they were just kids [draco malfoy]

Year 5 - 88

"This was a bad idea. This was a very bad idea"

The girls were stomping their way through at places an ankle-deep mixture of water, mud and melted snow. They now saw the very reason the Hogsmeade visits in fall and winter were much less frequent than in springtime. Getting to the town was a bloody nightmare.

Astrid was hating every second of it, but she was also loving it. Sneaking out and doing things she had never done had always filled the girl with a sense of euphoria.

"Look from the good side," Astrid began as she motioned at their wet feet. The smart black slip-on shoes Pansy had worn were all soaked through. Daphne's low boots looked okay from a distance but the blonde was silently suffering as some of the muddy mixture had fallen over the rim of her boot and into it. "It's-" the girl paused, reconsidering. "No, actually, there is no good side in this situation."

The girls walked in silence for a moment longer, neither in an especially bright mood to converse. Apart from Astrid of course, she could find excitement in nearly everything.

They walked down the usually sandy path, rounding and climbing a mountain.

The sky was dark, just the faintest of glows assuring the girls weren't walking in complete pitch darkness. The sky was all cloudy and a light fog had set all around them as the wintery breezes kept fighting for space with what had been still left of the summery warmth. It was cold and wet but Astrid tried to ignore it as she rather concentrated on the breathtaking view she would've certainly never seen if they hadn't done what they were doing.

There, right down the scarp, behind the small foresty ground, laid the Dark Lake. Hidden in deep shadows, illuminated only by the faintest glow of dawn, it looked even more eerie and mesmerizing that it usually did. A soft splash of water sounded from far ahead and Astrid just barely noticed one of the tentacles of the Giant Squid poking its end out of the water, before quickly disappearing beneath it again.

"Ah," the girl gasped. The bottom of her trousers were all muddy and she had quit bothering trying to hold her pants up. She was way past the point of complaining about it; the trainers she had foolishly chosen to wear - soaking wet. "You know what we should totally do? When it freezes over we should go ice-skating on the great lake."

Childish winter activities had never been a thing Pureblood society had indulged themselves in. They knew what it was but they had never involved themselves in it, therefore they had forever regarded it as stupid.

"Even if we don't have ice skates," Astrid rambled on, "we could slide around in boots OR perhaps we could magic our way to having ones." Astrid was beaming. "Oh, I already see it. We'd probably be really cold and soaked by the end of it, but who cares, obviously judging by right now, that doesn't change much. Oh, and then we'd go inside and have a warm cup of tea with some chocolate fudge snatched from the kitchens. And-"

"I can't decide," Pansy cut her off, her face a mixture of annoyance and amusement, "if I hate your attitude or if I can't wait for the day I will be this in love with life."

Daphne chuckled, her laugh lovely and airy.

Astrid smirked. "I'd say jealousy is definitely the dominant emotion."

"Oi, get off your high horse," Daphne pushed the side of Astrid's shoulder.

"Says the one who thinks everyone's obsessed with her."

"Ah," Daphne shook her head, "there, darling, you're wrong. Everyone is obsessed with me. You're the one who's only imagining so."

Astrid crossed her arms and Pansy sneered too. "I'll say Greengrass is correct. She doesn't even need the Imperius curse, everyone is already wrapped around her pinky finger."