Doc breathed a small sigh of relief as he closed the door to his dorm behind him and strolled sedately down to the common room, nodding and throwing friendly grins at the people lingering around the room as he went through. He needed to get out for a bit, just to think and have a bit of time away from his house- and roommates. Not that there was anything wrong with his roommates, per se. Possibly Yaxley, but Doc didn't talk to him all that much, which was how he preferred it, really, so he didn't really have too much of an opinion. Doc wasn't what he would call close to any of them. He often found himself needing a bit of an escape from them, to think, or study the way he wanted to without having to get competitive over whose study habits worked better than someone else's, or do something crazy that they wouldn't approve of. Or anything fun, really. They were a rather stiff lot, his roommates.
After leaving the common room, Doc found himself wondering aimlessly. Which he was fine with. It was Sunday night, he didn't have Quidditch, all of his important homework was done, his owl - having been away delivering something to his mother in Zambia or wherever she was at the moment - was fine, he hadn't knocked up anybody at Sirius Black's little get-together. Life was pretty good, comparitively speaking. He just felt like going for a walk, really.
Passing by the entrance for the stairs heading up to the Astronomy Tower, Doc paused for a second, thinking it over, and decided why not? He headed up the stairs, cheerfully hopping up the steps two at a time. Reaching the top few stairs, he inhaled deeply, expecting the crisp, chilly air of the oncoming night. Instead, he smelt the familiar scent of a cigarette. Curious, he slowed down as he came up the last steps, peering around for the source.