When the flowers bloom
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Milica was having quite an acceptable day up to this point. Deserved, if you asked her. After the strenuous week she just had, a weekend of pure relaxation was all she could think about. Words couldn't express how much she longed for some peace and quiet. She silently hoped to spend her weekend without any homework, professors and most of all, no students. Especially those were starting to overwhelm her: who knew that with being a Prefect came the 'pleasure' of getting to answer every pesky first years' questions? Thankfully, for her own sanity, she had been hatching a plan all week to spend the weekend with no disturbances.
Phase one of the plan was thinking of a way to spend the weekend without having to visit the Great Hall in the morning. A solution was found easily: being a Dhampir at Hogwarts meant being provided with a daily supply of blood pops. Milica honestly wasn't sure why this was the case as she could easily sustain herself off only human food, but it worked out well for her. If left unconsumed, a daily supply of blood pops would mean that she would have seven in total to survive the weekend. She had never tried to spend a day without any regular food before, but she was sure she could do it. Step one of her plan, check.
Phase two consisted of finding an uninhabited spot in the castle where she would be able spend her weekend of solitude uninterrupted. She searched every nook and cranny, yet found no places that fit the bill. Either the space was too busy, or not comfortable at all. The thought of going into the Forbidden Forest even came to mind, but she quickly shot off that idea. Being a rule-breaker catching rule-breakers wouldn't look good on her resume, she was sure. Luckily, she was hit with a little light-bulb moment on Friday. She usually spent her Friday evenings looking out of her dorm room window onto the Great Lake, and this Friday was no exception. Like every week, she marveled at the beauty of it. Finally, a thought came to mind. That's it, she thought, you're a genius... It was a good thing that the girl was alone since the spine-chilling smile that crept on her face would have frightened any onlookers to death, even her own roommate. Step two of her plan, check.
Phase three of her plan started on Saturday morning, and mostly consisted of putting her plan into action. When her roommate awoke for breakfast, she herself pretended to be asleep until she heard her leave. This was possibly the trickiest part of her plan: knowing her roommate, she would probably sleep in too late and miss breakfast as well. Still, she decided to hope for the best. After hearing her roommate leave, she quickly made herself presentable and snuck out of the castle.
Even though she met some students while sneaking out, which was inevitable, the halls seemed quite deserted. Most people were still at breakfast after all. A win is a win: two overstimulating places - her roommate in her dorm room and her housemates in the Great Hall - evaded.
When she finally made it to the Great Lake, blood pops on hand, she noticed it was slightly chilly. The sun wasn't shining brightly yet, but she didn't mind the cold, actually preferring it over smothering heat. After walking around for a little bit to find the perfect spot, she finally settled down against a tree. The fresh spring leaves provided some much pleasurable shade as well as some welcome privacy. The spot looked out over the Great Lake, just like she wanted. Around her, it was quiet: she heard no other students around, except for some background voices far off into the distance. I could stay here forever..
She spent some time in deep thought, simply looking over the lake, before getting something out of her bag. This something was a book she grabbed from her mother's bookshelf. The title read Eldrith Manor. It was chosen blindly: she didn't read the back, only judging the book by its cover. It looked dark and uninviting, a large animal skull depicted on the front. Exactly the type of book she expected she would like.
The sun slowly started brighter and brighter with the time passing. The gentle warmth of the April sun rays which would usually be described with adjectives such as "pleasant" or even "delightful" started feeling uncomfortably prickly on Milica's corpse-like skin. However, she was prepared for everything, even for this scenario. Reaching into her bag, she found a tub of sunscreen she took to Hogwarts from home and started applying it slowly. Even though she hated the smell as well as the sticky feeling, she liked the burn prevention. Furthermore, this sunscreen didn't leave a white cast on her face, not that it was possible to have it look any whiter.
After she applied the sunscreen, she also took off the beige-brown checkered sweater vest she was wearing, leaving her in only a white blouse and brown slacks. She was dressed very formally yet comfortably for a Saturday. Like most other girls her age, she made a point to always look presentable. Since she wasn't the poster child of what one would consider 'naturally pretty', the only way she could look presentable was by utilizing her wardrobe. In all honesty, she didn't expect to meet anyone today, but in the worst case scenario she did, at least she looked 'good'.
Finally feeling comfortable again, the girl lay down for a nap, her ears staying aware of her surroundings. All she heard right now was the chirping of some birds as well as some voices somewhere far away, but she wanted to prevent the possible scenario of anyone sneaking up on her. In a partly meditative state, she ultimately closed her eyes, making sure her ears were peeled at all times.
April 11th, 2026