Marauders - Always - Part One

CXCI: If He Had Those Shoulders...

The Three Broomsticks was usually quite busy but on the weekends when Hogwarts students were allowed to visit, they were especially crowded. Add on that there were many wizards and witches staying in Hogsmeade due to the upcoming First Task of the Triwizard Tournament, and - well - there was a line out the door 'round lunch time and kids jostling to carry their bottles of Butterbeer out onto the street, where they sat in clusters 'round the square, eating from paper sacks she'd stuffed their orders into. Rosmerta had sent an URGENT owl to her supplier for Butterbeer imploring them that she would need a rush order in order to accommodate the influx of guests visiting the village due to the Triwizard Tournament.

It made for good pickings for a mangy old stray dog, who had followed Oliver Kent that morning from the Inn out to the pub, and great money for Rosmerta's bottom line, of course, not to mention boosting the local economy handsomely via Zonko's Joke Shop and Honeyduke's, but it made it rather hard to navigate unnoticed when one was trying at being invisible.

"Honestly, why don't you just take off that stupid cloak?" Hermione said, trying to keep her lips as still as possible, "I hate it when you're under that thing 'round in public. Everyone thinks that I'm mad, talking to myself and ordering two of everything!" 

Harry had just walked into a man dressed head to toe in leather who was rushing through the square to Brood & Peck's at top speed. The man had spun 'round on his heels and looked 'round, confused about what he might've run into, and then continued running, shouting a hurried "scuzy!" as he went.

"I'm not dealing with Rita Skeeter pestering me and getting more rubbish written about me in the Daily Prophet," Harry hissed from under the cloak. "The one article was enough for me, thanks." 

Hermione sighed and led the way through the crowd - Harry dogging on her ankles so closely so as to make her anxious - and pushed her way into Honeyduke's, where the air smelled of chocolate and caramel. Neville Longbottom was waiting on the line with Ron and Dean Thomas while Seamus was paying for an armful of popping candies - "Polly Pollington's Popping Candy! Like Fireworks in Your Mouth!" read the package. It had a picture of a boy with his mouth open and a splendid display of fireworks going off on his tongue.

"I'm going to let Ronald know we aren't meeting him, I guess," Hermione said edgily, looking the wrong direction from where Harry was, but clearly thinking she was facing him. "Unless you think you might talk to him and maybe --"

"No," Harry said firmly. "I didn't do anything wrong. Ron owes me an apology."

"Yes but if you both think the other owes the apology and neither of you are willing to actually give one out, there's never going to be any sort of resolution, is there?" Hermione said logically. "Perhaps you lot need to discuss it and see why it is that the other thinks that he is the one who is owed the apology and then --"

"Hermione," Harry said, stressing the "mi" part of her name.

"Fine!" she said in a clipped tone, "Stay mad at each other, I don't care." She went over to talk to Ron and Harry made his way down one of the aisles, not wanting to hear the sound of Ron's voice. He was sure it would only make him angrier - or else drive him to feeling sick and ready to cry again and he'd done that once on Hermione's shoulder already and once was enough...

Hermione meanwhile had approached Ron. She stepped up beside him and sighed. "Ronald -- about the meeting at the Three Broomsticks, Harry --"

"Isn't willing to apologize, is he?" Ron said.

"Well... no," Hermione admitted. 

Ron nodded sharply. He was holding two Chocolate Frogs, two boxes of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, and a bag of Animal Crackers, as well as two licorice wands in cherry red. "That's fine," he said, "He doesn't need to."