Fun in the Summer

five

Warning: Hinny, fluff, hinny, hinny, fluff.

.  .  .  .  .

To add to what Draco considered his humiliation, he was on dinner duty that night, along with the Patil twins and Pansy. The latter was sympathetic to his plight and fawned over him, even offering to do most of his serving for him, "while he rested from his ordeal."

Most of the children were talking loudly about their fun day on the water, including Luna who was excitedly telling everyone about Nerissa. Of course, nobody really believed her, even with Harry, Ginny and the rest reiterating she was telling the truth.

Astoria sat with Daphne, staying close, even as she shot looks at the rest of her canoe mates from earlier. Rose was sitting close to Harry too, sandwiched between him and Neville. Ginny sat opposite them, eating slowly. All the girls' arms ached from all the physical work they had done that afternoon, and all they wanted was a good meal, and a good night sleep.

The meal was good, a simple barbecue and salads. Ginny and Neville giggled when Miss Burbage noted Draco hadn't done much in the way of food serving so ordered him to wash the dishes by himself afterwards. Draco looked like he had no idea what she was talking about.

The children wandered outside again after dinner, most still talking excitedly about their day. "I hope we can go out on the water again tomorrow," said Hannah.

Susan nodded, and Terry, Anthony and Ernie looked keen as well.

"It will be raining tomorrow," advised Luna.

Everyone looked up at the clear blue sky. "Luna, it's the beginning of August," scoffed Lavender. "The sky is clear, how can you say it will rain?"

Luna shrugged. "Nerissa told me a summer storm is coming. As much as I want to go and see her again, I don't want to swim when it's storming, do you?"

"I don't want to canoe again, my arms really hurt," confided Ginny to Rose, who nodded.

The sun was starting to go down when Mrs Pucey and Miss Burbage lit the bonfire and handed out marshmallows and sticks. Then Ms Burbage began to talk about Hogwarts; the teachers, the lessons they'd learn, the daily routine they'd face.

It was a soothing end to the busy day, and Miss Burbage had a quiet, lilting way of talking that made them feel at peace. She continued on, talking about Hogsmeade, of House points, of prefects, of Gobstones and Quidditch house rivalries.

Harry felt excited that soon he'd get to go and, looking over at Neville, could see his best friend felt the same way. He felt a momentary pang that Ginny, Luna, Rose and Astoria wouldn't be sharing this experience with him and Nev.

They finished the night off with some camp singalongs, and with the breeze picking up, Miss Burbage sent them off to bed at nine thirty.

Draco had bided his time, watching on as the Muggle teacher spoke of the school he'd soon be attending. He watched on as even Vince and Greg got caught up in the singing; he, of course, was too above that.

As everyone prepared to return to their cabins, he made eye contact with Ginny, gesturing for her to come over to the dark corner where he was. Ginny left Luna, who was still telling the other girls about mermaids in the lake at Hogwarts and, curious to know what Draco wanted, walked over to him.

"How was dishwashing?" she smirked.

Draco scowled. "Shut it, Weasley. Thanks to that Loony girl, everyone now knows I can't swim."

"So what, you can learn," suggested Ginny.

"I don't want to learn," spat Draco. "This is all your fault."