Chapter 53. A Picturesque Little Village

There should have been a Hogsmeade Weekend in October but as we had decided to skip out on going to Hogsmeade till we won the Quidditch match, none of us had gone.

And neither did anyone else at Hogwarts because it had been canceled as as result of attacks that had been occurring.

There was one scheduled for the last Saturday of November and the hype for it was doubled as students hadn't gotten the chance to go to Hogsmeade in October.

But Blair had managed to pull some impressive strings to give the Slytherin team special permission to go on a visit to Hogsmeade.

Apparently, Professor Horace Slughorn had given her the ultimatum that if we won the match, he would make it possible for us to go on a short visit to the little village close to Hogwarts.

He didn't bank on us actually winning the match so now he had to uphold his own end of the deal.

The walk to Hogsmeade was a fun trip because there were so many of us. Professor Slughorn had impressed that we had to be back before sundown which gave us a little over two hours.

There would be another Hogsmeade Weekend in a couple more Saturdays and we would be able to go then as well so we didn't really feel the short time we would get to spend there.

There was snow on the rooftops of the buildings in Hogsmeade which was expected as the village was above the snowline so the snow never really melted.

At least it wasn't snowing as we made our way to the little pretty village. It looked like it was the setting for a fairytale.

As we weren't granted a lot of time, we had our short trip planned out. We would get drinks at The Three Broomsticks Inn and then buy some sweets at Honeydukes to take back to Hogwarts.

It was a simple plan, we would get to sufficiently enjoy the trip this way, plus Professor Slughorn had impressed on us that we weren't to wander around.

We knew to be careful because a misstep could cause the weekend trips to Hogsmeade to be canceled for the semester.

It was so highly anticipated by the entire school that we were bound to get on everyone's bad side if that happened.

The Three Broomsticks pub was warm and welcoming, a pleasant contrast to the cold snowy exterior.

There was a fine layer of smoke floating around the large space, it was only half full but our appearance didn't startle anyone or attract attention.

"Hogwarts students?" Madam Rosmerta lifted a brow at our presence. "Should you be out of school?" She propped a hand on her waist, her green eyes staring at us with suspicion.

"We got special permission," Blair replied defensively.

"Sure." Madam Rosmerta said dryly, clearly not believing us. "What will you be having?" She brought out a clipboard, tucking a stray wisp of blonde hair behind her ear.

Her gaze trailed over all of us like she was committing our faces to memory, it made me wonder how many students had snuck out recently for her to be so on guard.

"Should we have waited until the next Hogsmeade Weekend to visit after all? Jason asked dismally when we found a table that fit all 6 of us.

Bak Ji-hun had turned down the offer to visit Hogsmeade and as neither of us were close enough to him to cajole or try to convince him, we decided to let it go.

He was quiet most of the time, preferring to blend into the background that it was easy to forget his presence.

"Nonsense." Blair shut down his worries, covertly glaring at the pub owner. "We worked hard for this and we got proper permission to be out here so we'll make the most of it."

Our drinks arrived quickly but Madam Rosmerta's cool welcome, as well as the half-empty pub, quickly put a downer on our spirits.

Even Blair wasn't able to keep our spirits up as we quietly sipped our drinks and glumly looked around.

In theory, the visit to Hogsmeade was exciting but now that we had gotten here, it was merely a shadow of our anticipations.

The lack of students was most likely the main reason for the damper on our moods.

I had ordered a butterbeer, deciding to stick to familiar grounds, maybe when I came again I would be more adventurous.

After our glass mugs of frothing and colorful drinks were downed, there was little reason to remain in the pub.

We stepped out of The Three Broomsticks to find that it was lightly snowing outside.

"The trip back will be a pain if we get caught in a snowstorm." Tanner clicked his tongue.

"Only one thing to be done then." Blair huffed out, smiling. "We'll return early." She tried to sound upbeat but failed.

"It wasn't all bad though." I shrugged. "It was a welcome change from the loud noises and constant cheering."

Mumbles of agreement went up at my words and Blair genuinely brightened.

"Four of you will be in charge of going to Honeydukes." She pointed at me, Blythe, Crawley, and Jason.

"What? What about you?" I narrowed my eyes.

"Checking out Spintwinches Sporting Needs." She announced smugly.

"And Tanner?" Crawley added.

"He'll be coming with me." She grabbed his arm to pull him closer to her.

Tanner just blinked dumbly, not seeming to follow the conversation.

"We'll meet up in fifteen minutes in front of The Three Broomsticks! Make sure not to wander off!" She called back to us, already disappearing down a snowy passageway with a confused Tanner in tow.

When she was gone, the rest looked up to me. "Alright," I sighed. "Let's go get the sweets."

On the way there I got distracted by a skulking figure, they were so familiar that I found myself following them before I could register.

"Audric?" Jason caught my robes to get my attention.

"I'll meet you guys at The Three Broomsticks." I said quickly, already hurrying away before he could protest.

I would definitely get an earful from Blair but she shouldn't have made me babysit in the first place.

Now onto the suspicious figure I had caught sight of, they had a black cloak thrown over their head and shoulders but I had spent enough time stalking a particular person to know what they walked like.

Professor Fodel Drumwind.

He looked to be in a real hurry to get somewhere and I followed close behind him, transfigurating my Hogwarts winter robes to look like a nondescript black cloak as well.

That way I could easily blend into dark corners and if for some reason, Professor Drumwind looked behind him, I could pretend to be heading in a different direction.

There was no need to though because Professor Drumwind turned out to be too much in a hurry or he didn't think anyone would follow him, or even a bit of both.

He didn't turn back once to check if he was being tailed, a bonus for me because it made my job easier.

I made sure to note the paths and turns he took, getting lost all alone in Hogsmeade would be a really dumb move on my part.

Professor Drumwind got to his destinations after a few turns, only when he got to a run-down pub which was no doubt Hog's Head inn did he look behind him.

He saw nothing but an empty street behind him because I had already moved out of the way, hiding in between two buildings to keep out of his sight.

He then turned around and slipped in through the front doors of Hog's Head.

I hurried right behind him, not wanting to lose track of him after coming so far. I also kept an eye on my watch, I didn't want to keep the rest of the team waiting for me.

Although it was bright outside, as soon as I stepped into the Hog's Head inn, that changed.

The interior was degrees darker, the windows covered in dirt and grime that made it difficult to see out of them, and hence, light could not get in.

I was shielded by my cloak so no one paid any mind to me when I stepped in, there were a handful of cloaked customers here and there.

I immediately sat at a table so I didn't stand out too much, keeping a sharp eye out for the person I had been following.

I had unconsciously picked the perfect seat because the table beside mine held the very person I was searching for.

Professor Drumwind was hunched over with someone else who was equally under a heavy dark cloak.

It seemed like that was a common outfit amongst frequenters of this pub.