The ground was still slick with winter’s weather. The Thestrals were prancing about in the thick of the Forbidden Forest and, had she been able to see them, Millie Finnigan would have realised she was among them. There were a handful of students walking through the forbidden wood; each one, she was sure, heading towards the Care of Magical Creatures paddock. There were a few students ahead of Millie and she observed as the pair shared secret smiles, their hands grazing against each other periodically. Millie felt a small smile twitch at the sides of her lips and she felt her own hand warm with a feeling that wasn’t there. She felt her cheeks warm slightly and she dropped her gaze to the forest floor, her hair slipping from its bun to fall around her face, a curtain between her and the outside world; a curtain between herself and the love that was suffocating her.
The group of students, Millie included, soon arrived at the paddock. The snow was fresh, having fallen last night, and the couple ahead of Millie slipped and slid across its soft surface before tumbling down the embankment into a mound of snow that could bring a chill to anyone’s bones. The laughter that followed brought another smile to Millie’s face. She shook her head and pushed open the gate to the paddock, slipping through and leaving it open for the others to pass through.
“Good Morning Profess-oh!” Millie came to a halt when she saw the Hippogriff. She was stunned by the magnificence of the animal, so much so that she failed to notice that it wasn’t Professor Pattinson who had control of it. She knew about Hippogriffs. She knew how temperamental they could be. So, while the others scuffled in an attempt to back away from the animal, Millie dropped her bag on the snow-lined floor and swept down into a bow that nearly brought her nose to the snow. She lifted her gaze to the animal, her teeth chewing at her bottom lip as she watched it for any sign of hostility. There wasn’t any that she could see but she dropped her eyes to the floor all the same, in a mark of respect.