The day every third year and above had been waiting for had finally arrived. Hogsmeade was bitterly cold, despite it being only mid-October. Poppet, wrapped up in scarves and hats, walked down the main street towards Honeydukes with Roxanne, Florence and Jocelyn. Poppet was eager to get her hands on some Sugar Quills and Fizzing Whizbees. Rather like the weather, James was still frosty with everyone but he actually held Quidditch practice last week and it was disastrous to say the least.
The door to Honeydukes swung open as Poppet reached for the handle. She was faced with James. He looked at the faces of the girls stood before him and smiled weakly before heading off in the direction of Zonko's. "He wants to apologise but can't bring himself to," Roxanne commented as they entered the shop; the warm air causing their cheeks to flush. Naturally it was packed full of Hogwarts students.
"Maybe we should approach him first," Poppet commented, picking up an assortment of Sugar Quills and piling them into her basket. He needed to get back on track with Quidditch. The first match of the year was in three weeks time and so far the Gryffindor team wouldn't win against Slytherin – even if they brought out a team of only first years who had all been put under the confundous charm. Plus, she felt kind of sorry for the guy.
"I agree," Florence was also helping herself to a vast amount of Sugar Quills, "Have you seen him at meal times? He sits alone. He goes to and from class alone. It's sad."
Roxanne grunted, "No. He should learn. You can't go around breaking people's ribs."
Florence shot Poppet a look and Poppet returned it with a shrug. Roxanne knew James the best, she supposed.
The four girls filled their baskets with enough sweets to last them three months and headed to the till where they paid for their sweets and then made their way towards the Three Broomsticks for a Butterbeer. On their way, Albus ran into them. His face was red from the bitter wind.
"Have you seen Rose anywhere?" He asked, breathlessly, "She just abandoned me in Zonko's!"
"Weird," Poppet muttered. Roxanne gave her a look and turned back to Albus.
"Afraid not," Jocelyn said, looking apologetically at Albus, "did she tell you she was leaving?"
"No! I just turned around and she was gone!" Albus sighed heavily, "I've been looking for her for half an hour."
Muttering their apologies, the girls bid farewell to Albus and set off towards the Three Broomsticks. It was warm inside and they sat gripping their mugs of steaming butterbeer on a small round table in the corner of the pub. Once they had finished, they decided to head back to the castle. The village was packed full of Hogwarts students but it wasn't difficult to spot Rose Weasley coming out of Madame Puddifoot's.
"There's Rose!" Poppet noticed her first, her flame-coloured hair making her easy to spot in the sea of browns and blondes.
Florence turned to the rest of the girls, "Madame Puddifoot's? Who's she meeting in there?"
"What's Madame Puddifoot's?" Poppet asked.
"It's a small cafe. It's very... chinsy. There's a lot of doilies and lanterns and glitter and scented candles. It's generally where couples go on dates," Jocelyn explained; a dreamy look in her eye, "if only some boy would take me to Madame Puddifoots..."
Roxanne laughed and smacked her arm, "Madame Puddifoot's is so... cliché. I'd want a boy to take me on a date to the Shrieking Shack!"
"But it's so dirty in there," Florence protested, "and you know the rumours! It's haunted!"
Roxanne went on a spiel about how it wasn't haunted, it was actually some boy named Teddy's dad who was actually a werewolf who was in there and the muggles around thought it was haunted but really it was a werewolf. To be honest, Poppet had lost interest. She wanted to know what was up with Rose.
"We seem to have lost sight of where this conversation began," Poppet interrupted their laughter which had been caused by a joke from Jocelyn about having a werewolf boyfriend, "Any ideas on who Rose is dating?"
Roxanne snorted, "Rose is my cousin and I love her but there is no way she has a date with anyone. Her only relationship is with her text books. You have noticed she doesn't really have many friends, haven't you?"
Poppet felt kind of bad for Rose. She'd never heard Roxanne be so cutting before. Maybe the butterbeer had gone to her head, "Well, she has a few friends."
"The girls in her dorm tolerate her but they say some awful things when her back is turned," Florence said, sadly. "I hate to say it, but it's true."
"Little Rosie hasn't got a date. She probably just went to grab a coffee or something. She's never had much of a taste for butterbeer," Roxanne shrugged as the castle approached.
"But she keeps disappearing and you would think that if she was just going to get coffee, she wouldn't have run off without Albus!" Poppet protested. Sure, she'd only known Rose little over a month but this behaviour was very odd. She was always late to mealtimes, never in the common room after lessons had ended and never seemed to spend any of her free time with her peers. Even for an introvert, this seemed very peculiar.
"You don't know Rose like we do," Roxanne pressed on, "she's a recluse, awkward! Bless her! If she's up to anything it will be school work. It will not be a secret boyfriend or girlfriend or even friend. That's just not the way Rose is!"
Poppet dropped the subject but she wasn't convinced. Roxanne had failed to give a reason why Rose ran off without Albus.
Lunch was served in the Great Hall. Large, gold bowls of steaming tomato soup warmed the students of Hogwarts through and through. Poppet was dunking a large, crusty roll into the delicious warm mixture when James walked into the hall. He looked flustered and the tops of his ears were crimson from the cold outside. His black hair was tousled by the wind and his face looked raw and pink. His eyes were sad as he glanced at the table. Poppet saw he was looking at Tom and Lars who were eating their soup and laughing loudly. A twinge of sympathy hit Poppet but she was forced to ignore it. He made his bed, now he must lie in it.
He looked around for an empty seat and ended up sitting with Blane and Tobias. He smiled sheepishly and Poppet continued to watch him. "When's this going to end?" she wondered aloud.
"What?" Roxanne asked. Poppet explained she meant James' exile from the group.
"Oh. Ugh. I don't know. When his head deflates a little," Roxanne replied.
"Well, it better be soon!" Florence explained, "Yesterday, Amy Hamblin-Parkinson told me that the Slytherin team has never been stronger! They have a new seeker and apparently he's one of the best they've seen. I bet he couldn't beat James when James is on form but as it stands, James is not. This is the weakest I've ever seen our team!"
"Why do you talk to Amy Hamblin-Parkinson?" Jocelyn quizzed.
"We share a crystal ball in Divination," said Florence, simply, "but you're missing my point, Joce! We can't lose to Slytherin!"
Poppet sighed. She almost regretted trying out for the Quidditch team now. It did cause more drama than it's worth.
"Jeanette said she's seen us practice," Florence went on, "and she said it's the worse she's ever seen our team! It's not just us saying it! And Jeanette wouldn't lie! She's a friend! Remember when she sat at our table all the time because of James?"
"Jeanette as in James' ex-girlfriend?" Poppet asked even thought she knew full well the answer was yes.
"Yeah. She's over there. Next to Dominique. You see her? Stunning, isn't she?" Florence sighed, "I wish I could have legs like hers!"
She was indeed very beautiful. She had long, blonde hair down to her waist in loose, beach waves. Her eyes shone a clear blue, almost like the Mediterranean sea. Her skin seemed nearly flawless and her eyebrows were so on point that Poppet was worried they might kill a man. She seemed to glow. Poppet could see the appeal. She looked down and saw her own reflection in the spoon. Her hair was a nice honey-blonde, yes, but it had no volume and was messy because of the wind. Her eyes were a murky blue, more like the River Thames than the Med. She sighed, noticing a spot on her forehead. Jeanette seemed flawless.
"She's pretty," Poppet hastily agreed, "I haven't seen her at our practices though!"
"Well, a gaggle of Hufflepuff fifth years come and watch every one, because they really fancy James. I reckon we just didn't notice her amongst them," Flo reasoned.
"Must be it," Poppet smiled. The girls got up and walked back to the common room. The Fat Lady was sat in her frame, sipping on some wine when they arrived back.
"Good afternoon, girls!" She chirped.
"Fortuna major," Poppet said, lazily.
The door swung open and the girls clambered inside to find Rose sat by the fire, her nose in a very battered copy of 'Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them'. She looked up as the four girls walked in and gave them a smile.
"Hiya," she said. They all must have looked particularly unenthused because she immediately followed her upbeat greeting with a lower "what's wrong?"
"Nothing," Poppet smiled, "We just haven't seen you in a while.
"No, well, I skipped lunch because I ate in Hogsmeade. I decided to come up here and read instead. Say, have you seen Albus?" Rose asked.
"Yes, actually. He was looking for you in Hogsmeade," Roxanne said to her younger cousin.
"Oh, I never found him again after I lost him in Zonko's! I assumed he just came back up to the castle so I did as well, not before stopping off at Madame Puddifoot's for a cheese and ham toastie which was very delicious although I do always feel very awkward in there, what with all the couples," Rose explained.
Roxanne shot Poppet a look as if to say 'I told you so'. Poppet pretended not to see. She hated being wrong.
"Has your mum written to you this week, Rox? Apparently Christmas this year isn't at The Burrow," Rose flashed a letter at Roxanne, "Mum wrote to me this week to let me know. Apparently, Auntie Ginny is cooking this year. With her injury, she's not been working so has had a lot of time to practice cooking and asked Granny if it could be at the Potter residence this year. Of course, I think Granny didn't mind, bless her. She's feeling the pressure in old age."
"No, she hasn't. I'm sure I'll hear soon enough. Brave of Aunt Ginny to take on all of us," Roxanne smirked.
"Indeed," Rose laughed. When nobody else said anything, Rose returned to her book and all four girls headed up to their dorms where they could talk privately.
Poppet said down on her bed and admitted defeat, "I guess I was wrong. No juicy gossip about Rose."
Florence laughed, "I knew she didn't have a boyfriend. I could just sense it."
Roxanne was quiet for a moment, as if thinking very carefully about what she was going to say and then spoke in a quiet, calm voice. "She's up to something. I don't know what. But she is. She changed the subject very quickly from what she was doing in Hogsmeade to Christmas, which seemed pretty random to me. She's definitely up to something."
"Like what?" Jocelyn asked, equally as quiet.
"I don't know. But when I find out, I'll let you know. Rosie Weasley, I'm on to you," Roxanne smirked.
AN: So, what do you think? Should James apologise to the group? Jeanette will be making a scene in the next chapter and I'm excited for her first real appearance. I wonder what you'll make of her, as she is James' ex girlfriend. Criticisms, suggestions and reviews are received kindly! Speaking of reviews, on the last chapter I got my first ones and I am very excited to address one. It was from a Guest, otherwise I would have PMed them but I decided to address it here! Said guest said: "But I have to be honest and say that (in my opinion) is not James that comes across as an ass, but rather his friends and family. I get it, his friends are mad they weren't put on the team, but that is not a reason for Tom to attack him. James was only defending himself, and calmly explained his reasoning afterwards and apologised for what he did, so I don't really understand how he has "burned his bridges". He was right to call the rest of them losers, 'cause that's how they're acting." And I'm glad you mentioned this because I wanted only one character to seem unreasonable but I kind of made them all seem unreasonable. I have adjusted this accordingly. Thanks so much for your review! I was so excited to get it! Also, I am trying to update daily now, just because I have quite a lot of it pre-written. Thanks for your support!