Yaaaaay!!!!! My story has been reviewed a grand total of…..nine times. Hmm….not exactly fabulous, or happiness inspiring, but it's cool to get even one review. This chapter goes out to Tekvah Ariel- my constant reviewer who has made me her beta reader! Read her story!!
So, this chapter lacks what every Harry Potter book has: Harry Potter. It's told through Tina when she, Ron, and Hermione, go to Hogsmeade for the first time. Now a friend of mine told me that I couldn't do this because the first Hogsmeade trip was a romantic Ron & Hermione moment, but fact is, Ron wouldn't know romance if it bit him in the butt.
Hey Anandini Akka and Nina! Hope you two sugarquill fanatics enjoy this chapter!
I made a mistake in my "calculations". Tina has braces first and second year, not second and third. In third she has what I currently do: Two crystal clear retainers, one for the top and one for the bottom.
Just an FYI, I only have one disclaimer to apply to the whole fic, but I felt the need for another one here.
Disclaimer- I don't own Quodpot, but I wish I owned Quidditch
This is going to be the last scene in third year!
Tina, Ron, and Hermione walked out to the horseless carriages that would be taking them to Hogsmeade village. Ron opened the door looking as though he was going to let the two girls in first, then climbed into the carriage himself and sat down comfortably. Hermione followed, looking slightly annoyed, and with one final, sympathetic glance back at the castle, Tina entered, too.
"I still feel bad going to Hogsmeade while Harry's stuck in Gryffindor tower," she said, voicing what everyone was thinking.
"We all feel that way," Hermione replied.
"Yeah," said Ron. "That's why we're going to bring back so much stuff for Harry."
"True," said Tina, not sounding totally convinced. "And Harry would want us to have a good time, so I guess we'll just having to enjoy ourselves even more to make up for how much he would."
Hermione looked rather skeptical about this philosophy, but said nothing, obviously thinking it through. Tina decided to change the subject.
"So Ron," she began. "I hear the Quidditch World Cup's next year. Have you ever been to one before?"
"Once," said Ron. "Why? Don't you get to see much Quidditch in America?"
"Oh yeah," said Tina. "When we lived in Massachusetts we got to watch the state team a few times. But after we moved there wasn't nearly enthusiasm for Quidditch in our new town as there was in our old one. It's like that in most cities in the states. There aren't as many Quidditch fans in the U.S. as there are in Britain. Most American wizards prefer Quodpot."
Ron opened his mouth, no doubt to ask what Quodpot was, but Hermione cut in. "It's a game that evolved from Quidditch," she said to him. "A bewitched Quaffle, or a Quod, is chased around the pitch by the players and they have to get it into a 'pot' before it explodes in their face."
Both Tina and Ron looked impressed.
"It seems so…American, doesn't it?" Ron said, grinning. "A game that involves and exploding ball, honestly the ways these people think of to put themselves in danger…"
The rest of the short ride to Hogsmeade was spent talking about Quodpot, which, though they found it dangerous and rather stupid, both Ron and Hermione found quite interesting. By the time they reached the wizarding village Ron seemed to think it would be good fun to play a game with an exploding ball.
The carriage pulled up to Hogsmeade station where they got off. It was rather chilly, since it was Halloween, so the three of them put on their cloaks as they walked towards the village.
"Wow!" exclaimed Tina. "Look at this! It's like something out of a painting, and not necessarily a moving one, either."
It was indeed quite a sight. There were quaint little shops lining the narrow streets of the village and wizards of all shapes and sizes emerging from them. There were also a series of street side venders selling everything from Floo Powder to Enchanted Socks ("No more holes for your toes to peek through!").
"Where to first?" said Ron. "There's Honeyduke's, Zonko's, The Shrieking Shack, Dervish and Banges, The Three Broomsticks…"
"Let's go to Dervish and Banges," suggested Hermione. "I'm running out of parchment. Wonder why…"
Ron muttered something about overachievers as they pushed open the door to the magical supply shop. Inside was everything they would ever need for school. From quills, to parchment, to potion ingredients and books of charms. Hermione and Tina had to drag Ron away from an eraser that automatically erased misspelled words.
Next they chose to go to Zonko's, where shelf upon shelf was lined with practical jokes beyond anyone's wildest dreams. In the shop they ran into Fred and George, who were trying to quietly jinx a box of Dungbombs so that they would go off only when someone with a head boy badge was near them. Tina stopped for a moment to show them how to help it recognize that person and left the twins, chortling.
Tina steered Ron and Hermione into Honeyduke's, for that had been what she was really looking fotward to. Inside, she felt as though her wildest fantasies had come true and settled in this shop.
"What should I get?" she asked Hermione fingering through her money. "There's so much to choose from!"
"You're right," said Hermione, looking at the shelves breathlessly. "Get some of everything."
They then split up, each to buy a little of everything from each corner of the store (The fourth corner held some rather strange sweets that none of the three were very keen on trying). Tina ran into Parvati Patil when shuffling through a jar of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.
"Oh, hello Tina," said Parvati in a friendly voice.
"Hi Parvati," said Tina. The two were not nearly as close as Tina and Hermione but were just short of being actual friends. Despite the cultural things that they could share, Tina often found Parvati to be something of a featherhead who couldn't really see the bigger picture of reality. "What's up?"
"Oh, nothing. I'm just looking for some candy to send home. But my parents aren't fond of sweets that aren't Indian."
At this, Tina chuckled. It seemed perfectly characterisitic of any Indian family to feel that way.
"Try the Meal Chiclets," she suggested. "They're basically a whole meal in a bite sized piece of gummy candy, and I think they have a few international delicacies."
She winked and the two girls said good-bye, grinning.
Ron, Hermione, and Tina left Honeyduke's, their pockets filled with Ice Mice, Acid Pops, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs, and all sorts of other oddities that would make the mouth water. They then headed towards the Three Broomsticks for a quick drink to warm up.
"Then we can go to the Shrieking Shack," said Hermione. "And I think after we do it'll be about time to leave."
They popped into the cheerful pub and ordered three butterbeers from the woman behind the bar, Madam Rosmerta. She called Ron 'Dear' and the girls couldn't help but notice his ears go a violent shade of red. After they got their drinks, they sat down at a table near the window.
"So Ron," said Tina, grinning slyly. "You seem to like Madam Rosmerta, eh? Hate to burst your bubble though, bud, but she's too old for you."
Hermione giggled and Ron once again changed color to a bright crimson.
"Shut up," he muttered trying to hide his ears from view.
The rest of their stay in the Three Broomsticks was spent drinking butterbeer and talking about Lupin's Defense Against the Dark Arts classes. They then put their cloaks back on and jogged up to the Shrieking Shack.
"Cool," said Tina. "It just looks so….eerie. It looks deserted though, don't you think?"
"A little," said Hermione thoughtfully. "Perhaps the ghosts have left. Or maybe they came to peaceful agreements."
Ron snorted. Hermione glared at him then changed the subject.
"You know, if it wasn't boarded up or haunted, I think it would be quite a quaint little cottage. And I suppose if it was cleaned up a bit it would make a perfectly cozy place to live in."
"Yeah, maybe," said Ron looking at the Shack again as though trying to picture it as a home. Hermione gave him an odd look. It was a look that startled both Tina and Ron because of one reason: they had never seen it before. What shocked Tina more was that Ron returned the look to Hermione. It wasn't adoration, which would've been her first thought. No, it seemed as though each was seeing the other in a different light all of a sudden, and all because they had agreed on one thing.
"Okay," said Tina eying them apprehensively. "This is getting a little too weird for me. I'm going to the post office."
With that, she left shivering at the strangeness of it all. What the heck was that? She asked herself. It wasn't normal, that's for sure. She hoped she would never see that look on either of their faces again, though when she gave it a little thought it was rather cute. Amidst all her confusion, Tina giggled while checking the price for an owl to the United States.
She met Ron and Hermione back at the carriages, and greeted them, grinning. None of them brought up the strange moment that had ensued down at the Shack. They had put the little scene behind them and rode back to the schools chatting merrily about whether or not they thought Quodpot would ever come to Hogwarts. (Ron held high hopes) Tina and Hermione decided that they would give Harry half of everything they had bought, with the exception of Hermione's parchment. Soon enough they were at Hogwarts, ready for the famous Halloween feast.
A/N- What do you think? Despite my Author's Note at the beginning of this chapter, I couldn't resist foreshadowing a little Ron/Hermione moment. It's really nothing, I just made it a big deal because they argued so much in this book and they agreed in this one about a house they would want to live in.