Feet

[alt_terry]

Another small thing: boot's feet

boot has gone barefoot for years. boot always told shoes were waste for mudbloods (he said that), but hermione has shoes. don't want to ask, because don't want hermione's shoes taken away from her.

boot's feet not so dirty now since now boot knows where to go to get clean every day. but bottoms of boot's feet are tough. hard callouses.

but boot must still be careful. if feet get too dry, callouses will crack. cuts can get infected from dirt, and boot cannot stand a long time in snow, even if feet are tough. almost lost some toes from frostbite once. so sometimes boot wraps feet in rags in winter.

hermione told boot if he started wearing shoes callouses would go away. the word she used was 'eventually' (another word boot had to look up in dictionary). seems so strange.

boot goes without, gets tough. feet are strong, can climb, can bear things. like little stones, grit, gravel, that would make students stumble and wince if they were ever to walk barefoot in the courtyard.

if boot had shoes, feet would get soft.

boot needs to be tough.

is it really better to go without, so to stay strong?