Afternoon, Hogsmeade High Street


Long, heavy wooden tables lined one side of the village's main cobbled street this afternoon - each one a stall manned by groups of students who had spent the end of their weekday monopolising Hogwarts' kitchens for the purpose of the bake sale. Colourful banners were charmed to float along the street; their shimmering letters caught whatever light the cloudy day afforded them.

Each one read "Hogwarts Leaky Cauldron Fundraiser"

Virgil Carstairs was bundled up in a heavy khaki sweater and a scarf that looped all the way around his face so that only the tip of his pink nose stuck out above it, sleepy blue gaze peering at the meandering crowds that passed his table.

He was, quite reasonably, staffing the brownies stall. Indi had joined him in this undertaking but she had disappeared for the time being to obtain a couple of hot chocolates for them while he continued to lazily count out the knuts handed over for each baked good.

"Thank you for your donation," the Slytherin murmured to a departing fourth year even as the words came out muffled. He yawned and glanced down at the table to take stock.

There were still many brownies of every sort. Sweet, golden blonde brownies. Double chocolate brownies smeared with fudge icing. Fluffy pumpkin brownies sprinkled with cinnamon-cardamom sugar. A platter of bright blue brownies that only had a tiny toothpick sign on it, which read "? ? ? ?"

There was also a smaller platter of plain chocolate brownies at his elbow, unlabelled and available for purchase only for anyone who knew to ask. Sometimes he recommended them to unlikely suspects - gillyweed had the most curious effects after all.

Virgil shifted his weight from one foot to another, restless, as others began to approach his stall. It was the season for generosity and for stuffing one's face with sugar: all for the sake that come spring or summer, The Leaky Cauldron would rise again.
 

Indi was always one for a good cause.  The Leaky Cauldron, an institution of Diagon Alley, was a good enough reason to sell some sweets for Indi.  Not that she had much to do with their creation.  Her father was the one with talent in the kitchen.  He did send some amazing gluten and dairy-free brownies on her mother’s request for them to sell, and anyone who couldn’t eat everything else they were selling. 

Unfortunately, it was still cold and as much warmth as one got from doing a good deed; it was not warmth enough to sustain her and Virgil.  So, she found a moment to break from the table and go get some much needed cocoa. 

It wasn’t too far away and returning with the cups, she was just glad that it was warming up her hands too.  It wasn’t like… February cold, but it wasn’t exactly August either. 

Approaching the table, Indi called out in a sing-song voice, “Viiiiirgil!” before placing the cups down.  “I was going to ask to have them liquored up, but I figured we’ll probably be getting a sugar high soon enough.”  She wiggled her eyes suggestively as she dropped into her chair next to where he was standing – probably to warm up.  Her cheeks pink from the exertion and chilly wind. 

“How are we doing?” she eyed him.  “Are we the singular reason the Cauldron will get back to business?”

For the sake of keeping the public safety and because she had been assigned to keep an eye on the students for this particular occasion after a specific event, Adrianna was loitering about the village. It brought back good memories of her time here, and she felt a little nostalgic every time she passed a school scarf. Unfortunately she was not supposed to stand out, and thus could not wear her own scarf.

Black and white bird shawl it was. It was more of a cloak given its length, she was hoping she wasn't attracting attention with its obvious design.

She'd already taken a look at the fare. Brownies! Though right now with how cold the weather was despite the weak sun shining through the clouds, she was much more favouring something hot to drink. Butterbeer, probably.

Later. For now she lounged on a wall not far from the sale, but not near enough to be noticed immediately, her eye on the passing pedestrians of Hogsmeade.

Nicholas walked up behind Virgil, putting one hand on the other boy's shoulder while his other hand snuck a special brownie from the opposite side.  "How much have you made?"  He took a bite of the brownie, and moaned.  "That's delicious Virg."  He said between bites.

He put a small unmarked bottle on the table, "Something to keep you warm."  He looked up at Virgil and then over at Indi, "And if that doesn't work, I can definitely get you hot."

Nicholas was doing his best to forget about what had happened the last time they were in the village.  The firewhiskey and gillyweed were helping but other activities and friends tended to be better distractions.

Comestibles had arrived. Or accompaniment, rather, as Indi returned with paper cups of thick hot chocolate that sent a distinctly aromatic and milky fragrance wafting over that of their baked goods. Virgil picked up his drink with a effete smile in his friend's direction.

"They all sell well but for the blondies," he sipped with a smirk so slight and self-deprecating that it was almost smug. "But good taste is rare."

White chocolate brownies were typically too sweet but he had made his flavoursome with bitter vanilla, and played down the usual sugariness by using crystalized agave as a substitute. He picked at one of them whilst customers whiled by the table - a few excitable fifth years, a scarred witch in a shawl.

And, as Bevans placed a hand on his shoulder, Virgil acknowledged from the corner of his eye that they were also in the company of one thief.  "How much have you made?" queried the classmate in question. "That's delicious Virg."

"Not enough if people don't intend on paying..." the Slytherin drawled without looking away from his drink, voice hollow in the belly of the cup as he took another gulp.

The bottle - Firewhiskey by its colour - was appreciated anyway, and Virgil mentally made a note of it as being payment for the brownie. He handed his cup to Nick and answered the come on with a soft snort. "Top yourself up if you'd like."

He didn't mix gillyweed and alcohol, and was waiting for the brownie he'd consumed earlier to settle in. It took a while sometimes but his thoughts were already threatening to float apart from each other - their tethers grew cloudy, a pleasant mist behind his eyeballs.

"I surmise that liquor from friends is preferable -" Virgil couldn't help referring to the circumstances of their last Hogsmeade weekend, "- to candy from strangers, isn't it?"

A drawling voice, low and good-natured with amusement, piped up as two more familiar faces appeared—Gracie and Micah, the former of which currently leading the latter as they (or, well, she) descended upon the brownies stall: “Infinitely,” she went, sweeping the table a glance before looking up to do the same with a grin. Landing on the bottle, it turned into a wistful looking smirk. She knew her friends too well – as well as having poured too much of the stuff into her hot cider before every Dueling Club meeting – not to recognize it, but today she was abstaining. She wasn’t quite up to letting down her guard in Hogsmeade just yet, though she had no doubt security had been increased after February.

And speaking of which… “Plainclothes at your left,” she hummed, as she leaned in for a better look at the honey glazed brownies. She wouldn’t have noticed – aside from the too-casual looking about, there wasn’t much to give the witch away – but Gracie was a military brat. There were signs. “And we just passed Professor Donovan on our way here.” Gracie didn’t think their professor would have a problem with the comestibles or the firewhiskey, but– “She had some people with her. I’ll have the whole tray, please.” She batted her eyes.

Money changed hands. Micah, who had been watching her, made a quiet face of dismay when he realized that that was all she seemed interested in divulging. He gave Indi, Nicholas and Virgil an indecisive look, before it became resigned. He turned to Indi. “Professor Donovan introduced them to us as her… sponsorees,” he said, looking uncomfortable. “She said that if you – we – didn’t finish, um-” He blushed. “The special stuff, we’re to… put it away, until they leave.”

Appearances, the older witch had explained, sadly shaking her head. The taller of the werewolves, a big guy with very broad shoulders, had looked on, amused.

“And on that note…” Gracie dropped the half-eaten brownie back onto the tray and clapped a hand on Micah’s shoulder. “He would love to have one.” She smiled widely.

Sipping the hot chocolate, Indi listened as he described sales.  “I don’t know why,” she shrugged, “I always liked blondies,” she wrinkled her nose at Virgil and winked before taking another sip.  You could tell the difference between hot chocolate that used real, melted chocolate and the powder stuff.  Plus, she asked for whipped cream on top and that was most assuredly freshly made as well. 

Wrapping both hands around her cup, she continued to sip, raising her eyebrows as she heard Nick declare that the treats were delicious.  “Of course they are,” she smirked, “My mum only sends the best ingredients.”  It was no secret that Carol Kemp specialized in the growth of particular substances… and she wasn’t against sharing with her legal witch daughter... and her friends.   

Plus, Virgil wasn’t without his quality suppliers either.  Looking at the little bottle on the table, Indi smirked.  “I’d much rather you keep me warm, Nick,” she winked at him.  Liquor wasn’t her thing – she much preferred her supplements green, thank you very much!  Plus, Virgil was being all… meh! about taking things from people…

Indica preferred not to think about it.  Meditation and lots of green kept any and all anxiety she had at bay, really, but when it threatened to perk up… Ah!  At least Gracie showed up to distract her – and provide a substantial amount of money for the best things on the table.  Indi scrunched her nose, “I know it’s not the time… but honestly it should just be legalized at this point.   If that,” she motioned to the firewhiskey, “is legal…” she shook her head. 

She and her parents had this conversation often.  Unwrapping her left hand from the cup, Indi reached forward and grabbed a brownie off the tray and waggled it in Micah’s face with a large, bright smile, “If you’re nice I’ll even feed it to you,” she teased before glancing around the group, “offer’s open to anyone… of course.” 

"Not enough if people don't intend on paying..."

Nicholas reached into his pocket and pulled his hand out, giving Virgil an obscene gesture, tempered by the smile on his face.  He took the cup and then sat it down on the table, pulling another larger bottle out of another pocket.  "Brought my own, you didn't think I was giving it all to you, did you?  I mean, I'd give it all to you as long as all isn't the firewhiskey."

"What do you say -", he turned to Indi, "we can give them a show, Virgil can charge them to watch.  No offense to the brownies but I bet we could make more."

I surmise that liquor from friends is preferable to candy from strangers, isn't it?"

The smile changed, and his expression went dark, "That's not even...just no."  One why even bring that up.  Two, he'd never do anything like that to anyone.  Well maybe Theo.  Portkey him into a volcano, or the ocean floor.

But then, Gracie was there, and pointing out an auror, who now that Nicholas saw her was obvious, and the impending arrival of the sexy but not sexiest Professor Donovan.  The auror kind of stood out, and he might even have noticed her before, if he wasn't buzzed from both the alcohol and the gillyweed.  Then again, he also didn't care.  "They can shove it.  They owe us."

Elysia was on edge – twitchy even. She hadn’t wanted to go into Hogsmeade at all after last month’s fiasco. Why couldn’t they have done like… an owl-order catalogue to raise funds for The Leaky Cauldron? Was it even safe to be in the village anymore? Obviously it wasn’t, but they had all been ensured that protection had been increased drastically… but did that matter? Hadn’t the villains shown how little they thought of their security by turning their beautiful lake to blood after her peers had been kidnapped?

She had gone simply because a distraction was needed, and Elysia Hughes refused to live her life in fear. Maybe this would be good for everyone – showing the public and themselves that no one could break them, no one could dampen their spirits. Humans in general were extremely resilient, and they would all bounce back from this tragedy. She scanned the crowd with a trained keeper’s eye, looking for any tense postures or unfriendly faces – thankfully she saw none, other than a couple witches and wizards walking around that were most obviously aurors, attempting to blend in with the crowd and failing miserably.

Her eyes eventually landed on a booth full of brownies and friends. She hesitated before walking over, shooting a furtive and guilty glance at the group gathered around before taking a deep breath and walking over as casually as possible. She still felt guilty that she hadn’t been there for her classmates – she was convinced that she could have helped. Though she couldn’t help but also feel relieved that she didn’t have to go through everything they did, and that only made her guilt grow. Perhaps she needed to think less.

“I would pay to not see that, if it’s all the same,” She said, offering a small smile as she twisted a steaming mug of warmth around in her hands. “Though I do agree with Bevans on one thing, they can all shove it. Speaking of…” She allowed her voice to trail off suggestively, “How much for a brownie?” Normally Elysia abstained from any sort of illicit behavior, never knowing how it would affect her due to her veela heritage, but today called for a little bit of reckless abandon. If she was going to get through this trip, she needed to not be completely in her own head.

Tomorrow was Juni's birthday, and Ambrose had a special surprise planned for her tomorrow with the help of his uncle.  Today he was doing some last-minute preparations, and it was handy that the cake sale was running. Well, handy in that Ambrose wasn't the world's best baker, and even if he'd tried to attempt, the kitchens would have been full of students raising money, so it would have been thwarted.

He was ambling along the line of tables, scouring the plates for something special for Juni, his stomach also growling.  As a growing teenage boy who spent as much time as possible out with animals completing chores by hand, he used a lot of energy.  The cakes smelt delicious either way.  It was as he approached a small gaggle around the table Virgil and Indi were running that he slowed a little.  Elysia was making a purchase.  Ambrose both liked Indi a lot as a fellow housemate, but also respected Elysia, so they and the wide variety of brownies were more than enough to make Ambrose stop.

"I never knew there were so many types of brownies." He remarked, looking over each pile with amazement. "Which are best?" He asked the older students, "It's Juni's birthday tomorrow, and I want her to have a good time."

Being a third year, this was the first year she had been permitted to go on Hogsmeade weekends. Although it was getting close to the end of the year, she still felt a sense of wonder and awe every time she was allowed to visit. Her first and second years had been spent waiting and longing to go to get some sweets and butterbeer. But today, today was a special today. Today, some fellow students were actually holding a bake sale!

The counselor was heading there as well, with a container full of eclairs. Maiko had promised Isla one if she would walk the dogs while the eclairs were being transported to the sale. There was already a crowd forming.

"Here you go, Virgil and Indi!" Maiko smiled as she made room on the table for the eclairs, "Sorry I'm late--" Once the food was placed on the table, she exchanged the payment (two eclairs instead of one!) for the dogs' leashes. "Try not to do anything too illegal." Mai advised before browsing the other tables.  Isla suspected that the counselor wanted to stay close, just in case something happened.

In fact, there were more adults around here than there were last month. At the thought, her forehead creased. At least they were trying to be safe.

Nothing, however, could distract Isla from unsettling thoughts more than a beautiful display of pastries.

"Ooooh!!!!" She made an excited noise and began to poke around, "Does anything have nuts? I want nuts. I love nuts." Isla greeted the older students with a beaming smile, "I've been saving my allowance. And I have a bag that I need to fill with treats!" She held up a hideously lumpy sack that she had knit herself.

Nicholas pointed out the ones next to Virgil, the special brownies, in answer to Ambrose's question, "Those are definitely the best.  Though you should definitely have one to make sure."

When the counselor walked up, despite his previous statement of they could shove it, both the firewhiskey and the special brownies disappeared with a quick and silent flick of his wand.  Nicholas had no problem pushing back but he also had no desire to end up in detention.  Unless it was with either of the Donovans.  Then it would be worth it.

It all just as quickly reappeared when Maiko left the table.  He held up the larger bottle, "I don't know about you, but", he tipped nearly half the contents on the bottle down his throat in one large swallow.  Easier to hide the evidence when it was all in your stomach.  The rest of his brownie followed the whiskey shortly after.

"Oh, I love nuts too."  He then helpfully pointed at either the brownies in front of Ambrose, or at Ambrose's crotch, they conviently lined up well from where Nicholas was standing.  "There are some there."

Hogsmeade weekend was weird.  Or at least it felt weird. 

Fred wasn’t really even sure if he should go, considering everything that had happened last time.  He certainly didn’t want to end up stranded somewhere inside of the ministry  But, his other classmates seemed to be going, so Fred tugged on the  hat his mum sent (she made it for him) and left the castle that morning with everyone else. 

Making his way through the village, he didn’t have that much to spend.  Sure, he could grab a butterbeer but then he had to decide how to spend the few other knuts he had.  He’d heard some other students mention a bake sale and that sounded worth some money, so he asked around and was directed down a road – a booth set up appeared to be just what he wanted. 

"Does anything have nuts? I want nuts. I love nuts."
"Oh, I love nuts too… There are some there."

The girl behind the stall with the long black hair rolled her eyes and pointed to another plate, “Pecan” and then another, “Walnut,” before her eyes and pointed finger went toward the other boy, “and numb – nuts that is.”

Freddy didn’t really understand the whole exchange, but he didn’t have too.  His cheeks colored instantly and he coughed into his hand, trying to ignore the fact that the older students were just like Connor and Bastian.  Was everyone like this?  Not Ambrose, surely, and he assumed the space next to him.  “I reckon Juni would like something with cinnamon,” he tried to be helpful, looking at the table, “if they’ve got anything like that, that is.” 

Llywelyn had been sitting on a bench at High Street in Hogsmeade, his nose buried in a book. It was a usual sight for the young Welshman. He normally skipped Hogsmeade weekends, as he used the time to work on school assignments or whatever else had peaked his fancy, but today he felt like he needed a change of scenery. Along with the book he had, he passed his time people-watching. He found it an entertaining activity. He felt like he could tell a lot about a person by the way they acted around others, or what they spent their money on. He watched as students he recognized from the school had blended into the crowds of adults that wandered the streets. The fruits of his people-watching paid off as he found a group of Hogwarts students standing around some kind of booth.

He peaked from behind his book, curious as to what it was all about.

Isla regarded Nicolas with nothing but suspicion, eyes squinting up at him. He wasn't much taller than her. She had the feeling that he was making fun of her in some way, and she didn't like it. Numbnuts indeed. Whatever that meant.

With a huff, Isla crossed her arms over her chest and stood on her tip toes so that her height could match his. There. Now he knew just how worthy and tall she was. You don't make fun of tall people, you just don't. Isla took satisfaction in knowing that she was still growing, and one day she would tower over everybody, and the world--especially Bevans-- would marvel at her height. It was like she was part Trumble! Or the Professors Donovan. Or even the most powerful and terrifying of all... Ignan Storm.

 Soon. It would be soon.

After what Isla thought was a successful power play, she feasted her gaze upon the brownies. Walnuts! Pecans!!! She barely stifled an excited squeak.

"Both, please!" She settled back on the flats of her feet, eagerly pulling coins out of her pockets. "And do you have anything with macadamia nuts?"