Chapter 2 – Unexpected Travels

            Finally, after many eternities, Zurkoska, Michael, was placed in Hufflepuff, and the Great Hall resounded in applause as the Sorting Ceremony came to an end.  Dumbledore took one last sip of water and stood at his seat to begin the welcoming address.

            "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts!" the wizard began.  Immediately, the hall echoed in large amounts of volume, from everyone deciding to cheer at the same time.  "I have a feeling this year will hold many extraordinary events, just as the last 5 have been some of our strangest ever."  As he said this, he caught Harry's eye, and the two seemed to be sharing the same mind as they recollected many of the strange events of Harry's years at Hogwart's.  Finally, Dumbledore realized that he had gone off on a tangent and quickly regained his focus on reviewing the rules of the school and informing the students of places in the school grounds that were off-limits.  "And now, for my final announcement of the night!  As many of you know, Hogsmeade is a local wizarding town where students may spend their time on occasion.  I have received special information that a new restaurant has just opened a few days ago in town.  It is called The Great Hall, and is almost an exact replica of our hall that you are all sitting in right now."  A murmur of excitement arose in the crowd.  "Yes, I have already been there, and in fact know many of the people who work there.  Whenever you are in Hogsmeade, feel free to dine there.  You may be surprised to see just how similar the restaurant is to the school you know and love.  That said, since I can see just how famished you all are, let the feast begin."  With a wave of his hand, row after row of delicious food appeared, rising up through the table, and the room erupted in a blast of hungry chatter between all the students and faculty.

            "Did you hear that, Harry?  Finally something new to do around here!  And we won't even have to use the invisibility cloak for this one!" Ron shouted with a mouthful of chicken across the table at his best friend.

            "Don't shout Ron, I heard you," Harry replied.  "It sounds like great fun."

            "Do you think the restaurant has house elves to serve the food and work in the kitchen?" Hermione asked innocently.  "I might have to investigate that, just to make sure they're all taken care of properly."  Harry and Ron both shot her a look of death at that last comment.  After staring back at them for a few seconds, she burst out laughing.  "You thought I was serious, didn't you?  I was just kidding.  I know that SPEW crusade I went on was pointless, now that I look back on it.  I suppose we should add that to our book, if we ever end up writing one."

            "I doubt they use house elves at The Great Hall, but I'm sure going to go there," Harry said to his two friends.  "It sounds like a great place to explore.  We'll have to go there as soon as possible.  Maybe we can find some new adventures there while we eat."

            The first weekend after classes had started had been declared a "Hogsmeade Weekend" by all of the faculty at Hogwart's.  For the first time in a very long time, none of the teachers had given any homework, including Professor Snape.  There was a general feeling of excitement bubbling through the school.  Nobody could wait to go to Hogsmeade.

            "What if we snuck out and went to Hogsmeade early?" Harry asked Ron after their Divination class.  "I'm sure we could find a room or two at a tavern there, or maybe Sirius is still around.  Maybe we could hang with him for the night."

            "I don't even think we would have to sneak, Harry," Ron countered.  "All the teachers here know by now that we get our noses into anything new that ever comes around here.  If we got stopped, we would just have to tell whoever stopped us exactly what we were doing, or even make something up, and I'm sure they'd let us continue on.  It's not that big a deal anyway.  It's almost expected of us," he finished with a mischievous grin.

            They had already packed their things for a weekend away and impatiently waited for Hermione to return from her arithmancy class so they could tell her of their latest adventure.  She finally entered the Gryffindor common room a little after four o'clock and practically got tackled by two energetic, excited boys.

            "What are you doing?  Get off me!" Hermione shouted in their faces.  "You smell like a combination of rotten onions and rose petals!"

            "We're leaving early for Hogsmeade, to get the first glimpse of The Great Hall," Ron said as he got up off the floor.  "Do you want to come with us?"

            "Of course!  When have I ever skipped out on an adventure?"

            "I can't remember," said Harry, getting annoyed that they hadn't left yet.  "Hurry up and pack your things, Hermione.  The sooner we leave, the better."

            Hermione quickly gathered her things and practically tripped up the stairs to her room, she was moving so fast.  It hadn't seemed longer than five minutes that Hermione had taken to gather her things for a little weekend jaunt.  Finally, everyone was ready to go.

            Luckily, for some strange reason, there were hardly any other students in the halls.  Probably because that Friday afternoon was so beautiful everyone was spending it outside.  Harry had debated showing the secret passage to Hogsmeade to Ron and Hermione, but after a few seconds of thought decided that the secret passage had better remain a secret, in case of an emergency.  Their things had been packed in backpacks, so nothing looked out of the ordinary as they made their way toward the grassy yard.  None of the other students thought anything of it; they all assumed the three were just going to visit Hagrid, and none of the teachers were around to harass them about what they were going to do.

            The boys had made plans with Hagrid the night before, so they could leave from Hagrid's yard and fly to Hogsmeade.  After running across the huge yard, the three sixth years burst into Hagrid's hut in total excitement of embarking on their latest adventure.

            "Hagrid," they all shouted, "We're ready to go!  Where are you?"

            "Oh?  Who is that barging into my house?" Hagrid asked jokingly.  "It must be my three little explorers!"

            "We don't mean to rush you, Hagrid, but we'd like to leave as soon as possible.  We just don't want to get caught on our way," Harry explained.

            "Well then, by all means, go right ahead!  The brooms are in the back, leaning against the garden fence.  I just put them out there for you."

            "Thank you," they all said as they filed out into the yard and hopped on their brooms.  Finally, they were on their way to Hogsmeade!

            The afternoon sun was warm on their faces as they soared into the clouds.  Winds were calm, and the weather was absolutely perfect for flying.  It was so nice that they were actually able to hold conversation while flying.

            "What do you think this restaurant will be like?  Will it really be exactly like our hall?" Ron asked.

            "I would certainly think so," Hermione countered.  "Dumbledore himself even said how similar the two places were, and he wouldn't lie about something like that."

            "Do you think anyone else decided to go to Hogsmeade early besides us?" Harry pondered aloud.  Both of the others knew he was thinking about Draco.

            "I highly doubt he'd be able to get away without getting caught," Hermione replied.  "He's not very good at sneaking around, and he doesn't even have an invisibility cloak to practice with."

            "True, but sometimes I think that little snot tries to ruin me on purpose.  Like it's his secret hidden quest in life or something like that.  I'm not afraid of him, but he makes me worry a lot more now that we're older and know so much more."

            "Don't worry about him, Harry.  You've taken out your worst foe numerous times, and compared to him, Draco is a flea.  Don't let him ruin your weekend."

            "I suppose you're right, Hermione.  I just hope nothing strange happens.  I just want to have a normal, relaxing weekend for once in my life."

            After flying in silence for a few more minutes, Ron suddenly whispered, "Wow!  Just look at that place!"  The trio had finally reached Hogsmeade.  Although the restaurant was only one story high, as a whole, it looked like a tiny castle, just like Hogwart's, except smaller.  The kids landed in a little valley right outside Hogsmeade and proceeded to walk into the wizarding town.

            There was no need to worry about being seen as they walked to the restaurant.  The main street of Hogsmeade was bustling with people as the townsfolk went about their daily business.  For the first few minutes of their time in the town, Harry had a strange feeling that someone was following them, but every time he turned around, nobody was there.  Eventually, as he got caught in the current of activity on the street, he forgot about the strange feeling he had and began to enjoy his time in Hogsmeade.

            After window-shopping at many different stores, including The Brewery, they realized they were standing in front of the window at The Quidditch Post.  Ron and Hermione both sighed because they realized how hard it would be to get Harry away from that window without actually entering the store to buy something.  Luckily, The Quidditch Post was only two stores away from The Great Hall, so they didn't have very far to drag him.  Harry wouldn't have been able to buy anything anyway, because he didn't bring all that much money with him.  So finally, at long last, the little group arrived at the doors of The Great Hall.  The doors were so big that it took all of their strength just to open one door.  The door slammed shut behind them, forcing them to land in a heap on the floor.  When they finally were able to gather themselves together again, they looked up only to see one of their favorite people.