The aftereffects of Moody's lesson in the Unforgivable Curses faded away over the next couple of weeks, especially as Harry had to focus on his other schoolwork and on his extracurricular activities. With the beginning of the duelling competition looming, Harry felt like he needed as much practise as he could fit in.
He'd suggested as much to Tracey after breakfast, but it seemed his sparring partner had other ideas.
"Come on, Harry—we can't spend every last minute practising," said Tracey on the Saturday morning before the duelling competition officially started. Harry had wanted to go spend the morning doing drills. "I know the competition starts next week but this weekend they've put on the Cultural Fayre, haven't they, so I think it would be fun to go and have a look around there instead. And since the first Hogsmeade weekend isn't until December we have to do something fun before then!"
"Well..." said Harry. The Cultural Fayre did sound sort of interesting, he supposed, and if it wasn't he could always nip down to the dungeons for a spot of practise on his own. And Tracey did seem quite determined to go to the Cultural Fayre, so Harry supposed that if he wanted to get any training done, it would be alone. That could work, but they really needed to sort out their choreography for the doubles...
"And I spoke to Susan earlier and she said that she was going with Ernie and Justin, so it would be nice to hang out with them for a bit, wouldn't it? We've all been so busy this year that we haven't had much time off so I think it would be good for us all!"
"Alright then," Harry agreed. It would be quite nice to spend some good, relaxing time with his friends from Hufflepuff. In between classes and everything else he hadn't got the chance, after all. "Let me just go grab a nicer robe..."
Harry dashed back to his dormitory to stow his things and changed into a less sporty robe before meeting Tracey back in the Common Room.
"Daphne and Millie decided to come too!" said Tracey once Harry had got back. He saw Millicent sat next to Tracey, but no sign of Daphne. "Daphne said she needed to put on a different hairclip so she went back to get it. She won't be too long."
Harry doubted that – Daphne was notorious for spending ages getting ready for even simple things like going to sit by the lake – but kept his opinion to himself. It wouldn't have changed the outcome.
"Where's Theodore and Blaise?" Harry asked instead. "D'you reckon they'd want to come and have a look as well?"
"Nobody's been able to find Blaise all morning," said Tracey. "I have asked! I think he's where he goes to practise for the duelling, though. You know what he's like! But Theodore's in the library—Olly said he saw him go in this morning—but I don't think he'd really want to come anyway."
Harry knew Tracey was right. A loud, chaotic event filled with people Theodore didn't know and didn't want to know sounded like exactly the sort of thing Theodore would go and hide away in the library to avoid, especially if no one had already got him to agree to attend. Still, Harry did think it would have been nice for them all to go together.
"Fair enough," Harry said. He sat down on the arm of Tracey's chair to wait for Daphne, since from experience he knew it could be a while until she returned. Daphne came back after about ten minutes.
"I just changed quickly as well," Daphne explained once she reached the group. "Mummy sent this over last night! Do you like it?" she said and gave a little twirl. She'd changed into a pale blue robe in some sort of shimmery fabric which Harry thought didn't look quite like silk, with a fitted top half and a lower half in the airy, flowy style that seemed popular with some of the upper year girls.
"It's lovely," said Tracey. "That colour is beautiful, it really is! Where'd you get it?"
"Daddy had it made for me," said Daphne. "I wrote home to Mummy to tell her about the Beauxbatons girls, of course, and she asked Daddy to speak with his friend Frederique in Toulouse to see what the latest fashions were. What do you think, Millie?"
Millicent shrugged.
"Yeah, it's great. You look really pretty. But fancy robes aren't really my thing, you know that."
The answer seemed to disappoint Daphne, at least as far as Harry could tell, but she recovered quickly and turned towards him.
"Well? What do you think, Harry?"
"Oh, er—it's, um..." Harry said. Daphne did look very pretty in the dress. It hugged all the right places and accentuated bits of Daphne that Harry felt sure he wasn't supposed to be looking at, almost like the question was a trap, but he felt rather put on the spot. "You do look really nice. I like the... colour..."
"Alright well let's stop lounging about and get going!" said Tracey, suddenly on her feet.
Tracey set off for the exit doorway, leaving Harry, Millicent and Daphne to follow her. They met Ernie, Susan, and Justin at the top of the stairs from the dungeons and cellars, where the three Hufflepuffs waited at the far edges of the Entrance Hall.
"They did all of this since breakfast?" said Harry as he looked through the Entrance Hall and into the Great Hall itself. Little stalls with display boards stood scattered about the Great Hall, along with little stages with performers stood on them. Some of the performers juggled, while others breathed multi-coloured fire. Snatches of music drifted into the Entrance Hall, none of which Harry recognised. A fabulous array of different smells wafted through the air, and Harry thought he could see street vendors further into the Great Hall.
Although the Entrance Hall hadn't been quite so transformed, it did sport banners, balloons and three raised platforms where large models of the three schools sat.
Or, where models of Hogwarts and Beauxbatons sat, at least, since the third platform contained only a nebulous grey cloud.
"Well, it'll be the elves, won't it?" said Ernie. "They shut the doors after breakfast, we all had to get out sharpish, actually. I know a few lads were hanging about outside to see what was up, but McGonagall turned up and shooed them away. They must have got all the people in then."
Justin whistled.
"That Beauxbatons is impressive though, isn't it? It's like bloody Versailles! I was chatting to a lad from there the other day, and he said 'we've got a castle, too'—well that's a bloody palace!" said Justin. "No wonder they're not that impressed with Hogwarts."
"I don't think it's that much better than Hogwarts," said Harry, perhaps a bit defensively. "Alright, so it is prettier, but Hogwarts has... erm... presence." Hogwarts looked like it could withstand a siege – and had actually done so several times, if Harry remembered correctly – whereas Beauxbatons looked better suited for partying aristocrats.
"It's a shame Durmstrang wouldn't let them put up a model, though," said Ernie after he'd read the little plaques beneath each model. "'Due to concerns over security, no model of Durmstrang Institute has been provided,'" read Ernie. "God, they're a bloody paranoid lot though, aren't they? Worse than bloody Slytherins!" He paused. "Er, no offence..."
"It's only paranoia if it's irrational," said Harry with a shrug. "But you're not wrong—I was talking to this girl from Durmstrang at the Feast and she was saying they're all on best behaviour. She wouldn't let any little secrets slip. I don't know what they think would happen—it's only a school."
"Hogwarts keeps secrets as well, though," said Justin. "It's supposed to be really hard to find the House Common Rooms—remember when we went looking for Slytherin, Ernie? Couldn't find it, kept getting turned around in the dungeons. Ended up lower down than we'd ever been before."
"That's true," said Ernie. "And you can't put Hogwarts on a map, either... but at least we don't keep secret what bloody country it's in!"
"Only because you Scots can't go five minutes without shouting it," said Justin, grinning.
Ernie ignored the jibe.
"Where've the girls got to, anyway? I swear you came in with them, Harry, but they've disappeared..." Ernie said instead.
"They're over there giggling about something," said Harry. He nodded to where the four girls stood at the edge of the Entrance Hall. "I think Daphne's showing off her new robes."
"She does look fit in them though, doesn't she?" said Ernie appreciatively.
"Definitely," agreed Harry. He did always feel a little awkward thinking about his friends that way, but it was difficult to deny that Daphne looked good in her new robes. Harry felt like anyone with eyes could tell.
"Right, come on, let's get going," said Justin quickly. "You know how Suze gets about silk robes, Ern," he said as he moved forward to collect the girls.
Harry and Ernie joined the rest of the group whilst Justin was persuading the girls to get moving into the Great Hall. It didn't take him too long, and soon enough they meandered into the Great Hall to join the masses of students, both local and foreign, inside the cavernous chamber.
"It's really packed in here, isn't it?" said Harry as he squashed past a group of loud first years. "I didn't realise the Fayre would be so popular..."
The Great Hall had obviously been expanded for the occasion and it was still filled to bursting. Stalls selling food and little trinkets stood crammed in next to platforms with performers and little cultural display boards with barely any space left for the masses and masses of students stuffed in amongst them. To Harry it felt more like a crowded market than the place where he ate his breakfasts.
"It isn't very often that something like that happens, I suppose," said Susan. "And there's no Hogsmeade weekend until December so I think everyone wants do something fun."
"And it's a good chance to mix with the other schools," said Tracey. "I think everyone from their lot is here today as well! And we haven't had much chance to get to know them, have we, yet?"
Harry supposed that was true. Although the students from the other schools joined the House tables at mealtimes, they attended most classes and slept in their giant carriage and magical ship, and generally speaking socialised amongst themselves. So events like the Cultural Fayre did seem like a decent enough attempt at providing a space for everyone to interact.
"I'm interested in getting to know some new boys!" said Susan. "Not that the ones we've got aren't, er, good enough," she said with a quick glance at the three boys. "But new is better! Sometimes. Right?" she said with a look towards the girls.
"Oh, definitely!" said Tracey.
Daphne rolled her eyes.
"And I thought we'd come for the cultural ambience and broadened horizons!" she said with an exaggerated sigh. "Come on, Millie, let's go and have a look at that display!" She linked her arms with Millicent and then dragged her off to look at a display board full of bits of writing and moving pictures.
"We'd better follow them," said Tracey, laughing. "Millie hates things like those displays and if we don't go with them, Daphne won't even bother looking at the performers!"
Harry shrugged and followed after the two girls at a slow pace. Although the Great Hall was packed practically to the rafters, Harry found he didn't really mind. Having to push past people was annoying, but everything else that was going on made up for it, really, from the jugglers to the fire-breathers and the traditional folk singers stood on the stages.
And even the displays had interesting bits and pieces on them.
"I didn't know Durmstrang was a country," said Harry, pointing at the display nearest to their group. A sparkling banner at the top proclaimed it as an 'historical information' display. Most of the sections with parts pertaining to Durmstrang were empty or had only snippets of information on them. Several spaces on the display had clearly been intended for photographs, but there weren't any on the board. "See, look—'Durmstrang Institute is not located within any national borders and is itself a sovereign nation led by its Headmaster.' Weird."
"D'you know, I was wondering why there wasn't anyone from the—well, Durmstrang, I suppose—Ministry here to open the Tournament," said Ernie. "I clocked the French bloke—he was the one with the scarf, don't know if you remember—but couldn't figure out which one was from Durmstrang's country. I suppose that's because it was their Headmaster since they don't even... have a country. Or they are the country. You know what I mean." Ernie waved his hand vaguely.
"To be honest," said Harry, "I hadn't noticed the French Ministry bloke. I hadn't even thought of one from Durmstrang, either."
"I guess that's how they can be so picky about admissions," said Ernie. "They set their own rules."
"I don't know why they picked Durmstrang to be part of this stupid competition," said Justin. "It just seems like they're so—I mean, you've heard about how they don't accept muggleborns?" he said. "And they teach the Dark Arts to a level no other school in Europe does. I mean, really, if you were going to pick a school to be part of the competition, you wouldn't pick Durmstrang, would you?"
"The students are alright," said Harry. "The ones I've met, anyway. But it is a bit strange they don't let muggleborns in. Seems like an outdated policy—especially since Hogwarts has never had that as a policy even since a thousand years ago."
"Well, it's just tradition. That's why they're here, isn't it?" said Ernie. "I don't condone their policies you know, obviously, but every Triwizard Tournament has been between the three schools here now. Can't just overturn centuries of precedent like that! It's just not done."
Justin made a non-committal sound and then changed the subject.
"I'm going to grab us some pastries from that stall," he said, gesturing towards the station where a patissier made and sold elegant French pastries. "Be back in a mo."
"It's been a difficult adjustment for Justin, sometimes," said Ernie quietly once Justin had gone. "Did you know, back in the Muggle world, his family's apparently quite important? I know there's money there, as well. We've not talked about it specifically but you can tell. But here, well... it's just a different world entirely, isn't it? I suppose you sort of understand, you know, with your upbringing, but it's different for you because your family is part of it all—even your mum. For Justin, he's the first. You've got a name everyone knows—the surname, I mean. And they'd know that even without the, er, the..."
"It's not been all sunshine and roses for me either," Harry said. "But I get what you mean. It was a bit shit learning some people think my mum shouldn't have been allowed here, even if they do pretend otherwise when they hear the name Harry Potter. But Justin's got a point, hasn't he? It is a stupid policy, and if I was doing the planning, I'd have picked one of the other schools instead. Can you imagine if we'd had to go there, instead? Would we have been allowed to bring muggleborns?"
Ernie shrugged.
"I don't know. I hadn't thought about it—but we bloody well ought to be allowed! Shouldn't be a question, should it, in this day and age?" he said. "I can't imagine Dumbledore would have agreed to that, anyway."
Justin returned carrying paper bags filled with a selection of different pastries.
"The stuff he had was all similar to the muggle stuff," explained Justin as he handed out bags, "but not quite the same, so I'm not sure what they'll taste like. They look rather nice, though."
Harry took a look inside the bag and pulled out a little ball of choux pastry, then popped it into his mouth.
Immediately his hair stood on end, and a shockwave went through his body, as the sweet, fruity filling spread through his mouth.
"Wow!" he said. "I wasn't expecting that!"
"Your hair's gone pink!" said Ernie.
"What? Really?" asked Harry, alarmed. He touched his hair and then realised that he couldn't see it, so turned around to look for a shiny enough surface to get a look. When he found one he frowned deeply as he saw that his hair really had turned pink. A vivid, almost angry, pink.
"Er, sorry, Harry," said Justin. "Didn't mean for that to happen..."
"It's not your fault," muttered Harry. "Should have known magical sweets always have some sort of fine print attached..."
Justin fished in his own paper bag and brought out an identical little choux ball to the one Harry had eaten. He ate it, and his hair went through much the same thing as Harry's, only it was a bright green instead.
"There we go," said Justin. "Green's not that bad, I suppose, but I couldn't let you wander around like that on your own."
Ernie rolled his eyes.
"Oh, go on then!" he said, and ate his own version. The same thing as had happened to Harry and Justin happened to Ernie, although his hair went a vivid orange. "Couldn't let you two have all the fun."
"I wonder how long it lasts?" said Justin as he looked at his newly green hair in his reflection.
"Your hair's pink!" said Tracey, stifling a giggle when the girls eventually wandered back to the boys. "Why'd you do that?"
"I didn't do it on purpose," mumbled Harry. "I ate one of those French pastry balls—like a doughnut, I don't know if you've seen them—and it made my hair like this."
"At least it was an accident," said Daphne, "because it looks awful. Pink hair, with those robes?"
"I've had those before," said Susan. "They don't last that long—you'll be back to normal by dinnertime."
Harry sighed.
"I guess it's a good bit of fun. Where'd you lot get to, anyway?" Harry asked.
"Daph wanted one of those weird cloud animal things that wizard is making over there," said Millicent, waving her arm in the general direction the four girls had come from, "but there was a big queue so we didn't bother."
"Cloud animal things?" asked Justin. "What?"
"It's like a stuffed animal made out of clouds!" said Daphne. "They're so cute and they jump around! And they're really fluffy, so they feel so good when you hug them! But they disappear after a few days..."
"They're called nuanimaux, or something like that," said Susan. "They are really cute. We'll have to come back later to see if we can get one then..."
The little group wandered around the Great Hall some more, stopping at some of the stalls and displays as they did so. Harry learned a fair bit about the history of Hogwarts and Beauxbatons, and it was an interesting enough diversion that he didn't feel too bad about missing his duelling practise for the day.
They stopped at a vendor giving out curried sausages, which Harry was initially a bit hesitant to try. Prodding from Tracey convinced him, however, so he got himself a little one on a tray and tried it out.
After the first bite Harry felt tears run from his eyes, and steam literally shoot from his ears.
"That was... hot!" he spluttered a few moments later. Once his mouth had cooled down, however, he felt like taking another go at it. "Tasty, though." He took another bite, and although the same thing happened again, it didn't feel quite as bad. Once he'd finished the sausage, the tray disappeared.
Tracey grinned.
"I love these—they're so good! My dad makes them sometimes but his don't make as much steam," she said.
"I don't imagine I'll have much room for dinner if we keep at this any longer," said Ernie, rubbing at his stomach.
"You don't have to get everything from every stall," pointed out Susan.
"You're getting some of everything from every stall, though," said Justin.
"But I'm saving mine for later, mostly," Susan said primly.
Harry had never been one to overeat – something about watching Dudley stuff himself to bursting had put him off – but given that most of the stuff on offer was the sort of food they never really got outside of feasts, even he'd been keeping some back for later. Perhaps not as much as Ernie, though. The other boy really had tried everything they'd seen so far. It was a good thing that the Cultural Fayre was replacing lunch, Harry supposed.
"Well, you know, cultural horizons, culinary experimentation, all that," Ernie mumbled, although he did put the big, curly battered sausage he'd been eating back into its bag.
"Hello, Harry," said a voice from behind Harry. "Are these your friends?"
He turned with a mouth full of sausage to see Giovanna, the pretty Italian witch from Durmstrang who he hadn't seen since the Feast, along with another witch and a couple of wizards. He hastily wiped his face and nodded.
"Oh, er, yeah! Yeah, these are my friends!" Harry said, and then quickly made the relevant introductions.
"It is lovely to meet you all," said Giovanna. She introduced her friends and then gestured to Harry's hair. "I like your hair. The colour is certainly very... brave."
"It was one of those French pastry ball things," said Harry, suddenly very self-conscious.
"I am only teasing," said Giovanna. "My friend—Natasha—had one, too!" Giovanna glanced at the short witch with a shock of blue hair. "Would you mind if we joined you and your friends?"
Harry checked with the rest of the group first. He didn't want to saddle everyone with a bunch of new people they didn't want, after all, but then gave his assent. Giovanna's group mixed with Harry's, then they all started to move throughout the Cultural Fayre in the magically enlarged Great Hall once more. It was a bit awkward with four new people – especially ones they didn't really know – but Harry thought they muddled through quite well. And it was part of the point of the event, so he could put up with a bit of awkwardness.
"I've been learning so much today," said Giovanna conversationally as they wandered through the cavernous room. "Did you know that the palazzo? No, palais... Ah, no! Palace, it is in English! There are too many languages in my head today!" Giovanna said with a lopsided grin. "Of Beauxbatons was paid for with alchemical gold? The great alchemist Nicolas Flamel went there as a young man, you see."
"Really?" said Harry. "I didn't know that! I don't think so, anyway... I never knew that Durmstrang was its own country! Although, that's basically the only thing I've seen about Durmstrang today since most of the displays don't have anything..."
Giovanna shrugged.
"The school... ah, how do you say it? Constitution? No, the school charter tells us which secrets must be kept, you see. Have you been practising your flying?" she asked, changing the topic rather abruptly in Harry's opinion. But then, he supposed that was to keep Durmstrang's secrets without being rude. Better to keep up a conversation about unrelated things than refuse to answer questions because of some silly rule, Harry supposed.
"I haven't had much time on a broom since before Hallowe'en," Harry admitted reluctantly. He didn't want one of his main competitors to think him underprepared, but he also didn't want to lie to a pretty girl. "I've been working really hard for the duelling—since it's next week. Don't want to be knocked out in the first round."
"Ah, a wizard of many talents!" said Giovanna, smiling. "Well, I will hope that you go through. But, do not tell Anatoly this—he will be duelling also, you see," she said, with only a brief glance back at her tall friend who was – fortunately – occupied talking to Daphne.
"Hopefully we won't be duelling each other in the first round, then," Harry said. "I'd feel awful knocking him out before we've even really started."
"You are very confident, I see!" said Giovanna, smiling. "Are you this sure of your flying, as well? Should I start to worry?"
Although she'd said it lightly, like everything else she'd said in her friendly, jocular tone, Harry could tell the question had a bit of steel in it, too. No doubt she really was interested in whether Harry would pose a threat to her chances at winning the flying. Harry assumed Giovanna was quite good, both to have been picked for the Aerobaticum in the first place and because she'd clearly invested a decent whack of cash into it with her brand-new Hayami.
"I've not been flying that long," Harry said, choosing his words carefully, "but I got through all our qualifiers for every event in the Aerobaticum—standard and free." He grinned. "But maybe Hogwarts is just full of terrible flyers, and I'm only the best of a bad bunch. You'll have to wait and see!"
"I look forward to it," Giovanna said. She turned the conversation on to less competitive topics then, and she and Harry chatted to each other about all the usual sorts of things – their classes, things their friends had been up to, bits and pieces about their families.
"My mother loves this kind of music," said Giovanna as they stopped in front of a performer singing – loudly – in Italian. "It is too traditional for me, though—I prefer more modern music."
Harry nodded.
"I agree. I mean, this is really nice—I don't know what she's saying but she's a good singer—but I prefer the modern stuff, too."
"It's a song about, um, a hero who goes away to fight in a war, and the—the lover he left behind," said Giovanna, her face tinged with pink. "You are lucky to not know what she's saying—it's full of the sorts of lyrics mothers love to hear. You know, the really embarrassing kind of things they like to sing in front of friends..." Giovanna paused. "Oh, I'm so sorry—I didn't mean..."
Harry frowned, then realised why Giovanna had become so flustered.
His mother was dead. Famously.
"My aunt is like that too, sometimes," Harry said with a smile. It wasn't quite true – Petunia Dursley lived for appearances, and rarely did anything that might be considered inappropriate – but she did have her moments. It wasn't important, anyway; he just wanted Giovanna to feel less self-conscious about what she'd said. "So I know what you mean." He changed the subject. "Have you seen that juggler? I swear he was juggling cats earlier..."
Harry led Giovanna away from the – apparently embarrassing – Italian singer and towards the juggler he'd seen earlier. They kept up their conversation like that with only a few other awkward incidents until Giovanna's friend Natasha appeared at her side and said something incomprehensible to her in German.
Giovanna nodded a few times and then turned back to Harry.
"My friends, they want to—well, it doesn't matter, but I need to go with them," said Giovanna. "But I wanted to say to you—I mean, ah..." She paused and went a bit red around the ears. "It was nice talking with you again today. And—we were told of the visits to the little village, Hog's Meet? No, Hogsmeade, that's right. There is one in December, we were told, and Master Karkaroff, he said that we could go..." she trailed off, as if waiting for Harry to say something.
After a few moments Harry realised – or perhaps only hoped – that Giovanna wanted him to ask her to go to Hogsmeade. He'd never asked a girl anything like that before. What should he say? It couldn't be as simple as just... asking, could it?
That felt wrong.
"Oh! Er, yeah, yeah the first one is next month," said Harry, feeling all the while like he was about to trip over his own tongue. He wondered if it had always been so big in his head, or if it was something new... "I've never been since first years can't go... but it's meant to be, er, really nice. If—I mean, I was going to—ah." Harry paused and took a breath. He'd faced off against two Death Eaters and Voldemort before the end of his first year at school; asking a girl to Hogsmeade should be easy in comparison. "I'm going, so if you wanted to, we could go ... together?"
Giovanna smiled widely, an expression which went right to her eyes and lit up her face.
"Yes! Yes, that would be very nice," she said. "I will see you before then, to make ah, better plans—but yes, I will definitely come with you!"
Natasha sighed loudly and gestured for Giovanna to get moving.
"I will see you soon, Harry Potter," Giovanna said before she turned away. Then, she looked back. "Good luck next week."
The vivacious Italian girl walked off to join her friends. Harry watched her go with a big smile on his face.
"Go on then," said Ernie once the group reunited, "tell us what's got you so happy."
Harry mumbled a response, which he knew would be lost in the din of the Great Hall during the Cultural Fayre.
"Didn't quite catch that, mate," Ernie said with a big grin.
"Giovanna—she wanted—erm, well, I asked her—we're going to Hogsmeade together next month," Harry said, a bit louder this time.
"Oh, nice one!" said Ernie. "Well done, mate."
"That mate of hers wasn't too happy to be with us, though," said Justin. "Made a right show of how bored she was. Natasha, wasn't it?"
"Oh, never mind that sourpuss," said Susan. "I think she was just a bit jealous. Giovanna is really pretty. Her friends told us she fancied you—that's why we all stayed back so you could chat with her."
"Well, that and that Anus bloke wanted to sniff around Daph," said Millicent.
"Anatoly," corrected Daphne gently, "and I told him I didn't want to go to Hogsmeade with him. He's not what I'm looking for in a companion," she said, although she didn't elaborate.
"I thought we could all go together since it's the first one," said Tracey, sounding a little disappointed, "but that girl is really pretty so you should be really pleased, Harry!"
"Er, thanks, I think," said Harry. He certainly couldn't deny that he felt lucky. Giovanna was pretty, and a competent flyer, too. More than that she didn't seem at all interested in all the 'Harry Potter, Boy-Who-Lived' nonsense. Still, he felt rather self-conscious and on display as everyone stood around him discussing his attempts at romance, so he changed the subject. "Shall we go around the rest of the Fayre? I know we've seen most of it but didn't you say you wanted to have those cloud thingies? So... we should get going, I reckon," Harry said, and set off without waiting for a response.
Anything to change the subject.
The group did visit the last bits and pieces of the Cultural Fayre that they hadn't already seen, or hadn't seen enough of at least, but once they were done, didn't hang about much longer before making their way back to the lower recesses of the castle to return to their respective Common Rooms. Harry was rather glad it was all over. He only wanted to watch jugglers, or listen to folk songs from different countries, or stuff himself with sweets and snacks, for so long before he got bored, after all.
The four Slytherins said goodbye to their Hufflepuff counterparts once they reached the cellar level, and then continued on to the dungeons. The girls headed towards their dormitory immediately, but Harry went to see whether Blaise and Theodore had returned from their own activities.
"Harry?" called out Blaise when Harry passed by where he and Theodore were playing cards. "Why've you got pink hair?"
Harry sighed.
"Those stupid French pastry ball thingies," he explained. "Don't know if you've had them before, but they turn your hair stupid colours..."
"Well, it looks rather... er... fetching," sniggered Theodore.
"Yeah, yeah," Harry said. "Susan said it should wear off by dinnertime," Harry said with a shrug before he sat down in an empty armchair. He placed the selection of sweets, pastries, and assorted food items he'd brought back from the Fayre onto the table. "They cancelled lunch for the Fayre, and I don't think I'll eat all of these now anyway. So go on, you two can have what's left."
Blaise eyed the paper bags sceptically.
"And have my hair change colour? Not bloody likely," he said.
"There aren't any more of those left, I don't think," said Harry, "but suit yourself." Harry grabbed himself one of the few remaining Russian doughnut things whose name he couldn't remember and ate it in little bits and pieces. It didn't have any weird side-effects, so Harry felt quite safe eating it.
Eventually both Theodore and Blaise started to pick over the remains of Harry's haul, and Harry joined in with the next round of cards.
Harry wanted to mention his upcoming trip to Hogsmeade with Giovanna, but in a way that didn't sound ungentlemanly. He waited until the conversation reached an ebb, and then slipped it – he hoped – into the conversation nonchalantly.
"So, you remember that girl we were talking to at the Feast?" Harry said. "You know, the one with the Hayami broom?"
"Oh, yeah?" said Blaise. "She was fit though, wasn't she?"
"Er, yeah, no—I mean, definitely she was,," said Harry. "But that's—well, we're going to the next Hogsmeade weekend together. I asked her—or, she sort of hinted, so then I—anyway, we're going together." There. He'd said it.
"Damn, that's a lucky pull, mate," said Blaise. "She's way fitter than you are. No offence."
"Some taken," said Harry. "I know my hair's a nest but I'm not that bad..."
"Hate to tell you, but next to her, you look like a flobberworm," said Blaise in a mock serious tone. "Just thought you should know. But enough of that—where are you going to take her? That place, what's her name... Madame Pussyfoot? Girls are meant to like that."
"Puddifoot," corrected Theodore. "But that seems a bit much, doesn't it? It's where the uppers take girls, I know, but... and I'm not—I mean I've never been on a date before, but it seems like..." he trailed off.
"Er, I hadn't got that far," Harry admitted. "I was thinking we'd just go and do all the normal Hogsmeade stuff—she's never been either, has she? And since it's both our first time there... So... yeah, I was just... why, d'you not think that's alright?"
Theodore shrugged.
"Honestly couldn't say. Maybe ask one of the girls?"
"I reckon that's fine," said Blaise. "Maybe you could ask one of the girls—Daphne would be the best, I think. Another round?"
Blaise gestured to the deck of cards.
"Go on," said Theodore. "Deal me in for another."
Harry shook his head.
"Nah, I think I'll go shower. I've got all those food smells from the Fayre stuck on me. Maybe after."
"Yeah, alright," said Blaise. "See you later."
Harry left the remnants of food in their bags on the table, and got up to go and take a shower, his thoughts a jumble of fixated on Giovanna, Hogsmeade, and Japanese bespoke broomsticks.