Cherry Lips // s. black

-OCTOBER. 3.-

"I still think we should start a sweet smuggling business; it would solve a lot of these problems," Ace bugged Carmilla for the millionth time.

Carmilla took the small bouquet of white roses from the florist and handed over nine knuts with a smile. "Thank you."

They left the shop and stepped over puddles all the way back to the bustling pub on the main street, where crowds of students hovered around the tables outside and the sweet shop they were discussing at that very moment.

Ace's plan was sounding more and more appealing when Carmilla considered the fact that there were only three cursed dresses left in the haunted store, and if Professor Slughorn kept inviting her to parties, she was going to run out pretty quickly.

"Hypothetically... how would we do that?" Carmilla asked apprehensively, watching the mind of Ace nearly burst with ideas.

"We steal sweets and chocolate, leave some money in the cash register, go to all of the first- and second-years dorms, ask them if they want Honeydukes' sweets, then sell them to them. Easy peas, as the muggles say," Ace said proudly, her chin up in the sky.

Carmilla ignored that last part. "What about the people who own the shop?"

"Uhm...fuck capitalism? Cops are shit? I dunno?"

Ace had a bag full of paintbrushes and some mint chocolates for June, which the two of them stashed under the wooden table while they ordered something called butterbeers from the pregnant waitress. Ace insisted she pay, as long as Carmilla heard her out about her sweet shop idea.

"I'm pretty sure Honeydukes is a small business," Carmilla said, crossing her legs.

"So would we sell to just Ravenclaws, or everyone?" Ace asked, raising one eyebrow, and then smiling as the waitress set down two foaming jugs of a sweet smelling drink.

"Only Ravenclaws. The Hufflepuff's are near the kitchens already, and we're the only house smart enough to not get ratted out for it. Besides, Gryffindor's and Slytherins get enough attention, we deserve them." Carmilla said simply. She poked the bubbly white stuff on the top of her butterbeer. "And Charlie is in third year, so he can get his own."

"Speaking of the snake, what's going on with him?" Ace wiggled her eyebrows meaningfully, but it only looked like she was having a stroke.

Carmilla wrinkled her nose at what the pink haired girl was implying. "He's very kind. He likes sherbet. And he knits beanies. I like him."

"You know what I mean, he's cute!" Ace said exasperatedly. There was foam on her nose. She wiped off. She took another sip of the butterbeer that steamed into the air. It was warm?

"I hope you're talking about me..." someone said from behind her.

Carmilla moved over as he sat down next to her on the wooden bench. "Hello Sirius. This conversation is not about you."

Remus sat down on her other side, opening a bar of chocolate with chunks of honeycomb in it. He passed her a square. It was honeycomb. Carmilla took it. "Hey Remus. Did Madame Pomphrey sort out your vomiting spell?"

"Spell?"

"Muggle thing," Carmilla said to James, and looked down at her butterbeer. Did it have actually alcohol in it? Why was it warm? Who put butter in a drink? She pushed it away gently and sucked on the honeycomb chocolate.

Ace glared at Carmilla from where she was squished between James and a burping Peter.

"How did tryouts go?" James asked them eagerly. The waitress brought over four more butterbeers for the boys.