Breaking the shadows

Canoeing

1998

Saturday June 6th

At sunrise we all got up and packed our stuff back into our duffle bags. We had seen a river not so far away, and we wanted to explore it.

After we had eaten breakfast, we packed the last stuff and got down to the river. At the river a man stood at a tiny boathouse renting canoes, we agreed that canoeing would be the fastest and most fun way to explore the river, we rented four canoes, and then we paired up, Ginny and I, Luna and Neville, Ron and Hermione, and Harry in his own canoe.

As we pushed off from the shore, the tranquil waters welcomed us with a gentle ripple, creating mesmerizing patterns that mirrored the clear blue sky above. The rhythmic sound of paddles slicing through the water accompanied our journey, harmonizing with the chirping of birds and rustling of leaves in the distance.

The river stretched out before us, vast and inviting, offering endless possibilities for exploration. Our canoes glided effortlessly, guided by synchronized paddling and a shared sense of adventure. Ginny and I moved in perfect harmony, our strokes complementing each other, as if the canoe itself were an extension of our connection.

We navigated through narrow channels, bordered by dense foliage and overhanging branches that created a natural archway. Sunlight filtered through the gaps, casting dancing shadows on the water's surface. The sensation of being enveloped in nature's embrace was overwhelming, and I stole glances at Ginny, her eyes sparkling with joy and a shared sense of wonder.

Our journey took us to hidden coves, tucked away from prying eyes, where we found solace in the tranquillity of our surroundings. Out of nowhere a small island appeared in the river, Ginny and I made hand gestures to the others, telling them that we were going exploring.

We tied our canoes to a tree hanging low over the water. We stepped into the shallow water, the ground beneath us were muddy and had a wired texture.

We stepped onto the island. The island was filled with trees and bushes, but we fought our way to the middle where an opening was hidden. I took my wand out, making a passage from us to the river, giving the others a chance to find us.

I heard rustling in the bushes and out came Hermione, Harry, Ron, Luna, and Neville, they had found us and as they placed their heavy bags on the ground Ginny asked: "Should we stay here for the night?"

Hermione: "I guess we could, there is place enough and we have the canoes till tomorrow."

Ginny: "If everyone is for it, we'll stay here."

Harry: "I don't want to fight my way back to the canoes now."

"Then I guess its settled, we stay here."

Everyone nodded and we started preparing our hammocks and a campfire.

As we had sat everything up Luna said excitedly: "There are fish in the river."

"You mean we can have other food than sandwiches?" Ginny squealed.

Luna: "If we can catch them, that is."

"I'm sure we can."

Harry: "Then let's get to it."

We all changed to our bathing suits and jumped in the water. The water was refreshing after been sweating all day.

--

We returned to shore a while after, we had caught a fish each, except Ron, he had caught none, luckily Luna had caught more than enough.

We followed our trail to our campsite, only to find one of our bags missing, it was Harry's.

We didn't care, most of his clothes were spread across the campsite, so we picked it up and put it in Hermione's and Rons bags. The annoying part was, that now we had to share our food even more, but with the fish we had caught today, we would have a few days' worth of food.

After the fish had been cooked, we sat down and enjoyed our nice dinner in the wild.

Suddenly we heard rustling again. This time we were all shocked by the figure stepping into the light. The person was tall, skinny, with white hair, and dirty clothes. The person was none other than Draco Malfoy. As we realized it was him, Harry's face lit up, and he said: "Draco? What are you doing out here?"

Draco hesitated before he spoke: "I got lost."

"Did you get lost weeks ago, come on sit down, have a bite."

Draco is just misunderstood; without his father he is actually really nice. I know Harry trusts him now, they talked it through after the war had ended and Draco went for a short visit at Hogwarts before he continued to run away, he had got enough of his fancy rich life, where the only right thing was to be pureblood, and he got sick of his father always being so controlling.

Draco sat down beside Harry and Luna offered him a grilled fish.

He ate as he had never tasted anything as good as grilled fish. But looking at him, we all knew that he had not eaten a prober meal in who knows how long.

As we were done eating Draco cleared his voice and said: "I'm sorry, I always thought that I was being the best I could but after the war I knew I was wrong, I'm really sorry for treating you all the way I did."

Hermione: "It's okay Draco, as long as you can see yourself that you have made a mistake, and from what it looks like you have learned your lesson."

"Hermione is right Draco, why don't you stay with us?"

Draco: "You guys are so nice; I don't deserve being with you."

"It doesn't matter, you need companions and now you have them."

Draco: "Thank you so much."

Luna: "No worries, Hermione didn't you have an extra hammock just in case?"

Hermione: "I think I do, yes here it is."

Harry took the hammock from Hermione and sat it up between his. And then said: "Now, you have a place to sleep."

He ducked down in Ron's duffle bag, finding a shirt and a pair of trousers, he handed it to Draco along with a towel.

Draco took it and Harry went with him down to the river.

--

It was nearly night-time as Draco and Harry returned to the campsite; Draco dressed in Harry's clothes.

I thought to myself: "They were gone for way too long, Draco and Harry couldn't just be bathing in the lake, not for that long."

But I didn't put any more thought to it.

I went with Ginny, Luna, and Hermione to change into pyjamas, as we changed Luna looked at me and asked: "They were gone for too long right?"

Ginny: "Yeah, and did you see how they both blushed as they came back?"

"I thought so too, could it be another couple on the way?"

Hermione: "Girls stop, we don't want to make any inaccurate conspiracies."

"Okay, but it is a possibility."

Hermione: "Right miss realist." She says in a mocking tone.

"Oh, shut up."

I laugh a little at Hermione. She has always called me a realist, but I guess I am. I'd rather be prepared than not knowing what is going to happen, which also makes me not as spontaneous as I want to be.
But all of this doesn't matter, I am on a camping trip with my best friends.

As we return to the campsite the boys have already gone to bed. I crawl into my hammock and almost immediately fall asleep. 

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Saved: 27-06-23