Before the Dawn | George Weasley

12

We awoke a few days later to find that a layer of snow had fallen overnight, cloaking the school in a thick white blanket.

Jamie, Catarina, and I got dressed quickly, bundling up in anticipation of the cold.

"First Hogsmeade trip of the year!" Jamie chirped. "Get up, Pansy!"

Pansy let out a groan and pulled her blanket tighter around her. "I don't want to go."

"You always say that, and then you always have fun once you're there," Jamie chided, and yanked Pansy's blanket off of her. Pansy let out a shrill cry of protest, grasping for her covers.

I left my coat unbuttoned but wrapped my scarf snugly around my neck, pulling on my mittens. "C'mon, Pans, you know she's right."

Pansy dragged herself out of bed, eyes still heavy with sleep.

"I'm going to grab something to eat before we leave." I pulled my beanie over my hair. "Anybody want anything?"

"Biscuit," muttered Pansy.

I gave Jamie an amused smile and headed down the stairs to the Great Hall, Catarina close behind me. She split off to join her Hufflepuff friends, and I made a beeline for the Slytherin table.

The food was a little picked over, but I grabbed an apple for myself and pocketed a biscuit for Pansy. I bit into the apple and made my way to the courtyard, where a group of students had begun to gather in anticipation of the trip to Hogsmeade.

I caught Graham's eye and moved to stand with him and Miles. "Any plans for the day, lads?"

"I'm old enough to get into the Hog's Head now, so, yes, I've got some plans." Graham smiled mischievously, ignoring the girls hovering eagerly beside him.

I wrinkled my nose. "If you're going drinking, why not go to the Three Broomsticks? It's much nicer."

"Ah, but it's a rite of passage to go drinking at the Hog's Head for your first time."

I shook my head. "Well, I'm not of age so I won't be able to get in there to join you, but have fun. Miles? Any plans?"

"Derrick wanted to go see the Shrieking Shack," he said, glancing around. "But I don't see him and there's no way I'm going on my own. Want to come with me?"

"Not at all," I laughed. 

"Coward," he teased. 

"Says the one who's too afraid to go by himself." I smiled and patted his cheek.

We looked over as Jamie and a still-sleepy Pansy joined us. I pulled Pansy's biscuit from my pocket and offered it to her.

She eyed it unhappily. "You got the bad kind."

I rolled my eyes. Miles, noticing my annoyance, snorted. "I'll take it, if she doesn't want it."

Pansy looked away, so I handed the biscuit to my teammate instead.

"Cheers." He winked at me and shoved the entire biscuit in his mouth, earning noises of disgust from my roommates and laughs from me and Graham.

Professor McGonagall arrived, then, and announced our departure. As the group of students began the walk down to the village, I noticed a certain pair of ginger-haired brothers staying behind, a half-finished snowman between them.

"Aren't you two coming?" I asked the twins. 

Graham groaned loudly and continued on without me, and with a flick of my wand I sent a snowball crashing into the back of his head. He threw me a playful glare over his shoulder, ruefully brushing the snow from his dark hair, but kept walking.