The Kind Hufflepuff

Chapter 64: Madam Puddifoots

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The Kind Hufflepuff - Year Three

Chapter Sixty- Four: Madam Puddifoots

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Cali Higgs was going on a date. This was a fact- one that not even Cali had been expecting to be even a few hours ago. But the morning of the next Hogsmeade weekend, Bertram Aubrey came up to her with a smooth smile and flair of confidence. She had barely even heard what she was saying as she found herself getting lost in his gorgeous eyes, and she had stared where he had been standing until Greta shook her arm squealing. "Dear Merlin, what?" Cali snapped at the girl, annoyed by the squealing as she came back to earth.

"You are going on a date," Greta informed the girl, and the look of shock that Cali had sent both Daisy and Greta into a fit of giggles. 

"When did I agree to that?" Cali asked the girls, her eyebrows furrowed as she glanced between the girls.

"He asked you," John cleared his throat awkwardly, "Just now."

"When am I going on this date?" Cali asked the girls, her eyes wide.

"After breakfast," Daisy shrugged. "Is that what you're going to wear?"

Cali's eyes snapped down to her outfit- a yellow sweatshirt that was tucked into her wide legged flair pants and paired with a cute pair of boots. The outfit was cute, maybe not what she would have worn if she realized she was going on a date but she was happy enough with it as she shrugged in response. "It will do."

"You're actually going on your first date!" Greta grabbed the girl's hand, squealing once more as Cali nodded slowly. She had seen others get wildly excited over such a thing, girls who cheered alongside her best friends and gossiped about how the date would go but she just wasn't doing that. She wasn't even particularly excited about it, which kind of disappointed her as she spun around her remaining food on her plate with her fork as the other girl's discussed her date.

When breakfast ended, Cali found herself sitting at the Hufflepuff until the food disappeared. Her friends stayed with her, looking at the girl expectantly as she fiddled with her hands and her clothes simultaneously as the Ravenclaw glided towards her from his own table. "Are you ready?" He asked the girl who nodded mutely as she stood up, not even noticing his hand that he had held out before he pretended to simply wipe his hand across his pants. "Alright then, let's go. Goodbye girls, John." He nodded towards her friends, before gesturing towards the exit.

The walk was silent as he walked almost two steps in front of her at all times, something she immediately noted was something she wasn't sure she liked. She loved how intent Regulus was about regarding keeping stride with her, about making sure their steps were in sync but Bertram simply walked with only a mild interest in how far behind she was and almost expected her to keep up with him rather than the other way around. 

They didn't even say anything as they got into a carriage, and she simply looked out at the rest of her carriages- spotting the Gryffindor boys a short distance away laughing loudly and her own friends not far from them. She found herself wishing she was with them as she sighed. Bertram was sitting close to her, so close that their entire length of their arms were rubbing against each other and her knee was permanently touching his. She wished he had sat across from her, wished that he was saying something. Anything. But the carriage ride continued in silence in the same way that it had started.

When the ride came to a stop, he finally seemed to turn towards her. His smile was friendly, his eyes were easy to get lost into. He seemed kind. "Do you have any place you want to go in particular?" She knew the answer, she knew that she wanted to grab more sugar quills from Honeydukes but she didn't answer as he continued to talk. "I was thinking we could go to Madam Puddifoots."