"You're sure you're okay with going this close to the lake again, Lissie?" James teased as we stood at the edge of the water.
"Shut up, I'll be fine. I'm not a baby," I retaliated, rolling my eyes. I shifted from one foot to the other impatiently. Matt, Shannon, Finn and Cameron had volunteered to go find a few boats for us to use to get to Dumbledore's tomb, leaving me alone with James.
"Hey, you know I'm just teasing, don't you?"
I nodded. "Luckily for you."
"I hope one of them remembers to get some oars for the boats," James said.
"Why?"
"The boats are only enchanted to move on their own from the school to the train station. Without oars, we can't really get anywhere unless we want to go to the train station where they pick up the first years."
"Good point," I said. "I'm sure they'll remember. If they don't, one of them will have to go back."
"Which will only waste time," James said with an impatient sigh.
"Do you always have to take charge of everything?" I teased, smirking at him.
"Yes," he answered in a bossy tone.
I laughed and glanced in the direction the others would be coming from for what seemed like the thousandth time. "I'm sure they'll remember the oars," I said again, "because without them, they won't be able to bring the boats to us, will they?"
"That's true," James said. "I didn't think of that."
"You thought they would drag them over the grass?" I asked with a giggle.
James shrugged. "That would have worked just as well," he said, trying hard to defend himself.
"I'm sure it would have," I said, trying to stifle my laughter.
"Look, they're coming," James said excitedly, pointing over my shoulder. I whirled around and sure enough, Shannon, Matt, and my brothers were slowly paddling three boats towards us. Shannon and Finn were in one, leaving Matt and Cameron to paddle two boats on their own.
"You know," Cameron panted when they finally reached us. "It's hard work paddling a boat on your own."
"Stop complaining," Matt laughed from behind him as he steered his boat closer to the shore.
"We gladly would have helped, but you insisted someone stay here," I said.
"As lookouts," Finn said, shaking out his arms.
"Sore already?" I teased.
"Nah," he said quickly.
"At least they remembered the oars," I said, looking at James over my shoulder.
"What do you think we are, stupid?" Cameron asked, looking insulted.
"Anyway, can you two just get into a boat?" Matt asked. "I'm not looking to get caught before we can even start."
James and I nodded. I climbed in Cameron's boat while James joined Matt.
"Here," Cameron said, handing me a few oars. "You're going to help paddle."
"Aye, aye, captain," I joked as Matt snorted with laughter from behind us.
It took us a little over half an hour to paddle our boats to the island that Dumbledore was buried on. The large white tomb sat right in the middle, surrounded by a thin layer of trees. The six of us climbed out of the boats and pulled them up slightly onto the shore so that they wouldn't drift away. After that, we just stood there, staring at the piece of white marble that was just a few yards away.
"So, what are we all waiting for?" James asked, but I could tell he was just as hesitant to move as the rest of us.
"If we don't move, it'll have been a waste to come here," I reasoned, but I didn't move. No one else did either.
"It's eerie," Shannon whispered.
"It shouldn't be," Finny shrugged, but he was chewing on the corner of his bottom lip, something he did when he was either thinking extremely hard or feeling nervous about something. "We didn't even know Dumbledore. He's basically a stranger to us."
"Yes, but at the same time, not really," I said. "I felt like I knew him because of all of the stories."
"You know," Shannon said, "why didn't we just sneak into the headmaster's office? We could've just talked to Dumbledore's portrait there and have been done with it."
"That's too easy," James said.
"Not necessarily," Shannon argued. "It's the headmaster's office. It's probably easier to get caught there than here."
"Yeah, but there's no fun in it," Cameron added.
"We're here now, so let's just get on with it," Matt said with a nod of his head. "Lissie, take the picture."
I slowly looked down at the camera hanging around my neck. "I don't feel right doing that," I said quietly. "Now that I'm here, it just feels…wrong."
"Lissie," Finn said firmly, "we did not come all the way out here to have you back out of taking a picture."
"Yeah, what about my sore arms?" Cameron asked, sticking his arms out in front of him.
"This isn't a tourist site," I said, raising my voice slightly. "One of the best headmasters Hogwarts has ever had is buried here. Any burial site isn't right to ogle at and take pictures of."
"Then why did you come? Why did we all come?" Finn argued, throwing out his arms and looking around. "Why didn't you stop us when we came up with the idea or at any point up until now? Why didn't we just sneak into the headmaster's office like Shannon suggested?"
"I don't know, but it's not my fault. It's different talking about it and then actually coming here," I said.
"Just give me the camera," Finn said, exasperatedly, holding his hand out.
"No, it's mine."
"I know that, but you're being incredibly unhelpful right now, so just hand it over, I'll take the picture and we can leave."
"No," I insisted.
"Lissie, just give it to him so he'll be quiet and we can get out of here," Matt said, rolling his eyes.
I hesitated, but apparently, Finn got too impatient. He reached out and grabbed the camera. I pulled back and the strap broke. The camera sailed over Finn's head and out of his grip. He hadn't expected it to snap, apparently. Neither had I, for that matter. I watched with my eyes wide and my mouth hanging open as my camera careened towards the water surrounding the island. It was almost like everything was moving in slow motion, my brain included. I couldn't think properly and I couldn't make myself do anything to stop my camera from hitting the water.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" Shannon finally screamed, aiming her wand at my camera. It stopped an inch above the water.
"Oh thank goodness," I sighed as Shannon waved her wand and moved my camera towards me. I sat down on the grass and flopped onto my back. Shannon dropped the camera onto my stomach. "You don't know how much I love you right now," I told my cousin, hugging the camera to my chest. The strap had hit the water and it was drenched, the cold water soaking through my shirt, but I didn't care.
"That thing means a lot to you," Shannon shrugged. "Besides, I'm sure none of us want to lose all the pictures we took."
"They're developed already," Finn said. I glared at him and he blushed, digging his toe into the ground and his hands into his pockets. "I'm sorry, Lissie. I didn't know the strap would break. I got a little impatient."
"Thankfully Shannon saved you from paying for a new camera," I sniffed, standing up. Finn blushed even more and looked up at me through his long eyelashes.
"Sorry?" he said again, looking hopeful for my forgiveness.
I sighed. "I'll forgive you." With that, I took a deep breath and turned towards Dumbledore's tomb. "I just hope Dumbledore can forgive us for taking pictures of him."
"We can't actually see him," Cameron said, raising an eyebrow.
"I know that, but still…" I shrugged and quickly snapped the picture.
"Should you have gotten closer?" James asked. "I think there were a few trees in the way."
I shot him a look, but nevertheless darted forward and took another picture before darting back.
"Scared?" Finn teased.
"Do you want to get any closer?" I huffed.
"Not particularly," Finn replied, his smirk faltering.
"Okay, then let's go," I answered, marching towards the boats. The others climbed in and I quickly repaired my camera strap before hanging it around my neck. The entire time I helped Cameron paddle, I kept looking down to make sure my camera was still there. I was not about to lose that thing again.
During the first week and a half of April, it rained nearly every day.
"If this keeps up," Finn announced, "it's going to be a real pain going into the Forbidden Forest."
"When do we plan on doing that, anyway?" I asked, shuffling the Exploding Snap cards I was holding. "Want to play another game?"
Finn resumed his seat across from me. "Sure."
"Cameron?" I asked.
"You know I'm in," he answered.
"So when are we going into the Forest?" I asked.
"When it's not raining, that's for sure," Finn muttered.
"Well, of courses that would be preferable," I snorted, "but it's not the end of the world if it's raining. We're washable and waterproof. Besides, the trees are pretty dense in the forest. They'll protect us from too much rain."
"Yeah, but how deep are we going?" Cameron asked. "I'm not about to get lost in there."
"Given our luck, we will," I sighed.
"Don't say that," Finn groaned.
Just then, the portrait hole opened and James came in, soaking wet and carrying his broom.
"Where were you?" Finn asked.
"Practicing," James answered, holding up his broom. "Can I play?" he asked, noticing our game of Exploding Snap.
"Sure, we were just starting a new game, I said, dealing him some cards. I glanced up. "Shouldn't you go change and get dried off first, though?"
"Yeah, I guess you're right," James muttered. "I'll be back in a flash."
True to his word, he returned a few minutes later. "We were talking about when the best time to go into the forest would be," I informed him after a few moments of silence as we concentrated on the game.
James shrugged. "Whenever."
"It's been raining for the past week and a half," I pointed out.
"Clearly James doesn't care about that. He was just out there practicing Quidditch moves in the pouring rain."
"You better hope you don't get sick," I warned.
"I won't get sick," James scoffed. "And anyway, even if I start to feel sick, Madam Pomfrey can give me one of those Pepper Potions and I'll feel fine in no time."
"If you say so," I shrugged.
"Yeah, I do say so," James retaliated, chewing on a quill that had been lying on the table.
"Hey, that's my quill," Cameron said.
"So?" James asked with a laugh.
"You're chewing on it."
James tossed the quill back at Cameron before sitting back in his seat, studying his cards. "So, when are we going to go?"
"Whenever, right?" I asked, glancing over at him.
"Are you mocking me?"
"Of course I am," I teased. I then burst into laughter as the cards James was holding exploded in his face. He leaned back to avoid the explosion, glaring at me.
"You have to admit it was funny, James, come on," Cameron said as he and Finn joined in on the laughter.
"Yeah," Finn said, "you always laugh at us when our cards explode."
"Fine," James admitted, cracking a smile. "Maybe it was just a tiny bit funny."
I sank back into my chair and watched a group of fifth years playing darts over in the corner. Suddenly, I sat up straight. "Hey, I think I have an idea on how to pick a date to go into the forest."
"How?" James, Finn and Cameron asked together.
I pointed to the fifth years playing darts. "That's how."
"I still don't get it," James said slowly.
"Neither do we," Finn and Cameron added.
"And you're her brothers," James said. "Aren't you two supposed to understand her?"
"No, we never understand her," Finn teased with a snort of laughter. I leaned over and shoved him.
"Liar," I muttered.
"Okay, so what if I am?" he laughed, holding up his hands.
"Anyway," I continued, "why don't we just throw a dart at that calendar hanging on the wall? It'll land on a date and that's the day we'll go out into the forest."
"Lissie, that's brilliant," James said, his mouth dropping open.
"Wow, Lissie came up with a good idea," Cameron teased.
"Wow, Cameron's funny," I said sarcastically, aiming a kick at his shin that he dodged. "Since you were so rude to me just now, I think I'll have to do the honors of throwing the dart."
"I wasn't mean to you!" James said sweetly.
"Neither was I," Finn added.
"You were earlier," I told Finn. "You know, saying how you never understand me." I stuck out my tongue. "James, if you want to throw the dart, you can."
"No, you can do it. It was your idea after all."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I'm positive. I'll throw it next month. If we use this method again, that is."
I smiled and headed for the group of kids playing darts. "Excuse me," I said.
One of the taller boys glanced at me. I recognized him as Adam, the boy Victoire had dated last year, before she started dating Teddy Lupin. "What's up, kiddo?" he asked.
"I just need to borrow one dart," I told him. "Just for a second."
"Why? We're in the middle of a game. You can't really join now."
"I don't want to actually play," I answered. "I just need it to make a decision."
Adam finally shrugged. "Fine," he said, handing me one of the darts he had in his hand. "You any good?" he added.
I shrugged as I walked over to the calendar a few feet away. "Wouldn't know. I've never really thrown a dart before."
"Well let's see what you've got, then," Adam said, watching me. I could tell his friends were watching me now as well."
"No pressure, Lissie," Finn called from across the room. "It's not like anyone's watching."
"Like I care about people watching me," I snorted, rolling my eyes before narrowing them as I focused on the calendar. I drew my arm back and then flung it forward, releasing the dart. It hit the calendar right in the middle: on the Wednesday of next week. I could hear Finn, James and Cameron cheering.
"Impressive," Adam said, clapping a few times. "Want to try on the actual board?"
I considered it, but then shook my head. "Maybe another time," I said with a smile.
"I'll have to take you up on that," Adam said.
"Sure," I answered quickly before hurrying away.
"Someone likes you," James snorted.
"No," I insisted. "He was just being friendly and plus that's just way too weird. He dated Victoire. Our cousin."
"Yeah, the same cousin who's dating Teddy, who's practically family," James said. "I'd say Adam's fair game if you want him."
"Just shut up," I advised him.
James saluted me and I rolled my eyes. "So next Wednesday it is?"
"Next Wednesday it is."
A/N: Thanks for reading and don't forget to review! And thanks so much for all the reviews so far! I do read all of them and I love hearing what people think so keep it up! :)