Harry gripped his wand tightly as he shuffled down the dark corridor, licking his lips nervously. There wasn't a single torch lit on the walls, and Harry had no idea which door he'd slipped through in his frantic desire not to get caught by the approaching footsteps. Now he was inching his way against the cold wall, not daring to light his wand in case he attracted unwanted attention. Harry was alone now, since fearless ol' Niall had run off not even a minute after entering the dim Entrance Hall. He'd scurried back through the door that led to the underground Common Room, leaving Harry hissing his name after him.

Harry was beyond frustrated that his best mate had ditched him and their plan for that night when they were both so enthusiastic about it earlier that week. There wasn't much Harry could do once Niall made the split-second decision to leave; he was sure his friend was faster than he was and would've made it back inside his Common Room before Harry could lay a hand on him. So instead of chasing Niall back to the fruit painting, Harry had decided to continue on with their plan of sabotaging their Transfiguration test the next day by himself.

Upon hearing foreign footsteps echoing near the top of the Grand Staircase, though, Harry had made a mad dash for the nearest door off the Hall and secluded himself behind it. Engulfed by silence once more, Harry had calmed his thudding heart as much as he could and started off down the hallway.

It took him a good ten minutes of slow and nervous treading, all the while mentally cursing Niall, before his foot hit something solid. Even at the slow pace he was moving, the sudden stop threw Harry forward with a small yelp. He landed on a set of steps, rough and made of stone.

"Well this is just ridiculous," muttered Harry, and he gripped his wand in his sweaty hand and whispered, "Lumos!"

Eyes adjusting to the sudden light, Harry shone his wand in front of him. There were about twenty stairs climbing up before the rest of the staircase disappeared around a bend. Hand trailing on the railing-less wall to steady himself, Harry hurried up the old stones.

On the landing at the top of the staircase, where Harry had assumed there'd be a door of some sort, was a blank wall. Terrified and feeling suddenly claustrophobic, Harry spun in a circle, shining the light from his wand in every direction. If he had to go all the way back down the stairs and up that corridor into the Entrance Hall, he was sure to get-

There! Tucked away, Harry saw, was an opening in the wall about a meter wide. He slipped through it, immediately running into a heavy, large piece of fabric that completely covered the opening. It was a tapestry at least three times as wide as the slim entryway. Harry hurriedly shuffled out from behind it, grinning with relief when he saw he was now in a tall, moonlit, main hallway. Although which hallway, he really had no idea.

Harry's stomach had been clenched like an iron fist for the past half hour, and now with his freedom he instantly felt the buzz of post-adrenaline. He knew it was stupid, but he was upset that the short fearful jaunt was over; it had felt like the biggest thrill of his life. Examining the purple and gold tapestry closer now, Harry chuckled. He'd have to remember this little secret for later.

With a sinking feeling, he then realized that, although he had made it out of the Entrance Hall safely and without getting caught, he now had absolutely no idea where in the castle he was; he did assume, though, that he was very far away from his Common Room.

Well, thought Harry, no use in just standing here waiting for a teacher to find me. He extinguished his wand, then choosing at random, he turned and stepped lightly down the corridor, stopping before he rounded the corner. There wasn't any noise of prowling teachers or ghosts; the noises were Harry's breathing and the distant hoot of an owl.

As Harry continued on his way, nothing was really becoming clearer. Was this the Charms corridor? It looked a bit like it, but Harry didn't see the familiar classroom anywhere as he walked further down the hall. Maybe I'll be able to tell by looking at the grounds… Harry wondered. He looked for a window low enough for him to peer out of onto the dark Hogwarts landscape. He knew where in the castle he could see the Quidditch Pitch from, and also Hagrid's small hut.

Harry stifled a yawn as he trotted up to a window, feeling bitter about how his night had been wasted and he'd lost sleep for nothing. He knew he'd be exhausted for classes tomorrow and he was most likely going to fail the Transfiguration test. Niall was getting a good punch on the arm tomorrow at breakfast.

Pressing his hands and forehead to the cold glass of the window, Harry scanned the dark green grounds. His face fell in defeat as all he could see in both directions was the vast Forbidden Forest, almost inky black in the shadow of the castle.

Now Harry was worried. He was getting groggy in the late hour and his stomach felt like there were flobberworms crawling inside him. He stuffed his wand into his robes and ran his hands through his hair in frustration. He'd just have to continue along the corridors until he came across something familiar. If he avoided any confusing side passages and only used the common, mostly stationary staircases, there was no reason he wouldn't eventually-

"Hey!" a voice punctured the silence at the end of the corridor, making Harry freeze on the spot. It felt like someone had yanked a chain at the bottom of his stomach, draining his insides.

Oh no, oh no, oh shit shit shit, Harry screamed in his head as he remained still. Maybe if he didn't move, the person wouldn't see him. Maybe if he thought it hard enough, the stranger would disappear. Maybe.

But the person's footsteps continued straight to Harry's still form, stiff with fright. Harry had no idea what actually happened when you got caught out of bed after hours, having heard different horror stories from multiple people.

Thankfully, he hadn't been caught by the Headmaster, or any other teacher. It was a boy who walked up to Harry, still mostly dressed in his day uniform. His wand was out, and Harry saw on his chest was a silver Prefect badge.

"And what, may I ask, do you think you're doing?" the boy questioned Harry with eyebrows raised. Harry lowered his hands from his hair, flopping them down by his sides.

"Erm…" he started, but could quite literally think of nothing to offer as an excuse of why he was out of bed. If he told the Prefect the truth, that he had been planning to sneak into the Transfiguration classroom and steal the tests, he'd get into deep trouble. "Well, see I was… I was just…"

"Yes?" the boy prompted, hands moving to his hips. Gauging how stern this Prefect was, Harry searched his face in the light from the window. His eyes looked tired-probably from lots of night watches. But despite the bags, Harry saw that this boy's eyes were…well…beautiful. They looked like they belonged on a girl, with their long eyelashes and pretty shape. He also had a firm-looking mouth, but like someone who smiled a lot. And his hair was messy; it was swept out of his eyes and stuck up a bit in places. Harry thought this boy was lovely, and wondered wildly how he had never seen him before.

The boy changed from looking stern and suspicious to a bit weirded-out, as Harry simply looked at him, not finishing his sentence.

"Look, mate," he tried again, making Harry drop his gaze and return to looking guilty. "What have you been up to? Have you just been wandering around by yourself, or is there some sort of mess I have to go and clean up?"

Asking him a more direct questioned pulled an answer out. "I was just trying to find my way back to my Common Room. I went though a passageway and got lost," Harry fidgeted.

"Yeah, I would say so," the Prefect responded, looking at the patch on Harry's robes. "You're up on the fourth floor, mate."

Harry bit his lip in embarrassment. "Oh," he muttered. "Right." He had absolutely no idea what to do. He didn't want to ask the Prefect about his own punishment, that would just be plain stupid. So instead he simply coughed quietly, shifting his weight from foot to foot.

The other boy sighed loudly, rubbing his face tiredly. He scrutinized Harry, clearly seeing that the kid felt bad enough simply about being caught.

"Alright, listen," he said to Harry plainly. "Here's what needs to happen: I'm supposed to take you to Professor Slughorn immediately and tell him that I caught you wandering the halls after hours so he can decide on an appropriate punishment for you."

Harry's face fell; that was the last thing he wanted to happen. Slughorn would probably end up writing his parents, who he were sure wouldn't be pleased to hear of Harry's rule-breaking at all.

"But," the older boy continued. "That would take quite some time and a lot of effort on my part, and I am feeling rather exhausted. So what I'm going to do is take you back to your Common Room myself and make sure you stay there. And there's no real reason for Professor Slughorn or anyone else to know what happened. All right?"

Harry's face pulled up into a smile of disbelief, and he almost laughed. And although the seriousness in the Prefect's face was draining, Harry most certainly didn't want to annoy him and make him go back on his deal. He straightened his face out and nodded, looking again into the boy's pretty eyes. It looked like he was almost going to smile at Harry, but instead he turned and headed in the direction he came from. "Come on, then," he called to Harry over his shoulder.

Harry followed the boy in silence, across halls and down staircases. On one of them, the boy stuck an arm out to stop Harry in his tracks before he could continue stepping down. The boy took a large stride over two stairs in the middle, obviously avoiding them for good reason. Harry's legs being a bit shorter, he had to use the rail in an attempt to not lose his balance, but lurched forward after stepping all the same. The older boy grabbed Harry's torso and shoulders, stopping him from slipping down the stairs. His hands were strong and warm gripping Harry through his robes. His neck feeling hot, Harry coughed and thanked the boy as he let go.

They reached the Entrance Hall in another minute, Harry still trailing after the Prefect. Through the door to the dungeons, down the stone steps, and reaching the stretch of rough wall at the end of the corridor, Harry and the boy stopped walking.

"Right," Harry said a bit uncomfortably. "Thanks for, um…Well for doing this."

The Prefect raised his brows again and smiled a bit. "You're welcome. But I hope you know this doesn't always happen, and you shouldn't expect this if you're ever caught again. But you won't be caught again because you won't sneak out after hours again, will you?"

Harry, feeling uneasy, mumbled a "Right, right," to the ground. With nothing else to be said, Harry turned to the wall and muttered, "Doxy eggs," watching as a stone door that was previously hidden appeared in front of him. Harry didn't go in, though. His night had been rather exciting, and this boy he was standing with was rather mysterious. He had never seen him before fifteen minutes ago, and was worried he'd never see him again.

"You have a good night, then," the boy said to Harry, turning to make his way back up the corridor.

"Wait!" Harry called before he could stop himself. The Prefect turned and waited for Harry to continue. Harry licked his lips, his mind going blank. What did he want to say? What could he say? What did he want to tell this strange boy, who he'd never seen a day in his life but was now so reluctant to leave? Who was he? "W-What's your name?" Harry managed to get out, hands beginning to sweat slightly.

The older student looked confused for a moment, then chuckled quietly. "Louis," he answered. "Louis Tomlinson."

Harry nodded, unable to think of anything more to say to him. The boy, Louis, gave a nod signifying the end of the conversation. "Have a good night," he said as he turned and left Harry in front of the Common Room door.

Harry slipped inside, hearing the door magically click and lock behind him. He crossed the green-lit room to the dormitory staircase, yawning once more. Up in his room, after quietly sneaking to his bed, he stripped down to nothing and climbed under the covers. He could still get a decent amount of sleep before his dormmates began waking for the day. His brain clouded quickly as he buried into his pillow. He decided that tomorrow at breakfast, after he cuffed his idiot of a best friend for running like a pansy, he'd start taking notice around the Great Hall for the Prefects; really for one Prefect in particular. He'd look for the one with the messy hair and the pretty eyes. The one who wasn't too tall and who probably smiled a lot.

And after he found him, maybe he'd thank Niall. Maybe.