An American At Hogwarts: Book Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

I woke up bright and early Saturday morning for my run with Jackson, then quickly ditched him to go get ready for my date with Cedric. We were keeping our old tradition of going on dates every Hogsmeade weekend for the first part of the day with a trip to Madam Puddifoot's, and then we'd meet up with the rest of our friends for the big meeting around one.

I tried not to let it show on my date with Cedric, but I was practically jumping up and down with excitement for this meeting. I knew he had reservations, and I wasn't the most excited to relive that night in the graveyard either, but I couldn't help feeling like we were finally pushing back against Umbridge in a way that mattered. WWHRS was great, but this club was fixing what Umbridge broke, and preparing everyone for the dangers the Ministry was too arrogant to face.

I couldn't keep a smile off my face as Cedric and I left the teashop and headed to the far end of Hogsmeade. I'd never been to the Hog's Head before, but according to the twins, it was basically a crappy dive bar that underage people were allowed to enter.

Cedric and I walked down the street hand in hand, and it wasn't long before I saw the bright red heads of the twins up ahead of us.

"Hold on, I'm gonna mess with them," I said, whispering to Cedric before rushing to catch up with the twins. I moved as quickly as I could while still being quiet, and once I got in range, I reached out and tapped their outside shoulders so they'd turn and look the wrong way.

One of the oldest, stupidest tricks in the book but they absolutely fell for it.

They whirled back around to look at me, and I just smiled and laughed.

"You two are too easy," I said with a grin. We'd stopped to let Cedric catch up to us, then the four of us kept walking towards the Hog's Head.

"That wasn't very impressive, Alexa," said George, faking a big yawn.

"Yeah. I mean, we've really come to expect a bit more from you over the years," added Fred. I just rolled my eyes.

"Whatever. You're both just pissed you fell for it so easily."

They just scoffed, but thankfully, Lee found us and joined our group before the argument could continue.

The five of us made it to the Hog's Head, and Cedric went in first, holding the door for the rest of us. I quickly surveyed the area around us, not quite believing what I was seeing. There was a growing crowd of students coming in with us, and I saw Ron, Harry, and Hermione at a table in the far back corner. Other than them, the bar was almost empty, with a few patrons scattered around the bar giving us shady looks. All of their faces were covered, and the bartender looked like he might have a heart attack at the sheer number of people coming into his place.

Fred went up to the bar to order Butterbeers for everyone, but I headed over to take my seat for the meeting instead.

"Hey guys," I said, giving them tight smiles as I reached the table. "Harry, you mind if I sit next to you?"

"Not at all," he said with a smile.

"Alexa, are you alright?" asked Hermione. She looked a little nervous, and she kept glancing between me and the crowd of students.

"Yeah, I'm alright.... Are you sure this is the best place for a meeting though?" I asked. "I mean, we're sticking out like sore thumbs in this place, and I can't imagine we'll be able to stop these patrons from listening in on anything we say..."

Hermione gave a panicked look around the room, then whirled back to me.

"I didn't even think of that! Oh, but it's too late to move it now, isn't it? Or maybe we should try to go somewhere else? Or I could put up a silencing charm!"