"Guys, I don't think we should do this."
"What? Oh, come on, Aria! We deserve a little fun once in a while. Loosen up! Dumbledore said this was ok, so just relax!"

Dumbledore had told us to get away for the weekend. Have some fun, he'd said.
So, James decided we should go camping. What fun.

I put my suitcase in the back of a car that had been lended to us, and sat in the passenger seat. We had all agreed that Lily should drive since she was the one who would be less likely to crash the car.

Pushing her sunglasses to the top of her head, Lily twisted the keys and the engine revved. She took a deep breath in and then out.

"Ok, lets do this. Hopefully I won't kill us all."

-x-

We picked a spot in an open field surrounded by trees, and the evening sun shined down, casting a slight haze around us. We all took positions at the edge of the enclosure and started casting the Protego Maxima charm. We didn't want any surprise guests.

After the charm had been cast, we all tried to set up our tents.
Lily and James were sharing, Sirius and I were sharing, Alice and Dorcas were in the next tent and Remus got stuck with Peter.

It turned into a competiton of who could set their tent up first, which happened to be Remus and Peter. Well, Remus. Peter just stood there trying not to stab himself with the pegs.

We unloaded the car, Dorcas pulling a bright pink suitcase.
"Did you really have to bring that thing?" I ask.
"Yes," she replied. "what else was I supposed to bring?"
"A duffel bag like everyone else."
She raised an eyebrow at me. "But darling, I'm not everyone else now, am I?"

She winked at me before walking away with her suitcase. I never expected Dorcas to act like that.

We had decided to bring 'normal, muggle tents', as James had said. So there wasn't much room inside. Sirius and I had flipped a coin to decided who should lay the sleeping bags out and hang the torch from the roof. I picked tails, so naturally I lost.
I strongly suspect that Sirius had used a dodgey coin.

-x-

"Did you bring any food?" Peter moaned, and as if on cue, his stomach growled.
"That was your job, Peter."

Peters face falls, and he clutches his stomach as if in pain.
"I'm so hungry!"
"You should have brought some food then." James calls from where he sat on a log, next to Lily.
Peter continues to moan, and I can't take it anymore.

"Fine! If you're so hungry, then I'll go find a shop! Idiots.." I mumble the last part, stalking through the trees.
The sound of twigs snapping behind me makes me stop. I listen a moment, and the sound has stopped. I reach into my front pocket, taking out my wand.

I turn quickly, holding out my wand.
"Woah, who did you think it was?"
Sirius holds up his hands. I roll my eyes before putting my wand back into my pocket.

"I came to see if you were all right. You were a little..snappy, back there."
I fold my arms over my chest and lean against the trunk of a large oak tree.
"What do you think? I didn't want to come on this trip, Sirius. It feels like we're ignoring our whole situation."

"That's the point of this trip," he says. "we can actually have some fun for awhile. Why do you think people go on holidays? It's to get away from everything."

He steps forward and puts his hands on my shoulders. "You read so you can slip into another world. Live someone elses life, instead of your own. That's all you do in the order meetings. Isn't this just the same?"

-x-

"Do you think they sell Firewhiskey?"
We were currently in a nearby grocery store, and Sirius insisted that we needed some alcoholic refreshments.
I look at him pointedly. "No, Sirius. I don't think a muggle shop will sell Firewhiskey."

He pouts and looks at the other beverages.
"What's this?"
"Vodka."
"Is this alcohol? It looks like water."
"Yes, it's alcohol."
He shrugs, and puts it into the basket. He looks at some other bottles before putting in some whiskey, rum and brandy.

Next we pick out some marshmellows, crisps and pretzels. I send Sirius off to the counter with 'muggle money'. I make sure that no one is in the shop before pulling out the wire from the back of the security camera. The shop keeper will never let us get away with buying alcohol underage.

"How old are you, son?"
"17."
The man picks up the vodka and brandy and looks at Sirius. "You're not old enough to buy this."
I take out my wand and whisper, "Stupefy."
The man, dropping the vodka and brandy back into the basket, fell backwards.

I grab the bag and rush out of the door, Sirius not far behind.
"What did you do that for?"
"You're underage! He wouldn't let us buy all this! Anyway, I left some money on the counter."

He shakes his head at me, but he's smiling. "You are just..something else, Aria Haynes."
I flip my hair over my shoulder, and sarcastically say, "You don't need to tell me, I already know."
I laugh at his facial expression. "Come on!" I grab his hand, and together we run.

-x-

When we finally reach the woods, we slow to a walk.
"Why didn't you want to come on this trip?"
"I told you, we're ignoring the whole situation we're in."
He shakes his head. "No, that's not the only reason. It's something else. Tell me."

We had stopped walking, and I sat down below a nearby tree. I sigh, and rest my head against the trunk of the tree. "The truth is, I don't know why. I just want all of this to be over. I don't want innocent people dying because of this futile war. People like Marlene, and others who lost their lives. They didn't deserve it. We've all had to grow up so much in the last few months. But we shouldn't have had to."

"We're just kids, Sirius. As much as I hate to admit it. But that's what we are. Kids."

*Peeks out from black hole*
Hi!...Hellooo?
I can't even tell you all how sorry I am about not updating for MONTHS!
But I'm back. After I upload this, I'm going to start writing the next chapter. So you might get another one soon :)
Oh, I got tumblr! Follow me: hopelessloverofthelight
I follow back most of the time!
*Crawls back into black hole*