CHAPTER 15: Hogsmeade

The Hogsmeade trip came around about mid-January, the snow and frost still thickly coating the Hogwarts grounds.

Madeline woke up bright and early, grabbing a cup of coffee from the Great Hall before returning to the Slytherin Dungeons. The quietness of the school was new to Madeline, but not unpleasant. Although it was Hogsmeade weekend, it was still the weekend, meaning most students were planning on sleeping in.

Most, but not including Daphne Greengrass.

"Where did you go?!" Daphne exclaimed the moment Madeline re-entered the common room, hands on her hips and dressed in a matching set of silky green pajamas. Theo was awake too, or well, half-asleep on the couch next to Daphne with his eyes closed and his head pressed into the back of the sofa. Clearly, not awoken by choice.

"I went to get a coffee-"

"No time!" Daphne commanded, pulling Theo to his feet, "We have less than two hours to get you ready for your date. Come on!"

"You woke me up with a two-hour prep time in mind?!" Theo asked incredulously.

Daphne began stalking to the girls dormitory, pulling Theo along with her. Madeline rolled her eyes, but followed her overly exuberant friend, "You do realise Theo can't come up in the dorms, right?"

Daphne grinned, winking, "I figured out a way around the spell months ago."

Madeline shivered at the thought of Terence Higgs in the girls dormitory. Theo must have realised the same, making a barfing noise as Daphne started leading the two into the fourth year dormitory, "Gross, Greengrass."

To Madeline's surprise, the other girls were up and awake too, all already dressed. Even Pansy, who had a reputation of waking up late, was combing through her hair in the mirror. No one seemed to bat an eyelid at Theo being dragged into the dormitory, clearly a common occurrence.

Sometimes, Madeline forgot that her two friends had known each other for years before Madeline had come along. It shouldn't be a surprise that their antics were so easily accepted by the rest of the house.

"Morning Nott," one of the fourth-year girls greeted him as he was dragged through. He tiredly lifted his hand to wave, immediately pushed down to sit on Daphne's bed, the one right next to Madeline's.

"Alright; what are you wearing and what else do you have?" Daphne immediately asked Madeline, who popped herself on her own bed.

"I dunno."

"You don't know?"

"I just figured I'd wear something warm."

The other girls began clearing out of the room, even Pansy sending Madeline a worried glance. Clearly, everyone knew how intense Daphne Greengrass could be when it came to romance.

"You figured you'd…" Daphne gaped at her best friend, huffing, "It's like you've never even been on a date!"

"I haven't."

Daphne blinked, "You're joking."

"Homeschooled, remember?"

Daphne breathed, rubbing her temples, "So you're telling me you naturally look this beautiful at this time of the morning and you've never been on a date?!"

"Would you walk out if I told you I've never been kissed?"

Daphne's surprised face was really quite flattering, Madeline thought, "Alright Bisset, we seriously need to give you a crash course on dating."

Theo furrowed his eyebrows, lifting his head, "We?"

"Yes Theodore; we're going to need all the help we can get. Madeline, turn around."

Madeline sighed, knowing there was absolutely no way of getting out of this. She turned around on her bed, sitting cross-legged with her back to the edge. She took another long sip of her coffee as Daphne grabbed the brush she'd given Madeline for Christmas and started brushing her hair.

"So, where are you going?"

"Hogsmeade."

"We're going to need to be a bit more specific here."

Madeline shrugged, "I don't know. There's a pub in the village, isn't there?"

"That's more like it," Daphne complimented, although Madeline wasn't sure if she meant the pub or her now silky straight hair, "Theo, pass me my wand."

"You're not cutting my hair."

Daphne scoffed as Theo passed her the wand, "Obviously not. Curlus Revivum!"

In an instant, the sleek dark hair curled on itself, creating gentle, unfaltering curls that would stay for the entire day. Daphne nodded in approval, "Alright, go do your makeup."

"You're not going to monitor that, mum?" Madeline teased, making her way over to her trunk.

"I can always Obliteris the makeup off you," Daphne shrugged, sitting down on her bed as Theo rifled through the few books on her bedside table, "Alright, now hurry up."

Madeline rolled her eyes, grabbing her makeup bag and walking into the en-suite bathroom in the dorm, leaving the door open. Theo picked up one of Daphne's textbooks, rifling through the pages with half-hooded eyes. The minute Madeline was out of sight, Daphne rushed to the wardrobes in the room, rifling through hers and Madeline's.

Theo watched her inquisitively, holding the textbook up, "You should start taking notes in Ancient Runes."

"They're ancient runes; how is anyone meant to have the mental willpower to remember anything from that book?" Daphne huffed, rifling through a pile at the bottom of her wardrobe.

Theo rolled his eyes, falling onto his back on Daphnes bed, "How can you even tell them apart?"

"Tell what apart?"

"The Weasley twins."

Daphne shrugged, "The one that looks at Madeline as if he's undressing her is Fred.

"Ah. Of course."

"I can hear you!" Madeline called from the bathroom.

"Good!" Daphne called back, coming back up to her feet holding a bundle of clothing. She walked to the bathroom door, and without warning, threw the bundle to Madeline, "Try these on and thank me later."

"What-" before Madeline could protest, Daphne had shut the door on her.

"Merlin. If you're like this when she has a date, remind me to never, ever get involved in your dating life," Theo mused.

"Famous last words!"

Madeline nervously fiddled with the sleeves of her black peacoat, waiting in the entrance courtyard for Fred. Daphne had spent a ridiculous amount of detail on her outfit, her hair, and her makeup. Of course, Madeline would've probably spiralled into an anxious frenzy had she not had Daphne to help her.

They had settled onto a tightly-fitting emerald green knit turtleneck, with flared sleeves and a single thick grey line crossing over her chest. They'd decided on a loosely-fitting pair of warm black jeans, the bottoms cuffed and the waist held by a thick black belt with a silver buckle. Of course, Madeline had been fixed on her black winter ankle boots, the ones with the charmed anti-slip block heels. And finally, the Bisset necklace around her neck, with a matching pair of golden studs in her ears.

She looked pretty, there was no doubt in that. She wasn't overly dressed up, but she still looked good. But she couldn't lie that she was nervous, especially with the subtle glances from passing Gryffindors. Even Lavender Brown had looked at her incredulously, clearly having heard about the date but hadn't believed it.

Daphne and Terence had left the Hogwarts grounds not long ago, now officially dating (a term, however, that Madeline was now using loosely when referring to the two). Theo had tagged along with Blaise when he'd offered a trip to Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop, and Madeline had spotted Cedric with Cho on their way down the path towards Hogsmeade.

Leaving her in the cold, alone and waiting. And getting nervous as hell.

What was she going to talk about? Would they kiss? Should they kiss?! Bloody hell, she wasn't cut out for this. Maybe she was still in time to catch up with Theo and Blaise, or run back into the castle altogether.

Her panicked thoughts were soon interrupted by the sound of crunching snow, Fred Weasley was rushing towards her with his hands tucked soundly in his jacket. George and Lee weren't too far behind him, shooting Madeline a set of playful thumbs-up before turning left and away from the duo. The butterflies in Madeline's stomach set off into a frenzy.

"Good morning," Fred grinned, a knitted yellow and orange bobble hat on his head. It was quite adorable, really.

Madeline smiled, "Morning, Weasley. Ready to go?"

"As I'll ever be," Fred grinned, offering his arm to Madeline, "Shall we Maddy?"

"We shall, Freddie."

"I don't believe it," Madeline stated as the two sat in the Three Broomsticks a few hours later, "Seriously? You're born on April Fools?!"

"When else?" Fred shrugged cockily, taking a sip of his gloriously delicious hot chocolate.

For the last hour, Fred had been telling Madeline all about his family. He told her about growing up with George and his older brothers, embarrassing childhood stories about Ron (including the time Fred transformed Ron's teddy bear into a giant spider), and how the twins had been written out of great-aunt Muriel's will due to a little prank played at Christmas.

It had been pleasant, in Madeline's opinion. Oh, who was she kidding. She knew the ever-present smile on her face wasn't fooling anyone. Fred was charming, charismatic, and could make her laugh like she hadn't before. He went against absolutely everything her family had taught her; poise, elegance and grace. But it wasn't a bad feeling, going against what they'd taught her. In fact, she felt absolutely and positively delightful.

"So, what about you?" Fred asked as Madeline sipped her second coffee of the day, "What's your family like?"

Madeline shrugged, "Boring compared to yours, from the sounds of things."

Fred knitted his fingers together and placed his head on them, elbows on the table. He looked at her with wide, innocent eyes, "Tell me more."

Madeline felt her heart grow warm at Fred's fondness, but she simply cleared her throat, composing herself. She began her well-practiced speech, "My mother was a Beauxbatons Professor before I came along, but she returned to the school in September. My uncle is a Legislator for the French department of the Ministry Of Magic, and my grandmother has always just been an heiress."

"Sounds… Intense," Fred commented tactfully.

Madeline snorted, "You have no idea. I basically grew up sipping non-alcoholic champagne and playing the part of the perfect granddaughter for my grandmothers friends."

"Gee, and sometimes I call my mum overbearing," Fred whistled, leaning back, "What about your dad?"

Madeline cleared her throat awkwardly, "He, uh, died when I was young. First Wizarding War, and all that."

"Oh," Fred realised awkwardly, "I'm sorry."

"That's why I was talking to the Fat Lady painting that one time," Madeline smiled slightly, "He was in Gryffindor, and she knew him while he was here. Said he was an inventor, and partially responsible for all the hidden passages in Hogwarts."

Fred smirked, "So that's where the troublemaker gene comes from."

"I am not a troublemaker!"

"Said the girl who put a prototyped Exploding Bonbon in Draco Malfoy's drink."

"It's called having a brilliant sense of humour, thank you very much," Madeline defended, "And besides, you made the thing in the first place."

"Ah, but that's the difference," Fred continued, leaning forwards, "You're a troublemaker, while I simply exceed academic expectations."

"…By making exploding sweets?"

"Exactly that."

"…That I helped you make?"

"Details are irrelevant."

Madeline rolled her eyes at his ridiculousness, but she also couldn't help but smile, "I can't argue with academic excellence."

"Or lack thereof."

"Your words, not mine," Madeline pointed out.

Fred smiled, his eyes scanning Madeline's face. Merlin, she was beautiful. And witty, and smart, and far more interesting than his housemates gave her credit for. The green of her turtleneck was a reminder that she was still, in fact, a Slytherin. But the more time Fred spent around her, the more he found himself not caring.

"So," Fred continued, "Why'd you come to Hogwarts anyway?"

Madeline froze at the question, her good mood vanishing. She should've known the question was coming. She cleared her throat, plastering a forced smile on her face.

"My mother is friends with Dumbledore through my father. She thought it would be an… Enlightening educational experience," Madeline finished diplomatically, "And sure, my mother homeschooled me, but going to Beauxbatons with her as my Professor would be rather awkward, don't you think?"

"Can't argue with that if it brought you here," Fred shrugged, gulping the last of his hot chocolate, "So I'm guessing that homeschooling doesn't exactly cover sports, does it?"

Madeline snorted, "Absolutely not. I am a terrible flyer."

"Oh come on, it can't be that bad."

"During my first lesson, the broom went out of control and launched me into the French alps. They had to send a rescue team to find me."

Fred contained himself for exactly one moment before exploding in a flurry of laughter, "Alright! I believe you."

Madeline couldn't help but laugh along, "At least I play a mean game of Wizard Chess."

"Well, how about this," Fred offered once he'd calmed down, "I'll teach you how to ride a broom if you teach me how to beat Ron at chess. Deal?"

Madeline grinned. Although it wasn't set in stone, Fred clearly had every intention of still seeing her after today. She held her hand out to shake, "Deal."

The two shook hands, both with grins plastered to their faces. When Madeline realised she may have been holding his hand for a little too long, she quickly pulled it away, gesturing to the now two empty mugs, "I'll get us a refill."

"Let me-"

"Nope," Madeline interrupted immediately "I don't believe in all that 'the guy pays for the date' stuff. Let me buy you a drink, Weasley."

"Alright, alright!" Fred laughed, holding his hands up, "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," Madeline replied, standing up with her purse, "I'll be right back."

Madeline swiftly made her way over to the end of the bar, waiting for Madam Rosmerta to serve her other customers. Further along the bar, Lavender Brown and a couple of other Gryffindor girls sat at the bar and stirred their own hot drinks lazily.

Madeline didn't pay too much attention to them, focusing instead on the rather… Interesting paintings on the wall across the bar. It was only when she heard Fred's name did she realise that she was in fact the topic of conversation.

"-Fred sees in her," one of the Gryffindor girls Madeline didn't recognise said, "Like, I just don't get it."

Lavender Brown scoffed, "Have you seen her face?!"

"Fat lot of good a pretty face is if its on an ugly person," Parvati Patil sighed, staring dreamily beyond the bar, "But… She was really nice to Neville in that DADA class at the beginning of the year."

"Doesn't mean she's a saint," Fay Dunbar scoffed, lowering her voice, "I saw her dance with Draco Malfoy at the Yule Ball."

Lavender Brown gasped, "I saw her too! She hexed Seamuses shoes!"

Madeline smirked to herself at the remark as Fay continued, "She's not Fred's usual type… "

"You'd know all about that!" Parvati laughed, "We all know you snogged him at that Quidditch party last year."

Madeline raised her eyebrow at the revelation. Fay was definitely pretty, and maybe even taller than Madeline herself. It would make sense for Fred to be attracted to her, especially because they were in the same house.

"Either way, she's not his type," Fay snapped, crossing her arms defensively, "I don't see why he's wasting his time when we all know it'll all go to hell sooner or later."

Madeline's jaw tensed, her hand grabbing the bar ledge. Of course, once again, people were making assumptions about her. And it wasn't fair. But she wasn't about to let a group of Gryffindor girls ruin her date.

"I like her," one of the unknown Gryffindor girls timidly spoke, "And if Harry Potter is friends with her, surely she's not like the other Slytherins?"

Ah. Not like the other Slytherins. As if that was a compliment.

Madam Rosmerta placed two more hot chocolates in front of the group, Fay paying. It was only when the woman began making her way to Madeline did the girls notice her.

"Refils for you and your date, darling?" Madam Rosmerta asked, recognising the girl.

"Please," Madeline smiled politely. Madam Rosmerta nodded, turning around and beginning to prepare the drinks.

The Gryffindor girls stared at Madeline with wide eyes as she turned around to face them, a sickly sweet smile on her face.

"If you lovely ladies wanted to get to know me better, you could've just asked," Madeline smiled, placing her elbow on the bar and resting her head in her hand.

"Oh, we didn't mean to-"

"What you say about others says a lot about yourself as a person," Madeline mused, "I guess Gryffindors really do value nerve, huh?"

Before any of the girls could reply, Madam Rosmerta placed the drinks in front of Madeline. She paid quickly, sending the girls one last smile as she grabbed the drinks and made her way back to Fred.

"Making friends?" Fred asked, having watched the interaction from the table.

Madeline scoffed, "Something like that."

Their conversation, however, was interrupted by a table not too far away from them.

"Sit down, you silly little girl, and don't talk about things you don't understand," Rita Skeeter's nasally voice spoke coldly, the entire pub falling into silence, "I know things about Ludo Bagman that would make your hair curl… Not that it needs it."

"Bloody hell, what's she doing here?" Fred asked quietly, turning to see Rita Skeeter standing over Ron, Hermione and Harry's table.

"Let's go," Hermione huffed, standing up, "C'mon. Harry - Ron…"

In a short shuffle, the three friends stood up and made their way out of the pub, dozens of eyes stuck on them. Although they had left the pub, Rita Skeeter's Quick-Quotes Quill was zooming backward and forward over a piece of parchment on the table

"What was that all about?" Fred wondered as the quiet pub chatter resumed, "She's a nasty piece of work, but to get them riled up like that-"

"One second," Madeline interrupted.

She stood up and made her way to Rita, who was nodding excitedly as her quill filled the parchment with, undoubtably, more lies. Madeline had never been a fan of the press; she'd had a rather nasty article written about herself when she'd rejected someone from the French royal family earlier this year.

"Excuse me, Miss Skeeter?" Madeline asked, attracting the attention of many patrons.

"Yes, love?" Rita asked. She noticed Fred watching Madeline eagerly from his table, two mugs on his table. Clearly, the two were here together, "Did you have a story you'd like me to report?"

"That depends," Madeline continued, lowering her voice, "Are you here on official business?"

Rita caught her hint, grinning slyly, "I'm not on official Daily Prophet business, no."

"Good," Madeline nodded, "So I won't get in trouble for this."

Before Rita could even think, Madeline grabbed the parchment from the table and ripped it to shreds, watching Ritas stunned face proudly as she let the tiny shreds fall back onto the table.

"You horrible girl!" Rita shrieked as Madeline crossed her arms, "Thats press suppression! You're going to get into a lot of trouble, young lady-"

"Actually, you're not on official business," Madeline pointed out, "So technically, everything is off the record. Toodles!"

With that, Madeline turned on her heel, stalking back to Fred's table proudly. She didn't bother sitting, taking a large gulp of coffee before holding her hand out to Fred.

"I don't think we'll be very welcome here for much longer," Madeline mused, Fred wearing an ear-splitting grin on his face, "Should we get going?"

Fred chugged the rest of his hot chocolate quickly, grabbing Madeline's hand and standing, "After you."

Madeline was having a lot of fun on her date, thank you very much.

After leaving the pub, the two had perused different stores in Hogsmeade, not buying anything. Instead, they continued chatting about little things; potions assignments, stories from their different houses… It almost made her feel normal, as if there were no house rivalries looming above them.

When the time had come for them to return to the castle, the two had opted to walk slowly, their hands brushing against each other as Madeline attempted (and failed) to identify numerous plants on their walk. Clearly, Herbology still wasn't her strongest subject.

"I've had fun, you know?" Madeline mused as dusk began to settle in, the pair now only a few minutes away from the castle.

"Did you have any doubts?" Fred asked cheekily, earning himself a nudge from Madeline.

"Not exactly," Madeline winked, "But I'm expecting you to hold onto that promise of teaching me how to fly."

"Only if you show me your wicked skills at chess," Fred teased, the pair coming to a stop once they reached the bottom of the path leading to the castle.

Fred turned to Madeline, who could barely feel her cheeks by how much she was surely blushing. Fred looked at her earnestly, one of his hands brushing her fingers as he took her hand in his.

"For the record; I had fun, too," Fred smiled, although it wasn't laced with its usual mischief. It made Madeline's stomach flutter in excitement.

"Did you have any doubts?" Madeline mocked with his own words, which caused Fred's smile to widen even more.

His gaze fell to her lips, Madeline's own eyes falling to his. Although it was winter, she felt warm, his other hand finding her other one.

Merlin, this is happening, Madeline thought.

Fred's brown eyes were wide and honest, looking at her with more affection Madeline could remember receiving. Her smile fell from her face as he leant in closer, both of their eyes slowly drooping shut. Just a moment longer and-

"Good evening, lovebirds!"

The pair jumped apart, their hands disconnecting as George Weasley wrapped his arms around both of their shoulders. Lee was on Fred's other side, punching his shoulder teasingly.

Madeline didn't know if her heart was beating from the scare, or the almost-kiss. Her breathing was heavy, as if she'd just run up a hill. She dug her hands into the pockets of her coat, suddenly cold.

"And what have you two been up to today?" Lee asked cheekily, his arm wrapping around Fred's, "Spare no details for us, Madeline."

"Actually, I think it's about time I get back to the common room," Madeline pulled herself from George's embrace, standing in front of the three. Her eyes met Fred's, "Seriously, I had fun. I'll see you soon, yeah?"

"Yeah," Fred nodded breathlessly, a grin on his face despite his brothers interruption, "I'll come find you."

Madeline smiled at the three boys, her gaze lingering on Fred before swiftly turning around, quickly making her way up to the castle.

Despite the interrupted ending, Madeline could see herself having a lot of fun with Fred in her life.

A/N: Hello everyone!

I'd like to first and foremost thank you all for the support I've had on this story. It's so beautifully motivating to see you guys enjoying Madeline's journey, and I hope that I continue to live up to your expectations of it.

1.) Just to let you all know, I fully intend to continue this story until after the Battle of Hogwarts. I have already written scenes that are to come in later chapters, but I will be going through each year of Madeline's life in Hogwarts to create a well-rounded character, and make this story as realistic as possible had Madeline been in the canon universe.

2.) If you are able to, please share this story with anyone you think may enjoy it! Reviews, ideas and comments are always welcome!

3.) Caradoc Dearborn is a real character in the Harry Potter canon. He is mentioned by Mad-Eye Moody when discussing past Order members. This will all come into play later into the story.

Thank you for reading, and see you in the next chapter!