They Were the Good Times

Claire was sixteen and the world was her oyster. She strode down the halls of Durmstrang Institute with purpose, realizing with a small smile that she walked with purpose because she had purpose. She had places to go, and people to love. Yes. Love. She had decided it. She was willing to love the Ivanov boy, that brat. That spoiled, arrogant, wonderful, brat. She was not walking to class nor back to her dormitory, but she was going to meet him. They had planned to spend the first few hours of the long weekend together, before his friends inevitable wrapped them up in their own foolhardy plans. Claire was still not a huge fan of his friends, but even thoughts of them could not spoil her good mood. She did not think her happiness could be spoiled. Sure, she still had troubles. She had not spoken to Avery in months, she was breaking her back with her academic workload, and she and Robin often had their little spats. But she loved him. And that meant nothing could spoil-

"Ah, f*ck me, is that Pavel Krupen?"

Elsie stirred Claire from her thoughts, as Elsie had a tendency to do.

"HEY! PAVEL! You bet I'm looking at you. You should wear jeans more often. Could you turn around? I want to see you walk away!"

Claire let out a gasp and swatted her best friend. "Elsie! Do you really want detention, again?"

Elsie rolled her eyes. "People throw the term 'harassment' around too much nowadays. I just want to check out his arse. It's nothing we all haven't done. I'm sure he's found ways to check out his own arse. I would, I mean, look-"

"Elsie!" Claire laughed.

Pavel glared at them and stormed off, eliciting a wolf whistle out of Elsie. "THAT'S RIGHT. JUST LIKE THAT!"

Claire laughed heartily, and Elsie soon joined in, though she sounded a bit confused as to why her behavior seemed so funny. They soon lapsed into comfortable silence. They approached the end of the hall and Elsie slowed. "Alright, Claire. I'm heading down to the dorm. I'll see you later?"

Claire nodded. "I'll be a few hours, but I'll come back before we go out tonight to pick you up. I'll see you later."

Elsie began walking down the steps to the dorms backwards, throwing both of her arms in the air. "Alright! Until I see you again, my one true love! I shall count the seconds that separate us. Kidding. I hate you, you troll. Get your face out of here before I punch it away. Kidding again, darling. YOU'LL NEVER KNOW!" And she turned and ran down the stairs at full speed. Claire smiled a pleased smile and turned, pushing out the front doors into the cold pavilion outside where she often met Robin Ivanov.

Her boyfriend.

She strode towards one of the few trees who had managed to survive the winter and was preparing to survive another. She wrapped an arm around it and scanned the pavilion, looking for the familiar face that made her heart wrangle her brain into submission.

The experience of having a girlfriend was quite the familiar concept for Robin. The experience of loving a girl was not.

Robin made his way across the lawn in front of Durmstrang school. The air was filled with a cool autumn chill and students moved about with scarves and cloaks, preparing for the harsh winter that was on it's way. For the children who were so accustomed to the harshest snows and storms this mild season was a treat that they couldn't pass up. Growing up in Russia, Robin was used to the cold that Durmstrang was famous for. He was always in the group of young men who liked to take daring dives in the frozen-over lake to test his own tolerance for the cold.

The sixteen year old had just come from the pens on the south end of the property. Their Magical Creatures teacher had won some growing chrysalises and Robin had been tasked with helping keep them warm and fed as extra credit to avoid detention. But his time was up, giving him several hours before he had to be anywhere else. Several hours that could now be filled with other, more enjoyable, activities.

As Robin got closer to the castle he saw Claire's long blonde hair standing out among the people in the pavilion. Grinning, he said goodbye to the boys he was walking with and set his course towards her. Claire's back was turned on Robin and he came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissed her by the ear.

"Hello, darling." He greeted, only slightly sarcastically. Pet names were a particular joy for Robin to use. Pumpkin, cupcake, sweetheart, precious, honey, love, and daffodil (among others) all made a rotation throughout his vocabulary. All were spoken with equal levels of irony and honesty, sometimes leaving even Robin wondering how serious he was being with his affections. At times he was absurdly kind to hide the fact of how much he actually cared about the girl in question. Making fun of love had become a way he expressed his favor.

It was cold, but she liked it. Something about the cold stimulated her. It felt cutting, it felt sharp. She wanted to be sharp, live sharply, and be in a sharp environment. She wanted to constantly be reacting, and she wanted her mind to stay on edge. She wanted ice. Being with Robin, however, was like snuggling up to a roaring campfire. It was strange - for all intents and purposes, that they ever got to this point. He was fire, she was ice. She wanted the cold and the sharp clarity it brought. But he was warm and made everything blurred and fuzzy. She seemed to live for that fuzzy ecstasy lately. Only when he got wrapped up in Quidditch did she regain her love of the cold, her love of sharp productivity. Then she question whether warmth had a place in her life. But then, Robin's team won, they celebrated, and he had more time. And she was swept away by Fire and forgot once more about Ice.

She swung around the tree and looked out upon the lake. It was not huge, but it was enough to look at. She watched it, the wind biting her cheeks and leaving their mark by flushing them pink. She wished Durmstrang had larger grounds. Though she knew she was a city-person, she still liked the idea of being surrounded by natural elements. It made her feel young. Even at sixteen, Claire felt mature and responsible and much older than she needed to feel. But surrounded by frost-bitten grass, a dark lake, and barren trees, she felt young. The earth around her was old, not she.

Arms caught her, and the warmth immediately claimed her for its own. Her heart did that odd little jump, a trick that Robin had taught it, for only he could goad it into performing. She immediately sunk against him, enjoying the feeling of his chest against her, his cheek and chin pressing against the side of her face, resting on her shoulder, reminding her of his presence, of how close he was. She grinned and rolled her eyes. "Hello, dingbat." He said his petnames with sarcasm, and she flung her insults with love. A perfect compromise if she ever knew one.

She turned around quickly, looking up at him. "Are you here to whisk me away? Or are you actually going to let me study today?"