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chapter six | a casual meet up
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The next trip to Hogsmeade was a cold one. It was the early stages of December, snow stuck to the ground and the bottom of Stella Mason's shoes as she walked through the village with her three friends. Her eyes watering as wind whistled around them as they traveled through the village that wasn't as busy as it normally was.
"This is mad," Harry spoke as they neared their destination, "who'd wanna be taught by me? I'm a nutter remember?"
"Look on the brightside; you can't be any worse then old toad face."
"Thanks, Ron."
"I'm here for you, mate."
The next question from Harry made the two girls in front of them meet eyes briefly.
"Who's supposed to be meeting us, then?"
"... Just a couple of people."
The Hogs Head bar was nothing like the Three Broomsticks. The dingy, dusty pub was known for the bad management and the hosting of mice around the place. From their seats in the back of the pub, the four friends could see a crowd of people from all different houses coming in. Stella knew of most of them and counted roughly twenty five people attending. As the chatter died down and everyone settled, Hermione took the chance to stand and speak.
"Er, hi," she spoke timidly, "so, you all know why we're here. We need a teacher. A proper teacher. One who has real experience defending themselves against the Dark Arts."
"Why," a kid in the front asked stubbornly.
"Why? Because You-Know-Who's back, you tosspot," Ron defended.
The boy nodded to Harry, "so he says."
"So Dumbledore says."
"So Dumbledore says because he says. The point is, where's the proof."
From next to the boy, Micheal Corner spoke, "Potter could tell us more about how Cedric Diggory got killed."
Having enough, Harry stood, "I'm not going to talk about Cedric, so if that's why you're here, you might as well clear out now," he turned to Hermione and whispered, "come on, Hermione, they're just here because they think I'm some sort of freak."
"Harry—"
"Is it true you can produce a Patronus Charm?"
The students turned their attention to Luna Lovegood, who didn't falter and kept her eyes on Harry.
