Hey [p r i v a t e t o b r e n n y]

It wasn't a particularly weather-worn day. In fact, most would consider the Sunday nice. The breeze was light enough to counteract the sun, hidden by nothing but the occasional cloud. Other than that the sky was relatively clear and a beautiful blue color. The grass seemed to pop in contrast with the sky, and no student dared ask for a better day before class began the next day. Well, one would think. However, there was always that one person who was having a despicable day while everyone was out enjoying themselves. And that person was Dan.

Dan, as surly as he had been in months, tromped heavy-footed up to the castle from the Quidditch Pitch after two hours of harsh, hot, sunny practice. Sweat rolled down his cheek, his shirt already with dark stains over it. For some reason, the Quidditch Captain decided it was a fine idea to simply call practice in when the temperature was ninety degrees out, and make the team work themselves. Now, usually it wouldn't be a problem for the team, but Dan was a beater. His job was to whack an enchanted ball that hurtled at you at eighty miles an hour, weighing as much as a canon ball with a short bat. This required much effort. Dan's muscles were strained and aching, and he hardly had the energy to get back to the castle, but he persisted and perspired.

Finally, the looming shadow of the castle cast over him and he sighed with relief, no longer being burned by the raging sun. Students were littered around the shady trees, some swimming in the Black lake, others chatting under oak trees. Dan even spotted a few Ravenclaws studying together in the shadow of the Astronomy Tower. Dan walked with ease through the huge front doors of the castle, and made his way to the dungeons, entering the Slytherin common room. The room was cool, always under the lake, giving it a self-cooling quality. He stripped off his sweat-stained shirt and walked to his dorm room. Naturally, it was empty. Nobody wished to stay indoors on a beautiful day. Beautiful, as long as you weren't working your tail off. Dan thought bitter thoughts of his Quidditch captain, how best to pay him back.

As soon as Dan had showered and felt energized after a quick snack of a chocolate frog he saved, he found himself itching to go back outside, but relax this time. Something told him he should. Seeing as he had homework to do, he gladly went outside and acted the usual procrastinator that he was. He got into much more comfortable wear, stowed his wand in his right-hand pocket, and made his way back to the grounds. He walked serenely across the lawns to a spot of trees in a bundle overlooking the lake. A couple Ravenclaw girls spotted him approaching and threw him a nasty look. Dan was used to the look. Slytherins often were judged for things they did not do. But one girl did not leave, most likely because she did not see him. She was facing the lake, busy knitting. Dan squinted, recognizing her velvet red hair. He suddenly stopped.

It was Adelaine. What if she did not want to see him? He would understand, given that he had not talked to her for a while, too busy catching up with classwork that he slacked. He stood there, hesitating, thoughts drifting through his mind. Finally, he decided in his best judgement he must confront her. He approached, accidentally stepping on a twig on the way. A jolt ran through the girl and she turned to look at him. Predictably, she didn't smile. He accepted her invitation to sit, and he bent on the blanket beside her. "Hi," he breathed. "I'm okay," he said, about to avoid the second comment, but his mind scolded him. "I'm really sorry for not seeing you, I mean, I'm not the best student, but even I have to catch up on some work sometimes. I don't want to fail... Don't get me wrong," he said, quickly. "It's really great to see you though." He motioned at the knitting in her lap. "I didn't know you knit. What is that?" he asked. The color looked vaguely like the Slytherin house color. Curiosity shot three plausible conclusions at him. She had moved on to liking someone else, and was knitting him a sweater. She knitted it for him. She knitted it to burn it because she hated Slytherin. Insecurity told him it was the first one, common sense told him it was most likely not the latter.

At that moment a light breeze tickled that back of his neck. Ah, that felt good. He watched as she put her hair up in a ponytail. She looked so adorable. He let his eyes wander to the Black Lake. The water stared at him, taunting him, it's cold depths awaiting to be explored. The surface shined with the reflection of the twelve-o-clock sun. Swimming would be a fun way to pass the time. Students had the same idea, as they waded through the water, laughing with each other. His mind drifted off slowly, letting his imagination wander. He saw himself splashing along, and another figure popped out of the water, Adelaine. Then, the realization that he had just imagined a perfect Sunday hit him and he snapped back into reality.

Dan blinked and looked back at Adelaine. She seemed to be watching him expectantly. Did she say something? Oh god, what did she say? Dan began to panic, a flush of red climbing into his face. Just... Just.... Nod! Dan nodded, grinning a bit. He had no idea if he had just agreed to something or not.

Thankfully, he heard the last question loud and clear. "Yes!" he said, enthusiastically. Finally, they could spend some time together. "In fact, I was wondering if you would want to take a swim with me?" he asked. If she would say yes, it would be just like he envisioned. He waited for her reply, shifting his weight so that he wasn't sitting on a jagged stone hidden under the blanket. He spotted some birds chirping noisily, flying out from the forbidden forest, and landing on the tree above them. Robins. He liked Robins, almost as much as Blue Jays. He turned his attention back to Adelaine, not realizing he had gotten distracted.

"We don't have to if you don't want to," he said, smiling. "We could do something else. I heard the forbidden forest isn't so scary in the day," he grinned a bit. "In fact, some say it's pretty magical," he winked. What made him wink, he doesn't know. He was so socially awkward, but he felt like he could be himself around Adelaine, and it was easy to talk to her. It made him confident enough, amazingly, for him to even flirt a bit.