Slytherin Army [HP]

34. Recipe in the Cursebook

hi... yes, new update! Sorry for the long long wait >.<

Good news — this chapter is much longer than usual and the next one is almost done

Also a few weeks ago I rewrote the Sorting in chapter 3 to be more interesting!

It was another Hogsmeade weekend in January. Blaise and Wilby had gone off to get haircuts, leaving Sage and Drew to walk up and down High Street, seeing if there were any stores they hadn't shopped in yet.

Sage was the most methodical of Cyndee's personalities. She walked stiffly, placing her feet exactly centre on each cobblestone.

It had been three months since Katie Bell was Imperiused at the Three Broomsticks, and the place hadn't yet lost its ominous aura. They intended to quickly pass by, but heard retching from the side of the building and stopped.

A shattered mead bottle crunched under Malfoy's shoes as he leaned against the wall, and they watched him heave out his guts for the third time this term. He stared into the bricks like they were the answer to everything, his sallow skin clinging to a body as thin as his hair.

Then the ferret noticed them and glared, the skin under his eyes sunk by exhaustion. "Bugger off, Mudblood."

Sage jumped to her defence. "You show all the symptoms of an idiot. Worry about that. And how are you sick from mead?"

That took him aback for a second, but he recovered and shook his head. "Yeah, whatever."

Okay, that was bland.

To spice it up, Drew came in with a scorcher. "You look like a dementor. Maybe stop eating your own soul to fill the void in your skull."

He kicked the glass bottle shards, embedding them in his shoe. "Leave me alone, Getaway."

She and Sage walked off with their heads held high. "We annihilated him," Drew said. "Let's do it more often."

That got a grin from her friend, and they resumed their window shopping.

Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop was getting more popular. Inside they saw their seventh-year prefect talking animatedly with his Hufflepuff girlfriend. Sebastian insisted on wearing his big sunglasses despite being indoors in the winter.

Sage suddenly cursed. "Stop yelling. What is it?"

Drew took a second to realize Sage wasn't talking to her, and waited for the other person in her to finish talking.

"Oh." Sage then pointed into the distance. "Louis wants to see that dog. I guess we'll go ask if we can pet it."

When Drew placed the black dog among the bustling people, she recognized the owner — a tall young woman with wild brown hair.

They got closer, and Sage stopped in front of her. "Hello, Carolina."

The former prefect looked at her in surprise. "Oh, hi! Cyndee, is it?"

"Sage," she corrected. Zero explanation was given. "Can I pet your dog?"

Carolina was visibly confused. "Oh right, sorry. Cyndee must be someone else. And yes, you may pet Taco." She turned to Drew, saying, "And you're the infamous Drew... right?"

"Yep," Drew said cheerily, giving a little bow. "I'm surprised you're not sure. Didn't Xavier complain about me all the time? I really need to up my game."

She smiled wistfully. "Oh, trust me, he did. Sometimes he'd call you Headache Three."

Drew was offended. "That low? Who's Two?"