MAUVE VIOTTO.

"What the fuck?" Alyssa is one more question away from thrashing the entire library, and I know this for a fact. She groans, hitting her head on the table multiple times. "This doesn't even make sense!" She whines.

We're currently attempting to complete the Potions homework that we both had forgotten to do. I would laugh at her struggle, but I'm in the same predicament. "Should we even bother?" I shrug, losing hope. It's nearing three in the morning now, and we hardly had anything written on the parchment laid out in front of us.

"I can't fail this class," she reminds me with a pointed look. "Ma and Pa will drag me back to public school." She rolls her eyes. Alyssa's mom is a witch, but her dad is a muggle. He's also pretty strict — Alyssa told me she had to beg for weeks to even send an application to Hogwarts.

"Fuck," I groan. I run a hand through my blonde locks in frustration. "What do we do? There's no way we can finish it now." I glance at the clock on the wall, watching as the minute hand makes its way around the circle. We might even get caught being in the library after hours, which would further prompt Alyssa's dad to take her out of Hogwarts.

I try to rack my brain for an idea when Alyssa lets out a small laugh. I send her a questioning look at her sleep-deprived state. I'm used to being awake at these late hours, but she typically isn't.

"What?" I ask in confusion.

"You should shoot your shot right now," she jokes, laying her head on the wooden table as she lets out a soft yawn. "Maybe you can ask him out and after he says yes, ask for the answers." She half-heartedly encourages me, amusement dancing in her eyes.

I ponder on the idea, Alyssa shooting up at the thoughtful look in my eyes. "Don't tell me you're actually thinking about it!"

"What?" I laugh, leaning back in my chair. "I mean, it's a good idea— and we're kind of desperate right now." I pause, glancing at my phone. I do have his number, anyway. I wouldn't ask him out, but I could do something else.

I grab the device and unlock it quickly, scrolling through my contacts.

"Mauve— are you really?" She curiously leans over the desk in an attempt to peer at my rapid typing.

I shrug, only grinning at her as my eyes flicker between my screen and her interested face.

"I can't believe you could barely talk to him for three years, and now you're about to ask him out for answers!" She exclaims, throwing her hands in the air.

I roll my eyes as I click on Theodore's contact to add him to the group. We've had multiple conversations before— he would definitely help with breaking the ice. I add myself, Finley, Malfoy, Blaise, and Alyssa as well. "I'm not going to ask him out," I huff as I click 'create group'. I look up with a smile as I send my first message to notify everyone in the chat: Hey... how y'all doing? "But I am asking for the answers." I grin as a quiet ding is heard as Alyssa's phone lights up.

She raises an eyebrow, reaching out to check her phone. "A groupchat," she reads out, humming. Her eyes flicker up at me with a knowing look, "ugh, my best friend is so smart."

"Not smart enough to finish this dumb assignment, but sure." I laugh. Surprisingly, Malfoy does respond despite it being late in the night.

I groan, "I don't think he'll give us the answers." His responses hold an annoyed undertone, and I begin to doubt whether my idea would work or not.

Until Theo says Malfoy's getting his bag, that is.

My face breaks into a grin, my neck snapping to look at Alyssa when we both realize what's happening. Not long after, both of our phones ding with the answers to the assignments sent by Draco Malfoy himself.

"Holy shit!" She looks at me wide-eyed, a hint of pride in her smile. "No wonder you're in ravenclaw. Ugh, I love your brain."

I roll my eyes, laughing. "Fuck you!"

We start copying his assignment, obviously tweaking some details here and there to make it less obvious. I sigh in relief when I write the last word on the page, shaking my wrist to numb the pain in my writing hand.

"Finally," Alyssa groans in relief, dropping her head onto the table as she drops her quill. "I'm so fucking tired."

I glance at the clock, seeing that it's almost four now. "We should get going," I announce as I get up. The library would be re-opening soon, and neither of us want to get into trouble after the amount of stress we just had over a single assignment.

We clean up our table, lazily shoving our books in our respective bags. "Imagine if you and Malfoy dated," she snickers, her voice as low as a whisper while we make our way to the exit of the library. "You would be set for life, girl."

I shove her, a light blush spreading over my cheeks. "Shut up," I mutter in embarrassment. We peek our heads out the hallway to make sure Filch isn't wandering the halls. We hurry down the stairs, spitting off as Alyssa walks towards the Kitchens and I walk towards the Ravenclaw tower. I cover my mouth as I yawn, murmuring the answer to the riddle at the painting. I'm surprised it could still function properly enough to even dictate an answer, nonetheless the right one at that.

"Why are there so many fucking stairs?" I mutter to myself in annoyance, feeling the tiredness from my lack of sleep beginning to hit me.

The common room is empty, the glass of the chandelier glimmering with the natural light of the moon. The quietness isn't unusual, but is more prominent in the night. I walk right to the dormitories, quietly shutting the door behind me to prevent waking up my Luna, Cho, or Irelia. I place my bag down softly at the feet of my bed and grab some pyjamas. I slip out of my room and into the communal bathroom, changing out of my uniform in one of the circular, tube-shaped rooms. It was used for both showers and changing, with a small, curved divider in the middle.

I change quickly and walk back into my room, falling asleep almost right as my head makes contact with the silky blue pillows.