Chapter 91: Flame of Fury (4)

"I don't see what you could improve!" – Mary MacDonald assured her friend, who was scrutinising herself in the tall mirror.

"There's always room for improvement, but I've done my best with what I have." – Catherine retorted, adjusting her red beanie hat to frame her face just right.

"Now I see why you don't mind Gwynnie's acid tongue – she can't hold a candle to your self-criticism!" – the brown-haired girl giggled.

"That might be true, but I just want to be objective, so I don't deceive myself?" – Catherine admitted, mostly to herself.

"Can you deceive yourself?" – asked the other witch, confused.

"Don't mind me. I'm just babbling nonsense!" – the black-haired girl attempted to lighten the mood – "I hope that this time I won't stand out so much among the girls. They are always so fashionable."

"I think you're going to blend perfectly in the Helga-squad!" – said Mary, grinning.

"I told James to stop calling them that!" – moaned the other girl, rolling her eyes.

"It's kind of cute though!" – Mary disagreed – "In any case, your new coat is very elegant, and it goes great with the boots. Maybe a bit of lip balm? It's best if you have one that's slightly reddish, since it will match your hat!"

"I don't have any, but Sirius gifted me a red lipstick that might work." – Catherine remarked, rummaging through her trunk until she found the petite Chanel box.

"This shade suits you perfectly!" – Mary complimented her as they descended the spiral stairs – "Sirius certainly enjoys spoiling you, doesn't he?"

Ignoring the question, Catherine stared at her feet, hoping to conceal her flushed cheeks from her fellow Gryffindor. The brisk air outside helped temper her embarrassment, and she welcomed the refreshing walk to Hogsmeade despite the biting wind.

Alice, Marianne, and Tabitha waited for her in front of the Post Office, and they spend a few happy hours strolling around, buying all kinds of tempting stuff from the countless little stores, and sharing laughter until Catherine's sides ached.

One particularly laughable moment occurred as they passed the Hog's Head Inn, where a small crowd was gathered, giggling, and pointing at something. Upon closer inspection, they discovered the Gryffindor third-year boys had attempted to sneak in, despite the premises being forbidden for underage wizards. As a result, they were hanging heads-down above the front door, as if suspended by invisible ropes. Mortified, Catherine lowered her hat above her eyes and swiftly left the embarrassing scene.

'What an incredible luck I have for deciding to go out with the girls today. Otherwise, I would have been hanging there as well, without a doubt!' – she thought, shivering – 'That must have been Sirius' idea! He just can't sit still for a single moment!'

The Hufflepuffs found the incident hilarious, teasing Catherine relentlessly while enjoying tea at The Charmed Teapot. The black-haired witch didn't mind too much, as the atmosphere was overall friendly. She also learned a bunch of new gossip from Marianne, including some concerning Lucius Malfoy and Narcissa Black, which honestly made the teenage girl blush crimson.

As they prepared to leave, Catherine insisted on treating the girls. While the Hufflepuffs waited outside the teahouse, the Gryffindors patiently queued at the counter to settle the bill. It took some time as the owner, who also served as the waitress, was swamped with tasks. Eventually, Catherine handed over the required payment and casually glanced toward the couple who had just entered.

Her eyes met Lucius Malfoy's gaze, a smug predatory smile appearing instantly on his arrogant face. Apparently, the presence of Narcissa Black, who was walking by his side, didn't bother him one bit.

Fighting, the rising panic, Catherine grabbed the change and looked around hastily. Without a second thought, she darted through a nearby side door, hoping to find a back exit. To her relief, that plan succeeded as she stumbled upon a door leading to the back alley behind the teahouse and Honeydukes. Leaning against the brick wall, the young witch attempted to catch her breath in the shadows cast by a large pile of empty crates.

Right away, however, she heard a chorus of female voices bursting with excitement.

"I can't believe you actually did it, Lavinia!" – exclaimed someone whom Catherine recognised as Drusilla Rosier – "Are you sure he's going to eat it!"

"Yes! I slipped a few galleons to the owner, so she'll make sure only he gets the 'spiced' bonbons! And they're his favourite cherry flavour!"

 "I hope you won't forget about your old friends once you become an aristocrat!" – giggled a third person, likely Aelia Greengrass.

"Well, unless you lose all your money by then. I can't interact with social outcasts!" – Lavinia chuckled.

Catherine peeked through the crates and managed to see the angry face of Aelia, who was red as a beetroot.

"It's not that serious, I told you! Daddy's going to find a way to dissolve the contract! He had no recollection of how this even happened! He thinks the old Slughorn and Barnabas Rowle conspired against him and drugged him in some way!"

"Yeah, right!" – snorted Drusilla – "Most likely your dad just had one too many at Slughorn's party and thought he could outsmart an old fox like Rowle!"

"Girls let's not argue about this again. I'll go wait on the High Street for the love of my life to find me! Don't rain on my parade!" – snapped Lavinia as she left the alley with a catlike stride, followed by her fellow Slytherins.

Catherine waited until she couldn't hear any footsteps, then dashed towards Honeydukes. She quickly located the backdoor the fourth-years had used earlier and hurried inside. The shop was completely packed with students, and the noise was almost giving her a headache. The young witch looked around hastily, desperately searching for Greg amidst the colourful crowd of people.

To sooth her discomfort, the girl closed her eyes focusing on her breathing. Suddenly, she felt something familiar. It was faint at first, but then she sensed the fresh and salty notes that had always reminded her of Greg. If Catherine had more experience with the real world, she would have recognised this aroma as sea breeze, but at that moment, she simply followed the scent she knew from her early childhood.

After a few steps taken in a complete darkness, the witch opened her eyes and spotted her brother casually chatting with a plump, smiling witch who was holding a tray with bonbons that resembled chocolate cherries. Greg had one of those in his right hand, but thankfully, he hadn't taken a bite yet. Catherine didn't waste a second, practically jumping on top of him, grabbing his hand, and dragging him aside, shouting.

"You have some nerve to talk shit behind my back! You have a lot of explaining to do!"

"The hell is wrong with you!" – Greg yelled, trying to free his hand, and frowning when he realised people were staring at them.

"Il y a un philtre d'amour à l'intérieur des bonbons!"[1] – she finally screamed at him, hoping nobody around could understand them.

Greg's face turned ashen. He ceased his struggle and stared at his sister with a perplexed expression, then finally nodded almost imperceptibly.

"I'm truly sorry!" – he said loudly enough for everyone to hear – "It's a misunderstanding. I believed something that was not true and spoke before verifying its accuracy. Please accept my sincere apologies!"

With a formal bow, Greg left the shop without another word. After a few seconds, Catherine noticed that people were still casting curious glances in her direction. To ease the tension, she pretended to browse through the newly released candies. Gradually, the atmosphere returned to normal, and Catherine prepared to rejoin her Hufflepuff friends, who must have been wondering where she had disappeared.

However, just when she was about open the door on her way out, the witch spotted the new, larger, and more intense version of Dragonfire Delights, freshly released to the market. A broad smile crossed her face as she eagerly grabbed a few boxes as a reward for saving her sibling.

That's why she was particularly cheerful and smiling when she found herself back on the High Street, where Severus Snape caught sight of her and concluded that she had been the one behind his earlier humiliation.

In fact, Catherine didn't witness the whole commotion. She just saw James standing there helplessly, his face oddly distorted as he stared after Greg and Lily.

"Do you think they're really just friends?" – he asked after Sirius quickly briefed the black-haired girl on what happened in her absence.

"How should I know?" – she responded, her tone a bit snappish – "I told you this was not a good idea! I regret participating. We should have just hexed him until he admitted what was his role in this whole ordeal."

"You can't make an omelette without breaking eggs!" – proclaimed Sirius, who didn't seem one bit sorry about their prank – "If you want to bash us, just go find Moony. He's been avoiding us the whole day!"

"What omelette? You're way too focused on Snape. Our aim was to figure this out so the attacks would stop! Now we've achieved nothing but stooped to their level! I'll go find the Hufflepuffs and then spend my time with someone nice and normal like Remus!"

With that, Catherine turned around and walked in the opposite direction, cursing herself for listening to James and Sirius. Suddenly, her eye was caught by a pristine white box with the Honeydukes logo lying smashed on the ground. The young witch bent down with curiosity to examine the object more closely.

'Who the heck is throwing away Ice Mice?' – she thought, puzzled.

[1] There's love potion inside the bonbons!