Before the Dawn | George Weasley

40

We won the match against Ravenclaw fairly readily, meaning that if we won our next match against Hufflepuff by enough points, we'd secure ourselves a place in the championship match. My ragtag team had slowly come together as the season progressed, making me rather proud.

Before the match with Hufflepuff, though, was a trip to Hogmeade.

"It's on Valentine's Day," said Jamie with a huff. "I imagine there will be snogging couples everywhere you look."

"Why don't you ask Lucian to meet you there?" I suggested. "Then you can be one of the snogging couples."

She frowned slightly. "Lucian's been busy with something. He won't tell me what it is in his letters, but he seems to find it far more important than spending time with me."

"He can't spend one day with you?" I asked incredulously. "I reckon if you asked, he'd find the time to make the trip."

"Maybe," Jamie muttered. "Part of me wonders if he's lying about being busy and is just too scared to break up with me."

I gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, wondering if I should write to Lucian myself and see what he was up to. It was unlike him to be so mysterious; he was well-known for speaking his mind about almost everything.

"Are you going, then?" Jamie asked, pulling me from my thoughts. "To Hogsmeade?"

"Dunno," I admitted. "Not sure I want to see all those snogging couples, either."

But by the day the trip arrived, I'd decided to go, my broom repair materials running a bit low and in need of restocking. Jamie elected to stay behind, having not heard back from Lucian and in a rather foul mood because of it.

"Didn't think I'd see you here," said Miles as he caught up to walk beside me, slinging his arm around my shoulders.

"Nor did I," I snorted, ducking out from under his arm. "Why are you going? Got yourself a date?"

"Nah." He threw me a sideways glance. "Unless you want to be my date."

I gave him a wry smile. "I'm only going to buy some things from the Quidditch Shop."

Miles shrugged. "Well, I'll be in the Hog's Head, so feel free to join if you want to drink the loneliness away."

"Ah," I said. "You're following that tradition Graham told me about."

"I am," he confirmed. "You should join me, help keep the tradition alive."

"Maybe." I considered it. "I tend to get quite messy when I drink. There's a word for it, I think."

"Being Scottish?" Miles asked innocently.

I laughed loudly. "Sure, we can go with that."

As we walked, I caught sight of a familiar mess of ginger hair in the group ahead of us. Was Fred on a date? I smiled to myself, recognising the girl walking next to him as Allison Barnes, a Gryffindor sixth-year. I'd never heard him mention her, or any girl for that matter—according to George, his brother was a shameless flirt, but had difficulty staying in relationships—but there was no denying that Allison was gazing up at him with adoration on her face.

When we'd reached the village, Miles took off in the direction of the Hog's Head, and I made my way to Spintwitches, quickly locating the materials I needed and talking the clerk into giving me a discount, as usual. With my one errand done in a matter of minutes, I found myself with quite a bit of time to spare.

I caught sight of Harry walking with Cho down the main street, headed in the direction of Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop, which I suspected would be quite crowded on Valentine's Day. He glanced at me as they passed and offered me a smile, which I returned, silently wishing him luck.