"This is my uncle," Victoire said, hours later as she and Stuart stood in the middle of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. The shop was insanely crowded and exceptionally busy, but the second her Uncle George had seen her, he had made his way over to greet her. She smiled as George shook Stuart's hand.

"Nice to meet you, sir," Stuart said.

George made a face. "You don't need to call me sir. That makes me sound old and official. I went into this line of work to avoid that. George is fine."

Stuart politely smiled. "I remember spending a lot of time in your other shop when I was younger. The one in Diagon Alley. I probably blew most of my allowances on things in there to prank my sisters."

"Well, I always like to hear about lifetime customers," George said with a smile. "Truth be told, I'm shocked we're still in business all these years later."

Victoire looked around at the crowds of students who were anxiously grabbing at things; comparing prices versus how much pocket money they had on them. "It doesn't look like business is suffering."

He smiled. "It's one of those nostalgic things. An idea two kids had one day has turned into all of this." He shook his head and grinned as a small boy with dark hair and a face full of freckles came running through the crowd with a small box in his hand.

"I found it, Dad!" he said.

"Excellent, Freddie," he said, apparently pleased that he'd delivered whatever was in that box. "We'll just put that over here…" He reached behind him, but then quickly gestured to Victoire. "Do you see who's here?"

"Hi Victoire," Freddie said, though he didn't seem to care much and was already turning to bustle off back behind the counter.

"This is his first Hogsmeade weekend," George said. "I spend most of my time at the other shop and he usually comes with me, but I always make sure I'm here in Hogsmeade when your lot comes into the village." He smiled over towards his son who was standing on a small foot ladder helping to restock a shelf. "He said he was ready today to try his hand at the crowds, though."

"He looks like he's doing a great job," Victoire said.

"He is," he said, still smiling. "Eight-years-old and already one of the hardest workers I know." He laughed. "I need to work that out of him."

Victoire smiled.

"But I need to get back to work," he said. "You two have fun. If you'd like anything, help yourself. Just let Gladys at the front know I said it was fine. Don't go mad and put me out of business, though."

"Thanks, Uncle George," Victoire said with a smile. She noticed Stuart actually seemed a bit impressed. He was examining some Ton-Tongue Toffees.

"How cool is it that he's your uncle?"

"He's great," she said, picking up a box of Jester Quills—"Guaranteed to write the funniest things you've ever heard!"—and started to read the back instructions.

"I gave one of these to my sister once," Stuart said in an amused sort of way as he held up the Ton-Tongue Toffee box. "It was the funniest thing I'd ever seen."

"My brother and sister used to do stuff like that to me, too," she said. "I think we all did."

He smiled as they both picked out an item and made their way out of the store and back into the street. The day had been fun so far, which was nice given such an awkward start. Victoire still couldn't help shake feeling terrible for Whit, but she was trying to make the best of the day regardless. Plus, as Stuart had pointed out over tea, if Jack was around and she ran into him, she'd be able to get to the bottom of why he stood Whit up. With the crowds as large as they were though, she had yet to run into him or her brother in any of the shops or in the street.

She tried not to make it a mission, however. She was here with Stuart and he was providing lovely company. It wasn't fair to him to drag him around town on a quest of sorts to scold another boy. She instead went with the flow of the day.

After tea, they'd walked up and down the streets, going into almost every stop they came across whether they had reason to or not. They talked about everything from music to school to friends, and shared a similar sense of humor that made the conversations always seem engaging. He had even held her hand for several minutes as they walked at once; he only let go once her Uncle George had greeted them.

"Where to next?" he asked at a little after two o'clock.

"I think we've been everywhere," she said with a glance down the road. "We can go to the Three Broomsticks if you'd like. I know I heard Durrin say that they were going to be there later on."

He bit his tongue. "Are you sure?"

"You don't want to?"

"I do, sure," he said. "I didn't know if you wanted to keep this just the two of us. If we go there, it'll probably be anything but." He smirked a little. "Everyone will be there."

She smiled. "I'm sure we'll manage. Come on."

The pair walked the several doors down and pushed inside of the Three Broomsticks pub, where the atmosphere was warm and inviting. Since it was afternoon, this was where most of the students found themselves after a long day of shopping and walking. Sure enough, it seemed like half of the school was crowded within the small pub.

"I'll get you something," Stuart said before he began navigating his way around her and toward the bar. "See who's here and if there's anywhere to sit."

She nodded and glanced around, craning her neck to see who she knew. It only took a moment before someone recognized her first.

"Victoire!" called someone as several heads at his table turned in her direction. Sure enough, most of Stuart's usual crew of friends were all there. Durrin, Devon, another Ravenclaw Quidditch player called Levi, two girls called Annabelle and Linny. She enjoyed the company of each one of them until she noticed that at the table directly beside them—their table practically pushed straight up to theirs—was Colleen, Aspeth, Penelope.

Great. There was nowhere to go; they'd already seen her.

"Hi," said Victoire as she approached them all. "What's up?"

"Sit, sit!" Devon offered, shoving Durrin and Annabelle down to make room. "We'll find more chairs."

"Where's Stu?" Colleen asked a little too obviously. "I thought you two were on a date?"

"He's getting us something to drink," Victoire said without missing a beat. "And we are."

"Why are you here, then?" Aspeth asked. "It's loud and crowded and not very romantic."

"Well, we already did the romantic part," she said as Devon reappeared with more chairs. He seemed proud of himself for working all that out.

"Stu can sit here next to you," he said before he lifted his glass in the air happily. "See? Problem solved. Cheers."

Colleen smirked, "Always the problem solver, aren't you, Dev?" Her eyes suddenly flickered to something behind Victoire.

"Hey all," Stuart said as he appeared moments later and handed Victoire a butterbeer. "How's it going?"

There was a murmur of greeting as everyone moved around and shifted seats in order to make room for the new arrivals. Once all was said and done, Victoire found herself sandwiched between Stuart and Natalie—the latter of which she wasn't exactly thrilled to be next to.

"So, what have you all been up to?" Penelope asked Victoire specifically. "Anything fun?"

Stuart and Victoire looked at each other; between the smiles and the shrugs, they both managed to say, "Yeah," with Stuart adding, "We've had fun."

"Lovely," Penelope said in a clipped way. Colleen was forcing a smile. Victoire noted that it wasn't her usual spiteful smile, but rather a more annoyed smile. Perhaps she was getting tired of the chase that she was obviously losing?

"What have you been up to?" Stuart asked around the table. He glanced at Durrin. "You and Anna made up then?" He smiled. "Good to see."

"Don't we always," Annabelle said, offering Stuart a mock salute with her butterbeer. Durrin shrugged, but looked as if he had something more to say. Victoire hoped no one pressed him for details because those two were the most on-again-off-again couple she'd ever met.

Devon thankfully must have felt the same way, because he suddenly chimed in and claimed he'd been trying to explain to everyone how the Potions Master, Professor Holt, obviously favored girls over boys, which was why he can't get any help in Potions when he asks for it. It was apparently also the reason he was doing so poorly in the subject.

"Durrin thinks I'm full of shit.'

"Holt and I get on just fine," Durrin said. "I get great marks in Potions. He's always, 'Wonderful work, Mr. Adams . You really understand the finer details .'"

"He does seem really keen on you," Stuart said, laughing as he said it. From beside Durrin, Annabelle was nodding along before adding, "He loves Durrin."

"Because I'm good at Potions," Durrin said unapologetically. "If you all were as good as me, he'd like you just as much."

"I think he really does like people who are good at Potions," Victoire offered, thinking about how he was very different toward the people who took the subject seriously and the ones who didn't care as much. He had never really bothered her, but she also did well enough in the subject. However, she could remember Ted—who was amazing at Potions—always talking about how much he enjoyed Holt.

"He was always a miserable git to me," Penelope said. "I was so happy to drop that class."

"You didn't drop it," Colleen said, looking over at her. "Your Potions O.W.L. was so abysmal he never would have accepted you into his class. There's a difference."

Penelope shrunk into herself a bit, which Victoire had stopped feeling sorry for a long time ago. At this point, Penelope did this to herself. If she actually stood up to Colleen and left her with no allies, perhaps she'd consider how awful she truly was. Though, that was probably wishful thinking.

"Oh, Victoire, there's your brother," said Penelope, her bad mood apparently passed that quickly because she was now smiling in Louis' direction. "I didn't know he was here."

Victoire turned; so did Natalie. Sure enough, Louis was leaning against the bar and talking to the pretty new barmaid, which caused Natalie to slump into her chair a bit

Victoire ignored that, though upon seeing him she did suddenly have the urge to go and speak to him. One, because she wanted to run interference if Penelope had any plans; two, because she genuinely did want to ask him what the hell had happened with Jack today and whether he knew anything.

"Excuse me for a second," Victoire said to Stuart before she pulled her chair back and pushed her way through the crowd and toward her brother. She managed to edge her way in between Louis and some younger boy, both of whom were staring rather googly eyed at the barmaid.

"Hey Louis," she said, attempting to get his attention. "You have a second?"

"Later," he said, glancing at the girl behind the bar. She looked to be in her early twenties and was far out of Louis's league. She was well out of the leagues of any of these school aged boys.

"Stop it," she said, swatting him. "I need to talk to you."

He threw her an annoyed look. "Then talk."

"Where's Jack?"

"I don't know, around here somewhere," he said without looking at her. At the same moment, the girl behind the bar suddenly went to talk to Madam Rosemerta on the other end; as if he had been in a trance, Louis suddenly snapped alive and stared at his sister. "He's around somewhere."

"You don't happen to know why he decided to ditch Whit today, do you?"

"You're kidding, right?"

"Why would I be kidding?" she asked, though she didn't get her answer. Jack had appeared up to the bar at that very moment with Flynn in tow, laughing at something that Flynn had just said. He seemed to be in great spirits, as if he was having a lovely time.

"So, get this," Flynn said to Louis. "We were just talking to Pepperdine over there, and he swears he can fit fourteen beans up his nose and…Oh, hey Vicki."

"Hi," she said, though she hadn't taken her eyes off of Jack. When she finally did catch his eye, he didn't seem surprised to see her. In fact, he looked at her and then looked back down the length of the bar as if she was the one who should be showing some reaction to him.

"Jack, can I talk to you?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'd actually like to talk to you," he said with an odd sort of expression.

"Great," she muttered, stepping around her brother toward Jack. "Outside, perhaps?"

He shrugged his shoulders in a bored way before he followed her out. Louis, who apparently wanted to come along, downed the rest of his butterbeer in a quick gulp and slammed it down on the counter.

Once the three of them were outside, Victoire rounded on Jack and crossed her arms over her chest. What did he have to say for himself?

"Well...?" Jack asked as Louis came and positioned himself on a nearby bench that was right beside them. He was watching them both expectantly, as if they were about to put on some sort of show.

"Well?" she mimicked, making a face. She wasn't fond of his tone at all. "Well, what the hell?"

He cocked his eyebrow and stared at her.

"What the hell?" she repeated, growing more and more irritated. "What happened to you?"

"Nothing," he said. "What are you on about?"

"What are you on about?" she asked loudly, causing several people who were exiting the pub to turn and glance at them.

"Why exactly did you want to talk to me?" he asked bluntly.

"Because I want to know why you decided to skip out on your plans this morning," she said obviously. "I'd like to know why you think it's fine to stand up your date with no explanation."

Jack's face changed instantly. He suddenly looked at Victoire as if she had just insulted his mother. Oddly enough, Louis made a very similar expression from the bench.

"Oh, you're joking, right?" Louis said as he stood up. "You think he's the one who—?"

Jack held up his hand to silence Louis, who immediately stopped and instead started laughing on the spot. He walked away several steps to continue laughing.

"You think I stood her up?" Jack asked.

"I don't think," she countered, "I know. I was there."

"You were where?" he asked, his voice rising slightly. The only time Victoire had ever heard Jack raise his voice was last year after a Quidditch match against Hufflepuff when he had got a foul called against him for unnecessary roughness that he didn't feel was deserved.

"I was with her while she was waiting for you this morning," Victoire said. "I was with her when she left the tea shop because you never showed up!"

Louis laughed again. It was a strange laugh, as if he found what she was saying amusing and at the same time unbelievable. Jack simply stared at her.

"Look," Jack began. "I have no idea what you're talking about. I actually came out to ask you why she decided last night to say the hell with it all. Why couldn't she tell me to my face instead of some bloody note?"

It was Victoire's turn to stare. Louis was now standing next to Jack and they both were watching her and waiting for a response. She had no idea what was going on, though her head had suddenly started to hurt because of all of these stupid, roundabout questions.

"Okay, what are you talking about?" she asked.

Jack rolled his eyes and took a few steps away. He was either getting annoyed or gathering his thoughts, but Louis took the opportunity to step forward.

"Whit's the one who skipped out. Not Jack."

"She did not!"

"Funny," he said. "That little note she wrote seems to say she did."

"What note?" She looked at Jack. "There was no note. I told you I was with her this morning while she waited for you. I watched her get ready and come down here."

"Alright, I'm confused," Jack said. "You say she did all of that, but at the same time, last night she wrote me a note telling me that she didn't want to go out with me and that she didn't really fancy me all that much to begin with."

Victoire's jaw dropped. "What?"

"I read it," Louis agreed.

"When did you read this?" she asked.

"Last night," Jack said. "In the library."

Victoire screwed up her face in thought. "She left the library right after you left for the toilet. When exactly would she have given you this note?"

"It was just there when I got back," he said. "Sitting on top of my stuff."

"Whit and I left right after she talked to you," she repeated as she ran over last night's events in her own head. "I watched her go. She didn't write you anything else before she left, let alone send anything over there."

"I assumed you brought it over," Louis said. "When you came over to talk to me. Thought it was rather cowardly for her to send her friend over, but—" He shrugged.

"I didn't bring anything," she said

"So, where'd it come from, then?" Louis asked. He glanced at Jack, who looked both annoyed and confused.

"I have no idea," she said. "All I know is that neither Whit, nor I, wrote it. Are you sure it was even meant for you?"

"It had my name on it," Jack said. "And like I said, it was sitting on top of my stuff."

She let herself calm a bit, not knowing at all what was happening here. "I don't know what to tell you, Jack. But she didn't write that. I swear. I would have seen her do it. Someone's messing with you."

"Who the hell would do that?" Jack asked as the color rose in his face.

Victoire and Louis exchanged looks as Jack went and sat down on the bench. She didn't have an answer to that question, but she sighed as she walked over toward him. "I don't know, but I'm sort of relieved because it's just a big misunderstanding. I mean, I thought I was going to have to hex you here and now."

Louis grinned, but Jack said nothing. He just stared ahead blankly.

"So, how did this happen?" Louis asked.

"I'd actually love to know," Jack said. "Because it's all a bit fucked." He paused before he slowly started to grimace. "So wait…she thinks I stood her up?"

Victoire nodded.

He let his head fall into his hands. "Shit..."

"It's not your fault," Louis said. "She can't hold this against you."

"We'll go talk to her," Victoire said as she glanced towards the entrance of the pub. "Hold on, I'm just going to go and say goodbye."

"Yeah, wait, I'm going to tell Flynn we're leaving," Louis said as the pair of them walked into the pub and split up once they were inside. Victoire made her way over to where Stuart was still chatting with his friends and knelt down beside him.

"Hey, there you are," he said once she placed a hand on his shoulder. "You figure things out?"

"Sort of," she whispered. "I'm going to go back to the castle."

"Why?" He turned around in his chair and came face to face with her.

"It's a long story."

"Is everything alright?"

She nodded. "I just wanted to say thanks for a really fun day. I'd love to do it again sometime."

He half smiled as she glanced up and noticed Colleen was watching them. Louis appeared moments later and tapped Victoire on the shoulder to signal they could leave. Natalie looked up at him, but he paid her no attention.

"Oh, are you leaving too, Louis?" Penelope asked.

"Yes, he is," Victoire said before he had a chance to answer. She tugged on his arm and pulled him toward the door and through the crowd. When they got back outside, Jack was still sitting just where they had left him.

"Come on," Louis said to him, nudging him before the three of them started trekking back up toward the castle. "Let's go try and sort this out."

Jack said nothing and just shrugged. They'd walked for nearly a minute in silence before Victoire glanced over at her brother. "By the way, if I see you smile at Penelope Shears again the way you did last night—"

"When did I smile at her? I didn't smile at her."

"I'll stop speaking to you. I will."

"What are you talking about?" he said in a way only a younger brother could. "You make this stuff up, Vic. I swear."