Jenna woke up the next morning still feeling exhausted. She had been unable to settle down for sleep the previous night after Denver's explanation had brought old curiosities flooding into her mind, and the theories and thoughts had caught onto her imagination like cinders placed amongst dry kindling. Denver hadnt went into detail about anything more after theyd made it to the room, no matter how she had questioned him, till she had finally given up.
The fact he was laying less then a foot away from her also hadnt helped. She had laid awake, listening to his slow, peaceful breathing for hours, while her own heart pounded in her chest and her stomach rolled with her nerves at every small movement he made as he shifted in his sleep.
She still had not mentioned Snape uncharacteristically paying for her drink refill by the time they had went to sleep, and when she woke up, she decided it would probably be better if she did not. Rolling tiredly from the bed, she went to her purse and started pulling clean clothes from inside it with a yawn.
She was grateful that this time, the room they had acquired came with its own bathroom, and she was able to enjoy a hot bath while contemplating the night before.
She still was not certain how she should proceed about Snape seeing her, nor their brief interaction at the bar. Even though she was often told she looked older then she was, Jenna didn't for a moment believe that Snape would have mistook her for anyone old enough to not be in school. So what could he have been thinking when he saw her?
When she had finally pulled herself out of the tub, dried herself off and dressed, she found that Denver had returned from wherever it was he had been when she had woken up. He was looking the room over, apparently making sure that they were not leaving their personal effects laying around.
"Do you think you know how we are to get in?" Jenna asked curiously, thinking they were not going to just walk through the front gates. However, she was not prepared for Denver to turn and give her a wry smile.
"Well...there is one passage I know we could take, but I am not quite sure you and I would come out of it completely secure." Denver admitted.
"You don't mean the Shrieking shack." Jenna asked incredulously. "I don't think us popping out under that tree is really the brightest of ideas."
"The tree would be one thing, but the main issue for that would be that we would be wandering the grounds as two unknown teens." Denver agreed, crossing his arms as he leaned against the wall to watch her. "There is another way I am thinking of, which I found out about while talking with a couple of elder wizards this morning over coffee. They were quite eager to discuss the 'old days' when they had attended Hogwarts. Apparently there are a few passageways that one of the older men use to have...dalliances in."
Jenna's face grew hot as she averted her eyes from him, thinking that he seemed to be amused once again by her reaction. "Are those passages the ones that Filtch knows of?"
"Oh certainly, though one of them leads to a corridor just before the library. It would be our best bet for getting inside, and into the library quickly. However, we still have the issue of being caught." Denver looked perplexed as he turned his gaze out of the the windows.
Jenna followed his gaze through the glass, staring out towards the castle in the distance. After a bit of silence, she stood up and stretched. "Well, we will have to try...If we don't find that book, then I will be stuck here forever, and I am not ready to face the crap storm that is coming."
She turned to get her bag, putting its strap over her shoulder. "While I loved reading the story, I have no intention of being sought after and forced to prove I am not muggle born, and being killed when I can't." Turning back to Denver, her hands tightened on the bag strap. "We should try to get out of here as fast as possible. That means getting into that library and finding my book, right?"
Denver smiled as he turned his gaze back towards her. "You finally starting to get comfortable with the reality of story hoping?" He asked, his voice light and teasing, though also curious.
"I'm more ready for this dream to end so I can wake up and write some killer fanfiction." Jenna answered back nonchalantly. "And, I also do not want to hang around here and potentially ruin a story I adore with my potential fan-girling over certain characters."
This earned her a chuckle from Denver, and Jenna couldn't help but feel a blush burn over her cheeks. Still, she met his gaze boldly as she continued, "I think our best bet is going through the tunnels. Even if we possibly run the risk of being seen by Filtch, we have magic and he doesn't. We can always stupify and tie him and Mrs. Norris up, then find the book. By the time he's freed, we should be long gone...hopefully." She finished with a mutter, glancing towards the window again to stare out at the distant view of the castle once more.