Dedicated to NostalgicRose as she always beckoned me to finish this chapter and constantly gave me ideas when I ran out of it. She's technically a co-writer, but oh well. Raise the roof!
I do not own anything here, except for the characters that you do not recognize, as they belong to J.K. Rowling. Enjoy!
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It was the third Saturday of October, the set date for Hogwarts' students first ever Hogsmeade trip of the year. Students were huddled in groups as rumors of Zonko's Joke Shop's- "temporary" -closure over the summer spread like wild fire between clusters of Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs, Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, Ravenclaws and Slytherins.
"I heard the Weasleys sold them out," whispered a fifth-year Hufflepuff. "Bit sad, really, but don't you think Zonko's was losing its touch, eh?"
The Great Hall was packed, as students patiently waited for their respective Head of House. Third- and fourth-years itched their way out of the hall; most had one hand held tightly onto a sack while the other had a signed permission slip. Higher years, on the other hand, looked rather lame and drained compared to their younger counterparts.
Professor Gregory Chamberlain, Head of Gryffindor house, asked them to form a single file on the Courtyard before stepping out of the school premises. He was a young-looking wizard who usually wore vivid red robes (Go Gryffindor Lions!) with a pointy hat to match it with. He treated students fairly although he sometimes awarded Gryffindor a whole lot of points. Replacing Minerva McGonagall when she stepped up as Headmistress, most students were awkwardly reminded of the stories their parents had retold over and over again. The story of a shameless Gilderoy Lockhart. They shared similar physical characteristics, but extremely differed in their mannerisms.
"-was here, Professor! I had it in my hand!" Lily Potter explained, looking as if she was going to cry. "Sir, my father signed it! You can ask James or Albus-!"
Sir Chamberlain didn't even look fazed. "No slip, no leaving. I'm sorry, Potter, but rules are rules. Next!"
Lily walked away, intentionally bumping into her older brother.
"What was that for, Luna?" James asked the noticeably shorter Potter with his usual smirk.
"Thanks for stealing my permission slip. Dad will so hear about this. I wonder how he'll react if he accidentally finds out how the precious map got lost." She said casually, skipping away.
Fred's gaze followed the red-head, still listening as James continued talking about the coming Quidditch match.
"-anyway, Ravenclaw Scamander already booked the pitch for this week. Tell the team that we'll practice next week. The whole week, every night."
Fred groaned. "You tell them that. You're team captain. Just because you're captain, doesn't mean you can boss me around, James."
"Fine," he simply said, moving a step forward.
Moments later, they were on their way to Hogsmeade Village, joking about how they could just sneak out knicks and knacks from the shops with the number of kids jam packed in them. Especially the Weasley shop.
"D'you reckon we'd be able to carry all those things back to the dormitory without getting caught?" James asked as they neared the shops. Fred could already hear the jolly chatter from afar.
He smiled deviously and shrugged. "I reckon we've planned and done worse, or should I say, better things than that."
And then, without any warning of any sort, they both landed on the ground with a soft thud; Fred and James casted a short glance at each other before looking up at the one or ones who pushed them. There stood their friends, though two of them were technically family. They looked down at them with a sympathetic smile: Natalie, Albus and Rose. All five of them laughed, as James and Fred got up with Albus and Natalie's help.
Once the laughter stopped, Fred's face went from smiling to a straight one. "Alright, come off it. Who pushed us?" His mouth twitched, trying hard to be serious.
His question went unnoticed by his friends. They had reached the village already. It looked just as it always did; like it was copied off of a Christmas card. Cottages and shops were lined with settled snow, with candles hanging around surrounding trees. Some shops were repaired and looked more modern compared to others that didn't sustain damage, but essentially, it still looked like a picturesque old village. But only one shop took Fred's attention. Just like its counterpart in Diagon Alley, it was painted shockingly bright colors while its windows adorned with goods that spun around lighting up the space and ad posters that made the passersby's eyes water.
Next to Fred was James who was equally awe-struck as he was. "Why didn't Uncle George take you there during the opening? That place is heaven!"
"Exactly why he didn't bring me along. Reckon I'd mess up everything, which would've happened really," Fred answered, "what're we doing standing here? We should be in there!"
Both of them ran to the store's doors and pushed them open. Rows and rows and rows of authentic Weasley products ran down about ten aisles, the higher floors dedicated to more expensive products that students only dreamed to get their hands on. To the right side was a darker and less crowded section.
Probably the serious production line, Fred thought.
Fred dashed down the classics aisle, James following at a close distance behind him. The Skiving Snackboxes- Just like before, only better! -were still a hit after years on the shelves. A cauldron full of Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder- Handy for a quick getaway! -sat at the corner of a shelf, untouched. Two aisles down contained the stocks of the new and improved Self-Writing Quills, apparently they weren't allowed to be sold to Hogwarts students.
"Geroff of the merchandise, kids! These aren't for you! Omph! Geroff!" grumbled a middle-aged man who wore magenta robes and fought off the swarms of cheerful kids getting their hands on items.
"Seems like Juni's having a hard time on his first day on the job," a voice said from above Fred. He looked up and saw a whitish-blond haired woman with the same magenta robes like all the other workers.
"Ameria! I thought I'd never see you again!" Fred exclaimed, as James quickly excused himself to check out the Dafty Dust. "How's Aunt Verity doing?"
Ameria had the same hair color with her mother, but the similarities stop right there. She had yellowish-green eyes (due to contacts), somewhat frizzy hair, a darker complexion compared to her mother and a wider frame than her mum. She graduated from Hogwarts the year before and often worked at the shop when Verity couldn't. She became close friends with Fred and his cousins.
"Oh, mum's doing fine. Great, actually. She's at Diagon Alley right now. While I'm here working part-time. Your dad passed by here last week, you know. Said that you should send him an owl whenever you had Hogsmeade trips," she grinned, rearranging the pile of Tricky Treats. "Well, anyway, how about you? How's your last year in Hogwarts doing, lad?"
He shrugged at the question, grabbing two pieces of fake Sneakoscopes- fake, in the sense that they ring whenever they're turned on, not when someone sneaky is around. "Not that exciting really. We haven't done anything spectacular yet. Big emphasis on yet, 'Meria."
"Well, well, well, living up to the name, I see. I suppose you have a plan in mind? You know, you could always owl me if you need anything," she said.
"Yeah, got a plan. I'll keep that in mind, thanks. Although, I'm positive my dad wouldn't mind me knowing what's down there in the production line, hm?"
She thought about it for a second and nodded. "You are the heir to this business empire your dad and your uncle built years ago. Roxanne is too, but I don't think she's into these types of things."
They laughed, making their way to the stock room, Fred smiling to himself mischieviously.
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"Guess who decided to show up? Hey Freddie! Thought we'd never see you again! Kind of a shame really, I was starting to enjoy the moment without your obnoxiously greasy hair," Natalie joked, sipping a glass of Butterbeer.
"You know what's a shame? That you guys didn't buy me a glass of that. It hurts me, deep down, you know?" Fred put his hand over his heart, overly exaggerating his dramatic moment in the Three Broomsticks. "Especially you James, I have expected so much of you, you bloody excuse for a cousin."
Laughter erupted from the table as they scooted over, giving the red-hair a space to sit on and handed him an extra glass of Butterbeer.
The place was packed, as it always was every Hogsmeade trip. The jolly, live voices of the students
"Hey, look at Malfoy-" James started saying, pointing at a certain platinum blonde haired Slytherin by the door.
Rose quickly spoke up, interrupting whatever James was planning to say to the group. "His name's Scorpius, James. It won't hurt to say that, you know. It's not like his name is poison to us to not dare say it."
Fred wolf-whistled as Natalie gave a pat on Rose's back; Albus raising his eyebrow at her and James ohh-ing.
"Well, someone's a teeny bit protective, eh? Tell me, cous. We won't judge you or anything. We're just curious," James said, smirking.
Albus nodded and continued his brother's statement. "Tell us, Rosey. D'you have an eye for Malfoy- er, I mean, Scorpius?"
Natalie stifled her giggles, although she hid them badly. If that could be said for Nat, then saying that Rose was hiding her redness badly was an understatement.
"Why don't you look at that! We've got a tomato here, mates!"
The group either pinched her cheek or gave her a heavy pat on the back, to which she rolled her eyes in simple response. They found it amusingly funny, because Uncle Ron reminded her (and them) every year to watch out for his old nemesis' son because he was "full of cold Malfoy blood and was probably a good for nothing prat, just like his father", to which Aunt Hermione responded by repeatedly smacking him with a Daily Prophet newspaper saying that even if the Malfoys were 'borderline evil', it was still wrong to judge a person because of his or her family.
"I wonder how all of this is going to play out, honestly. When Uncle Ron finds out, you'd probably be in so much trouble for having the hots for a Malfoy. Oh, this is gonna be priceless," Nat snorted, like an animal. At least, it sounded like an animal to Fred.
"Woah, hold up. Who's got the hots for Malfoy?" said two strangely identical and familiar voices, as Rose hit her hand on her face, really looking as red as the Gryffindor banners during Quidditch games.
In front of them were the Scamander twins, Lorcan and Lysander, one Gryffindor and one Ravenclaw. They weren't exactly close friends to them, but occasionally talked in between and during classes. James and Lysander had only recently sparked a very slight hatred for each other; as they were both the Quidditch captains of their respective teams. Although, nothing big has ever happened between them, everyone feels that there would be one in the near future.
Seeing Lorcan, Natalie almost knocked over James' drink just to hug him quickly.
"Wow, and I didn't my hug from you earlier. You just hurt me all the time, Nat!" James exclaimed, half-smiling.
"Oh, boo-hoo James Sirius, it's not like you're not gonna get one from Victoire later on in Christmas," Albus smirked.
"It's different, Albus. Victoire is a cousin, while Natalie is a, well, friend," he winked at her.
Lorcan expectantly raised his eyebrows at her. "You gonna let us take a seat, or do we have to drag them all the way from there?"
"Suit yourselves, Scamanders. Welcome to our table!" Fred said, tapping the rather small space beside him. "The more, the merrier, lads!".
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A/N:
Most of the descriptions for Hogsmeade and WWW are taken from the book, if you haven't noticed that.
Sorry this took so loooooooooong! I apologize for grammatical errors and errors in general as I haven't proofread this yet. I might be editing things tomorrow.
As always, don't forget to vote, leave a comment and want to read more!
Won't update till 40 reads because I don't see the point in continuing it if no one's interested. :(
Until then, stay safe, you lot!