School Camp – fire-and-ice89
A/N: Sorry this hasn't been updated for a while! You know how you get trouble chapters, and you're just not happy with anything you write, and you lose all inspiration? Well, this was my trouble chapter, but I'm back on track now. Sorry for the wait!
I got some nice long reviews for the last chapter
Replies to reviews:
bellgirl: hahaha! I loved the story idea! I never would have thought about the hickey thing! You should find a way to write it into one of your stories or something, coz that would be funny. Thanks for the compliment! Wow, you check for an update before you've checked your stats…but you know, you should add me to your author alert list. That way you get sent an email when I update and you don't have to check all the time!
Lovmysr: So you're a roosters fan? Lol. Hahaha you liked the detergent thing too…a lot of people seemed to!
The Lady Luthien: Thanks! I couldn't find any other stories about a school camp so I thought it was kind of original too, lol. Unfortunately this chapter doesn't have much romantic "action" so to speak, more like romantic "reflection".
Stargirl1066lkl: Another funny idea! About the mental health thing…well, this is planned to be a DHr story…I'll come and visit you in the mental asylum, then?
dmhg: Thanks as always for the review…I feel terrible about leaving that review for "Last one standing." I always feel terrible after leaving a mean review. I hope there's no bad feelings…I've had a rough past few weeks and I seem to be taking it out on poor defenseless fanfiction authors…sorry!
TaurusGirl: Nothing wrong with being Canadian! Maybe I should just not get into country loyalties...fanfiction is so diverse that I'm offending people here! Lol don't worry I have nothing against Canadians.
TriGemini: Of course it won't go without retaliation! Draco would never let it go…in fact there will be a lot of retaliation to come from both sides…so hopefully plenty more laughs!
Smiles28 and JewelBlossom: Thanks!
Last Time:
Hermione pulled the blankets up high around her neck, so the cold air couldn't seep in. She wished she had her wand so that she could cast a heating spell on the blankets, but of course, she didn't.
As soon as her head hit the pillow, she could feel sleep rolling in, and welcomed it with open arms. She couldn't ever remember feeling so glad to be encased in warm blankets.
She had survived her first day of camp.
Chapter Seven – Suspicion
Hermione woke to the sound of Professor McGonagall's voice.
"Girls! Up now! You have half an hour to get dressed and into the mess hall. Breakfast starts at 7.00am sharp, and if you're not there, you get leftovers."
Lavender groaned. "I'm so tired! I don't want to get up."
Fiona rubbed her eyes, and swung her legs over the side of the bed. "Come on, guys," she said, looking around for her clothing. "I don't want the leftovers, especially if the guys have gotten there first. Have you seen them eat? Remember, this isn't Hogwarts, the food doesn't replace itself magically."
"So true," Allie yawned. "But I don't care. I'm not hungry. I think I might just skip breakfast today."
Hermione was shocked. "It's camp! You'll need all the energy you can get, especially if today is as long as yesterday was."
"It will be," mumbled Parvati. "I overheard Joyce mentioning something to Greg about a mountain hike today…"
"Okay," Allie said reluctantly. "I guess I should come then."
All six girls dragged themselves reluctantly out of bed to face another day of camp.
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After Hermione had poured herself a bowl of cereal and milk, she looked around the mess hall. Harry and Ron were slumped over one on the far side, each looking extremely tired. She took a spoon and went to join them.
"What were you guys up to last night?" Hermione asked, sitting across the table from them.
"Mrghm." Ron mumbled into his arm.
"Sorry, Ron, didn't quite catch that," Hermione said with a grin.
"You're way too cheerful for seven in the morning," Ron said, looking up at her briefly.
Hermione shrugged. "I got a good night sleep. The girls decided not to sneak out to your cabin. Though I have no idea why they'd want to in the first place – "
Ron reached across the table and slapped her half heartedly. Hermione pushed his limp hand away. "As I was saying," she continued, "we talked for a while, but we actually got to sleep. What about you?"
Neither boy said anything.
Hermione eyed them with mistrust. "Did you guys sneak out of your cabin?"
"Oh, no." Harry said. It was the first time he'd spoken all morning. "We just talked for so long. We didn't realize what time it was."
"Interesting," Hermione said, raising an eyebrow. "The guys talked for longer than the girls did. I bet that's a first."
She suddenly realized that students all around the hall were falling silent. Looking around, she saw hands raised in the air. She looked back at Harry and Ron and rolled her eyes, before slowly raising hers.
"Thank you, everyone," Greg said from his position at head of the hall, beaming around at the begrudging students. "It's good to see you adapting to our rules so quickly. Now, our first activity for today is one that I'm sure you'll all have a lot of fun with: the mountain hike."
There was a collective groan resounding around the hall.
Greg grinned. "Don't worry, it's nothing too strenuous. And it's not really a mountain. We'll have lunch at the top, and stop to swim at a waterfall on the way down. For this activity, you won't be separated into your groups. We'll all be going as a whole."
Hermione turned around to grin at Harry and Ron. Ron gave her a thumbs up. Surely Malfoy wouldn't try anything with Harry and Ron there? And besides, he'd have his own little friends to entertain himself with.
"Now, listen to my instructions very carefully." Greg said over the conversations that had sprung up. "When you've finished breakfast, you'll all go back to your cabins to clean your teeth, pack your swim suits, or do whatever else you need to. If you don't think you're wearing appropriate clothing for a hike, then that will be your chance to change. When you've done that, get your day pack and bring it with you to the hall. We'll have some bread rolls and salad set out for you to make sandwiches with. This will be your lunch on the hike."
Hermione was listening intently to all the instructions, and nodding occasionally. Ron was dozing, trusting someone else to tell him where to go and what to do. Harry was staring over at Allie's table, wondering what she was thinking now. He made a mental note to ask Hermione later if the girls had talked about him last night.
He didn't even realize they'd been dismissed until Hermione tapped him on the shoulder.
"Come on," she said with a gentle smile. "You too, Ron."
Together, the three left the hall to prepare for the hike.
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Within fifteen minutes, all students were gathered back in the mess hall. Hermione threaded her way through the throng to where Fiona and Parvati were standing.
"Hey, Hermione," Fiona said with a cheeky smile. "Have you seen Malfoy this morning?"
"No, actually," Hermione answered, gazing around.
"Exactly," Fiona said, gloating. "He probably looks like a mess after last night. I doubt that he was actually allergic to detergent, but that stuff can still be pretty damaging. I'm sure it's not designed to be poured all over someone's head!"
Hermione smiled weakly. She was one of those people who felt guilty about getting revenge, no matter how hard or how long she'd wanted it.
"He's going to fight back, you know," she mentioned to Fiona, who shrugged, looking nonchalant.
"Not if we get to him first – oh, speaking of the devil."
Hermione looked around to see Malfoy skulking through the door. Fiona and Hermione watched silently as he walked towards Crabbe and Goyle. As he came closer, Hermione could see that apart from a pair of very bloodshot eyes, he looked fine. Fiona, however, wasn't going to let it pass.
She sauntered towards him, and reluctantly Hermione trailed behind her.
"Now Draco," Fiona said in a soft, understanding voice. "If you ever have any problems, you know that I'm here to listen."
Malfoy stared at her like she'd suddenly grown two heads. He looked suspiciously from Hermione to Fiona.
"What are you smoking?" He asked incredulously, and tried to move past Fiona, but she blocked him.
"Oh, that's funny, you know," she said, a smile starting on her face. "Because I was about to ask you the same thing!"
Malfoy stared at her for a few moments before her joke sunk in, then abruptly turned away to hide his bloodshot eyes. Fiona smirked, then came back over to Hermione.
"Got him," she whispered with glee. Hermione smiled weakly again.
She hated Malfoy. She really did. But somehow, when Fiona was the one playing tricks on him, it didn't feel the same. Hermione knew that she and Malfoy had a mutual enmity, and anything they did to each other wasn't taken exceedingly personally. But even though it wasn't her making those comments to Malfoy, she still felt mean…
"Hey, Fiona," she said cautiously. "I don't know how to say this, but…" in a rush, she spilled out her previous thoughts. Fiona frowned.
"If you say so, girl," she said, then playfully slapped Hermione on the shoulder to show that she didn't mind. "You're a strange one sometimes. But if you really want me to, I'll restrain myself."
"Thanks," Hermione said with a smile of relief.
"Okay everyone!" Joyce stood up on a bench so that the students could see her. "We've got salads, rolls, and cheese, so everyone start making their lunches!"
Hermione set her pack down on the ground and headed over to the sandwich making table. She picked up a sliced roll and carelessly chucked on some lettuce and cheese. She didn't normally have big lunches. She wrapped it up in the plastic wrap provided, then went back over to her pack and put it in.
Ready and waiting for the others, she picked up her pack. Frowning, she tested the weight by lifting it up and down. It seemed a lot heavier than before…
"Come on, Hermione," Parvati called. The girls were heading out of the hall, packs on their backs. With a shrug, Hermione lifted up her own and followed them.
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Harry looked up every other second while making his sandwich. Allie was down the table, lifting some limp pieces of tomato off the larger mound. She hesitated for a moment, and Harry could have sworn she felt his gaze on him, but she quickly resumed her task.
With a sigh, Harry did the same.
He thought he'd been making progress with her. But ever since this morning, she'd been ignoring him. He'd made a point of standing in line right behind her, but although she didn't have any of her friends with her, she didn't talk to him at all.
Hermione had always told him to be patient around girls.
"They're fickle." She had warned him. "Sometimes they change their minds. But most of the time, it's only temporary."
At this point, Harry had been totally lost.
"Listen," Hermione had insisted. "As soon as you think you're making progress, they start to pull away. It's because they're afraid of growing close to you. It makes it more real than just a little crush."
Harry supposed that it applied to this situation too. At least, he hoped it did, and that Allie hadn't changed her mind permanently.
The next time he looked up, she'd gone back over to her friends. He snapped his bread roll shut and shoved it into the plastic bag, rather more roughly than required.
"Is everyone ready?" Joyce called out, making the rounds. Most of the students nodded very unenthusiastically.
Harry glanced over at Malfoy quickly. He looked smug…like he was gloating, almost. Somehow, Harry didn't think that Malfoy was just an avid hiker.
Something was up.
A/N: Can you guess what it is?
Sorry this is a fairly non-eventful chapter…but I needed it for all the fore-shadowing. The next one will be more exciting.
Please review!