WELCOME

[Justinian Longbottom]

The bell tolled the midnight hour, causing Justin to jerk himself awake. That was the trouble with patrolling the halls at such a late hour. He always seemed to nod off around this time when he was supposed to be on the lookout for wayward students breaking the rules. It had always seemed a bit hypocritical to him that he do so. Wasn’t he violating the curfew by patrolling so late? The teen understood that as a Prefect he was a sort of law around Hogwarts, keeping his eyes peeled on those few students that might fall off the track and need scooping up again, but did it really require his presence so late in the evening in some of the scariest parts of the castle? It wasn’t as though Justin didn’t have time to do it. He usually did his homework straight after his last class, then ate dinner, and found a bit more time to either get a head start on more homework, catch up on reading, or lounge around pretending to listen to his friends babble on about nothing in particular.

He supposed he ought to take naps before going out on patrol, but Justin found he could never really do that. Part of the problem was anticipation. Normally the brown haired boy found himself patrolling the halls with Rose Weasley, the object of his affections. Nerves got to him as he tried to think up things to say to her while on patrol, but even when Justin found ten things to talk about, his tongue was almost always unable to allow words out of his mouth. He was tongued-tied around Rose, and it wasn’t really her fault. It was Justin’s own fault – he couldn’t speak to her like a normal human being. He could only listen to her make small talk, which probably made her think he didn’t like the time they spent together ... but then that would be thinking too much. Rose probably didn’t care one way or another if Justin spoke during their patrols or not. She had no reason to like him, or even tolerate him. The girl was above him in every way, shape, and form.

Tonight the pair had split up to go down separate hallways for a bit. It was normal to do this. Justin would patrol one hall, make sure nothing was amiss, and Rose would patrol another hall for the same reason. Once he had squeaked out to her to call if she needed help, but the words really had come out in a bit of a squeak, so Justin had never bothered repeating them. He felt a bit silly having said anything to her like that at all. Rose could probably take care of herself better than most females in the castle ... but then thoughts to that fateful accident in which she had been knocked out came to mind and gave Justin all the more reason to worry about her. Thus far nothing terrible had happened on any of the patrols the pair had gone out on, but that didn’t mean tonight would be the same as any other night.

Accidents were happening around the castle – accidents that were changing the way Justin looked over his shoulder when he was alone. In the past he hadn’t had reason to do it, but now ... there was something haunting Hogwarts, something that even the ghosts wouldn’t talk about. Whatever it was, several students had ended up in the hospital wing, and Justin didn’t want Rose to be one of them again. He would rather it be him in the infirmary rather than Rose, though it wouldn’t do any good if they weren’t in the same place when the accident happened. Actually, considering all that was going on around the palace, Justin had to wonder why he allowed Rose to go off on her own anyway. Perhaps he should turn around and go find her to be sure she was alright. That seemed like a good idea. Nodding to himself Justin turned to go back the way he had come. He could find something semi chivalrous to say to Rose when he found her. Justin hoped she wouldn’t be angry with him ...

But Justin paused in his footsteps at a noise coming from the other end of the hallway, the end in which he had been going before he decided to turn back for Rose. He froze. There really wasn’t much more he could do when a sound occurred. With a murmured word, Justin allowed the light on his wand to turn off, engulfing him in darkness. He waited for the sound to repeat, which wasn’t long after his light went out. Holding his breath, Justin tried to discern what the noise might be, but nothing came to mind. It had to be a student, unless it was one of the Professors ... either way, the noise and whoever was making it was coming toward Justin.

He flattened himself against the hall, counting the seconds in between the noise. It was becoming noisier, and almost sounded like a person muttering under their breath ... or dropping something. Maybe it was both. Justin strained his ears and nodded inwardly. Yes, it was definitely both. It sounded like a person was dropping something, muttering under their breath, and then picking whatever it was they had dropped up again. Unusual, though not by much. This was a school after all. It would stand to reason that a student be heading back to their Common Room, or even the library, and unable to see anything in the dark. It was after curfew, so the dark had to account for the fact that the person knew they were breaking curfew and trying not to get caught.

Of course, the noise was a bit of a let on to their being out so late. Whoever it was wandering around in the dark wouldn’t make a very good criminal. As the sound neared, to the point that Justin was fairly sure they were close enough to surprise, he turned his wand light back on. Blinking in surprise at who he saw, as well as trying to readjust his eyes to the light, Justin only managed to say, “You!?"

[Rose Weasley]

It certainly didn't take much to send Rose into a flurry of panic, but finding herself breaking a rule - even accidentally - was one of them. Not that if found she could possibly talk her way out of her current situation; as a prefect Rose was certainly no stranger to walking the halls at night, making sure everything was in order. And being such a dedicated student and prefect she could argue she was going above and beyond the call of duty...wearing a red tank top and black work out capris instead of her robes and badge. Why did i not grab my robes? she silently moaned as she tried to pad, cat like back to Gryffindor Tower to grab her spare and pretend like she hadn't abandoned her post. Not that it had been completely her fault; Renna had turned up in one hallway extremely excited and saying she had found a new technique and she really, really wanted to demonstrate. And how could Rose say no? It was her little pet project too.

This meant she had allowed herself to get dragged into an unused classroom to watch a demonstration. Which turned into Renna teaching the correct form and the girls practised against each other until Rose suddenly remembered why she was not in her common room in the first place. With a curse that was sure to make her Slytherin friend proud, Rose had dropped the sword and dashed out the door...only to realize as she practically flew down the stairs to the corridor she was supposed to be in that she was no longer wearing her robes but the practice outfit she normally kept in the practice room on the fourth floor. And with footsteps approaching Rose knew there was no time to make a dash to get them again - she was caught and caught good. Deep down the redhead knew she deserved this - she and Renna's little secret project had already resulted in several close calls and their luck was bound to run out eventually. However Rose just wished it wasn't in this particular situation.

Especially when the voice that called out in such shock belonged to Justinian. Oh. My. God. Rose's normally quick brain and poise completely failed her. There was absolutely nothing she could think to say now that would get her out of this. All she could think about was the fact that Justinian's father was the head of their house and that if he heard about this her goal of being head girl was squashed. (There was also a little voice saying that on a scale of one to ten, she'd rather go back to the bathroom incident than live out this little scene.) "This isn't as bad as it looks." she managed, trying not to flinch or think about the flush going up her cheeks or that she'd heard her cousin Lily use that exact phrase so many times before. This is it. I'm dead. Hogwarts career is over. Will Beauxbatons take me for just one year? Trying to diffuse things then led to Rose going "The east stairwell and fourth corridors are clear." Oh wonderful. Babble. Way to look completely guilty Weasley.

For another moment Rose stood in the hallways, squirming like a deer trying to break free of the glare of a vehicle's headlights. She definitely wished she had thought to grab her robes so that she could hide behind them, or at least summon up a little dignity. At least I don't have the sword. That would definitely raise some awkward questions. she thought, playing with the hem of her shirt. Finally she couldn't take the awkward silence any longer. Almost pleading - and it had been years since she had had to do so to avoid getting in trouble - she looked at Justinian and asked in a small voice "You aren't going to tell on me are you?" Probably unfair of her to ask - she rarely did not report troublemakers herself - especially since she was asking the son of the Head of Gryffindor. But she really, really was sorry and didn't want her dream shattered because of simple curiosity. Biting her lip and fighting the temptation to close her eyes, Rose waited for the response and hoped for the best and expected the worst.

[Justinian Longbottom]

Justin wasn't really sure what to think. On the one hand, Rose was a prefect, and she had every right to be wandering the halls. But, on the other hand, this wasn't her post... the two of them had split up for a reason, and now Justin was just confused. If she was here, did that mean she was done for the night? But where were her robes? He could have sworn she had had them on earlier in the evening... but now she didn't. It didn't make sense, but Justin found himself trying to think up logical explanations on Rose's behalf. Perhaps they had gotten dirty, and she had taken them off. Or perhaps she had found another student shivering with cold, handed them her robe, and sent them on their way (after deducting house points, of course). Actually, if he thought about it long enough, there could be half a dozen logical explanations as to why Rose was here and not where he had thought she was.

The next thought that crossed his mind was perhaps he had dawdled too much and lost track of time. Maybe Rose was heading back to the common room because she was done for the night, which mean Justin was inept at his own post this evening -- he was only halfway through inspecting the usual halls and classrooms to be sure no one was out where they ought not be. That was pretty bad, even for him, and he hoped that Rose wouldn't point out how slow he was being. But he hadn't thought he had been that caught up in his thoughts that he had lost track of time. He would think he would have been able to hear the bells even while thinking, but the last one he had heard... Justin scrunched up his face, realizing he honestly didn't remember how many rings had gone off recently. So it was very possible that he had lost himself in his thoughts and was going to be scolded...

At least until Rose spoke up, claiming that it wasn't as bad as it looked. Just that phrase alone made him think she had done something she shouldn't have, which didn't make any sense. This was Rose, after all. Since when did she do anything remotely close to breaking the rules? It was one of the many things he liked about her... But that was getting off topic.

"Er..." He didn't get much more out, for the redhead was quickly saying that the areas she had been patrolling were clear. That made sense, he supposed. But why was she here now, and where were her robes? And why did she look guilty?

Suddenly Justin was concerned. Had something happened that she didn't want him to know about? Was something afoot he needed to handle? He wasn't sure how good he would be at handling whatever it was, but he could try if he absolutely had to. As long as it didn't involve people much larger, or quicker with their wands, than himself.

Justin was working up the nerve to say all this when Rose asked him if he was going to tell, and that, quite frankly, put him at a loss for words. Tell? On Rose? Of course he wouldn't tell on her -- Justin would never do anything that might get her in trouble... but that certainly begged the question of what she had done, or thought she had done, that warranted such a request.

"Well, I don't suppose I will if you tell me what exactly I shouldn't be telling? I was sort of assuming you had finished your patrol early... but where are your robes? Did something happen to you? Was it that mysterious thing-being-ghost-whatever-it-is?" He probably sounded a bit frazzled now, but the moment his tongue loosened, Justin couldn't help but shoot out a few questions. He wanted to be sure Rose was alright before he made any decisions... Because, really, she couldn't have done anything bad -- she wouldn't be Rose if she had.

[Rose Weasley]

She wanted to die. Or have the castle floor open up and swallow her whole. Anything to get out of this horribly embarrassing situation. One of the incidents! I would take one of them right now! Given that she'd been severely injured in one, nearly mauled in a second and then trapped in a pitching tower one would think Rose would want to play things safe. But not this time, it was probably cowardly, but Rose would rather take her chances with the strange girl and her magic than with Justinian catching her in such a compromising position. If this gets out, I'm done. Mom and Adrian will never speak to me again, Helen will get the badge because she talks more than Annie or Amanada and I'll go through next year a no one because of one stupid mistake. she inwardly quailed.

However Justinian's next words surprised her. Instead of sounding accusatory or threatening to bring her before his father - or worse, James - he asked what was going. She wasn't surprised that he asked what had been going on - hell she would have - and stopped to think of a way to word things that didn't make the situation sound as bad as it actually was. Of course when he asked if it was one of the "accidents" - coupled with a very worried face, Rose hastened to speak. "Oh gosh no. No nothing like that. There was no sign of the girl, thank goodness." Most students would lie and say that they'd seen the work of the "ghost girl" but Rose knew that wouldn't work - after all it wouldn't explain her clothing. Besides she didn't want to start a panic. Justinian would be able to keep himself under control, but if other students heard about a new "strike" it would be pandemonium.

Taking a deep breath, Rose decided to fess up. Mostly. She didn't want to outright lie to Justinian, but she wasn't sure he would completely understand. "It's kind of dumb. Renna and I have been working on a kind of extra credit thing since about November. Remember when the armour came to life in October? We were on the third floor and got attacked. We managed to fight them off, Renna with a rapier and a broadsword and me with two wands." She smiled slightly at the memory. "We made an awful mess and got banged up pretty good but since then we started digging into old books to see if anyone's done something similar since Godric Gryffindor did in the eleventh century. Apparently it was a real art and we want to see if we can bring it back. If we can, we plan to submit a paper to Professor McGonagall." Okay, I guess we're going for actual truth here.

"Anyway we sometimes practice in one of the unused rooms upstairs - it's really hard to get technique down when you've got something in both hands, but we think if the two of us can document what works and what doesn't we could bring it back. Hence these," she gestured to her clothes. "Easier to move in, since I'm still learning how to use a foil. But that's not the point." She blushed again. "Renna had this brainwave earlier and wanted to tell me right away while it was fresh. You should have seen her - she was like a third year inside Honeydukes for the first time. And I couldn't help myself - I was curious and wanted to see if it would work and it did! So I wanted to try too which I couldn't do in robes. Of course once I was dressed I remembered why I was out and about in the first place." The girl looked down. "I'm so sorry. I've already chased Renna back to the dungeons and we won't do it again." she promised. "It was just the thrill of discovery and I couldn't help it. You know me, always looking for new things to learn. And..." she sighed. "We were acting stupid. Especially me. It's just neither of us have a pet owl or can do patronus messengers. Not that Renna would have used it since she wants to keep this experiment private but...I'm sorry and I won't do it again."

[Justinian Longbottom]

Justin wasn't sure whether to feel relieved, or worried, about what Rose had been up to. On the one hand, Justin didn't have to play hero because Rose wasn't in any danger. But, on the other hand... Justin simply hadn't been expecting anything like this. Rose had always been an upstanding model student -- not that this really made her a bad student. Justin just hadn't expected her to be involved in anything to do with... well, whatever Renna did in her spare time. The girls were direct opposites. He had always found it more than a little strange that they were even friends in the first place. He wasn't sure what Rose saw in Renna. Frankly, Renna scared the crap out of him. There was something about her that he simply didn't understand, and what he couldn't always understand, Justin had a hard time trusting. It was like proof -- he needed it to be absolutely sure about stuff. But with Renna, she was just all over the place. So it didn't make any sense that Rose thought she was a good friend to have. She didn't even seem Rose's type.

But it wasn't Justin's place to nitpick about Rose's friends. He could probably envy her the ability to see past the obvious with people, but he would probably never get to that point. Justin just wasn't as brave as other people. He didn't like being pushed and prodded about certain things, so any type of confrontation wasn't up his alley. That was why he stuck to people he knew to be easy to get along with. Sometimes it was just easier that way. Maybe it reflected badly on him, or showed just how stuck in his ways he was... or just how lame he was. It was times like these that Justin wondered why he had been sorted into Gryffindor in the first place. The only thing he could consider a trait of Gryffindor was his intent to see things through to the very end. Justin didn't just give up -- he kept plodding forward, which he was pretty sure he got from his father.

Rubbing his forehead, Justin tried to process the information he had just received. It was an awful lot to get in a short amount of time -- and the fact that all those words bubbling out at him were from Rose made it even harder to understand. This was a whole new side to her that he'd never witnessed before. Justin wasn't sure what to think at the moment. Was this a new, permanent aspect? Or was this a part of her he'd simply never noticed before? He certainly hoped that she wasn't changing, and that he'd miss his chance to tell her how he felt. Of course, it might help if he'd just get up the never to tell her he liked her -- before Alina did it for him. That would be the absolute worst thing to happen to him.

"Wait, wait... let me see if I can get this straight. So you and Renna are working on an assignment... with swords and wands? To write a paper... so you practice at odd hours in the night." Alright, he was following this thus far. The latter bit sounded a lot like something Renna would do. She certainly seemed the impulsive type. And he could see Rose being eager about a new assignment, getting caught up in a theory or some sort. So perhaps this was normal for both girls after all. But so late at night? That was a little harder for Justin to swallow. With all the dangers abounding throughout the castle right now, it simply wasn't wise to be running around so late unless one was supposed to be running around -- like a prefect. And since he had assumed Rose had been doing that, he was surprised by the bundle of information he had just gotten.

"I'm not really upset... just concerned. Wandering around at this time of night, with everything that's going on? I'd be more worried if something happened to you somewhere and I didn't know about it." Perhaps he was just a tiny bit upset that Rose had simply gone off to practice her theory rather than stay on duty, but was it really his place to be upset? What was Justin supposed to even do in a case like this? Was he supposed to take points away from Renna? And Rose... even though she was supposed to be on duty right now? This was turning out to be a lot more complicated than it should be. "I know you seem alright now... Couldn't Renna have just written it down to do in the daylight? At least then we wouldn't be put in positions where we're ignoring the rules and not taking points away from people just because they're our friends, or because we're involved."

[Rose Weasley]

As Justinian summarized her explanation, Rose winced slightly. "It sounds bad when you put it like that." she said softly. "But it just kind of happened after October, though never this late. But there's so much we're learning and discovering - like a person being able to use their non wand arm to use magic if they really need to - and you know me." She shrugged sheepishly. "If it has to do with learning something I dive in head first to the discovery without thinking of what could happen." So many people wondered why Rose was a Gryffindor rather than a Ravenclaw since she seldom "leapt before she looked." However discovering new things was her version of a cliff - and she would leap off into the discovery without a regard for her own well being or other consequences. The most pronounced experience of that before the experiment with Renna was the tower of books she created to climb to the top of her grandfather's bookshelf to look at the many's old neurology book (the cover promised pictures of brains and she and Hugo had therefore wanted it) which resulted in the single minded pursuit leading to her clinging to a bookshelf and pulling it down.

When Justinian revealed that he was more worried than anything, the girl let out a sigh of relief. It wasn't that she was happy that she was asking him to cover up her little indiscretion - if the situations were reversed she'd probably be right pissed - in fact Rose was feeling immensely guilty. Is this what Lily and Fred feel when I corner them in the Burrow? she wondered. "I know it's probably not the smartest thing to do, going around and practising in the middle of the night, especially with everything that's going on. Especially since Renna's convinced that ghost girl is out to get her." Personally she thought her friend was being incredibly paranoid, Renna had only been attacked once and that was because she'd provoked the girl. If Renna hadn't attempted that dive bomb, she wouldn't have been sent away in a poof of displaced air. She had to giggle slightly, both at the memory and at Justinian's comment. "I think watching a double duelling session would show why what pausing to write stuff down isn't Renna's style - she's all motion. If she thinks something can work, she has to try it, especially if it's a move. Besides Renna doesn't exactly trust her roommates any more, not since December. She's half afraid of them using anything she likes against her in some way - I'm safe because I'm a prefect and am part of what Renna calls "The Weasley Mafia" - whatever that term means. And to be honest...I don't her roommates finding Renna's notes and stealing the glory for our hours of hard work and documentation."

It was a sad state of affairs when one had to live in a room with four other girls, knowing they didn't much care for you and that at least one hated you utterly. Rose certainly thanked her lucky stars her roommates were the good natured sort who wouldn't accuse her of being in cahoots with another house for the purposes of sabotaging her own and then kicking her out of the house itself for two weeks. (That had certainly been fun, explaining to Professors Longbottom and McGonagall why Renna was camping on the floor in the Gryffindor dorm.) Of course despite having good roommates, Rose was jealous of her intellectual pursuits and wasn't keen on sharing her discoveries with them either. Her notes on the subject were in a specially spelled book that required a drop of either her blood or Renna's to open. Barbaric, but it was the only foolproof essence lock she could think of. However that wasn't what she was supposed to be thinking about right now. She needed to be apologizing to Justi for putting him in such a position. Sighing, she decided on a peace offering. "Look I have an idea. We'll dock me points for not being responsible...maybe ten? Or whatever number you think seems to fit," Just not fifty! she silently pleaded. "I just ask that we not say that I was found in the halls wearing...well this." She'd rather not have the mickey taken out of her if it was all the same...

[Justinian Longbottom]

Justin wasn't really sure what to say, or even what to think. He could repeat that he wished she would have been more careful about the hour she did these things, but in the end, Justin wondered if he didn't just disapprove of the whole thing in the first place. It wasn't his place to say that, or even to tell Rose what she ought or ought not do... but he couldn't help but feel that pang of disappointment anyway. It was like he was seeing a whole new side of Rose, one he hadn't known about, and it was more than a little discouraging. What else might she not have told him, or anyone else for that matter? He knew people were allowed to have their secrets, but this seemed a bit much. He would never say anything, of course, because angering Rose was the last thing he wanted to do.

"I get that you dove in headfirst -- that's how you are with learning things, or trying things -- but if you've been doing this for awhile, you could have come up with a plan and hours... or at least brought someone else around to keep watch. Anything could have happened, and if something had happened, there would be a lot of questions no one could answer, and then Gryffindor House would blame Slytherin House, and you'd inadvertently make the whole war between our houses worse. Not that I'm saying that it would happen like that, but it could." Justin didn't like the idea that he might be trying to make Rose feel guilty over the whole thing, but at least hinting at what could happen if things ever went wrong... well, that simply couldn't be helped. Justin seemed to worry about those kinds of things.

"I honesty don't care about Renna's paranoia. I know her roommates aren't the most trustworthy, but if she had half a brain she would think about the danger, too -- especially if she thinks something's out to get her. If it is, going around in the middle of the night without telling a soul is practically handing herself out to the ghost girl, or whatever she thinks is annoyed at her. It was just stupid all around." It was easier to blame Renna for the whole thing. After all, Renna was known for talking first, thinking later (if she even thought at all), and if anything had happened to Rose, Justin would have blamed Renna first and foremost. "You just... should have a plan, or someone you can trust to tell where you're going, what you're doing. You can't be exempt to that rule just because you're a prefect, and Renna can't be exempt to all rules just because she thinks so highly of herself and her ability to get herself out of trouble."

Rose's suggestion didn't make Justin feel that much better. If anything it made him feel worse for the whole situation in the first place. Docking Rose, and not docking Renna points... there would be no helping it, of course. Renna wasn't here to be docked. He gave a small sigh, rubbing a hand across his forehead. He could feel a headache coming on. This wasn't at all how things should have gone tonight, nor did this make him particularly happy. To have to dock Rose points from their house... it had to be done, of course, but it didn't make Justin happy to be the one having to do it. There would be talk later, of course, and Alina would probably be angry at him. But Justin was a prefect, and he had to take his role seriously, even if he didn't want to punish Rose. "Ten Points from Gryffindor," he agreed with a nod. "And you also have to promise you'll start being more careful -- there's too much that can go wrong right now, and not only would I never forgive you for not being prepared, you probably wouldn't either."

[Rose Weasley]

Several years ago while at her muggle grandparents' house Rose had come across a science magazine that discussed a phenomenon known as "Spontaneous Human Combustion." While the author of the article was trying to be unbiased Rose had picked up on the fact that they didn't really believe it was possible for a human body to burst into flame from an internal source. At the time Rose had been convinced that the muggle cases cited for SHC were all related to a wizard casting an Incendo on a victim but with the blush spreading through her cheeks at the present moment she was starting to amend her theory. After all her cheeks felt like they were on fire...so why couldn't the rest of her burst into flame based based on how her internal temperature was climbing? Not to mention guilt was worming its way into the emotional cocktail at the thought of putting Justinian into such a position and as his words about sparking even more House tensions sunk in. It would certainly never be her intention to renew the old House War but it seemed that while Adrian and James' friendship in the past was excused because they were family Rose and Renna's friendship wasn't as widely approved on...probably because it formed out of nowhere.

"You never know. Even if a Slytherin or Gryffindor was innocent in something happening to either Renna or I because we made this mistake," And in truth this was the only time they'd ever done this after curfew. "I understand that there's a couple of people who would use it as an excuse." she mumbled, looking down at her shoes. I don't think I'm leaving the tower for a few days except to go to the library. Pince will let me hide out in there for hours on end. A thought that dredged up an inner voice telling her that she was "some brave Gryffindor." Justi's lecture wasn't helping either and Rose suddenly realized she was getting a taste of her own medicine. (Though admittedly unlike most people she lectured, Rose was actually feeling contrite.) Still the comment about Renna did sting a little and while it probably wasn't the best move to antagonize Justinian, she couldn't help defending her friend. "It's not paranoia if they are out to get her, Justi. Her stuff has either been moved, stolen or damaged since December - and someone got around the protective charm when their commons got flooded." Colouring even more, she looked down. "Sorry, that came out wrong. I know we probably should have planned things out better, but I feel for her - she's been pretty much isolated from her roommates since day one and December has pretty much made her into public enemy number one. I don't know if it's something we can understand, you know? We have close families and are friends with our roommates."

Quit while you're ahead Weasley. her inner voice finally cut in. Or he may rethink keeping quiet. "Anyways I should probably get back upstairs. The halls are clear so that's something we don't have to worry about." Wonderful. Now you're babbling again. Raising her right arm, she gave a sheepish smile and added "I promise I'll try not to act like such an irresponsible moron in the future. Gods, if this gets out the only person who would be proud would be my Uncle George." And possibly her cousins Fred and Roxanne. But this was something she really didn't want making the gossip rounds. "I'll talk to Renna too.Your words make sense but she'll take them better if it comes me. I don't know why, but I seem to be the only person in the castle who can say something vaguely resembling a lecture and not get their head bitten off." She sighed and looked up. "I appreciate you just docking the points and giving me the benefit of the doubt. I owe you big time. Though I guess I'l be starting by not running headlong into a project at odd hours of the night any more."