𝐎𝐔𝐓𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐓 ⚯͛ 𝑫𝑹𝑨𝑪𝑶 𝑴𝑨𝑳𝑭𝑶𝒀

[9] : diagon alley

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        a few days later at breakfast, the owls flew in to do their morning rounds of mail while daphne and hydra ate. draco was absent. he had told her previously he had to do some things with his mother that day.

        an owl dropped a letter right into hydra's lap, catching her off guard. bill rarely wrote her because after her first few weeks ever at hogwarts, he realized she had very little motivation to ever write back. she always appreciated him sending them though. it must be a special occasion for him to send one.

        she set down her fork and began opening it, a smile on her face. times had been better lately. with blaise gone from school and pansy generally avoiding her, she was surrounded by draco and daphne and of course her friends from other houses. things were really starting to look up.

        she unfolded the letter and began to decipher bill's classic messy handwriting.

'little dragon,

i know i don't write often but if my memory doesn't fail me, hogwarts is approaching a very special time... the yule ball! how exciting! do you have a date? i'm sure you do. anyways, i know you hate writing me back (which is totally okay) but i was wondering if you could maybe take the day off and come to diagon alley so i can buy you a dress for the dance! you can bring a friend if you want... i'll cover for you and whoever with albus. we can get ice cream too. okay, maybe i'm getting ahead of myself. well, if you're interested, send a letter back and i'll plan on meeting you there around noon at the leaky cauldron. if not, don't write back. i suppose i'll just wallow alone at home if you don't. please write back...

love, bill.

ps. figure out a way to bring malinda too. i miss her.'

        hydra smiled from ear to ear, folding the letter back up and reaching into her bag to pull out some parchment, an envelope, and a quill. she scribbled down the words 'i'll be there' with a heart before sealing it in an envelope and writing his name on it. she whistled over an owl that was still in there and gave the letter to it, watching it soar off.

        "what was that all about?" daphne asked, still shoving her face with food. hydra put her head in her hand and said," you and i are taking the day off to some dress shopping for me."

        a big smile appeared on daphne's face as she said," yay! you don't strike me as a dress shopping girl though."

        "just go with it." hydra laughed, knowing her friend was right.

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        after eating breakfast and changing into normal clothes, hydra used some floo powder she had tucked away on the common room fireplace and the two girls and malinda had ended up inside the leaky cauldron. brushing themselves off of soot particles, hydra looked up to see bill standing not too far off, smiling at them. she ran to him at full speed, jumping up in a hug with him, her legs wrapping around him. he really would always be her best friend.