Kiara Malfoy (Fred Weasley Love Series)

Ch. 8: Down By The Lake

"Kiara Malfoy."

Chapter 8: Down By The Lake

Kiara woke early on a Saturday morning, yawning and groaning after a late night. The night before, there was a celebration in the Common Room as Ron was appointed as the new Gryffindor Keeper. Unfortunately, Kiara only participated in the event for a few hours, not feeling quite enthused towards the celebrations after the exhausting and dreadful first week that she had.

Reflecting upon Umbridge's horrific rein over Hogwarts, she examined the scars on her hand. Even after a single detention, the scars were permanently etched upon her skin.

The muggle clock on top of her bedside cabinet indicated that it was just past six o'clock in the morning. Despite being so early, she knew that she wouldn't fall back to sleep. Once she became lost in her thoughts, she was wide awake and there was no possibility of sleeping once more. Instead, she decided to appreciate the silence of the castle and changed into a grey hoodie and black jeans. It wasn't hot but it wasn't cold either as it was only Autumn.

Slowly, yet quietly, she tiptoed out of the dormitory and the Gryffindor Common Room, stepping over empty Butterbeer bottles that were tossed aside from the night before. No one else was out of bed, and the castle was silent. It reinforced Kiara's suspicion that may, she wasn't supposed to be up and walking around the castle at 6am on a Saturday morning.

After a while, she found herself standing in front of the huge oak doors that led to the Grounds. The doors creaked as they opened, but not loudly enough to attract unwanted attention. The chill of the early morning breezed through her hair as she walked towards the Black Lake. She walked alongside the water's edge, taking care not to slip before finding a nice patch of dewy grass to sit on as she watched the sun rise over the horizon.

Ever since Kiara arrived at Hogwarts, the Black Lake was a place where she found solitude from suspicious looks and harsh comments. It was her personal spot which drew her close when she needed to be alone in her thoughts and away from the loudness of her friends. This morning was wholly different though because all she wanted was to clear her head. She wanted to forget the whole week, forget her past and forget everything negative in her life. The sky began to turn pink as the sun began to lighten the darkness, the last night stars disappearing for the day.

Wishing she brought a blanket to keep her warmer from the Autumn cold, she brought her knees up to her chest to try and contain her body heat. Minutes turned into an hour until she heard the noise of branches snapping.

Hastily, she turned to the tree on her right. It was still too early for anyone to be awake, let alone, wandering the school grounds. The tree branches were low enough to shield anyone from view. Immediately, the thought of Draco trying to curse her popped into her head. It would be a perfect opportunity, considering no one would see him do it. Her hand slid into the pocket of her jeans slowly, gripping the handle of her wand.

"Petrificus Totalus," She whispered, drawing her wand and pointing it at the branches of the tree. A streak of a dazzling, white light shot out of it and rustled through the tree branches, before finally, it collided with something.

Something fell out of the tree, landing with a hard plump on the grass. She didn't lower her wand because even from a distance, she couldn't see who it was. She advanced towards the person slowly. She was two steps away from them when she recognised the red hair and realised who it was.

"Fred?!" She rushed over to Fred who lay on the grass, immobile and unable to move. "Finite Incantatem."

Fred began to move and he sat up, staring at her in disbelief. "I'm so sorry Fred," She apologised with a pink face. She couldn't believe that she thought someone was about to attack her while she was relaxing in the early hours of the morning.