Good vs. Evil

Chapter 65

Harry had been bothering Ron, Hermione, and I since he had found that potions book. Hermione said that it was cheating and he had to put it back, and Ron said that it was becoming a problem and that he was obsessed. I was just hoping that he'd let me steal a glance and write down a few notes.

But after three days, I had had enough as well. His head was always in the book and with every potions lesson, he was getting more smug.

Finally, the first week of school was over and it was Saturday. I was walking down the grassy hill that led to Hogsmeade.

I had pulled a jumper over top of my shirt and cursed Scotland for how it got cold so early in the year. My shoes thumped against the cobblestone path as I went into town.

As soon as I neared The Three Broomsticks, Dean came up to me from behind, snaking an arm around my shoulders. He sighed, leaning his weight against me and I laughed as I slowed down to hold him up.

"Rough day?" I asked as he stood up straight again, his arm still around my shoulders.

"Rough week more like it." He groaned. "Professor Snape has been a wanker all week and Harry is slamming the team with drills."

"He's just scared we're going to beat your arses." I joked as he let go of me to open the door to The Three Broomsticks.

"Right." He smiled. "Speaking of, have you decided on your team yet?"

I nodded, heading towards my usual corner booth. I took off my jacket and tossed it in the booth before climbing in.

"Alina Brask, Roger Davies, and Michael Corner are my Chasers. Aurum Brask and Ethan Chambers my Beaters. And Cho Chang is my Seeker."

We paused the conversation as a waitress came around.

"Two butter beers, please." I asked.

"And mine with Cinnamon if you don't mind." Dean added, taking off his coat. When the waitress nodded and left, we went back to the conversation.

"Really? Cho's your seeker?" He asked, sliding in across from me.

"Why does everyone think I have a problem with her?" I asked, laughing slightly.

"Probably because she has a problem with you," He shrugged, raising his eyebrows slightly.

I tilted my chin down, looking at him with my eyebrows raised.

"Well, you know, with the whole Harry thing..." He started but trailed off.

"Oh, Godric," I sighed, running my hand over my hair. "Does everyone know about that?"

We stopped talking again as the waitress came back with our drinks. I gave her a smile as she set them in front of us.

"Yeah," He nodded his head once she was gone, pressing his lips into a thin line. "Well, at least every Gryffindor does."

"Merlin, honestly I'd rather just forget that whole year if I could."

"Yeah?" He said.

"Definitely."

"Maybe I can help." He smiled, tapping my foot with his. As soon as he said that, we both took a sip of our drinks to hide our blush caused from the bold line.

I shrunk in my seat a little bit as I drank the sweet drink.

"So, um," I picked up the conversation, "You said Snape was being a wanker? You like me to beat him up for you?"

He laughed, wiping the foam off his lip. "You know, I would like that."

"I don't know why you're laughing," I tried to fight the smile, stretching my arms out in front of me and rolling up my sleeves. "I'm being 100% serious."

"I'm also 100% serious." He said, trying to wipe the smile of his face.

"I will do it." I said again, taking a sip of my butter beer.

"I know you will." He said.

I looked out into the pub as he drank his butter beer. There wasn't a lot of people there, mostly just other students. In the back of the pub though, basically hidden behind the stair case, sat Hermione, Ron, and Harry. Hermione and Ron were looking at me over their shoulders while Harry sat across the table from them, staring right at me.

All three of them looked away when I saw them, diving into a fake conversation. I looked back at Dean, trying to be unbothered.

"Have you actually talked to the Americans yet?" He asked as he set down his glass.

"Oh, Alina and Aurum?" I perked up slightly at the mention of them. "Yes, they caught me after try outs the other day. They're quite charming actually. And you saw, they're amazing Quidditch players."

"I was talking to Seamus, he kept complaining about Aurum's accent. Said he almost falls asleep every time they talk."

I shrugged, "They don't seem all that different to me."

"They talk bloody slow though and they said my accent was difficult to understand." I scoffed.

"Well..." He started.

"What?" I smiled, knowing what he was going to say.

"You do talk kind of fast." He shrugged.

"I do not," I laughed, "I talk at a perfectly reasonable speed."

"Of course." Dean nodded, taking the last sip of his drink to hide his cheeky smile.

I tsked, rolling my eyes. I took my last sip of butter beer, topping my cup up to get the sugary foam from the bottom. I set the glass back on the table with a thunk and overdrawn sigh. 

"Satisfied?" He laughed at my theatrics, leaning back.

"Very." I nodded. I pulled my extension bag out from under my coat and opened it, fishing around for coins to pay for our drinks.

When I set a handful of sickles down on the table, Dean put his hand over mine and pushed it back towards me.

"I've got it." He said, pulling a galleon out of his pocket.

"Dean..." I started.

"Don't worry about it." He shook his head, putting the galleon on the table.

He gathered his coat and stood up before I could start to argue. "You want to head out of here? It's getting a bit stuffy."

I smiled and dropped the sickles back in my bag, standing up. He offered me his hand and I took it, which sent the butterflies in my stomach into a flurry.