Side quest

Chapter Four

Andrea would have never imagined an entertainment franchise would equip her with better life skills than a decade of education ever could. Perhaps if she had allotted less of her time to studies and extracurriculars, and more time gaming on her computer like most of her peers, the future wouldn't seem as daunting. At least now she had a better grasp of her situation, although, it was still a mystery how she ended up to be here in the first place. Why did it have to be her? Was she specifically targeted, or was it simply a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time? Or right time, depending on how she looked at it.

After their meals at the Three Broomsticks, Mr. and Mrs. Bradley opted to make the most of their visit to Hogsmeade by browsing through some of the shops and reconnecting with old acquaintances. Naturally, Andrea followed them. Although the worst of her anxieties were behind her, she didn't feel confident enough to venture out and explore the village on her own. Luckily, there was still plenty to experience from the shadows of her newly appointed guardians, until an open door bustling with an unusual amount of activity tempted her otherwise.

After glancing back at Cecil for reassurance, she wandered inside. The main room was bursting with color and activity, along with an overpowering blend of aromas emanating from a variety of candies and pastries arranged in glass bowls, baskets and displays. Customers, primarily younger in age, weaved effortlessly passed each other as they perused both floors of the enchanted candy shop. It was so colorful, so sweet it was almost sickening. Had she ignored the pink sign out front, she would have correctly assumed it to be Honeydukes.

Andrea made a conscious effort to steer clear of other shoppers as she opted to remain on the sidelines where she could observe comfortably. However, a gentle tap interrupted her. Expectant to see someone as she glanced over she, to her surprise, caught sight of a brown frog sitting on her shoulder. She let out a startled yelp as the frog scrambled to escape down her arm, but fell suddenly to the ground completely stiff and motionless. Guilt ridden, a voice prompted her to look up. There, leaning over the second-floor railing directly above her, was a boy doing his best to stifle his laughter.

"That's my fault!" He admitted with a wide grin, "It's just chocolate, no worries!"

"I thought I killed the poor thing!" Andrea announced up to him.

The boy laughed even harder before disappearing from sight. At first she thought he took off, but after a few seconds she saw him approaching from the staircase he had descended. Like several others he was undeniably a student at Hogwarts, donning the school's renowned floor-length robes that had been tastefully modified to highlight the colors of Gryffindor house. He looked to be her age, with tousled copper hair and a friendly face adorned in a sea of freckles and one prominent dimple. His appearance was clearly... familiar, but she didn't want to assume.

"Suppose I should buy it now that it's open," He stated with a comedic grimace after taking a second to pick the frog up from the floor.

"Probably," She agreed awkwardly.

"So... Your first time here." It was a statement, not a question.

Andrea lowered her head and her voice shrank, "Is it that obvious?"

"Very much so," He whispered back. Of course it was. "So, where are you visiting from?"

"Um... Bemunth? It's a couple hours..." She trailed off as she recognized a familiar expression surface across his face. Right. She corrected herself, "America."

"There it is!" He declared happily before reaching to shake her hand, "I'm Gareth." He is a fucking Weasley! Her mind screamed, causing her to struggle with her next words as shock nearly allowed her real name to slip. Confused, Gareth leaned closer, choosing to blame the loud ambiance for missing her name as he waited for her to repeat it. Don't fuck this up, don't fuck this up...