A biting wind swept through the streets of Hogsmeade, carrying the scent of sugar from Honeydukes and the faint smoky tang of the Three Broomsticks' chimneys.
Gilderoy walked beside Amelia, their shoulders brushing occasionally as they navigated the crowded village streets. Slightly ahead of them, Pandora and Xenophilius strolled hand in hand.
"Are you sure about this?" Gilderoy murmured to Amelia, his voice low enough that only she could hear. "A double date with Pandora and Xeno? After what I told you last week that happened between me and Pandora?"
Amelia glanced at him, a hint of amusement in her eyes. "Yes, my boyfriend messed around with another man's girlfriend."
"In my defence, I don't think Xenophilius knows or cares."
"And what about me?"
"You're my girlfriend, Amy. And one of the most important people to me. Even if you gave me a clean chit to mess around."
"Hmmph, that's more like it," Amelia said, her jealousy slightly calming at hearing she was one of the most important people in his life.
"We're all stressed." She bumped his shoulder with hers. "Training, studying, and more studying. We deserve a break."
They caught up to Pandora and Xeno outside Honeydukes, where Pandora was pressing her face against the window like a child, her breath fogging the glass.
"Look at the chocolate frogs," she said, her voice muffled by the glass. "I wonder if they have new ones. Oh, maybe a goblin or a fairy? Humans are boring."
Xenophilius peered over her shoulder, his expression dreamy. "I hear they've started putting Crumple-Horned Snorkack cards in some of them."
"Xeno, they don't make Snorkack cards."
"They might. We don't know what they put in the new batches."
Pandora turned to Gilderoy and Amelia, her eyes bright. "We have to go in. I need chocolate."
"You need?" Gilderoy raised an eyebrow.
"I desperately need. It's a medical condition."
"She's been saying that since third year," Xeno added.
Pandora shot him a look. "You're not helping."
"Well, I would love some chocolates too, and Amelia would too, looking at her face now."
Gilderoy was indeed right. Amelia had been captivated by the sweets just as much as Pandora.
"Ha! Xeno, see? It's three to one. So we are going in." Pandora exclaimed as she intimately draped her arms around Gilderoy. "And look at Gilderoy, he too has the medical condition of wanting chocolate."
The four of them pushed through the door of Honeydukes, the bell jangling overhead. The warmth of the shop enveloped them immediately, a thick, sweet warmth that smelled of caramel, chocolate, and something that might have been treacle.
Gilderoy closed his eyes, letting the scent wash over him. Chocolate, caramel, candy, treacle—it all mingled in the air, making his mouth water. Even if he had come to Honeydukes a hundred times, he would never get tired of the smell.
The shelves were stacked high with every kind of sweet imaginable: Fizzing Whizzbees, Peppermint Toads, Sugar Quills, Acid Pops, and Chocolate Frogs in neat rows.
Pandora was off like a shot, weaving through the crowded aisles with the single-minded focus of someone on a mission. Xeno followed at a more leisurely pace, his eyes drifting across the shelves with the same dreamy expression he wore in class.
Amelia drifted toward the chocolate frogs, her gaze scanning the display. Gilderoy followed her, his hands in his pockets, watching her pick up a frog and examine the card.
"Looking for anything specific?" he asked.
She shrugged. "Edgar used to collect them when we were kids. He had a whole drawer full of cards." Her voice softened. "He used to make me trade with him. I had terrible luck. I have hundred Dumbledores back home."
Gilderoy laughed and tried to disguise it with a cough, but it didn't escape Amelia, who elbowed him. They too started hauling the sweets they wanted to devour. Then Pandora appeared, her arms overflowing with sweets, her face flushed with excitement.
Amelia and Gilderoy too started hauling the sweets they wanted to devour. Then Pandora appeared, her arms overflowing with sweets, her face flushed with excitement.
"Aside from chocolate frogs, I got caramel candy, chocolate fudge, honeycomb bars, and treacle toffee," she announced, dumping her haul onto the counter.
The shopkeeper, a round, plump, cheerful woman with flour on her apron, began ringing up the purchases.
Gilderoy had brought his moleskin pouch, in which everyone stored their sweets in one bag. Amelia took it from him, telling him she would keep it safe for safekeeping, and tied it to her waist.
Gilderoy watched her tie the pouch to herself and realised that this might be a bad idea, since both teams—Gilderoy and Amelia, and Pandora and Xenophilius—had bought similar sweets. Sorting out who owned what would be a nightmare. It could cause sweet wars, and he would gladly participate, since he always had a soft spot for sweets, even more than Amelia did.
They stepped back out into the cold, their arms full of sweets, their breath fogging in the chill air. The open area near Honeydukes was crowded with students, younger ones clutching their purchases, older ones loitering near the edges, laughing and chatting.
"I vote we find a table at the Three Broomsticks," Pandora announced. "I need butterbeer."
"I second that," Amelia said chiming in.
Out of the corner of his sharp raven eyes, Gilderoy noticed a flash of green light streak past his body. It struck the window of a shop behind him, shattering the glass with a deafening crash.
"GET DOWN!" Amelia shouted, her hand already on her wand.
The crowd erupted into chaos. Students screamed, scattering in every direction. The light snow was churned into slush by panicked feet. And then the masked wizards were there, five of them, their faces obscured by hoods and scarves, their wands raised.
They didn't speak. They just cast.
Dark curses flew through the air, hexes and spells designed to maim. A younger Hufflepuff girl took a blast to the chest and crumpled, her body convulsing on the cobblestones. A Ravenclaw boy clutched his arm, his sleeve darkening with blood.
Pandora's angry scream cut through the chaos. She was already moving, her wand raised, a shield charm deflecting a curse aimed at a fallen student. Xeno was beside her, his face no longer dreamy but sharp and focused.
"Get them behind cover!" Amelia shouted, her voice carrying over the din. "Protect the younger ones! Seventh and sixth years, escort the students back to the castle and inform the professors there is an attack!"
Gilderoy didn't need to be told. He was already casting, his wand a blur of motion, spells flying from his tip with practiced precision. He had trained for this. He had trained for months, through Flitwick's brutal sessions, Amelia's relentless drills, the tournament in France.
But this was different. This was real.
A masked wizard raised his wand toward a cluster of huddled third-years. Gilderoy saw the curse forming, saw the black light gathering at the tip of the wand, and moved without thinking.
"PROTEGO MAXIMA!"
The shield erupted between the wizard and the students, absorbing the curse with a deafening bang.
The wizard turned, his hooded face tilting in surprise, and Amelia hit him with a stun accompanied by an overpowered Depulso that sent him flying into the wall of a shop.
"Nice shot," Gilderoy breathed.
"I aim to please."
Beside them, Pandora and Xenophilius had formed their own defensive line shielding the lower years allowing them to run away. Xeno's wand moved with surprising precision, deflecting curses with calm efficiency. Pandora was a whirlwind, her spells fast and aggressive as she had started attacking in addition to defending her face set in a mask of cold fury.
The fight raged on. The masked wizards were relentless, their attacks coordinated, their curses dark. But they hadn't expected resistance—not like this.
One of the wizards faltered, his shield cracking under a barrage of spells from Amelia. Another stumbled, a curse from Gilderoy catching him in the shoulder. Pandora drove a third back with a relentless assault, her spells hammering against his defenses.
And then, as suddenly as it had begun, it was over.
The masked wizards retreating, disapparating into the chaos, their bodies twisting and vanishing into thin air with loud cracks. The screams faded. The spells stopped.
Gilderoy lowered his wand, his chest heaving. Snow was still falling, settling on the wreckage of the street. Broken glass glittered on the cobblestones. In the distance, someone was crying.
"Check the injured," he said, his voice hoarse but loud. "See if anyone needs help."
Pandora was already moving, kneeling beside the Hufflepuff girl, her wand passing over the child's body. "She's breathing," she called out. "Badly hurt, but alive."
Amelia rushed to Pandora, opened the girl's mouth, and force-fed Wiggenweld Potion she had brought with her into it. She got up quickly, leaving the girl in Pandora's care, and shifted her attention to a Ravenclaw boy with both legs fractured, who was crying in pain. "Ahhh, it hurts!"
Amelia rushed toward him, fed him the Wiggenweld Potion, and comforted him, her voice kind and soft. "You're going to be okay. Madam Pomfrey will help you."
Gilderoy stood in the middle of the chaos, his wand still raised, his heart pounding. His robes were singed as he moved to help Amelia.
"DROP YOUR WANDS!"
A loud, commanding voice cut through the air like a knife. Gilderoy spun to find himself surrounded by Aurors, at least a dozen of them, their wands raised, their faces grim. They had appeared from nowhere, materialising from the chaos like ghosts.
"DROP YOUR WANDS!" the lead Auror repeated, a blonde, sharp-faced man with a scar running down his cheek. "NOW!"
Amelia stepped forward, her hands raised, her wand still in her grip. "WE WERE DEFENDING STUDENTS," she said, her voice loud and shaking. "THERE WAS AN ATTACK BY MASKED WIZARDS. WE FOUGHT THEM OFF."
"The tip we received said otherwise," the Auror replied, his eyes cold. "Casting dark magic. Suspected of carrying a Dark artifact."
"That's absurd," Pandora said hotly. "We were PROTECTING them! You can see the injured students everywhere!"
The Auror flashed his MOM badge, which clearly displayed "Auror" and the Ministry stamp to everyone present, then gestured to his colleagues. They moved forward, their wands sweeping over the group.
"I hope you will properly investigate," Amelia said quietly. "We will drop it."
She dropped her wand. Gilderoy hesitated but dropped his too. So did Pandora. So did Xeno.
The Auror stepped forward, his wand raised. He began to sweep it over Gilderoy's body, the tip glowing faintly as it passed over his robes.
And then it stopped.
"What's that?" the Auror asked, his eyes narrowing.
Gilderoy looked down. The Auror's wand was glowing, bright and pulsing red, at the pocket of Gilderoy's robes.
"Do not Move," the Auror ordered. He reached forward, his gloved hand plunging into Gilderoy's pocket. He withdrew a package wrapped in newspaper, tied with string.
The Auror unwrapped the package, his movements slow and deliberate. The newspaper fell away, revealing its contents.
A small pitch-black nymph statue.
"You," the Auror said, his voice flat as he snapped a pair of enchanted cuffs around Gilderoy's wrists. "You are under arrest for casting dark magic and additionally carrying a Dark artifact."
___
Remember 100 Power Stones for next chapter.
📖 Advanced Chapters on Patreon- Patreon readers are getting the equivalent of 19+ advanced WebNovel-length chapters!
https://patreon.com/A_Peverel