An American at Hogwarts: Book Two

Chapter Twenty-Seven

September turned into October, and finally, it was the first Hogsmeade weekend of the year. For Jackson, this would be his first Hogsmeade weekend ever. Just like my friends had done for me last year, we were going to spend the morning showing Jackson around the village so he could get the full experience of one of the coolest parts of the wizarding world.

Around lunch time, Cedric and I were going to split off from the group for our first official date. Then, finally, Jackson and I would meet back up to go find Professor Lupin in the Shrieking shack.

It was going to be a busy day.

We went down to breakfast early, everyone eager to get started. Even Jackson was having a hard time hiding his excitement under his usual too-cool-for-school attitude. We got lucky, and even though it was early October the weather was still nice as we walked across the Hogwarts grounds towards the wizarding village just beyond the gates.

"So really, how crazy is this going to be?" asked Jackson, trying and failing to pretend like he didn't care. I grinned at him as I responded, walking hand in hand with Cedric, our arms swinging together as we walked.

"You're going to see some truly insane things in this village," I said happily. "There's no muggles around, so they don't hide anything here."

Jackson rolled his eyes, but I could still see the excitement shining through the facade.

"You should've seen everyone at the World Cup," George chimed in. "Alexa looked like she was going to have a stroke every few feet, you probably would've lost your mind."

"Do I even want to know?" he asked, directing his question at me.

"No, actually, you don't. Let's just say the dude I saw wearing crocs and a kilt was one of the most normal displays in the whole campground."

Jackson shuddered, and the rest of our friends laughed. One of these days I'd really have to take them out in the muggle world for a while, so they could be the ones freaking out about everything for a change.

We got to the village, and I let the twins lead the way on everything we were going to see. They did a great job of it when it was my first visit, and I had faith in them to do the same for Jackson. We visited Zonko's and Honeyduke's, then headed to the Three Broomsticks to introduce Jackson to Butterbeer and take a minute to enjoy the new toys and candy we'd bought. Everyone laughed when Jackson tried a fizzing whizbee and had the same reaction as I had last year, testing a few theories and immediately launching into scientist mode with a bunch of questions. Our group felt much more balanced now, with two members who actually cared about science instead of just me.

And, if Lee kept being interested in my muggle work, I could get him to join me and Jackson in the world of logic, too.

After about an hour of laughing and talking in the Three Broomsticks, Cedric and I decided it was time to go. We were taking Alicia's advice and heading to Madam Pudifoot's Teashop, and when we arrived it was immediately clear why Alicia had recommended it. Besides the adorable atmosphere and delicious smells, it seemed like every other couple at Hogwarts had also chosen this as the place for their dates.

"Wow. We're in better company than I thought we'd be," I noted as I looked around for an empty table.

"No kidding. This place is so busy."

Fortunately, there were still a few seats open, and Cedric and I found a pretty secluded table where we could order and relax a bit.

"Alright, and what'll it be for you dears?" asked a nice woman in a lacy apron, who came over to take our orders as soon as we sat down.