The ocean breeze wafted through the locks of hair that Millie didn't have fully pinned up. It was Zinnia who was able to help Mum agree to let her go out this way, with cleverly-placed pins that held back more than might have otherwise passed inspection. Her cousin's watchful eyes on her back were the only pair that she had to worry about, the swarms of Muggles they passed might have stared or gawked without much notice from the young witch. It was freeing, somehow, that the only world around her was so different from her own, as if Millie had stepped into the pages of one of her novels, like a fantasy where nothing seemed quite real and yet she felt it all more acutely than at home.
Which meant that the dashing knight to her side held much of her attention today. To anyone who happened upon them, the pair were nothing but the best of friends. Classmates, fellow prefects, leaders of rival clubs between their two sexes. Benedict's cleverness matched against her thoughtfulness in the bookstore earlier, where curiosity turned into challenge as they each tried to outdo each other in book selections. Perhaps the boys' book club could learn to love the swirling skirts as the girls' could learn to love the Roman period of British history.
If only Hogwarts' parents could get past the notion of their children reading Muggle authors in the first place.
Benedict's smile could light up a room, and when he smiled at her it was that flustered, sheepishness that she'd found on boys when they were caught out of sorts. As ugly as it looked on a boy like Jimmy Fletcher or Maxwell Beck, Millie liked it on Benedict Hunter, for reasons that Anne would certainly scoff at. She wasn't here to share in Millie's amusement at Ben lost in thought, or to scoff at her for finding it such. Perhaps weather was not such an engaging subject to discuss, but she appreciated the boy's discretion in finding a safe subject for them in such public views.
"It almost seems too perfect," she remarked, as if such as thing were even possible. Millie felt emboldened to make the claim, even her cousin's most fastidious eye wouldn't bat at a comment such as that. And Zinnia was the safest choice for chaperone as well, trusted well-enough by the family again now with a daughter of her own, with Millie's own trust never truly wavering. Zin was her first best friend, and one she trusted with enough of a deaf ear to speak more her own mind. "As if, perhaps, I might blink and awaken in my own bed again, with this having all been a dream."
Her lungs filled with the ocean air, tasting as sweet as the freedom the young witch felt in the moment. The seaside town offered more than just a day's adventure, it was a reprieve of sorts, a stay on the injustice of being cooped up in the castle for months on end. Here, the sun warmed the southernly breeze, blowing across the same North Sea as near Hogwarts but somehow utterly different in its disposition. Feeling its kiss against her cheeks was no real substitute for how Millie felt when Benedict kissed her, sometimes repeatedly if they could find more than a moment together, but with his presence by her side it would make do in the moment.
"Do you suppose the water is as cold as the Black Lake?" It was more of a curiosity than a suggestion from her, Millie hadn't packed a trunk or planned to change clothes for their trip at all. They might only be a floo away from home, but to go there would be to break the spell. She might never get to live a fantasy again, there was no sense in escaping it now for something as silly as a swim. "I would love to see Emery ride a donkey!"
Millie drew up closer to Ben, so their sleeves were nearly touching. She hesitated, wishing to raise her hand up to place in his, or upon his arm. They could do that, she supposed, his arm guiding her as any gentleman might a lady. Her eyes scanned the promenade, searching for someone else doing the same, as if needing validation. She found herself tapping at his elbow anyway, making a true suggestion then, until his arm found the right position for her hand to nestle into the crook of it.
"Maybe we can come back when she's older, and have the whole thing photographed like the Muggle fashion." She giggled softly, then a little louder and more carefree. "I heard there's someone trying to charm photographs to keep them from being stuck in one place, like portraits. I wouldn't mind doing that someday, fiddling with charms to make something new and amazing."
Every step she took seemed new and amazing to the young witch, a whole life like that would never feel boring to her. Not that anything ever could when Millie was in the presence of Benedict Hunter.
Which meant that the dashing knight to her side held much of her attention today. To anyone who happened upon them, the pair were nothing but the best of friends. Classmates, fellow prefects, leaders of rival clubs between their two sexes. Benedict's cleverness matched against her thoughtfulness in the bookstore earlier, where curiosity turned into challenge as they each tried to outdo each other in book selections. Perhaps the boys' book club could learn to love the swirling skirts as the girls' could learn to love the Roman period of British history.
If only Hogwarts' parents could get past the notion of their children reading Muggle authors in the first place.
Benedict's smile could light up a room, and when he smiled at her it was that flustered, sheepishness that she'd found on boys when they were caught out of sorts. As ugly as it looked on a boy like Jimmy Fletcher or Maxwell Beck, Millie liked it on Benedict Hunter, for reasons that Anne would certainly scoff at. She wasn't here to share in Millie's amusement at Ben lost in thought, or to scoff at her for finding it such. Perhaps weather was not such an engaging subject to discuss, but she appreciated the boy's discretion in finding a safe subject for them in such public views.
"It almost seems too perfect," she remarked, as if such as thing were even possible. Millie felt emboldened to make the claim, even her cousin's most fastidious eye wouldn't bat at a comment such as that. And Zinnia was the safest choice for chaperone as well, trusted well-enough by the family again now with a daughter of her own, with Millie's own trust never truly wavering. Zin was her first best friend, and one she trusted with enough of a deaf ear to speak more her own mind. "As if, perhaps, I might blink and awaken in my own bed again, with this having all been a dream."
Her lungs filled with the ocean air, tasting as sweet as the freedom the young witch felt in the moment. The seaside town offered more than just a day's adventure, it was a reprieve of sorts, a stay on the injustice of being cooped up in the castle for months on end. Here, the sun warmed the southernly breeze, blowing across the same North Sea as near Hogwarts but somehow utterly different in its disposition. Feeling its kiss against her cheeks was no real substitute for how Millie felt when Benedict kissed her, sometimes repeatedly if they could find more than a moment together, but with his presence by her side it would make do in the moment.
"Do you suppose the water is as cold as the Black Lake?" It was more of a curiosity than a suggestion from her, Millie hadn't packed a trunk or planned to change clothes for their trip at all. They might only be a floo away from home, but to go there would be to break the spell. She might never get to live a fantasy again, there was no sense in escaping it now for something as silly as a swim. "I would love to see Emery ride a donkey!"
Millie drew up closer to Ben, so their sleeves were nearly touching. She hesitated, wishing to raise her hand up to place in his, or upon his arm. They could do that, she supposed, his arm guiding her as any gentleman might a lady. Her eyes scanned the promenade, searching for someone else doing the same, as if needing validation. She found herself tapping at his elbow anyway, making a true suggestion then, until his arm found the right position for her hand to nestle into the crook of it.
"Maybe we can come back when she's older, and have the whole thing photographed like the Muggle fashion." She giggled softly, then a little louder and more carefree. "I heard there's someone trying to charm photographs to keep them from being stuck in one place, like portraits. I wouldn't mind doing that someday, fiddling with charms to make something new and amazing."
Every step she took seemed new and amazing to the young witch, a whole life like that would never feel boring to her. Not that anything ever could when Millie was in the presence of Benedict Hunter.
![[Image: uHwnE8q.png]](https://i.imgur.com/uHwnE8q.png)