A Dementor's Kiss - Phan

Trolls and Tribulations

After the lakeside stay the four boys flew to Stavanger, this cabin much higher up the mountainside and with views to make a grown troll weak. The land was rougher here and they feasted on wild blueberries and PJ's mushrooms. This part of the country had even more impressive fjords than the ones they had previously seen, and after a good night's rest they set off to hike Priekenstolen, a famous muggle landmark. Pulpit rock was a flat plateau that stuck out the side of the mountain with a breath-taking, if nauseating, six-hundred metre sheer drop straight into the Lysefjord. It was however a gruelling two hour trek each way, for the place was swarming with far too many muggles for them to just pop up in a bush near the top. The downwards return journey ruined their knees and they crashed the second they got home in one undignified pile on the sofa.

Dan had done a little bit of walking with his parents when he was younger, and so was holding up the best, but even he was massaging his aching thighs, his heavy lids shut tight.

"I think I'm dying." Chris broke the weary silence cheerfully.

"Fingers crossed." PJ yawned.

"It's embarrassing really," Phil said, the effort audible in his voice as he mustered the energy to speak. "Wizards are always in terrible shape. Our main sport is played sitting down for Christ's sake. There's no need to do much walking when you can apparate or use the floo network or whatever."

"Yeah, that's something I always wondered," Dan said, removing PJ's elbow from between his fourth and fifth rib. "I've not seen many bigger wizards, considering."

"There are potions you can take," PJ mumbled. "And you can do stuff to the food. Make it taste nice but not be all that bad for you."

"But that doesn't make you fit." Dan clarified.

PJ shook his head. "I knew a guy who went to a muggle gym. People laughed at him, but the girls didn't."

"Any muggle school would have a gym, and boarding schools would have really good ones." Dan, who had recovered his breath and was feeling mostly okay besides the aches and tiredness, was observing the other three with a smirk.

"We're lazy. We can just use magic. Too heavy to lift? Not a problem. Too far to walk? Don't have to." PJ yawned widely. "It's in our nature. I doubt it'll ever change."

"I think we should campaign for a gym at Hogwarts." Dan announced.

No one paid any attention to him, as in one, exhausted motion they had all fallen asleep. Ruefully, Dan rested his head on Phil's shoulder and joined them.

~

The activity Dan and Chris were most excited for had been saved for the second to last day. While not in use, Norway's national Quidditch grounds were opened to the public. But these were no muddy fields with metal hoops at either end. This was a huge fjord, the typical U-shape carved out of the rock by a retreating glacier and flooded with sea water. It was concealed on all sides by towering mountains and unapproachable by muggles. The game was played above the still water, with markings drawn out in water plants and a repulsion charm to save dropped quaffles from drowning.

There were many sets of goalposts. The main set were next to the sheer slope of a mountain where spectator stands had been hewn into the rock itself. All across the fjord were pitches of various sizes with enchanted, floating hoops as goalposts. Where the lake narrowed out into its feeding river there was a long, sparkling racetrack. But Chris and Dan would get their fill in due course, now they had a different destination.

Their belongings safely stowed in the cosy inn on the beach, the four boys streaked across the lake and dived straight into the water at the base of the mountain where a sign had been painted onto the Palaeozoic rock. After a few seconds of blisteringly cold water, they curved back up and broke the surface inside a dimly lit cave. Immediately, they were dry and warm again thanks to a charm cast just above the water. They followed the cut of the cave heading towards a faint purple glow.