The Enemy of my Enemy

The Hogs' Head

The Hog's Head wasn't, Teddie noted, any more homely inside the bar than it was outside. It was comprised of a small, dingy, and very dirty room smelled strongly of goat, the bay windows were crusted in grime, the room was lit with stubs of candles sitting on rough tables, and the floor looked like it hadn't been swept in centuries.

"I don't like this place," said Mason quietly.

"Stay close," said Teddie, ushering him in front of her and squeezing his shoulders.

"Anyone want a drink?" Blaise asked.

His friends hesitated and glanced at one another. Could they trust anything that came from this place?

"Teddie, over here."

Teddie looked around at the call and spotted Hermione, Harry, and Weasley sitting at a small table in the far back. They were all drinking Butterbeers, which seemed to settle her decision. "Maybe one," she said to Blaise.

Blaise nodded and headed to the bar with Theo, while Daphne, Teddie, Mason, and Astoria made their way towards the Gryffindor trio.

"You made it," Hermione grinned, making room for Teddie as she pulled a chair up from an empty nearby table.

Teddie nodded and sat down. Mason sat on her right, and Theo, when he returned, pulled up a chair on her left. He slid three bottles of butterbeer onto the table, passing one to Mason and another to Teddie.

"So, who else is supposed to be turning up?" Blaise asked, settling himself into a seat beside Daphne and Astoria. "Or is this it?"

"A couple more people should be arriving soon," said Hermione.

Teddie sipped her butterbeer. There was an awkward silence around the table, as everyone waited on the rest of the group to turn up.

"Can we go to the Shrieking Shack after this?" Mason asked Teddie, breaking the silence that had fallen over them.

Teddie nodded and glanced at Astoria. "What about you, Tori?" she asked. "What do you want to do after this?"

Astoria shrugged. She looked almost too scared to speak.

The door opened with a creak, and a thin ray of sunlight streamed in from outside. A horde of people pushed their way into the small pub, and Teddie wasn't sure if they would all fit.

"A couple of people?" Harry asked. "A couple of people?"

"Yes, well the idea seemed quite popular," said Hermione. "Ron, do you want to pull up some more chairs?"

Teddie, Mason, and Theo shuffled around the table after Hermione as more and more people joined them. In the scuffle they lost sight of Daphne, Astoria, and Blaise.

"You ever stop to think that they aren't here to learn?" Teddie asked, leaning across Mason to speak with Hermione.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.

Teddie nodded at Harry. "You said that he is willing to talk to us about possibly starting a defense group," she said. "You ever consider that people are just here to see if he will speak about last term?"

"They can leave right now if that's why they're here," said Harry. "I'm not making myself sound any more a nutter than they already think."

"Maybe talking to them could be a good thing?" Mason asked. "I mean, they would get the truth straight from the source and not from outside sources like the paper. We all know how bias the Daily Prophet is, after all, and you can't trust a media outlet with anything that is remotely close to the truth."