One thing led to another and time passed by, until finally the last day arrived.
This day had no Quidditch practice and no studying. By tradition, it was a wonderful day spent enjoying the resort from morning until night and celebrating our youth to the fullest. From the crack of dawn the boys were overflowing with energy.
""""""Summer! Beach! Swimsuits!!""""""
Flint, Miles Bletchley, Warrington, Montague, and even Terence Higgs sprinted wildly along the shore at high tension.
Bare-chested and muscled, wearing only swim trunks, the gorilla clan hopped around yelling, "Ow, the sand is hot! Hot! Too hot!" while bounding their way toward the sea.
"Farley, what exactly are those people doing…?"
"Some kind of welcome dance passed down by a tribe living deep in Hogwarts?"
"To put it mildly, they are barbarians."
After that, Cedric and Davies stroll casually down to the beach in sandals, only to be ambushed by the gorilla tribe shouting "No fair, you!" and dragged into the ocean.
Of course, not everyone behaved like that. The only calm and handsome fifth-year, Adrian Pucey, kept his distance and—as always—looked after Draco Malfoy, who tended to be left behind by athletic enthusiasm.
"…Pucey, what should I do?"
"Snort at them. That is enough."
Meanwhile, the four Gryffindors were in the garden between the hotel and the beach, spinning garden gnomes around.
"Here!"
"Take that!"
The twins and Davies grabbed the gnomes by the feet and spun them in wide circles, and Wood and Percy caught them in burlap sacks as they were thrown.
The removed gnomes would be handed to hotel staff and sent through the Floo Network to some distant countryside.
"Hey, George?"
"What is it, Fred?"
"Why are we doing garden gnome removal?"
Watching their classmates revel on the beach, Fred muttered bitterly, and George sighed in response.
"Well, the job pays good money."
He made a circle with his thumb and forefinger as if to say, "We want funds for our shop, too…" while gazing at the beach longingly. Wood and Percy, who joined the job out of friendship, agreed.
As for us girls, it took a bit of time to get ready.
"Penny, are you done?"
"Just a little longer. Once I put on sunscreen I'm finished."
"Hey there, beautiful lady. Want some help—"
"Elaina, could you do it?"
"Yes!"
I slipped past Farley's grasping hands and took the sunscreen from Penelope, rubbing it onto her pale, porcelain-smooth back.
Unlike my slender, delicate frame or Farley's long and toned build, Penelope had a gently curved, feminine figure with just the right balance. Her skin was soft and springy, with a slight give that felt strangely pleasant—so smooth I could touch it forever.
"Aahn♪ That tickles… ah… hyaah♡ Elaina, not there—"
"Jamie, go hunt a boy on the beach."
"Why is Penny bullying me…"
While Farley expertly mimicked Penelope's sultry moans, the real Penelope glared at her with cold disdain, and I continued patting sunscreen onto her back.
Perhaps, among prefects, even if the dorms differ, a shared duty to maintain school order creates a sense of camaraderie. Excessive dorm rivalry would only damage everyone's reputation, and students who did not care about such things would never be chosen as prefects. Probably.
(Although…)
Unlike Farley, who always pushes uniform rules to the limit and spends days off flaunting revealing outfits, Penelope normally dresses modestly. That makes the contrast striking, and even girls cannot help being fascinated.
Her plump, alluring thighs and her quite impressive upper body were extremely eye-catching.
Honestly, what do you even eat to grow like that?
"Elaina, are you curious too?"
My gaze must have been obvious. Farley narrowed her green fox-sharp eyes.
"I have no idea what you mean."
"Her chest."
Young ladies should not say such things.
"And really, getting worked up over lumps of fat seems foolish, if you ask me."
"Well, honestly, with the right lift and push, you can actually change quite a bit."
What.
"For real. One size up—maybe even two—if you know what you're doing."
"Farley, if that is true, please teach me everything…"
"You throw away your pride easily, huh?"
She beckoned. I approached. First instruction: unhook the back clasp.
"Yes."
I obeyed, and Farley grinned.
"Next is the important part."
"Bow."
…What?
"No seriously. Bend at the waist ninety degrees. Understand?"
"Penelope, should I?"
"That one's safe. You can trust her."
"Very well."
"Why do you listen to Penny but never to me…"
Ignoring Farley, I bent my waist to ninety degrees as instructed. And—
(Oh…?)
What a surprise. It felt like the flesh that had drifted under my arms flowed back to its rightful place!
"Amazing! It is like magic!"
"Her IQ just dropped, didn't it…?"
From there, she taught me properly.
"Pinch the bottom of the bra cups with both hands."
"Yes."
"Shake it side to side so all the breast tissue drops into the cups."
"Okay."
"Fasten the clasp at the back. Lower the band a little, but make sure it stays in place."
"I see."
"Hold the base of the straps and lift slightly while you straighten up."
This completed the initial setup. I bowed again under her direction. First, we gather the left side.
"Hold the edge of the underwire with your left hand. With your right, scoop the tissue from your back and sides into the cup."
"Understood."
I repeated the same on the other side, stood upright, and it really did feel fuller.
"Next, hold the bottom of the cup with your left hand and use your right index and middle fingers to sweep the flesh from your stomach up toward the bustline."
I obeyed, and felt the left look noticeably rounder.
"Finally, tuck all the side-spilling flesh fully into the bra. Same for the other side."
"Oh!"
It felt like I had leveled up an entire cup size. Incredible.
"Lift the straps gently and adjust the band so it sits parallel to the floor…"
As for me, I did not aim for any kind of "gap appeal." I went straight for a clean, cute look and decided to win with a direct approach. I chose a frilly swimsuit based in white, decorated with pink floral patterns. The shorts were a bit more colorful, mainly light blue with a tropical pattern, and I picked a skirt-style design.
Compared to the seniors I am still a child, but my upper arms, chest, waist, and hips do have unmistakably feminine curves. The contrast between moderately trained muscles and soft skin gives off a mysterious impression, and my overall slender, delicate build naturally awakens a desire to protect. Yes, absolutely.
"Camera! Someone get a camera!"
"She's the cutest in the world!"
"That's it, victory confirmed! Part Three complete!"
The gorilla tribe and the twins aside, when I looked around, Draco was also easy to read. His pale cheeks were flushed red as he averted his gaze, and even Cedric and Davies, unusually, kept their heads lowered.
And then there was Farley, the last one remaining. She struck a pose that emphasized the glossy curves of her body.
"Hey guys♪ We have—"
We will skip the next five seconds for now.
As for her swimsuit, it was a calm, leaf-patterned bikini with a cross halter neck tied behind the neck, paired with a pareo wrapped around her waist. It was neither too aggressive nor overly flashy, giving off a composed elegance, almost a sense of refinement.
＊＊
After that, since there was no particular plan for everyone to do something together, people simply spent their time however they liked.
"Uoooooooh!!"
"Oraaaaaah!!"
For example, Warrington and Montague were locked in an intense beach flags showdown on the shore, a scene that perfectly embodied a summer brat rivalry.
"Take this!"
"I'm not losing!"
In the garden, the Weasley twins seemed to have given up all restraint and were hurling garden gnomes at full force, while Percy and Wood scrambled to pick them up.
"Hah!"
"Hmph!"
Meanwhile, Davies and Cedric ventured out into the open sea and engaged in a fairly serious long-distance swimming contest. Seeing the normally composed pair frolic like boys was quite a rare sight.
Watching these active groups, Bletchley lounged lazily atop a float, heckling them, while Higgs enjoyed fishing at his own pace from a nearby cape.
The truly mysterious one was Pucey. Somehow he had acquired a shovel and was diligently digging holes in the sand, eventually producing what looked like a trench that could house an anti-aircraft gun.
Penelope and Farley were hard at work building a sandcastle together, and perhaps due to some peculiar fixation, it was not the typical Cinderella-style castle. Instead, it resembled a full-fledged medieval fortified city, like those built by the Crusaders along the eastern Mediterranean Levant.
As for Marcus Flint, he cast the newly learned Bubble-Head Charm on himself, grabbed a harpoon from somewhere, and dove into the open sea.
"I got oneeeeeee!!"
After disappearing for a while, he resurfaced having captured octopus, moray eels, and more, one after another.
"If this were the Stone Age, he probably would've been extremely popular."
"Honestly, I think he was born in the wrong era."
As for Draco and me, we sat gracefully beneath a parasol on outdoor reclining chairs, sipping tropical drinks with tiny paper umbrellas and leisurely enjoying chilled sherbet.
"By the way,"
I said to the classmate beside me while eating pistachio gelato.
"Draco, did something happen today?"
Seeing him tilt his head and ask, "What do you mean?" I added,
"No, it just felt like you were troubled or worried about something."
I continued, telling him to ignore it if I was mistaken. Draco widened his eyes slightly.
"…Legilimency?"
"Yes."
"Liar."
"Was that Legilimency?"
We stared at each other for a moment as if probing one another, then both burst out laughing at the same time.
After we finished laughing, Draco answered with a wry smile.
"It's nothing serious. I was just wondering whether this kind of feeling is really okay."
"This kind of feeling?"
When I asked back, Draco gestured toward the seniors with his pale chin.
"Whether it's really okay for us to be this friendly, like blood status and house differences don't matter."
"…You don't like it?"
When I asked, Draco slowly shook his head, looking troubled.
"That's the thing. I don't dislike it. That's why I'm confused."
For Draco Malfoy, who usually puts on airs, it was a surprisingly honest reaction. Come to think of it, this might have been the first time I had heard him voice something so close to his true feelings.
"As you know, my family is pure-blood and has been in Slytherin for generations, and I'm proud of that. I always thought it was natural to be at odds with Muggle-borns and Gryffindors."
"But," Draco continued,
"You talk casually with pure-blood Slytherins like me and Daphne, and also with Gryffindor Potter or Muggle-borns like Justin Finch-Fletchley, the same way you just talked with me, right? At first I thought you were just strange…"
Calling me strange is rather rude.
"But watching the seniors, I realized there are quite a few people who think like you. They play together and study together, almost like close Slytherin friends. And yet…"
"You're wondering whether it's really okay to be this carefree?"
"…Yeah. That's about it."
After that, Draco fell silent and gulped down his stylish drink in one go.
Maybe, ever since last year or the year before, Draco had been harboring these thoughts while watching me.
Aren't Muggle-borns and Gryffindors supposed to be enemies of pure-blood noble families and Slytherin?
With rumors that the Dark Lord might still be alive, is it really okay for us to live such ordinary student lives?
Or is it I who am wrong, and is the right answer actually to pretend pure-blood supremacy, house rivalries, and even the Dark Lord never existed, and simply get along with Harry and the others?
Something like that.
"Well, that's your problem, so all I can say is that you should figure it out yourself."
"I knew you'd say that."
Draco sighed.
"You seem like you think about a lot of things, but you actually live pretty impulsively, don't you…"
"Life exists to be enjoyed. If you care deeply about something and it makes you happy, then dive into it. If not, then just prioritize something else."
If Draco enjoys pure-blood ideology or being in Slytherin, that is his choice. I simply find worrying about such things troublesome, so I choose not to worry.
That said, being able to think this way is something I only learned in the past few years.
Up until the 1970s and 1980s, the parent generation lived in a Britain divided between Voldemort's side and Dumbledore's side. For example, Slytherin students with active Death Eater parents studied at the same school as half-blood Gryffindors whose Muggle parents had been killed by Death Eaters. Even among classmates, conflict was inevitable.
However, we are the post-Voldemort generation. Though we hear about the fear of the dark era from our parents, we have not experienced losing friends or family, nor are we living in a state of constant war where battles break out daily.
Naturally, our perceptions change.
Even in the Muggle world, grandparents who experienced world wars often harbored strong anti-German sentiment, but this gradually softened in the postwar parent generation.
Perhaps, in the magical world, the first thawing generation is us and the seniors laughing right in front of us.
Personally, I think spending the remaining five years watching silly scenes like this is far more enjoyable than living a tense student life.
Times like these do not last forever. As Farley once said, relationships can change easily. After graduation, people get busy with work, raising children, or caring for parents, and it is not rare to go years without meeting.
"…Come to think of it, you said you wanted to become a traveler someday."
"Yes, well."
So at least while we can still meet together at Hogwarts, I would rather look back on it all as happy memories.
"…I see."
Whether Draco understood the atmosphere or had his own thoughts, in any case, that was where we drew the line.
"Hey! Time to eat!"
At Flint's shout, Draco waved back.
"Shall we go eat too?"
"Let's."
Graceful to the end, and lively all the way through.
That summer, at thirteen years old, I was truly enjoying my student life.
(End of chapter)
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