Quick little note, this story is now also on ao3, under the same name. There are some cool things (At least I think they're cool) that I can do there in terms of formatting. If you're already wasting your time with this thing, I recommend you check it out.

Chapter 5 - Let it unfold (Will howling tides give me something to hold)

The sun shined warmly as he opened his eyes, the bluest of skies greeting him.

Slowly he sat up, his gaze following an invisible trail from sky to sea, and the point where they both met, Wandering clouds drifting lazily by. It was breathtaking.

With a lazy yawn he let his body fall back into the soft white sand, the calmness of the surroundings calling him back to the land of the unconscious.

"You lazy bum!"

Startled out of sleepiness, he jumped into a sitting position, turning in his knees to face his friend.

"I knew that I'd find you snoozing down here!" She said with a giggle, warm smile on her face as she swayed from side to side with the breeze, seeming to be one with nature.

"C'mon." She leaned forward, offering a soft hand to help him get up. He took it. "We have to finish building the raft!" She shouted to the sea enthusiastically, a blinding smile still on her face as she dragged him through their still intertwined hands.

How he wished he had never let go.

Tired eyes opened at once, a solitary tear falling after a blink. It was the same start to all of his days recently.

His legs burned. His feet were aching. His chest felt like it was going to explode.

This was the most relaxed Nathan had felt in days.

Slowing his light jog, he kept going on his laps around the black lake, his lesser pace allowing him to take in the sights. The cold breeze carried the scent of the dew, as it hit his sweaty face. He liked the smell. It reminded him of rain.

This was only the second day of this routine, and the benefits were very easy to spot. His head always felt clearer after he finished the run; It was probably the lack of oxygen, but he would take it! It made the days much more bearable.

Coming out of his thoughts, his eyes gazed at the calm waters of the lake, trailing up to the castle. This place is so incredibly beautiful.

In the distance, Nathan could see a silhouette of a person, slowly approaching. It was unrecognizable at this distance. It didn't matter to him though, he wouldn't be able to recognize the person even from up close.

The shape approached, faster and faster, and the details became clearer. Nathan wished it hadn't though.

I take it back. It doesn't look so great after all! Coming in his direction was a man, jogging just like him. A man with the surliest face he had ever seen.

He was wearing exercising clothes, the color scheme the same as the uniform from one from the foreign schools. He closed the distance even more, making his face even clearer to see.

The muscles in his face seemed to be pulled tight, his jaw clenched so hard his teeth were probably broken. His mouth was pulled into a small line, looking like it was trying to hold something inside.

Idly, Nathan thought he was running with a mouth full of sour patch. That could be the only explanation! Is this how they are built like in Bulgaria!?

The man was just a few meters in front, and slowly closing the gap. His eyes, that hadn't strayed from looking in front of him, turned to Nathan, and a chill crawled up his spine. He came to murder me!

So suddenly he thought he was seeing things, the man's face relaxed marginally, and what he imagined was a small smile appeared. He gave a slight nod, before passing through.

Nathan stopped his run, watching the man slowly vanish in the distance, completely dumbfounded.

Realizing he didn't want to run anymore, he went back to the castle, determined to forget this strange encounter and with the urge for some sour patch.

Defense against the dark arts was the worst class. By far.

From the moment he stepped foot into the classroom, he felt like someone was watching him. It got worse when the creepy professor walked in.

It had nothing to do with the fake eye, or the mangle face, or even the metal leg. There was just something wrong about the man. Every shout about 'constant vigilance' made his skin crawl.

His hands shook a little as he wrote down his notes. His eyes constantly flitted from the paper to the professor. He couldn't concentrate on the lesson, no matter how much he tried. Luckily, the topic seemed very simple to understand.

He left the classroom with nerves shot, already anticipating the hell that this class was going to be.

The class remained on his mind during dinner, where he felt like someone was watching him. As the unnerving man was sitting right beside the professors, it could very well be that he was looking at him. He ate in record time, and was gone from the room as soon as he finished.

He took two steps at a time while going up the grand staircase. He wanted to put as much distance with that man as possible. He also really needed to pee.

Hastily entering the common room, he quickly walked through, hoping Granger wasn't sitting on the sofa. He was not stopping to talk at this moment.

Going upstairs, he opened the door, a vaguely familiar scene greeting him. A boy- Longbottom, if he remembered correctly from their lessons together- was sitting in a bed, reading. It was still pretty early, so Nathan was expecting the room to be empty.

The boy noticed him, and gave a small smile "Oh, hello Nathan." His voice sounded a little shaky.

Looking closer at his face, he finally recognized him. It was the same boy from some days ago. Now he felt like shit for forgetting about him.

"Oh, um, hey man!" Was his awkward answer, as he raced to the bathroom. He chastised himself for being rude to him again while he peed.

After relieving himself, he stepped out and approached the boy. "Hey, sorry for rushing past you like that. And for the other day too." He said with a sheepish smile, cringing at his horrible apology. The boy seemed to understand, even looking a little surprised for some reason.

"It's okay…" And even though the boy said that, he wasn't looking Nathan in the eye. Am I making him that uncomfortable?

The answer hit him suddenly, as he remembered the class earlier. The boy had been sitting a row in front of him and to the side, and it was hard to ignore how stressed he had been during the entire class time. Shaky shoulders, fleeting gaze, constantly dropping his things.

"You okay?" Nathan asked lamely, now understanding the creepy professor hadn't affected only him.

"Yeah-yeah." The boy stuttered, eyes going from Nathan to the book in his hands that were now shaking.

Nathan instantly regretted his question. His eyes focused on the book the boy was reading, and took a gamble. "Watcha reading?" He asked, leaning on the post of a nearby bed to try and look casual.

The boy's posture straightened slightly, and a smile broke on his face, making Nathan feel instantly better. "Oh, it's a book about mediterranean water plants and their properties. Professor…" His excited voice hesitated, before he continued with the same shaky tone as earlier. "Professor Moody gave it to me. A-as an apology, to that-that first class…"

Goosebumps travelled up his arm and then down his spine. What happened during the first class? It was a terrifying thought, that something bad had happened that he was present for; and that he had no recollection of. It was made even worse considering the professor in question.

Nathan shook himself before he could go deeper into the rabbit hole, and focused back on the boy that was slowly going back to a nervous wreck. "That 's cool. Is it like an encyclopedia?"

"Yes and no, it has portions dedicated to explaining each individual-..."

The boy started rambling, slowly picking up steam and perking back up. It was very hard to accompany what was being said, much less understand. It all did seem a little boring to him, but to each their own, he guessed.

"...But it also has these parts talking about real life stories- It's very interesting to see the difference of the region affecting- There is this wizard, in Nepal, who's growing gravity-resistant trees-"

…

What?

"Hold up. Back up a lil bit. Flying trees!?"

Neville abruptly stopped his rambling. He blinked owlishly, probably trying to reorient himself before answering. "Ah, actually, they're gravity defying. It's a little different."

"Yeah, sure. But how the hell does that work?" Nathan was truly gobsmacked by such a thing existing. Even if it was, well, magic, there were still limits. Right?

"Oh, the book actually explains a little of how they were created!" The book seemed a hundred times more interesting now.

"Then open that page right now!" Nathan leaned over to see the book better, Longbottom went to the correct part. They stayed like that for some time, debating on the plant, how it worked, and how it could be used.

They only stopped when the other boys entered the room. Checking the time, he saw an entire hour had passed, and curfew had arrived.

They decided to end the discussion there, with Nathan promising to continue it some other time. An elated smile grew on the boy's face. He was getting the impression he didn't have many friends. At least they could help eachother out with that.

Nathan fell asleep easier than he thought he would.