A Trip to Ottery St. Catchpole

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, but I do own the plot.

"Hogwarts sounds like it has become quite boring since I left."

"Wow Dominique, your humility continues to astonish me." My cousin and I were currently sitting on the bed in my mom's old bedroom. We hadn't seen each other in months and there was a lot of catching up to do. It was the summer after my third year and I was spending the day at the Burrow. This happened to be one of the few rooms where I didn't have to shout to be heard.

"Come on! Give me the dirt. There's barely any gossip at Beauxbatons and I'm bored to death." Dominique left Hogwarts the year before because she was tired of boys coming after her. She may have only been part veela, but that part was strong enough to have most of the boys at school chase her like lunatics. So during Christmas
break, she took up her mother's offer to transfer to the French wizarding
academy. She appreciated the lack of admirers, but life at BeauxBatons is the
opposite of exciting.

"Well I'm sorry to disappoint you Dom, but my friends aren't really the gossiping type."

"Somehow that sounded like an insult. Hey I think I hear Uncle Harry calling your name."

"He probably needs help setting up the table. I'll see you later." I walked down the stairs slowly, hoping that maybe by the time I get to the bottom, my assistance would no longer be needed. Surprisingly, when I reached the bottom, it's not my father who's waiting for me, it was James.

"Hey Lily, Louis told me that he saw you fraternizing with a Slytherin. So which did you use; a love potion or the imperius curse?"

"Tell me James, does it take a lot of work to be such an arsehole or does it come naturally?"

"Watch your mouth Lily!" my dad yelled from the next room

I turned to give my dad a look of disbelief before walking out the backdoor. If James hadn't told those skanks about me, none of us would be in this situation. I wouldn't be insulted daily, I wouldn't have sent Clara Brown to the Hospital Wing and I wouldn't have had to do detention with Jacob Flint. Sadly James can't keep his mouth shut to save his life and most girls at Hogwarts hang onto every word he utters.

It took awhile for me to simmer down and realise that I had no idea where I was going. When I finally looked up, I saw the village just a few hundred meters away, so I decided to do a little exploring. I always enjoyed walking through Ottery St. Catchpole. It's filled with quaint little shops and people who don't mind stopping and having a conversation with a total stranger. After weaving through alleys for what seems like an hour, I entered the local ice cream parlour. Their stuff tastes way better than Florean Fortescue's. I spotted a table near the window
that looked perfect for brooding all afternoon.

"May I take your order?" I was so deep in thought that I didn't even notice the waiter approaching me.

"Two scoops of Black Cherry please," I replied, without even looking up.

"Coming right up."

"Wait a second," I thought. I knew that voice. But by the time I lifted my head, he already turned around. "Is that you Malfoy?"

"What? No, of course not. You must be mistaken."

"You can quit the act Malfoy; you've already blown your cover."

"Fine, it's me Potter."

"What's a rich boy like you doing working at an ice cream parlour? Did daddy not give you enough money for your allowance?"

"None of your bloody business Potter."

"No need to get so rude."

"Do you want your order or are you going to keep asking me stupid questions?"

"You know what? Just forget it! I'm going home." It amazed me how Malfoy never ceased to push my buttons. No matter how old we were, no matter how close he and Albus became, he still found a way to annoy me.

I didn't realise it yet, but my life had just reached a turning point.

A/N: I know this chapter's kinda short, but I'll have the second one up this week. Thanks for reading!