when you returned | HP x Louis Partridge x reader

s e v e n

November 25th, 1994.
Y/N's POV:
All of a sudden, someone was tugging my shoulder. I rolled over and peeked through the edge of my blanket to see Pansy scolding me. "Y/N Knoxley! Wake up and get your arse out of bed!" She yanked the curtains open causing the sunlight to temporarily blind me.

"What?" I whined while rubbing my eyes. "It's Saturday! Let me slee-"
"Exactly! Saturday. Remember you planned a hangout for us and Partridge?"
"Oh yeah- shit!"
I jumped out of my bed, my feet landed on the cold carpet. The short hand on the clock pointed near 10. Rushing into the bathroom, I slammed the door and almost slipped on the grey bath mat. I sped through my morning routine then darted to my wardrobe, grabbing whatever looks decent enough to pair with each other. My outfit consisted of: tight, black trousers, a cream knitted sweater and a thick plaid coat. As I shoved my foot into my Air Force 1's, I glanced at the clock, reading 5 past 10.

Pansy and I sprinted through the corridors; our footsteps echoed loudly. We got a raised eyebrow here and there but finally, we arrived at the courtyard. Draco, Louis and Blaise's eyes were all glued onto their phones, their backs turned to one another.

"What took you so long?" Draco fussed.
Louis added: "to be honest, I'm not surprised you're late."
"Oh, come on," Blaise said. "Let's go already!"
He dragged the other two boys towards the entrance and we strolled to Hogsmeade.

The crisp snow satisfyingly chuckled under our feet as we awkwardly chatted - small talk. Old stone walls skirted the empty path to Hogsmeade. Once we arrived, the village's liveliness diffused the tension. The main street, which I visited almost weekly, was packed with Hogwarts students and Hogsmeade residents. All of the houses were so similar yet so different; their triangular roofs, their thick blankets of snow, their corroding signs. One of which read: 'the Three Broomsticks'.

Entering the inn and exiting the chilly street, we searched for a table. We ultimately settled into a table in a dimly-lit corner. A short man with a bushy, grey beard approached our table. "What would you kids like?" He asked in a hoarse voice.
"5 butterbeers please, sir." I replied.

When the man disappeared, Blaise started talking: "So... Partridge... how long have you known Y/N for again?"
"Ever since I could remember!"

Blaise and Louis got along perfectly however I could still sense bitterness between him and Draco - I suppose Pansy is neutral.

The man returned, shakily holding a tray with our butterbeer on it. He placed one in front of each of us and disappeared again. Almost immediately, we seized our mug. The butterbeer's warmth soothed my body from the cold weather. I was constantly taking little sips from the beer mug.

After almost half an hour of chatting and drinking, we payed for the butterbeers and decided to explore Hogsmeade. As soon as Draco swung the entrance open, the cold hit me like a giant, tumbling border. My lips quivering, hands rubbing, body trembling, Louis whispered into my ear: "Are you cold?"
"Well, uh, yeah-"
"Uh, guys?" Louis called out, his voice competing with the howling wind. "Can we go inside Honeydukes?"

Blaise and Pansy cheered in agreement. We hurried over to the little green and pink building, mostly covered in snow, and evaded the freezing weather. Inside, I spotted a few familiar Hogwarts faces. Two of which belonged to the beaming Weasley twins. They strode over to me, taking a glance at my friends.

"Partridge? With Malfoy and his minions?" George said, smirking.
"Good luck, Y/N!" Fred winked and then the twins walked off, giggling.

"Seriously? What do the Weasleys want? Spare change?" Draco mocked, being sulky and unfriendly as usual.
"Leave them alone, Draco." I said.

I wandered around the shop alone. My finger ran along the smooth surface of the shelves; each shelf was packed with their own colourful sweets. My feet shuffled along the glossy, checker-board floor. My eyes roamed around the store; looking at every item, every face. There were bucket-loads of chunky nougat, honey-brown toffees and half-pink, half-white prisms of coconut ice. Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans had a tall cabinet dedicated to their boxes of sugar-filled goodness which were displayed in neat rows. However, the wafts of vanilla fragrance coming from the cauldron cakes was like a magnet pulling my attention.

After around 15 minutes of drifting from aisle to aisle, I relocated my friends. They were in a queue, waiting to purchase whatever they stuffed into their baskets. "Y/N, are you getting anything?" Draco whispered. He wasn't in the queue but just waiting beside Blaise.
"No..." I awkwardly chuckled. "I'm not getting anything-"
"What?! Really? Let me get you something."
We softly debated for a minute or two then I finally gave in. Draco searched the little 'on-the-go' confectionery shelf next to the check-out and grabbed a chocolate frog. "These are your favourites, right?" He was smirking as he squeezed between Blaise and Pansy in the queue.
"Yeah, they are."

When we exited the shop, Draco gently handed me the Chocolate Frog. I unwrapped it to reveal the pentagonal card that read: 'Artemisia Lufkin: In 1798, she was the first witch to become Minister of Magic.' I shoved it into my pocket to give to Ron at dinner. Ron is still adding to his Chocolate Frog card collection every now and then; he probably has 600 cards by now.