Bruce handed Sean seven small slips of parchment; on the back was written: "Green's friends are our friends—we're happy to help."
All the way back to the classroom, Justin and Neville were still clutching their letters, chattering about what to buy, their excitement nowhere near spent.
"Oh, Hermione—guess what Sean brought back from the greenhouse?" Justin teased as Hermione practiced the Levitation Charm.
She was flipping through The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 6, probing the secrets of nonverbal magic. She arched a brow.
"Mm… dittany seeds?"
"A hundred times better than that!" Justin grinned—just as Sean set a small slip of parchment on Hermione's desk. The yellow-and-black border glowed softly; one glance and Hermione couldn't look away.
"This is…"
And just like that, she joined the lively planning session.
Sean slipped onto the sky-blue cushion by the fireplace. Because the hearth was here, Justin had placed a little round table nearby; three steaming mugs of milk sat on it. Sean took a sip, then settled in with A Compendium of Magical Runes. Not far away, Justin and the others clustered around another wooden table, buzzing.
"I've got to pick up decorations at Madam Puddifoot's," Justin said. "They say during the holidays Hogsmeade trees are hung with enchanted candles—maybe she sells them? They'd be perfect to light the classroom. And Dervish and Banges—I'm dying to see their gadgets. A sneakoscope or whatever—how is it different from a magnifying glass? I can't wait to find out."
He scribbled his wish list, then looked to Sean for help.
"Sean, can the upperclassmen carry all this?"
Sean thought of Pister's neck—but Bruce had already told him not to worry. They were wizards; they'd use magic.
"Mm." Sean nodded.
"Brilliant! Hermione—what about you?" Justin whooped under his breath.
"Scrivenshaft's has far too many things I want… a black-and-gold pheasant-feather quill, rainbow ink, an extra-large quill…" Hermione scanned the list, struck by pleasant indecision.
"Alright—Neville, you?" Justin asked, seeing Hermione frown in thought.
"Gloves. Flowerpots…" Neville said.
…Justin decided he hadn't needed to ask. These three were easy to read: if they went to Hogsmeade themselves, Hermione and Sean would beeline to Scrivenshaft's, while Neville would get stuck in Dervish and Banges staring at pots. As for Justin—despite all his talk—Honeydukes was calling; the enchanted sweets there had to be amazing.
The fire crackled for a while. Sean surfaced from his sea of books and, seeing three slips of parchment left in his hand, wondered who to give them to.
Hogsmeade—often just "Hogsmeade"—is Britain's only all-wizarding village, founded by Hengist of Woodcroft. Hogwarts students can visit on certain weekends because it's so close—a simple path links the two. The lane starts at Hogsmeade Station and ends at the Hogwarts gates, with a fork along the way leading into the village.
It's only a village, but it's packed with intriguing shops: Zonko's Joke Shop for pranks like Hiccup Sweets, Dungbombs, and Nose-Biting Teacups; the Owl Post; Gladrags Wizardwear; Dervish and Banges for magical devices… and more.
The planning went on until curfew, and only then did the four reluctantly part, passing Sean their not-too-long but carefully chosen lists.
Sean skimmed them: all kinds of odd sweets—Bertie Bott's Every-Flavour Beans, Chocolate Frogs, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Ice Mice, Fudge Flies, even Devil's Fire candies that make you breathe flames.
"Oh—Sean, thank the upperclassmen for us," Justin said.
Sean nodded.
On the way back he didn't see Sir Cadogan; he figured the knight was still inside his painting, trying to yank that sword from the ground. He looked at the three remaining slips in his bag and felt a faint idea forming.
Ravenclaw common room.
It was the last day before the weekend. Upper-years buzzed about what to do in Hogsmeade, while lower-years could only watch enviously.
"Merlin—heard a Hufflepuff upperclassman's willing to buy things for the lower years. Why don't we have that fine tradition in Ravenclaw?" Michael groaned, face buried in his book.
"It's a hassle," Anthony said, turning pages. "No one wants to spend their fun time running errands—unless you pay enough Galleons."
"A Slytherin offered one Galleon and got a taker immediately," someone added.
A whole Galleon—for some sweets? Not worth it, Michael thought, yet he still sighed.
Until—
"What's this, Sean? Your Quidditch Technique Guide? I've got to read that." Michael looked up eagerly. Ever since Sean passed his flight test, Michael had wanted to soar straight into Ravenclaw Tower like him. Climbing stairs was bad enough—watching a friend fly past was worse. He'd been happy for Sean, truly—but he'd underestimated his own envy.
"Hogsmeade shopping list…" Michael blinked—then yelped, "Merlin's Fizzing Whizzbees!"
In any case, Sean handed out the lists. Those small, thick slips now carried a lot of hopes.
Justin had always wanted to spruce up the classroom—everyone agreed; the room was clean and tidy, but bare compared to the Great Hall and the common rooms.
Hermione, egged on by Justin, chose a pile of sweets with quirky effects. Neville's money was tight, so he put almost all of it into flowerpots. And Sean—every time he pictured their expectant faces, he couldn't help but smile.
~~~
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