that was why this arrangement had been made. Not so she could see he was really a nice guy, or so they could become the best of friends. As long as he was stuck in this circumstance however he might as well enjoy it. "You hungry?" Reg asked standing from the bottom bunk and leaving all his reminiscence laying there as he did so. "I didn't restock the bag, but there's still some graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate bars if your interested," Reg smirked hoping that muggle camping had at least taught Gemma what a s'more was though he knew neither the ingredients nor methods she would have used would be as good, but that was the way it was with all muggle things. It was almost cute the way they unknowingly tried to compete with the wizarding world.

[gemma0avery]

“I’ll just take the couch, the idea of sleeping on a bunk bed at all just kind of terrifies me…” Gemma admitted with a casual shrug “Plus I’ve slept on so many pullout couches while staying at friends’ houses they seem more comfortable me most times than my actual bed does.” She added with a teasing smile, feeling more comfortable and now able to completely ignore the fact she was spending a night out in the Forbidden Forest with a younger-than-her Slytherin guy she had a slight crush on.

Gemma was kind of liking the fact that Regulus was able to talk about random stuff liking camping with his Uncle and brother with her, maybe it meant he was feeling comfortable around her. She kind of hoped it did, it would really make this whole observation-of-her-sleep-thing a lot easier.

“Good, we can make some s’mores then.” Gemma told Reg with a smile after he told her what they had to work with. Gemma loved s’mores, and it was one of the things her grandpa had had no problem using magic to make when she was younger. Being able to watch him use magic to melt the marshmallow and chocolate had always added to the appeal for Gemma, and she’d gone as far to making sure the spell he’d used was one of the first ones she really got down.

[brett]

"Fair enough," Regulus shrugged. As long as they had the pull out couch he supposed they might as well use it. "It fold out already made," he added figuring he may as well mention that. He was pretty sure muggles pull-outs couldn't do that, right savages that they were. Regulus really almost pitied them, how they had managed to survive so long was a wonder in itself. Too bad for them it wouldn't last long. As soon as the Dark Lord finished raising the massive numbers needed to complete the task Wizards would take their rightful place as rulers of the muggles.

The fire faded from Reg's eyes as he realized where he was. Now was not the time for hatred. Now was the time for a fun night of camping with a cute red head suffering from sleeping problems. He may have only been repaying a favor, but that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy himself. Even if she was a Gryffindor who seemed to have some dirty roots.

"You read my mind," Regulus smirked. So she did know how to make s'mores. "Do you want to roast them over the fire and bring back old memories?" Regulus smirked teasing her. He Sirius and his Uncle actually would eat there s'mores out by the fire but they used magic to actually make them, it always seemed more effective. Of course he and Sirius still took some marshmellows and held them over the fire to burn. There was something fascinating about fire, though Reg couldn't quite say what. Of course he always did like watching his unlce cast a frozen fire that was safe to walk through and he would dance around in the fir pit laughing...those were good times, but reminising was nit why he had come out tonight.