After arriving at Hogsmeade, Hermione couldn't help but gasp.
Hogsmeade was a perfect, tiny, picturesque village. It looked so quaint, with sharply-angled roofs and buildings, little thatched cottages all over, and everything looked absolutely lovely. She was glad that the weather had relented for one day for her to see this; even with the gray sky and sun rays barely peeking through the clouds, the village was beautiful.
"It's like a dream," Hermione breathed. "I didn't realize it'd be so pretty."
"They rebuilt after the goblin rebellion here," Cedric told her, giving her a smile. "I think a lot of the architecture was updated, then."
Hogsmeade station stood at one end of the main road, where the Hogwarts Express always dropped them off. They'd always disembarked from the train on the other side of the train, though, facing Hogwarts, and Hermione had never thought to try and glimpse the village in the dark behind her.
The road wound gently through the little village, the main road covered with tiny shops. Hermione looked at them as Cedric walked her down the street, her eyes drinking them in.
"Do the owners live above their shops?" Hermione asked.
"Probably," Cedric said. "There are some other cottages around, off the main road, but I think the main businesses probably have homes in the back of their shops."
The village itself was fairly small. While there were litters of houses behind the main shops and some smaller roads leading off into the residential areas, it really was a very tiny village. Hermione found herself intrigued.
"Can we go look?" she asked. "I want to see."
"Don't you want to get a butterbeer or something?" Cedric asked, surprised.
"We can do that later," Hermione said. "Come on. I want to see the houses."
Amicably, Cedric followed Hermione as she left the main path of Hogsmeade, taking a turn between the Post Office and Dervish and Bangs, down a road behind the shops. She made another turn onto a road of small, sleepy cottages, and she looked at them as she went down the road.
"Is this where adults live after Hogwarts?" Hermione asked Cedric. "They move into a house like this?"
"Some of them, I expect." Cedric looked thoughtful. "There are flats above the shops in Diagon Alley, and I know a lot of new graduates rent out flats there, especially those studying to be Healers at Saint Mungo's." He shrugged. "I think most people eventually move into a house, eventually? I'm not really sure."
"A house?" Hermione looked up at Cedric. "Is your house the 'Diggory House'?"
Cedric gave her a puzzled look. "What?"
"Like… most of my Slytherin classmates, they live in ancestral manors," Hermione said, trying to explain. "Draco Malfoy, he lives in 'Malfoy Manor'. When he's an adult, he'll inherit the entire estate, but I expect all of his extended family will still live there. Millicent's the same – her family has the 'Bullstrode Hold', I think." She looked sideways at Cedric. "So… is your home like that?"
Cedric laughed. "Ah – no, no. Nothing like that." He smiled at her. "It's just a house. A happy little house my parents built to live in with each other."
"And that's more common?" Hermione asked. "I know you live near the Lovegoods and the Weasleys. Do small wizarding areas just kind of spring up around an area? Or is it plotted out in advance by a group of wizards?"
Cedric shook his head, amused. "I have no idea, Hermione. I'm not an urban planner."
Hermione hummed, considering. "I wonder…"
She closed her eyes for a moment, centering herself, before reaching down and out with her magic. She was met with a strong hum and a rush, and she opened her eyes with a grin at the familiar feeling.
"There's a ley line here," Hermione said with satisfaction. "That's why the village sprung up along here. It goes to Hogwarts, I'd bet, but the main road practically follows it."
"A ley line?!" Cedric's head whipped around to stare at her. He looked shocked. "How do you know about ley lines?"
Hermione went wide-eyed, caught off-guard by his reaction. She gave him a puzzled look. "Why wouldn't I?"
"Well… they're…" Cedric looked deeply uncomfortable for the first time. "They're kind of Dark, aren't they?"
"Wait, what?" Hermione blinked. "Are you serious?"
"Ley lines were historically used to power really Dark rituals," Cedric told her uneasily. "That's why… well, no one really uses them anymore except Dark witches and wizards. They don't teach us how to use them purposefully, you know. It limits the amount of Dark magic a person can do, makes it harder for them to go Dark." His brow was furrowed. "Did you not know that?"
"I learned about ley lines from a witch in France when I was on holiday," Hermione told him honestly. "She didn't say anything about them being used for Dark magic!"
"Oh." Cedric relaxed a bit. "Well, I expect they do things a bit differently in France. Maybe they don't have as many, or maybe they're not really a concern." He looked back at Hermione. "While wizards used to use them, it's not really something widely talked about or discussed, you realize," he said, his tone delicate. "It's probably not the best idea to bring up that Hogsmeade runs along a major one. Or that you know how to find them."
"Oh…" Hermione nodded, though she felt kind of uneasy. "I didn't realize that." She paused. "Thanks, Cedric."
"Sure thing." Cedric's smile eased into something warmer and less worried. "It is chilly out. Want to get a butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks?"
Hermione felt distinctly uncomfortable about leaving their discussion there, unresolved – ley lines weren't inherently Dark, and she wanted to explain to Cedric what using them was like, how it was only magic, just more of it, but Cedric was clearly uncomfortable with the topic. And it was supposed to be a date…
"You know," she said, taking his hand and squeezing it. "Butterbeer would be great."
Cedric and Hermione took their time getting to the Three Broomsticks, Cedric stopping at shops and showing Hermione around the village on the way there. Hermione was delighted at the quill shop and sweet shop, but she was very cold by the time they finally reached the Three Broomsticks, and the rush of warm air that greeted them when they opened the doors was highly welcome.
The Three Broomsticks was bustling and overly crowded, full to the brim of Hogwarts students all wanting food or butterbeer. Cedric left her in a safer place by the wall away from the crush of people before going to get them drinks, a gesture that Hermione appreciated – she didn't envy him having to elbow his way through everyone to get to the bar.
"Hermione!"
Hermione turned to see Tracey, who had popped up next to her. Her hair was very disheveled, as were her robes, and her eyes were wide.
"Been snogging Adrian?" Hermione teased, and Tracey shot her a look.
"Look, I was going to help you," Tracey said pointedly. "But if you don't want to know the best places to snog someone around the village, by all means…"
"I'm just teasing," Hermione assured her, grinning. "I'm glad you're having fun. Is Adrian here?"
"Fighting to get to get us drinks," Tracey said, waving her hand in the general direction of the bar. "And it's – it's good. It's good, I think. He's—he's not as bad as I was afraid of."
"'As you were afraid of'?" Hermione questioned, and Tracey sighed, slumping up against the wall.
"Well… he's in Slytherin, you know?" Tracey said finally. "And… well. There's the blood thing."
"The blood thing?" Hermione asked.
"You know," Tracey said, annoyed. She nudged Hermione. "I'm a halfblood. And he's a pureblood. And… they can be snooty about that sort of thing."
Hermione blinked.
"Did you really think he wouldn't like you because your Dad's a muggle?" Hermione asked, trying to hold back her shock. "He's been with you for months—"
"He's been snogging me for months," Tracey corrected. "Which was fine. I expected that. And I expect that it's common for purebloods to look for a bit of fun with halfbloods who they don't have to be formal around and court properly." She glanced up at Hermione. "But… that's very different than dating someone properly, you know."
Understanding was slowly dawning on Hermione. "And… you thought he wouldn't want to date you?"
"I finally started wondering if he even knew I was a halfblood," Tracey admitted. "When we were in Dervish and Bangs, I pointed out an enchanted clock and commented how my Dad would love it and find it fascinating. Just so he would realize my Dad's not a wizard, you know."
"And… how did that go?" Hermione asked.
"Fine," Tracey said, frustrated. "That's the thing. He acted like it was totally normal for me to have a muggle parent, like it wasn't a big deal." She tugged at her robes. "But like… he asked how my father met my mother and how he courted her. Like he wasn't sure how muggles would do it and wanted to do it properly."
"But surely that's a good thing?" Hermione questioned. "I mean, if you're dating someone, you don't want to be dating someone who thinks you're not as good as they are because of your blood…"
"I know," Tracey said. "But like – I was expecting it, you know? In Slytherin, the default is being stuck up about blood. But he's not – he's not prejudiced at all, acting like it's completely fine…"
"And…?" Hermione prompted.
"And, now it makes me wonder what he does want from me," Tracey said, frustrated. "Does he want to date me because I'm half-muggle and thinks I'm safer? That I won't put as much pressure on him or something?"
"You wouldn't, though," Hermione pointed out. "You're not a pureblood heiress to demand on being courted."
"Yes, but that's not the point," Tracey said, annoyed. "What if he's looking at me like I'm less of a witch? And he likes that?"
Hermione blinked.
"Less of a witch?" she said, indignant. "Tracey, you're in the top ten of our class!"
"I know!" Tracey burst out. "Once you helped me learn to study, I really am good at magic, you know! But what if he's not looking for that? If he's looking for someone he thinks will be safe and docile and defer to him in things because he's the pureblooded one in the relationship?"
"This is an awful lot to worry about for the first date," Hermione said, gnawing her lip, and Tracey blew air out of her mouth dramatically.
"Well," she said dully. "That's kind of the point, isn't it? To figure out these things and worry about them?"
"Is it?" Hermione asked faintly. "I thought it was just to get to know a person and have fun."
Tracey shot her an exasperated look.
"Well, you can," she said. "You're dating a Hufflepuff. If you wanted to know what Cedric was thinking or his intentions, all you'd have to do is ask him."
Hermione started to smirk. "And you can't do that with Adrian?"
"Of course not!" Tracey looked incredulous. "You can't just ask a Slytherin what their motives are! He's probably got at least three different motives in dating me, and I have to figure them out myself and see if they align with my own motives and goals. Asking him directly would be… it'd just give him another opportunity to manipulate the dialogue to lead me towards whatever he wants as an end result."
"What are your motives, then?" Hermione asked, trying to hide her amusement.
"No idea," Tracey said, annoyed. "I thought it was just 'find a fit guy to snog', but it feels more complicated than that now, you know? Now I'm starting to wonder stuff like 'how would he react if he knew everything dodgy I've ever done?' and such."
"He is a Slytherin, though," Hermione said slowly. "Surely of all people, he's one of the ones who it'd be safe to admit that sort of thing to?"
"He's the only Chaser on the Slytherin team who's never been called on a foul," Tracey said, shrugging helplessly. "I mean, it's not often Slytherin ends up with honorable ones, but it's not unheard of."
Hermione looked at Tracey for a long moment. Tracey blew air up out of her mouth sharply again, fluttering her fringe, before looking up at Hermione.
"What?" she demanded.
"I think," Hermione said, "that you should go snog Adrian some more, and then try and get him to tell you what he wants once he's gotten all hot and bothered."
Tracey rolled her eyes, but she started to snicker.
"Make sure he's too busy thinking with the wrong head?" she asked. She was smirking, but she considered it. "That's… not a bad idea, really. He's a bit of a talker – I bet I could lead the conversation in the direction I wanted."
"Try that, then," Hermione advised. "You're clearly more comfortable when you're snogging him, and it'd be a way to help figure out what he wants."
Tracey gave Hermione a sharp grin.
"On that note," she said, eyes glinting. "Best snogging spots in the village. I was going to tell you."
Hermione turned pink. "I'm sure Cedric knows some of them," she tried to dismiss, but Tracey laughed.
"He might, but what if he doesn't?" she teased. "What if you want to snog him, and you need to take a bit of a lead?" She grinned. "Better to know than not, Hermione…"
"Fine, fine," Hermione said, her eyes catching Cedric, who was finally making his way back over from the bar. "But quickly – he's coming with drinks now."
"Side of or behind the Shrieking Shack," Tracey said immediately. "The alley next to Honeydukes. The reading corner at Tomes and Scrolls, and the promenade around the station. There are a few discreet alleyways down by the Hog's Head, if you venture down that far, and there's a hidden alcove behind Zonko's, too."
"You've discovered all of these already?" Hermione said incredulously, and Tracey's cheeks turned a dark pink.
"Well, I've been busy, and I asked around beforehand," she said, tossing her hair as Cedric returned. "Lovely to see you again, Diggory."
Cedric nodded to her. "Tracey Davis, right?"
Tracey's eyes widened. "You know of me?"
"In passing." Cedric nodded toward the bar. "Pucey was saying he was here with you. And I know you're Hermione's friend."
Tracey looked immediately suspicious of what else Pucey was saying about her, and Hermione had to stifle a laugh as she took her warm butterbeer from Cedric.
"I'll leave you two be," Tracey announced, nodding to herself. She gave Hermione a sly look. "Be sure to enjoy Hogsmeade, Hermione. It's quite the busy place."
Hermione flushed. "Bye, Tracey."
Tracey laughed and pushed off, and Cedric raised an eyebrow at Hermione.
"What was that all about?" he asked.
"Haven't the slightest idea," Hermione said breezily, and Cedric laughed.
"Well," he said, smiling. "Once we're done here, if we're warmed up enough, do you want to venture down to the Shrieking Shack?" His eyes were bright. "They say it is one of the most haunted buildings in Britain."
The cup with butterbeer was warm in her hands, as was Cedric's smile, and Hermione returned it with a warm smile of her own.
"Sure," she agreed. "Why not?"