AN: Hey guys! I wasn't planning to write this until tomorrow, but inspiration struck, and so I obeyed the muse. Also, I forgot to give a shout out to Spring Raine last chapter for suggesting Augusta Longbottom for History prof, so I apologize for that. Thanks, as always, to the tons of readers who make this possible. Thanks to the followers and favorites out there for being so awesome! And, of course, loads of thanks to reviewers Lady Sabine of Macayhill, Narnia and Harry Potter 4 EVER, Majerus, Guest, B00kw0rm92, ElementKitsune, MariusDarkwolf, Firenze Fox, A Lady of Time, mudbloodpotter05, Arrow Riddari, Kairan1979, serialkeller, Tellur, RRW, and red-jacobson.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise.
Cormac shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked slowly on his heels. He was waiting just outside of the Great Hall for Leann. The girl had been overjoyed when he asked her to Hogsmeade, despite the fact that he hadn't been all that enthused while doing so. He couldn't stop thinking of Katie. Her request had just cemented what he'd refused to believe for so long: Katie didn't like him. At least, not like that. Leann certainly did, but Leann was no Katie.
"Hi Cormac!" Leann popped up behind him, causing him to jump out of his skin.
"Oh, hey Leann. We should probably get going," He told her, motioning toward the carriages.
"Right!" She trilled, skipping over to them. "I'm so excited, aren't you?" She asked.
He nodded glumly, wondering why she just stood outside the carriage. Lee Jordan coughed nearby, and Cormac turned. Lee quickly helped a girl Cormac had never seen before into a carriage. Cormac groaned inwardly. Leann couldn't honestly expect him to help her into the carriage, could she? But judging by her tapping foot and impatient frown, that was precisely what she expected him to do.
Sighing, he gave her his hand. She took it gingerly, giving him a happy smile. He returned it weakly. Katie never would've had him do that. She would've scoffed if he'd tried.
"Where do you wanna go first?" Leann chirped, once seated inside the carriage.
"Honeydukes?" He suggested.
"Ooh, fun!" She beamed at him. "Good idea!"
Cormac leaned back in the carriage and avoided her gaze. He knew she'd been waiting for this for a while. You'd have to be blind not to notice Leann's infatuation with him. He'd purposefully chosen to pretend he didn't notice her. It was easier than being nice and have her get the wrong idea. He wanted to be there with Katie. Katie, who loved to step in puddles and pull herself up into carriages. He certainly didn't want to be there with Leann, who had done something to her curls to make them stiff and fake. Katie would never use hairspray. But Katie wanted him to pay attention to Leann, so he did.
Meanwhile, Fred, George, and Alicia were sitting at the Three Broomsticks, laughing and having a good time. Well, George and Alicia were having a good time. Fred was sitting next to his brother, watching the cobblestone road in front of the bar. Angelina and Cedric would have to pass through there soon, and when they did, Fred would be waiting for them.
"Fred?" Alicia called.
"What?" He snapped back to the conversation.
"I was just wondering what you wanted. I was gonna go up there and get the food for us."
"Oh, you don't have to do that," He said immediately, his manners kicking in. He was about to go get it for her, when he realized that Angelina and Cedric might pass by when he was doing so. "Um, George'll do it."
His twin and his date both gave him confused look.
"Uh, sure, I guess so," George agreed, sliding out of the booth.
As soon as he was gone, Alicia leaned in closer. "Fred, are you alright?"
"Yeah, of course." He dismissed her concerns.
"Are you sure? You just seem a little…distracted." She struggled to get her point across.
Fred's eyes almost popped out of his skull when he saw Angelina and Cedric making their way down the path. "Uh, I'm okay. I'll be right back, I have to go talk to George."
Luckily, he met up with George as his brother was still standing in line. "George, c'mere!" He whispered conspiratorially.
"What's going on?" George said, intrigued.
"Give me your coat," Fred hissed.
"What?" George said in disbelief.
"Give me your coat," Fred repeated insistently. "I'll trade you mine, just hurry up!"
George handed his coat off to his brother, looking bewildered.
Fred stepped forward and ruffled George's hair. "Perfect," He proclaimed.
"Fred, what are you doing?" George asked.
"Now, when you get up there, order my food, but not yours," Fred instructed him, glancing over his shoulder.
"Fred, seriously-"
"I'll explain later," Fred promised. "Now, just remember, you're me!"
"Attention, everyone!" McGonagall shouted over the commotion at the latest staff meeting. "I know we haven't had one of these in a while, but that doesn't mean you can start acting like barbarians!" She scolded.
Augusta Longbottom had never particularly cared for children. They were irresponsible and reckless, not to mention incredibly ignorant. So why had she accepted a position at Hogwarts? Namely because, as her new boss Minerva had pointed out, it would allow her to keep a close eye on Neville. She had to make sure the boy was progressing well. Who knew what would happen when he was thrust out into the real world, where there was no one to defend him?
But there was another reason too. Augusta didn't like the way the world was being run right now. She didn't like seeing today's youth so uneducated. And what better way to fix it than by seeing to their education herself? It was a great idea, in her mind. Even better when she knew she wouldn't have to stay there for long.
There was one thing Augusta hadn't been expecting, however. She hadn't realized that her new co-workers were so…strange. There was Severus Snape, who she knew was a Death Eater, and who she didn't even pretend to like. There was Andromeda Tonks, who was the sister of that blasted Bellatrix. Argus Filch just made Augusta uncomfortable, and for a woman who had lived through three wars, it was a foreign feeling.
Pomona Sprout and Filius Flitwick had seemed normal at first, but whenever the two were in the same room, it turned into a warzone. Augusta couldn't stand the way they both tried to seize the upper hand in any situation. Septima Vector was a quiet, calculating woman that made Augusta feel as though she were constantly being studied and analyzed.
Charity Burbage was odd in her constant cheer and care of her house. Nothing seemed to make the woman feel bad, and Augusta wanted to know why. Rubeus Hagrid was as uncouth as she remembered, loving those horrid beasts he called pets and having the same thick accent. Even her supervisor, Minerva McGonagall, was prone to moments of extreme anger.
It was a rather unique group of people, and Augusta found herself wondering how they never tore each other's heads off. So at the staff meeting, seeing these very same people appear ready to tear down the school in their rage was a bit of a shock.
"Now, everyone needs to just stay calm, and—where is Gilderoy?" Minerva glared at an empty chair.
There was a collective murmur in which everyone agreed that they hadn't seen him.
Minerva threw her hands up in the air. "He is so unprofessional! In other matters, how have the two of you been settling in to Hogwarts?" She inquired politely.
"Oh, it's going…well," Andromeda lied. She had felt like crying on Monday with the sixth year Slytherins, but everything else had gone smoothly. Especially after she revealed that she was Draco Malfoy's aunt to a class of second years.
For a moment Augusta considered airing out all the grievances she had, but she decided to save that for later. "Fine, so far," She said breezily.
"That's good. Very good." Minerva seemed to breathe a sigh of relief after finding that at least one thing wasn't terrible. "Now, Severus, I hear that we ran into some trouble when Aurora and I were in the Hospital Wing."
Severus Snape was a very sour man. Augusta had tried to see past his unfortunate appearance, but she discovered the inside of the man was just as greasy and black as his hair.
"I didn't come across any trouble at all," He said acerbically. "I believe some other members of the staff were unhappy with my decision to comply with the law."
"Filius, Pomona, is this true?" She asked, business-like.
The two instantly began talking over each other, trying to be the one that Minerva trusted to listen to.
"Enough!" She shouted.
The pair fell silent.
"Charity," She said kindly, turning to face the Gryffindor Head. "Would you care to tell me what occurred during my unfortunate rest period?"
It was the first time Augusta had ever seen the blonde's smile waver. "Oh, I don't know if I'm really the best one to say. I was very pre-occupied with the Gryffindors, you see."
"Perhaps it would be best if we discussed this matter in private?" Minerva suggested gently.
Charity nodded shyly.
"I'm here!" Lockhart burst in, stumbling around like a drunken fool.
"Gilderoy, what is the matter with you?" Minerva demanded, standing up to look the man in the eyes.
"I wesh just off doing shum shtuff," He slurred.
"Were you drinking?" Charity gasped.
"Really," Vector tsked. "It's not even noon!"
"No, I'm fine," He said, straightening up. It appeared that even drunk, Lockhart knew when to keep his trap shut for the sake of his job. He walked a shaky line to his seat and slid into it, leaning forward comically.
Andromeda, who was sitting next to him, wrinkled her nose distastefully.
Augusta had typically been a housewife. She had only had a few jobs in her lifetime, but she was certain this was the most entertaining staff meeting she'd ever been to.
Fred was the only person sitting by himself in Madam Puddifoot's. Madam Puddifoot herself came out to glare at him for it. The small café, if it could be called that, was known as the place for couples to go to. Or rather, the place for girls to drag their respective partners to. Fred, as a single male wearing dark clothes, was quite bad for their image.
But Fred wasn't really there to cause a ruckus. At least, he didn't mean to draw any attention to himself. He was really there to watch Angelina and Cedric drink tea. He had a menu in his hands, and every ten seconds, he peeked over the top of it to look at the couple. They talked a lot, but Cedric never once made her laugh. That was like a sign to Fred. George could make Angelina laugh, and he did it a lot. Wasn't that something a good boyfriend should do? Granted, Fred wasn't being a very good boyfriend now, but that was because he was busy being a good brother. He'd make up for it later.
He'd managed to convince the only waitress on duty, through no small amount of flirting, to let him carry the tray to Cedric and Angelina. He'd been very careful in which cup he set in front of Cedric. And now he only had to wait for Diggory to take a sip, and his plan would fall into place. The only problem was that Cedric and Angelina wouldn't stop talking! It seemed to be getting quite heated too, because Angelina was glaring daggers at the boy, and her angry voice could be heard over the sound of various duos locking lips.
Indeed, for a moment, it seemed as though Cedric and Angelina's relationship would end all by itself, without Fred doing a thing. But then it appeared as though Diggory was apologizing, and Angelina was forgiving him. Fred wanted to scream. She couldn't seriously be just giving in to him, could she?
But then the tea saved the day. Cedric took a slow, cautious drink of the hot liquid. Fred held his breath. Cedric let out a content sigh before setting the cup down. And then he began to speak.
Fred had put a little something he liked to call "Verbal Diarrhea" into Diggory's tea. Every thought you had came rushing out of your mouth before you could stop it. Fred had been taking a big chance with it, because if Cedric didn't have any bad thoughts, then Angelina would just end up thinking he was sweet. Fred moved a little closer to hear better.
"You're really beautiful!" Cedric blurted out.
Angelina looked down modestly. "Oh, thank you!"
And then Cedric began complimenting certain parts of her anatomy, and Angelina began to get angry.
"What the hell, Cedric?" She shouted.
"I didn't mean to say that," He told her quickly.
"Are you sorry?" She shrieked.
"No, of course not!" He snorted, before clapping his hands over his mouth.
"It's like I can't stop it!" He moaned.
"What do you mean?" Angelina asked worriedly.
"I'm saying everything!" He groaned. "What's wrong with me?"
"Yes, what is wrong with you?! You keep talking about my-"
"I can't help it! They're just so-" He broke off, biting down on his hand. "I think it was the tea," He admitted.
"The tea?" Angelina picked up the cup and sniffed it experimentally. She shrugged, but just as she was setting it down, she saw a small tuft of ginger hair.
"You!" She growled.
Fred threw the menu down and began backing away.
"Which one are you?" She screamed.
"I told you so!" Cedric declared triumphantly, before slamming his head down and talking to the tablecloth.
They had caught the attention of the whole café. Madam Puddifoot was coming towards Fred, looking very, very threatening in her apron covered in little hearts.
Fred didn't know what to do. So he did the only thing he could think of: he ran.
Cormac was tired. He'd been hauling around Leann's purchases all day, with Lee tailing them to make sure his date went perfectly. If this was how dating was, then Cormac was prepared to be alone forever. He was positive that Katie didn't even like to shop, but that when she did, she wouldn't make him carry everything.
"I really want to sit down soon. All this shopping is starting to tire me out," Leann announced.
Cormac felt like laughing. She was tired? He had done virtually everything but think for her.
"Let's go to Madam Puddifoot's!" She clapped her hands together happily and stared up at him pleadingly.
He had come to hate that look. Leann made it whenever she wanted something and she didn't think he was likely to give it to her. Cormac had been bending to her every whim, all out of respect for Katie. Well, it was really more than respect, but nonetheless, he still felt as though he owed the girl.
"Alright," He acquiesced.
Leann cheered and began racing towards the horrifying café. Cormac dragged his feet, along with nine bags and packages, two of which were "very fragile". He couldn't wait to get in there, lean back in a chair, and drink some tea.
Unfortunately for Cormac, when Madam Puddifoot's was in the weeds, they weren't very thorough in cleaning their dishes. One quick swipe around the cup's rim and a forceful shake to get out the liquid, and the cup was handed to a new customer. Cormac had the dubious honor of receiving Cedric Diggory's old cup, which still had remnants of Verbal Diarrhea at the bottom.
"Cormac," Leann began, a peculiar expression on her face.
"Yeah?" He asked, directly after swallowing his tea.
"Why did you choose yesterday to ask me to Hogsmeade?" She glanced up at him, her large doe eyes making him feel unbearably guilty.
"Katie wanted me to," He blurted out.
"What?" She drew back, eyes welling up with tears.
Cormac found that once he started talking, he seemed unable to stop. "She wanted me to ask you to Hogsmeade so that you two could be friends again. I really wanted to ask her, but I don't think she likes me. I wasn't going to, but she's really pretty and nice and she smells good, so I said I would."
"So you don't like me?" She asked, voice warbling. Her mascara was beginning to smudge.
"No," Cormac said bluntly.
"Oh. I see. Well, you can tell Katie that we'll never be friends after this. No, don't bother, I'll tell her myself," Leann decided, storming away.
"Mate, what's wrong with you?" Lee said, coming up to Cormac and shaking his head.
"Oh, just stuff it."
Fred frantically signaled to George, who thankfully got the hint and excused himself from Alicia.
"What did you do?" George asked upon seeing his twin's harried appearance.
"Not right now, just give me back my coat," He said, looking out the window fearfully. He patted down his brother's hair, and the two walked back to the booth.
"Oh, hey George," Alicia greeted him happily. "Where have you been?"
"Uh, just, y'know, with Lee," George fumbled.
"Oh, cool," Alicia said. "Did you have fun?"
"Oh, yeah, loads," George nodded.
Angelina came dashing in, spotting their booth almost immediately.
"Which one of you was it?" Her hair fizzled and popped with her anger. George could only think that she looked quite beautiful.
"What are you talking about?" Alicia asked, stumped.
Angelina grabbed her best friend by the arm and hauled her over to a corner. "Alicia, have they both been here the whole time?"
"N-no, George went off to give us a little space," Alicia stammered. "Angelina, what's going on?"
"Which one is George?" Angelina demanded, ignoring Alicia's question.
"The one on the outside of the booth," Alicia told her, confused.
"Perfect," Angelina smiled evilly. "We're about to have a talk."
"George," She called out sweetly. "Can we talk for a minute?"
"Yeah, sure." He slipped out of the booth, looking as though he didn't have a care in the world.
It made Angelina's blood boil. How dare he pretend he was innocent? She had seen him! She knew he was there. There was no way he could worm his way out of it, not when he was caught in the act. And she even had Alicia to back her up.
"Would you care to explain?" Angelina ground out, keeping a tight lid on her anger.
"Explain what?"
Angelina felt her eyes grow wide in disbelief. "Explain how you just ruined what was supposed to be a perfect day, you jerk! Do you know how many girls would kill to get a date with Cedric? And then you just had to come in and destroy it!"
"Angelina, I don't know what you're talking about," He insisted.
"I can't believe you! I saw you. You did something to his tea. You just hate him so much, you can't stand to see me with him! Well, guess what George Weasley? Cedric has decided that dating me isn't very good for him, so I guess this will be our first and only date. I hope you're happy!" She spat defiantly, turning and running back to the castle.
Katie Bell was floating on cloud nine when she saw Leann dashing back to the castle.
"Leann! What's wrong?" She wanted to know.
Leann turned on her instantly. The make-up that Leann had so carefully done this morning was smeared all around her face, making her look like a bad clown. Her eyes were rimmed red, and her hair was mussed up. But what shocked Katie most was the anger in Leann's eyes.
"What's wrong?" She shrieked. "What's wrong is that apparently, I'm so pathetic, that the only way Cormac would ever go out with me is when the pretty Katie Bell asks him to!"
Katie swallowed. "Leann, please, it's not like that."
"Cormac told me!" Leann shouted. "He told me that you wanted him to ask me to Hogsmeade. And you know, all day he had me believing that he was such a perfect gentleman, because he did everything I wanted him to. And it turns out, the only reason he did that was because of you!"
"Leann-"
"Just tell me why, Katie," Leann begged, softening. "Why did you do it? Why did you have him lie to me like that?"
"I thought it was what you wanted," Katie said lamely, crying.
Leann shook her head bitterly. "All I wanted was for us to be friends again."
"That's-that's what I wanted, too," Katie confessed, swiping at her eyes.
"It just didn't really seem like it," Leann told her. "I just—you didn't ever talk to me anymore. You were always off doing some fun thing with someone else. And it was like—gosh, Katie, you have so many friends, but I only have you. And then when you weren't wearing that necklace any longer, I thought that maybe you were trying to tell me something."
Katie smiled as comprehension dawned on her. "That's what this whole thing was about? Geez, Leann, next time you have a problem, just let me know. You could come along any time you want."
"Really?" Leann sniffed.
"Really," Katie vowed.
Leann gave a watery laugh. "Um, you know, there's a shop in Hogsmeade that sells friendship necklaces. We still have some time left before the shops close."
Katie beamed. "I'd like that. Besides, who needs boys anyway?"
The two girls laughed and marched arm in arm back to Hogsmeade.