When an owl which Poppy didn't recognise stopped in front of her and held out its leg at breakfast a week later, her heart skipped a beat thinking that the letter was from Charlie.
But when she managed to remove the scroll, she found that it was from Gringotts.
"Well?" Esther asked impatiently.
"I've been invited to the initial assessment centre," Poppy said, grinning at the letter. "It'll be in London… oh… but it's the Hogsmeade weekend. Crap. I was going to buy my dress robes then…"
"What time's the interview?" Cass asked hopefully.
"Ten til four-ish, depends on how well you do in the last interview... It says that we'll find out about the different strands of work at Gringotts and then we'll have a face-to-face thing. So I don't think I'll have enough time to scope out Gladrags, Madam Malkins, or Second-Hand Robes before the interview and I definitely won't have the brain power to buy anything afterwards… I'll just have to use an owl order…"
"You can't owl order your dress robes! What if they don't fit?" Esther asked incredulously.
"I can, and I will," Poppy said, taking out the acceptance form.
She ran to the Owlery with the completed form, and a little letter to Bill to thank him for letting her know about the opportunity and let him know she'd got through to the next round. She thought about letting Charlie know, but she didn't want to send him another letter, not when he'd still not replied to her last one. And now that she'd talked to Fred and George, she was mortified that she'd asked Charlie if it was one of their pranks. She hoped he wouldn't say anything to his brothers if it was ever brought up in conversation.
On the 21st of November, Poppy dressed in her black dress robes, foregoing any Hogwarts branded clothing, and Floo'd from Professor Sprout's office to the Leaky Cauldron.
She barely looked at the bright and wondrous shops when she arrived, instead focussing her eyes on the white marble building which towered over the others - Gringotts.
She'd rarely been into the bank itself - her bursary for Hogwarts was delivered to her while she was still at school every year, and she'd been paid in cash over the summer. She did have an account where her savings were currently, but it wasn't so much of a vault as a small hole in the wall which her key opened, and it was so close to the surface that she'd never even been on one of the carts which Esther and Cass grumbled and groaned about. So she still felt a sense of marvel when she beheld the bank.
When she walked through the large doorway she saw a gaggle of witches and wizards around the same age as her or older, wearing various colours of robes. She recognised one student from her year, a Ravenclaw from her Muggle Studies class, but otherwise found the others strangers.
She joined them quickly and saw an older witch who was holding a sign which read, "Gringotts Graduate Pathway," standing at the front of the group.
"Here for the assessment centre?" a slightly older wizard asked, nudging her slightly.
Poppy stepped away slightly as she glanced at him and smiled as kindly as she could. "No, just got lost on the way to the loos."
It took him a moment to register her words, but when he did he guffawed, and Poppy's eyes widened at the intrusive sound that her 'joke' had not warranted (it had been truly awful). She took another small step away.
"That's brilliant," he said, laughing and pointing at her. "Very good. Clever."
Poppy smiled politely, and when they began to walk she dodged out of the line and moved towards the back to avoid any more embarrassing jokes, unwelcome nudges, and fake laughter.
Their initial tour was quite long, taking them through the bank's offices, all the way down to the middle vaults which were accessed via open topped carts on what looked like a miniature railway track suspended in the air using magic.
The carts began to move, propelling Poppy and her cart-mates forward at incredible speed, and she thought that this must be what it was like to be on a rollercoaster. She'd never been on one before, and was so unused to the intense speed - of the air rushing against her face, the drop of her stomach as they bounced and turned - and the lack of control she had over the cart's speed or trajectory.
She held on tightly to the closest side of the small cart she shared with two other people, and stared outwards, breathing deeply and trying to track where they were going.
At one point she tried to close her eyes but it made it worse somehow, and she felt even more nauseous and out of control. It sent shockwaves of hot and cold shivers throughout her body and she had to open her eyes again almost immediately.
This was odd to her, as she'd now travelled via Apparition, Floo and Portkey (all of which usually left wizards and witches a little discombobulated) and not experienced anything near this level of discomfort.
Mere minutes after their journey began they came to a sudden stop and Poppy braced her hands on the front of the cart, trying to hide her panicked breathing as the people around her recovered quickly.
Their guide exited his cart and motioned for them all to disembark, and Poppy tried to hide her shaking legs as she stood, joining the other applicants in a semi-circle around the goblin to listen as he explained that some of their jobs would be to break into vaults all over the world and bring back treasure.
He pulled out a rather innocuous key and turned it within the vault door's lock three times. Then, he pulled the door open and allowed them to see inside. Poppy's eyes widened comically. Never in her life had she seen so much money.
There were gleaming towers of golden galleons, shimmering stacks of silver sickles, and piles of bronze knuts, with little room to even step inside. It must have been an illusion, but it was still impressive.
A gasp of awe came from a one of the other applicants, and then their guide turned to them all with a gleeful smile and said that if any of the applicants wanted to break into a vault at Gringotts, there would be no escape and they would die a horrible death, "Trapped inside, your wands won't work. But there will be just enough air for you to starve to death…"
Poppy gulped. She wondered if anyone would be ballsy enough to try it. Then again, she remembered that someone had successfully broken into a vault back in the summer before her fourth year. She decided not to mention it though. It didn't seem like the right time.
"Back in," the guide commanded, ushering them all back into the carts.
Poppy groaned to herself and joined the queue of applicants. She had just geared herself up for the return journey back up to the main hall/offices, when the applicant who'd guffawed loudly asked from the front;
"Will we be visiting the oldest vaults?" and pointed downwards.
Poppy groaned and hoped against all hope that she wouldn't have to go down in the cart once more.
"Not a fan?" the witch next to her asked, nodding to Poppy's hands, which were gripped in each other so tight that her knuckles were pale brown, and back to the carts in front of them.
Poppy smiled and shook her head. "Not yet. It'll take some getting used to, that's for sure."
"You can say that again," the woman replied when they clambered back into the carts. "I still remember my first time. They take the scenic route for job applicants. I should know, it's my fourth year try-" Her voice was cut off when they began to move again at great speed, shooting upwards now.
Poppy's cry of surprise was lost to the whooshing of the air around them.
When they reached the top floor and disembarked, another Goblin met them and said that he was taking them to hear from the Head of Gringotts. He didn't introduce himself, and instead walked with purpose away from them. They ran along to catch up with him.
"What about those vaults?" the man who'd guffawed asked again as they walked through a small hallway.
"We don't show those to people unless they have a key," their guide replied curtly. "Do you have a centuries old family vault?"
"Oof," Poppy whispered to herself, seeing the guffawing man's neck turn red. He shut up immediately.
After the Head Goblin of Gringotts greeted them and spoke for a short time about the future of Gringotts and their current expansion plans, they were split into two groups - those who had applied to become Curse-Breakers, and what Poppy decided were 'The Others,' which included Poppy herself since she'd applied for a cataloguing role.
The group spent lunch together, chatting and getting to know one another, and then they were split into more groups where they were tasked with a banking related problem to solve individually.
Once they were finished, they were to present to each other and the representative of Gringotts who sat at their table, and explain why and how they'd decided on their choice. Poppy and her group of three other entrants were given;
A wizard, aged seventy-nine, enters the bank with a sack of coins totalling one thousand, one hundred and seventy two galleons. He wishes to deposit the money into his account.
At the same time, a young witch aged twenty-two enters to open a new account as she is now in regular employment. Her coins total seventy-two galleons.
Who would you see first?
Poppy frowned - it didn't seem directly related to the role she'd applied for, and she wasn't expecting it to be so simple. And yet she spent the next ten minutes writing down different things which she eventually crossed out, thinking they were too childish or stupid to say as they were just as simple as the question. And then, just at the end, she realised how odd the wording, 'see first,' was.
Why would they not ask who they would, 'serve,' first? That would make more sense, surely?
She wished it was more of a practical task. She was better at those, and couldn't second guess her decision as much.
"Name, then your answer please," the Goblin said when he sat down at their table, a large quill and a piece of parchment in his hand. Poppy let out a slow, worried breath.
"Kimberley Knottberry. I would serve the old man first," Kim, a kind looking witch who Poppy had sat with at lunch said, shuffling in her seat and smiling broadly at the banker who was tasked with writing down their answers and scoring them. "Because his investment in the bank is higher, and he already has an account with us. If he's depositing so much money he must have a good job, and therefore his vault would be of higher value and importance."
Poppy swallowed thickly. It seemed that the other applicants had translated, 'see,' to, 'serve.'
"Jonathan Owens. The old man," said one of the two wizards in the group, who had largely ignored Poppy at lunch, "because he's older and would need to be seen first. The woman would be happy to wait a few minutes, I'm sure."
"Simon Tewkesbury. I would see the younger woman," the third entrant said, smiling. "Her business would be valuable to the bank. The older wizard on the other hand wouldn't have long left with us, and who knows where that money came from."
Poppy's eyes widened and her mouth turned down at the corners when he said that the older wizard might die soon, but then the assessor looked at her, and she gulped.
"Well, it depends who's in front," Poppy said, shakily.
"What?" the assessor asked shortly.
"Uh… well, it depends who's in front, and, or, who's taller. Because if they walk in at the same time, then you'd see them both at the same time unless one is taller than the other and your vantage… uh… if we're talking about who we would serve first, then I wouldn't serve anyone, as this job isn't for a front of house role, but if hypothetically I were to serve them, then I would go for the woman. Uh… because she's younger, and her opening an account with Gringotts would be ensuring what, forty years of financial loyalty at least with inflation and increased wages, and a good first impression is key to ensuring that she banks with us in the long run. The older gentleman would want to wait a minute or two anyway, as I'm sure he'd have a specific Gob- uh… a specific bank teller who he spoke to each time, and he'd want to- to go to them, right? So uh… yeah…"
"Your answer is that you would see whoever's tallest first, but you would serve the young woman first because she would be working for a long time, and the older man would want to wait to be served by a Goblin he knew well?"
"Uh… yes…" she said, nodding.
"And if the Goblin this customer knew well was the teller available?"
"Well then I'm sure he wouldn't mind if the lady went first… as he would be of an age where he didn't need to rush around, and he would want her to be served by someone who he admired."
"Interesting," the banker replied, frowning. "Name?"
"Poppy Edwards."
"Poppy?" he asked, scanning the paper.
"It might be under my legal name?" she said quietly. She'd thought it would be under Poppy as her letter had referred to her as that. "Margaret Edwards. Everyone calls me Poppy though."
He didn't answer, but instead struck a line under her first name, writing Poppy next to it. She released the breath she'd been holding.
"Well... all… interesting answers. Wait here until all of the groups are finished." And then he left.
Poppy hung her head, and was thankful that her group remained silent until the other groups were all done and they were asked to follow a witch into the next task.
She walked shakily, nervous and hot after her terrible answers. Get it together, she told herself, walking past a long row of empty chairs in a bright hallway, and following the long line of other entrants into a large room.
Stepping inside, Poppy noticed that there were no windows, but high walls. The ceiling, a bright white, matched the walls, which were lit by hundreds of candles.
And on the ground, there were about twelve tables set out with two seats at each facing each other. Poppy quickly counted the number of people in their large group and realised that there were 32 entrants around her - it seemed as though the other group, filled with future Curse Breakers, had rejoined them.
She had no idea what time it was now. It felt as though they'd been inside for hours and hours with only lunch to break it all up. She would need to work on her time perception…
"Is that… a chess set?" one of the wizards near her asked.
Poppy frowned and took a closer look at the tables. Sure enough, each one had a chess set on top.
"Do we have to play against each other or something?" someone asked.
"I'm so confused, I thought I was here for a desk job, not to play chess…" someone else said.
"Well I'm here for action. Don't know what this is all about, I thought it'd be actually getting past something, not… chess," someone else replied.
"I thought there'd be more counting… or at least some artefact identification…" Kim said, crossing her arms.
They waited, questioning everything for around five minutes, and then the door at the other side of the room opened and wizards and witches began to walk through, all dressed in informal clothing.
Poppy's eyes widened when she saw Bill, his long hair pulled back into a ponytail, wearing his usual dragonhide boots and black clothes, his fang earring swinging as he walked.
The actual Curse Breakers walked to the tables and sat down.
Poppy tried hard not to catch Bill's eye. His presence made her even more nervous. It was one thing to fail in front of people she'd never see again, another to do so in front of him.
"Right," a female Curse Breaker said. She had remained standing while the others sat, and clapped her hands together as she spoke. "We are just a handful of Gringotts' active Curse Breakers. Our job is to… well, break curses."
Her colleagues laughed but only a few of the applicants did. Poppy, for her sins, let out a snort at the terrible joke and covered her mouth. She didn't look at Bill but she knew he was staring at her and trying not to laugh. She just had to hope he wouldn't tell Charlie - she'd be mortified if he teased her about it.
"We work all over the world to bring Gringotts back as much treasure as we can," the witch explained. "We thought it would be good for you to meet some of us and see how our brains work since the roles you've applied for are in some way connected to our work. Unfortunately, due to a situation in Columbia there are only twelve of us for the day, so we'll have to split you up. The people who go first will be able to leave for the next part of the assessment centre first and therefore go home first. Do we have any volunteers?"
Poppy wanted to raise her hand, but she didn't - she was too overwhelmed and nervous, and so she decided that watching to see what happened would be the best thing to do.
The first twelve people sat down with the Curse Breakers, and Poppy and the other 20 entrants were asked to step back outside the room and wait in the hallway.
"Rats," a witch said, "I was hoping we'd get to watch."
"Me too," Poppy said, chuckling nervously, sitting down on one of the chairs. "I'm bricking it."
Just ten minutes later, the door opened and a wizard popped his head round. "Diane Fisher?" he asked. The witch who Poppy had spoken to stood and walked into the room.
One by one, they were called into the room until it was just Poppy and three other people left.
"Poppy Jacobs?" asked a familiar voice, and Poppy looked up to see Bill smiling at her.
She shook her head immediately. "I'll wait," she said.
Bill looked a little taken aback. "What?" he asked.
Poppy pursed her lips and glanced at the other entrants. They were looking at her oddly. She tried to ignore her speeding heartbeat.
She ran over to Bill and whispered urgently, "If I play chess against you and then get a job then everyone will say it was because I know you or something and so as much as I want to, could you just pick someone else?" she asked, pleading with her eyes.
Bill let out a breath of a laugh and nodded. "Alright," he looked down at the piece of paper in his hand. "Jacques Homme?"
She had to wait until all of the other entrants had gone in and then, forty minutes after Bill had first tried to call her in, a wizard popped his head round the door and smiled at her. "Ready?" he asked.
"Just about," she said, smiling as she stood and walked over to him.
She followed him back into the room and noticed that there were only a handful of people still playing. The tables which were no longer in use had disappeared, and the Curse Breakers who weren't playing anymore were standing along the wall, talking to each other and watching the remaining matches.
Poppy gulped and tried to ignore that Bill was now standing with his colleagues, his arms crossed, a smile on his face as he watched her.
She tried to remain calm as she was led to a table near to the wall, and so near to the Curse Breakers. It felt like an added pressure that she didn't need, having them all watching.
"Sorry for the long wait," the man said, smiling as he sat opposite her, "my last one went on for a while."
Poppy smiled. Sitting at the table she felt her nerves slowly wash away. She realised that she couldn't really hear anyone around them, and assumed that they'd walked into a warded area. She was impressed by the magic, feeling warm and content.
"No worries. It was nice out there," she said happily.
"It was?" he asked, setting up the table.
"Yeah. Nerve wracking, don't get me wrong, but it was nice to have a little breather."
"Not great under pressure?" he asked, "pawn to f3."
"Normally yes," she said, watching his pawn move. She sighed. "But it depends on the situation I guess. I tend to worry about written exams and so I cram and cram and come out like a brainless zombie having put all my words onto the parchment. Things like this where we have a little more time make me nervous. I always think I'm going to mess up. But when it's something physical I find it easier to react and pick the right spell."
"But you're not applying to be a Curse Breaker?"
"No," she admitted. "I want to be an Auror if I'm completely honest, but I need a good backup."
The man scoffed and then grinned at her. "I was a little different. Wanted to be an Auror but realised curse breaking was where the money was."
Poppy smiled and then took her time deliberating on her next move. She knew exactly what she was going to do, but she pretended that she didn't. Slowly, as if unsure, she said, "Pawn to e5."
"I'm James, by the way," he said, smiling.
"Poppy, but you knew that of course," she said with a laugh. She couldn't believe it, but she felt all of her nerves leave her now.
James grinned. "Pawn to g3. How're you finding the day so far?" he asked as his pawn moved itself forwards.
Without hesitating, Poppy said, "Queen to h4. Checkmate." She frowned. "Did you let that happen?" she asked a surprised looking James.
James raised his eyebrows and laughed as he surveyed the board. "I genuinely didn't. I think I just got distracted."
"Should we start again?" she asked. Her queen looked up at her and shook her fist - she was clearly looking forward to knocking down James' king.
"Do you want to?" he asked, still smiling and shaking his head in disbelief. "You could just go through the door instead," he offered, waving over his shoulder at the door vaguely.
"Let's play again," she said happily, moving the pieces back. She felt a sense of achievement, winning. "Checkmate was too good to resist in the moment but I'd be disappointed if we ended it here."
"Do you play a lot?" he asked casually.
Poppy didn't answer, and waited for him to take the first move. "No," she said when she realised that he wouldn't move unless she replied. "Not anymore…" She didn't normally want to discuss her family with relative strangers, but something made her feel safe and content enough to tell James something rather inconsequential, and she said, "My dad taught me when I was little. I used to play at the Muggle library. They had these chess tables which were free to use. But then… well, I found out I was a witch, and that put an end to that."
"Why?" he asked, turning the board around. "You go first," he added in a quieter voice.
"Pawn to e4," she said calmly, ignoring his question. "What's it like being a Curse Breaker?" she asked instead.
James smiled. "Ignoring the shame of losing that last match so quickly, it's normally a fun job," he said. "Pawn to f5."
Poppy pursed her lips to stop herself from smiling at his move, and raised an eyebrow - she was beginning to feel a slight weightlessness in her limbs, as if she'd had a few drinks. "You're really going to… okay… pawn to f5."
"Curse breaking is similar to chess," he said, watching the board. "You have to try and be one step ahead. You have to think every move through and know that if it's too easy, you might have missed something."
"Interesting," Poppy replied, smiling mischievously now. "Because you seem to be one step behind."
James watched the board for a while, trying to work out what she meant, and Poppy took the time to look around. She noticed that there was only one other pair still playing now. She watched them for a moment and frowned when she saw that the applicant looked as though he was laughing uncontrollably. She sobered and swallowed thickly when she realised that there might have been another reason for her feeling so happy and content while sitting at the table. But that very same happiness overwhelmed her not ten seconds after her smile had fallen, and she felt her grin return.
Thrown off by this, and knowing that she needed to find a way to keep her wits about her, she placed a hand on her lap and pinched her thigh through the fabric of her robes. She barely felt it, which confirmed to her that there was a charm in place making her feel lightheaded as opposed to any other artifice.
Repel it, she thought, despite her renewed contentment. Slyly removing her wand from her pocket, she shot a quick look at Bill who was still standing by the other Curse Breakers. More had joined him from where they'd finished their games, and most were openly watching her match now.
She smiled at Bill happily and waved. He smirked and waved back, and then she turned back to James, who was still looking at the chess set.
She guessed that the spell they'd used on her had been a cheering charm - she and the other wizard were showing the right symptoms. So she cast a non-verbal reversal, feeling the contentment wash away suddenly. Her nerves returned and she had to concentrate to keep her fake smile in place. She still couldn't hear the Curse Breakers talking though, so, now with a clear mind, she cast another spell to try and repel whatever wards were around her, and found herself lucky that it worked. The pressure around her ears flitted away and suddenly she could hear the slight whispers of the Curse Breakers.
She cast protego duo to protect herself from further spells and when James looked up, she continued to smile broadly and he grinned back. "Okay," he said, "I'm going to move this pawn," he pointed at the pawn in question, "here," he said, pointing at a square. Poppy twitched her head to the side but said nothing, continuing to grin manically.
"Okay, you know what," James said, shaking his head. "Pawn to-" He looked at Poppy for a moment and she winced dramatically, and let out a fake giggle. "Uh…" he said, re-evaluating his choice. "Merlin, pawn to g5."
Poppy snorted despite herself and James groaned. "Queen to h5," she said confidently, bouncing slightly in her seat as her Queen moved to the spot and she announced, "Checkmate."
James sighed and tipped his head back to stare at the ceiling for a moment. "Right. Off you go," he said, looking at her again.
Poppy shook her head and continued to smile. "Let's play again. I think it would be nice to actually play a game," she said, rearranging the board. She saw the other remaining entrant stand up, shake his opponent's hand, and then walk through the door on very happy feet.
"What were those two games then?" he asked, smiling.
Poppy tilted her head but continued to smile. "They were me letting my guard down."
"But she won both of them," a witch near Bill scoffed. "What does she want? To win again? Bit up herself eh?"
"No," Poppy said, letting her smile drop, turning to the witch. "He placed a cheering charm on me so I wouldn't notice that he let me win. Personally, I'd rather lose a match and have my wits about me."
Bill let out a loud laugh and shook his head, and the others let out noises of shock when Poppy turned back to James.
"How did you know?" he asked, sitting back in his chair.
Poppy's lips twitched upwards. "I know bull-shit when I see it."
"You're going to have to elaborate there," James said, grinning now.
Poppy shrugged. "I get feelings about people. Sometimes I just know I shouldn't trust them, even without evidence. But I do think you're trustworthy, which is why I'd like to play against you properly… How long did the others take until they went through the door?" she asked, frowning now. "It's only been, what, five minutes for me so far?"
James let out a surprised laugh. "About an hour and a bit each," he said. "Quickest was ten minutes but that's because he was decimated and laughing uncontrollably so we had to get him out before he tipped off the others. Most people got that it was a cheering charm by the end."
Poppy chuckled and shook her head. "If he was decimated I'd hate to know what you'd call me beating you twice… Best out of five?" she asked, shrugging her shoulders. "Might kill some time so people don't think I cheated."
"Did you cheat?" he asked, smiling.
Poppy shrugged again. "I don't really know. It's all about perspective, isn't it? I'm not sure if I was meant to remove those spells, so I guess in a way I did."
"Hmmm… okay, I'll play again… wait… are you going to beat me in four moves this time?" he teased.
"Only if you start on black again," she said with an innocent smile.
She could hear the Curse Breakers whispering to each other at that one, but ignored them.
"Did you memorise plays then?" James asked.
"Of course. Like I said, I used to play against my dad. I know checkmate in two to six moves," she said, tapping her forehead. "Without those, I'm a bit of an all over the place player. I don't play to win."
James hummed as he turned the table and said, "Pawn to e4. What's the point of playing if you're not going to win?" he asked.
"Fun," she said, shrugging. "Pawn to h3. It's nice to take some time to just enjoy something, and it's a nice way to chat to someone without the pressure of reading their face. I can just enjoy the game."
"Okay… well what else do you enjoy?" he asked.
Poppy and James played their new game for the next five minutes, and when he beat her, Poppy grinned and congratulated him as she stood.
"Where're you going?" he asked, motioning for her to sit down. "Best out of five doesn't stop because you lost one."
There was a smattering of laughs from the whispering group, who had now dropped all pretence and were sitting on chairs around the duo, watching Poppy and James' match intently.
"That's true, but I think I need to get on, don't I?" she asked, sitting again.
"Nah, you're alright," he said, turning the now battered chess set around. "You're up first this time."
They played another two games, and Poppy lost graciously both times. While they played, they talked about her current school subjects and her life goals (she was honest still, elaborating that she wanted the job as a springboard to something more adventurous, but also she didn't take Ancient Runes so she couldn't go for a Curse Breaker position), and then when James tried to ask about her family again, she moved them on to the practicalities of curse breaking, and soon enough they were talking about James' life in Egypt and Paris before that, his friends (Bill was among them), and what he thought of working at Gringotts.
"Right," he said, standing when she'd lost the last game. Poppy followed suit and shook his hand. "Good games."
"You too," she said, smiling, and then she walked towards the doors. She stopped when she reached them, frowned and turned back. "These won't blow up when I walk through them, will they?" she called.
James laughed and shook his head. "It was just the cheering and hearing charms."
"We're not allowed to do much more here," Bill called back happily.
Poppy thanked them all and sent a little wave to Bill before she left.
She walked through the doors and into an extremely light room. The only person there was a Goblin, who looked at her and then at the paper in front of him.
"Jacobs?" he asked. Poppy nodded. "If you're in contention for a role you'll hear from us within the week. Otherwise, we won't be hiring at this time."
"Wait… but what about my interview?" she asked, frowning. The Goblin sighed exasperatedly and Poppy realised. "That was my interview wasn't it?"
Knowing there was nothing left, Poppy felt lightheaded, her heart beating out of her chest. She felt oddly agitated, like she needed to go and do something to use up her excess energy and get her mind off it all.
So when she emerged from the building and found that it was already dark outside, (she checked the time on the giant clock noting that it was now almost five), she walked briskly down to Gladrags to have a little look at their options before they closed for the day.
When she stepped inside she immediately noticed a set of dress robes on the rack in the middle of the shop.
The gold fabric shimmered in the candlelight. Picking it up, she found that it was made of light material, floor length, and long enough that when she held it up against her she knew she'd have to wear heels with it despite her height.
Strapless, the bodice looked fitted, with the fabric of the skirt flowing out from the bottom of the bodice towards the ground, looking as fluid as water.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" the saleswitch asked, joining her. "Only twenty-five galleons."
Poppy winced and coughed to hide her reaction. "Bit out of my price range," she said slowly, placing the dress robes back.
"Well… We do have one which was customised but is coming back to us this week. It's going to be marked down. I could reserve it for you?" she suggested.
Poppy could tell she was just trying to get rid of the customised one, but she still asked;
"How much would it be?" and picked up the hanger again to admire the fabric once more.
"Under twenty galleons," the witch replied, smiling. "And we'd be able to throw in some shoes as well," she said, holding out her hand towards a wall filled with different types of heels.
Poppy pursed her lips. The dress and shoes would take up most of her remaining pocket money for the year. She bit her lip and decided to ignore the worry over finances - she could just break into her savings if she needed to couldn't she? And Ester was right - this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to party with her friends before they all left school forever.
So she agreed, and put down her name and 'Hogwarts' when the witch asked if she wanted them to send her the details when the dress came back in. She supposed it couldn't hurt to at least find out how much the dress would be discounted to…
She left the shop on a bit of a high and walked over to the Leaky Cauldron, where she was meant to floo back to school.
She entered the pub and saw a large group crowded around some tables which had been pushed together towards the back of the pub and sighed when she saw Bill among them.
When he saw her making her way to the fire grate he stood and walked over. "Let me buy you a drink," he asked when he got to her. "Call it a congratulations for getting through the day relatively unscathed."
She thought about it for a moment and then nodded and turned to walk to the bar, Bill falling into step beside her.
"Relatively unscathed?" she asked, waving to the other Curse Breakers as she passed them. James waved back and winked.
She laughed and pushed Bill on the arm when he narrowed his eyes at his friend.
Bill sighed. "Well, you did say to a Goblin that the first person to be seen at the front desk would be the taller person…"
Poppy groaned and buried her head in her hands when they got to the long bar and stood at the end, waiting to be served.
"Absolutely mortifying," she said, shaking her head.
Bill laughed again and gently tugged her hands away from her face. "It wasn't too bad. And if there were any issues, you made up for them with the last task. Beer?" he asked, nodding to the barman to catch his attention. "Or, actually… butterbeer? It is a school night…"
"It's a weekend. I'm overage in the Wizarding world and I'm eighteen, so I can drink in the Muggle world too now," she replied defiantly. "Though as an ex-Head Boy, you really shouldn't be offering alcohol to students…" she added in a teasing voice.
"So, beer?" he asked again with a grin.
Poppy grimaced and shook her head. She turned to the witch behind the bar. "I'll have a large glass of Elderflower wine please."
Bill smirked and ordered himself an ale. Before Poppy could get her money out, he paid for their drinks, passing over a few coins to the barmaid.
"Thank you," Poppy said gratefully, picking up her glass.
"My pleasure. You know, I'm glad Charlie passed on the application pack to you. I think you'll be a great addition to the team if we can convince you away from those unruly dragons," he said, winking. He took a sip of his ale. "You should send him something as a little thank you," he added with a smirk. "I bet he'd love that."
"No he wouldn't," Poppy said, shaking her head. "I think I annoy him a bit if I'm honest. Case in point, I'm still waiting for a reply to my last letter…"
Bill laughed. "You? Annoying? Never. I bet he just wants to reply in person…"
"In person? What d'you mean?" she asked, taking a sip of her wine.
"Nothing…" he said, drawing out the word and continuing to send her a knowing smile.
Poppy pursed her lips and hummed. Bill obviously knew more than she did and if he thought she should get something for Charlie then it wouldn't be too weird and clingy of her, would it?
"Say I did get him a thank you," she said slowly. "What d'you think he'd like?" she asked, raising her drink to her lips again.
"What do you think Charlie would like?" he asked, still smirking as he raised an eyebrow.
Poppy didn't rise to his bait and instead took another small gulp of her wine. Then she said, "Obviously he likes dragons…"
"Obviously," Bill repeated.
She thought for a moment and felt her eyes unfocus as she stared at the bar, thinking of something he could like. "In the summer he… he mentioned wanting to stop off at Sugarplum's on the way back to Romania, so I think he's all stocked up on sweets… And I know that he's almost perfected his burn cream, so I think he's sorted there… I would say he might need a new pair of boots, but I can't afford those… Okay, thinking small… he quite likes Fortescue's ice cream and he's partial to the rum and raisin, but I don't know how I'd get it across to him without it melting… Ooh!" she said, looking at Bill now, "I could get him some of Rosa Lee's cookies. He mentioned back in my first year that they had the best triple chocolate chip cookies he'd ever tasted… Yeah, I'll get him some of those… or not?" she asked, looking at Bill who was staring at her with a slightly open mouth. "Not?"
"Get him the cookies," he said, a slow smile taking over his face. "Merlin… we all thought it was one sided… didn't think Charlie had a chance..."
"What was one-sided? Chance at what?" she asked, her heart racing.
"Nothing. Just hurry to Rosa Lee's. She shuts at six," he said, nodding his head towards the door. "Don't down-" he added, watching as she drained her glass of wine. "Oh for Merlin's sake. Mum's going to kill me."
Poppy smiled and shook her head as she placed the glass on the counter. "I won't tell anyone, don't worry."
"That's the alcohol talking," he said, shaking his head. "Ridiculous."