#14 Trekking Onward

Tom pulled his coat taut over his shoulders and fought a shiver. The cold seemed to slap him in the face the moment he stepped out onto the Expansive Lawn, and it took every bit of his willpower not to turn and run back into the warmth and comfort of the castle, but he had a job to do. One did not become the world's foremost Potions Master by being a baby when it came to the cold.

The lawn seemed even more expansive than usual. The wind and snow made it seem like an infinite wasteland, and he knew in a few months when spring had sprung it would be the exact opposite. Everything at Hogwarts was just more, grander and more exciting and larger than life. The seasons seemed that way here, too. Tom had never experienced winters in his life like he had at Hogwarts.

His eyes scanned the horizon for the next ingredient on his list: brittlebush. He squinted, hoping he would have the same luck he had in the Private Courtyard and that the white of the snow would make the green of his sought after ingredient stand out against the background.