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TWENTY-SIX WONDERFULLY LOVELY
(WHY CAN'T I HATE YOU?)
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AND OF COURSE, the next couple weeks prove to be uneventful, now that Holly's finally realised that she fancies Harry. The start of the term's meant that Holly's been a little preoccupied, what with getting irritated at how disastrous her Quidditch team is, and spending every Defence lesson wanting to curl up in a ball and cry. So, the majority of their interactions have been small — a little small during lessons, where Holly makes herself look away because she knows for a fact that she would happily keep on looking, but then her friends would ask what she's doing. (Her cousin especially... That's going to be an interesting discussion.)
It's the start of October when she's passed a note before History of Magic by Hermione, who conveniently brushes past Holly to get into the classroom, shoving a piece of parchment into Holly's hand as she does so. Holly looks down at the parchment as she slips it into her pocket, reading the words, Hog's Head, Saturday, just before Pansy pulls Holly away from Hermione, loudly commenting on how the 'frizziness' of Hermione's hair could infect Holly, and thus, make her hair frizzy.
So.
Holly spends that Saturday morning similar to when she tried to find Harry to let him know about the second task last year. She glares at the clothes in her wardrobe, trying to figure out how to look presentable, but not so much that she made an effort (and she did, trust her on this, she used a face mask and everything, one of those charcoal ones) but, enough that her friends don't get confused, because if she's being honest, her house in general dresses far smarter than Gryffindors do. But Holly needs to find the mix between smart yet nonchalant, and then, bright, warm colours and comfort.
She decides on blue jeans and a black jumper. Her belt's black with a silver buckle, which reminds her of those cowboy movies her dad watches all of the time. And her black jacket hangs over her jumper, because it's the start of October, it's not cold enough to bring out the winter coat. But, the jacket's enough for her to keep her hands inside whilst she holds onto the little piece of parchment, slipping away from her friends ("Pansy, I'll be back in a few minutes..." "Potter and Holly sitting in a tree—" "I hate you.") after hanging outside of Honeydukes for a few minutes. As she leaves, she sees Pansy forcibly pushing Harlow into Honeydukes, and Holly rolls her eyes, hurrying up her pace, before the rest of her friends notice she's disappeared, or where she's walking off to.
Holly pushes open the door to the Hog's Head, a rush of warm air hitting her as soon as she steps into the pub. The smell of Butterbeer and Firewhiskey lingers in the air, and she frowns, finally looking down, and at the countless sets of eyes looking at her.
