Casey curled up in the familar spot of a windowsill. Outside the moon was rising, it had been a full moon just two days ago so a tiny slither was cut off the side. Small wispy clouds were illuminated by the moon, giving the night an eerie look. There were a few stars out which made Casey smile, she loved just looking at the stars, it was so relaxing and even calming.

Star light, star bright
The first star I see tonight,
I wish I may, I wish I might,
Have the wish I wish tonight.

Casey closed her eyes a mad a wish. It was a childish game, but it was something she'd done every time she'd looked at the stars since she was a little girl. She smiled to herself as she opened her eyes. She shivered in the night cold, despite the fact that she was wearing flannel pants, a sweater and thick slippers, she wasn't very warm. She gazed out at the night sky, forgetting the cold and any other worries she had.

Finn walked up the long marble staircase to the Observatory. He was somewhat disappointed to see that it was again occupied. He was glad it was a friendly face however. "Hey Casey," Finn said, taking a seat next to her. Finn had his large journal with him. He was determined to get better at writing in it. He was glad to be done with school for the Christmas holiday. He had decided to remain at school, rather than leave to take a trip to visit his Aunt in a rural area of Canada. At least there would be people there... Maybe he could play some tricks on family members... "What are you doing up here?" Finn always went up there to think, write, and do homework. Finn had a large puffy jacket on. If one didn't know better, he may have been mistaken for a giant navy blue marshmallow... He hated that coat, but his mum loved it so he wore it.

Casey jumped at the sound of a voice, she hadn't heard anyone come in and really hadn't expected anyone to come up here. But as she turned she realized it was a familiar face and she smiled. "Hey Finn... Well, once again I couldn't really sleep and believe it or not I wasn't really in the mood for a midnight snack. So I came to another of my favorite spots," She paused and glanced out the window before turning back to Finn. "What about you?" she asked in return. She shivered again, the stones were cold, so that didn't help at all in keeping her warm. "Any plans for the holiday break?"

Finn smiled. He didn't always eat during the night either... "This is my favorite spot to come and write in my journal... People rarely come here and it's always quiet..." He looked up at the moon. It was a sliver moon. The lake reflected moon. It could have been a painting or a postcard. "Well, my folks are going to visit my aunt in Canada... I don't really like being in that big house all by my self... How about you?" He exhaled. He could see his breath. Finn saw her shivering. "Are you cold?" He asked, "Would you like my jacket?"

Casey followed his gaze to the moon. It was so picturesque, she could just sit there and gaze at it all night. Turning back to Finn, she replied, "I almost always like to come up here at night. Especially on a clear night. There's just something about the night sky, with the moon and the stars, that just captivates me." She smiled and looked down. She wasn't feeling quite so shy around Finn anymore, she was glad for that. "I'm just staying here for the holidays." She didn't really feel like going into the whole explanation of the relationship between her and her dad. She smiled, "No thanks, I'm fine. The stones are just a bit cold."

Finn watched her stare at the moon. She reminded him so much of himself. She was stubborn, yet didn't push people away. Finn nodded, "I know what you mean. Everyone raves about how great their families are and how excited they are to go see them, but... It always ends in fights and disappointment. They seem to love you more when they miss you..." He paused, realizing he was talking fast and simultaneously realizing that he was nervous, "D'you know what I mean?" He wrapped his jacket tighter around himself. The sky seemed so clear, but he guessed that it would snow soon again. He liked the snow.

Casey looked at Finn and smiled. "I know exactly what you mean. I'll admit it, though, staying at Hogwarts over the holidays does get a little lonely. At least when you're at home and you're bored, there's always someone there to talk to that you actually know" Besides her dad Casey didn't really know much of anyone in her family. Going home for christmas it was just be her and her dad, she felt bad leaving him alone, but christmas always seemed to be better when she spent it at Hogwarts. On a completely different train of thought, she stated, "I really hope it snows again though. I love the snow." She wrapped her arms around herself and rubbed herself, keeping her a little bit warmer.

Finn smiled. "I don't much like the cold... I think that's why I decided to stay at Hogwarts... Where my aunt lives, it is well below zero. Twenty or thirty degrees most of the time." He noticed her shivering again. He was quite cold himself. "Are you sure you don't want my jacket?" He asked, "It's much too cold to only be wearing a sweater..."

"I like the cold, but I hate being constantly cold. And if it's cold then there better be snow, otherwise there's no reason to be cold. . . If that even makes sense. Where does your aunt live? I don't think I could deal with that much cold." Casey stated, confusing herself. "I'm fine. Really. I'm pretty much always cold. Next time I come up here I'll remember to wear something a little warmer."

"My aunt lives in Saskatchewan," Finn said, pulling a small superball out of his pocket. He bounced it off the wall across from them. "She just got engaged recently, and they are planning the wedding... I don't really like her fiance very much... He seems kind of pompous to me..." Finn trailed off. He didn't know why, but he trusted this girl.

"That's rather far away. All of my family lives in England as far as I know." Casey watched the ball as it bounced across the room. "That's the problem when people in the family get married, no one really likes them excep the person who's marrying them."

Finn laughed. "I couldn't agree more. I don't think the person getting married can see the flaws of the people they are marrying. And by the time they see what other people are talking about, it's too late... They probably have kids or whatever. They get themselves trapped and what they do is really scar their children for life. A lot of people think it's necessary for parents to stick together but the kids know when things aren't working... They aren't stupid..." Finn realized he was ranting and quickly apologized.

Casey raised her eyebrows, it kind of seemed like Finn had experience in that matter, but she didn't want to jump to conclusions. "But only having one parent around can really screw a kid up too. There's never any moments where the family is entirely complete. Or in other cases, maybe the parents stick together because they might see some hope in the future. . ." Casey realized that all she was doing was just rambling and hardly making any sense so she cut herself off.

"I think there has to be some balance between the two. If you have a kid, you need to be responsible for it. On the other hand, it shouldn't be just one person doing the whole thing." Finn nearly blurted out his biggest secret, but stopped himself. "I guess I think that everyone needs a male and female role model in their life and that person is probably most like their parent."

Casey shrugged, "I can agree with that. I don't think it's fair if anyone leaves the family, it just screws everything up." The bitterness in her voice was more apparent than she'd intended, she hoped that Finn didn't catch on to it too much. "This is such a depressing conversation!" Casey said with a laugh. "But I think we're both agreed on the fact that there at least needs to be parent like figures in a kids life."

Finn nodded in agreement. Lately, he'd been feeling somewhat depressed, but he was determined not to drink as much as he used to... He smiled, "I guess I haven't had the best childhood... If anything, it's been traumatic. " He laughed the last thing off, but it hurt him on the inside.

"Seems like you and I have something else in common." Casey said with a slight smile. She was kind of tempted to ask Finn about his childhood, but she didn't want to be nosey so she let it go. "Well at least we're not gonna be completely lonely over the holidays" Casey pointed out. There she goes again, trying to find a silver lining in every cloud.

"Yeah, at least..." Finn felt less alone in the presence of this girl. He thought that maybe he liked her. "You're really easy for me to talk to," He said after a while. He sighed, "I don't know if things are ever going to get easier... I think things will only get more and more complected..."

Casey smiled and blushed, her gaze turning momentarily to the moon. "I don't find many people that I can talk to, but you're a pretty easy person for me talk to." She said quietly. She was already beginning to feel so much more comfortable around Finn, which was a big deal for her. "Things probably will get more complicated because that's the way things seem to work. But I bet, when you least expect it something amazing is going to come along and uncomplicate things at least a little bit."

It was Finn's turn to blush. "Maybe so..." He paused, "Life is one of the few things that becomes more complected and more organized as time goes on... Everything else moves towards simplicity and disorganization... That's weird..." Finn sat his head back against the wall and tossed his ball again. He could see the sun beginning to rise. He had spent nearly an entire night talking to someone. Perhaps even someone special...

"Life can be simple too. Those days where you spend it outside in the park or something, just having fun, that's pretty simple if you ask me. I hate that life becomes one big schedule, it just needs to have something surprising and different happen to make it less of a schedule and more of something exciting... if that makes sense" Casey said with smile. She followed Finn's gaze to the sky. Sunrise. It was her favorite time of day and it had been a while since she'd been up early enough to see one.

"It's rarely simple for me... I wish it were, but it isn't..." He pulled up his hood as a wind began to kick up. "I don't think I've ever watched a sunrise at Hogwarts before... It's beautiful... I should stay up this late more often..." He threw his ball a few more times, then pocketed it. He stood up and went to the window.

Casey shrugged, "If life were simple then it would be boring." She gazed happily at the sunrise. "I love it when the sun rises. It's been a while since I've actually been up for one. But it's my favorite time of day. It's so serene and the sunrise never looks the same way twice, every morning it's a new surprise."

Finn peered out the window. He heard something howling in the woods and wondered if the Grand knew about it... He hoped not. "I hope the last part of school goes slowly. I really enjoy being here and won't have the opportunity next year..."

Casey sighed softly. She hated it when the school year ended. Summer was never as good as the school year, she spent most of the summer avoiding home, people, and questions. "I hope it goes slowly too." She turned and looked at Finn, "Are you a seventh year then?"

He grinned, "Yeah, again..." He decided not to graduate last year because there weren't any jobs he was interested in interning for. "I didn't have a lot of options last year... Hopefully, I'll have some after this year is over..."

"I don't think I could imagine life without Hogwarts. I'd stay here forever if I could." Casey said with a small smile. Hogwarts was her home. "What do you think you're gonna do once school gets out?" she asked. She wasn't quite sure about her future. She just knew that she wanted to stay connected with the wizarding world, maybe a healer or something.

Finn shook his head. "That's the problem, I really don't know... I think I might want to teach, but when harshing was my Head of house, he said I should go into healing... I'm torn. I like helping people, and I like kids... Maybe I'll go into some kind of child psychology... I'm so screwed up in the head, I'm probably the one who needs head shrinking..." As soon as he said it, he knew he shouldn't have. He tried to laugh it off, but it didn't work well... Way to go dumbass, he thought, Now she'll never say anything to you again... "I'm sorry," he apoligized again.

Casey laughed softly, "All three of things are things that I've looked into. I love kids and helping people." She smiled, but when Finn said that he was screwed up in the head Casey turned to look at him, a quizical expression her face. "I don't think you're screwed up in the head. Besides if you helped other people it might help you to sort you own problems out." She could see he regretted his words, but she really did think that he wasn't screwed up in the head. Everyone has their own problems.

"I guess doing any of those would force me to deal with my own personal problems wouldn't they..." The sun had now completely risen. It was going to be a nice sunny day. Hogwarts hadn't had one of those in what seemed like months. The rain and snow of the previous days had stopped. Finn sat on the windowsill "Thanks for listening to me." he said frankly, "I don't know if I could have figured so much stuff out if I had tried... Thank you..." Finn liked that at least one person didn't think him crazy. It was the dawn of a new day for Finnigan R. Tatupu.

Casey shrugged, "I guess doing anything would force you to do deal with own problems." She smiled, it seemed like it was going to be a perfect day. A break from the rain and snow was nice, granted she loved both, but everyone could use a little sun now and then. "Your welcome. I like listening to people... that sounds a bit weird, doesn't it?" Truth was, listening to other people tended to help her realize that her life wasn't really that bad or could be a lot worse and also helped her to sort out her own problems too.

This girl made a lot of sense. Any decision about his future that Finn made would make him make more decisions. He hated decisions. "I think that listening is sooo important." Finn said, "Half the people I know can't listen, or choose not to... People are so insensitive. Nobody cares about anybody anyone else anymore. It's ridiculous how capitalistic a society we have become. People would sell their own mothers to make more money... I just want to be happy and have other people that care about me..."

Casey smiled as she looked at Finn. It seemed like he had just spoken her mind. The comment about mothers made her frown momentarily, as she remembered that she would give anything to have hers. "People have just lost sight of what's really important in life. They don't realize what they've have until it's gone. They believe that happiness can be bought with material things. But it doesn't work that way. I would rather spend just one day surrounded by the people I care about the most and care about me than a whole lifetime surrounded by material things."

Finn agreed. If he could have one day with his brother back, he would do it in a heartbeat. If he could talk to his father and tell him off, he'd love to. Casey was right, nothing on this earth was more important than immaterial things. Everyone wasted their lives worrying about the almighty dollar when all that mattered was those around you. If one wanted everything, it wasn't the life to try in. "I think I should go crash for a few hours before my first class starts. I really appreciate your morals." He put his jacket on and said, "Maybe we can talk again or something... Maybe go have coffee somewhere?" Finn hadn't asked someone to coffee since his old girlfriend years ago.

Casey yawned, gazing momentarily at the sky. The sun had risen and the rainbow of colors had slowly faded into bluse. "That sounds like a good idea. I havn't stayed up this late in a long time. I'm exhausted." she said as she stifled another yawn. She turned to look at Finn, a smile forming. "Coffee sounds great." Sh'ed really enjoyed their talk, she got to think about things that she normally didn't bother/ She'd liked Finn too, he seemed like a really nice guy.

"How does Friday, after classes sound?" Finn asked, "We can meet at that little cafe in Hogsmeade..." Finn really enjoyed her company. She seemed to be a good person. He was glad to have met her.

Casey grinned, "Friday sounds great!" Well now she had something to look forward to. She was glad to of had the chance to talk with him, and seeing him again on friday would be fun. "I'll be there"