Chapter Forty-seven

Araminta briefly considered reading Draco's mind to see what had happened between him and Hermione, but in the end she decided that the expression of hurt and longing on his face when he had watched Hermione walk away told her everything she needed to know about Hermione and Draco's date at the Trollish Ballet.

The least she could have done was drop her ticket in the street so Araminta could use it to see the second act. But no, Hermione had to break her father's heart and storm off dramatically.

This just intensified Araminta's desire to have a great time at the Quidditch Ball and to make sure that her mom and dad met, fell in love, and decided to have a baby...her.

There was so much wonderful shopping in Hogsmeade. First, Araminta went into Honeyduke's and sampled the Fizzing Whizbees. They made her feel a little giddy. She had a piece of Lemon Warhead gum, a long rope of red licorice, 2 pixie sticks, and a blue raspberry Blow Pop before she ventured back outside, sucking on a giant red-and-white-striped candy cane.

When Araminta was opening the door, Ron Weasley tried to get in. He stepped on her foot, making her hop up and down in pain. "Ouch," she cried, rubbing it to make the pain go away.

"Um, sorry," said Ron, looking very ashamed of himself.

"You'll have to forgive him," said a pretty girl with big blue eyes and sandy-colored braids. She smiled a wide smile that showed all of her white teeth that were even without braces. "He's such a klutz."

Ron turned red around the ears. "You take that back, Sarah Michelle. I hardly ever step on anyone. I just couldn't see her!"

"The door has a glass window in it, honey. You would have noticed if you'd taken your eyes off me for just a second," said Sarah Michelle. She kissed Ron on the cheek. "Now go on and get your candy so that we can go to the costume shop."

"I, um, have my costume done," Ron whined. "I hate shopping for things to wear. I had to go shopping with Ginny and my mum once, and it almost killed me."

Sarah Michelle rolled her eyes. "I suppose I could meet you at The Three Broomsticks later and let you off the hook for now." She gave Araminta a look that clearly said men are so boring, sometimes. Then she winked.

Araminta giggled. She could tell that Ron really liked Sarah Michelle because he kept his arm around her and was running his hand up and down her side, tickling it a little. Sarah Michelle also liked Ron back, because she slipped her arm around his waist and put her hand in his back pocket.

"Bye, honey," Sarah Michelle said, giving Ron a kiss with a little bit of tongue.

"Bye, Sarah Michelle," said Ron, and then he ran toward the Laffy Taffys.

"Boys are so silly sometimes, don't you agree?" Sarah Michelle asked Araminta.

"Definitely," Araminta replied as she watched Ron scoop up handfuls of candy in glee.

"So, are you out shopping all by yourself?" asked Sarah Michelle.

"Um, yeah." Araminta laughed nervously. "Yeah, I need to find a costume for the Quidditch Ball, actually. That's my next stop."

"Me too!" exclaimed Sarah Michelle. "So, do you want to go shopping together?"

"That sounds peachy," said Araminta, a big smile widening on her face.

The two linked arms and left Ron behind in Honeyduke's.