Skylar Rogers || 1st Year

A Trip to the Lake

Today was Monday again. Me and Hermione sat on the couch boringly. We waited rather impatiently for Brianna to come downstairs. She was busy cleaning up from getting puked last night. Hermione checked her watch and huffed. "Oi! What is she doing?! We're gonna miss breakfast!" She complained. I nodded, rolling my eyes. "And she complains about my clothes." I sassed. Racing footsteps were heard which brought Harry and Ron's presence. Harry smiled cheerily. "Good morning!" He said. My cheeks burned red. Ron yawned a bit. "You're up early." He said. Hermione rolled her eyes annoyingly. "We're waiting on Sky's dramatic sister to come down." She told him. They were confused until finally Brianna walked pass them. She smiled. "Hi you two! You're early." She said. I mentally scoffed and picked up my backpack. "Whatever you think. I'm bloody starving." I said. Ron huffed impatiently. "Me too!" He said before running of the room. Brianna rolled her eyes. Me and Harry chuckled as we followed behind.

In the Hall, I munched on my strawberry oatmeal and drank my cup. Hermione smiled brightly. "Sky, I loved A Wrinkle in Time! I'm already on chapter 15!" She beamed. I laughed and shrugged. "Told ya fiction books are cool." I said. Harry looked at me confusedly. "What book?" He asked. She pulled out the book from inside her backpack. "This! It's really good." She said. Brianna scoffed. "You probably got it from the library." She said. I nodded my head no and sipped my drink. "Not really." I quickly said. Ron was chewing his sausages. Harry sighed heavily. "I'm not excited about Potions." He told us. I looked at him in awe. "Why?" I asked. Brianna smiled. "One, he doesn't study the material, two Professor Snape despises him." She said. Harry rolled his eyes. "Thanks." He said sarcastically. I ignored and scoffed. "Maybe I could help you." I said. Hermione smiled proudly. He looked at me in shock. "You wanna help me study Potions?" He asked. I nodded. "That's good Sky! You'll learn the material early before the exam!" She beamed. Though I'm not always pumped about homework, it's nice to study with someone so both could understand the work. Harry smiled shyly. "Blimey, thanks Sky. Maybe we can study somewhere." He said. I shrugged. "Common room? Our room?" I suggested. He fiddled with his fork nervously. "How about the Black Lake? Not far from the castle." He asked. Brianna hummed in response. "Why not? If anything, it's very peaceful and less noisy like our house." She agreed. Whoa. I've never been to the Black Lake. Professor Dumbledore said there are a few places we can and cannot wander off. I smiled. "Sure! How about 3pm?" I asked. He nodded. "Brilliant!" He said. Hermione switched smirk glances with Brianna while us and Ron discussed silly pranks we could do next time.

******

It was now 3:00pm. Classes went by swiftly and I waited for Harry beside the front doors. My textbooks was in my backpack. My wand still in my pocket. The autumn breeze connected nicely with the brightened sun. Sometimes I think there's beautiful weather around Hogwarts. Harry and I...studying together. We've always done things together but homework? Never. Nervousness and butterflies rumbled my stomach crazily. This felt rather different. Studying with Harry should seem normal but the difference is we're doing it alone.
"Sky! Niff!" A familiar voice called. I snapped out of my thoughts and saw him rushing up to me clutching his backpack. He slightly panted. "Sorry to keep you waiting. Hermione let me borrow her Potions textbook and another textbook to go over spells." He told me. Jeez. Maybe Hermione should help him study sometime. I rolled my eyes and smiled. "It's alright. Let's go before it gets dark." I said. We walked through the front doors and talked before coming across the Black Lake.

We sat on the grass, pulling out our textbooks alongside quills and parchments. Making notes is especially part of studying. Harry sighed deeply.
"All of this is mental." He muttered. I raised an eyebrow while opening our homework page. "And why exactly is this mental?" I asked. He sighed sadly. "Skylar, you've known me forever. I'm not really studious like anyone else." He said. What he said brought back the times of his struggle with learning. The times when he cried frustratingly sometimes bothered me. I smiled confidently. "Harry, you are smart! Don't let one subject make you feel dumb. You didn't give up learning your alphabets or pronouncing a couple words. It's nothing wrong if you ask for help. In time you'll understand." I told him. He smiled a little and playfully tipped his quill. "I'm not as good as you." He said. Our hands intertwined again on his opened textbook. We stared into each other's eyes. I sighed happily. "Remember our house? Sometimes bravery matters than books." I said. Harry smiled warmly. "Thanks Sky. You're so bloody amazing." He said. Sudden butterflies erupted my stomach outrageously and my cheeks turned redder. I returned the gesture. "Thanks...Harry. Now shall we?" I asked. He chuckled as we began going over the textbooks.

******

Two hours passed. We packed our bags and started walking back to the castle. He laughed. "I'll never broom race you again. You're a little toughie when it comes to brooms." He said. I smiled confidently. "What can I say Potter? Tough is my middle name." I said. He smiled. "I remembered us broom racing in my backyard a few times before we left for Hogwarts. Bloody fun." He said. We walked past the doors and I smiled innocently. "You mean I broom raced you in your backyard a few times?" I teased. Harry scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Yeah right." He disagreed. I chuckled. He smiled sweetly. "Really, you're very good...almost like a Quidditch player." He told me. Hm. A Quidditch player huh? I shrugged. "We still got more hours till dinner." I said. He almost spoke until Hermione and Ron caught up to us. They smiled. "Hey guys!" They said in unison. We returned the gesture. "How was studying?" She asked. Somehow I didn't forget our third hand-holding moment. It's better to not mention it or a whole day of teasing would begin. Harry smiled. "It was good. Sky's really smart." He told her. I madly blushed. "Thanks Harry." I said. Ron smirked teasingly. "Was there some snogging?" He joked. We looked at each other then back at him kinda shyly. "No!" We said in unison. Hermione sighed. "I was suggesting we go visit Hagrid's hut." She added. Harry smiled excitingly. "Brilliant! Right Sky?" He beamed. "Can't wait to meet his dog too! I'm jouncing to get a puppy!" I cheered. They laughed including me as we walked out the castle.