Poe liked Autumn. It wasn't too warm, it was just a little chilly. He muffled himself up in one of his dad's warm red coats, and headed down to the Entrance Hall. There was a quite a crowd, but Poe found Rey very quickly. Making his way to her he was bombarded with questions and shouts.
"POE! Coming down with us?" "Dameron, I owe you a butterbeer!" He was . He smiled at them all, shaking hands, and having a quick bit of banter, but he had already agreed to walk down with Rey. She simply looked at him with an arched eyebrow when he finally arrived at her elbow.
"You sure you don't want to go down with your fanclub?" He liked this sarcastic streak in her. It was something he connected with. One of the only languages he understood.
"Positive." he said with a grin. She was muffled up in a patchy brown coat and a pair of old faded black jeans. She had tied her hair back in three buns. It was an odd look. Eccentric. But he liked it. He hadn't heard much about her in his seven years here. She obviously flew under the radar. And she certainly wasn't involved in Quidditch. He would know her if she was.
Walking up to the front door Filch stopped them both, checking to see if their names were on the list a hundred times. Poe couldn't resist rolling his eyes.
"I swear to god, Filch must be immortal. God of annoying my ass." Rey chuckled once they were walking towards the main gates.
"He has been tormenting generations of Hogwarts students. You think they'd make him retire." They smiled at each other. It was a little bit awkward, and they were both suddenly quite shy.
"So you hate Quidditch?" Poe said suddenly. She gave him some serious side eye, and took a minute to reply.
"I'm actually a big fan. I just don't like the school Quidditch. It creates too much division among the houses. You Gryffindors hate the Slytherins, and us Reavenclaws and the Hufflepuffs kind of hate you both." Poe frowned at that. He thought everyone loved them. Gryffindor house was the best in Hogwarts. They were the heroes. The pride and glory of the school. But of course that was what a Gryffidnor would say. He was reflective for a moment.
"It isn't our fault that the likes of Hux and Solo go picking fights. They attack my team, they make their life a living hell. So I guess sometimes we fight back."
He could almost hear Rey rolling her eyes, but she was smiling.
"Of course meeting violence with violence is the answer." She didn't say anymore on the subject, But the silence was more comfortable now. "So where are you from, Dameron?" A group of passing Slytherins bumped Poe, and jeered. He ignored them, but his hand clenched into a fist. Rey glared at their backs. There was something formidable about that glare, but they didn't turn to look at the pair of them. He took a calming breath. He didn't want to start any wars. Not all Slytherins were assholes. He told himself that over and over again, trying to convince himself of it.
"My dad met my mom in Guatamala. He didn't know she was a witch. So I'm a half blood. I was born there, but my mom died when I was really young. My dad didn't know she was a witch. We moved to Glasgow when I was about five, and I've been living there ever since. Should have seen my dad's face when he found out about the magic… He was so happy." Poe gave a small laugh. He absolutely adored his dad. At this point they were starting to come near Hogsmeade. He could see the glittering gas lamps up ahead. "Tell me about you Rey. I haven't met a witch as talented as you ever since that one time I met Hermione Granger."
Rey stopped in her tracks.
"You didn't!" He turned back around and gave her a questioning look.
"I didn't… what?"
"You didn't meet the Minster for Magic herself. You couldn't have!" He gave a quick laugh that died in his throat when he saw her face.
"Yeah. I shook her hand and everything. Runes contest. I won the nationals. She used to take runes in school, so she attended the event. My Dad flipped his shit when I explained who she was. He's been reading Hogwarts a History. Knows more than I do." Rey's face turned from disbelief to admiration. She was impressed.
"So you're more than a pretty face?" Poe grinned from ear to ear.
"You think I'm pretty?" She genuinely laughed.
"You're quite in love with yourself aren't you?"
"Part of my charm honey. Like Ru Paul says, If you can't love yourself, how in the hell are you gonna love somebody else."
"Can I get an Amen in here, honey!"
They were just coming into Hogsmeade, Honeydukes in full flow of students stepping in and out. But he had to stop for a second to stare at her gobsmacked.
"You do NOT watch that show…" She grinned wickedly.
"Oh I do. Muggleborn orphan. All I have during the summer is school books and binge watching Netflix." He furrowed his brows. He hadn't known she was an orphan. Or a muggleborn. It explained the shabby coat and the zany hair.
"You don't ever spend time with your school friends? Or your friends at home?" She nestled her mouth down into the collar of her coat.
"My school friends don't know how I live. And I don't have anyone outside of school. So…" He didn't look at her with pity. He nodded.
"Well. That's a big thing for you to tell a stranger." She shrugged.
"You watch Drag Race. You're from good stock." They laughed their way into Honeydukes. Poe liked this girl more, he decided. She was down to earth and exceptionally smart. And she had good taste in T.V., obviously.
He bought a large bag of sweets and chocolate with the intention of sharing with her, as she didn't buy anything herself. Poe liked sharing more than keeping everything for himself. Her smile was more rewarding than any sweet. They wandered around the cold yet bright streets of Hogsmeade, talking about muggle things they enjoyed, and different subjects at school and the recent scandals. It turned out they got out quite well. That is until they went to the clearing that held the view of the Shrieking Shack. Hux and Solo and their little cronies stood by staring up at it, clearly plotting their devious little wizard Hitler plans. Ugh. The godammned Heathers.
"Is there anything worse than a Gryffindor on a date with a Mudblood?" Solo said.
"A Gryffindor Mudblood." Hux said with a smirk. He could hear the tiny inhalation of air beside him, but he didn't even look at her. He didn't even take out his wand. He just ran for Hux, punching him straight in the jaw and grappling with him. They struggled together, punching and clawing.
"What the hell is going on here Rey?" Poe heard a voice that he didn't know, and everyone froze. Poe had Hux in a headlock when he looked up to look at the owner of the mystery bum. Finn.
"Hi! I'm Poe Dameron!" Poe blurted, as Hux struggled against his head lock. Finn had a gorgeous face. The face of a young god! The body of Adonis! He had to have this boy in his collection of beautiful boys who's hearts he'd broken. And they'd loved every minute of it. "You're even more fit from the front." Finn gave him a face that could only be described as disgusted.
"Uh… Thanks. What is going on Rey?"
"I'm having my honour defended apparently." Poe let go of Hux and walked away. They muttered amongst each other like angry little bees, but they said no more.
"Poe this is Finn Storm. Finn. This is my new… friend. Poe Dameron." She held the bag of sweets that Poe had bought for them. Finn did not look impressed at all.
"Thought we were meeting in the Three Broomsticks today. Were you going to ditch me for this guy?" Rey's eyes widened, and Poe just looked on.
"NO! He just wanted to be friends. I thought I could bring him along. I mean… That would have been okay with you wouldn't it?" Finn had a face on him that said that very much wasn't okay.
"And what. Was I just gonna be a third wheel on your little date?" Rey spluttered something and Poe tried to step in, but Finn was storming off. He was temperamental? And grumpy? That should have put him right off, but he was even more attracted to the Grumpy God that was wiggling his ass away in the opposite direction. The malicious Slytherins had darted off after him, probably to bully him about having a muggleborn friend.
"This wasn't a date right?" Rey said, sounding a little bit panicked. Poe was just a little bit hurt. Wouldn't everyone want to date him.
"Rey. This wasn't a date. I'm gay."
"Oh. Sorry. I just. You know." She gave a nervous giggle. He waved it off with a small smile.
"It's fine. Were you meant to be on a date with him?" She scratched the back of her neck, and toyed with the top of the paper bag holding their sweets.
"I didn't think so? But now I'm not so sure." Was this boy straight? Poe wouldn't accept that as an absolute just yet, not until the words "I am not queer!" came out of the boy's mouth.
"Do you like him?" Rey didn't answer that question, and she seemed really unsure. "Do you want to go and track him down and iron all this out?"
"I don't think anything you say will ever retract "you're even more fit from the front." That was just embarrassing. Really. I… Wow. Is that why you talked to me? To get to Finn?" No. It wasn't. He was telling himself that.
"No. I was amazed at how well you could cast spells. Especially non-verbal. I heard stories that Hermione Granger could do that when she was your age. So I was really impressed." The angry look disappeared. She was still cautious though.
"We find Finn, tell him you're gay, and explain the whole Hux-name-calling thing. And he'll get over it, and it'll all be fine."
They started to walk back into town again, some of the jolly mood from earlier lost to them. Despite some of the tenseness, they were still talking about all the muggle things they missed when they were here in Hogwarts. They had a lot of the same tastes in television shows and music. They were both a fan of disco. And the Spice Girls, duh!
"Thank you. By the way." she said, when they were staring in the window of Madam Puddifoots Tea shop and laughing at all the lame awkward couples.
"For what, biscuit?"
"For punching Hux when he called me that. And for comparing me to Hermione Granger in so many words. She's like… My second biggest hero."
"Your second biggest? Wow. She's incredible though! Who's your biggest?" She was blushing slightly when he looked over. Now he was intrigued. "Who is it! My god! Who does Rey have a crush on so bad that she would blush?" She sputtered again.
"I do not! I do not have a crush on him. And… my biggest hero is Harry Potter." Poe snorted.
"Harry Potter? Please. They go on about what an amazing flyer he was. I could outfly him in my sleep." She glared at him.
"You take that back!" The argument continued incessantly, as they searched for the greatest bum of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the small town of Hogsmeade.
