Gravity

Chapter 6

"Mate, pass the juice."

"Ron, get up and get it yourself."

Ron scowled at Harry, then turned to Draco, his mouth open to speak.

"Weasley, I am most certainly not going to pass you the juice."

"Fine!" he grunted and pointed his wand at the bottle. "Accio!" It flew into his outstretched hand. "Thanks for nothing."

"Why should we give you the juice when you can just do that, Ron?" asked Harry, popping a peanut into his mouth.

"Because you're my friend. And I had to get my wand out of my pocket."

"Weasley, could you be more lazy?" said Draco, scoffing and tossing a Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Bean into his mouth. Watermelon.

It was the perfect October night. There was not a cloud in the sky and only a thin sliver of the waxing moon, leaving the black velvet sky dotted with millions of tiny points of light. Draco had already located a few of his favorite constellations, including the one that shared his name.

Harry and Ron were over to show Draco what in the world was so fun about camping the Muggle way. During the war, the three of them occasionally had to make camp overnight, always using wizarding tents. After they became friends, Harry would go on and on about Muggle camping, saying that it was really camping, whereas the wizarding version was more like having a portable house. It wasn't the same thing at all.

Ron had pointed out that Harry had never actually been camping the Muggle way, and the two of them made a pact to try it out first thing after the war. They'd bought all the gear and Hermione had found them books on the subject, and then because they didn't crack them for two months, made brief 'need to know' notes from each one. Harry and Ron had fallen in love with camping after the first night and now tried to go as often as possible. They had invited Draco every time, but he had always declined, stating he would rather sleep in the dungeons of Malfoy Manor between rotting corpses than on the ground.

They had finally made a bet with him and if he lost, he had to join them for one night. If he didn't fall as instantly in love with camping as they had, they would never ask him along again. Draco accepted the bet and lost, only to find out that Harry and Ron had been given information which gave them a distinct advantage. Draco had been so impressed at their devious work that he agreed to go camping even though they had essentially cheated, feeling certain that he would not adore the activity, and one night was worth the promise they would never ask him again. Besides, once they were asleep, he could Transfigure his sleeping bag into a mattress.

Harry and Ron had brought tents and sleeping bags, plus canned food and all the traditional accoutrements of camping. Now they were sitting around a campfire that Harry had started and built without magic in front of Draco's house, tents set up behind them, eating terrible food because that was what you ate when you went camping. Draco couldn't help but think longingly of the pot roast he had in the freezer only a few yards away.

Though he still could not fathom why someone would wantto leave the comfort of his or her home and sleep on the ground, he had been forced to admit that up to that point, he was enjoying himself. He especially liked the fire, the way it kept him warm despite the chilly air around him. While that experience was nothing new, he had always seen outdoor fires used as either tools of destruction, or a means to stay warm. He had never had the opportunity to simply sit and stare into the fire, watch the flames lick the air, moving, growing and breathing.

Harry and Ron were presently roasting marshmallows - a white, puffy, and vile food - on long, thin wires in the fire to make what they had called 's'mores.' Draco had agreed to try one despite the funny name, since they both insisted the food was part of the camping ritual and it wouldn't be considered camping with them.