13: BETH

2.8K 108 19
                                    

Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.


Well, today was the day. End of term, almost Christmas, the day of a Hogsmeade trip. There were dozens of thoughts fluttering in the mind of Beth Black as she stood outside the castle, admiring the blanket of snow and the constant fall of it all, the wintery, Christmas spirit. The thought of Christmas always made Beth's spirits dive for an upturn, the only downside being she never got any presents from home, only from Adrian last year, which she actually greatly appreciated. 

Beth rolled up her sleeve and checked her watch. He was six minutes late. Not much longer and she'd turn around and go straight back to her cozy dormitory and just read a book. And, of course, take off all the warm clothes she had dressed in just for today. She never really wore her coat for long at Hogwarts considering she never actually went on Hogsmeade trips. She preferred to stay in the warmth of the castle by a fire with a book in hand, or to start reading on next term's topics so that she was ahead. Or even just knit. Anything indoors rather than be in a crowd of swarming, loud-mouthed, Christmas-spirited Hogwarts students who wouldn't even bother acknowledging that she was there had Sirius Black not escaped Azkaban. 

"It smells like Christmas!" 

Beth looked over her shoulder. There was Fred, dressed in his own coat, Gryffindor scarf, a thin, raggedy pair of pants, and a spotty, grey and white beanie with a hole in it. He was panting, but he had a grin on his face and looked as happy as ever, so it was hard for Beth to blurt out what she actually wanted to. 

"Sleep in?"

"Er, course not. No, I actually had to take care of something with George," he explained, joining her at the hip. She stared up at him as he continued to speak, staring mostly at the frosty air that came out of his mouth. "Well, to be precise, George and I gave away something quite valuable. I miss it already. But it was definitely worth the delivery."


Everything was not quite what Beth expected when they arrived at Hogsmeade. 

It was worse. 

The street was swarming with people, and more and more were pouring out of stores and pubs and into the street, adding more to the chaos of them all. There was so much chatter. She wanted to go back. 

"You don't look happy," Fred commented. He was already looking at her when she glanced up at him. "C'mon it's Hogsmeade, there's gotta be something here that you enjoy. I enjoy taking my time in Zonko's and Honeyduke's then to settle down with a hot taste of Butterbeer before going back up to the castle. How about you? What's your usual routine? Wait - can I guess?"

"Er - actually -"

"You spend all of your time in the Apothecary. Then you browse for quills. And right before you go for a spot of tea, you glare at every innocent pair of eyes -- you know, with that scary Black look you used to give me -- oh did I say used to? Because there it is again."

The Unbreakable Vow: wisps of Black | Fred Weasley [1] ✔Where stories live. Discover now