Michael Brown

When my first week of education ended and my first weekend began, I found myself sitting at the shore of Hogwarts lake, fishing. As I was looking at the glistering surface of the lake, feeling a soft wind on my face and listening to the birds singing on nearby trees, there was only one thought in my mind.

Fishing was boring.

I was actually quite surprised by that, as I didn't suspect it would be the case. I was always under the impression that it was a relatively pleasant, if uneventful, activity, where a person could just relax and admire nature's beauty while waiting for fish to take the bait. It would be followed by a brief yet intense struggle against the fish, which would end with the capture of said fish and quiet satisfaction of the fisherman.

It turned out that wasn't the case at all.

While the scenery around me was certainly nice, I got bored of listening to the sounds of nature and watching the lake after maybe five minutes. Waiting for the fish to take a bait wasn't really that exciting either, as sometimes it would take even half an hour before anything happened. The fact that the fish I managed to catch were all fairly small and skinny also meant that my easy victory over them felt quite hollow, making the entire process quite unsatisfactory.

Maybe it would have been different if I had been fishing in the middle of the lake, as I could probably find some challenge there, but I wasn't stupid enough to actually attempt that. The last thing I wanted was to be kidnaped by savage mermen and used as a sacrifice for the Great Old One sleeping in the watery depths of the lake. I would rather stick to the shore and small fish than to risk that happening.

In conclusion, I quickly learned that fishing wasn't an activity I particularly enjoyed, which was quite a shame, as I was aware I would have to do it quite often in the future.

Knowing the mortal danger associated with eating anything made by house elves, these vengeful assassins working for Hogwarts, I was wisely avoiding the Great Hall, instead relying on alternative food sources. So far these sources mostly consisted of various protein bars and soda cans I packed in my trunk thanks to my foresight, but unfortunately my rations were almost completely exhausted after a week of relying on them.

Knowing that dining at the Great Hall was just a fancy way of committing suicide, I started searching for some additional sources of food. Fortunately, during my initial exploration of castle grounds I stumbled upon some abandoned shack, located some distance from the castle, in which I found many items useful for my survival, including the fishing rod I was currently using. I didn't know why these things were just laying there, discarded, but it certainly made things easier for me.

Thanks to my discovery, fishing, alongside picking fruits and vegetables growing in various parts of castle grounds, seemed like the best option at the moment. Another option was to enter the forbidden forest to look for some berries and game, but I quickly dismissed that idea. I very much doubted I would be able to survive the expedition to the forest, not with my spell repertoire limited to magic bolts and lumos. I was far too weak to fight various forest monsters, not to mention tribes of centaurs and werewolves having their villages there. It was better to stick to safer options for now.

Because of that I found myself spending Saturday morning with a rod in my hand, trying to catch enough fish to make a filling dinner. The place I was currently using was normally a pretty popular spot for people to hang out, but today it was quite empty. For some reason students arriving at the shore would leave shortly after, which was quite weird.

Fortunately I wasn't completely alone, as Luna decided to accompany me, apparently having nothing better to do during the weekend. I was actually quite grateful for that, as she didn't really have to do this. Despite being aware of House elves' conspiracy, Luna had no reservations against eating in the Great Hall, having meals there every day. When I asked her about it, she said she wasn't afraid of being poisoned, as she apparently possessed a moon ring, capable of protecting her from harmful substances. It actually seemed to be working so far, as she didn't look any worse to wear after a week of dining in the Great Hall.

She even proposed getting one for me, but I politely declined, as I doubted it would be useful. I was much a bigger threat to house elves' plans than Luna, so I had no doubts they would lace my food with something exotic enough to work on me despite the ring's protection, like basilisk venom.

It took me a while, but I eventually caught enough fish for both of us. After I called Luna, who was trying to catch some butterflies with a huge net at the moment, we started preparing the meal. I told Luna I could do it alone, but she insisted on helping.

"Where should I put these?" Luna asked, holding a bunch of sticks she found in the forest. There weren't a lot of options for cooking a fish outdoors, so I decided the best course of action would be to fry caught fish over the campfire. Neither of us had any experience in the field of cooking, so it seemed to be the safest option. We however had to find a suitable spot for our fire.

"As long as it won't be too close to the lake or anything flammable, wherever is fine, I think" I said, shrugging my shoulders. I didn't really know much about survival yet, but there shouldn't be a problem as long as we wouldn't let the fire spread.

After we found a good spot and prepared everything, we sat in front of the campfire, waiting for fish, currently hanging over the fire, to fry. Other students nearby were looking at us with incredulity in their eyes, hurriedly changing paths when approaching us, though I didn't know why. Wasn't spending free time by the bonfire a normal form of recreational activity? Either way, we decided it would be better to just ignore them and focus on our meal.

It took around ten minutes before the fish looked sufficiently cooked. Deciding there was no point in further waiting, I sprinkled them with some salt, passed one to Luna, and we began eating.

"It's actually not that bad" said Luna, her usual serene voice mixed with some surprise. I couldn't blame her for her reaction though, as I didn't have high hopes about our meal either.

"True, it's a little bland, but it's not as bad as I feared" I responded. While the lack of spices was an issue, it didn't taste bad enough to dissuade me from doing this again. I could certainly see myself eating like this maybe once or twice a week, whenever I got enough free time to catch some fish. Though I should think about making fishing more efficient in the future. Maybe I should try learning bombarda? Something worth considering at the very least.

We were ready to return to the castle, finished with eating and about to extinguish the bonfire, when we were interrupted by the arrival of one of Ravenclaw prefects. For some reason he was approaching us with an angry frown on his face, apparently quite unhappy about something. After stopping right in front of us, he spoke.

"Hey, are you the one who stole Hagrid's fishing rod? He is…" Prefect started, though he stopped when he noticed the dimming bonfire behind us. His eyes bulged, as he looked at us in disbelief. Wait, so that shack wasn't abandoned? I just raided Hagrid's stash?

Oh no, I found myself in quite a bad situation. Hagrid would most likely hold a grudge for that. Was I about to be sent to the forbidden forest in the middle of the night, with nothing to protect myself?! Or maybe it would be something even worse. Hagrid didn't see any problems with doing that to the children he actually liked. What would he do with people he disliked? I hoped I wouldn't find out.

"Is there a problem?" Luna asked innocently, unaware of my inner panic. She was looking at the prefect, who was turning red, with veins appearing on his temple. Hearing her question, the prefect broke the silence.

"Why in Merlin's name did you make a bonfire in the middle of the road?!" He loudly shouted, startling us. "What made you even think it was a good idea?!"

"It's autumn, so there are a lot of dry leaves in the forest. We didn't want to risk them catching fire" Luna responded, making me nod in agreement. Neither of us knew any water spells, so it would be very dangerous if the flame spread. That's why it was better to make a campfire on a cobblestone, which would isolate the fire from anything flammable. It was just rational thinking on our part.

Apparently the prefect didn't agree with us on this, as he decided to punish us for our actions. Luna lost ten points for choosing the wrong place to make a fire, while I lost thirty points, twenty for stealing the groundskeeper's fishing rod and ten for agreeing with Luna. It was a little unfair, as in my opinion her logic was quite sound, but I decided against arguing with the prefect. Losing some house points meant nothing in the ground scheme of things and I was just happy I wasn't sentenced to enter the forbidden forest. After reprimanding us and disposing of our campfire the prefect left, leaving us alone again.

"While I didn't expect the Ravenclaw prefect to come, today was quite fun. We should do it again next week" I said. While the fishing itself wasn't that interesting, it was actually quite satisfying to cook something I caught myself, not to mention it was quite nice to spend time sitting by a bonfire.

"I agree, maybe we will even encounter some fairies. I read that they like playing with people resting in the forest" replied Luna, voice full of wonder.

After that we decide to return to the castle, quite satisfied with our trip.