**Unsettling Connections**

As Brayden lay in bed, he couldn't shake off the feeling of unease that had been lingering since the sorting ceremony. His mind kept drifting back to Elizabeth, and he found himself wondering what kind of person she was, really. He had tried to brush off his concerns to Alice, but the truth was, he was worried. It wasn't just Elizabeth's intense gaze that had caught him off guard, but also the fact that he had a feeling that he might know someone who could potentially be a problem. The memory of his old friend, Rowan, suddenly popped into his head. They had been classmates at Ilvermorny, and Brayden had always been a bit wary of Rowan's behavior around girls. Rowan had a way of making everyone laugh, but there was something about him that didn't quite sit right with Brayden. And now, as he thought back to the sorting ceremony, he realized that Rowan had been sorted into Slytherin, the same house as Elizabeth. Brayden's stomach twisted into knots as he thought about the potential consequences. He had always tried to distance himself from Rowan's questionable behavior, but a part of him wondered if his old friend might cause trouble for Elizabeth. He didn't know what kind of person Elizabeth was, but he had a feeling that she wasn't the type to be trifled with. As he lay there, Brayden's mind began to wander back to the Sorting Hat's words. "You have a bit of Slytherin in you, Brayden," it had whispered. He had tried to brush it off, but the memory of those words still made him feel a bit uneasy. He had always thought of himself as a Gryffindor, but now he wasn't so sure. Did he have some of the same traits as the cunning and ambitious Slytherins? Brayden sighed and tossed and turned, his mind racing with thoughts of Elizabeth, Rowan, and his own uncertain identity. He knew he needed to get a good night's sleep, but his brain seemed to be working overtime, throwing up all sorts of scenarios and what-ifs. Just as he was starting to drift off, he heard a faint noise coming from outside his dormitory window. He sat up and listened, his heart beating a bit faster. It sounded like someone was trying to sneak in. Brayden's eyes scanned the dark room, and he wondered if it might be Rowan, trying to make contact with him. He threw off his covers and got out of bed, his senses on high alert. As he approached the window, he saw a shadowy figure slipping into the darkness. Brayden's heart skipped a beat as he realized that it was indeed Rowan, and he looked like he was up to no good. Brayden's instincts told him to be cautious, and he decided to keep a close eye on Rowan, for Elizabeth's sake as much as his own. Little did he know, this was only the beginning of a complicated web of relationships and rivalries that would change his life forever.