The village of Hogsmeade looked a completely different place after 7 pm, the exact time after which the curfew for the students at Hogwarts began.
The locals closed their candy shops and their joke shops and gathered in droves inside the only two pubs in the Village.
They stop minding their words so much and start cussing to their heart's content, letting out all the things that they had to keep repressed around children.
But while some people liked to meet up with their friends and drink in the middle of a rowdy crowd there were others who liked to sit in their homes in front of their fireplaces with their favourite book in their hands and drink their firewhisky in solitude.
That is why for these people there was a third shop in this village where anyone could go and buy alcohol as a take-away and at a far cheaper price than it was available at the inns.
The shop was situated in an out-of-the-way alley down the high street, and the different thing about this shop was that—unlike others which opened during the day and closed late at night, this one only opened after the sun went down which meant that not many students even knew about its existence.
But today... a student has somehow managed to reach its front doors and was hiding in the shadows waiting for its doors to open.
"Are you sure this is it?" Ron whispered in a sceptical voice while looking at the shop across the street.
It was a small two-story comely cottage with a shop on the ground floor and a house on the second. This shop looked like every other candy shop in Hogsmeade except for the fact that shelves behind the see-through mirrors were empty as if the shopkeeper didn't want to show what he was selling.
"Of course." came Sirius's voice out of Ron's front pocket, where he had placed the mirror so that it was out of sight but they could still talk in low voices, "This is a well-known shop and has been famous among the locals since the village was first established. In fact, a century ago it was a shop that used to stay open in broad daylight, but then a few too many students were caught sneaking alcohol into Hogwarts and the Headmaster at that time became furious with it and talked the owner into only opening after Hogwarts gates closed..."
"Oh..." Ron said nodding slowly at the impromptu history lesson by Sirius.
"Yeah, so don't worry. This family has been making their alcohol for a long time and their potion recipe is famous—"
"Wait! What?" Ron suddenly interrupted in a bewildered voice, "They've been making—Do you mean to say that Fire whisky is like a potion and is made in a... potion lab?"
"Of course, it is a potion. Where else did you think it was made... In a factory?"
"No, I just..."
"Don't you know that alcohol is the main reason that Potion Masters are all so wealthy? Or did you think that they earned their keep from Pepper-ups that any fifth-year could make?"
"No... I just never knew..." Ron let out in a shocked voice as if a whole new world had been opened up to him. If there was a chance for him to get a recipe like that in the future and if he became a good potioneer then maybe he could become... rich.
"Look! The door's opening!" Sirius clamoured as he saw the door open through the basic see-through charm that he had taught Ron and made him apply on the outside of the pocket, "It's time for you to go in. Are you ready?"
"Yes," Ron immediately nodded his head before he took his wand out of his pocket and pressed it against his throat to apply the voice-changing charm, "Check! Check! OK It's working," he said in a deep grown-up voice making him feel a bit weird.
"Good. Now remember to speak confidently and act like you belong there, alright." Sirius instructed as if he were a handler sending his agent on a spy mission, "And what are you going to ask for when you go in there?"
"Um...Two bottles of Fire whisky and a vial of Soulfreeze," Ron replied before a confused look appeared on his face, "But what is this Soul freeze, I've never heard about it. Is it any good?"
"Oh, It is the best, believe me," Sirius replied in a very smug tone. A tone that would immediately send chills down the back of anyone who knew Sirius and send prank alarms ringing in their head, but unfortunately for Ron Remus wasn't here so... "Mixing a little bit of Soulfreeze in a glass of Fire whisky is the best way to drink it. Trust me."
"Really? But I've never—"
"Hurry, now. Don't dilly dally." Sirius abruptly urged, "Go in before any of the other customers arrive and complicates the situation."
"Oh, right." Ron nodded his head and then after taking another deep breath, he crossed the street to the shop and went inside.
"Welcome! What can I do for you?" the shopkeeper droned in a lazy voice without looking up from the evening prophet he was reading from his seat behind the counter.
"I need two bottles of Fire whisky and a vial of Soulfreeze," Ron immediately replied in a deep tone.
"Sure coming right—" The shopkeeper immediately froze when he finally looked up from his newspaper and saw the customer covered from head to toe in a dark cloak that showed not an inch of his skin.
A suspicious look appeared in the Shopkeeper's eyes as he began to scrutinize Ron as if trying to see beneath his hood.
"Is there a problem?" Ron asked in a calm voice that felt a little forced.
"N-No... Nothing," The man shook his head after a few seconds, thinking that he was just being too paranoid. He then got up and went to the shelf behind him to bring the required bottles. "You're buying Soulfreeze, so I am sure you know how to use it accurately."
"Of course, I do," Ron replied in a tone of false bravado but inside he was a little confused about what the shopkeeper meant. Was there another way of using it aside from mixing it with fire whisky as Sirius had told him... He then shook his head, deciding to leave it for later, "Anyway how much is it?"
"That'll be seven galleon—" The man began to say before he abruptly realised something, "Wait! You don't know how much these costs?" he asked in a doubtful tone as the suspicion in his eyes deepened.
"That's because... I-I don't drink," Ron said in a somewhat flustered tone, "I am buying these for a friend... as a gift."
"Really?" he asked as his eyes slowly narrowed and flicked towards the prophet on the counter where the front page was showing the moving images of the recently caught Death Eaters who were awaiting their trials and retrials. His eyes struggled with indecision for a moment before they firmed up with resolve, "Show me your face." he commanded as his hands slowly and sneakily began moving towards the counter.
"What? Why?!"
"Why?" The man scoffed in a hostile tone, "Because you're being too bloody suspicious and I need to know that I am not selling my shit to the wrong sort. So prove to me that you're not a Death Eater."
"I'm not," he said in a somewhat panicked tone as things began to go sideways.
"Then just show me your face?" he barked inching closer and closer to the drawer below the counter.
"I can't!"
"Why not?"
"Because I-I..."
"Dragon Pox," came the whisper of an almost inaudible voice breaking the tense atmosphere.
"What?!" asked the Shopkeeper in an incredulous tone.
"I-I have Dragon Pox," Ron said hurriedly, repeating the excuse that Sirius had supplied him with, hoping with all his might that it would work.
"Oh..." Almost immediately the Shopkeeper froze as the hostility in his eyes slowly went away, and he began looking at Ron with something akin to pity, "I... I am sorry. I guess I was too high-strung... What's with all the news about you-know-who coming back and... Anyway, I am sorry."
"It's alright," Ron replied in an even tone trying to keep the relief out of his tone. He was still tense but had somewhat calmed down from his panicked state.
"Here is your order," the shopkeeper said quickly wrapping the bottles and the vial in a paper bag and sliding it across the counter. "Hope you have a good day."
"Thank you," Ron said with a small tremor of excitement in his voice. He hurriedly placed the galleons on the table before immediately going for the bottles.
Finally, he was going to get his hands on the magical alcohol... 'the stuff of legends' that he had only ever read about...
"Wait! This...You—" The Shopkeeper abruptly cried in an astonished voice as his eyes gaped at the hands grabbing the bottles... hands that looked hairless and young, just like that of a... "You're a student!" he let out in a horrified gasp.
Ron didn't blink, he didn't think, he didn't speak... he just grabbed the bottles and bolted for the door, "Thank you for the drinks," he shouted as he ran out of the shop.
"No wait! Come back! You can't—Ugh! Where's my wand?" he groaned in a frustrated voice as he rummaged through the drawers from his wand.
But he knew that it was too late as the boy was already long gone...
Besides it wasn't like he could do anything even if he had his wand with him as he couldn't actually hurt him could he? He didn't want to lose his right to live in Hogmeade, after all.
"Ah! Found it, now then..." he murmured as he came up to the empty store and then looked at the door with an indecisive look in his eyes. He was hesitant about whether he should run after the boy or if he should just alert the school... but then there would be all that commotion and then he would have to answer all the questions of those smug bastards at school and then he may even be forced to close the shop for a while...
"Ugh! Fuck it!" he cursed while falling back into the chair and giving it up as a bad job, "He'll probably just get caught at the gate anyway..." he murmured before shaking his head and decided to just forget about it.
But Ron didn't get caught at the school gate since he didn't go through the gate instead he went through one of the seven secret entrances into the school...
And just like that... for the first time in a century, a student has successfully managed to sneak alcohol into Hogwarts...
It was almost legendary...
...
"Ron! You never told me that you have lady hands." Sirius abruptly exclaimed in a bewildered voice as Ron ran away from the shop with all his might.
"I do not have lady hands!" Ron retorted indignantly as they passed through the empty streets towards the entrance to the secret path that would take him straight into Hogwarts, "I just have no hair on my hands..." his face became a little flushed as he admitted something that Ron had always been a little insecure about.
"I can't believe it," Sirius murmured in a shocked tone, "You almost got caught because of your lady hands, this is just..." Ron became redder as he heard the speechlessness in Sirius's voice, "Maybe you should sneak in as a girl next..." he supplied helpfully after a while.
"Oh! Shut Up!" Ron hissed before immediately taking out the mirror, and switching it off with his wand.
He had no need for the old dog now that his objective had been achieved, "Ugh! He's never going to let me live this down now, is he..." Ron mumbled in a depressed tone, "I just hope that he doesn't tell anyone else..." But even as he said it he knew that it was vain hope.
...
Meanwhile, back in the Boy's dorm, all four teenagers were sitting in a circle on the floor, their eyes frequently darting towards the door, anxiously waiting for their fourth member.
All kinds of snacks such as crisp french fries, crunchy potato chips and a few others were placed on plates in their middle.
But the weird thing was that some of the plates were already almost half empty...
"Will you just stop, Neville?" Seamus asked in an exasperated tone, "If you go on like this, you'll finish it all before Ron even gets here..."
It had taken them a lot of hard work and almost two careful trips from the kitchen to the Gryffindor tower before they managed to sneak all this food into their dorms and now Neville was destroying all of that before their party even started.
"But I am hungry..." the boy moaned pitifully but still reluctantly put the crispy pakora back on the plate.
"Didn't you just eat at the feast?" Dean asked amusedly, not knowing whether to laugh or to cry, "How could you be hungry already?"
"I-I was just too nervous at the dinner trying to avoid Hermione's eyes to keep the secret... so I couldn't eat my fill..." the chubby boy said morosely.
"You didn't even know the secret!" Seamus said speechlessly, "So how could you be nervous trying to keep it?"
"My mind knew that... but my stomach wouldn't understand it..." Neville replied with a sigh before he looked towards the door. "But shouldn't Ron be here already... Do you think he got lost on the way?"
"He didn't get lost, Neville. He's not you..." Seamus said while rolling his eyes.
"But he is quite late though..." Dean said worriedly.
"He's not that late..." Seamus countered nonchalantly, "He must have gone all the way to Hogsmeade so obviously it would take him time..." he said that but his eyes were still darting towards the door nervously, after all the chances of Ron getting caught by a teacher were quite high...
"What?! He went to Hogsmeade?" Harry, who had been silent so far, abruptly jumped and asked in an alarmed tone, "Why would he do that? Doesn't he know how dangerous it is now? Especially at night!" he said hurriedly getting his wand from the ground, "Tell me, where he went in Hogsmeade? And why did he go there at night?"
"Um..." Seamus backed away a little after seeing the seriousness in Harry's eyes and hesitated on whether he should tell him about it or not.
"You need to tell me immediately, Seamus. This is serious. He could be in danger at this very moment." Harry said in an urgent no-nonsense tone, "Don't you know that Voldemort's back now and how dangerous it is for him to—"
"I am back, boys!" came an ecstatic voice as the door to their dorm was slammed open and in came Ron, swaggering in as if he had just vanquished Voldemort on his own. "And look what I got," he said waving a bag in his hands smugly.
"Ron! You're back!"
"We were so worried mate!"
"You really got it! You actually managed to get it!" Seamus asked in an awestruck tone, unable to stop himself from shaking in excitement.
"Of course, I did. Who did— Eh! Harry? Why are you intimidating Seamus, like that? Did something happen?" Ron asked in a confused manner as he saw Harry towering over Seamus as if trying to interrogate him.
"Uh..."
"You went to Hogsmeade at night, all alone." Harry asked with a frown on his face while standing up, "Are you out of your mind?"
"Ah! So that's what it was about..." Ron said with an enlightened expression on his face before he waved his hands casually, "But don't worry, I wasn't in any danger..."
"How could you have known that? Anything—"
"Because I had help with me all the way!" Ron interrupted with a meaningful look on his face, "Help that you gave me..." he said while taking out a paper bag from Harry's leather bag before handing it back to him.
"Oh..." It took a few seconds before Harry realised that Ron was talking about the mirror, "Oh, then alright I guess..." he said as he sat back down sheepishly while placing the bag back on his bed.
The others were confused for a moment but Seamus didn't care about it as much and was only worried about one thing and one thing only, "Is that it? Is it in the bag..."
"Oh, Yes. It is." Ron smirked while taking the two pristine glass bottles out of his bag and shaking them in the air, "Now who wants to drink some booze!" he hollered in an excited voice.
/
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