The Big Dipper

Silver Badges

Cassius and Ursula sat curled up together on the couch, Ursula's head on Cassius's shoulder and Cassius's head on top of hers, until it was nearly dawn. Neither went back to sleep, and none of their friends spoke about it in the morning, for which Ursula was grateful. Cassius was not used to being so vulnerable, and it would have embarrassed him further for it to be acknowledged. Ursula did insist, however, that he visit Madam Pomfrey for a Sleeping Draught.

Meanwhile, Adrian had upped Quidditch practice to three nights a week to prepare for the match against Gryffindor at the beginning of November. As it was the last time they would play Gryffindor during Ursula, Adrian, and Cassius's time at Hogwarts, it was an incredibly important match. In addition, Adrian was eager to prove himself as captain and to recover from their defeat in fifth year.

Unfortunately, Crabbe was crap, and Goyle was worse. They couldn't seem to grasp the strategies that Adrian was teaching them, even the simplest one. A muscle jumped in Adrian's jaw almost constantly during practice, and the only person keeping him from absolutely losing his mind was Marcellus, who was a terrific beater. As long as they had Marcellus, Crabbe's total lack of talent wouldn't matter.

Windy September turned into chilly October. A notice had been put up in the common room, informing the students that the first Hogsmeade trip of the year would be on Saturday, October 7th, so Ursula wrote to Hadrian to inform him so he could come up for a visit.

The morning of the Hogsmeade visit dawned bright but windy. After breakfast they queued up in front of Filch, who matched their names to the long list of students who had permission from their parents or guardian to visit the village.

Once Ursula and her friends had been cleared, they walked out onto the stone steps and the cold, sunlit day. They set off at a brisk pace down the wide drive to the gates. They walked between the tall stone pillars topped with winged boars and turned left onto the road into the village, the wind whipping their hair into their eyes.

"Adrian and I are going to visit Zonko's," said Cassius. "Anyone want anything?"

"Frog spawn soap, please," said Lilian. "I've got a sixth year to get revenge on."

"Yes ma'am," said Cassius. "Anyone else?" The rest of them shook their heads.

"I'm meeting Jacob at Madam Puddifoot's," said Vanessa. "Ursula, are you and Cassius meeting there for your date?"

"No, today we're going to the Three Broomsticks," said Ursula. "But I'll go with you to Honeydukes first."

"I will too," said Lilian.

"Not me," said Gemma. "Pick me up a pack of sugar quills, will you?"

"No problem," said Ursula.

"Gemma, I'll meet you in Tomes & Scrolls, yeah?" said Lilian. Gemma nodded and they all split off.

After purchasing enough sweets to last them through Christmas at Honeydukes, Lilian went to meet Gemma and Ursula and Vanessa headed up High Street. Ursula stopped in Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop for a new swan feather quill, saw that Vanessa arrived in a timely fashion to Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop, and then headed back down the street towards the Three Broomsticks.

As she strolled down the street, Ursula noticed a suspicious amount of fellow students going past Madam Puddifoot's, which was typically the last desirable shop in Hogsmeade for Hogwarts students. Deciding that it wasn't worth investigating, as it was probably nothing and Ursula counted this as her day off, she ignored it and entered the Three Broomsticks.

The pub was noticeably less crowded than usual. Hadrian waved her over from a table by the window, his suit and tie making him look like a real professional.