Whisper → Draco Malfoy

CHAPTER SIX

To say Elise was looking forward to her trip to Hogsmeade was an understatement. As soon as she had heard they would be going, she had sent an owl to her parents asking for permission and had heard back almost immediately. Her parents knew how much she adored it and even when they weren't the happiest with her, they couldn't take Hogsmeade away from her.

Elise was wrapped up in her thickest woollen jumper, but she could still feel the cold nipping at her skin. When it came to the weather, Elise was rather poor at guessing what would be appropriate to wear, often allowing her optimism to convince her it was far warmer than the reality.

"What do you need from Hogsmeade Elise?" Millicent asked as the pair walked out of the castle.

Elise never needed anything from Hogsmeade but that didn't stop her from splashing out. "At least two butterbeers and I wouldn't mind a large collection of sweets from Honeydukes."

"I agree with you on those sweets! My parents told me not to spend all my money on food, but what else am I going to spend it on?" Millicent gestured down to her protruding stomach. "All I do it eat, it's amazing!"

Elise had always found it peculiar how much confidence Millicent still had after all those years of taunting but nevertheless, it was refreshing. She enjoyed having someone around her that was confident, rather than merely cocky.

"Maybe they'll have a new speciality fudge!" Millicent grinned as the pair began to walk towards the village. "What was it last term?"

"I think it was coconuts, macadamias and chocolate frogs! I've still got mine; I could barely eat half of it before I felt sick."

"Oh, mine was gone before we even got back to the castle! It was delicious." Millicent could feel her mouth-watering at the thought of devouring another block of fudge.

Ahead of them, the girls could see the excited third years rushing towards the village as though it was the most exciting thing they had ever seen. It was likely they would be going to Honeydukes which was by far the most popular shop in the whole village; it was constantly filled with eager students tearing apart the shop, taking as much candy as they could for themselves for the fear that it would soon be gone. Elise was far smarter than that, she always headed to Honeydukes last when it was quieter as the shopkeeper was constantly restocking the shelves due to the high demand.

As she traipsed through Hogsmeade, she found her mind wandering to an event near the start of term, "you know Hannah Abbot?" She began, Millicent nodding at her, "didn't she get called out of Herbology... what happened with that?"

"Well," Millicent turned to her, excited to share, "I've heard a group of Ravenclaws, overhead obviously, they wouldn't be speaking to me, they think I'm almost invisible. Hard to be invisible at this size though..." She trailed off, speaking faster with every step she took, "anyway, they said that her mother was found dead."

"Dead?" Elise raised her brows, "what - why?" Although Elise was unfamiliar with Hannah, she still felt bad for the girl, to lose a parent was horrific.

"Apparently-" Millicent slowed down her voice, "it was him." She didn't need to expand; Elise knew whom she was referring to.

"Oh," was all she could say in response.

"Anyway," Millicent shook her head, "let's go to Madam Puddifoots before all the couples floor in..."

Elise nodded, leading the pair down towards the small tea shop, decorated with pink frills in every possible location. "It really never gets any less..." she trailed off, looking for the word.

"-much."

"That's the word, it's just... a lot."

It reminded Elise of Professor Umbridge's office from the previous year, as much as she enjoyed its cohesive decoration, it was too much. Shaking her head, she made her way over to a table in the corner of the room, two hot chocolates appearing as Millicent and Elise took their seats.