School Camp – fire-and-ice89
A/N: Well, one good thing about being stuck in the mountains with no internet and nowhere to go is that you get lots of writing done. I got a much better grip on where I want to take this story, and wrote out a plan for the next few chapters. It feels so much better when you know where you're going!
Unfortunately, I started school a few days ago. I first posted a story in the beginning of holidays, which is mainly why I've been so quick updating: I've had so much time on my hands. From now on, the going might be a little bit slower. Don't give up on me though! If I don't update for a ridiculously long time, say, a month or something, someone just send me some hate mail and I'll get the next chapter up ASAP.
For now though, just be glad you have this next chapter! This one focuses a lot more on Harry and Allie. I personally really like these two as a couple, I think they're pretty cute. I know it will never happen in the real books, since it would be very unlikely that JK introduces a girl called Allie as Harry's love interest, but hey, that's what fanfiction's for: writing everything that she doesn't.
Replies to reviews (I got ten which is the most I've ever gotten for a chapter, so I'm going to reply to everyone's because I love you all so much!):
Mocha Dragon: Don't be suspicious of Allie! sniffs How could you? Though I do understand why you would be suspicious of everything and everyone, after that nice little cliffy in chapter two, let me assure you, you're wasting your time with Allie. Who should you be suspicious of? Well, that would be telling, wouldn't it!
Filthy X Gorgeous: Oops, I hope I didn't make everyone think the prize would be a big thing…it's really not. You'll see. Hahaha true I'd let Malfoy get away with anything.
Jewel Blossom: Snorting with disgust…has a certain ring, doesn't it? Don't worry, Hermione gets her own back next chapter.
Sun Kissed Rose: I know, I read some of the other camp fics and they were boring, hey? I'm glad you think this one isn't…
dmhg: Thanks for your long review, it was gr8! Avril Lavigne started all that, didn't she, with S8er Boi? I just got a nice little email telling me that you've updated, so I'll go and leave a review when I've posted this!
PaRtYGiRL089: Yes, number 89 does rule! So does 14. They've both been pretty lucky for me.
elektrikstorm: The line about Ron turning into his father was a spur of the moment thing, I was typing and it seemed to fit so I put it in. I've based whole stories around spur of the moment ideas. I work better when I don't plan everything!
xoKaSsIeox: I also have a friend called Fiona! The Fiona in my fic is loosely based on her, actually. I also have a girl called Ali at my school, but the Allie in my fic has nothing to do with her!
comedy gal: I can tell you right now that the first day of camp will end in chapter six. There's not going to be six chapters for every day, though. I can't give you an estimation, because it probably won't be accurate, but it's going to be much longer than A Second Chance (my other fic). Blaise Zabini was only mentioned extremely briefly in the books, and it didn't even say if he was a boy or a girl, but JK has since confirmed that he is, in fact, a boy. You weren't the only person missing something, though. I had no idea who he was until I read all these fanfics with him, or sometimes her, in them.
cheesedogtoda-core: Yay, you came back! I think you reviewed my first chapter of School Camp, but I wasn't sure if you'd come back again. Thanks for the review!
Last Time:
Joyce was confused. Both groups clutched their brightly coloured flags in their hands, so no one had cheated. Who was lying? "Professor Snape?" She appealed, turning to the man lurking quietly in the background. "Did you see who won?"
Snape hesitated, but only for a moment. "Draco and George."
Hermione snorted with disgust. Why would she expect any better from Snape? Of course he would back up his precious Drakie-poo. It was what he did.
The word of a teacher was good enough for Joyce. "Ok, good!" She smiled broadly again.
"What's our prize?" George asked tentatively.
Joyce winked at him. "You'll find out when everyone gets here."
Parvati and Dean emerged from the trees, and the focus shifted to them.
Hermione stood still, fists clenched, seething.
As far as she was concerned, Malfoy had just declared war.
Chapter Four – Clay Pots and Roses
Harry jumped up the few front steps and opened the door of his cabin. No one else was inside. He quickly shrugged off his jacket and walked over to his bed to put it away.
"Hey mate," he heard a voice say from the door, "Come on, we'll be late for lunch."
He turned to face Ron, who was grinning widely at him from the door.
"What's put you in such a good mood?" Harry asked, joining him out the front. He closed the door behind him and the two headed towards the mess hall.
"Oh, nothing." Ron said with fake modesty. "Except that I won the orienteering race! Who's the man, huh? Who's the man?"
Harry rolled his eyes. "It wasn't that big a deal, Ron. The winners only got a freddo frog each."
Ron frowned. "Yeah, what was with that? I mean, what's the point in a chocolate frog if it doesn't move?"
The two had reached the mess hall. Ron opened the door and went inside, still chatting about the orienteering exercise. Harry stepped after him, and went to the back of the lunch line.
Inside the mess hall were rows of wooden picnic-style tables. They were similar to the ones in the Great Hall, except that they only seated eight people.
Hermione was already sitting at a table by herself. Harry tried to catch her eye and wave, but she was staring sour faced down at her food.
The food didn't look very good, Harry thought, eyeing people's plates suspiciously, but he suspected that Hermione's bad mood was affected by something more than spam on bread for lunch.
He was about to mention something to Ron about Hermione when he smelt a familiar scent of roses, and froze.
Without turning around, he knew that Allie was standing behind him.
No, he wasn't psychic. He'd just been standing right behind her when the orienteering exercise was being explained to his group, and therefore knew that she was wearing rose scented perfume.
Desperately, he tried to clear his mind.
Should he talk to her? If he did, what could he say?
He could congratulate her for winning the orienteering race! Okay, he had some conversation. Now he just needed the guts to turn around and say something.
"Harry!" Ron called, and Harry realized that the line had moved on and he was standing there like an idiot. He covered the few metres between him and Ron, and took a plate from the bench, chagrined.
Great. Now she probably thinks you're a total loser.
He kept his eyes downcast, shuffling his feet when the line moved. A piece of bread from that tray. A slice of meat from there. Finally, at the end of the line, there was a massive jug full of watered down cordial. Harry poured himself a cup.
When he looked up, he realized that Ron was waiting for him, looking highly amused.
"What?" Harry enquired with a red face. Ron burst out laughing.
"Oh man, you're acting so weird and you don't even realize it." He gave Harry a meaningful look, and then walked over to the table where Hermione was sitting.
Harry's brain froze again. Did Ron know about Allie?
He didn't know why he objected so much to Ron knowing. It was just…Allie was so out of his league, and he was ashamed to admit he had ever wanted her. Still did want her.
He picked up the cup of cordial and balanced his plate with the other hand.
"Harry?" He heard a hesitant voice ask, and his poor brain, which was just beginning to clear, froze again. Allie was speaking to him. He knew instinctively it was her; the sound of her voice was imprinted on his mind.
"Allie," he said, turning around quickly to face her.
Unfortunately, he didn't have his cup as well balanced as he thought he did. It slipped right from his hand and rolled away under the table, splashing watery yellow cordial all over the floor.
Thankfully, both he and Allie had jumped out of the way. He would have died if he'd spilled cordial all over Allie Reed.
She got down on her knees and reached under the table for the cup. It was only plastic, so it didn't break.
"Here,' she said, handing it to him with a strange look.
"Um, thanks," Harry muttered, refilling it from the jug. "Hey, um, Allie," he said quickly, before he lost his nerve.
She looked at him expectantly. "Yeah?"
"Um, good work. You know, winning the orienteering thing."
Allie laughed, and Harry frowned in confusion. Had he said something wrong?
"Thanks, Harry," she said. "You did well, too." She walked away visibly trying to repress her laughter.
Harry took his plate and cup and went to join Ron and Hermione. Girls were so confusing. He didn't think he'd said anything funny…
Hermione and Ron were sitting in silence eating. Harry caught Ron's eye as he sat down opposite his two friends, and Ron shrugged.
"Hermione," ventured Harry. "Did something happen with Malfoy?"
Hermione sighed heavily. "Of course, no surprises there. He's just…such an insufferable git. And Snape too. The both of them are out to get me." She shook her head when she saw Harry open his mouth again.
"I don't really feel like talking about it. How are you guys finding your groups?" She glanced meaningfully at Harry, who blushed immediately.
Ron spoke up. "Mine's pretty good. I went with Neville for the orienteering exercise. I had to do all the work, but we still came first, so it didn't matter. Trelawney's actually not that bad as a camp teacher. Kind of amusing, if you're not Harry. You know, the whole reason she came on camp was to get more 'clued in with nature,' or something weird like that. I'm telling you, that woman has a problem."
Harry was only half listening to Ron's chatter, still thinking about his encounter with Allie. He was always so clumsy around her.
"How was your group, Harry?" Hermione asked pointedly, when Ron wound up his recount.
"Good. I went with Tom, and we came second to Allie and Padma."
"Hmm," said Hermione. "I saw you speaking to her just then. Allie, that is. You didn't spill any of that drink on her, did you?"
Harry shook his head, flaming. Did the whole mess hall see that slip up?
Hermione grinned and reached across the table, patting his hand. "Don't worry. She was smiling when she left you. It can't have been that bad."
Ron was looking from one to the other suspiciously. "Look, from where I'm standing, it sounds like Harry actually likes Allie, but you would have told me if you did, right mate?" he appealed to his friend.
Harry shook his head. "Sorry, Ron, Hermione figured it out all by herself, and I was going to tell you…"
He trailed off, trying to gauge Ron's reaction. He really hoped that his friend wouldn't be too angry at being left out.
Ron considered. He had a right to be angry, but really, it was camp and he didn't want to be fighting with his best friend.
"No worries." He said. "I'm not angry. Besides, you'll probably need my expert help to get her attention, so we can't be in a fight right now."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Your ego is way too big. Since when are you an expert?" She turned to Harry. "Anything Ron says to you, do the opposite, okay?"
"Hey," Ron protested, pretending to be hurt, but it didn't last and he broke into a smile.
Harry breathed a sigh of relief. Once more, there were no secrets among them.
The three ate their lunch quickly. Something about camp had made them hungry. Hermione eventually told them the details of her encounter with Malfoy, and it left Harry and Ron steaming with anger.
"We'll help you get him back, don't worry." Ron said, glaring over at the back of Malfoy's head. "I just wish we were in the same group, then we could all fight back together."
Hermione shrugged. Her anger had worn off slightly. "At least he doesn't have any friends in his group either, so it's kind of just me against him. And besides, you should have seen the look on his face when Joyce handed out the freddo frogs. A whole lot of effort for nothing, as far as he was concerned."
Since Ron had thought the exact same thing, he opened his mouth to defend his cause, but Hermione cut in. "I know, she built up the whole prize thing, so the freddo frogs were kind of disappointing, but I'm glad. I would have been doubly annoyed if Malfoy claimed my victory and it was a great prize."
At that moment Greg stood up from the teacher's table and raised his hand.
Everyone stared at him, dumbfounded. Lavender giggled, and whispered loudly, "It's like he's in school and wants to ask a question!"
Greg heard her, and lowered his hand with a smile. "Okay, I can see that none of you know what that means. Well, that's a little method of mine that I use when I want everyone to be quiet. I'll raise my hand, and I want everyone to stop talking and raise theirs when they see me do that, okay?"
Hermione looked across the table at Harry, and the two repressed a snort of laughter.
"Sounds like it's right down your field of expertise, Hermione," Ron whispered beside her, and received a well deserved slap from his friend.
At the front of the hall, Greg raised his hand again. Begrudgingly, the students throughout the room all raised theirs.
"Good!" Greg beamed at them all.
"These people are just too weird for me," Ron muttered softly.
"Now, this afternoon we've got two activities for you. We're going to set up this mess hall for arts and crafts, which one group will do at a time. The other two groups will be out on the field, playing touch football. We'll rotate the groups every 45 minutes, so everyone will get a go at both activities. So, group A and B, when you're finished your lunch could you please head out to the field. Group C, you'll be starting in here. Thank you, I hope you all enjoyed your lunch."
Harry looked down at his half-finished spam on bread. "Not likely," he said with a grin. "Well, I'm finished. Hmm, arts and crafts, doesn't sound very interesting. At least I get it over with first up." He stood up, holding his plate and cup. "I guess I'll see you guys later then."
Group C was gathering at the front of the hall. Harry hovered towards the back, waiting for instructions. Allie was standing at the front with Padma, chatting about something. She glanced up at him, smiled briefly, then kept talking.
Harry sincerely hoped that their conversation wasn't about him.
Joyce came to the front where the group was gathered. Snape, McGonagall and Trelawney had all disappeared somewhere. They probably got the afternoon off, Harry thought jealously.
The girls were all gazing with interest around at the tables. One table had some mats, and a large brick of clay. Another one had paper and some paints in the middle. The last table had glue and an assortment of wood.
Most boys were eyeing the woodwork table. It was the most 'manly' activity available, by far.
Joyce watched their reactions, then began to talk.
"There are three different activities to do. You can choose which table you want to work at. You can move around if you get bored with any activity. As you can see, there's clay, painting, and woodwork. Okay, go and choose a table!"
Most of the guys headed straight for the woodwork table, and the seats filled up immediately. Several hopeful guys tried to squeeze in around the edges, but Joyce ousted them.
"If a table is full, don't worry, I'll rotate people so you will still get a turn!"
Harry was too slow. He looked at his two choices, the painting table or the clay table.
Allie was sitting down at the clay table. She looked up and caught his eye. With a small smile, she patted the bench beside her.
Was she really…? She couldn't be…
Allie Reed had just invited him to sit next to her.
Moving slowly, like he was in a dream, Harry went and took his place. The smell of roses was drifting through the air, mixed now with the earthy smell of clay.
The noise level rose as students began to experiment, laughing and talking.
Allie reached out to the large brick of clay, and sliced off a section. She then sliced it in half and gave one part to Harry. He accepted it silently, and subconsciously began kneading it with his hands.
"What are you doing?" Allie asked curiously.
"Oh, uh, well, you need to knead the clay. Actually, that sounds confusing, doesn't it? Uh, to make the clay soft, you knead it. With your fingers. Like this."
Allie watched his hands expertly kneading the clay, and began to copy him.
Padma was sitting on the other side of Allie. "Urgh, Allie, this is so gross. It's getting under my fingernails and everything. I'm going to the painting table instead."
"Wimp," Allie called after her friend, then rolled her eyes at Harry. "She's such a girl. So, have you done clay work before? I mean, you seem so professional."
"Uh, yeah, at my primary school. We used to make clay pots in art. It was all we did one year. Our teacher was so much fun, she let us do whatever we wanted to. Most students chose to do clay all the time."
"Oh, well I wish I hadn't asked you to sit here," Allie said, frowning down at her lumpy piece of clay. "You're probably going to whip up something all pro-like, and meanwhile I can't even knead this stupid thing."
"Oh, it's easy, really," Harry felt himself loosening up. Allie was so easy to talk to. "I'll show you how to make a coil pot, if you want. They're pretty easy to do."
"Okay, thanks," Allie said, looking up at him and smiling.
He held her gaze for a second, then looked abruptly down at his clay. "I think it's kneaded," he said, and broke off a small piece. "Now, you have to roll a small piece of clay, like this. Roll it until it makes a sausage shape. It has to be pretty long. Then you coil it around itself, and keep coiling, until you have a little coil mat. That will be your base."
Allie copied what he did. Harry let himself forget about his nervousness, and took her through the steps.
He couldn't believe it. She liked it. She liked the fact that he could teach her about something that might not be considered 'manly'. Something that not many guys could do.
Maybe she wasn't so out of his league, after all.
Half an hour later, Allie sat back and admired her handiwork. "It's so cute!" She exclaimed, running her fingers over the surface.
Harry was making his third pot.
"Oh, yours are so good," she said, pretending to pout. "Mine's kind of lopsided."
"You'd be good if you practiced," commented Harry, inspecting her pot. "That's pretty good for a first try."
"You're just saying that," Allie said, looking from her pot to Harry's.
"No, I'm actually not," Harry said honestly. "You're so critical. It's only your first try, be easy on yourself."
Allie smiled ruefully. "It's one of my greatest faults. I'm such a perfectionist."
"Really? So's Hermione. Except I get the feeling you're not as obsessive as she is," Harry said hastily, in case she didn't like being compared to Hermione. Not everyone would take it as a compliment.
Allie laughed, but then suddenly became thoughtful. "You know, I never really got to know Hermione. Because I'm in Ravenclaw, and she's in Gryffindor, we never had many classes together. Then whenever I did have classes with her, you and Ron were always in them too, and the three of you never seemed to need anyone else."
Harry shrugged, uncomfortable. "I used to think we didn't. But then there was a time…" he paused, wondering whether to say his thought.
"Go on," Allie said earnestly. "You three have always been such a mystery. I go to the same school as you, but I hardly ever see you. The information I hear about you is mainly from The Daily Prophet, and they always print such rubbish."
"Well, there was a time in fourth year. Do you remember when Krum asked Hermione to the Yule Ball?" He asked Allie, and she nodded but didn't say anything. "Well, at that point I suddenly realized: we're going to grow older. We'll want to have relationships, get married, have families. I thought we'd only ever need each other, but I guess I was wrong. They're the best friends I've ever had, but one day I'll need more than that."
Allie was gazing at him despondently. "That's so sad."
Harry shrugged. "I've kind of accepted it. It's the way things are."
Allie looked like she was about to ask a question, but then shook her head slightly and began to wrap up her pot instead.
"What?" Harry asked. "You were going to say something."
Allie hesitated. "Hermione's a girl."
Harry was confused. "Um, yeah. I kind of noticed."
Allie blushed. "Well, it's just that…you're saying you would never have a relationship with her?"
Harry chuckled. "As much as I love Hermione, she drives me absolutely crazy sometimes. Well, a lot of the time. I could never live with her permanently, or we'd probably kill each other. Same with her and Ron."
"Oh," Allie said. "I think I see."
At that moment Joyce clapped her hands. Everyone looked over at her.
"45 minutes is up, people! Bring your works of art over here. I'll keep them safe while you're out on the field. Please don't leave the tables in a mess, the other group needs to come in and use them now."
Allie went and got a wet cloth to wipe down their part of the table with. Harry picked up the pots he made, and Allie's pot, and took them over to Joyce. When he came back to the table, Allie had gone to talk to Padma again.
Their little encounter was over. Harry couldn't help but wonder if he'd ever talk to her for that long again.
He wandered over to the door, and opened it.
"Have fun playing touch football, everyone!" Joyce yelled out over the chatter, and Harry slipped outside.
Ron's group was heading towards the mess hall. When Ron saw Harry, he ran up to his friend.
"Hey mate, do you know what touch footy is?" Ron asked Harry. He sounded kind of rushed.
Harry shook his head. "I think it's a muggle game of some sort, but I never played sports when I went to primary school."
"Yeah, me neither." Ron said distractedly. "You know what normal football's like though, don't you? Very barbaric, a whole bunch of people trying to kill each other, basically?"
Harry nodded. Uncle Vernon and Dudley used to watch it on tv together, but they'd never let Harry join them. Not that he was interested, anyway.
"Well, touch football is just like that, except instead of trying to tackle people, you're just supposed to tag them."
Harry was confused. "Ron, I'm sure they'll explain the rules to us when we get out on the field."
"No, let me finish." Ron insisted. "You see, Malfoy's not playing by the rules. He's on the opposite team to Hermione, and every time she gets the ball, and even sometimes when she doesn't have it, he'll run up and full on tackle her. Greg's tried to stop him, but he really has no idea how to control Malfoy. I just wanted to warn you…keep an eye on her, okay?"
Ron suddenly realized that the rest of his group had disappeared inside the hall, and slipped inside the door. Harry turned and walked slowly out towards the field.
He wished he could stop Malfoy, he really did. But he seemed to have it in for Hermione, and Harry couldn't do much when he wasn't in Hermione's group. He couldn't help her out when he wasn't there.
He could see a large group of people spread out on the field. He could tell they were about to begin playing, and started jogging towards them.
When he was about halfway there, he heard a scream.
A/N: Who screamed? Well, that should be pretty obvious. But why? Well, that should be obvious too. But what will happen next? Hah! That's something only I know!
Next Chapter: Neville makes a confession, and Hermione gets her first taste of revenge.
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