It was absurd, Albus decided, to leave the fire going when he was the only one still awake. It was, after all- Al turned his head to check on the large clock in the corner of the room, squinted at it, and suddenly resented muggle clocks, because they didn't use fucking roman numerals- 4:27 in the morning. With a sigh, he leaned back and looked at the fire, which was finally dying down. It was also upside down, but, Al consented, that was probably because he was the one who was lying down on the couch.
Al had only woken about an hour ago, but he felt like he had been awake for days. It was probably because he hadn't slept for more than three hours at a time at night anymore- and while he knew the reason, he refused to acknowledge it- and those short sleep snippets were hardly more than naps.
The stairs creaked, and Al turned a lazy eye towards them, and he caught sight of his cousin Dom coming down the stairs. She paused upon seeing him, then sighed loudly and wrapped her Slytherin green robe tighter around herself. "What on earth are you doing up at this hour, Al?" she asked tiredly.
"I could ask you the same," he replied airily, waving his hand through the air in a semi-dramatic gesture.
She finished her trek down the stairs, coming to stand in front of his view of the fire. "I came down here for a glass of water, but I'm going to take a wild stab in the dark and say that you've been up for a while." When he said nothing in reply, she rolled her eyes and knelt down to his eye level. Despite their slight age difference- two years- the two of them were quite close. She could read him better than either of his siblings or his parents. "You need sleep, Al. Your OWLS are coming up soon, you know, and you can't afford to fall asleep in the middle of them…"
She trailed off when he waved his hand dismissively. "I know I need to rest before my OWLS, but what good is sleep when it only makes me more tired?" he asked his cousin, not really expecting an answer.
She didn't have one, as he predicted, so she just sighed and stood. Her fingers ran through his hair just once, and she went to get her water. When she returned, as she stood on the bottom of the stairs, she said, "If you would tell someone other than me- like Jade, who wouldn't say anything- you would feel better and sleep wouldn't be so unreachable."
The stairs creaked as she made her way up them, eventually disappearing into her dorm room. He returned his gaze to the fire, pondering her words. The clock read 4:35 am.