Although there is still snow on the ground outside the school, the warmth and sunshine radiating from Hogsmeade are all the motivation you need to get out of the castle. Is it mating season for the forest!chorts or is it just you feeling the heat? Be careful getting to the boats and/or carriages. There's still a cool breeze and slick ground all around.

To be honest, West wasn't heading up to the carriages because of the headmistress discouraging the seventh years from using the boats, he was heading to the carriages because after seven years of using them, they meant a lot more than rickety old boats that he'd only been on once. And of course the Thestrals, he wanted to see them one last time too.

He approached one of the carriages with a couple of bits of steak he'd managed to bribe a house elf to provide, and tossed one to each of the Thestrals, taking care not to get any blood on his hands so that when they were done, he could approach and stroke them without either Thestral getting any bright ideas and trying to go for a finger.

He needed those.

After taking a few moments reflecting on everything and petting the gentle beasts (which probably looked pretty odd to people who couldn't see them), West got in the carriage and waited for others to join him. Didn't matter who, he expected most of his fellow graduates would be down at the boats.

This was really it though. It was over.

Wow.