Spending the holidays in Australia

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella grinned broadly at her friend as she stopped in front of the room they were staying at, key in hand. She would have used 'Alohomora' but she was pretty sure that the spell wouldn't have worked with a system that required a card key. It was easy to forget that magic wasn't always the solution. After some effort she managed to make the light flash a bright green, as opposed to the red she had gotten in succession. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door.

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Spoiler

"Well, this isn't too shabby!" she commented, smiling at her friend. She was glad that Cyndi hadn't been against the idea of spending a week of their break together. Australia was far enough away from the school to make them forget it but still close enough that they wouldn't have much trouble getting back. Estrella was looking forward to the sun, the beach and spending time with her friend before they graduated. If she was lucky, she might even be able to go back to school with a nice tan.

Her expression bright, she motioned to each of the twin beds. "You can have first pick!" The seventeen year old girl had her backpack of space over her shoulder. It was the only thing that she had brought with. Whoever had invented it was a genius. It was heavier than it looked but she thought it was worth it for the small size. She had left her owl, Harper, back at the school and she had entrusted her cats in the care of her cousins. And her pygmy puff, well, had disappeared a long time ago.

 

[Cyndi Kingsley]

Happy to be away from the school grounds for a week, Cyndi was ecstatic to enter the hotel with Estrella to pick up their room key. Although she loved school, it felt good to get away from all of the drama and stress caused by a long semester. Cyndi followed Estrella to the room and stopped as she opened the door with a card key. Looking inside, Cyndi couldn't help but agree with Estrella. "Definitely not!" she agreed as they entered the room.

"I think I'll take...this one by the window" Cyndi said after a moment of looking at the beds. She took her bag off of her shoulder and dropped it beside the bed. Going over to the window, she parted the white curtain and looked out. Their window overlooked the beach, which was currently crowded with tons of people. Cyndi couldn't wait to get her bikini on and head out there for some swimming and tanning.

"Oh...before I forget." Cyndi said as she went over to her bag and rummaged inside. A second later, she pulled out a wrapped gift and handed it over to Estrella.

Spoiler

"Happy Holidays!" she sang as she sat down on the bed.

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella's backpack made a heavy thud as she dropped it on the other bed. "Sounds good to me!" She and Cyndi had lucked out with the view from their window. There were rooms across from theirs that looked right out to the parking lot. Though getting settled was her first priority, the Ravenclaw was itching to jump into the ocean and soak up some sun.

Although she usually associated Christmas with the cold, Estrella was glad that she could spend her Holidays in the heat. As Cyndi pulled out a wrapped gift, she realized that she had blown off the fact that it was Christmas entirely. She grinned at her friend and sliced at the paper with her nails, quite anxious to see what was inside.

Her mouth fell open as she opened the box. Cyndi had gotten her an absolutely gorgeous pair of earrings. Grinning wildly back at her friend, she said, "These are beautiful! How do they look?" She put the hooks through the piercing holes in her earlobes, admiring them in the mirror that was nailed to the wall. Her smile became apologetic. "I didn't get time to go shopping at all... I will have to find you something here!"

 

[Cyndi Kingsley]

"They look great!" Cyndi said happily to her friend as she walked over to the chair in the room and plopped down. Though she knew she should probably unpack, Cyndi didn't feel like it. Instead, she simply looked around the room, continuing to marvel at how great their room was.

A moment later, she turned to her Ravenclaw friend. "I can't believe we're actually here! In Australia!" Cyndi said in disbelief and then smiled, "Isn't it great to be of age?" She finally got up to begin unpacking, figuring that the sooner they unpacked, the sooner they could head out and find something to do.

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella grinned broadly back at her friend and turned to the mirror. She pulled the rather beautiful pieces of jewelery out of her earlobes and set them down on the dresser, where she knew she wouldn't lose them. The girl wanted a special occasion to wear them. Going to the beach with earrings in was not a good idea.

The seventh year Ravenclaw flopped down onto her bed, twisting her body towards the Gryffindor. "I know! This place is gorgeous. I think we're going to have an awesome time here! So many things to do, so much to see, so little time." Estrella sighed in relief as she lay her head against the pillow. She was probably going to conk out right away tonight. "Yeah, it's awesome. We can use magic," she grinned mischievously, "And there's no one telling us what to do!" At school, they were under the supervision of the school staff, and were appointed role models for the rest of the student body. Here, they could behave as they pleased. Smirking, she asked, "So, how soon do you wanna head out to the beach? I only peeked, but there's some nice eye candy out there..."

 

[Cyndi Kingsley]

"I know...I was looking. Did you see the way the bellhop was looking at you?" she said with a small laugh, "I'd be surprised if he's not still mopping up the drool." The Gryffindor broke out into a fit of giggles as she imagined the bellhop doing just that. Sometimes, her imagination was too active.

Once she had composed herself, Cyndi added "I'm up for heading to the beach sooner rather than later. My pasty skin isn't going to tan itself, you know." She finished unpacking her bag, which was good because her bathing suit had been all the way at the very bottom.

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella blushed as Cyndi mentioned the bellhop. The image was clear in her mind, which got her sniggering. "How about when he looked at you? Mopping it up's nothing- I bet he was swimming in it!" She clutched her sides, barely unable to breathe. Well, at least she hadn't started snorting. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she grinned back at her friend.

She decided to follow Cyndi's lead, unzipping her backpack and rummaging through it for her swimsuit. "We can go anytime! I haven't been swimming in ages." Not unless you counted swimming in the Lake at school in fifth year, and even then it wasn't the same. She pulled out a brown one-piece that she had picked up in Brightstone Village. Due to some bad experiences, she had decided not to opt for a bikini. "Did you happen to bring any sunscreen?" She smiled apologetically. "It never crossed my mind."

 

[Cyndi Kingsley]

Estrella's comments set her off giggling again as she pictured a swimming pool and the bellhop inside of it. "Gross..." Cyndi gasped as she continued to laugh. Finally, it subsided and Cyndi could speak again. "Now, I'm not even going to be able to look at him without sniggering like a maniac" Cyndi said with intermittent giggling.

She was happy to hear that Estrella was as eager to go swimming and was on her way toward the bathroom to change into her red halter top bikini when she heard her Ravenclaw friend ask about sunscreen. Cyndi frowned slightly. All morning she had been worried she was forgetting something and now she realized what it was. "I knew I was forgetting something" Cyndi said slapping her hand to her forehead. "Maybe, we can get some downstairs in the gift shop?" she suggested with a shrug as she reached the bathroom door.

Cyndi entered the bathroom and changed quickly into her bikini. Once she was dressed, she looked at herself in the mirror and decided that she was pretty satisfied with how it looked on her. She began to put her shorts back on over her bikini bottom and when she was done, Cyndi opened the door. "I'm ready" she announced as she grabbed a towel from the bathroom and then stepped out.

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella flashed a set of white teeth back at Cyndi. "Me neither! The poor boy will be so confused," she giggled. Rummaging through her backpack, she pulled out a pair of goggles. She nodded to her friend as she suggested going to the gift shop. "Yeah, that might be a good idea. I don't want to go back to school looking like a giant blister!"

The seventeen year old set out everything she would need for going to the beach. Where to put her wand was the only real problem. She may have to wrap it up in her towel, considering she didn't feel comfortable leaving it behind. She looked up as Cyndi stepped out of the bathroom. Grinning mischievously, she made a catcall. "That's hot! You'll have to fight off all the males at the beach!"

Snickering jovially she slipped into the bathroom and took no time getting into her swimsuit. She had to admit it didn't look horrible on her, but it was a good thing that she and Cyndi would be soaking up sun, for the sake of her pale skin. Stepping out of the bathroom, she laughed, "Are we ready to rock this place out?"

 

[Cyndi Kingsley]

Cyndi felt her cheeks burn as Estrella catcalled. "Oh stop!" she said with a wave of her hand.

Cyndi sat back on the sofa to wait for Estrella to finish changing and wondered where she should keep her wand. With the swimsuit she was wearing, there would be no way to hide the bulge of a wand. In the end, she threw it into a small tote bag into which she also threw a towel and a muggle gossip magazine. "That color really suits you" the Gryffindor said to her Ravenclaw friend.

When Estrella asked her if she was ready, Cyndi smiled. "OH yea" she sang as she danced her way to the door. "Those Aussie boys are not gonna know what hit them." she laughed.

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella snickered at Cyndi as the girl's cheeks flushed a deep shade of red. She grinned as her friend commented on the color of the swimsuit. "It was hard to find one that actually fit right!" She glanced at the tote bag that Cyndi had on her. "Hey, can I put my wand in there? I'll carry it!" She wasn't thrilled at the idea of having to leave her wand on the beach, but she could hardly carry it around with her.

Grabbing her wand and her towel, her expression was taken over by excitement as Cyndi started towards the door. Estrella suddenly remembered the room key and snatched it off the dresser. "Can't forget this!" she giggled. "We'll show them what they're missing!"

 

[Cyndi Kingsley]

"Sure" Cyndi said as she held the bag open so that Estrella could place her wand inside.

Heading out of the door, Cyndi heard Estrella grab the room key out of the dresser and smiled, happy that her friend remembered it. The hall outside of the room was relatively silent except for a group of what appeared to be college students who also seemed to be heading to the beach. It seemed that everyone had decided to take advantage of the wonderful weather.

Once Estrella was out of the room, Cyndi headed toward the elevator so that they could head down to the gift shop. "Too bad we can't just apparate down" she whispered to Estrella as the elevator arrived. She had grown so accustomed to using magic that she sometimes didn't have the patience for muggle mechanisms.


((sorry...it's kind of lame.))

 

[Estrella Drage]

With a towel wrapped around her waist, Estrella stepped out into the sun. It was a perfect day to spend at the beach. She was becoming quite irritated with her flip flops, and kicked them off as soon as she and Cyndi stepped out onto sand. The grainy substance was warm beneath her feet. Grinning at her friend, she said, "So, you pick a spot. Wanna swim or soak up some sun first?" Estrella herself wanted to tear off the towel and dive into the ocean, but she would be alright either way.

 

[Cyndi Kingsley]

Cyndi shielded her eyes against the sun as they stepped out of the hotel and onto the beach. She heard the ocean waves breaking against the sand and giggled as Estrella kicked off her flip flops and then did so herself. She loved the way the sand felt on her feet.

"Definitely swim first" Cyndi said and she pointed quickly to an empty spot about twenty feet in front of them. That area of the beach was fairly empty. There was only a mother and her small child, who was building a sand castle, and a couple who were sleeping on their towels. "We can put our stuff there." Cyndi walked with Estrella to the spot and placed her bag down then neatly laid out her towel and was ready to go.

"C'mon slowpoke!" Cyndi yelled as she set off running toward the ocean.

 

[Estrella Drage]

With flip flops and towel in hand, Estrella followed Cyndi's lead to the empty section of beach. There was really no eye candy, but at least it wouldn't be so crowded when they were swimming. Plus, they had all week to scout out for good looking men. The Ravenclaw's heart was true to one man, although she knew that she could appreciate what was right before her.

Not bothering to straighten out her towel- she would probably regret it later but she was just too excited- she raced after Cyndi. "Slowpoke? I am no slowpoke!" She raced into the ocean, reveling in the feel of foamy sea around her feet and cool sand between her toes. Grinning slyly, she yelled, "Hey, Cyndi!" Using her foot, she attempted to splash her friend.

Merlin, it's good to be away from school.

 

[Cyndi Kingsley]

Cyndi turned around as Estrella called her name only to be met with a splash of water courtesy of the Ravenclaw. "Hey" Cyndi spluttered as some of the salty water went in her mouth. She grimaced for a second and then giggled.

"Oh yea" Cyndi said slyly as she attempted to splash Estrella back. At the last second, however, a wave knocked her off balance and Cyndi fell right on her backside. Cyndi couldn't help but breaking out into hysterical laughter for the second time that day as she slowly stood back up. Cyndi was glad that there weren't any cute guys around to witness what had just happened.

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella smirked as she waited for the inevitable; you couldn't expect to splash someone without retaliation. However, Cyndi never managed to. The Ravenclaw watched as her Gryffindor friend lost her balance and plopped right into the water. Giggling and glad that her friend wasn't hurt, she chortled, "Got new legs there, Cyndi?" With a grin she lowered herself into the water, until she was completely immersed. She had always found it easier to adjust to the temperature if her hair was wet. She spread her arms and did a few strokes before twisting onto her back. She floated on the surface, content to completely forget about school and all the worries that it carried.

 

[Cyndi Kingsley]

By now, Cyndi was beginning to feel much colder out of the water than in, so she immersed herself like Estrella. Cyndi dropped her head under the surface and opened her eyes underwater to see clear blue sea that extended for what appeared to be miles. Resurfacing and turning so that she was in a float like her friend, Cyndi looked up toward the clear blue sky overhead and said aloud, "This is nothing like the lake back at school."