they were just kids [draco malfoy]

Year 2 - 8

Astrid waited a bit before following the boy and setting herself down on the cold grass next to the locker room's entrance. She sat there for a few minutes enjoying the peace and quiet as well as the chilly November air softly blowing on her face. It was bliss while it lasted, but, as mentioned, it was November after all, and it tended to get quite cold in November. Few minutes outside were good but any longer and you could freeze to death.

The pitch had emptied by then. Everybody had returned back inside already and Astrid was out there completely alone. She decided that she could go for a short flight on her broom. She was bored, it was starting to get freezing, and she had nothing better to do. It was evening and the sun was just setting colouring the sky in beautiful colours of orange, pink, and dark purple - the mix of colours in the sky that you would be able to see during summer. Astrid personally preferred sunrises because of the softer and whiter light in the morning, but she couldn't deny that the sky that evening truly looked wonderful. Just a few years back she would've used the term 'magical' but now the word just didn't have as much weight. If 'magical' used to refer to something amazing and surprising, now it was just plain old 'magical' just like every other thing or being in the castle she now lived in.

Astrid mounted her broom and shot up into the sky faster than she ever had. Astrud really enjoyed flying and she loved the rush of adrenaline it brought when she shot through the sky at the fastest speed she could muster and attempted to dodge objects just slightly. For some odd reason, she liked the feeling of knowing you could've crashed but you didn't. It was exciting and dangerous, but she had never yet actually collied into the object she was dodging so it didn't feel scary to her at all.

After Astrid got tired of mindlessly flying around so she decided on imagining she had a quaffle, imagining she threw it and imagining she scored. She felt elated as she did a celebratory movement similar to one she had seen some football player do on the telly (only she did it in the air) and imagined all of the stands cheering for her.

It didn't take long before she got sick of imagining that stuff too and she levelled back on the ground. The girl had also started to feel the first signs of sweat appearing on her forehead, so that had also been partially the reason for returning to the ground. She was too lazy to go and have an actual shower that evening.

Astrid facepalmed herself as she realised something while walking back towards the locker room door. She didn't know why the thought had never occurred but she felt immensely stupid for not haven thought of it before. Why did she have to wait every evening to have a shower and change in the locker rooms when she could simply change in her room and shower in the bathrooms in the Slytherin dungeon. It would be much easier, much faster, and much more pleasant. Astrid decided she was going to be doing just that from then on.

She groaned as she walked up to the door, too sick of waiting for so long. She was sure it was already nearly curfew and she didn't need to get in more trouble. She had already had two detentions this year and she wasn't opting for the third one.

She stormed into the locker room without a single care. She couldn't stand out there in the cold forever and if the boys wanted to be arseholes, she wouldn't mind seeing them uncomfortable because of her coming in.

But the sight she saw surprised her. It was completely silent and there wasn't a single soul in the room. That should've been a relief to her but it only made her angrier. Stupid Malfoy had gotten ready faster that day and didn't even mind to tell her. It was one thing he was so slow and annoying, but at least he had told her whenever he left. It was a completely different thing that he left and didn't say anything. If Astrid had been polite she would've waited out there until she froze over. She helps him out and this is what she gets in return. Bloody brilliant!