Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
A/N: Thank you very much if you reviewed, your opinions are much appreciated. :)
It was a bright saturday morning, and many students were sprawled comfortably on the school grounds, especially near the lake. Harry Potter lay grinning on its banks, along wtih his best friends Ron and Hermione, feeling happy and content and peaceful. He was just about to close his eyes and doze in the sunshine, when Ron nudged him.
"What?"
"Look, it's Malfoy!" Ron hissed.
"So it is..." Harry's grin grew wider at the prospect of Malfoy baiting. It was certainly hilarious, he told himself, and Malfoy deserved it.
"Hey Malfoy-"
Draco noticed Harry just before he tripped over him. It gave him just enough time to spit out a frenzied oath before his face hit hard ground and Harry leapt to his feet.
"Oh-bloodySTUPIDhelphelpohmygodohmygodohmygodohmy-" Draco spluttered, while trying to leap to his feet so he could escape. As he lurched to his feet, dazed, Ron and Harry simultainously drew their wands. Malfoy was half-way through wondering whether they had been practising synchrosnised wand-drawing, before Ron shouted:
"Impedimenta!" Draco was knocked off his feet, falling backwards ten feet-
Right into the lake.
Ron grinned and lay back down to watch Draco stuggling in the water. He was quite far in.
"Reckon he can swim?" Harry asked.
"No idea." Ron replied lazily, watching with interest. More people were flocking to the banks, to see what was happening.
Draco surfaced, coughing, and grabbed the nearest object. It was, luckily, a sturdy-looking log, which he gripped tightly with white fingers. His hair clung to his face, completely de-gelled.
"Bloody lake, bloody students bloody!-" He intoned, outraged, before a wave from the ripple he had made falling in hit him with considerable force and knocked him under. The water was freezing, contrary the the warmth of the day above, and he struggled to find the log.
His lungs were bursting, and then he saw something large moving in the water.
The giant squid.
Swimming upwards franitcally, he broke the surface screaming. Grabbing his log, and another, less reliable looking bit of driftwood, he hauled himself up, so that most of his body was out of the water. Laughter could be heard from the closest bank. He'd probably be pushed off if he tried to get back onto land that way.
"This is not a good day."
And, kicking and wriggling, he began to traverse the waters to the far bank.
Luna Lovegood, having discovered that the next official Hogsmede visit would be in three weeks time, was trying to attune her mind with nature. The results, she had been assured, were worthwhile, and so she found herself sitting crosslegged by the lake.
Unfortunately, nothing seemed to be happening, so she gave up and sprawled on her back. She was staring at the sky, which was trying to hide behind the clouds, when a wet, frantic figure splashed out of the lake, saw her, and splashed back in.
"Hello?"
"Nice day!" Came a sarcastic voice, which belonged to the wet figure. Luna sat up and saw that it was treading water, and glancing between her and a large, dark shape in the water.
"What are you?" Luna asked, staring at it. It was, apart from being wet and frantic, human-shaped, only with no eyes. Further looking proved that the eyes had been hidden behind a thickly plastered layer of fringe.
"-!" The thing bobbed beneath the surface. After a few seconds, Luna could make out it's shape, moving away from her, along the side of the lake.
"Well, I'm not having any of that!" Luna exclaimed. This could very well be a rare and previously undiscovered species. Standing carefully, she crept along the side of the lake just behind and to one side of the thing, which was leaving a trail of bubbles behind it.
When it surfaced, she lunged, and realised what it really was halfway through the air.
She then fell in with a loud splash.
Draco realised that the girl had fallen in when he heard the splash, and surfaced, coughing.
"Go away!" He whined, and then realised that he sounded like a petty child. Oh, well.
"What d'you mean? You're between me and the bank, and I'm not going any deeper!"
"Well, I'll just get up and go, and when I say you can get out." Draco reasoned, backing away.
"Why can't I go first? I am a lady, and of course I'm the injured party!" Luna yelled at him. Draco was outraged.
"You? The bloody injured stupid party? I fell in the lake!"
"So did I!"
"Bet you weren't chased by the Giant Squid!"
"I will be, if I hang stay here much longer!"
"I was in fear of my bloody life!"
"You hurt my feelings!"
"I-" Draco paused, aware of an end to his current sufferings, or at least the ones he could think of. In the end, he managed with: "-don't care!"
"Well I do!" Luna was annoyed, this was not going well. "Look, you," she ground out, advancing towards Draco, "I am not in a good mood this morning. In fact, I'm in a very bad one. The Quibbler isn't selling, my creative genius is all wrung out, I've had disappointments by the dozen, including you, and now, now, I've been dunked in the lake and I am soaked!" By the end of her speech, Luna was an arms length away from Draco, and Draco was feeling slightly puzzled.
"How did I disappoint you?"
"If you must know," She snapped, "I thought you were a rare and previously undiscovered type of water mammal, perhaps related to a merman." Then, in the most aloof manner possible, she doggy paddled past him and clambered onto the bank. Draco immediately turned and followed her, flopping down on the bank where Luna had sat a few moments before.
Luna Lovegood in the vicinity or not, he needed a rest.
"I don't think I'll ever be dry again," he moaned.
Luna glared at him.
"I think you will, in time." She told him, looking at him with her head cocked on one side.
"Oh, shut up!" Malfoy snapped, glowering. Luna considered him for a moment before wandering off, leaving Draco on his own.
At lunchtime, Luna made her way to the great hall to have lunch. She perched at the very end of one of the benches and carefully selcted seventeen carrot sticks, a cress and mayonaise sandwich, a cup of water, three and half crisps, one sausage roll, a strawberry yoghurt and five baby tomatoes. She then proceded to eat everything except the carrot sticks, which she wrapped up in cling film and put in her bag.
After that she got up and walked off towards the entance hall, heading for the grounds.
Draco Malfoy spent his lunch hour outside, eating a submarine roll and a packet of hula hoops in the safety of the shadowy corner behind greenhouse three. When he had finished, he sat quietly for a while, pondering what to do.
He could, of course, stay where he was. Unfortunately, he was getting bored, and there was always the odd chance he would be discovered. The other options would be to: a) find somewhere else to hide, or b) do his homework.
Plan A definitely seemed like a good option, but it would propably be best to get that stupid salamander fed. He needed the marks he got in Care of Magical Creatures.
"Plan B it is, then."