A Shallow Grave

Chapter 3

I was running at least five minutes late thanks to an unprovoked run-in with the infamous castle poltergeist known as Peeves. He'd been juggling fire torches in the Transfiguration Corridor as I exited Professor Weasley's classroom. We had been discussing my soon-to-be trip into Hogsmede and I'd mentioned that Gareth had been kind enough to accompany me to the village. She was all to happy to agree to that proposition, knowing how Gareth was, he would likely keep me out of trouble. Anyway, whilst walking back towards the main entrance, Peeve's had unfortunately spotted me and began hurling the flaming sticks at me quickly, giggling loudly to himself, trying his best to knock me out with the torches. I had overheard conversations about Peeve's mischievous nature when it came to tormenting the students. Eventually I was able to flee from the colourful ghost and headed towards where Gareth and I were set to meet. Of course, he was already waiting in front of the large door, leaning against a tall stone pillar. He saw me almost immediately, smiling brightly, as he had done during out first interaction. He walked towards me slightly, greeting me happily, "There you are. I was beginning to think that my aunt hadn't allowed you to come with me."

I smiled back at him, responding with "Well we'd better get going before your aunt changes her mind entirely." I pushed open the huge wooden door to let the light from outside flood into the castle. I hadn't left the grounds since I first arrived, so the sunlight burned my eyes for a split second. Gareth was quick to follow behind me, obviously eager to get to the village before Hogwart's curfew begins.

The journey to the village wasn't long but it did give Gareth and I enough time to get to know each other. He was talking in heavy detail about his affinity for potions and brews, claiming he was a somewhat master potion maker. He told me stories of some eventful potions classes from past years, for example, accidently setting fire to an overhanging candelabra. I couldn't help but to let out a heavy laugh as he explained how Professor Sharp had to evacuate the classroom and cancel his lessons for the rest of the day due to the overwhelming clouds of smoke that lingered in the room for the remainder of that day. I told him a little about the dragon attack on my route to the castle, but didn't go into much detail about the events that occurred afterwards. After all, Professor Fig had told me not to talk about anything with anyone.

Hard to know who we can trust.

We finally arrived at the village entrance, a small and compact cobblestone street could be seen for a couple of hundred yards ahead. Rows of small shops lined up alongside each other on either side of the street, each with a differing aesthetic, but obvious in their merchandise and inventory. Witches and wizards walked up and down the street, in and out of shops, some of them haggling market stalls in the town square. Scents of cinnamon and sugar travelled through the air, almost filling up the whole village, like you were unable to escape it. Not that I want to of course. I was already planning in my head how to use every spare second I had exploring this place before Gareth and I would inevitably have to leave. He caught my bewildered expression as we walked past an old, stone structured clothing shop.

"I had the same reaction the first time I visited the village." he said, nudging my arm with his elbow. I withdrew my gaze from the shop to look to Gareth. He had a few golden coins in his hands and was quietly counting them, adding up numbers in his mind. Once he was finished he turned his head towards me, "I suggest we come up with a plan as how to tackle everything we need to do," he stopped walking, "Suggestions?" I halted in front of him, looking around, still attempting to take it all in.

"Well, we could split up and grab what we need to grab and then meet back up somewhere. Or, we can-" I didn't get a chance to finish my sentence, something that was becoming a regular occurrence when involved in conversation with fellow Hogwarts students. Gareth began talking, quickly and warmly, "Sound's like a plan! When you've got everything you need let's meet outside of J.Pippins Potions, just south of here. Just follow the signs, it's easy enough to find I promise."