Unexpected Things
KeysCanHurt: Thorny and Squiddie =)) so cute =)) Of course he wouldn't :)) He would find it boring if he knew the place na :))
Guess Who: :)) Love 'em too. Lol, Raph would find it an adventure if they got lost xD
MalfoyMaiden: HURRAY! You're alive! =))13) Well that's true =)) AHAHAH :P :P 14) HAHAH =)) hmm... he could have been looking at anyone :)) 15) Hahah :)
mimimi123: Lol, I love Raph too :)) Yeah... I miss fun Scorpy too... and so do his friends
Zee: Haha, maybe I'll give him that xD Yeah Raph's not bad, even if Rose considers him a madman, heheh. LOL, Hugo might tell his mom, but he's still scared of telling his dad
crazy-wee-cat: She's slowly loosening up, haha. Thankies :)
yellow 14: Haha, thanks :) Yeah, that is so true! She is super in denial xD
Chapter Sixteen
The Hog's Head
James left her waiting outside, away from the crowd of hungry Hogwarts students craving sweets. Although… it wasn't much better than the crowd outside. Students were all over the place, but so were Hogsmeade residents as well. They were filling up the streets between the houses and shops.
James searched the shelves, looking for the perfect thing. Readjusting his glasses and ruffling his dark red hair, Jams wondered what was the best way to go about this.
His plan was to offer her chocolate, ask her to be his girlfriend and kiss her.
He already knew what her favourite chocolate would be like since he once talked about what she did and didn't like about some chocolates.
There.
In a red box were small chocolates that had an outer layer of nuts and chocolate, an inner layer of milk chocolate coating a nut.
Buying the box, he strode over to her, she waiting patiently outside.
"Al! We have to buy these!" The twins waved a box of snacks in front of Al's face. The snacks looked like candies, and each piece was split into two colors.
"What do they do?" Al asked, looking at the label- Skiving Snackbox. That name sounded familiar. Aunt Hermione ranted about it before- a long, drawn-out lecture. Al couldn't remember what she said because Lily kept talking to him about pets she wanted to have one day. She didn't say ferret because she didn't know anything about ferrets yet.
"Look!" Tom pulled out one. It was half orange, half purple. "Nosebleed Nougat!"
"Gives you a nosebleed!" Theo said.
"Why on earth would I want to have a nosebleed?" Al couldn't understand why anyone would want to eat a candy that would give them a nosebleed. What was the point of that?
"It's to get out of class!"
Now Al remembered why Aunt Hermione was so against it.
"Once you're out of class, bite the other half, and you'll be perfectly fine!"
Definitely, this was something Aunt Hermione wouldn't like. He recalled a time she wanted to have the sweets banned during and before the school year, so students wouldn't be able to use them.
But she didn't really have the time to get around to it, since she was still fighting for rights for other beings.
"Is that amazing or what?"
Al thought it was pretty cool, Aunt Hermione would disagree. James probably had a whole stash.
"If you don't want a nosebleed, there's one that will get you to vomit."
"Puking Pastilles!"
"Here too, there's one that'll give you a fever."
"It's called Fever Fudge. Clever name, ain't it?"
"Let's buy a whole box!" Demelza squealed eagerly, bouncing up and down.
"Er…"Al wasn't sure about it. Harry and Ginny didn't specifically ban them from buying it… although their mom did say that if they caught any of them cutting classes, she'd make them regret it. Al did not want to risk his mother's wrath.
"Oh, come on!" Theo shook his head disapprovingly. "You're such a goody-goody, Al."
"Fine, we'll buy. Do what you want." Tom went to the counter.
Demelza didn't say anything, but grabbed a box and rushed to join the twins in purchasing the goodies.
"A handful couldn't hurt." It was just for fun anyway. Al took a few of the Fever Fudge and joined Tom, Theo and Demelza. He bought those while they congratulated him, Tom and Theo saying that they would make sure he would use them for at least one class. Demelza congratulated him while laughing her head off.
The four of them decided to go to the Three Broomsticks for a snack. On the way, it was crowded, Al focused on following Tom, Theo and Demelza. He did not want to lose them.
Someone heavily-built bumped into Al, nearly knocking him over.
It was a large Gryffindor boy who growled at Al, "Out of the way, midget!"
Resisting the urge to insult the boy, Al searched for the brown hair of Demelza or the sandy hair of Theo and Tom.
Spotting the chocolate brown hair up ahead, Al made his way through the crowd towards it. She made a turn to the left, then walked ahead, then she took a right turn.
Al tried several times to call her name but she didn't seem to be able to hear. Well, Rose and Ria did say that it was hard to get Demelza's attention if she was distracted, and hard to keep it, since she was easily distracted. They usually found it annoying, the twins found it amusing, Al... he admitted to himself that he found it cute.
When she turned around, Al realized that it wasn't Demelza. The girl was a Ravenclaw 4th year he didn't know.
"Great." Al frowned and looked around. Where should he go? Maybe he should try retracing his steps. From there, he should find the Three Broomsticks, maybe ask some one for directions if he couldn't find it himself.
Al walked in the direction he thought that he came from, but as he walked along streets, he found himself more and more lost, in a place more and more unfamiliar. He didn't remember any of these shops when he explored with Demelza, Theo and Tom.
He couldn't see any Hogwarts students around, which was starting to bother Al.
Finally, Al saw a sign with a name that he had heard of before- the Hog's Head.
Hoping he would find someone, maybe James in there, Al approached the pub. Then he remembered that James was with Paula. He doubted James would take her to the Hog's Head. For one thing, the Hog's Head didn't sound like the kind of place one would bring a date. For another, Aberforth probably wouldn't be happy to see James there again.
Maybe Hagrid would be there… Hagrid told them stories about the times he got pets from people he met at the Hog's Head.
When he opened the door, Al's first impression was of a filthy, abandoned place. Dust and dirt covered the floors, candle stubs stood on rough wooden tables.
Then Al noticed that there were Hogwarts students there. They had moved tables close together and were gathered, talking in low voices. Most of them, Al recognized as Slytherins, a few Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors were there too.
Among them were Dirk and Scorpius.
Scorpius sat apart from most of them, not speaking. He was just sitting there, drinking from a bottle of Butterbeer. He looked troubled, and also out of place, as he often did lately.
Dirk, meanwhile, seemed to be enjoying himself, talking a lot more than usual. Al found it odd. Dirk had always been more quiet and… watchful instead of talkative and engaging. Seeing him so talkative among a large group was quite strange.
"Potter?" Dirk had noticed him. "Vhat are you doing here?"
"Nothing, I just got here."
"Haff you changed your mind? About vhat I said?" Dirk hadn't changed. The same narrow-eyed stare accompanied the words.
Al balanced on the edge of indecision. Should he take Dirk's offer? Could Dirk really help Al gain the… position of power and respect that he secretly wished for? But for every great thing, there comes a price.
What would Dirk's price be?
The idea of being Dirk's pet, just as Marigold had acted, still didn't tempt Al.
"No thanks, Kron."
Dirk frowned. He glared at Al for a few moments. Al realized that Dirk's group also had their eyes on Al. The stares made Al feel uncomfortable, but he tried not to show it. He wouldn't give them the satisfaction of knowing how uncomfortable he felt.
Then finally, Dirk shrugged. "Your loss, Potter."
Dirk and the group continued talking.
Al sat down far enough not to be counted as one of them, near enough to hear them. The plan was to wait for them, then follow them back to Hogwarts. Surely they'd know the way.
Also, Al was suspicious and curious. What were they planning? Dirk didn't make it seem like they were just there to drink and talk about random little things. Something was just… wrong about them.
"As I said before- power and respect are not the easiest things to gain- but if ve vork together, ve can become a formidable pack." Al heard some Slytherins and Gryffindors making objections. "I know. I know. Ve are from diverent Houses. But so vhat? It is possible for people from diverent Houses to vork together."
"How would you understand, Kron?" Al recognized Areson Flint's voice. Areson was Mars Flint's older brother- larger and just as troll-ish. "Yer from Durmstrang."
Al wanted to see Dirk's reaction.
Dirk didn't answer immediately, toying with a bottle of a drink Al couldn't identify. "It is true that I am from a diverent school. But I also understand that ve haff the same vant… and in some of you, it is a need. Let me explain.
"Ravenclaws. You vant to show that your intelligence is superior. You haff logic and intelligence that exceeds most. People should respect you vor that. Ve can make them.
"Hufflepuffs. You promote justice, but you can't always see it happening. You vant to do it yourself. You vish vor the power to deal out punishment and revard. Ve can make that happen.
"Gryffindors. You haff daring and nerve. You haff courage. But you vonder vhat the point ov having those traits is vhen you cannot be given opportunity to show it off or be respect vor it. Ve can show everyone who you are and they vill give you the respect you deserve.
"Slytherins. Slytherins, my comerades! Ve are ov noble blood, are ve not? But are ve respected vor it? Rarely! Ve haff cunning and resourcefulness. Ve haff determination and ambition. These are vonderful traits, but do people see it? NO! Ve are looked down upon by others! Let us prove to them that ve deserve the respect ve demmand.
"You see? Ve are not entirely diverent from vun another. Ve all vant power and respect- vun vay or another. Agree or disagree? Vait… vait a moment." Dirk glanced at Al.
Al froze, unsure of how to react. "Potter, if you are listening, and you still haff no desire to join us then go away."
Al didn't want to be intimidated, but he was. That was a fairly large group. If he got one of them irritated, (and Dirk seemed to be some kind of leader) they could just as easily outnumber and hurt Al.
The memory of seeing Scorpius so beaten up after being ambushed by several boys when they were in first year came to Al. He did not want to suffer that fate.
Al would rather take his chances outside and ask for directions to get to that damn Three Broomsticks.