Exhausted from her first class, Lindsay chose to make her own dinner and have it in her chambers. She retired early and awoke just before sunrise, as was her habit. Normally she would've gone for a run, but she hadn't mapped out a route on the grounds yet. She contented herself with exercises that could be performed in her sitting room: push-ups, sit-ups, squats, and hand-stands. She showered and dressed and was about to make herself some breakfast when she heard a knock at her door. The Weasley twins burst in without hesitation. "Going to Hogsmeade?" asked Fred.
"Going where?"
"I told you she wouldn't know what it was," said George.
"Hogsmeade is a village," said Fred. "We go there on weekends."
"We'd love to show you around," said George.
"Uh, yeah sure, I'd love to," said Lindsay. "I was just about to make breakfast--"
"Don't do that," said the twins. "Come to the Great Hall."
Fred and George described Hogsmeade in detail as they escorted Lindsay to the Great Hall. She suspected that the majority of what they said wasn't true, but it was certainly entertaining. "That's the Great Hall there," said Fred. He pointed to an enormous stone doorway, flanked by two huge, open, wooden doors. Students were lazily coming and going.
Lindsay greeted Professor McGonagall who had just emerged from between the doors. "Oh, Miss Gray, I wanted to speak with you. Go ahead boys, Miss Gray will be along shortly. I forgot to tell you that this is a Hogsmeade weekend."
"Yes, the twins were telling me. They said they'd show me the village."
"Oh, good," said McGonagall. "Students walk to Hogsmeade, so make sure you dress warmly."
"I'll do that."
"One last this, Miss Gray," said McGonagall. Her expression was earnest as she placed a hand on Lindsay's arm. "And this is very important. Don't eat or drink anything the twins offer you."
"Er...okay."
"Remember," said McGonagall as she walked on.
The twins stood and waved when Lindsay entered the Great Hall. She sat down between them clearly in awe of the room's immensity. "So what's the protocol? Is there a buffet, or waiters, or what?" The twins began to laugh hysterically.
"The house-elves send everything up from the kitchens," said Hermione from across the table. "Most things are already here as you can see." Hermione pointed to the plates of toast, and sausages, and other breakfast foods lining the center of the table. "If you'd like something else, you can ask for it, but you must be polite. Watch me. May I have a bowl of porridge with a bit of cinnamon and apple, please?" Within seconds a deep, golden bowl of steaming porridge appeared in front of Hermione. "Now you try."
"May I have a cheese omelet and a cup of dark roasted coffee, please?" Lindsay laughed in disbelief when it appeared before her. It was one of the most amazing things she'd ever seen, yet everyone else at the table seemed totally indifferent. "So the house elves just sent this from the kitchen? I feel like I'm in a dream."
Fred and George both took a forkful of Lindsay's omelet. "Nope, not dreaming," they said.
###
The twins insisted on stopping at Honeydukes first. There were so many kids in the shop that it was hard to get in the door. They entered in single file with Fred at the front and George at the back. Lindsay had her hand on Fred's shoulder to avoid being separated from him. George did the same with her. The few kids that tried to push between them were bounced off the twins like pinballs.
"You should get some chocolate frogs," said Fred.
"They'll be good starter sweets for you," said George.
"Starter sweets?" laughed Lindsay. "I've had candy before, guys."
"Not like these," said the twins.
Lindsay took off one her gloves, unbuttoned her coat, and fished around in her inside pocket. She retrieved a moderately sized baby-blue velvet pouch and handed it to George. "I'm not used to the money yet. Do you think there's enough to get something for all the Gryffindors? The first and second year kids must be feeling left out."
George felt the weight of the pouch and passed it to Fred, who peered in the bag. "Are you rich or something?"
"Hmm, what would be the easiest way to answer that? Um...yes."
Their shocked looks turned to enthusiastic grins. They turned quickly and pushed their way to the counter. "Make way...Coming through...Important business here."
Lindsay felt someone fall into her back and push her forward. "Sorry," said a familiar voice. She turned and greeted Neville Longbottom and began a conversation while waiting for the twins, who appeared to be buying far more than they needed. Some of the crowd began to thin out and Lindsay noticed something floating past her head. She thought someone was blowing bubbles, and she turned out to be partially correct. There was a little blond-haired boy laughing with two other boys. They were telling him to do it again. She watched as he popped a tiny gold nugget into his mouth. Seconds later a stream of yellow-green bubbles came floating out of his nose.
"Neville, is that kid blowing snot-bubbles?"
Neville laughed. "You've never had magical sweets, have you? Watch this." He popped what looked like a tiny red stick of dynamite into his mouth. Lindsay jumped backwards as jets of flame shot out of his ears.
"Did that hurt?" she asked.
"No, it doesn't actually feel good, but it doesn't hurt either."
"I'm not eating anything in here. Neville, we're supposed to grab a bite when we're done here. Is magical food weird too?"
"No, no, it's totally safe. As long as it isn't something Fred or George offers you, you'll be fine."
"Oh, that's such a relief. Thanks."
"Right, off to the Three Broomsticks," said Fred as he shoved the velvet pouch into Lindsay hand. Much to her surprise, it was more than half full. Fred and George were both carrying a large box under their arms.
"See you later, Neville," said Lindsay. "And don't eat too much of that stuff.
###
Lindsay thought the interior of the Three Broomsticks was quaint, and she very much liked the friendly bustling atmosphere. The twins introduced her to the very likeable Madam Rosemerta, who offered her some butterbeer.
"Does that have alcohol in it?" asked Lindsay.
"Just a very small amount," answered Rosemerta.
"I'll just have some tea then."
"As you like," said Rosemerta.
"What's the problem with alcohol?" asked George.
"It dulls the senses."
"Isn't that the point?" said Fred.
Lindsay smiled pleasantly. "For some I suppose, just not me. So are you going to show me what you bought?"
"I thought you'd never ask," said George as he plopped a large box on the table. To Lindsay's horror, they not only showed her all the different confections, but they demonstrated their effects as well. When Madame Rosemerta returned with their drinks, she grilled the twins about the amount of candy they had. She was sure they'd been dishonestly procured and was still a little suspicious even after Lindsay had vouched for Fred and George. They spent much more time at the Three Broomsticks than they had planned. The twins quickly learned that Lindsay was even more social than themselves. She met a number of students from the other three houses as well as some of the residents of Hogsmeade. Four men from the village bought drinks for her, which she graciously accepted but didn't drink. One of the men looked older than Dumbledore. Fred and George were thoroughly disgusted by him, but Lindsay didn't seem to mind. Her reaction to the old man was the same as her reaction to everyone else. She was friendly and chatty, but not encouraging of further advances.
A small crowd of people, both male and female, had formed around her. The old man was teaching her a drinking song, and it didn't take long for everyone to be singing it. Lindsay had a powerful voice and could be heard above everyone else. Normally the twins would have circulated more, but they felt that Lindsay needed bodyguards due to her naïve amiability, and had designated themselves for the job. They didn't like the way some of the male patrons were eyeing her, and they had forcibly moved two overly friendly Hufflepuff boys away from her. They decided it was time to leave when a burly rough-looking warlock began to get a little too familiar. He'd pulled a scratched and dented silver flask out of his pocket and was trying to get Lindsay to taste whatever was in it.
"No, thank you," said Lindsay. "It's very kind of you to share, but alcohol has a lot of empty calories and I'm watching my figure."
"Not to bother, I'll watch it for you," said the warlock and wrapped his arm around Lindsay's waist. She seemed entirely at ease with the man's forwardness, but kept her hand on his to prevent it from moving to anywhere other than her waist.
Fred whispered into George's ear. "We can take him."
"I think you might be too optimistic, Fred, but I'm game if you are."
"Sorry to spoil the fun," shouted Fred from directly behind Lindsay. "But we're late for a prior engagement." He grinned as he looked in the eyes of the burly warlock, but his bearing made it plain that he wasn't being sociable. The warlock was amused by the adolescent threat and laughed aloud.
Lindsay easily removed herself from the brawny man's arm. "Alright, gentlemen, let's keep it friendly." She placed a hand on Fred's arm. "Come along, Fred. We don't want to miss the fun." The twins backed away for several paces until they felt comfortable turning their backs on the warlock, who still appeared to be very amused by them. Lindsay showed no apprehension and simply walked away to collect their coats. The trio wrapped up for the cold and left.
"Right, we have one more stop," said Fred. "We need to go to Zonkos. We're out of dungbombs."
"I'm not sure I want to know what they are," said Lindsay.
"Dungbombs are the best," said George.
"They're not actual dung are they?"
"No, of course not," said George. "They just have the smell, but they do dirty your hands a bit."
"Although...that is a rather good idea," said Fred quietly with a quick look to George. The twinkles in their eyes made Lindsay uneasy.
There was a small alleyway between some of the buildings, and Lindsay noticed a dark hunched figure shuffling around some garbage bins. "I don't think I'm quite ready for a magical joke shop. Is it alright if I just wait here?"
The twins exchanged suspicious glances. "I suppose," said Fred slowly. "But stay right here, we don't want you to get lost."
"No problem."
"We won't be long," said George.
They looked back several times, and Lindsay had to wait for them to enter the shop before she could sneak away to talk to the vagrant in the alley. "Hello? Do you need help?" The figure turned out to be a man. He was so grimy that it was difficult to estimate his age. His clothes were tattered and covered in soot. He was extremely thin and bent almost in half. She thought that he would likely be close to her height if he was able to stand up straight. The smell of body-soil coming from him nearly took her breath away.
"Huh? Who's that?" The man's tone more than a little annoyed, and his voice sounded dark and gravelly.
"I'm nobody. I just thought you might need some help finding whatever it is you're looking for."
The man squinted at her. His blue eyes looked cloudy from cataracts. When he spoke again, his tone was much friendlier. "I was just looking for something to keep me warm. These old bones really feel the cold. It didn't bother me when I was young like you."
Lindsay looked back up the alley for the twins. She took everything out of the pockets of her knee-length, grey, wool coat and transferred it all to her trouser pockets. She left twenty galleons in the coat's front pocket, took it off, and offered it to the man. "This is very warm. You'll like it."
"I couldn't possibly," said the man.
"Please take it. I have another at home, besides the cold weather doesn't affect me at all." She held it for him as he slipped his arms into the sleeves. The odor coming from him was so overpowering that she had to turn her head to the side.
"That's right kind of you, young lady."
"Oh, it's nothing. Now you should get inside where it's warm. I'll ask my friends if there's somewhere we can take you. Oh, there they are." Lindsay heard the twins calling urgently for her. She turned to look back up the alley, and saw them skid to a stop where they'd left her only moments before. "I'm here!" shouted Lindsay, and the twins bolted down the alley after her.
"What are you doing in an alley?" asked Fred.
"And where's your coat?" asked George.
"I gave it to this gentleman..." Lindsay turned to introduce the twins, but the man was gone. "I swear to you there was an old man here."
"We can't leave you for a second," said Fred. "We'd better get back to Hogwarts before you freeze to death."
"You nearly made me drop the sweets," said George.