BANALITY : Draco Malfoy

12

We get on for the rest of the trip. It seems that we are both quiet people. Conversation flows fine between us, but neither he nor I feel the need to shove our words into every single conversation all the time. We talk more about the ruins, about the people who lived in decayed castles, as well as the people who built them. I have missed this. Learning. I never graduated, never finished the school year. I couldn't bare out the last few weeks.

We reach another set of stone circles, and this time we listen as the tour guide explains. Most archeologists do not believe they were frequented after being built. It is unknown if they were monuments to Gods or to the dead, but they remain here. I imagine it would be hard not to visit a tombstone. These people were vastly different than us, even if they stood exactly where I did.

Then, we get to Loch Ness and it is after a normal lunch hour. We go to a café, and like Blaise, he orders for me. If he weren't paying, I would complain. We eat and drink tea in the back, unable to make out the loch from here.

"Do you believe in the Loch Ness monster?" I ask.

He looks at me, puzzled, but smirking, "why?"

"A book came out recently debunking the Surgeon's Photograph," when his confused look remains, I continue, "you know, the first photo of the Nessie was proven to be a hoax like, five years ago."

He sips his tea, wiping the crumbs on his hands onto a serviette, "is that so?"

"Have you been living under a rock?" I ask.

He rolls his eyes, getting up from the table. Leaving our plates but holding our to-go cups, we walk out. It's getting colder. I cling to my jacket, forcing my hands up into the sleeves. To prevent my teeth from chattering, I clench them together.

"Do you always get this frigid?" he asks.

"I would have brought a heavier jacket if I knew the wind would be this strong," I admit.

He sighs, stopping for a second. I don't wait for him, and after a few moments, he jogs to catch up. We walk through Urquhart castle before checking out the loch. As we walk through the dark, I notice a spot that has clearly been vandalized by generations of people. Names line all along the small windowsill. I don't dare touch them though.

"It's like Heidelberg," he notices, staring at the walls. "Castle Heidelberg, Germany, has so much writing in it. Surprised to see it here."

We move along. When we reach the prison cell, I wrap my hands around the bar. Draco tenses beside me.

"What?" I ask.

He shakes his head, "it seems the wind is getting to me too. It was only a chill."

My hands dart away from the metal. I shove them in my pockets, "you don't really believe this place is haunted, do you?"

"Obviously not," he spits.

Rather than finish the castle, he heads out. I tail after him. He continues to walk though, until he hits the loch. I watch him, his figure usually towering compared to mine looks so small next to the vast body of water. The loch almost looks grey because of the clouds above.

His shoulders relax, in a way that I haven't ever seen them lose their tension. It was so constant that I hadn't even realized he was straining. I walk over beside him, sitting down on the grass and looking out at the water. It seems deep. If I somehow fell in the middle of the lake, would I be able to swim to shore? How deep could I swim while holding my breath?