Glory |A. Potter|

Twenty-Nine

With the Apparition Course set every Sunday, the sixth-year students lost two hours of their free time in a cource needed for their life, although if anyone were to underline the importance of apparition, they wouldn't really listen to them anyways, not when they knew precious free time they had previously used to catch up on schoolwork or see friends would now need to be spent attempting to concentrate and appear in a red little hoop a few ways in front of them, the majority of them failing as the weeks went on. Just three weeks later, the students were starting to truly feel desperate in the sight of their failure and the knowledge they couldn't do anything else but wait for the next class to practice, since no one could apparate in and out of Hogwarts. They couldn't practice. It made the majority more anxious than they had expected. 

So the three weeks passed in a blur of classes and finally, it was time for the first Hogsmeade trip of the new year. Conveniently enough, it fell close to Valentine's day, just a few days to be exact, and the streets of Hogsmeade were adorned by red and pink ribbons and little cupids flying around along with a mass of students who were trying to find a good enough gift for their significant other or the one they hoped would become their significant other. In short, there was chaos in Hogsmeade. And that was before it started snowing.

Albus was huffing in obvious displeasure as for yet another time, he was forced to stay in Madam Puddifoot's along with Scorpius and Jane so they could wait for the storm to end. He sat, sulking, as he watched the rest of the students moving around in the cold, and in all honesty, he wouldn't have minded to walk in the storm, and he knew Jane would have supported him if it came down to it, she too not really affected by the cold weather, but they had Scorpius in their company and as much as he loved him, Albus had to admit Scorpius detested the cold and if he were to stay put for more than five minutes he imagined he would end up a frozen sculpture. Most probably, he would start moaning and whining about it once he was no longer frozen, and the thought of having him complain all the way from Hogsmeade to Hogwarts to the Slytherin common room to their dormitory was so terrifying Albus didn't want to entertain it. In short, he hadn't had another option but to get in the first shop he could see that would let them stay. It so happened that the first shop in line of sight had been Madam Puddifoot's, to his complete and utter misfortune. Albus hadn't grumbled – he had certainly wanted to, though.

"I don't get it," Scorpius spoke up, a few minutes after they had gotten comfortable around a table in the teashop and their tea had been brought over, his cup of tea still held at hand as he relished in the warmth it provided. There was a pause, enough for Albus and Jane to exchange a look over him before they turned to face him once more, expectation clear in both their expressions. 

"What is it, Scorpius?" Jane asked at last, when it seemed like he would never finish his thought, and at the sound of her voice, Scorpius blinked and shook his head, appearing to have broken out of a trance. He sent a brief apologetic smile at Jane before he continued.

"I was thinking about Ramona. She was with us at first, claimed she wanted to spend some time with us before she were to leave to find a gift for Louis. She stayed with us and then when the storm broke out she left to look for a present. How does that make any sense?"

"She couldn't have known for how long the storm would last," Jane pointed out, "if she stayed with us and the storm ended up lasting for the whole afternoon then she would have lost all chances to find a present."

"But there's a storm outside," he whined lowly, eyes glazing over as he spoke. "A storm, with snow flying everywhere, cold wind hitting your face, so cold you could think you were being hit by ice-"

"You're being dramatic," Albus cut him off as he leaned back in his seat, arms folded in front of his chest. He was dressed in black, as it was accustomed of him, and in Scorpius's opinion, he wasn't dressed warm enough for the occassion but he still seemed to be unbothered by the cold. He hadn't even brought mittens and a cup with him, just a scarf. Scorpius doubted he was being dramatic, and in an attempt to find a supporter, he turned to Jane.