Everything Has Changed

Everything Has Changed ~ Chapter 19

            The castle was filled with excited chatter and festive spirit – Christmas was fast approaching. Today was Saturday, the day of the Christmas Hogsmeade visit. Then tomorrow, we would board the Hogwarts Express and return home for the holidays.

            I was more excited than anyone else to get home. I was tightly holding on to the belief that even though my mother had contacted neither me nor Astrea, it was probably because she knew there were Death Eaters in the school and felt more safe contacting Dad instead. Perhaps, when we got home for Christmas, there would be a letter or two from her. Perhaps she would even risk dropping by for a day or so. I knew it was silly to get my hopes up. The chances of that happening were slim, very slim. But I missed her, and just for a couple of days I wanted to pretend that everything was normal and I would get to see her soon.

            Today, though, there was another matter on my mind. The Christmas Hogsmeade trip, a.k.a. my second date with Terry. I ate only a piece of toast before going to the Entrance Hall, where we’d agreed to meet.

            He looked very attractive, dressed in dark jeans and a brown leather jacket. “Good morning,” He greeted me cheerfully. “Are you ready to go?”

            “Yup,” I replied. We checked off our names with Filch, and began trudging through the light layer of snow towards Hogsmeade.

            “How have you been?” A concerned tone crept into Terry’s tone. “You know, after the Bianca Simpkins thing…”

            I pulled my scarf around a little tighter as I answered. “I’m fine, seriously. I was fine by the end of the next day.”

            “I’m just worried.”

            “I know. It’s cute,” I giggled. “Thank you for your concern.”

            Soon, we were arriving at the outskirts of the little wizarding village. “Where do you want to go first?” Terry asked me.

            “Why don’t we go warm up at the Three Broomsticks?” I suggested.

            “Sounds good.” Terry took my hand in his and began leading me through the streets. The Three Broomsticks was already half-full when we arrived. We found a small table on the left side of the pub. I sat down whilst Terry went to get some Butterbeers.

            I looked around the room, seeing who was already here. There were a few Hogsmeade residents in one corner, and the rest were Hogwarts students. I smiled and gave a wave to a group of Gryffindors from Dumbledore’s Army. The bell on the door tinkled as it opened, and I turned with half-interest to see who was entering. My stomach dropped as my eyes landed and Draco Malfoy’s pale face, and a moment later, Blaise Zabini’s dark one. Draco caught sight of me and gave me a slight smile. I ignored him and turned away, instead looking at Terry, who had just returned with our Butterbeers.

            “Here you go,” He said with a grin. It quickly faded. “What’s wrong?”

            I forced a smile onto my face. “Nothing. I was just thinking.”

            Terry took a swig from his bottle. “What about? You had a pretty troubled look on your face.”

            “Just the Carrows and Snape,” I lied.

            Terry’s brow furrowed. “Okay, Eleanor, here’s the deal. Today we are in Hogsmeade, not Hogwarts. Today, we do not have to think about the Carrows or Snape or You-Know-Who. We don’t have to think about anything negative. We will have fun.”