InsaneJournal

Eloise wasn't sure where Megan and Kinsey were.  Well, she knew they must be in the Common Room, possibly still playing one of the various games people had started up as the evening wore on and boredom grew.  Even though she was notoriously private with her feelings, Eloise really wanted to talk to them.  They were two of her closest friends, and if she was going to try and find a way out of the castle, she at least wanted them to know.  If Wayne was serious about what he'd written, she'd at the very least have his company, which was more than she could have hoped for. 

But maybe, if she talked with the other two face to face, they'd at least see she wasn't just going insane.  Waking up to find herself unable to leave the Common Room this morning had made something inside of Eloise snap.  She'd been coping quite well with knowing her mother was in Azkaban - after all, there were other students who had much worse to deal with, and at least her mother was alive.  Regardless, the sight of Aurors and Ministry workers, corrupt no doubt, guarding the doorways had made Eloise angrier than she could ever remember feeling and, even worse, completely powerless.  She needed to get away from here.

Glad to find the dorm empty, Eloise had begun going through her trunks and personal affects, packing some things away in a large bag.  She had no intention of making a run for it tonight, but it wouldn't hurt to be prepared.  Just as she was taking a break from packing to change the food in her rats' cage, she heard the sounds of someone entering the room.  It was only Susan, but Eloise hoped this wouldn't look to strange - who would be planning a trip right now?

"Oh, Susan, hey," she said, smiling tightly and snapping the cage door shut.  "How's everyone doing down there?"