"Waaaah!"
"Ugh!" Justin Finch-Fletchley, a Hufflepuff Master, growled. "That's the fifth time that girl has woken all of us!"
"Hush Justin!" Draco called out. He was already having a headache and Justin didn't have to make it worse. "Don't make my headache worse."
Justin mummbled an apology before saying, "Since you're so attached to her anyway, mind taking care of her for the rest of the night?"
"DIDN'T YOU HEAR ME?!" Draco suddenly snapped, "I SAID I HAVE A HEADACHE! HOW CAN YOU POSSIBLY – "
"DRACO!" All the other occupants in the tower shouted.
Justin grinned weakly, "Great Draco, you just woke the whole freakin' tower up. And you know what that means…"
Draco sighed, "Yeah… yeah I do."
For the last month or so, the occupants of Master's Tower haven't slept much. Usually, if they were lucky, they would get at least three nights of a complete five-hour rest. But if fortune weren't siding with them, they would only get one night of full sleep. The reason for this is toddler that is now playing with Draco's hair. Yup, that's right, Mia.
Mia isn't really the crying type of child. She hardly cries, thank whatever. It was more like her and her charge's hyperactive attitudes that kept all of them awake. After dinner, when everyone has finished with their homeworks – thanks to Hermione who wouldn't let anyone do anything with unfinished homeworks – they would play with her. At first, it would start only with the little gestures of tickling. Then while doing so, someone would come up with a joke that would make everyone listening laugh. It wouldn't be long until all of them are sited in a circle exchanging stories with each other. Their stories were exaggerated and were told with actions to make Mia happy. She would clap her small hands and giggle with glee that everyone around her would want to coo her forever. It isn't until a person would hint a sign of restlessness that they would realize what time it was. Even though they tried so hard to sleep on time, sometimes, it was just so hard to let go of what they were doing. You can't blame them, either…. They are having fun!
And that's another thing. No one would have ever thought that if you combine the students from Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, the result would be… pleasant. Why? Because there was the house rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin PLUS the fact that it isn't a normal Gryffindor/Slytherin rivalry. Because the students of the said houses are Weasley and Malfoy, two people who never got along with each other. At least, that was before they were put in the same tower. Everyone was so amazed to see Ron talking to Draco in a good-natured manner. Everyone was more surprised when the two of them actually started the "Late-Night-Rap" – as they liked to call it.
Then there was also this problem with the Slytherins hating the Hufflepuffs for their loyalties. Same with the Gryffindors hating the Ravenclaws because they're too smart for their own good. No one could guess how this miracle happened, but they were thinking it had something to do with their first lesson with Helga and how she made them all see that they don't hate each other. But that couldn't be it, could it?
Anyway, back to Baby Mia. She wasn't a crybaby, but when she cried, you better watch out. There are only a few times when she cried in the middle of the night and it was usually for a change of diaper or a drink. Her wails are loud and irritating, sounding like the screech of cat's nails in the teacher's board. That's why Justin was not on a good mood when he woke up that night, and so was Draco. It was the third time Mia had woken them up that night and no one had even an hour's sleep. It was a good thing that tomorrow was Saturday and there were no classes because Draco was sure that every seventh year student would look like a zombie tomorrow morning.
"Hush," Draco said to the child in his arms, "Go to sleep, little Mia. Go to sleep."
But Mia only cried more.
"What does she want?" Draco asked, as Ernie and some other Hufflepuffs came into the room, "I've already fed her three times tonight!"
Ernie shook his head and extended his arm to get Mia from Draco's embrace, "Here, let me see if I can help."
"Eeeeyuck!" Ernie said as soon as he smelt poo-poo coming from the little girl's diaper. "That's what your problem is, Mia! You smell like my grandma!"
Lavander, Parvati, Padma, and Hermione giggled as they also entered the room. Seeing Ernie handling Mia with one hand stuck to his nose, his face clearly signing disgust, they couldn't help but do otherwise.
"Here, we'll help you fish her up," Padma said, taking out her wand and uttering a spell to take off her diaper. Her sister, Parvati, followed by levitating it until it reached the trash can. Lavander wiped off the dirt in Mia's cute little ass while Hermione finished it up by powdering it and setting the diaper tight around Mia's upper waist with a charm.
"Now that's over," Justin said, laying his head down at his bed, "Let's all go back to sleep…Yup. Let's go back to sleep." He put a hand on the front of his mouth to stop a yawn, but failed miserably. The next thing anyone knew was that he was already fast asleep.
"Ok, that's enough," Hermione said, "Let's all go to bed, too."
"But Hermione…" Parvati started to protest. She wanted to stay up late, again. But this time, it was Lavander who interrupted her, "No 'But's' Parvati, we already stayed up until 3:00, even I am tired. Let's just go to bed."
Parvati sighed, and Padma put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Come on, Sista, it's not that bad. We can stay up late tonight anyway, seeing as it's a weekend."
Nodding, Parvati resigned to her bed. And so did the other seventh years…
AN:// That's my 12th chapter! I'm on a role here! *Grins* Hehehe… Don't forget to review!