The thick fog clouded around, obscuring everything twenty feet away from view. It seemed a bit to Dorcas that she was in a large white room, a studio, with no doors or windows. She wanted to reach out and cut herself a slice of it as a snack. It would go well with strawberries.
For now she had to be content with breathing the cool air, feeling it slide down her throat like a frosty drink. A heavy book sat on her lap, but she'd given up trying to read it a while ago. The symbols swam before her eyes, and nothing quite worked. The black lines curved and twisted, alike, yes, but not enough to translate.
She licked the moisture off her lips and rested her eyes on the grey shadow of the lake.
"Goddamn!"
Dorcas leapt to her feet as a dim thud registered ten feet away from the tree. Carefully feeling her way she found Regulus on the ground, clutching his head.
"Sorry," she offered, squatting down beside him and the offending obstacle, a large book.
He threw her a death glare, eyes like a knife under heavily knitted brows. Dorcas was suddenly very glad they hadn't learned to do unspoken spells yet. She picked up the book, a particularly heavy volume, and hugged it to her chest.
"What, did you knock your head on a rock or something?"
Regulus smirked. "I might as well have. Fucking hangovers."
"Do you want me to try some magic on your head?" Dorcas asked. Regulus regarded her with blurry eyes, uncertain.
"How many times have you gotten rid of hangovers?" He'd let Nott try on his head once, and it had taken a week for his head to start sprouting human hair again. Since then he'd always opted for sleeping it off.
"Oh ye of little faith," Dorcas said. "I'd just try a simple clear-head charm."
Regulus again regarded her with skepticism. "Could you get rid of this?" he said, lifting his robes to show where he'd scraped his knee tripping on the book.
"Easy," she scoffed, and before he could move, she'd waved her wand and the skin cleaved itself together. He was impressed, and gave her an if-you-must kind of look. She grinned ear to ear and tapped his head.
"Ow," he said, rubbing the spot. "And the fog's still here."
"I'm afraid I can't get rid of that," she said apologetically. "I can't melt clouds." But obviously her charm had done some good, for Regulus stood and started looking around. He snapped his jaw in the air playfully.
"I guess we'll just have to eat it, because - "
But he never managed to finish, as he promptly tripped on another book.
"Goddamn!"