Last First Kiss {HP Next Generation}

Chapter Seventy Four

"I'm going to be completely honest here and announce that I am incredibly uncomfortable."

Hope stood by the edge of the Black Lake beside Nixie as the woman had requested to see her that afternoon after classes had let out. She was confused at first by the request, wondering if she had done something wrong, but Nixie reassured her that Hope wasn't in trouble.

Yet.

The water looked absolutely freezing and beyond that as Hope placed her foot in, she quickly learned it was as cold as it looked. She frowned and took a few steps back.

"It's okay, Hope," Nixie said placing her hand on the girl's shoulder. "Your body will get used to the water temperature shortly."

"That's easy for you to say," Hope countered. "You and Henry don't feel the cold like the rest of us."

She let out a shiver while Nixie pondered the statement. Suddenly, the woman shrugged her shoulders.

"You're right, but you're just going to have to suck it up for the time being. Henry said you needed swimming lessons."

"Henry needs to be quiet," Hope muttered under her breath.

"He's only trying to help you, Hope. Now come on, the sooner you get into the water, the sooner your body will adjust."

Hope made a face before taking a deep breath and running into the water. Nixie's eyes widened as she thought they were just going to ease into the water.

"Well, I guess that's one way of getting it over with."

Hope emerged, her teeth chattering violently as she wrapped her arms around herself. 

"IT'S SO COLD!" 

Nixie stood next to her in the water, trying to conceal her smile.

"If you move around, you'll warm up quickly."

"If I get out of the water, I'll warm up even faster."

The stern look on the Transfiguration professor's face brought Hope to fall silent as they made eye contact.

"I mean...let's swim!" Hope began the sad attempt to swim, which mostly involved her splashing about in place.

"Oh, this is going to be a process. A long one too."

Henry was sitting in the Gryffindor Common Room working on the Transfiguration homework. It was always the first assignment he worked on, never daring to attend class without it complete. He knew his mother too well, and her threats were never empty. Normally, he and Hope would work on it together, but during that time the girl was busier with other matters pertaining to the tournament. He was sure that Hope was going to be slightly annoyed that he had signed her up for swimming lessons. But he wasn't going to risk the chance of Hope getting hurt during the second task if he could help it. 

The girl had her strengths when it came to things such as her personality and intelligence, but she was a weak swimmer. He knew he could rely on his parents to help as much as possible before the tournament resumed. 

As he was finishing up his last sentence, the portrait swung open and Hope walked in. Her hair was dripping wet and she looked absolutely drained as she slowly walked in. 

"Uh, Hope? You alright there?" He called out to her.

She made her way over in his direction, but at the last second, she flopped onto an empty sofa.

"I can't go on," She said. "My arms hurt, I can hardly feel my legs. This is what misery feels like and looks like."

Henry placed his work aside on the table and then stood up to walk over to her. He sat on the arm of the sofa and looked down at her.

"Come on, Ope, it couldn't have been that bad."

The girl looked up at him, her green eyes held no amusement. "You're right, it was worse."

"I think you're being dramatic and that's coming from me. I'm supposed to be the dramatic one, Hope!"

"Loosen your knickers, Henry. You weren't the one who just spent the last two hours making a complete fool of themselves in the lake."

"I bet you were an adorable little fool, though," he smiled. A small smile appeared across her lips as she cuddled into the sofa further.

"Maybe. But...my body hurts so bad."

Henry lowered himself to sit beside his girlfriend as she struggled to push herself up to sit. She let out a loud groan, before leaning back.

"Kill me now," she breathed.

He laughed before pulling her into his side and rubbing her shoulder. "You'll be okay."

"Everything hurts."

"Everything?" 

Hope turned her head to see a mischievous look in the boy's eyes.

"What are you getting at?" 

Suddenly, Henry kissed her cheek and then the other. He proceeded to kiss her chin which finally brought her to laugh. But Henry continued by attempting to kiss her forehead and then start the cycle all over again.  She tried to move away from him to escape the multiple kisses, but her body was too sore and betrayed her.

"What are you doing?!" She laughed out loudly.

"I'm trying to distract you from your pain," Henry informed her. "Is it working?"

"No, I'm still in pain."

"Then I'm not trying hard enough."

"Knock it off, Ry!" She giggled.

Fergus came down the stairs from the boy's dorm with a question pertaining to the homework, when he saw Hope and Henry fooling around on the sofa.

"Nope," He said before slowly backing up the steps. "I will figure this out myself."

"Okay, okay!" Hope called out a few minutes later after she became too exhausted to fight anymore. "You win, I am healed."

"Really?" Henry lifted a brow in response.

"Yes, your kisses are truly magical and all hearing."

"Was that sarcasm I detected?"

"Uh..no?"

"Now we're lying! Shame on you, Hope!" He swooped in to kiss her again.

"This is oddly a strange punishment for my behavior," Hope said before she kissed him back gently.

"Yeah, well, I had to distract you somehow," Henry shrugged. "So do you think the swimming lessons will pay off?"

"I don't know, I have a feeling by the end of the next one, your mum is just going to drag me to the bottom of the Black Lake."

"What about my dad?"

"If I follow his swimming techniques, I should be able to distract the other competitors because they'll be so busy laughing at me while Eliza and Stella work on the task."