Chapter 5: Foretaste
Over the Christmas break, the ground was covered with a few feet of snow. The trees were bare, and the days were short. Those who stayed at the school, including Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Cho, continued to wear the boots and gloves and earmuffs and scarves that kept them warm in the previous month.
"What do you think, Harry?" said Cho.
They were in a small shop in Hogsmeade, this being the first official Hogsmeade weekend in recent memory that took place over a winter vacation.
Cho was holding up a small, stuffed Winged Horse--probably an Abraxan--and had a big smile on her face.
"Do you want it?" said Harry. "I'll buy it for you." He and Ron had their arms crossed. They stood next to each other, disinterested in shopping long ago.
"No thanks," she said demurely. "I'm getting it for Peter Brown."
"Oh. Okay," said Harry.
"Am I missing something?" said Ron, looking down at his best friend. "Who's Peter Brown?"
"An eight year old neighbor of Cho's," said Harry. "She baby-sat him quite a bit over the summer. He's also one of the kids she gave tennis lessons to over the summer."
"Yes," said Cho. "And he's so sweet that he deserves it." She hurried over to the counter.
"What's tennis?" whispered Ron.
Harry told Ron all that he had heard from Cho, but he had never seen it played.
"We're going to the bookshop next, right?" asked Hermione eagerly, looking up from the trinkets she had been perusing.
"Sure," said Ron tiredly.
"Okay," said Cho, nearly skipping up to the others, a small white bag in her hand.
"Let's go," said Hermione eagerly.
***
Cho and Hermione tried shopping together at the bookstore, scouring each and every aisle. While Hermione's interest were mostly academic, Cho's were mostly literary. However, they seemed to find the occasional book which interested them both.
Ron and Harry strolled nonchalantly through the store.
"Don't tell me you don't see it," said Ron. "This is a foretaste of the future. Sometime after graduation, you and I will marry our girlfriends. And someday we'll be shopping together in Hogsmeade, and it'll be just like this."
"Sounds perfect to me," said Harry.
"Yeah," said Ron. "It does."
Something caught Harry's eye: a copy of War and Peace. He picked it up. "Do you know how long it took Cho to read this?" said Harry.
"How long?" said Ron.
"Three and a half hours. Once I asked her to name one of her favorite books. She said this one. Then I asked her how long it was, and how long it took her to read it. She said about 750 pages, but she was reluctant to say how long it took. I badgered her, though, until she told me." They started making their way to the clerk, Harry carrying the book with him.
"That's great," said Ron. He grinned. "Do you think your girlfriend's smarter than mine?"
Harry grinned. "Nah. Hermione's so smart, it's scary."
Ron chuckled. "yeah, but Cho's wise way beyond her years.
"To each his own," said the guy at the cash register.
***