I do not own Harry Potter, the Wizarding World, or any canon characters.
Extended Family
Chapter 133 – Camping 4: Cold Before Three
Takes place after chapter 27.
"I can't believe we're doing this," Angelina said. "I thought you said we'd never do this."
"Don't remind me," Alicia growled. "I think Oliver did something to lower my judgement."
"Ollie, how could you?!" Angelina gasped.
"Okay hold on, I don't think I like what you're insinuating," Oliver said, frowning. "All I did was take you on a very romantic date, if I do say so myself, and we had a very lovely time together and when you asked what I would like to do, I gave you every chance to back out of it."
"I didn't know you'd want to do this! I thought you were always making this up! No one in their right mind would do this normally!"
"We did it when we were younger," Fred frowned. "Not go somewhere special for it but we did it in the orchard and stuff."
"Exactly!" Alicia said. "No one in their right mind!"
"Ouch, our feelings," George sniffed.
"At least there's plenty of snow for icing the injury," Katie giggled.
"I have to agree with Alicia," Daphne said, shivering slightly. "This does seem a bit extreme."
The group had just arrived at FireFalls, except this time, it was the middle of winter. The wind blew strongly, driving the December air deep into their bodies. Snow covered the ground, rising all the while. The trees were frosted by frost and snow and ice and while things did look picturesque, it was very very cold.
"Why do you look so comfortable?" Tracy asked, teeth chattering.
Luna did in fact look very comfortable in her thick coat and fur lined hood. "I've done winter trips with my father before," she said brightly.
"She also has one of these," Harry grinned. He handed out slim stone discs to everyone. "I etched sun and warmth runes into these. Should keep you warm."
"Thank you," Hermione said gratefully. She held it in both hands and even through her gloves, she felt the warmth radiating from the stone. "Oh that's really nice," she sighed.
"Let's go," Alicia said, pushing Harry slightly. "The faster we set up camp, the faster we can get out of this blasted cold." They trudged through the snow in a single file line, with Oliver and Harry at the front breaking the ground for them. They eventually reached the campground they used the last time they camped there. Hermione and Katie cleared the ground with their wands while Oliver and the twins set up the tents swiftly. Luna and Daphne drew a few runes in the ground around the campground while Harry set up a large central fire and soon had it crackling merrily. Angelina, Alicia, and Tracy soon set up the camp stools and chairs and applied copious warming charms on them.
"Budge over a bit," Angelina said.
"Don't let the cold air in!" Alicia said, scootching over some. She had a very large blanket over her front and wore her coat and shawl wrap and her hat, draping another blanket over her head. "I just finally started feeling my extremities!"
"Out in public?!" the twins gasped. They ducked when Alicia threw a handful of snow at them.
"Someone's prickly," Fred sniffed.
"It's the winter of her discontent," Hermione giggled. She sighed at the collective blank looks. "It was a joke."
"You're not wrong, I am very discontent," Alicia grumbled. "More so even!"
"I think you're going to have to do a lot to make up for this," Harry said to Oliver quietly.
"I already have a lot of gifts for her for Christmas," Oliver replied softly and shrugged. "Besides, she's just complaining to complain, you know how she is. She wouldn't have done this if she really didn't want to."
"Or what if she's doing it just so she said she did it and holds it against you forever?" Harry asked.
"That's a distinct possibility," Oliver said weakly. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that. You brought plenty of good food for the cold, right?"
"Yep, good thing I already have the first stew done. I just have to heat it up." Harry did just that, taking out the ironically frozen block of thick beef stew and soon it melted in a large pot over the fire. He ladled mugs of it out for everyone.
"Mmmm, oh this is really good," Katie said happily, sipping the thick rich stew slowly.
"Perfect for winter time," Angelina said, eating hers eagerly.
"I brought plenty of food with an emphasis on cold weather faring," Harry said. "I also brought herbs and spices to make mulled cider and mead and wine with."
"Can we have that now? That might make things more tolerable," Alicia said as she held her soup mug in both hands.
"Why not?" Harry laughed. He pulled out bottles of cider from a pack and poured them into a large pot. Handfuls of cloves, allspice, and star anise went in with sticks of fragrant cinnamon. He then sliced up some oranges and put them into the pot as well and he stirred slowly as the cider came to temperature.
"Oh now that smells very nice," George said admiringly.
"I think it tastes nice too," Harry said, taking an experimental sip. "Think it's ready." He passed out cups of it and people took eager sips and slurps.
"Oh that's wonderful," Daphne said. "Warm and sweet and spiced so nicely."
"Thank you so much, Sir Harry," Oliver sighed with relief as Alicia mellowed after guzzling half of her cup in one long swallow.
"I heard that," Alicia frowned. She took another sip. "But I am feeling much better now. Nice rune work too."
"Still a bit chilly, but pleasantly so," Hermione agreed.
They kept the fire well fed and even when night came completely, they were warm from the fire and the company as they ate and drank and laughed together.
"Is Luna okay?" Tracy asked, looking over and noticing Luna curled up in a ball.
"I think so. Luna, sweetie? Are you okay?" Katie asked, shaking her. She whooped when Luna uncurled and snuggled into her, curling around her.
"I'm okay," Luna said sleepily. "You're warm."
"She's a little drunk," Katie laughed, sitting back comfortably and patting Luna on the back.
"She did have a lot of cider," Fred grinned. "What proof is this?"
"I don't know but it's probably strong. Sirius got me the case," Harry laughed.
"Probably a combination of the cold and heavier food and the alcohol," Hermione smiled. "Luna can surprisingly handle her alcohol despite being so petite."
"Oooh, now that sounds like a story I want to hear," Alicia said, leaning forward eagerly.
"Nothing too scandalous," Hermione said. "We went out one night and a couple of idiots hit on us. Luna said she would entertain them if they beat her in a drinking contest."
"She outdrank them?" Angelina asked with a big smile.
Hermione laughed brightly. "Drank them literally under the table. They passed out and she finished their drinks and was still ready to keep going. I thought she was going to be terribly hungover the next morning and at first I was heartily annoyed to see that she was still relatively perky. Turns out that she was still drunk."
"I need to go out with you two next time," Tracy smiled.
"Ohhh I remember the after-effects of that night," Harry smiled. "She mirror called me the day after that and said she was dying. Scared the lights out of me for a moment."
"I bet she felt like she was," Hermione snorted. "She drank like a Greek hero. Maybe a Norse one too."
"I felt very sick," Luna said, her voice giggly and slightly slurred. "But I was defending mine and Hermione's honor."
"And it sounds like you did an excellent job of that," George said, raising his cup in salute. He blinked when Luna took it from him and drained it before handing it back, making everyone and him laugh really hard.
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"How're you feeling?" Alicia asked with a big smile.
Luna returned the smile. "Quite well, thank you!"
"Are you still drunk?" Angelina teased.
"I don't believe so." Luna pirouetted daintily and the others applauded. "To be fair, I think I can do that drunk too."
"You're not hungover," Harry smiled, handing her a plate piled high with eggs and hashed potatoes, and toast with bacon.
"Oh no, I turn into a slug when I'm hungover," Luna nodded. "I lose the ability to move upright."
"That's me but I'm more of a fish," Katie laughed. "I flop around and make terrible gasping noises."
"I still cannot believe you sound even more appropriate when you're drunk," Hermione sighed.
"A product of my upbringing," Daphne smiled.
"Isn't it impressive?" Tracy snorted.
"I'm lucky that I never have to worry about you," Alicia said, patting Oliver. "You go from yourself, to a slightly louder and somehow more genial version of yourself, and then you're passed out."
"It's true," Oliver grinned.
"These two get to a point where they can only communicate with each other through grunts and flatulence and drunken arm waving," Angelina said, pointing at the twins with her fork.
"And laughter, don't forget laughter," they said together.
After breakfast, Luna left to the top of the falls to draw. The river that fed the falls was too broad and deep to completely freeze over but the chill air and the ice-slick surroundings made for a beautiful vista for drawing and sketching. Katie and Angelina and Alicia went with her and enjoyed throwing a Quaffle around to keep the blood flowing. Oliver, Tracy, and Harry went ice fishing and managed a small catch. Daphne and the twins explored the woods and Daphne found some examples of plants and herbs that thrived in the winter.
When the groups returned to the camp, they found Fred and George building a snow animal and Daphne relaxing on a snow throne.
"How has your arse not frozen?" Tracy asked.
"I'm sitting on a warm blanket," Daphne said, flicking her wand and sending a wave of snow at Tracy. "It's surprisingly comfortable."
"What are you two making?" Katie asked.
"Our latest masterpiece," Fred said, standing back with a flourish.
"Some of our finest work yet," George said, hands on his hips.
"Is that a donkey?" Luna asked.
"Oh Merlin," Alicia groaned. "Let me guess, a frozen ass?"
"Yep!" they said with identical smiles and the others laughed. That prompted the others to start making their own snow sculptures without magic and soon the woods rang with laughter as they got to shaping and piling and forming and building.
"Nice snow snake," Angelina smiled.
Oliver looked proud. "Thanks! I always liked making snow snakes. They're easy and you can make them coil and meander all over the place. When we were little, dad used to make a tunnel for us to crawl through and we'd pretend we were getting eaten. Then we have to fight the snake and save each other."
"That's adorable," the twins simpered, ducking under thrown snowballs. "Hey watch it! You've gotten better at hucking things!"
"I should hope so," Oliver snorted.
"What a cute little chicken," Katie said.
"That's a rooster," George said. "It has the bigger comb and the sickle feathers."
"You would make a snow-cock," Angelina snorted richly.
"And it's smaller, making it anatomically correct," Alicia said smugly, making them laugh and groan.
Luna and Hermione helped Angelina make a lot of snow bunnies while Katie managed a very respectable version of Bailey in snow form. Tracy helped embellish Daphne's throne with a cat at the base.
"Awww, that's adorable," Katie smiled, seeing Harry's creation.
"Thanks!" Harry looked proudly at his snowy owl made from the snow. It looked perfectly like Hedwig, even with the mottled feather pattern that Harry made with a stick. The snow snowy owl even had an especially smug expression on her face, one that they were all rather familiar with.
A keening cry made them look up and Hedwig came swooping in. She was unbothered by the snow and the wind of course, her thick feathers providing perfect natural insulation. She hooted hello at them before inspecting her snowy likeness eagerly, fluffing up and looking happy at it.
"They're twins!" Luna smiled, seeing Hedwig sitting next to the snow sculpture.
Harry grinned when Hedwig danced around the sculpture before flying to him and sitting on his shoulder, fluffing up and yanking on his hair happily. "Thought you'd like it," he said proudly.
"Right, now that we got the artistic element out of the way, now we can indulge our more primal element," Fred said, clapping his hands.
"Meaning?" Daphne asked, eyebrow raised.
"Snowball fight of course," George said. "We make forts, then oodles of snowballs, and pummel each other silly.
"Dibs on Angelina and Katie!" Alicia cried, wrapping an arm around them.
"Hey! First of all, who died and made you a captain?" Fred said indignantly.
"No one died and I made myself captain but if needs must, I'll throw you over the falls," Alicia retorted.
"Fine, George and Oliver are on my team," Fred replied.
"I'm going to watch," Harry said with a big smile.
"Oh thank goodness, me too," Daphne said.
"Come on Hermione, let's show the idiots some girl power," Alicia said.
"I'll watch and draw this, it sounds like it will make a lovely picture," Luna said brightly.
"Come on Tracy, let's show the girls some boys and girl power," Fred said.
"Sounds good to me!" Tracy said.
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"That does not seem very sporting in a snowball fight," Daphne giggled.
The two teams had made their snow forts and were soon throwing snowballs at each other with sincere ferocity. At first it was fairly even but then George had revealed that he brought his Beater bat and was smacking the enemy snowballs back or smashing them apart with vigor.
"Probably not," Harry grinned. He turned the sausages over the fire and enjoyed the show with Hedwig sitting beside him, nibbling on a large piece of bacon. "It's only going to get worse too. Yup, there we go."
Hermione had crafted a track of sorts and conjured a large elastic band. They made an impromptu ballista with Alicia and Katie holding either end of the elastic and with Angelina hauling the center back with her considerable strength. They shot large densely packed snowballs at the other team with increased speed and power. The first shot knocked George over the walls of his fort and the next broke one of the walls.
Daphne laughed as Tracy collected a large amount of snow with her wand, making their fort appear at the top of a largeish hill. They then rolled balls down the newly constructed hillside, creating large rolling snowballs that smashed into the lower fort on the other side. "This is a lot more exciting than I thought it would be!"
"Watch out!" A shot from the girls' team was smacked aside by George and it careened towards the watchers. Luna ducked and Daphne flailed as she fell over, narrowly being missed by the errant missile. The snowball struck Harry a glancing blow, knocking him over and the explosion of snow splattered Hedwig too.
"We can't have that," Luna said and Hedwig barked angrily in agreement. She took to the sky, holding a large snowball that Luna made for her. She dove and released the ball at an angle like a dive bomber, and George fell over, hit cleanly in the head. The fight became a melee as the two teams dodged about with Hedwig joining the fray, being constantly supplied by Luna and Daphne.
After both teams capitulated to Hedwig, the fight was over and they warmed up with mulled mead and dinner was ready: a rich and thick bean and sausage soup, American biscuits, grilled fish, and spicy pickles.
"Note to self, next time pick Hedwig first," Fred said as he ate his soup.
Harry rubbed Hedwig's head as the owl gobbled her own bowl of soup hungrily. "She's a real MVO all right, most valuable owl."
"MVP works still," Luna said, "Most Valuable Potter owl."
"Oh right, isn't her full name Hedwig Jane Potter?" Katie smiled.
Hedwig nodded, fluffing up happily.
Alicia smiled at that. "Okay, I can admit when I'm wrong, sometimes. This has been fun, but I still prefer fall camping or summer camping."
"That's fair, glad you came around to it though," Oliver said, kissing her cheek.
"Still can't believe we enjoy camping," Tracy smiled.
"It does depend on the company," Daphne smiled.
"At least you can have different treats for winter camping," Harry said. He ladled something out of another pot. "Like this."
"Oh my goodness what is this?" Angelina gasped, taking the cup and sipping it. "Alcoholic chocolate?!"
"It's red wine that I mixed with hot chocolate," Harry smiled.
"Oh this is dangerous," Hermione said, sipping appreciatively.
"Dangerously delicious," Luna said, licking her lips.
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DOOOOOOM Lord of Waffles - I do like the idea that the different stories are different versions of the same setting with the characters still existing in some ways.
AshokaTheGreat - Thank you. I do like thinking of ways for Harry to use his transfiguration abilities.
odonellzoo99 - The bunnies took down the great Dora Gobbler. Hope you get that nice smoked turkey. That does sound very tasty.
Jimbo99 - Good thing he came along on the hunt after all.
poka - I do like a strong Luna and Harry relationship, she and they really deserve it. I'm still very fond of Defiance, I wanted that to be my ode to Lunarry. Big turkeys mean little thoughts for such big creatures.
alix33 - I heartily endorse a breakfast sandwich. It's one of the best sandwiches. Also yes, he is a parselmouth.