Hello all! I hope that 2023 is treating you well so far! I'm back to work now that the Christmas period is well and truly over. The weather has also been pretty dire as to be expected in England in January I suppose but it doesn't half make you tired I swear.

This is quite a long chapter today; I hope you like it x

Chapter 7: Hogsmeade and Unicorns

Hogsmeade weekends were always Esmerelda's favourites. For some, the novelty of tramping down from school to the village had worn off by the time they had reached fifth year, but she still felt just as excited as the third years who were going for the very first time. It was now the last weekend of November, and it was getting very cold. Esmerelda bundled herself up before heading downstairs where Harry and Ron were waiting.

"Where's Hermione?" Harry asked.

"She's just coming. I believe she's looking for her earmuffs." Just then, Hermione appeared out of the stairwell, fluffy blue earmuffs in hand.

A few minutes later, the four of them were heading down to the main entrance, where Filch was busy checking off students who were visiting the village.

"Potter. Weasley. Evans. Granger." he ticked off his list. Filch looked as though this were the last thing he wanted to be doing on a Saturday morning. Esmerelda supposed that that was how Filch normally looked though.

The walk down to Hogsmeade was familiar, and they talked as they went, stopping only to pick up Ron's scarf, which kept untying itself rather unhelpfully.

"For goodness sake Ronald," Hermione huffed. "Here, let me tie it for you." She wrapped it around his neck tightly and tied it up properly.

"Thanks mum," Ron replied. Hermione shot him a glare and he recoiled. Harry and Esmerelda shared a glance and tried to stop themselves from grinning too obviously. Esmerelda knew that Harry was probably thinking the same thing. These two argue like an old married couple.

Once they got to Hogsmeade, they decided to split off and attempt to browse for some Christmas presents, as per Hermione's plan. Harry and Ron headed towards Zonko's joke shop, which seemed to worry Hermione. Esmerelda assumed that she was probably now anticipating receiving a frightful joke product as a Christmas present from one of them.

"I think I might have a look in Scrivenshaft's," Hermione said, motioning in the general direction of the supplies shop.

"Alright, I think I'll have a browse in the bookshop while we're here," she replied. "See you at one in the Broomsticks?" Hermione nodded and set off down the street. Esmerelda ducked into the bookshop, intent on finding a present for Hermione, and potentially the others, depending on what she could find.

She scoured the shelves and managed to find a brilliant book on wandlore that she thought would interest Hermione. Additionally, she had noticed a new publication on counter-curses that she was going to buy for Harry to aid in his lesson planning for the DA. All round, it had been a very successful visit so far. That was two presents down, but she still had Mum and Dad and the Weasleys to shop for. Zonko's would perhaps be a good place to look for presents for Ron and the twins, and she made her way out of the aisle she was in towards the door.

The walk to Zonko's was pleasant, and she took her time as she meandered through the snow-covered village. Was this the kind of place she wanted to live once she'd left Hogwarts? No. Too sleepy. Besides, if she was going to be a healer when she graduated, she'd probably want to live in London.

The bell above the door dinged as she entered Zonko's, and Esmerelda felt her shoulders relax as the warmth of the shop hit her. She quickly glanced around, taking in who was currently in the shop. No Ron or Harry, she realised. Good. She could shop for presents without them spotting her.

A colourful display of trick sweets caught her eye, and she wandered over to have a closer look. They reminded her of the twins' Tonne-Tongue Toffees and their Skiving Snackboxes which made her smile as she recounted their usage on Harry's cousin Dudley.

She made her way around, browsing the shelves, picking up a selection of items she thought the boys might enjoy. She'd managed to find a present for Ron, Fred, and George and was on her way out when something at the back of the shop caught her eye.

She hadn't noticed this display the first time around, being slightly obscured from view as it was by a pillar. She wandered over and saw that she was looking at a large bowl of small-powdered balls. They reminded her of the mini bath bombs that her mum used to buy her as a child.

"What are they?" a voice asked from behind her. She jumped slightly and turned. The freckled face of Fred Weasley was smiling back at her.

"They're potions I think," she said, trying to act natural. Fred leaned forward and she felt his muscly chest press against her back as he reached over her to pick one up. Esmerelda could feel her heartbeat becoming faster and she willed herself to slow it. "Where's George?"

"Trying to buy me a present somewhere I think," he answered nonchalantly, "I've bought his already, the slacker."

Fred began inspecting the colourful sphere in his hand. It was no larger than a golf ball, and the one he was holding was a garish pink and yellow colour. Esmerelda looked down at the display. There were at least ten different types of these small round objects.

"Potions? What potions?" he asked curiously.

At that moment, the shopkeeper, having most likely overheard their conversation, strode over to where they were standing. "Your friend is right." He looked at her. "They're potions. Each colour is a different one. You simply drop them into water, they fizz as they dissolve, and then you have the potion you need, almost instantly."

"Wow," they said in unison. She'd heard of these new instant potions. She had fallen into a research hole one day in the library, having spent hours transfixed in Potions books, and had read about them, but she'd never seen any like these before. They were almost being sold as novelty items. She was intrigued.

"I'll have one of each," she said, and the man passed her a paper bag to drop her items into. Fred was looking at her questioningly. "I'm curious," she said, shrugging, and when the man was out of earshot, she whispered. "I also think that to do a conclusive test of the potions' true potentials, I shall have to conduct my experiments somewhere private, where I will not be disturbed. Somewhere where I can access large quantities of water and a large vessel in which to drop the potions. I mean I could just test them using a cauldron, but where's the fun in that?"

Fred looked amused.

"Fred?" she asked.

"Esmerelda?" he replied mockingly.

"Fancy taking a bath with me?"

…

"So, how do you propose getting into the Prefect's bathroom then?" Fred asked as they strolled along the street. They weren't intentionally heading for anywhere but were walking towards the Shrieking Shack just the same. As they were walking, she had been able to relax a bit more and she found that she was really enjoying his company.

She laughed. "You see, Mr. Weasley, you have failed to realise that I am a scheming miscreant who knows that when her best friend, who happens to also be a Prefect, has had a few too many Firewhiskeys, he can't keep anything to himself."

"Should've remembered that Ron is a lightweight," Fred said, chuckling.

"The lightest," Esmerelda replied with a smirk.

She checked her watch and sighed.

"I've got to go and meet the others now," she said. "We're heading to the Broomsticks. You're welcome to join us if you'd like."

Fred shrugged. "I should probably be getting back to the castle soon anyway, I've got a lot of homework to finish off this weekend," Fred replied.

"Homework?" she asked in shock, pretending to swoon.

"I know right, but I suppose even the amazing Fred Weasley has got to do homework everyone once in a while." He didn't look too excited at the prospect.

"We're still on for our little potions experiment though, right?" she asked.

Fred seemed to perk up a little bit. "Yeah," he said.

"Good. I'm expecting to see you Monday. 8pm sharp."

"Oh, I'll be there," he replied. He turned and began wandering back towards the castle.

"Don't be late!" she shouted, and she heard him chuckle as he carried on walking.

Once she could no longer see him, she began walking in the direction of the pub, checking her watch as she walked. 5 minutes to one. Plenty of time. When she entered, she looked around, and realising that she was the first one there, chose a table and sat down. She took out the book she had bought Harry and opened to the Table of Contents, taking a closer look at what was inside. Moments later, she heard someone enter the pub, and seeing it was Ron and Hermione, quickly put the book back into her bag.

"Shall I get us some Butterbeers?" Hermione offered as they both approached the table.

"Ooh yes please," Esmerelda replied gratefully.

"Brilliant thanks Hermione," Ron added. She walked over to the bar and ordered four butterbeers from Madam Rosmerta.

Ron took a seat and shook off his coat. The fire in the corner of the pub was lit, making it much warmer in there than it had been outside.

"No Harry with you?" Esmerelda asked.

"No, after we had a look in Zonko's we split off. I think he was headed towards Dervish and Banges."

Hermione returned with the drinks and set them down on the table. "Hopefully Harry will make an appearance soon or his butterbeer will go flat."

For a minute they sat in silence, relaxing and enjoying their drinks.

"Still planning on going home for Christmas, Hermione?" Esmerelda asked, in between sips.

"Yes. I think my parents will miss me if I don't go home. I may be able to visit Grimmauld Place towards the end of the holidays when we're back from our skiing trip though."

"I hope that you can. Would be nice for us all to be together," Esmerelda replied. "Wouldn't it Ron?"

"Oh yeah, of course, it would be nice to have you there Hermione," he stammered.

Esmerelda smirked to herself.

Just then, Harry walked through the door and sat down next to Hermione, shrugging his bag off his shoulder and onto the floor. "How long have you been here then?" He asked, helping himself to his butterbeer which Ron had pushed towards him.

"Not too long. A few minutes maybe," Hermione responded. "Find what you were looking for?"

Harry pondered while taking a sip. "Sort of. Didn't manage to find one thing I was specifically hoping to buy, but the shopkeeper said I could order it off the catalogue and get it sent by owl."

A moment later Esmerelda noticed as Dean, Seamus, and Neville walked into the pub and sat down at the table next to them.

"Hey guys," Neville said excitedly. "Been doing a bit of shopping?"

"Yeah, we've been trying to sort out some Christmas presents as it's the last Hogsmeade weekend of term," Ron responded.

"Us too," Dean said, and Seamus nodded silently.

"Manage to find everything you wanted?" Hermione asked the boys.

Neville shook his head. "At this rate, Grandmother will be getting socks for Christmas."

"I'd rather socks over an earwax cleaner any day of the week," Esmerelda grimaced with a sideways glance at Harry.

"I've said I'm sorry alright!" Harry stated, chuckling into his Butterbeer. "You carry on like that and you will be getting socks from me this Christmas," he added.

Esmerelda smirked. "As long as you haven't knitted them yourself."

….

Esmerelda struggled to get out of bed the following morning. It was well and truly Winter now and there was no mistaking it. She was perfectly content lying in the warmth and cosiness of her four-poster bed and had no desire to emerge from her duvet cocoon. However, she was also aware that she had Care of Magical Creatures in less than an hour, and that if she lay about in bed any longer, she wouldn't have time for any breakfast. Reluctantly, she rolled over, and whipped the duvet cover off in one quick manoeuvre. With lightning speed, she reached for her dressing gown and wrapped it round herself, shivering as she did so. Thank Merlin her parents had bought her a new one this summer for her birthday, as the old one had become a bit ratty and thin and would not have provided much warmth.

Fifteen minutes later and she had dressed and applied light makeup before heading downstairs to breakfast. It appeared as though the others had already gone down, so she made her way to the Great Hall alone.

"Ah, there you are," Ron proclaimed when she sat down next to him at the table. "Any longer and we were going to send a search party up."

"Sorry," she replied, "I found it hard getting out of bed this morning," she replied while yawning.

"I felt the same," Ginny spoke up from the other side of Ron. "Bloody freezing it was too."

"Where were you this morning Hermione? Didn't see you when I woke up," Esmerelda asked. She grabbed a piece of toast and buttered it before adding marmite (which she had brought from home and couldn't live without).

"I woke up early and a bit of inspiration came to me about something I was researching for my Potions essay. So, I did some reading in the common room and ended up falling asleep on the sofa," Hermione replied.

Ginny giggled. "It's true. I found her lying there using her book as a pillow when I came down this morning."

"And here I thought that maybe you had yourself a gentleman friend that you had stayed up all night with, and that was the reason why I found your bed empty this morning," Esmerelda said, teasing Hermione. Hermione's face grew red with embarrassment as she swatted her best friend on the arm.

Fred snorted, trying to suppress a laugh. Esmerelda caught his eye and his smile deepened.

Hermione turned to Fred, who knew instantly that he had made a grave mistake.

"Something the matter, Fred?" Hermione asked sweetly, but with obvious intent.

"Uh, no, sorry. Choked on a bit of toast," Fred replied.

It was Esmerelda's turn to stifle a laugh this time. When she was content that Hermione's attention had moved on, she whispered to Fred, "Scared of Hermione are you?"

"Yeah, of course I am. I'm not an idiot," he chuckled in response, poking her in her side.

"Fair point," Esmerelda replied. Hermione may be one of her best friends, but she had to admit, Hermione could be downright scary sometimes. After Mrs. Weasley, Esmerelda didn't think she had ever seen anyone else execute such a reproachful stare as Hermione could when she needed to. Esmerelda, Ron, and Harry, and of course the twins, were no strangers to that particular stare. They often found themselves on the business end of it when they had done something particularly mischievous or 'rule-breaky' as Esmerelda liked to call it. Unfortunately for them all, they did tend to end up in 'rule-breaky' situations fairly regularly, and not always through fault of their own. And as Esmerelda liked bringing up to Hermione whenever necessary, even she had found herself breaking a few rules on occasion, not least when she brewed Polyjuice Potion in Moaning Myrtle's toilets a few years back.

"What lesson do you lot have this morning?" George asked, tearing her from her thoughts. "Anything you can catch up on sleep in?"

"They are meant to be doing their OWLS this year, George, so they need to pay attention in class. They probably want to end up with more than 3 each unlike the two of you." Ginny replied sassily.

"Thank you, Ginny," Hermione said. "I've been saying much the same to these three over here but they don't seem to be taking their OWLS very seriously so far." Hermione motioned to Ron, Harry, and Esmerelda, who all shrugged. Unbeknownst to Hermione, Esmerelda had had a change of heart regarding her OWLS after her talk with Snape and was trying to make more of an effort.

"We've got Care of Magical Creatures first thing," Harry responded. "Not sure how much sleeping we'll be able to do during that. There's always a bit of an inherent risk of being attacked by a Grindylow or a Blast-Ended Screwt or something if you're not careful."

"Maybe I'll slip Malfoy some sleeping potion then," Ron joked. "Might make for a more interesting lesson."

"Nah," Esmerelda added. "Grubbly-Plank's still teaching, so it'll be something really tame like Puffskeins or Pygmy Puffs. As cute as they may be, I don't think we'll have much luck getting them to attack Malfoy."

…...

Turns out, Esmerelda hadn't been far off. Professor Grubbly-Plank had brought unicorns for the morning's lesson, which Esmerelda had to admit, were quite amazing. To almost everyone's disappointment, they had yet to attack Malfoy, but the day was still young. The unicorns were beautiful, and were so soft that when patting them, Esmerelda was half-convinced they were made of clouds or marshmallows or candy floss. She was tempted to ask Grubbly-Plank if she could keep one in her dormitory to snuggle at night but wasn't sure the stern Professor would get the joke. Last thing she needed was a lecture on how unicorns were a free and proud species and could not be kept to cuddle in one's four poster bed upstairs.

The only thing that made the whole unicorn thing a bit disappointing was the fact that the boys weren't properly able to join in. Unicorns may actually be the most intelligent species out there, having learnt that boys are generally a bit rubbish, but it was still sad that half the class basically couldn't experience them. Esmerelda made sure to keep going over to where Ron and Harry were standing to give them updates on the unicorns and what ridiculous names she had given all of them. She was still secretly hoping she could sneak Rainbow-Bob, a charming but sneaky unicorn standing nearest to them, upstairs without being spotted.

"I haven't seen a unicorn since first year," Harry said. He didn't need to elaborate as they all knew what he was referring to. In their first year, the four of them and Malfoy, had gotten detention, and for some unknown reason (that OFSTED would never approve of), Hagrid took them into the Forest on a search for some beast that had been attacking the creatures that lived there. It was a truly terrifying experience, that ended with them encountering a dead unicorn, and of course, Voldemort. Esmerelda shuddered, remembering that evening. She had never truly appreciated how beautiful unicorns could be, her only other memory of one having been dead.

As the lesson finished, they made their way back up the hill towards the castle for their next lesson. On their way back up to the castle, the others were listening to Esmerelda's 'unicorns as pets' argument which she had decided to share with them. They were all used to hearing her ridiculous ideas and musings by now and knew that they weren't at all to be taken seriously.

"You see," she started, "Umbridge hates boys and girls uh 'fondling' shall we say, right?" They all nodded. "She even made one of her stupid Educational Decrees about it. Well, I propose that a pet unicorn for every girl in school would put an end to any 'fondling' full stop. The boys could try and try, but they certainly wouldn't be able to get within six inches of any girl. Not with a bloody great man-hating unicorn cock-blocking them at every turn."

Ron snorted.

"Think Umbridge will go for it?" she joked.

"She may even make you a member of the Inquisitorial Squad for such a novel solution," Harry added smirking.

"Might stop a certain very persistent Ravenclaw fourth year from trying to corner me in the library," Hermione added, with a grin.

"Oh absolutely," Esmerelda replied. "Nothing says, 'No thanks I'm not interested' like a unicorn horn to the balls."

…..

Okay so a Hogsmeade visit and a Care of Magical Creatures lesson all in one chapter, I hope you enjoyed it! The next chapter will include a secret evening meeting in the Prefects' bathroom and will be more Fred/Esmerelda focussed. See you next week.