Chapter 8: Hogsmeade Visitors.....

(A/N: I'll make it a tinge bit more fast-paced. I'm getting nowhere with the story, and it's sorta annoying me..... )

Next Day….

*Ehg….*

Gale opened his eyes, blinking. Fatigued, he lay there beneath his cloth blanket for a while, staring at the burdened, rotting ceiling. Arms and legs sore, he closed his eyes, thinking.

Yesterday had been entertaining. Besides the whole Shrieking Shack fiasco, hanging out with the Old Man had been interesting. Aberforth was a man of many words, and with his bottomless years of knowledge, he'd told Gale tales that were pretty good. Not to mention the clam chowder.

Speaking of which, Gale got quite the mystical response out of Aberforth when he asked him about adding the clam chowder to the menu. The wizened old man had shaken his head for a moment, eyes twinkling. Something personal, perhaps?

Hopping to his feet, he stretched out his legs and arms, yawning greatly. The conversation had gone on practically until midnight, with the two talking back and forth about many menial things. He had sleepily lugged himself up those rickety stairs and onto the mattress, not bothering to change.

Walking about, he strolled over to the window, opening the makeshift curtain he created the other day from some old knitting cloth that was in Aberforth's storage room.

Looking outside, the sun's brilliant glare pierced through the mountains, illuminating his room in a warm orange glow. Below, in the streets, a few early wakers walked about, and the various shops around town were opening for the day. It was going to get busy too.

"The Wizarding World….. What a wonderful place…." Gale smiled wide and opened the window, feeling the morning breeze rustle his hair.

Few Minutes Later…

Walking down the stairs, he walks into the main part of the pub. Gale wore a long black oversized shirt that covered most of his upper body, and his yoga pants, which had gone through the washer many, many times. But he wasn't going to throw them away…. Along with his other clothes, and of course, himself, they were his only connection to his previous world.

"Morning boss…." Yawning again, Gale walked up to a solemn Aberforth, who sat on a small wooden stool behind the counter, pouring himself a bottle of firewhiskey.

"Gale. I'm not opening today…" Looking up, the old man nodded in greetings, before continuing:

"Too many kids coming by. The first Hogwarts Hogsmeade visit. Always irritating. Kids go everywhere."

Gale nodded in understanding as the old man grumbled and complained. While he opened a pub, Aberforth still liked a quiet and peaceful atmosphere, with not that many customers. Though not many of the students could enter the pub, it was still a pain to shoo them away and such.

"I'll be off then," Gale said, shifting his old sneakers against the wooden floor, he departed out the front, bursting out completely into the cool morning.

The door slammed shut behind him, with a small closing sign on the front of its bulky frame, and Gale Ashikaga was on his way.

Humming a catchy Japanese Pop Song from the 90s, he made his way through the winding streets of Hogsmeade, waving to a few locals he was familiar with. He wasn't from Japan, but his parents were, and their tastes in music had very much influenced him. But that was long, long ago...

SIghing, Gale shook the thought out of his head, and made his way once again, in the direction of the Shrieking Shack. He was curious. The young teen didn't remember what route they took in the novels or movies. It was a dirt path through the woods….? Something like that.

But there were a lot of dirt paths around. So Gale decided to bet on one of the closer paths to Hogsmeade, and a seemingly major one. How did he know it was major? The path was bigger. And there were a lot of footprints across the whole thing, so it seemed like a major point.

Sitting there on a bench, Gale took out a novel to read. He'd found it on the ground a few days ago, and after confirming via Aberforth that it wasn't cursed, Gale had indulged himself in it.

The book was quite interesting, telling the tale of an unfortunate wizard journeying up a mountain.

This peaceful atmosphere continued for a while more, leaves rustling in the wind, a few birds chirping about, the normal. And then…..

*Pssst….*

Gale closed his book, looking around. Someone, was whispering?

"Gale! We're here!" The voice was heard once again, but much louder. It was childish and squeaky, like that of a premature child.

Standing up, the young teen walked over to a bush, looking over as three small kids popped out. They were the children of a few Hogsmeade locals. Timothy, Jensen, and Rosa. Three troublesome kids who adventured all around Hogsmeade, and in most cases, annoying others.

Gale could bear them. They were much less irritating when around him, due to Gale threatening to throw Jensen into the lake. It was an empty threat, but the trio shut up.

Timothy was a short boy, a little scrawny, with straight blonde hair that barely touched his forehead. There were smudges of charcoal along his boney cheeks and a pudgy nose. Contrary to popular belief, Timothy was a glutton.

Rosa was a small girl, the more mature of the three, with clear blue eyes and a mop of brown hair that reached her neck. Pale in color, she clicked her tongue, glaring at Timothy. Probably another internal dispute.

Jensen, was the oldest, at nine years old. He also had blonde hair, though it came down in countless bangs covering most of his face. He was extremely tanned and had a cocky smirk on his face. Made Gale want to sock him in the face. The child also had charcoal smudges on his cheeks.

"So. What brings you guys here….." Gale asked neutrally, raising his eyebrow at the "war paint".

"We wanna see Harry Potter! And the rest of Hogwarts!" Jensen said matter-of-factly, pointing his small stick in the air.

"Yup! Today is the day when they come! I so want to meet Harry Potter!!! Wonder if he'll let me touch his scar!" Timothy said, nostrils flaring.

"..."

"....."

Rosa smiled and greeted Gale, and the two shared an uncomfortable look of understanding.

"You do realize…. That Harry Potter is a second-year? And only third-years and up go to Hogsmeade?" Gale said, scratching his head.

"Huh?!"

"WHAT!?"

The two boys stared at him, shocked.

Meanwhile, Rosa just sighed in exasperation.

"I promise, that these two, are the only idiots in Hogsmeade. All the other kids are better. Honestly, even Tyler, who's four, is more mature than these two!" Rosa, as normal, started complaining. Though, Gale wouldn't blame her….

Suddenly, his ear twitched, as he heard the distant sound of footsteps and chatter in the distance. The stuff of excitement and energy. The Hogwarts Students had arrived….

Hearing this, the kids ran back into their one solitary bush, which happened to be right next to a poison ivy shrub.

Facepaliming, Gale sat back down on the bench, taking out his book, though he himself also wanted to get a look at the students. This would be interesting….

"Hogsmeade! God, I missed you!"

"Butterbeer! God, I missed you!"

"Shut up…."

"This is exciting…."

"I heard about Hogsmeade from my older brother…. It's bloody fantastic!"

"Here we come!"

The chatter was loud as Gale watched a group of people step into the clearing. The students had arrived.

They varied, some tall and wiry, while others, short and stubby. The group wore different robes, all of black and velvet with those house insignias located on their breast. Some wore scarves, while others wore wooly caps.

Behind him, Gale could feel the rustling of bushes and the loud whispers of children. Stealthy as ever, it seemed.

The students walked past, some looking at him in surprise, while others scrambled forth eager to go into the magical Hogsmeade Village.

"Oh?"

"Look who it is!"

"Our good friend…."

Looking up, Gale smirked, staring at the two redheads before him.

Fred and George were dressed in matching coats with those trademark Gryffindor scarves wrapped around their necks.

"How you two doing?" Gale smiled, getting up from his seat, novel disappearing.

"Pretty,"

"Good."

The two said. The twins beckoned for him to follow as they walked down the dirt path, and into Hogsmeade.

"You know, we told everyone about you."

"Godly looks."

"Charming personality."

"Likeness of mind."

"Spectacular heig-"

Gale clapped George on the back, preventing him from finishing the sentence.

Since they first met, Gale and the Weasley twins had interacted about eight times, and helped them get things that the pranksters…. Needed. Good to have a friend on the outside. And the twins paid him back in return.

Gale respected Fred and George quite a lot. Sometimes. Gale still had a clear memory of that one toad incident. Someday, he would pay them back for that tenfold... In blood.

The two did not go back on their word. Most of the time.

"Pleasure as always." Gale mock bowed, and the three began laughing. Making their way past a few shops, he questioned them on what they were doing today:

"So… WHat mischief are you two up to today?"

Fred and George stared at each other, before staring back.

"Mischief?"

"How could you say such a thing?"

"We would never!"

"You tarnish our reputation!"

Gale sighed. Making their way about, they finally found the place. The Three Broomsticks. Squeezing their way through the crowd of people, Fred and George greeted a few people, and Gale looked about. He hadn't come here before, as it was always extremely crowded. Maybe one day, he had thought, and it turned out today was that day...

They found a spot in the corner of the room and sat down. Around them, countless students and other people of various walks of life sat, chatting and laughing. Across from them, three Hufflepuff's split a tankard of butterbeer. A bearded man chugged some firewhiskey, roaring with laughter. A couple sat nearby, whispering and taking a sip of some gillywater.

Grabbing three tankards of butterbeer, they sat down. The tanks were of clear glass, big and bulky. The butterbeer looked much like normal booze, liquid amber substance with frothing white foam popping at the top. Sniffing it, Gale knew it was going to be sweet.

Clinking it with the twins, they all simultaneously drank from the tankard. Gale felt the liquid slide into his mouth, and the cold glass brush against his lips.

He sipped it with excitement and was immediately met with a whole world of sweetness. It was cool and went down the gullet with ease. The taste was like a combination of copious amounts of brown sugar, butterscotch, and caramel combined into some monstrosity of a drink.

Gale decided that he liked it. While it was probably a whole laid of diabetes, the taste was refreshing and cool. Good on occasions, though not all the time, otherwise things might get out of hand. He didn't do well with excess energy.

The three enjoyed the butterbeer in peace, chatting and laughing. Gale was having a good time. Just hanging out with friends was always fun.

"Fred? George?" Suddenly, as they talked animatedly about the negatives of spiking Snape's pumpkin juice with a hair loss potion, a young spry female voice spoke out behind them.

Turning, the three stared at a teenage girl. She was about the same age as them, quite tall for her age. At least, compared to Gale.

She grinned at them, waving her small calloused hands. Her hair was a dirty brown, coming down to her shoulders. The girl had pale skin with coffee-brown eyes. With a pointy chin, small nose, and luscious lips, she was really quite pretty. By Gale's standards.

"Well if it isn't…."

"Our good friend,"

"Katie…."

"Bell…."

"Good day to you!"

The twins spoke, chuckling as they did their weird twin-speak.

"Ugh… We just saw each other about fifteen minutes ago." Katie pulled out a nearby chair, sitting next to them. Looking about, her eyes focused on Gale, widening. "And who is this?" She asked the twins, who smiled almost knowingly.

"This…"

"Is young Gale."

"Didn't we tell you,"

"About him?"

"Don't let his height get you down."

"He is."

"Open…"

"Handsome."

"Stunning."

"Charming."

"Radiant."

"Sex-"

At this point, Gale grabbed George's head, raising his fist menacingly. While he felt quite flattered by the compliment, it also sort of pissed him off, the way the twins said it….

Katie stayed silent, sighing. It was something she did a lot when confronting the twins. While they were good friends and people, the two could be quite the handful.

"Just dropping by. Alicia and Angelina are at Madame Sarah's shopping." She said, showing some disinterest. Then, Katie turned to Gale, smiling politely. "Then, you must be, the person the twins keep on talking about?"

"Hi, the name is Gale. I'm not a student if you couldn't tell…. Work at the Hog's Head." Nodding back, Gale took another sip of his butterbeer, trying not to make things awkward.

"Nice to meet you!" She shook his hand enthusiastically, and the rest went like any other normal first meeting with strangers went.

"You like quidditch?"

A strange first question, but she did seem like a quidditch-nut to Gale.

"Yup. Nice sport. As long as I don't break all the bones in my body and have my neck twisted about, then I'm fine with it."

He was always the descriptive type.

"That is quite a dark description, isn't it?"

Katie was spot on, laughing dryly.

"I am a morbid person….. I guess?"

"You work at the Hog's Head? Isn't that bar shady? Not to be harsh, but you don't really look very tough for the job. Heard that Death Eaters and people of the sort congregate there."

"Yes, the bar, is quote, shady as f*ck. Oh. I cursed. In front of kids. F*ck. God, sorry…" Gale scrambled to find the right words.

"You seem to be about the same age as me though?" Katie said, staring at him questioningly.

"Hmm…. Good point. I have no idea why I indirectly called you a kid. My bad….." Gale shrugged his shoulders apologetically.

The two chatted for a bit, while the twins sat there in silence, eavesdropping ever so subtly.

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Long chapter! In my opinion. Took a whole five hours. Of my life. As usual, please tell me of any grammatical or spelling errors. Is the story still coherent?

Anyway, thanks for reading~