The day after Halley's private lesson with Professor Merrythought, Sephy, Samantha, and Halley herself met up with fellow Gryffindors and roommates Lily Evans and Marlene McKinnon in the Clock Tower Courtyard. After Halley had reported no side effects of having the Mandrake leaf glued to the roof of her mouth, all six of the potential Animagi had done the same.
It was cold, so all five of the girls going into Hogsmeade were muffled up tight against the winter weather, but they were still a motley crew as they began the walk down the hill. Lily's coat was made out of a smart, bright green felt-like material, and it was long, almost down to her knee. She had a white scarf on, and matching knitted earmuffs, but the striking ginger of her straight hair clashed a little with her coat. Marlene had a short, white puffy jacket-coat on with a big fluffy hood, which covered most of her pale, pretty face. Samantha, as ever, had been practical to the last, with a light blue waterproof walking coat on, a big cream bobble hat and matching gloves. Halley's coat was a mixture of Marlene's and Lily's; long and puffy with a fluffy hood, but a lovely deep cherry red. Sephy had forever been impractical, sporting a full length leather cape-coat which, granted, looked awesome, but also didn't look particularly warm.
The five girls made it down into the little village, and began to wander the High Street in search of Christmas presents. Halley, Sephy and Samantha were looking mainly for presents for the boys-they had already told each other what they themselves wanted, anyway. Marlene and Lily were along for advice and moral support-and also for the Butterbeer they would doubtless all go for after the shopping experience.
"I was thinking of getting Remus a new quill" Samantha said pensively, as the three of them passed Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop.
"Yeah" Halley agreed. "Do that. He keeps chewing them."
"Ewwwwww!" Marlene cut in in disgust. "The feathery end?"
"No. Course not. The other end" Samantha said, sounding a little tight.
"Come on, then!" Sephy said, shooing them all into the quill shop. Halley reckoned her tiny friend was getting a bit cold in her leather attire.
"Isn't that dangerous?" Lily asked, as they all trundled inside. "Chewing quills? I mean, with the ink, and all..."
"He's done it for years" Halley bit her lip. "He's not been ill or anything..."
"What about this?" Samantha brandished a ridiculous peacock feather in the air.
"No" Lily sighed kindly. "Look-Samantha-get him a new inkpot, as well. He'll like that."
She guided Samantha away from the silly quills and over to something more sensible. Marlene shot Sephy and Halley a curious look.
"Do I smell a crush over there?" she asked, with a smirk on her doll-like face. Both Sephy and Halley snorted derisively and argued her down.
"Would anyone else like anything from here, do you reckon?" Halley asked Sephy, changing the subject quickly. Sephy shook her head.
"Nah. Only Remus would like anything from here" she scoffed. "Anyway-I'm getting him some big chocolate bars from Honeydukes."
"Yeah" Halley agreed, nodding and pulling Sephy a little away from Marlene. "I was gonna get Remus some new trainers from Gladrags'. Cos of what happened with his old pair, last full moon."
Sephy nodded gravely.
"Sounds perfect, Hal. I'll help you out cashwise if you want to get a really nice pair."
Halley smiled, squeezing the little girl's shoulder.
"Thanks, Seph."
"Are we finished in here?" Lily cut in, as she and Samantha came over from the till, Samantha clutching a bag with a very nice, sturdy ostrich feather quill and a neat little ink pot shaped like a water droplet in.
"Let's go" Marlene declared, pouting. "This shop is really dreary."
"Let's go to Gladrags', then" Sephy suggested. "It's got loads of quirky stuff. I was gonna get Sirius some more of those t-shirts he likes. With the hipster quotes on."
"Pettigrew told me he wanted a jumper" Lily said placidly, as they crossed the street.
"I'll get him one" Halley jumped in, before Samantha or Sephy could steal the idea.
They entered Gladrags Wizardwear, and Sephy disappeared down towards the t-shirts. Marlene also gravitated towards the pretty dresses, taking Lily with her, so Halley linked arms with Samantha and guided her towards the shoes.
"I was gonna get Remus some" she muttered to her blonde-haired friend. "Cos he wrecked his other ones."
"That's a really good idea, Hal" Samantha sighed, biting her lip. "But which ones?"
"I was thinking those" Halley pointed up to a pair of dark green baseball shoes. "They're his size, and kinda subtle."
"Buy them" Samantha said decisively. "Wingardium Leviosa!"
With a swish and a flick of her wand, the green baseballs soared off of the shelf and landed in Halley's waiting hands.
"You want to get anyone anything?" she asked Samantha, as they hurried over to the jumpers as they saw Sephy heading to the till, laden with three t-shirts, two black and one white.
"I might get James a jumper" Samantha replied pensively, as Halley rooted through the rack and picked out a nice, plain grey jumper for Peter, with a dragon emblazoned on the front.
"Get a plain red hoodie" Halley suggested. "Charm a Gryffindor crest on the back."
"Genius" Samantha beamed, grabbing one quickly as both of them headed to the till. Halley paid ten Galleons and six Sickles for the shoes and the jumper, and Sephy insisted on adding another three Galleons to make up the rest for the shoes.
"Honeydukes?" Marlene asked hopefully, as they once again went outside.
"Not yet" Sephy cut in. "I need to go to Dervish and Banges. Getting James something to help sort out that ratty old twig of a broomstick he's got."
"I'm gonna get Sirius something from Zonko's" Samantha chipped in.
"Same" Halley agreed. "I need to get James something too, from there."
"Meet in Honeydukes in twenty, then?" Lily asked. "I need to drop into the Post Office. I've got a letter to send home. Come on, Marlene."
"Sure. See you then!" Sephy grinned, turning on her heel and skipping across the pavement to Dervish and Banges. She wasn't gonna get James the full Broomstick Servicing Kit-that was far too expensive-but she was going to get him a small jar of Fleetwood's High-Finish Handle Polish, and the cheapest pair of Tail-Twig Clippers she could find.
As she entered the shop-the door had no bell, as it had broken ages ago-Sephy realized she had butted in on a rather private conversation.
"Look-It's just cos my Dad has one at home, and wants to know how to fix it."
"Undetectable Extension Charms can't be fixed, boy. Surely you must understand that!"
As she crouched behind a huge cauldron cleaner display, Sephy was grateful for two things; one, the lack of bell on the door and two, the darkness of her leather coat.
"Well-OK, not fixed, then. But how do I know if it's definitely working?"
Halley didn't recognise the first voice at the counter, the one which had just spoken. The second she recognised as Dervish, the last surviving proprietor of the shop. Banges had-well, gone out with a bit of a bang a few years earlier, due to a faulty Exploding Snap set.
"Look-I don't approve of you coming in here asking these sorts of questions!" Dervish snapped. "Unless you're going to buy anything, sir, I suggest you leave!"
Sephy hid her face and hands as the unwanted customer left, banging the door angrily behind him. She assumed he was a student, as from the quick glimpse she caught she reckoned he looked young enough to be one, but Sephy didn't recognise him directly.
Scrambling quietly to her feet, mind whirring, she went to look at the Tail-Twig Clippers. There were a brass pair that were going for two Galleons and seven Sickles, so Sephy scooped them up quickly, and then she found a little pot of Fleetwood's High-Finish Handle Polish which had a five-Galleon price tag. That would do James, and his broomstick, nicely.
Crossing to the till, it seemed Dervish was in no mood to talk about his previous argument, and Sephy was in no position to ask him about it. So, with a smile and a thanks, she left the shop, still puzzling over what she had just seen.
Everyone else was in Honeydukes when Sephy arrived. Lily and Marlene seemed keen to head back up to the castle, and Sephy was in no mood to stop them. She wanted only Samantha and Halley to hear what she had to say.
After Sephy had bought five big bars of chocolate for Remus and a Christmas selection of treats for Peter, and Samantha had bought Peter a whole bag of Pumpkin Pasties and some Droobles Best Blowing Gum, the three of them traipsed, loaded with bags, over to The Three Broomsticks.
After ordering three hot Butterbeers from the frankly gorgeous landlady, Madame Rosmerta, who every single male in the whole of Hogsmeade had some sort of crush on, Sephy beckoned Samantha and Halley in closer so they could hear her tale.
"I think he would have been a student" was Halley's first comment. "It's really hard to get into Hogsmeade if you're not coming from Hogwarts."
"Undetectable Extension Charms are really powerful magic" Samantha pointed out worriedly. "And you reckon this guy was lying about his Dad wanting to know about it?"
"Yeah" Sephy sighed, as their Butterbeers arrived, steaming hot, on their table.
"There's no way he was telling the truth. And I think Dervish knew it. He sounded really annoyed" she added, sipping her beer, grateful for the warmth it gave.
"We'll have to keep our eyes open" Samantha said determinedly. "Undetectable Extension Charms are really good for smuggling things."
"Cos they're undetectable, clearly" Halley quipped, trying to lighten the mood a little.
"We'll get ahold of the Daily Prophet" Sephy decided aloud. "Remus has a subscription, I think. We'll tell the boys what's going on and we'll all keep our eyes out."
"You think this is gonna be that big?" Samantha exclaimed. "Shouldn't we tell a teacher, then?"
"Well-this is how I see it" Sephy sighed. "This could be nothing. In which case, we should do nothing. Or it could be something big. In which case, yes, we should tell someone, but we should also try and work out what it is that's the danger first. Deal?"
"Sounds like a plan" Halley nodded, biting her lip. "Cheers?"
The three of them clinked their Butterbeers, and turned the conversation to a much lighter topic.