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Two o’clock that Friday afternoon saw Professor Codrington’s fifth-, sixth-, and seventh-year classes arriving at the Quidditch pitch as instructed. They remained mostly silent, waiting for him to appear with further instruction.
Some students had taken what he said to heart and had packed large bags. They had crammed many of their textbooks and some parchment and quills in order to make the most of their free time, along with a week’s worth of clothing. There were other students, though, that had packed to bare minimum in a small rucksack. These students decided to forgo textbooks and homework entirely and had enough clothing to last the weekend.
Finally, Professor Codrington appeared from the forest.
–Is everyone here?†he asked, counting heads. –Excellent. I have gone ahead and prepared our spot a little with the necessary supplies, so everything is waiting for us there.
–As I said this morning, magic will be useless once we reach the camp area. But by all means, bring you wands and try. Alright - let’s go.â€
Professor Codrington led the class into the forest where they began their trek. It wasn’t long before the students realized they weren’t just going beyond the tree line.
–How much longer?â€
–My stuff is heavy.â€
–I thought it was close by.â€
–We’ve only been walking for five minutes,†Codrington said as he continued deeper into the undergrowth.
–Yeah, where’s your sense of adventure,†asked Sirius. He was rather enjoying this trip so far.
–Maybe next time you won’t over-prepare,†said Julianna, pleased that she had packed light.
–How do the Muggles do this?â€
–Aren’t you a Muggleborn?†a sixth-year Ravenclaw asked a seventh-year Hufflepuff.
–I’ll bet you five Galleons Lori cries before this trip is done,†James whispered to Sirius and Remus.
–No, it’ll be Rebecca first,†Sirius countered.
–I’m in, but neither of them will break,†said Remus.
The group walked on through the forest for another fifteen minutes before finally coming to the clearing. With many sighs of relief, the students walked into the clearing and dropped their heavy bags.
–There . . . that wasn’t so bad, was it?†asked Codrington.
Several students mumbled inarticulately.
–I want you now to split up into your separate classes . . . Perfect. Our first task will be to set up shelter unless you wish to sleep under the stars.
–There will be about three or four of you to a tent . . . no Sirius, you can’t share a tent with Alysia. To make it interesting, we will see who can erect their tents first. The last class to do so will be responsible for getting dinner ready and cleaning up afterward. You may work as a team or as individual tents. Tents are over there . . . GO!â€
James and Sirius dashed to the pile, closely followed by Julianna, and were the first ones to the tents. They did not want to be last and have to cook. As the rest approached, they leapt over the pile and headed back to their class to begin setting up.
–I think we should set up under the trees,†said Riley. He had noticed the ominous-looking rain clouds.
–Is there a tarp for extra cover?†asked Lily.
–Okay,†said James, taking charge. –Riley, Lori, Fabian and Evans - you four get the tarp and rope and worry about putting it above us. The rest of us will start on the tents.â€
James looked around to gauge where they all were. –Maybe we can kill two owls with one stone. Jules, you and Remus will join me with this tent. Sirius, you take Rebecca and Gethin and start on that tent. Then we’ll only have one left.â€
Riley and his group returned and began to put up the tarp. The only problem was that it was right in the middle of where James was working on one of the tents.
–Potter, you’re in the way,†said Lily angrily, trying to get around him.
–I was here first, Evans!â€
–Come on, the others are nearly done with their tarp,†observed Remus.
–Jay, I think that pole is supposed to be here,†Julianna told him.
–No, the picture says it’s supposed to lay across the centre,†James showed her.
Meanwhile Sirius was having less luck on their tent.
–I can’t find the instructions,†Rebecca panicked.
–Forget them . . . we’ll wing it,†said Sirius.
–Wait, I see them . . . Fab was hiding them behind the tarp,†said Gethin.
–Why isn’t our tarp up,†cried James. He had noticed that the sixth-year class was pulling ahead.
–If you got out of our way, Potter, we might be able to put it up!†Lily yelled at him.
–Fine . . . go put the tarp up,†James fumed, stopping what he was doing to move aside for them.
Lily and Riley each climbed into trees on either side of where the tents were to go. There they were able to tie a rope across their site so they could drape their tarp over it.
–So if it rains, the water won’t pool in the centre and collapse,†Riley explained to Lori.
–Great. Can we get back to the tents now?†James asked impatiently. The sixth-years now had their tarp and two tents up.
The fifth-year class set to work on their three tents simultaneously. As such, they kept backing into one another.
–Evans, you’re too close,†said Sirius.
–Black, you have the opening of you tent facing a tree,†Lily told him.
–I want a nice view,†he retorted.
Lily rolled her eyes, but was pleased to see she was right when Sirius had his group rotate the tent. Her group was almost done with their tent, but they would never be first.
The sixth-years had finished and were now busy bringing their stuff in and exploring the inside. It was now a race between the others who would be last.
–Evans, hand me the mallet. This peg is too loose,†Remus said. But as the loose peg was hammered, the tent collapsed - the poles had been put in the wrong place as Julianna had pointed out earlier.
–And we have our winners,†Codrington called out once the seventh-years had finished. –When the fifth-years have completed their work, they will report to me to begin our dinner. The other two classes will go into the forest and collect wood for the fire. Hagrid has assured me that the Bowtruckles are not in this area, so they won’t bother us.â€
It took James and his class a further ten minutes to properly put up their remaining two tents. A light rain had started which didn’t add to their mood. By the time they had finished, everyone had taken to their tents, all thoughts of gathering wood for a fire forgotten in the rain.
–I think we should settle ourselves before beginning dinner,†said Fabian.
The group met the next shock when they went to go in the tents. They were expecting what they deemed a ‘regular tent’ with a kitchen, washrooms, bedrooms, and running water. Instead they were seeing the wall of the other side of the tent immediately in front of them.
–This is it?†asked Julianna. She knew there would be no magic in Muggle camping, but she had expected at the very least an inner wall to divide into rooms.
–Where are the beds?†Rebecca asked.
–Forget the beds. Where’s the loo?†said Lori, beginning to panic.
Lily stood there trying to contain her laughter.
–I see you’ve noticed the washroom situation,†Codrington said, walking over and looking amused. –I will not make you dig a hole to go, or use a leaf. Just over there are two toilets.â€
Lori had a look of terror on her face
–What about the showers?†Rebecca asked tentatively.
–There is a water pump nearby in the forest that has been set up for our use. You may use a bucket to collect water from there to use. Or you may choose to simply wait until we are back at Hogwarts.â€
–I hate to ask, but what’s for dinner?†said James.
–There are some grocery ingredients over there by the fire pit. You are also welcome to search the forest for things, but I recommend you stick to what I brought.â€
The ten went over to see what had been provided. There was a mish-mash of meat, a few cans of various sauces, different spices, a tin of beans, two bags of crisps, and an assortment of more food beneath the lot.
–I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m not washing dishes,†said Julianna firmly.
–Neither am I,†announced James.
–You have to do something,†Remus told the pair of them.
–I have an idea. What if half of us only work on dinner while the other half only clean up,†compromised Lily.
–That would take us longer, but I hate cooking. It works for me,†said Lori.
–Then if we’re all agreed . . . I would prefer to cook,†said Lily.
Julianna also decided to cook along with James, Sirius and Remus.
–If I can eat food, how hard can it be to make it,†argued Sirius. Thanks to his family’s wealth, he had never cooked a day in his life.
Those who volunteered to wash up left to their tents. James and Remus started pulling out a bunch of food hoping to gain inspiration.
–Has anyone ever cooked before?†Julianna asked.
The three boys shook their heads while Lily said, –Only baking.â€
–Well, lucky for you I have. I just hope we have a few ingredients . . . yes! Alright, don’t laugh, but I suggest we just make spaghetti,†said Julianna.
–Tell us what to do,†replied Lily.
Julianna proved to be a whiz at making spaghetti thanks to her nonna. She was just thankful Codrington had everything she needed.
The pasta was a hit. Everyone was so tired from their walk there, setting up camp, and searching for fire wood that appetites were extra-large.
–I hope this isn’t expected for every meal,†said a seventh-year girl.
–Yeah, I don’t think we can compete with grandma’s recipe,†Alysia said.
After everyone was finished eating, the other fifth-years set to work cleaning up. When they had finished and rejoined the group, Codrington addressed his three classes.
–I hope you are all enjoying yourselves so far. We have more to do tomorrow.
–I now give you free time where you can do what you please - within reason, now - for the next hour and a half. At this time you will all have to retire to your tents, and lights out will be thirty minutes after that.â€
Many of the students chose to study in the remainder of what light was left. James, Sirius, and Remus went off to wander in the forest. Seeing Matt approaching, Lily tactfully went to go join Lori and Rebecca.
–Full?†asked Julianna.
–It’s no Hogwarts, but it’ll do,†Matt joked. Food at Hogwarts really was good, though.
–Nonna’s recipe is a keeper.â€
–I didn’t know you could cook.â€
–Not much choice. My dad’s parents are old-school Muggles and felt it necessary I should learn in order to find a husband.â€
–You sound thrilled,†he noted.
–Just because I can do it doesn’t mean I like to do it.â€
–Better than having to clean up afterward.â€
Julianna smiled and nodded in agreement. She hated doing dishes.
–Any big plans for tonight?†she asked as they walked into the forest.
–You mean other than lights out?â€
–Don’t forget about our tent-time retirement,†she added.
–Just wandering.â€
–Wandering’s fun.†They walked in silence for a few minutes before -
–Shh . . . do you hear that?†Matt said suddenly.
Julianna paused and strained her ears. All she could hear was the wind blowing through the leaves of the trees and the occasional drop of rain on them.
–The wind,†he said in confirmation.
Julianna didn’t know what to think. Eventually she came to awe. She loved forests and trees and all that - they were beautiful to look at. But it hadn’t occurred to her to pause for the wind. It was an altogether different feeling being shown how to appreciate what she already did, but in a different way.
Acting on impulse again, Julianna grabbed his hand letting their fingers intertwine. When she looked into his eyes and smiled, he squeezed her hand while they continued to listen to the wind through the leaves.
Without realizing it, the daylight had rapidly faded. Julianna and Matt had to stumble through their way back without the use of their wands for light. Just before the clearing, Julianna held Matt back. She took a few breaths to steady herself before speaking.
–Maybe I wasn’t clear before, or you were looking for a sign that I didn’t know I should be giving. I’m impatient, and over-competitive, and sometimes a little insensitive because of that,†she said, her heart now racing. –But I just wanted you to know that I’m really glad you’re here with me.â€
When she went to look in his eyes, her blood pumping fast, she saw that he was directly in front of her and was closing the gap. His mouth an inch from her ear, Matt whispered, –I know.â€
Julianna could feel his breath tickle her neck before he pulled her into a deep kiss.
* * *
The two remained at the edge of the clearing together until Codrington called for everyone to return to their tents. Everyone spent that evening in sleeping bags provided by Codrington on the forest floor.
The next morning, because of rain which had started the afternoon before, the students remained under their tarps that they had set up the previous day. For the fifth-years, it was filled with many complaints.
–Is anyone else as sore as I am,†said James while rubbing his back.
–The ground was hard last night,†replied Sirius.
–At least you had solid ground,†complained James. –I had to sleep on a large tree root with a few acorns as pillows.â€
–Babies,†Lily whispered to herself.
–Judging by those bags under your eyes, Evans, I would say you didn’t have a great night either,†James argued, having heard her comment.
–At least my hair doesn’t look like a Kneazle went through it,†Lily argued back.
–What do you mean . . . his hair always looks like that,†said Julianna, while Sirius and Remus laughed next to her.
–Whose side are you on anyway,†said James, irritably. A short, uncomfortable sleep didn’t agree well with him.
Before Julianna could answer, she was saved by Codrington who had been going around informing everyone that the hike he had planned wold not be happening. The rain had started to come down harder as the morning progressed.
–Unless the rain lets up, our other plans may have to be cancelled as well. You can have free time until I can decide what to do.†Codrington walked back to his own tent.
–Well I think I’ll go do that Astronomy paper,†announced Lily. She couldn’t handle being around Potter any longer and had to get away.
Depressed by the rain and their situation, Lori and Rebecca joined Lily in the tent they were sharing.
–Maybe they’re on to something,†said Fabian. He, Gethin, and Riley then went into the tent they were sharing to go do their own homework. Now only James, Sirius, Remus, and Julianna were left under their tarp.
James looked around and noticed that the other students were also looking rather depressed while studying. He thought that what they needed was a pick-me-up; some kind of fun to liven their trip.
–And I have just the thing,†he concluded out loud.
The others looked at him rather confused.
–What?â€
–Care to elaborate?â€
–He’s gone insane.â€
Giving the others a mischievous grin, James asked, –Care to have a little competition?â€
–Do tell,†Sirius said sarcastically.
–Football in the rain.â€
–Mud and all?†Remus asked.
–Mud and all,†confirmed James.
–As long as I’m on her team,†replied Sirius, pointing at Julianna. He still hadn’t forgotten the pain that followed their last game when they were on opposing teams.
–You have the ball then?†asked Julianna. Anything to get her moving. She couldn’t handle sitting there for the rest of the day.
–I’ll check with Codrington, but we could start after lunch,†said James, now getting up to ask.
–He can’t say no - he introduced the Muggle game,†commented Sirius.
It was all set. The fifth-years against the seventh-years with the sixth-years divided between the two groups. Not everyone had agreed to play - mostly the girls on account of the rain and mud. Professor Codrington would be the referee, dressed in an absurd-looking poncho to keep from getting wet.
The match was just as muddy and slippery as anyone could have hoped for. After their midnight stint last week, and playing together as Chasers for several years, James, Sirius, and Julianna were a force to be reckoned with. The game was intense enough to draw those not playing from their studies to watch.
–I don’t think so,†Julianna muttered to herself as she approached the net with the ball. Matt was the goalie for the opposing team and she knew she’d never live it down if she failed to score.
–Bring it on,†Matt said to himself. He watched her approach and knew what she was thinking, determined to block the ball no matter what.
But to everyone’s surprise, she kicked the ball to Sirius at the last second. Matt wasn’t prepared for this and dived the wrong way allowing Sirius to score.
–What was that?†Matt called after her, getting up out of the mud.
–Just keeping you on your toes guessing,†yelled Julianna before she collided with Sirius in a wet hug. The force of the hug, though, knocked them both down and into the mud.
Lily watched the match from under their tarp. She couldn’t see how sliding into the mud was a laughing matter, but it was fun to watch anyway.
As the game broke up for a quick break, the fifth-years headed back toward Lily under their tarp.
–Come play,†said Julianna, filthy but exhilarated.
–And get covered in mud? Yeah right.â€
–Come on. Rick said he’s done and we’ll be down a player,†said Remus, attempting to coerce her into playing.
–I can’t play in the rain,†she protested.
–Never mind,†said James. –We can just play and let Evans mope by herself.â€
–I’m not moping, Potter.â€
–I’m sure you’re not,†he said with a pacifying tone.
Lily watched as they traipsed back to resume the game before she said, –Fine . . . but if we lose I’m not to blame.†She put her Astronomy away and joined them in the rain and mud.
The rain continued to pound harder once the match resumed. While not in the same league as Julianna, Lily was still a decent player and managed to steal the ball for her team a few times. She had also managed to remain soaked, but free from mud until they won. Everyone was dragged down into the mud in a team hug.
–See - I knew you could play,†Julianna told her.
–It’s a good thing Amanda isn’t here or she’d have a hippogriff at the sight of us,†commented Lily.
–Aw, you’re still filthy attractive to me, Evans,†said James, joining in the laughter at his pun.
Lily pushed him back down into the mud, and then went with Julianna to the water pump to try and wash up.
–Of all the times it could have stopped raining, it decides to now that we’re caked in mud,†muttered Lily under her breath.
Finally free of mud and dressed in dry clothing, Codrington announced that they would be having a fire on their last night.
–You all seem so fond of competition, I think we should break back into our classes and see who can collect enough wood and start a fire first. Matches are over where you found the sleeping bags . . . GO!â€
Trying to be quick, Sirius ran to get matches, but he slipped and fell on the wet grass. James likewise stumbled over a branch while heading to get some wood. Remus laughed at his two friends until he slipped on wet leaves in the forest and joined them on the ground.
–How does he expect us to make a fire with wet wood?†asked Gethin. So they began a search for dry wood, or at least drier than the majority of the wood.
Once they made a pile of wood, Rebecca began to light match after match, trying to light the wood and start a fire. She had gone through half the box before Lily couldn’t take it any longer.
–Does anyone actually know how to start a fire before we go through our entire set of matches,†she asked.
–Sort of,†said James and Julianna, both recalling when they tried to set things on fire in their youth.
–Someone find me dry leaves and grass . . . anything to burn easily. I need twigs to go on top and catch those flames. Now I need bigger branches and logs for it to last long.â€
Lily delegated to her class and began to rebuild the fire. She blew on the dry leave to encourage the sparks and continued to poke and stoke the fire until they had a nice, healthy fire.
–We went camping a lot and dad wanted to be sure I knew how to do it†she explained.
–A red-head with a thing for fire . . . I’ll take it,†said James, winking at Lily and ruffling his hair. He was rewarded with his comment by a healthy punch in the arm by her.
Codrington announced them the winners and everyone gathered around their fire. They were especially glad it was large because the dampness outside was making them cold.
After dinner, Codrington began to explain s’mores. It took a few moments to get James and Sirius passed the pointy sticks, but they got excited when they heard they would put a sugary puff in the fire and eat it with chocolate. They were thrilled, after their initial shock, when the marshmallows caught fire.
–I think they’re having too much fun,†Matt whispered to Julianna and Lily.
–They seemed to have missed their calling as Muggles,†observed Julianna.
Lily covertly chucked a marshmallow at James after he and Sirius had been banned from further s’more-making and stripped of their sticks. What she hadn’t noticed was that he had been watching her and was ready for the attack.
–No wasting food, Evans,†he teased, popping the marshmallow in his mouth and going back to his conversation with Sirius and Remus.
Lily glared at Potter before her view was blocked by Gethin coming to join her.
–Marshmallow?†he said, offering her what looked like the perfectly roasted marshmallow.
Lily took it, grateful of the distraction. Potter always seemed to know how to get on her nerves. It was refreshing to have Gethin there who was so pleasing and easy to get along with.
They spent the rest of their evening roasting marshmallows until they were sick, talking about nothing in particular. Occasionally they joined conversations with Matt and Julianna, but were otherwise left to their own devices which suited them fine.
* * *
–ARGH!â€
Everyone was woken up suddenly the next morning to someone’s scream. Fearing the worst, everyone hastily scrambled out of their sleeping bags and fumbled with the tent entrance zipper. Once free, everyone was met with . . .
–Toilet paper?â€
–We’ve been rolled!â€
–No, someone’s tepeed the site!â€
–How are we supposed to go now?â€
–Use a leaf!â€
Everyone was confused at the sight of the white around the clearing. All became clear, though, when you could hear uncontrollable laughter from one specific tent.
–Potter!†cried Lily. Of course they couldn’t go two days without pulling some kind of prank, no matter how childish. So she marched over to their tent and began pulling out the pegs from the ground. Seeing what she was doing, Julianna gladly went over with a few others who, at her count, took the poles and collapsed the tent on them.
–Lily, what’s gotten into you?†asked Gethin. He didn’t think she would ever have sunk to their level and do something like that.
–I’ve had up to here with his stupidity,†she roared.
–Well done,†said a gleeful Julianna, going over to shake her hand. –Absolutely smashing!â€
It took most of the morning, but the three were able to de-paper the clearing. Everyone then packed up their bags, took down the tarps and tents, and began their hike back to the castle.
–This was fun,†said Sirius up at the front.
–This way feels longer,†someone complained.
–Why is everything so heavy?â€
–Metal tends to be that way.â€
Codrington smiled to himself, hearing their complaints and purposely taking them the long way back to incorporate his original plans for a hike. He was sure everyone enjoyed the weekend, regardless of what they were saying now.
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Out of the Blue by Secret Marauder 90
Chapter Notes: The long-awaited trip for the Muggle Studies class.
Chapter Endnotes: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I, personally, love camping. My family is full of nuts, so we have a lot of interesting adventures together. Anyone else have any camping stories they want to share? Poison ivy, perhaps? Or maybe you'd rather review instead?!