𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐃𝐎𝐖𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐃𝐄𝐕𝐎𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍

𝟑.𝟖 - 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐛𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬

A late autumn snowfall absorbed Hogwarts overnight and turned the castle into a glittering portrait of soft blues and frosted whites. When you woke up on the morning of the Hogsmeade trip, the fireplace in the common room was alight for the first time all year.

Just after breakfast, you joined up with Harry, Ron, and Hermione so the four of you could make your way down to the little village at the base of the school. Hogsmeade, unlike Diagon Alley, seemed entirely untouched by the world outside the snowy campus. It was refreshing to see so many smiling faces as the townsfolk welcomed students into their warm shops. It was only November, but many storefronts were littered with twinkling holiday decorations.

You and Ron lingered a few feet behind Harry and Hermione who were hunched over in a hushed conversation. They hadn't stopped arguing about the identity of the Half-Blood Prince since you brought it up in the Gryffindor common room just a few days prior. You honestly didn't care what Harry did with the book as long as it didn't get you into trouble.

Hermione on the other hand was adamant about making him turn it in to Professor Slughorn and confess to cheating his way through the first semester. Her reasoning was that it wasn't fair to the other students' but you knew she was probably just jealous that you and Harry took her spot at the top of the class.

"So..." you cleared your throat, kicking patches of snow with the tip of your boot. Ron looked up at you, eyes tired. He was still grumpy about sleeping halfway through breakfast. "Lavender thinks you're all that in a bag of chips. You should try talking to her."

Ever since you dismounted from the carriages, you'd tried to casually talk up Lavender, just like you promised her you would. Nothing too heavy, but you dropped her name enough times that you hoped he would take notice. Ron rolled his eyes at you. "Yeah, right. She's probably convinced herself I can get her close to Harry."

"That's not true," you argued. "She seems to really like you."

Ron shot you a disbelieving look. "Really?"

"Yes, really," you laughed. "She's been talking about you non-stop."

A loud gust of wind whirled by and stirred the surface of the snow around your ankles. You weren't the first group of students to cross over the bridge that day and the white powder was mostly packed into the stone pathway. You scrunched up your nose as the cold air pricked at your face. You couldn't wait until you were back inside, reading in front of the fireplace.

"(Y/N)!" Harry exclaimed, breaking away from whatever Hermione had been whispering to him. You looked up from beneath your wool hat and saw that both of them had stopped dead in their tracks to face you. Hermione's expression was more or less fed-up and you looked between your two friends cautiously. "I don't want to settle a disagreement between you two, if that's what you're after."

Harry chuckled and shook the snow out of his dark hair. "No, we can settle our disagreements just fine, thank you." He reached out his hand, gesturing for you to take it. "Let's go to the Three Broomsticks. I'll buy you a Butterbeer."

You smiled gratefully and stepped forward to intertwine his fingers with yours. You mentioned to him in passing about how you had been cut off financially by your parents. You didn't think he would have remembered but you were pleasantly surprised that he offered to cover for you just now. "Butterbeer? What's that?"

"Blimey, (Y/N)," Ron came up on your left, tugging on the strings of his hat. He had a bewildered expression on his face like he couldn't fathom your question. "You've never had Butterbeer before?"

"I-" you started to defend yourself when Ron yanked hard on your sleeve, pulling you across the bridge toward a tired looking building. You giggled at his impatience and struggled to keep up with him as he ushered you through the snow.