Cursed (Hogwarts Legacy fanfiction - original in German)

Chapter 42 - Keep an eye on your enemies

Phina was very relieved that the Welcoming Feast for the new first-years fell on a Thursday this year, and the weekend right after the first day of school allowed her to mentally fully transition back from London to school. 

She spent the weekend with Poppy, Highwing, and Velvet, as Poppy had been eager to show her a lookout point she had discovered during one of her excursions over the summer break. In consultation with Professor Weasley, the two had decided to camp there with their Hippogriff ladies. So, on Friday evening, they lay late into the night beside a small campfire in the grass, gazing at the stars, which appeared particularly impressive in the great outdoors.

"It's a good thing Amit isn't here," Poppy joked with a laugh in her voice as she shoveled pumpkin cookies into her mouth, one after the other. "So we can just enjoy the view in peace without him giving us hours-long lectures about it."
"In peace?" Phina said, also laughing, and glanced over at her Hufflepuff friend. "You chew so loudly; they probably hear it back at Hogwarts."

The joking and chatting with Poppy really did Phina good, and she was glad that she still seemed to be the first person Poppy asked when she wanted to go on an outing like this. Due to her long absence in London, Phina still felt somewhat internally isolated from her friends. As if she hadn't been in touch for too long and hadn't taken care of her friendships for too long. But Sebastian, Ominis, Natty, and Poppy had actually long since proven her wrong. Nevertheless, Phina felt like she should make a bit more effort to be a good friend to Poppy. Just like the little Hufflepuff always was for her. Even if objectively it might not be the case, Phina had the impression that she had taken much more than she had given lately and therefore it was urgently necessary to show her friends how important they were to her. After all, they were still the only family Phina had. Precisely for that reason, she urgently needed to focus again on making her loved ones feel appreciated and loved. 

Moreover, she couldn't deny that she was fiercely curious to find out what news there was about Poppy's love life, especially since there was nothing noteworthy to report about her own.
"So, Pop, how's it going with Garreth?" Phina asked, unable to hold back her curiosity any longer and seizing a brief quiet moment to finally broach the subject. Until then, Poppy had seemingly intentionally avoided talking about her relationship with Garreth, and Phina suspected that she only did so for her sake because she knew that the topic of boys was still rather difficult for Phina. But now, a broad grin immediately spread across Poppy's face, and she rolled onto her stomach so she could look directly at Phina, who did the same and looked at her eagerly.

"The summer holidays were simply amazing! Garreth and I got to spend a few weeks at one of Professor Weasley's vacation homes in Scotland, and he showed me his secret ingredient store for his potion creations there. Somehow I could watch him stirring in his cauldron and philosophizing about potions for hours because he's always so enthusiastic about it that his enthusiasm is extremely contagious. But we also went out a lot in the area, looking for magical creatures and chasing away some poachers. That was really fun. And in the evenings, he would massage my shoulders while I read to him. It was so romantic!"

Poppy couldn't stop gushing, and the words just bubbled out of her as if they had been pent up for far too long, and as if she couldn't wait any longer to tell someone about it. Phina had expected that hearing about how easy and uncomplicated it could be when you were with someone you loved wholeheartedly and were absolutely sure of it would rather make her sad and perhaps even a little jealous. But the way Poppy spoke about her time with Garreth, so in love and happy, somehow transferred some of that happiness to Phina, and she was simply happy that her best friend was doing so well. Poppy truly deserved all the happiness in the world, and Phina was glad that she had found such an honest and adventurous partner in Garreth, someone she could dive into any adventure with and rely on to always have her back. The two of them just fit perfectly together. Phina suddenly found herself wishing that it could be as easy for her too. So perhaps there was a little envy in her after all.