Chapter Sixteen
Pansy woke after the worst night sleep she had ever had. She was cold, stiff and in huge amounts of pain from shivering all night as well as completely exhausted.
There were times, when the water had splashed up so far on their not so slowly sinking air mattresses, that she wasn't sure they would make it through the night.
But they did, stiff, sore and exhausted but alive and no toes lost to frost bite.
They heated some water on the fire, which took over two hours and let tea warm them from the inside before having a quick wash and dressing again.
"Do you think it'll be safe to leave all this?" Cho asked, looking around at their wind battered tents, "I mean, should one of us stay?"
"I think it'll be fine." William shrugged, "There's not much we can actually save here I think, the tents are all wrecked, so is nearly all the bedding. I can't believe how badly they faired."
"They were old." Cho sighed, "And small… I think we always knew we would need improve sooner or later."
"I'd hoped it would be later. I think we can try and save the blankets and sheets though." Pansy said, wringing out the corner of a blanket, "They just need a wash and a dry."
"And I don't think it'll rain tonight, the weather has cleared up loads." William said, looking up at the sky.
"So off we go." Pansy grinned, "Shopping!" she clapped her hands together excitedly.
William made sure that Pansy had a tight grip around his waist before flying low to the ground until they were a couple of miles from the edge of the forest. It was strange how quickly the land had changed from ancient trees to heather covered hills, complete with the occasional waterfall.
They held hands, arriving around the back of a large building, the sound of cars very close by.
Pansy had little idea of how much muggle money they actually had, Lily had just said that there was no chance they would run out with in the first three or four years. The idea that they might be fighting for so long had given Pansy chills.
The outdoor and camping shop was huge, Pansy looked around in awe as they stepped through the automatic doors.
"I made a list." Cho said, waving around a small bit of paper, trying to take in the size of the shop which had everything from canoes to tree houses.
Pansy took a deep breath and held tightly to their hands, "On guard, I don't think anyone will spot us but… stick together as well. What's first on the list?"
"Tents." Cho said, "I think we can say goodbye to all three that we had with us."
William and Pansy nodded.
Picking out a tent however, was easier said than done. They'd never seen so many tents, all set up on the second floor of the shop, covering nearly every inch of space there was.
"Can I help you?" a young man asked, he had a friendly smile and thick curly hair that fell to his shoulders, "My name is Kenny, can I help you at all? You look a little lost."
"We need a tent, maybe a couple actually." Pansy said, returning the smile.
"Ok, well as you can see we have a couple." Kenny grinned, "What sort of camping will you be doing?"
"Long term." William said, trying to think of the best way to explain their situation, "Possibly for several months."
Kenny frowned slightly but nodded, "O…k. Well you're going to need a big tent then, I'd suggest any on that row." he said, pointing to the back wall, "They're not all set up, because of their sizes but there are pictures and measurements. I'd also suggest looking for something that's for all four seasons. Is it a sheltered spot?"
"Kinda." Cho nodded, "There's loads of trees on one side."
"That'll come in useful." Kenny nodded again, "Let me know if you need any help or need anything else."
"We've got a fair bit to get." Cho said sheepishly, holding up her list.
"What is this for?" Kenny asked, looking over the list, "Sorry, being nosy. This is just a lot of stuff."
"School project." Pansy said.
Kenny shrugged, "Fair enough."
With Kenny's help they managed to get two large tents, each with three rooms off the main area and had built in ground sheets, so there would be no more water running through the tent no matter how heavily it rained. They also had several new, heavy duty sleeping bags which would be much more comfortable on their new camping beds. They were solid and had no chance of sinking during the night.
He also found them a camping shower, which was a very clever design and would make it far easier than trying to use a couple of bowls. Along with a few camping stoves, and plenty of gas bottles which would allow them to at least make themselves hot drinks and cook basic meals without needing to build a whole fire.
Pansy signed her name on the bottom of the receipt, very relieved that the payment had gone through OK; it had been a huge bill.
Between the three of them, but with great difficulty they managed to carry their new camping things round to the back of the shop again and apparate back. They slung a couple of the new tarpaulins between the two brooms and slowly made their way back to the edge of the forest, all three of them having to walk so the brooms wouldn't be over burdened.
After seeing the inside of the shiny store, it was clear how desperate their little camp looked. The tent that they'd been planning to use as a bath house was half fallen down, flapping limply in the slight breeze.
It didn't take them long to take down the old tents, putting all of their things away in Pansy's bag so they wouldn't get damp on the still slightly wet ground.
It took, however, several hours and much swearing to get the new tents set up. The instructions were not very clear and none of them had much experience camping, let alone camping as muggles.
They did get it sorted though and Pansy set to work making up the three bedrooms for them, even though she would be sleeping in with William, as well as neatly putting away the rest of their supplies.
Outside Cho was setting up the shower, the tarpaulins would provide a good level of cover for them, tucked against a tree with low hanging branches.
William was digging a deep pit for them to put their colder foods in, it would make sure that nothing over heated, the last thing they needed was to become ill.
He'd already dug a deep pit for the toilet when they first set up the camp, however it now had a neat plastic seat and more tarpaulins around it for privacy.
William was fairly fit, he'd been riding his broom since he could walk but he was struggling with how physically demanding living as a muggle was, even after just two days his arms and shoulders were aching.
He finished lining hole with heavy duty plastic shopping bags and glanced over to where Pansy was now sitting, building up the fire to try and wash the damp blankets. They were already starting to smell musty and she didn't want it to spread.
The one bit of magic they were going to use was for water. There were a few streams running through the forbidden forest but there was no guarantee they would be clean. It would mean, however, that they would spend at least an hour everyday getting the water back to the camp after casting the spell a safe distance away.
William couldn't help but smile at Pansy laughing with Cho. She was wearing a floaty summer dress and had kicked her shoes off as they shoved the blankets around the old bath tub they were using for washing.
Pansy dug her bare feet into the damp ground, she'd found the old friendship bracelet that would heat up when one of her friends triggered their own buried at the bottom of her trunk. She wasn't even sure that they still had theirs but it was a hope.
William wondered over to Pansy and Cho, helping them ring out the heavy sheets and drape them over branches to dry.
"My bag is empty." Pansy said, showing them the pile of books now by her bed, "So I think we need to find somewhere to bury it?"
"Ok, where do you suggest?" Cho said, looking around, "Heather or trees?"
"Trees… I think…" Pansy said, looking around, she wasn't really sure, she just knew that it couldn't stay with them, "Hagrid always said there was a lot of magic in the forest, so it should mask it."
They wondered in to the thick trees, helping each other over the fallen branches and rough ground. Pansy took the spade from William and dug a shallow hole next to a fallen tree that was covered in moss. Cho helpfully wrapped the bag in a plastic one and handed it over. Pansy buried it and placed a stone on top, to mark it in case they needed to find it again.
And just like that the camp was finished.
The three of them linked hands and wondered back to their little home.
"Who's cooking tonight?" Pansy asked, lighting their little gas stove and putting their kettle on to boil.
She got out three pretty little enamelled tin cups, dropping a tea bag into each one.
"Well," Cho said, trying not to blush, "I cooked last night and it was…"
"Do you have any cooking books in that giant pile in you room?" William asked, trying not to smirk.
Pansy chewed her lip for a moment, "Maybe. I know that Lily gave me every single book she though might help. There's a couple on mediaeval healing and medicine which look really interesting."
She handed out the mugs of sweet tea and ducked into her room for a moment. The books weren't organised yet, that would be tomorrow's job.
With just a quick look through she managed to find several cooking books. Pansy grabbed the one that looked simplest and took it back out to the fire.
"I have some cooking practise but not much." William said, "These do look pretty good though."
"Lily once said that she was going to make sure that Harry could cook, Mummy and Daddy laughed." Pansy said with a laugh of her own, "I know how to boil water and I'm sure I can learn the rest."
They huddled together, looking over the recipes that were making them feel hungry just looking at the pictures.
In the end, a thick stew with home made dumplings was picked and the three of them made it together, cutting the vegetables and chunks of beef while looking over the instructions again every three seconds.
"This is amazing." Pansy said happily, using another slice of bread to mop up the last of the rich gravy in the bottom of her bowl, "Here is to every meal we have tasting this good."
Cho and William clinked their mugs with hers and nodded in agreement.
They stayed up late, having cleaned the dishes and each had a quick, slightly cold, shower to clean up in their posh new camping shower. It would take some practice to get perfect but was refreshing none the less.
William wrapped his arm around Pansy once they were tucked up in bed, warm and dry under their new sleeping bags.
"I don't like this bar thing in the middle." William grumbled, "I can barely snuggle you."
"That bar keeps the bed up." Pansy laughed, "If it wasn't there we'd be crashing into one another all the time."
"I know." William said, pulling a face at her, "It's just not how I pictured our first nights together."
Pansy shuffled round so she was facing him, "Really? How did you picture them?"
William blushed slightly, "Well… I always pictured a lovely little room, with a proper bed and silk sheets and then breakfast in this really posh dinning room the next morning, where they serve you tea and coffee in those white pots with the golden bands?"
Pansy giggled, "Very specific. Sounds really lovely."
"Any day is lovely when it's with you." William said, reaching forwards for a kiss.
Pansy pressed her lips to his, letting them warm her to the tips of her toes.