Zonko's Joke Shop proved to be a goldmine of joke products, and James and Sirius happily filled their pockets with as much as they could carry. Melody herself didn't buy anything, but she enjoyed watching the boys excitedly compare how many Dungbombs and Fanged Frisbees they had purchased.
Remus, too, was hanging back; leaning slightly against the wall and waiting patiently for the two troublemakers to finish up. Melody kept sneaking glances at him; to be sure that he was all right.
"Next stop, Honeydukes!" Sirius announced, marching outside as though he was a conductor. James marched pompously behind him, and Remus walked with one hand covering his face, shaking his head with a rueful smile. Melody grinned with a shrug whenever she caught the eye of an amused student passing by, or a villager with their eyebrows raised.
"I have a feeling you're going to love this place," Remus told her as they walked into Honeydukes, Sirius holding the door open for them in a gentlemanly manner. James strutted in, bobbing a curtsy to Sirius, who bowed extravagantly before letting the door swing shut in Bertram Aubrey's face. Bertram, who was on his way out, scowled back at them, but didn't bother doing anything else before he disappeared from view, followed by a fifth year Slytherin girl who was batting her eyelashes at him, clearly hoping he would hold her conveniently outstretched hand.
"I still can't believe he thought you would go out with him," Sirius said loftily as he perused a shelf full of sweets. "He's on an enemy team, not to mention that he's a git."
"He may be a git, but he's pretty attractive," Melody admitted. "He's smart, handsome, and plays Quidditch. If I hadn't dealt with guys like him before, and if I didn't know he's been through almost every girl in the sixth year, I probably would have accepted his offer."
James gasped indignantly at the thought of her dating a Quidditch player from an opposing team, and Sirius clucked his tongue in disapproval. Melody rolled her eyes, unaware that Remus's shoulders had drooped slightly when she was listing all of Bertram's better qualities.
"Sweets for the sweet," Sirius offered with an innocent grin, plucking an Acid Pop from the wall and holding it out to Melody.
"Oh, no," she said, pushing it away immediately. "Last time I had one of those, it took three days for the hole in my tongue to close up." Melody looked around, breathing in the myriad scents of the sweet shop with a smile. It was such an impressive array of candy that she didn't know where to start. "Where can I find the chocolate?"
"It's this way," Remus said, leading her to a wall filled with every variety of chocolate confection imaginable. There were dark chocolates and milk chocolates, chocolate bon-bons and giant slabs of chocolate, white chocolate sculptures and marbled bars in clear packaging, so you could see all of the marbling details, which were moving in slowly swirling, mesmerizing patterns.
Melody's mouth was hanging open, and she was pretty certain that she would start drooling if she didn't try something soon. They all left Honeyduke's with parcels bulging full of sweets, and headed next to The Three Broomsticks, an inviting pub full of students, witches, wizards, and a few interesting characters including a goblin, a witch wrapped in several bright scarves of varying colors, and a purple-eyed warlock.
The foursome found a table near one of the windows, and Sirius scooted in beside Melody, leaving Remus to sit across from her, with James facing Sirius. The barmaid, a pretty blonde lady who was probably in her late twenties, beamed as soon as she saw them.
"My favorite boys!" she exclaimed, bustling right over to them, even though there were a couple of other tables waiting, and Melody's group had only just arrived. "Always good to see you!"
"And you, too, of course," Sirius said, flashing her a charming smile. "Couldn't stay away from our Madame Rosmerta for long!"
She blushed prettily, shaking her head at his brash manner. "Oh! Who's this?" she asked, smiling down at Melody. "You've got to introduce me to your little girlfriend, Mister Black!"
Melody turned bright pink and found herself quite unable to correct Madame Rosmerta, but Sirius played along easily. "This is Melody, the girl from America! We're not officially a couple, so you probably shouldn't go spreading rumors; especially not when I'm still head over heels for you."
"Oi, watch it," James said good-naturedly. "She said I'd be her first choice for a date if she were our age, remember?"
"That's only because you were the first to tell her that she looked young enough to be our age," Sirius contradicted him. "Of course, I was the first one to think it. Potter here just managed to say it before I had a chance to."
Madame Rosmerta's tinkling laugh filled the air. "Oh, you boys are too much! Will it be the usual?"
"Yes, Butterbeers all around," Remus said mildly.
"Oh, of course, I haven't forgotten you, dear," she assured him, smiling gently at the quietest one of the group. "You're looking a bit peaky—oh, I don't mean that in a bad way, of course, handsome—are they feeding you enough up at the castle? Shall I bring a few Yorkshire puddings over as well?"
"That's quite all right; you don't have to go to the trouble," Remus began politely; but James nodded eagerly.
"Yorkshire puddings would be lovely, ma'am."
"Anything for my boys." She winked at Melody and sashayed away, hips swinging easily—a movement that did not go unobserved by James, Sirius, and most of the males in the establishment. Remus, however, was glancing pensively out of the window. Melody followed his gaze and noticed an old building in the distance. It looked as though it had been abandoned for a long time, although she couldn't see it very well from where they were sitting.
"What's that building?" she asked tentatively, not even sure if that was indeed what Remus was looking at.
"Oh," Remus said, fiddling with a napkin on the table. "...That's the Shrieking Shack."
"They call it that because it's haunted," Sirius said seriously, in answer to the next question Melody was going to ask. "Very haunted. The villagers hear terrible screams coming from its depths now and again."
"Haunted, like by the kind of ghosts we have at Hogwarts?" Melody wanted to know.
"No, much worse," James said, all joking manner aside. "It's actually a really dangerous area. We don't even mess about there."
Melody was astonished. James Potter and Sirius Black, the bravest and boldest of Gryffindor House, were uneasy about an old shack? "You've never gone near there—not even on a dare?"
"No," said Remus so forcefully that Melody's heart skipped a beat in surprise. His tone was strangely harsh as he continued. "And you should never go anywhere near that place, either. It's not safe." Melody wasn't sure why she felt like she'd just been given a three-pronged talking-to by Professor McGonagall, but she sat quietly in her seat until the Butterbeers and Yorkshire puddings arrived. When James and Sirius immediately reached for their moneybags, Madame Rosmerta flapped a hand at them, shooing their Galleons away.
"First Hogsmeade visit of the year! It's as much a treat for me as it is for you. Save your money and spend it on something nice, for someone special," she added with another wink before hurrying away to the next table.
By the time they got back to Gryffindor Tower, it was late enough that most of them were ready for bed. Melody bade the boys farewell, noticing worriedly that James and Sirius seemed to be supporting Remus up the stairs to their dorm room.
Melody knew that they did not owe her an explanation for what Remus was going through, and she didn't expect one. It simply hurt her heart deeply that he seemed to be in so much pain. She was glad, though, that James and Sirius were such good friends, and knew how to take care of him.