Chapter 24: Hogsmeade
The weekend had finally come and most of the students were getting ready to go into Hogsmeade and pick up extra supplies that they needed for their classes. " Harry what if Ron and I meet up with you around lunch time at the Three Broomsticks and then we can all walk around together." Hermione hated the thought of Harry going to Hosmeade alone, but she really wanted to spend some alone time with Ron. He was her boyfriend after all.
" Ok, sounds good to me. I think I'll stay here for a while though and get a start on my essay." Harry looked around he hated doing homework but there was no more time to put it off.
" Ok, well then see you there. Don't forget Harry 12 at the Three Broomsticks." With that Hermione and Ron left holding hands. They had been one of the most talked about couples in the Gryffindor common room, they were always around each other and constantly caught snogging there.
Fred also left the grounds with Hermione and Ron. She didn't know her way around Hogsmeade since she had never been there, and Lupin had asked her to meet him outside of Honeydukes. " So what's Hogsmeade like? Is it nice?"
" It's ok, there's alot of stores and stuff. It's different from what you might think." Ron was trying to come up with words to explain Hogsmeade he never really thought about it much. He guessed he always took it for granite.
" I can't wait to see what they've got there. By the way you two make such a cute couple, I'm glad that you were able to get your acts together and stop fighting." Fred smiled she had never seen two people compliment each other more. She was like the Ice to his fire.
" Thanks. Well here's Honeydukes, and oh look there's Professor Lupin. Have fun." Hermione and Ron waved goodbye and started down the street.
" I'm glad you found the place." Lupin took Fred's hand and kissed it. " I was afraid you might get lost."
" I had help. Luckily the students know where they're going. So where are we going first?" Fred asked looking around, she had never seen any place like this. Ron was right it was different than she had imagined it to be, it was alot more magical.
" I thought I would let you pick out some sweets from the shop, and then we could walk around." Lupin said opening the door to the shop.
" Well thanks. Are the sweets here different than the ones in the muggle world?" Fred was warned by a couple of the students to be careful of some of the sweets like the Fizzing Whizbee's.
" Well some of the sweets yes. They have spells on them that turn them into joke candy." Lupin lead Fred over to one of the tables. " Like those Blood lollipops they actually taste like blood and stain your mouth. Not many people fancy them."
After buying a few sweets which Fred thought was an adventure in itself. The Weasley twins had bought candy and gave her a piece to try. When she opened her mouth to comment on how good the sweets tasted bubbles started to come out of her mouth. All of them laughed when the bubbles stopped. " I'll have to remember to stay away from stuff those two offer me." Fred blushed. She thought it was funny but at the same time a little embarrasing.
" Yes, they do have a nack for pulling pranks. I think that's what makes them stand out above their brothers." Lupin lead Fred down the street and into another store. " Have you ever seen goblin's miss Burkle?" Lupin thought she would get a kick out of seeing them. He remembered that they had movies like the Labyrinth in which the goblins were made to scare people.
" No, do you mean they actually exsist?" Fred looked amazed.
" Well yes. Most things that are in muggle horror movies actually exists." Lupin lead Fred out of the store and up to Gringotts.
" What's this?" The building was huge and a little off-center.
" Its the wizarding bank. Supposedly they have etremely long tunnels that run miles and miles underground guarding the most secretive and precise things. When people try to break into the vaults they get trapped inside and sometimes it takes the goblins forever to find them and get them out and by that time the theif is dead." Fred gave Lupin a kind of worried loook. " Don't worry, they were probably going to Azkaban either way. They would of wanted to die anyway."
" What's Azkaban?"
" Sorry, I forgot how much you still have to learn. Azkaban is the wizarding prison. It's guarded by Dementors. They're terrible creatures that suck the happiness right out of you, if your extremely bad though they give you a kiss. A Dementor's kiss is the worst thing that could happen because they suck your soul out through your mouth and then your nothing but a lifeless shell. You still live you just don't have anything to live for." Lupin lead Fred into the bank.
" These Fred are the Gringott's goblins." Lupin said waving an arm around the place.
" Oh my gosh their so small. I can't say their very pretty though, but they look very smart." Fred was just amazed they didn't look as scary as they were portrayed in movies. Actually she thought they were very cute, despite the fact of being very ugly.
" I'm glad you liked them. They have some of the worst attitudes though. You ready to go to the Three Broomsticks? When we get there I'll order you a Butterbeer. You'll enjoy it alot." With that Fred and Lupin left.
Harry finally started is way down Hogsmeade and into the Three Broomsticks. " One Butterbeer please." Harry asked Madame Rosemerta, while looking around for Hermione and Ron. He found them in a far corner snogging.
" Sorry I don't mean to interrupt your love fest there." Harry said sitting down at the table.
" Oh Harry, you made it that's great! How's your homework coming? I told you not to put it off until the last minute!" Hermione went and hugged Harry.
" It's almost complete, I still have about a foot to go on it. How's your date going?" Harry asked Ron but noticed that Ron's gaze was some where else. When Harry followed it he noticed that Ron was staring at Ginny and Draco.
" How could she! Even after I told her to stay away from him!" Ron said pounding the table with his fist.
" Will you get over it already! They like each other, they've liked each other for a long time. Their just getting around to telling each other it though. Plus your not your parents so there isn't anything you can do!" Hermione took a swig of her Butterbeer, she was throughly agitated with Ron he had done nothing but pull her into the stores that he had seen Ginny and the others go into.
" How do you know that they've liked each other for a while?" Ron said looking at her like he was about to punch the next thing that moved.
" Just because you don't talk to your sister doesn't mean other people don't! She's told me and Luna she's been crazy about him since that night Voldemort broke into Hogwarts. Plus I heard Blaise over telling Marcus Flint about Malfoy liking Ginny during Potions one day." Hermione got up and left the Three Broomsticks. Harry got up also, he loved being around Ron but not when he was going a-wall about his sister.
" Hermione wait up!" Harry called once he reached outside by this time Hermione was halfway down the road. She stopped once she heard her name and turned around.
" I'm sorry, he just gets me so frustrated some times. So what about you Harry do like anyone? You seem to be the only one with out a girlfriend." Hermione went into one of the shops.
Harry seemed to have noticed that he was one of the only Gryff's without a girlfriend also. " Well I do have a thing for Dawn Summer's you know Buffy's sister but I don't think she likes me like that. Plus we've never talked so I don't think she even notices me." Harry was pretending to be interested in some quills on the counter beside him.
" Well then next time she's at the castle maybe you should make the effort and talk to her. I know that she'll be there next month. I think I heard Dumbledore talking about planning a ball then anyways."
" Thanks Mione, but I'm terrible around girls you know that. I find one I like and I choke."
" Then leave it up to me." With that Hermione went up to the cash register and paid for her extra parchment and ink.
Fred and Lupin made their way into the Three Broomsticks and found a seat next to Dumbledore and McGonagall. Lupin ordered two Butterbeers when Madame Rosemerta came over. " So miss. Burkle what do you think of Hogsmede?" Dumbledore looked over and winked at her.
" It's great! I've seen so many wonderful things. I can't wait to come back again, and Remus is such a great tour guide and friend. I really enjoyed Zonko's they had so many wonderful things in there." Fred took a sip of her Butterbeer once it arrived. It was like nothing that she had ever experienced before. Once she swallowed her whole body was starting to warm up.
" So are you enjoying your Butterbeer?" Remus asked once he saw that Fred had tried a little of it.
" Yes, thanks. It's very good, I've never had anything quite like this." Fred took another sip.
" Well, I'm glad you enjoy it. Oh and congratulations on getting the coporializer to work, Mr. Doyle came running to my office afterwards to thank me. I told him I couldn't take the thanks since I didn't really do anything. I heard he went straight down to the Great Hall afterwards and from what one student told me he 'ate like a pig'. I almost fell out of my seat laughing I had never heard that expression before." Dumbledore remembered seeing how happy Doyle had been and smiled.
" So, where are you going to go to next?" McGonagall asked them.
" Well I have no clue it's up to Remus." Fred took Remus' hand unknowingly. Dumbledore saw this and smiled again he knew that they would make a perfect match, and was quite pleased with himself.
" Well, we could head back to the castle and have some tea there, you can tell me what Los Angeles is like, I would love to hear about it." Lupin held Fred's hand also.
" Maybe one day I could take you on a tour of L.A. you might get a kick out of it also. Though compared to this it's boring. Or maybe Angel will let you go with him when he's tracking demons, you might enjoy that too. Oh there's so many things I want to show you now. I'm sorry I'm rambling again I do that when I'm too happy or nervous. All you have to do is say 'Fred stop rambling' and I'll do that. Oh sorry there I go again." Fred blushed a little and then stopped talking.
" No, it's quite alright I enjoy it when you ramble. I think I would enjoy going to Los Angeles also. Well then I guess we better head back up to the castle. I want to take you to one more place before we go though." Lupin said getting up and helping Fred out of her chair.
" Albus, you knew all along didn't you?" McGonagall smiled at Dumbledore she knew he had to be behind this some how.
" I don't have the slightest idea what you're talking about. I merely introduced them in the hall way when Lupin came to visit." Dumbledore smiled and disappeared. McGonnagall figured he went back to his office.
" So where are you taking me?" Fred asked she was told to close her eyes, and to trust Remus.
"You'll see. Ok you can open your eyes now." Lupin said positioning her so she would get a better look.
" What is that?" Fred said bewildered.
" That miss Burkle is the Shrieking Shack, supposedly it's haunted. People say that sometimes at night you can hear howling and screaming like someone's in pain. I've never heard anything though so I think it might be a myth. I thought you would like it seeming your into stuff that isn't part of the ordinary." Lupin said smiling at her if she only knew what really went on in there.
" I wish I could go in there ya know, and see if it really is haunted. I've never met a ghost until I came to this school." Fred sometimes wished that she had gotten lost at Hogwarts instead of Pylea.
"Maybe one day I'll be able to take you on your ghost hunt. However today is not that day. How about we start makng our way up to the school, the students should be starting to come back by this time." Remus took Fred's hand and led her back to Hogwarts.
Harry and Hermione left the shop once Hermione was done shopping and found Ron waiting outside. " I'm sorry Hermione I didn't mean to get all agitated but you know how I am about stuff." Ron said walking up to her and giving her a kiss.
" It's ok, I forgive you as long as you promise not to do it again." Hermione took Ron's hand and the three of them started to walk up to Hogwarts.
" I promise." Ron kissed Hermione's cheek.
" Hmm, I don't think that's good enough. What was it that Spike said? Oh that's right I'm thinking Sprinkles should go with that apology, and maybe some whipped cream, oh and don't forget the hot fudge. I don't think Spike knows what hot fudge is but he might he's been around for a while." Hermione and Harry started laughing at the look on Ron's face.
He was getting sick of people quoting Spike in the hallways. Some of the Slytherin's would purposely get him mad just to say it. Though Draco and the other's tried to stop them when they noticed someone was about to do something. Ron guessed that Draco was helping him out since he was starting to date Ginny. They were finally back inside Hogwarts and going to their dormitories to drop of their packages.
The weekend had finally come and most of the students were getting ready to go into Hogsmeade and pick up extra supplies that they needed for their classes. " Harry what if Ron and I meet up with you around lunch time at the Three Broomsticks and then we can all walk around together." Hermione hated the thought of Harry going to Hosmeade alone, but she really wanted to spend some alone time with Ron. He was her boyfriend after all.
" Ok, sounds good to me. I think I'll stay here for a while though and get a start on my essay." Harry looked around he hated doing homework but there was no more time to put it off.
" Ok, well then see you there. Don't forget Harry 12 at the Three Broomsticks." With that Hermione and Ron left holding hands. They had been one of the most talked about couples in the Gryffindor common room, they were always around each other and constantly caught snogging there.
Fred also left the grounds with Hermione and Ron. She didn't know her way around Hogsmeade since she had never been there, and Lupin had asked her to meet him outside of Honeydukes. " So what's Hogsmeade like? Is it nice?"
" It's ok, there's alot of stores and stuff. It's different from what you might think." Ron was trying to come up with words to explain Hogsmeade he never really thought about it much. He guessed he always took it for granite.
" I can't wait to see what they've got there. By the way you two make such a cute couple, I'm glad that you were able to get your acts together and stop fighting." Fred smiled she had never seen two people compliment each other more. She was like the Ice to his fire.
" Thanks. Well here's Honeydukes, and oh look there's Professor Lupin. Have fun." Hermione and Ron waved goodbye and started down the street.
" I'm glad you found the place." Lupin took Fred's hand and kissed it. " I was afraid you might get lost."
" I had help. Luckily the students know where they're going. So where are we going first?" Fred asked looking around, she had never seen any place like this. Ron was right it was different than she had imagined it to be, it was alot more magical.
" I thought I would let you pick out some sweets from the shop, and then we could walk around." Lupin said opening the door to the shop.
" Well thanks. Are the sweets here different than the ones in the muggle world?" Fred was warned by a couple of the students to be careful of some of the sweets like the Fizzing Whizbee's.
" Well some of the sweets yes. They have spells on them that turn them into joke candy." Lupin lead Fred over to one of the tables. " Like those Blood lollipops they actually taste like blood and stain your mouth. Not many people fancy them."
After buying a few sweets which Fred thought was an adventure in itself. The Weasley twins had bought candy and gave her a piece to try. When she opened her mouth to comment on how good the sweets tasted bubbles started to come out of her mouth. All of them laughed when the bubbles stopped. " I'll have to remember to stay away from stuff those two offer me." Fred blushed. She thought it was funny but at the same time a little embarrasing.
" Yes, they do have a nack for pulling pranks. I think that's what makes them stand out above their brothers." Lupin lead Fred down the street and into another store. " Have you ever seen goblin's miss Burkle?" Lupin thought she would get a kick out of seeing them. He remembered that they had movies like the Labyrinth in which the goblins were made to scare people.
" No, do you mean they actually exsist?" Fred looked amazed.
" Well yes. Most things that are in muggle horror movies actually exists." Lupin lead Fred out of the store and up to Gringotts.
" What's this?" The building was huge and a little off-center.
" Its the wizarding bank. Supposedly they have etremely long tunnels that run miles and miles underground guarding the most secretive and precise things. When people try to break into the vaults they get trapped inside and sometimes it takes the goblins forever to find them and get them out and by that time the theif is dead." Fred gave Lupin a kind of worried loook. " Don't worry, they were probably going to Azkaban either way. They would of wanted to die anyway."
" What's Azkaban?"
" Sorry, I forgot how much you still have to learn. Azkaban is the wizarding prison. It's guarded by Dementors. They're terrible creatures that suck the happiness right out of you, if your extremely bad though they give you a kiss. A Dementor's kiss is the worst thing that could happen because they suck your soul out through your mouth and then your nothing but a lifeless shell. You still live you just don't have anything to live for." Lupin lead Fred into the bank.
" These Fred are the Gringott's goblins." Lupin said waving an arm around the place.
" Oh my gosh their so small. I can't say their very pretty though, but they look very smart." Fred was just amazed they didn't look as scary as they were portrayed in movies. Actually she thought they were very cute, despite the fact of being very ugly.
" I'm glad you liked them. They have some of the worst attitudes though. You ready to go to the Three Broomsticks? When we get there I'll order you a Butterbeer. You'll enjoy it alot." With that Fred and Lupin left.
Harry finally started is way down Hogsmeade and into the Three Broomsticks. " One Butterbeer please." Harry asked Madame Rosemerta, while looking around for Hermione and Ron. He found them in a far corner snogging.
" Sorry I don't mean to interrupt your love fest there." Harry said sitting down at the table.
" Oh Harry, you made it that's great! How's your homework coming? I told you not to put it off until the last minute!" Hermione went and hugged Harry.
" It's almost complete, I still have about a foot to go on it. How's your date going?" Harry asked Ron but noticed that Ron's gaze was some where else. When Harry followed it he noticed that Ron was staring at Ginny and Draco.
" How could she! Even after I told her to stay away from him!" Ron said pounding the table with his fist.
" Will you get over it already! They like each other, they've liked each other for a long time. Their just getting around to telling each other it though. Plus your not your parents so there isn't anything you can do!" Hermione took a swig of her Butterbeer, she was throughly agitated with Ron he had done nothing but pull her into the stores that he had seen Ginny and the others go into.
" How do you know that they've liked each other for a while?" Ron said looking at her like he was about to punch the next thing that moved.
" Just because you don't talk to your sister doesn't mean other people don't! She's told me and Luna she's been crazy about him since that night Voldemort broke into Hogwarts. Plus I heard Blaise over telling Marcus Flint about Malfoy liking Ginny during Potions one day." Hermione got up and left the Three Broomsticks. Harry got up also, he loved being around Ron but not when he was going a-wall about his sister.
" Hermione wait up!" Harry called once he reached outside by this time Hermione was halfway down the road. She stopped once she heard her name and turned around.
" I'm sorry, he just gets me so frustrated some times. So what about you Harry do like anyone? You seem to be the only one with out a girlfriend." Hermione went into one of the shops.
Harry seemed to have noticed that he was one of the only Gryff's without a girlfriend also. " Well I do have a thing for Dawn Summer's you know Buffy's sister but I don't think she likes me like that. Plus we've never talked so I don't think she even notices me." Harry was pretending to be interested in some quills on the counter beside him.
" Well then next time she's at the castle maybe you should make the effort and talk to her. I know that she'll be there next month. I think I heard Dumbledore talking about planning a ball then anyways."
" Thanks Mione, but I'm terrible around girls you know that. I find one I like and I choke."
" Then leave it up to me." With that Hermione went up to the cash register and paid for her extra parchment and ink.
Fred and Lupin made their way into the Three Broomsticks and found a seat next to Dumbledore and McGonagall. Lupin ordered two Butterbeers when Madame Rosemerta came over. " So miss. Burkle what do you think of Hogsmede?" Dumbledore looked over and winked at her.
" It's great! I've seen so many wonderful things. I can't wait to come back again, and Remus is such a great tour guide and friend. I really enjoyed Zonko's they had so many wonderful things in there." Fred took a sip of her Butterbeer once it arrived. It was like nothing that she had ever experienced before. Once she swallowed her whole body was starting to warm up.
" So are you enjoying your Butterbeer?" Remus asked once he saw that Fred had tried a little of it.
" Yes, thanks. It's very good, I've never had anything quite like this." Fred took another sip.
" Well, I'm glad you enjoy it. Oh and congratulations on getting the coporializer to work, Mr. Doyle came running to my office afterwards to thank me. I told him I couldn't take the thanks since I didn't really do anything. I heard he went straight down to the Great Hall afterwards and from what one student told me he 'ate like a pig'. I almost fell out of my seat laughing I had never heard that expression before." Dumbledore remembered seeing how happy Doyle had been and smiled.
" So, where are you going to go to next?" McGonagall asked them.
" Well I have no clue it's up to Remus." Fred took Remus' hand unknowingly. Dumbledore saw this and smiled again he knew that they would make a perfect match, and was quite pleased with himself.
" Well, we could head back to the castle and have some tea there, you can tell me what Los Angeles is like, I would love to hear about it." Lupin held Fred's hand also.
" Maybe one day I could take you on a tour of L.A. you might get a kick out of it also. Though compared to this it's boring. Or maybe Angel will let you go with him when he's tracking demons, you might enjoy that too. Oh there's so many things I want to show you now. I'm sorry I'm rambling again I do that when I'm too happy or nervous. All you have to do is say 'Fred stop rambling' and I'll do that. Oh sorry there I go again." Fred blushed a little and then stopped talking.
" No, it's quite alright I enjoy it when you ramble. I think I would enjoy going to Los Angeles also. Well then I guess we better head back up to the castle. I want to take you to one more place before we go though." Lupin said getting up and helping Fred out of her chair.
" Albus, you knew all along didn't you?" McGonagall smiled at Dumbledore she knew he had to be behind this some how.
" I don't have the slightest idea what you're talking about. I merely introduced them in the hall way when Lupin came to visit." Dumbledore smiled and disappeared. McGonnagall figured he went back to his office.
" So where are you taking me?" Fred asked she was told to close her eyes, and to trust Remus.
"You'll see. Ok you can open your eyes now." Lupin said positioning her so she would get a better look.
" What is that?" Fred said bewildered.
" That miss Burkle is the Shrieking Shack, supposedly it's haunted. People say that sometimes at night you can hear howling and screaming like someone's in pain. I've never heard anything though so I think it might be a myth. I thought you would like it seeming your into stuff that isn't part of the ordinary." Lupin said smiling at her if she only knew what really went on in there.
" I wish I could go in there ya know, and see if it really is haunted. I've never met a ghost until I came to this school." Fred sometimes wished that she had gotten lost at Hogwarts instead of Pylea.
"Maybe one day I'll be able to take you on your ghost hunt. However today is not that day. How about we start makng our way up to the school, the students should be starting to come back by this time." Remus took Fred's hand and led her back to Hogwarts.
Harry and Hermione left the shop once Hermione was done shopping and found Ron waiting outside. " I'm sorry Hermione I didn't mean to get all agitated but you know how I am about stuff." Ron said walking up to her and giving her a kiss.
" It's ok, I forgive you as long as you promise not to do it again." Hermione took Ron's hand and the three of them started to walk up to Hogwarts.
" I promise." Ron kissed Hermione's cheek.
" Hmm, I don't think that's good enough. What was it that Spike said? Oh that's right I'm thinking Sprinkles should go with that apology, and maybe some whipped cream, oh and don't forget the hot fudge. I don't think Spike knows what hot fudge is but he might he's been around for a while." Hermione and Harry started laughing at the look on Ron's face.
He was getting sick of people quoting Spike in the hallways. Some of the Slytherin's would purposely get him mad just to say it. Though Draco and the other's tried to stop them when they noticed someone was about to do something. Ron guessed that Draco was helping him out since he was starting to date Ginny. They were finally back inside Hogwarts and going to their dormitories to drop of their packages.