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⊱ ─────── {.⋅ ♫ ⋅.} ────── ⊰
CHAPTER SIX!
—rosalie
❝ 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦'𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑜𝑦𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑙𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑠. ❞
In no time at all, Defense Against the Dark Arts had become most people's favorite class. Only Draco Malfoy and his gang of Slytherins had anything bad to say about Professor Lupin.
"Look at the state of his robes," Malfoy would say in a loud whisper as Professor Lupin passed. "He dresses like our old house-elf."
But no one else cared that Professor Lupin's robes were patched and frayed. His next few lessons were just as interesting as the first. After boggarts, they studied Red Caps, nasty little goblin like creatures that lurked wherever there had been bloodshed: in the dungeons of castles and the potholes of deserted battlefields, waiting to bludgeon those who had gotten lost. From Red Caps they moved on to kappas, creepy water-dwellers that looked like scaly monkeys, with webbed hands itching to strangle unwitting waders in their ponds.
Harry only wished he was as happy with some of his other classes. Worst of all was Potions. Snape was in a particularly vindictive mood these days, and no one was in any doubt why. The story of the boggart assuming Snape's shape, and the way that Neville had dressed it in his grandmother's clothes, had traveled through the school like wildfire. Snape didn't seem to find it funny. His eyes flashed menacingly at the very mention of Professor Lupin's name, and he was bullying Neville worse than ever.
Rosalie was also growing to dread the hours she spent in Professor Trelawney's stifling tower room, deciphering lopsided shapes and symbols, trying to ignore the way Professor Trelawney's enormous eyes filled with tears every time she looked at Harry. He couldn't like Professor Trelawney, even though she was treated with respect bordering on reverence by many of the class. Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown had taken to haunting Professor Trelawney's tower room at lunchtimes, and always returned with annoyingly superior looks on their faces, as though they knew things the others didn't. They had also started using hushed voices whenever they spoke to Harry, as though he were on his deathbed.
Nobody really liked Care of Magical Creatures, which, after the action-packed first class, had become extremely dull. Hagrid seemed to have lost his confidence. They were now spending lesson after lesson learning how to look after flobberworms, which had to be some of the most boring creatures inexistence.
"Why would anyone bother looking after them?" said Ron, after yet another hour of poking shredded lettuce down the flobberworms' slimy throats.
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At the start of October, however, Harry and Rosalie had something else to occupy them, something so enjoyable it more than made up for his unsatisfactory classes. The Quidditch season was approaching, and Oliver Wood, Captain of the Gryffindor team, called a meeting one Thursday evening to discuss tactics for the new season.
There were seven people on a Quidditch team: three Chasers, whose job it was to score goals by putting the Quaffle (a red, soccer-sized ball) through one of the fifty-foot-high hoops at each end of the field; two Beaters, who were equipped with heavy bats to repel the Bludgers (two heavy black balls that zoomed around trying to attack the players); a Keeper, who defended the goal posts, and the Seeker, who had the hardest job of all, that of catching the Golden Snitch, a tiny, winged, walnut-sized ball, whose capture ended the game and earned the Seeker's team an extra one hundred and fifty points.
Rosalie still doesn't understand how they made a boy with a very bad eyesight the Seeker.
Oliver Wood was a burly seventeen-year-old, now in his seventh and final year at Hogwarts. There was a quiet sort of desperation in his voice as head dressed his six fellow team members in the chilly locker rooms on the edge of the darkening Quidditch field.
"This is our last chance — my last chance — to win the Quidditch Cup," he told them, striding up and down in front of them. "I'll be leaving at the end of this year. I'll never get another shot at it.
"Gryffindor hasn't won for seven years now. Okay, so we've had the worst luck in the world — injuries — then the tournament getting called off last year. . . ." Wood swallowed, as though the memory still brought a lump to his throat. "But we also know we've got the best — ruddy — team — in — the —school," he said, punching a fist into his other hand, the old manic glint back in his eye.
"We've got three superb Chasers."
Wood pointed at Rosalie Weasley, Angelina Johnson, and Katie Bell.
"We've got two unbeatable Beaters."
"Stop it, Oliver, you're embarrassing us," said Fred and George Weasley together, pretending to blush, as Rosalie and Angelina (Angie) giggled at them.
"And we've got a Seeker who has never failed to win us a match!" Wood rumbled, glaring at Harry with a kind of furious pride. "And me," he added as an afterthought.
"We think you're very good too, Oliver," said George.
"Mhm..." Rosalie hummed nodding, having an innocent look on her face.
"Spanking good Keeper," said Fred.
"The point is," Wood went on, resuming his pacing, "the Quidditch Cup should have had our name on it these last two years. Ever since Harry joined the team, I've thought the thing was in the bag. But we haven't got it, and this year's the last chance we'll get to finally see our name on the thing. . . ."
Wood spoke so dejectedly that even Fred and George looked sympathetic.
"Oliver, this year's our year," said Fred.
"We'll do it, Oliver!" said Angelina.
"Definitely," said Harry
Full of determination, the team started training sessions, three evenings a week. The weather was getting colder and wetter, the nights darker, but no amount of mud, wind, or rain could tarnish Harry's wonderful vision of finally winning the huge, silver Quidditch Cup.
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The only third years on the Quidditch team returned to the Gryffindor common room one evening after training, cold and stiff but pleased with the way practice had gone, to find the room buzzing excitedly.
"What's happened?" he asked Ron and Hermione, who were sitting in two of the best chairs by the fireside and completing some star charts for Astronomy.
"First Hogsmeade weekend," said Ron, pointing at a notice that had appeared on the battered old bulletin board. "End of October. Halloween."
"Excellent," said Fred, who had followed Harry through the portrait hole. "I need to visit Zonko's. I'm nearly out of Stink Pellets."
Harry threw himself into a chair beside Ron, his high spirits ebbing away. Hermione seemed to read his mind. Rosalie threw herself next to Hermione, putting her head onto her best friend's lap.
"Harry, I'm sure you'll be able to go next time," Hermione said. "They're bound to catch Black soon. He's been sighted once already."
"Black's not fool enough to try anything in Hogsmeade," said Ron. "Ask McGonagall if you can go this time, Harry. The next one might not be forages —"
"Ron!" said Hermione. "Harry's supposed to stay in school —"
"He can't be the only third year left behind," said Ron. "Ask McGonagall, go on, Harry —"
"Yeah, I think I will," said Harry, making up his mind.
Hermione opened her mouth to argue, but at that moment Crookshanks and Cleo leapt lightly onto the girls' laps. At this point Rosalie stayed normally next to Hermione, patting gently Cleo on the head. A large, dead spider was dangling from Crookshanks' mouth. Cleo was trying to get herself away from the dead spider. Rosalie reckons her cat is now used to be treated like a princess.
"Does he have to eat that in front of us?" said Ron, scowling.
"Clever Crookshanks, did you catch that all by yourself?" said Hermione.
Crookshanks slowly chewed up the spider, his yellow eyes fixed insolently on Ron.
"Just keep them both over there, that's all," said Ron irritably, turning back to his star chart. "I've got Scabbers asleep in my bag."
"Both?!" exclaimed Rosalie outraged. "What's Cleo done to you?!"
"May I remind you that the orange demon in 'Mione's arms is not the only one that wants to kill Scabbers?!"
Rosalie started smiling falsely.
Harry yawned. He really wanted to go to bed, but he still had his own star chart to complete. He pulled his bag toward him, took out parchment, ink, and quill, and started work.
"You can copy mine, if you like," said Ron, labeling his last star with a flourish and shoving the chart toward Harry.
"I don't think Harry would like such a poor mark, Ronald—"
Hermione, who disapproved of copying, pursed her lips but didn't say anything. Both Cleo and Crookshanks were still staring unblinkingly at Ron, Crookshanks flicking the end of his bushy tail and Cleo playing with her little paws. Then, without warning, he pounced.
"OY!" Ron roared, seizing his bag as Crookshanks and Cleo sank eight sets of claws deeply into it and began tearing ferociously. "GET OFF, YOU STUPID ANIMALS!"
Ron tried to pull the bag away from the cats, but Crookshanks and Cleo clung on, spitting and slashing.
"Ron, don't hurt them!" squealed Hermione; the whole common room was watching; Ron whirled the bag around, Crookshanks still clinging to it, and Scabbers came flying out of the top —
"CATCH THOSE CATS!" Ron yelled as Crookshanks and Cleo freed themselves from the remnants of the bag, sprang over the table, and chased after the terrified Scabbers.
George Weasley made a lunge for Crookshanks, and Fred Weasley made a lunge for Cleo, but both missed; Scabbers streaked through twenty pairs of legs and shot beneath an old chest of drawers. Crookshanks skidded to a halt, crouched low on his bandy legs, and started making furious swipes beneath it with his front paw.
Ron and Hermione hurried over; Hermione grabbed Crookshanks around the middle and heaved him away; Ron threw himself onto his stomach and, with great difficulty, pulled Scabbers out by the tail. Cleo was left behind because "She doesn't run" now apparently, so Rosalie had an easier time catching her. Now that Cleo was in her owner's arms, she calmed and started purring.
"Look at him!" he said furiously to Hermione, dangling Scabbers in front of her. "He's skin and bone! You keep that cat away from him!"
"Crookshanks doesn't understand it's wrong!" said Hermione, her voice shaking. "All cats chase rats, Ron!"
"There's something funny about that animal! Rosalie's cat as well!" said Ron, who was trying to persuade a frantically wiggling Scabbers back into his pocket.
"Oy! Don't bring my angel into this!" Rosalie hissed at him, even though Cleo was trying to do the same thing as Crookshanks. As expected, the two cats became friends quickly, and apparently... Plotted against Scabbers.
"They heard me say that Scabbers was in my bag!"
"Oh, what rubbish," said Hermione impatiently. "Crookshanks and Cleo could smell him, Ron, how else d'you think —"
"Those cats' got it in for Scabbers!" said Ron, ignoring the people around him, who were starting to giggle. "And Scabbers was here first, and he's ill!"
Ron marched through the common room and out of sight up the stairs to the boys' dormitories.
"He treated that rat so bad until now." Rosalie yelled, silencing everyone. "And now that we have two animals Scabbers' got all needy and important, hasn't he?!"
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Ron was still in a bad mood with Hermione and Rose the next day. He barely talked to them all through Herbology, even though he, Rosalie, Harry, and Hermione were working together on the same puff apod.
"How's Scabbers?" Hermione asked timidly as they stripped fat pink pods from the plants and emptied the shining beans into a wooden pail.
"He's hiding at the bottom of my bed, shaking," said Ron angrily, missing the pail and scattering beans over the greenhouse floor.
"Careful, Weasley, careful!" cried Professor Sprout as the beans burst into bloom before their very eyes.
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They had Transfiguration next. Harry, who had resolved to ask Professor McGonagall after the lesson whether he could go into Hogsmeade with the rest, joined the line outside the class trying to decide how he was going to argue his case. He was distracted, however, by a disturbance at the front of the line.
Lavender Brown seemed to be crying. Parvati had her arm around her and was explaining something to Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas, who were looking very serious.
"What's the matter, Lavender?" said Hermione anxiously as she, Rosa, Harry, and Ron went to join the group.
"She got a letter from home this morning," Parvati whispered. "It's her rabbit, Binky. He's been killed by a fox."
"Oh," said Hermione, "I'm sorry, Lavender."
"Oh..." Rosalie sighed with wide eyes. "Come here, love."
Rosalie hurried next to Lavender and hugged her tight.
"I should have known!" said Lavender tragically. "You know what day it is?"
"Er —"
"The sixteenth of October! 'That thing you're dreading, it will happen on the sixteenth of October!' Remember? She was right, she was right!"
The whole class was gathered around Lavender now. Seamus shook his head seriously. Hermione hesitated; then she said, "You — you were dreading Binky being killed by a fox?"
"Well, not necessarily by a fox," said Lavender, looking up at Hermione with streaming eyes, "but I was obviously dreading him dying, wasn't I?"
"Oh," said Hermione. She paused again. Then —
"Was Binky an old rabbit?"
"Hermione." Rosalie hissed at her with a shocked look on her face. She was asking all these questions when her friend's rabbit had just died. Hermione, however, ignored her.
"N-no!" sobbed Lavender. "H-he was only a baby!"
Rosalie hugged her tighter as Parvati tightened her arm around Lavender's shoulders.
"But then, why would you dread him dying?" said Hermione.
"Hermione, I love you, I do. But that's enough, 'Mione, really." Rosalie gritted her teeth at her best friend.
Parvati glared at Hermione, but Hermione ignored both Parvati and Rosalie.
"Well, look at it logically," said Hermione, turning to the rest of the group. "I mean, Binky didn't even die today, did he? Lavender just got the news today" — Lavender wailed loudly — "and she can't have been dreading it, because it's come as a real shock —"
"Don't mind Hermione, Lavender," said Ron loudly, "she doesn't think other people's pets matter very much."
Professor McGonagall opened the classroom door at that moment, which was perhaps lucky; Hermione and Ron were looking daggers at each other, and when they got into class, they seated themselves on either side of Harry and didn't talk to each other for the whole class.
Harry still hadn't decided what he was going to say to Professor McGonagall when the bell rang at the end of the lesson, but it was she who brought up the subject of Hogsmeade first.
"One moment, please!" she called as the class made to leave. "As you're all in my House, you should hand Hogsmeade permission forms to me before Halloween. No form, no visiting the village, so don't forget!
Neville put up his hand.
"Please, Professor, I — I think I've lost —"
"Your grandmother sent yours to me directly, Longbottom," said Professor McGonagall. "She seemed to think it was safer. Well, that's all, you may leave."
"Ask her now," Rosa heard Ron hissing at Harry.
"Oh, but —" Hermione began.
"Go for it, Harry," said Ron stubbornly.
Harry waited for the rest of the class to disappear, then headed nervously for Professor McGonagall's desk.
"Yes, Potter?"
Harry took a deep breath.
"Professor, my aunt and uncle — er — forgot to sign my form," he said.
Professor McGonagall looked over her square spectacles at him but didn't say anything.
"So — er — d'you think it would be all right — I mean, will it be okay if I— if I go to Hogsmeade?"
Professor McGonagall looked down and began shuffling papers on her desk.
"I'm afraid not, Potter," she said. "You heard what I said. No form, no visiting the village. That's the rule."
"But — Professor, my aunt and uncle — you know, they're Muggles, they don't really understand about — about Hogwarts forms and stuff," Harry said, while Ron egged him on with vigorous nods. "If you said I could go —"
"But I don't say so," said Professor McGonagall, standing up and piling her papers neatly into a drawer. "The form clearly states that the parent or guardian must give permission." She turned to look at him, with an odd expression on her face. Was it pity? "I'm sorry, Potter, but that's my final word. You had better hurry, or you'll be late for your next lesson."
There was nothing to be done. Ron called Professor McGonagall a lot of names that greatly annoyed Hermione; Hermione assumed an "all-for-the-best" expression that made Ron even angrier, Rosalie was frowning in disappointment, and Harry had to endure everyone in the class talking loudly and happily about what they were going to do first, once they got into Hogsmeade.
"There's always the feast," said Ron, in an effort to cheer Harry up. "You know, the Halloween feast, in the evening."
"Yeah," said Harry gloomily, "great."
The Halloween feast was always good, but it would taste a lot better if he was coming to it after a day in Hogsmeade with everyone else. Nothing anyone said made Harry feel any better about being left behind. Dean Thomas, who was good with a quill, had offered to forge Uncle Vernon's signature on the form, but as Harry had already told Professor McGonagall he hadn't had it signed, that was no good. Ron halfheartedly suggested the Invisibility Cloak, but Hermione stamped on that one, reminding Ron what Dumbledore had told them about the dementors being able to see through them. Percy had what were possibly the least helpful words of comfort.
"They make a fuss about Hogsmeade, but I assure you, Harry, it's not all it's cracked up to be," he said seriously. "All right, the sweetshop's rather good, and Zonko's Joke Shop's frankly dangerous, and yes, the Shrieking Shack's always worth a visit, but really, Harry, apart from that, you're not missing anything."
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On Halloween morning, Rosalie awoke with the rest and went down to breakfast. When Harry cam down, she could see he was feeling thoroughly depressed, though doing his best to act normally, causing her to look at him in sympathy.
"We'll bring you lots of sweets back from Honeydukes," said Hermione, looking desperately sorry for him.
"Yeah, loads," said Rose and Ron in the same time. Rosalie, Ron and Hermione had finally forgotten their squabble about Cleo and Crookshanks in the face of Harry's disappointment.
"Don't worry about me," said Harry, in what he hoped was an offhand voice, "I'll see you at the feast. Have a good time."
He accompanied them to the entrance hall, where Filch, the caretaker, was standing inside the front doors, checking off names against a long list, peering suspiciously into every face, and making sure that no one was sneaking out who shouldn't be going.
"Staying here, Potter?" shouted Malfoy, who was standing in line with Crabbe and Goyle. "Scared of passing the dementors?"
"Hold me back before I kill him," Rosalie muttered coldly, leaning toward Hermione.
Harry ignored him, as Draco and his goons walked away laughing.
"We'll see you in the evening?" Rosa said quietly to Harry as he nodded sadly. "Or, we could always stay here?"
"Yeah, it's just a trip we'll manage without one." said Hermione confidently, as Ron nodded his head vigorously, agreeing with the girls.
"Don't worry about, it guys," said Harry as they frowned at him again. "See you at the feast."
"Bye..."
So Harry left and Rosa, Ron and Hermione made their way back to the students.
"All right you lot," Filch yelled at them. "Time to go, let's go!"
"Wait!" Rosalie whispered suddenly, stopping, causing Ron and Hermione to do the same and look at her in question. "You two go, I'll stay and hang out with Harold."
"Wha— why?" asked Ron. "It's Hogsmeade."
"Well, for one," She held her index finger up. "so he doesn't get too lonely with the first and second years,
"And two," She held her second finger up, so now she's indicating the number two, "How are you two supposed to find your love for each other if I'm there to third wheel you guys?"
"Well, for one," Hermione mimicked her and held her finger up. "fine,
"And two," She held her second finger up, so now she's indicating the number two, still mimicking her, "Me and Ronald?! Ew. Still not happening."
"Ever." Ron said with wide eyes, looking disgusted. But Rosalie could see through him. He hesitated and his voice sounded disappointed. "But okay, you can go back."
"Have fun..." Rosalie smirked at them.
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Rosalie made her way towards the castle running (something she swore she wouldn't do again), until she saw Harry walking slowly to the Gryffindor Tower. She smirked slightly to herself before she hurried there and jumped on his back.
The impact startled Harry, therefore the both of them fell on the floor. Rosalie laughing out loud and Harry shocked.
"What the—" said Harry after both of them got up. "Rosa?"
"No, it's Percy the Head Boy," she laughed.
"What are you doing here? I thought you went to Hogsmeade?"
"Well," She mimicked someone who was about to give a presentation in front of the class. "For one,"
She held up her index finger just as she did to Ron and Hermione.
"So you wouldn't get all lonely without your favorite person ever," smirked Rosalie teasingly as Harry raised his eyebrows with the smallest smile. "And two,"
She held two fingers up.
"How are Ron and Hermione going to find their feelings for each other if I'm there to third wheel it?" she chuckled as Harry looked at her in amusement. "Remember the bet we did at the beginning of the summer? Yeah, I'm not giving up on those forty galleons."
"So," Harry glanced around him, suddenly becoming awkward. "What now?"
"Going to the Common Room, of course." Rosalie looked at him incredulously. "Weren't you just going there?"
"Right..." Harry trailed off as Rosalie chuckled at him. "Let's go?"
"Come on." She smiled brightly and interlocked their pinkies, before both of them walked back to their Common Room.
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"Password?" said the Fat Lady, jerking out of a doze.
"Fortuna Major," said Rosalie smiling softly.
The portrait swung open and he climbed through the hole into the common room. It was full of chattering first and second years, and a few older students, who had obviously visited Hogsmeade so often the novelty had worn off.
"Harry! Rosalie! Hi, Harry and Rosalie!"
It was Colin Creevey, a second year who was deeply in awe of Harry and never missed an opportunity to speak to him.
"Aren't you going to Hogsmeade, Harry? Rosalie? Why not? Hey" — Colin looked eagerly around at his friends — "you two can come and sit with us, if you'd like!"
"Sure—"
"Er — no, thanks, Colin," said Harry, who wasn't in the mood to have a lot of people staring avidly at the scar on his forehead. "We — we've got to go to the library, got to get some work done."
"No we don't—" said Rosalie frowning in confusion as Harry's eyes widened and put his hand on her mouth, preventing the girl from talking.
"Of course we do," He slightly gritted his teeth at her. "Remember Hermione would hunt us down if we don't get the work done?"
After that, she had no choice but to let herself be dragged out by Harry back out of the portrait hole again.
"What was the point waking me up?" the Fat Lady called grumpily after them as they walked away.
"What was that about?!" asked Rosalie with wide eyes when he finally let go of her. "Why didn't you want to hang out with them? I stayed so you wouldn't hang out with them alone and be the oldest between them."
"I just don't exactly want little children staring at this," He pointed at his forehead as Rosalie raised her left eyebrow.
"Little children?" she snorted. "May I remind they literally a few months to maximum an year younger than you?"
"They're still annoying little demons." Harry tried to defend himself as Rosalie laughed out loud. After a few moments he started to laugh with her, now both of their stomachs aching from the laughter. "Shall we go now?"
Rosalie was still trying to recover from the laughter, having tears in her eyes.
"Nah," said Rose shaking her head. "Do you really want to get work done?"
"Nope." He pursed his lips into a straight line as both of them turned around.
They turned around and came face-to-face with Filch, who had obviously just seen off the last of the Hogsmeade visitors.
"What are you two doing?" Filch snarled suspiciously.
"Nothing," They said truthfully in the same time, shaking their heads in confusion.
"Nothing!" spat Filch, his jowls quivering unpleasantly. "A likely story! Sneaking around on your own — why aren't you in Hogsmeade buying Stink Pellets and Belch Powder and Whizzing Worms like the rest of your nasty little friends?"
Harry shrugged.
"Well, get back to your common room where you belong!" snapped Filch, and he stood glaring until they had passed out of sight.
"We're not going to the Common Room, are we?" Rose smirked at him as Harry shook his head vigorously.
The two didn't go back to the common room; they climbed a staircase, thinking vaguely of visiting the Owlery to see Hedwig, and was walking along another corridor when a voice from inside one of the rooms said, "Harry? Rosalie?"
Rosalie Harry doubled back to see who had spoken and met Professor Lupin, looking around his office door.
"What are you two doing?" said Lupin, though in a very different voice from Filch. "Where are Ron and Hermione?"
"Hogsmeade." Rosalie said. "I would've go with them, but didn't want the blind boy all alone in an enormous castle."
Harry rolled his eyes at 'blind boy'.
"But, er—" She awkwardly glanced around. "See you in the Common Room, Haro— Harry."
And so she hurried to the Common Room.
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"Rosalie!"
Two arms were thrown around her. Looking down, she saw Ginny hugging her tight. "why aren't you in Hogsmeade? Yesterday you looked so excited for the trip?"
"Well, Harold couldn't come since his uncle and aunt didn't sign the paper, and I didn't want you two to be alone." She smiled at her as Ginny's eyes widened and smiled brightly.
"Come on!" She dragged her older and only sister toward her friends. "Come hang out with us!"
"Oh, hey Ginny!" One of her friends said.
"Guys, this is my sister ("and my favorite sibling" the young ginger added making Rosalie smirk slightly.), Rosalie. Rosalie, these are Jocelyn, Andrew, and Elliot." She pointed at each of them.
Jocelyn was not tall, shorter than Rosalie actually, had blonde wavy hair and bright blue eyes filled with kindness. She didn't exactly look like a second year, though. Jocelyn looked in somewhat awe at Rosalie, but she didn't notice that.
Elliot was as short as Ginny, had blonde hair and brown chocolate eyes. Elliot was smiling brightly at her. He, however, looked the same age as Rosa's sister comparing to Jocelyn.
Lastly, Andrew wasn't short, but wasn't too tall either. He had light brown hair and brown eyes. The boy was staring at the ground, therefore Rose assumed he was a bit shy. Andrew, just like Jocelyn, didn't look the same age as Ginny.
"You don't look like a second year?" Rosalie pointed at Jocelyn in confusion, with her eyebrows furrowed.
"Because I'm not." She said with an American accent, chuckling, causing Rosa to raise her eyebrows. "I'm a third year, but didn't go to Hogsmeade today. Befriended these three last year and now I stayed back to hang out with them."
"That's sweet of you." Rosalie smiled slightly amused as the other glanced at each other with raised eyebrows while Jocelyn and Rose stared at each other. "Ahem—"
Rosa cleared her throat, breaking the eye contact.
"Can I sit with you guys?" Rose asked them as Ginny and Elliot nodded their heads vigorously. Andrew merely shrugged, and Jocelyn smiled softly at her. Rosalie grinned and sat down between her sister and the blonde haired girl.
"Neither am I a second year," Andrew said, giving Jocelyn a teasing look. "Lynn and I saw you in classes. You're friends with Harry Potter?"
"Yup," said Rosalie as the portrait door opened. They saw the one and only Harry Potter coming in. He stopped in his tracks at the sight of Rosalie sitting with the second years and the two third years. "Well, look who decided to join,"
Rosalie smirked at him teasingly.
"What are you doing?" He raised an eyebrow at her, eyeing the other four kids.
"Hanging out with us." Ginny shrugged. The young redhead told Rosalie she had once had a crush on Rosalie's best friend, Harry, but she doesn't like him anymore. She's told her that she had another crush, but wouldn't mention on who exactly. "You weren't around, so we thought we'd steal her for a bit."
"Steal her?" Harry repeated.
"Yup." Elliot nodded her head. "She's not yours anymore, Potter. Unless you want to join us, please make steps away. Thank you."
Harry looked at Rosa disbelieving what he was hearing, as Rosalie shrugged chuckling.
"Have a nice sleep!" Rosalie yelled after him as Harry started walking toward the stairs to the dormitories.
"Oh, believe me, Rose," he yelled back. "I will!"
Turns out Ginny's friends were very fun to be around.
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"There you two go," said Ron. "We got as much as we could carry."
A shower of brilliantly colored sweets fell into Harry and Rosa's laps. It was dusk, and Ron and Hermione had just turned up in the common room, pink-faced from the cold wind and looking as though they'd had the time of their lives.
"Thanks," said Harry while Rose smiled at them thankfully, picking up a packet of tiny black Pepper Imps. "What's Hogsmeade like? Where did you go?"
By the sound of it — everywhere. Dervish and Banges, the wizarding equipment shop, Zonko's Joke Shop, into the Three Broomsticks for foaming mugs of hot butterbeer, and many places besides.
"The post office, guys! About two hundred owls, all sitting on shelves, all color-coded depending on how fast you want your letter to get there!"
"Honeydukes has got a new kind of fudge; they were giving out free samples, there's a bit, look —"
"We think we saw an ogre, honestly, they get all sorts at the Three Broomsticks —"
"Wish we could have brought you some butterbeer, really warms you up—"
"What did you two do?" said Hermione, looking anxious. "Did you get any work done?"
"Nope." Rosalie pursed her lips into a straight line. "But, I hanged out with Ginny and her friends. Did you know we're not the only third years not going to Hogsmeade? There are two more kids from our year that are friends with Ginny. Andrew and Jocelyn."
"Oh, yeah." Hermione nodded her head. "I saw Jocelyn in Muggle Studies. She's the one with blonde hair and blue eyes, right? Granddaughter of Newt Scamander?"
Rosalie nodded and hummed in response.
"No," said Harry. "Lupin made me a cup of tea in his office. And then Snape came in. . . ."
He told them all about some goblet that Snape gave Professor Lupin. Ron and Rosalie's mouths fell open.
"Lupin drank it?" Ron gasped. "Is he mad?"
"Where were you?" Hermione turned to Rosalie.
"On my way to the Common Room where I met Ginny's friends..." Rosa smiled sheepishly.
Hermione shook her head shortly checked her watch.
"We'd better go down, you know, the feast'll be starting in five minutes. . . ." They hurried through the portrait hole and into the crowd, still discussing Snape.
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"But if he — you know" — Hermione dropped her voice, glancing nervously around — "if he was trying to — to poison Lupin — he wouldn't have done it in front of Harry."
"Yeah, maybe," said Harry as they reached the entrance hall and crossed into the Great Hall. It had been decorated with hundreds and hundreds of candle-filled pumpkins, a cloud of fluttering live bats, and many flaming orange streamers, which were swimming lazily across the stormy ceiling like brilliant water snakes.
The food was delicious; even Hermione and Ron, who were full to bursting with Honeydukes sweets, managed second helpings of everything. Rosalie noticed that Harry kept glancing at the staff table. Professor Lupin looked cheerful and as well as he ever did; he was talking animatedly to tiny little Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher. Rose moved her eyes along the table, to the place where Snape sat. Was she imagining it, or were Snape's eyes flickering toward Lupin more often than was natural?
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The feast finished with an entertainment provided by the Hogwarts ghosts. They popped out of the walls and tables to do a bit of formation gliding; Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor ghost, had a great success with are enactment of his own botched beheading.
It had been such a pleasant evening that our Quartet's good mood couldn't even be spoiled by Malfoy, who shouted through the crowd as they all left the hall, "The dementors send their love, Potter!"
Rose, Hermione, Ron, and Harry followed the rest of the Gryffindors along the usual path to Gryffindor Tower, but when they reached the corridor that ended with the portrait of the Fat Lady, they found it jammed with students.
"Why isn't anyone going in?" said Ron curiously.
Harry peered over the heads in front of him. The portrait seemed to be closed.
"Let me through, please," came Percy's voice, and he came bustling importantly through the crowd. "What's the holdup here? You can't all have forgotten the password — excuse me, I'm Head Boy —"
And then a silence fell over the crowd, from the front first, so that a chill seemed to spread down the corridor. They heard Percy say, in a suddenly sharp voice, "Somebody get Professor Dumbledore. Quick."
People's heads turned; those at the back were standing on tiptoe.
"What's going on?" said Ginny, who had just arrived.
A moment later, Professor Dumbledore was there, sweeping toward the portrait; the Gryffindors squeezed together to let him through, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione moved closer to see what the trouble was.
"Oh, my —" Hermione grabbed Harry's arm.
The Fat Lady had vanished from her portrait, which had been slashed so viciously that strips of canvas littered the floor; great chunks of it had been torn away completely.
Dumbledore took one quick look at the ruined painting and turned, his eyes somber, to see Professors McGonagall, Lupin, and Snape hurrying toward him.
"We need to find her," said Dumbledore. "Professor McGonagall, please go to Mr. Filch at once and tell him to search every painting in the castle for the Fat Lady."
"You'll be lucky!" said a cackling voice.
It was Peeves the Poltergeist, bobbing over the crowd and looking delighted, as he always did, at the sight of wreckage or worry.
"What do you mean, Peeves?" said Dumbledore calmly, and Peeves's grin faded a little. He didn't dare taunt Dumbledore. Instead he adopted an oily voice that was no better than his cackle.
"Ashamed, Your Headship, sir. Doesn't want to be seen. She's a horrible mess. Saw her running through the landscape up on the fourth floor, sir, dodging between the trees. Crying something dreadful," he said happily. "Poor thing," he added unconvincingly.
"Did she say who did it?" said Dumbledore quietly.
"Oh yes, Professorhead," said Peeves, with the air of one cradling a large bombshell in his arms. "He got very angry when she wouldn't let him in, you see." Peeves flipped over and grinned at Dumbledore from between his own legs. "Nasty temper he's got, that Sirius Black."
»»————- ❝ 𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐀 𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐒! ❞ ————-««
𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲!
what's your favorite hp film?
𝐌𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫: either prisoner of azkaban or half-blood prince. but i like POA a little more