"Erm, shopping?" Hermione asked blankly, as Zacharias came back and sat down on her other side and Draco finally sat up and yawned.
"You know, going out and buying things." Ginny reminded her, as Zacharias started unloading the baskets of food and drink onto the table and Draco stretched.
"You mean, today?" asked Hermione confusedly, as Zacharias started eating a blueberry muffin and Draco sat on the ground across from them, scratching his head.
"OI! That's their breakfast, you git!" Ginny chastised, as Zacharias finished the first muffin and was reaching for a second. "You already had about four of those!"
"But I'm still hungry." replied Zacharias mournfully, withdrawing his hand, and looking to Draco for support. "I'm growing." he defended himself when the girls gave him incredulous looks.
Draco chuckled, saying "It's okay. Since we're going shopping, I'm sure Hermione and I can manage with a bigger lunch. Go ahead and enjoy yourself, Zach."
Zacharias beamed, much to Ginny's disgust, and started munching on another muffin. Hermione was more amused than revolted, and said to Ginny, "It's alright, Gin. I'm sure he'll grow out of it sometime. Shouldn't you be used to this kind of eating behavior from having six brothers?"
Ginny rolled her eyes. "I know. My brothers ate a LOT during their Hogwarts years too, and they still do, but at least it's BELIEVABLE. You'd probably be more on my side if I also told you that Zacharias here has already had three eggs, a plate of bacon, a plate of sausage, a bowl of oatmeal, and two slices of toast in addition to these six muffins."
"Ugh, that is a bit excessive." Hermione conceded as Draco laughed some more and started pouring pumpkin juice for both her and himself. "I don't think that's healthy, Zach."
"I'm growing." Zacharias repeated, reaching for a seventh muffin.
"Alright, let's just eat before Zach consumes everything here." said Draco, pushing a goblet of pumpkin juice towards Hermione and starting to load his plate with food. "We can grab a snack at Honeydukes when we go shopping and Zach can watch us with a fully belly and remorse for not eating less."
"Who says I can't have a snack after this." Zacharias muttered, amid the clinking sounds of silverware and glugging of pumpkin juice.
"So, we're going to need to practice Disillusionment charms before we go to Hogsmeade." said Ginny, standing up to admire the scenery of the Hogwarts grounds from the eastern window. "We certainly don't need the press on our tails again. Last time was a close enough call."
"Wait a moment now." said Hermione, swallowing a mouthful of hash browns. "Who said we were going shopping again? We have homework and even Slughorn's party to think about!"
"Exactly." replied Ginny, turning around to face the group again and beaming. "We need to get party clothes."
"I already have very nice dress robes." stated Zacharias nervously. Going shopping for his own clothes was already a pain in the ass, and he didn't need Ginny next to him criticizing his fashion sense on top of everything else.
"Good for you, but I could care less." Ginny snapped. "I think this could just be a girls' day out, Hermione. Just the two of us, doing GIRL things, and relaxing, and-"
"No." Draco said flatly, setting his toast down. "I'm coming with. Zach doesn't have to if he doesn't want to, but what with the press dogging Hermione, and lunatics like Birch and Peakes popping up out of nowhere, any extra protection and company is desirable." He looked at Ginny seriously, and she didn't argue back, nodding understandingly instead.
"I'll come!" said Zacharias indignantly. "I've been dying to try out that new restaurant. 'The Bloody Mary,' I think it's called. My father said it was excellent."
"It's very nice. Draco and I went there for lunch on the first day of school." Hermione said kindly. "But Ginny, I don't even want to go to the party, and neither does Draco. We both know it's just a waste of time."
"Oh, but I very much want to go." said Draco earnestly, causing everyone to stare at him. "We need to party more and have more fun, honestly. It IS our last year, after all."
Ginny looked pleadingly at Hermione and came back to sit down beside her. "Please, please, PLEASE? Just this once, and in the future we won't go if you don't want to. Besides, you yourself said that we should go to the first one just for politeness's sake, and if we don't go this time, it'll be harder to go in the future since we'll have more homework!"
Hermione pondered a while. Do I really not want to go, or is it just because I'm scared of people that are going to be there Like Astoria Greengrass and Trevor Birch? Finding her Gryffindor courage, Hermione finally granted her acquiescence, and Ginny threw her arms around her best friend, squealing "Yay!" as Zacharias stuck his fingers in his ears as an exaggeration of Ginny's ear-splitting joy.
"I'll go pick out your clothes so we can go sooner!" Ginny said breathlessly, and zipped out of the common room to Hermione's door happily.
Hermione smiled amusedly, finishing the remains of her breakfast. Draco grinned as well, looking for more food, and was disappointed to find out that everything Ginny and Zacharias had brought up had already been consumed.
As the three friends started loading the used dishes, goblets, and silverware back into the baskets, Zacharias asked slyly, "Hey, Drake, can I go pick out your clo-?"
"Don't even think about it," Draco cut him off swiftly, "unless you have a death wish."
Half an hour later, the four friends were in Honeydukes browsing through an enormous selection of sweets. They were very visible to everyone else in the shop, because they had decided against concealing themselves in the end.
"Let's just Disapparate back to this common room should we meet any reporters." offered Draco as a better solution. "I'm sure that after several times of us leaving them with nothing to jot down on their note pads, they'll give up on trying to stalk us."
"You know, that's a very good idea." Ginny agreed. "But Hermione's in far more danger than we are. People like Rita Skeeter would forcibly take her just for an interview."
They had all agreed that Hermione was too famous for her own good, to which she had nothing to defend against. It is true, after all. But it's not my fault. she thought.
"I'll take extra good care of her." said Draco, wrapping his arm around Hermione's waist, much to Ginny's happiness and Zacharias's disgust. He had finally caught on to the fact that Draco and Hermione had feelings for each other. "Ew." was all he could say.
Thus the friends were buying candies at Honeydukes in open daylight, or, rather, Draco and Hermione were buying treats while Ginny was restraining a visibly struggling Zacharias.
"Can I just have ONE Cauldron Cake? PLEASE?" wailed Zacharias, trying to escape Ginny's grasp. It didn't work.
"Stop making a spectacle of yourself. It's embarrassing not only yourself, but the rest of us, too." Ginny hissed in reply.
"I WOULDN'T be, if you would just let me have one snack." Zacharias snapped back, upset not only because he was being kept from food, but also the fact that he was being treated like a five year-old, and also that Ginny was physically stronger than him.
"We don't always get what we want." retorted Ginny, not loosening her restraining hold. "Don't make me hex you." she warned, as Zacharias again made another desperate bid for freedom. She dragged him towards the door so he was less visible to passerby.
Draco and Hermione attempted to ignore the bickering as they looked through candies.
"I'll have a couple of Pumpkin Pasties." Hermione finally decided, adding two to the empty basket she held in her left hand. "And I'll get a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans for Zacharias. I'm sure Ginny won't mind if some of the beans are healthy, right?"
"You can dig your own grave." Draco sing-songed, as he dropped in two Chocolate Cauldrons along with the other three items.
Hermione gave him a disapproving look. "Firewhiskey this early in the day? You'll have enough at Slughorn's party tonight. Why not get some Cauldron Cakes instead?"
Draco grinned. "Don't you think that would be a little cruel to our friend over there?" he motioned towards Ginny and Zacharias, the latter of who seemed to be on the verge of tears.
"I'll get Ginny a Chocolate Frog." Hermione said as an answer, and the two headed over to the counter to pay for the six things.
"That'll be two Galleons, eight Sickles, and six Knuts." the pretty girl said as she started putting the sweets into bags.
Hermione had fished her coin pouch out of her purse when Draco handed the money over to the cashier. Hermione looked indignant, but Draco smiled, and said, "My treat."
"You have a nice day now." said the pretty cashier, handing the bags to Draco and batting her eyelashes at him, ignoring Hermione. Hermione seriously considered hexing the woman for just a moment.
However, Draco wasn't paying the least bit of attention to the girl, and instead took Hermione's hand, comforting her immediately. As they walked over to the entrance to deal with Ginny and Zacharias, Hermione asked, "What's the special occasion? That we reached the weekend without killing each other?"
Draco chuckled. "I'm just glad you're here. And that we can shop in peace. Or, somewhat in peace." he finished as they arrived at the war zone.
Zacharias appeared to have bitten Ginny, as there was a bite mark on the pale, freckled arm she was using to hold her wand to Zacharias's throat.
"Oh, Ginny!" Hermione cried, running over to her friend. She procured her wand and performed a simple spell to clean and close the small wound. Ginny's arm never wavered from its' position at Zacharias's throat.
"Can't we leave you two alone for five whole minutes?" Draco chuckled. He took out the box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans from one of the two bags, and tossed it to Zacharias, who looked as if Christmas had come early.
Ginny finally lowered her wand, glowering at Draco. "He's already had too much food! What were you think-"
Draco emptied the bag and threw Ginny the Chocolate Frog. She caught it deftly as Draco crammed the empty bag into the one still full of his and Hermione's sweets.
"It was Hermione's idea." Draco snickered as Hermione rolled her eyes. She had seen this betrayal coming.
"I thought it was all right, since there are some healthy flavors and such." Hermione apologized.
Ginny had opened her Chocolate Frog and was busy trying to make sure it didn't escape. "It's okay, if you're okay with it, Mione." she said absentmindedly.
She bit off the head, and was mollified by the wonderful chocolate taste, not even telling off Zacharias for pouring the box of beans into his mouth as if he were drinking a butterbeer.
The four friends departed Honeydukes, and Draco checked his watch. "We have about three hours until noon. Where do you girls want to start first?"
"Gladrags Wizardwear." said Ginny immediately. "They have branches in London and Paris, too, and not to mention, the most beautiful dresses! Isn't that where you got that gorgeous dress you wore to the Yule Ball, Hermione?" Ginny gushed.
Hermione smiled. "No, I bought them at a Muggle store in the summer before I went to your house for the Quidditch World Cup. I altered them a little according to the latest fashions in Witch Weekly when I got to Hogwarts."
"Don't they sell weird socks there?" asked Zacharias.