FIFTEEN | EVERYTHING BUT A REAL DATE

          IT WASN'T LONG UNTIL THE NEXT HOGSMEADE TRIP GRACED THE STUDENTS WITH ITS PRESENCE ONCE AGAIN. And while Seline stood by the fact she thought they should be able to go every single weekend as they pleased, she was grateful nonetheless for an escape from the overcrowded castle. With all the guests from the other schools, Hogwarts had never felt as small as it had this year; the hallways were a constant stream of congestion. It seemed there was nowhere she could go to get a break from all the noise of the Triwizard Tournament (it should be quartizard tournament now but whatever, Dumbledore didn't take kindly to her suggestion). She couldn't wait for Cedric to just win it and this all be over with. Send all the visitors home already. She even missed cheering along Quidditch matches, as crazy of her to say. 

While late January was still technically ice cold, it didn't warrant the need for a scarf which was a nice change—at least, in her opinion. Seline could travel around the village without feeling like she was being choked by the hand knitted atrocity her mother made her pack year after year. Gone was the rash it caused after long stretches of wearing it, causing a red line around her neck that someone who didn't know her might take out of context.

The brunette travelled from the castle hand in hand with her boyfriend, Wayne Hopkins, who had opted to still wear his own scarf. His cheeks were pink from the biting wind and his cropped hair stuck up in funny directions from the force at which said wind was blowing at them with. "Is your scarf not itchy?" She'd asked him, perfectly sculpted eyebrows raised to the top of her forehead as she pointedly eyed his neck.

"Cashmere doesn't get itchy," he'd replied, bringing her hand up to feel the texture of the material. Her eyes widened at how smooth and soft it felt—did god himself knit this? Why had her mother cheaped out and used wool she found in the clearance bins at Tesco?

She yearned to come from the sort of wealth Wayne had been raised in; with servants and five course dinners every night. She'd been lucky if her mother bothered to make a Sunday roast. While the Winchester's were far from poor, the marriage of Cordelia and Robert had been in tatters for years—in fact she couldn't quite remember a time when it wasn't, if she was being frank—which had put cracks in the perfect family unit they tried to portray to those who cared. It took one look through their windows to see the gaping holes. Like the way they'd scream and shout whenever Robert returned from long work trips, smelling like a perfume Cordelia didn't own. And then how she'd lock herself away in the master bedroom for days, leaving her daughters to fend for themselves. Seline shook her head, her parents failing marriage the last thing she wanted to be thinking about on her date—that was bad juju.

"So, where do you want to go?" She asked the pink faced boy, squeezing his arm as they neared the medievally designed village. People dressed in Hogwarts colours were dotted amongst the hoards of civilians shuffling through the high street, still sparsely covered in tiny patches of melting snow. The sun had been strong enough lately that Seline suspected the remainders of the white powder would be melted come Monday morning—leaving splotches of dead grass in it's wake.

Wayne, still holding onto her hand, wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her against him as he pondered her question. "I'll buy you a Butter-beer from The Three Broomsticks?" He offered, not wanting to go into Madame Puddifoots again for a very long while. "But I gotta stop by Dervish and Banges on the way—I need more parchment for my essay."

Seline pressed her head into his shoulder, pulling her beanie back into place as it rode up her forehead. "Hmm, Butter-beer does sound nice," she hummed, feeling content with that plan. "And yeah, I need some new quills anyways. Daphne's pocketed my last one." She tried to keep the annoyance out of her tone at the last comment. While nicer then she had been at the start of Seline's integration to the friend group, Daphne was always going to be a bitch and there wasn't any use in her complaining about it.

They dodged the hoards through the main street, ignoring the excited squeals of third years who were still yellow with the privilege of being out of the castle unsupervised. Seline saw Denika and her freaky ginger friend pass by, giggling amongst themselves as they pushed through the front doors of Zonko's. The overactive screams of younger students spilled out of the door until it slammed behind them. Zonko's wasn't the type of store Seline Winchester ever felt herself drawn to—it was far too overstimulating and sold nothing of use to her. The brunette couldn't help but roll her eyes, tugging Wayne along to the more quaint building next door.

A bell overhead rang as they pushed the squeaky glass door open, a wave of warmth engulfing them as they shuffled inside the compact store. One thing about most wizardry stores that Seline didn't like was how cluttered they felt. As her eyes scanned the shelves that climbed all the way to the roof, full to the brim of all sorts of gadgets, she felt a bit anxious to make any sudden movements in fear it'd all come tumbling down (she'd seen it happen in movies before). She was grateful, however, how quiet this shop was compared to the rest of the village—clearly not your average students first stop when Zonko's was next door. "This way," Wayne murmured, tugging her along to the tall stationary shelf at the back of the store.

She stands beside him as he picked out the smoothest stack of parchment, glancing at all the curious items the store stocked. There were entire aisles that she didn't know the name of a single item. Jars with eyeballs floating inside, yellowing in murky water lined an entire shelf while boxes of unicorn horns filled a box below (how inhumane). Seline had been so engrossed in looking around that she'd almost tripped at Wayne tugging her along to the front counter, her quills and his parchment in hand. She almost went to tell him he didn't have to pay but then decided that was what boyfriends were for, right? He probably got quadruple the allowance she got.

The icy wind had picked up by the time they stepped out of the store, having just gotten used to the warmth inside. A chill ran down Selines perfectly straight spine, making her twitch. They almost collided head-on with two familiar bodies, who'd been stuck in the middle of an argument on their first steps outside the door.

"—well, what do you even want from this anymore—? I see the way you. . ." Pansy had been demanding, standing across from Draco with her arms wrapped firmly together over her chest. Both had reddened cheeks and wind blown hair, frustrated expressions to pair with that. If Seline hadn't known any better, she'd have thought Pansy to be on the verge of tears.

". . . Hey guys," Wayne said curtly, looking between the pair awkwardly as he tan a hand through his middle-parted hair. He'd hoped he could offer them niceties before breezing past, wanting nothing less then to be sucked into their soap opera.

The venomous glare melted from Pansy's face and she beamed at them, turning away from the blonde boy while Draco stared down at his feet, drained from the conversation he'd been having. "Fancy seeing you here," she exclaimed, elbowing Draco to say something. "Look Draco, it's Seline and Wayne," the girl emphasised, pressing her elbow into his side. Her smile was picture perfect—too perfect. Each perfectly straight, pristine white tooth was on full display.

"Yeah," the blonde muttered, still not looking up at them. His focus was set intently on the creases in his leather boots—Seline almost looked down to see what was so interesting.

"Where are you guys headed? We'll tag along," Pansy offered, reaching forward to lock her arms with Seline's. The brunette didn't have much of a chance to protest as her arm dislodged from Wayne's grip. A shocked squeak escaped her lips before she could decline the physical content; Pansy's grip was a lot stronger then usual, might she add—almost tight enough to leave a mark.

"Oh. . . Erm, we're just going to The Three Broomsticks for a Butterbeer," the girl said, looking to Wayne for some sort of help but he just stared at Draco with a clenched jaw. A nervous bubble started to form in the depth of her stomach. God, this was going to be a shit-show.

Pansy clapped her hands together, pulling Seline with her as she turned for the direction of the pub. "Ooh, perfect!"

And so, off they went, trekking across the village to the popular pub. Draco and Wayne, not saying a word to one another, trailed behind the girlfriends who steam-rolled ahead. Every so often, while Pansy talked her ear off, she'd turned back to look at her boyfriend for help—though, his expression remained unchanged and solemn every-time she looked to him. Draco, on the other hand, remained staring at his bloody shoes (seriously, he'll trip in a minute if he didn't look where he was going).

As they round the main street of Hogsmeade, a red-faced Daphne Greengrass rounds a corner and spots them immediately. Seline suppresses a groan as she makes a beeline for the group. "You will not believe what Theo's done," she exclaimed, having barely been stood in front of them for a second before launching into a tirade against her not-boyfriend (apparently Seline and Wayne were the only ones who believed in labels). Her hair was almost a wild as her eyes as she recounted the events.

And so, there they stood—interrupted again—as Daphne explained her argument with Theo (in great detail), who apparently just wanted to keep things casual. Look, Seline could definitely understand the girl's frustration but she felt her own grow at her Butter-Beer being delayed yet again. Not only was her date being crashed but she was being deprived food and drink—could they not listen to this rant at The Three Broomsticks?

The brunette stared longingly down the path, the silhouette of the pub in the distance. She sent annoyed glares at people who seemed to also be travelling that way, anxious there mightn't be any tables free by the time they get there.

As she looked back at the group, her frown deepened when she'd noticed Millicent Bullstrode had appeared at some point—when the fuck—? Her frustration was palpable. Did no one know how to read a room? Seline's gaze wandered from oblivious person to oblivious person, completely unfazed by how annoyed the couple seemed by their presence.

Her withering look lingered on Draco, studying his guilt-ridden physique. While she'd not heard much of his fight with Pansy, she could connect the dots well enough (plus, it'd been their main fight since forever). She'd not had a moment alone with the blonde boy since the Yule Bull—not that she often had moments alone with him before that, in her defence—to discuss his. . . lewd comments. Though, the more time that passed, the more she didn't think she was ever going to bring it up. They were drunk, he didn't mean it (maybe he was hallucinating she was Pansy—they are both brunettes, after all) (although, he had used her name and not Pansy's).

As if reading her mind and the fact that she was thinking about him, Draco looked up at her as the noise of Daphne's complaints raged on. His crystal blue eyes pierced through her thoughts, making them feel like fog. The bubble in her stomach now felt even more funny—less annoyed and more. . . uneasy.

Before she could dwell on the intense amount of eye-contact, two burleigh figures appear on either side of Draco. "Draco, you said we weren't doing a group thing today," Crabbe said accusingly as he and Goyle looked between him and everyone in the group.

"That was the plan," the rich boy commented snidely, tearing his gaze off of Seline to shoot a glare in Pansy's direction (thank god her back was to him, Seline didn't feel like listening to them fight on top of Daphne's rant).

"We were just on our way to The Three Broomsticks," said Wayne, moving to stand beside Seline again. His arm snaked around her—having been set free by Pansy once Daphne had started ranting. "Better hurry before curfew," he added, jaw clenching as the other girl stopped complaining long enough to stare at him. Seline tried to ignore the way Wayne and Draco stared rigidly at each other—like two cowboys about to face off outside the saloon.

"I told Blaise to meet us here," Daphne told him matter-of-factly. "Ran into him on the way to find you guys—he just needed to pick up an order or something, I wasn't really paying attention. My minds been on Theo and—"

Seline wanted to rip her own hair out and glue it onto Daphne's face so she could never see them again. "You. . . were looking for us?"

"Duh," she scoffed, completely unaware that she hadn't repeated what she'd said out of joy. "If my dates ruined, I figured I'd just tag along to yours," she explained, shrugging as she tugged her jumper sleeves back down (she'd been so animated in her reenactment of her fight with Theo, they'd ridden all the way up to her elbows).

"How thoughtful," Wayne murmured, resting his head on top of Seline's in resignation. The floral  smell of her shampoo brought him a bit of comfort.

"Oh, look—!" Goyle, trying to be helpful shouted, "there he is."

Seline didn't even bother to turn to look at the approaching dark-skinned classmate. Any minute she was expecting Professor Snape to appear and crash her date as well—the fucking more, the merrier at this point. Soon the entirety of the Slytherin fourth-years would be third wheeling her and Wayne—why not the head of house as well? Ugh.

"Blimey, the Weasley twins are causing mayhem in Zonkos—almost didn't make it out alive," Blaise chortled, sounding completely out of breath—as if he'd just run for his life (Seline wonders if she and Wayne ran for theirs, if then maybe they could salvage the date.)

"Shame," she mumbled into Wayne's neck, grinning at the way he vibrated in silent laughter at her comment.

Blaise looked between everyone, noticing they were stood in the middle of the foot traffic. "Where are we headed?"

"The Three Broomsticks," Seline, Wayne and Draco all said in unison, before the couple looked back at the blonde quizzically. Each person all used the exact same monotone to deliver the message.

Everyone looked a little taken aback by the shortness. "Jeez, you lot are keen for Butter-Beer, aren't ya? Let's go then, I'm parched," Blaise muttered, leading the way.

Inhaling a long sigh, Seline and Wayne trailed behind the group while Daphne continued to rant away to anyone that'd listen. "So much for a solo date. . ." Wayne murmured, squeezing the brunettes hand.

The Three Broomsticks was bursting at the seams with patrons; students and locals alike filled the old pub, guzzling the infamous Butter-Beer. Seline's mouth water at the sight of the yellow liquid, the cold glasses with condensation falling down the sides. She hoped her mood would lift once she had her own glass in hand. A local singer (a shit one, at that) stood on the stage—guitar in hand—as they belted out wizard classics through the microphone, ignoring the hecklers who begged him to shut up. Seline wondered if he'd take payment to, at the very least, turn his microphone down and save everyone the hearing damage.

At a rickety wooden table towards the back of the pub—furthest away from the stage—is where the group of fourth years found themselves. Wayne's arm rested on top of Selines as he slide in beside her with Millicent on her left and Crabbe on his right, they were officially trapped.

Before the barmaid can come take their order, the ring of the door opening catches the attention of Daphne and her eyes turn to slits. At her expression, Seline turns to look in the direction of her gaze and exhaled loudly before resting her head on the table. It was about time Theodore Nott found the group—everyone else already had. Sliding his beanie off to expose him ruffled hair, he scanned the pub until his dark eyes landed on them. He smiled widely as he zig-zagged through the tables, heading straight for theirs.

At the same time Daphne shot to her feet, nostrils flaring. "Girls, I think we should go to Honeydukes instead," she said stiffly, just as Theo reached the edge of their table.

Seline saw the way he rolled his eyes before Pansy and Millicent both stood up and followed her up from the table. Unmoving, Seline stayed glued to her spot beside Wayne as she stared blankly at the cracks in the table. Her plan was to stay as still as possible, praying they would leave and forget about her. Then the boys would be so much easier to sod off—

"Seline?"

Instinctively—fucking human nature—she looked up in the direction the sound of her name came from. Daphne, dark hair forming a curtain across half of her pointed face, stared down at her with a less annoyed and more. . . hurt? expression. The brunette gnawed on the inside of her lip for a moment before biting back her thousandth sigh since leaving the castle before standing up. Squeezing Wayne's rough hands once for good measure, she shuffled out of the booth.

"Daphne, are you really going to act like this?" Theo huffed, nudging Wayne to move over into the space Seline had just formed so he could sit.

Crossing her arms, she sent a venomous glare down at him. "I'm not acting like anything," she snapped before turning on her heel and marching towards the exit. The three girls followed closely behind her, catching the door she flung open aggressively.

Now, as if today hadn't been a big enough reunion. Astoria Greengrass and Nicolette Tracers—with arms linked at the elbows, wearing matching scarves—had just been about to open the door and enter when Daphne stream-rolled through them. She was nothing more then a wave of dark hair and attitude as she barrelled down the cobblestone street.

Seline paused momentarily, staring at the confused faces of the two girls she'd considered her best friends. There was an ache in her chest as she looked past them at her new friends that chased after Daphne. Seeing them reminded her of the simplicity, the relaxation of just existing with her friends—no drama, no gossip and no boys. She was plagued with a nasty wave of nostalgia as she turned away from them, swallowing all the words she wished she could say to them.

IT FELT AS THOUGH SELINE WAS ALWAYS IN BLOODY CARE OF MAGICAL CREATURES. While technically all her classes appeared an even amount of times on her timetable, this particular one shared with her least favourite Gryffindor peers always seemed to roll around the fastest. However, she come to enjoy it over the few weeks they'd had a competent teacher, whom hadn't made them raise explosive slugs. Professor Grubbly-Plank, while stern, actually seemed to care for their safety and went to the effort to reach them about creatures they would actually be interested in. (Seline hopes Blast-End Skrewts all go extinct like the Dodo bird.)

All the leftover snow from the harsh winter had officially completely melted away, leaving patches of withered grass behind. However, the greenery had alright started to grow back in sections; bright patches of fluorescent green dotted the Hogwarts grounds. Spring was a season Seline quite enjoy—the time of regrowth and new beginnings. Spring was like a Phoenix rising from the ashes, rebirthing mother nature.

With shoulders slumped and an arm hiking up the long train of her robes, Seline—along with her friends—bounded down the hill to Care of Magical Creatures class. The sun glowed above, the warmth being attracted to the black colour of their robes. The brunette stood in between Pansy and Daphne while Millicent (bless her soul, she's never done a day of cardio in her life) trailed a few paces behind, heaving for breath.

Seline couldn't help but roll her eyes at all the students clad in in red and yellow ties already waiting for class to commence. Amongst them was, of course, Harry Potter and his two annoyingly obnoxious best friends (god, they were such brown-nosers). The boys that usually travelled with the girls like a pack were also already there. Thanks to Theo and Daphne being on the rocks, group activities had been awkward and unheard of for the last week.

Seline's own boyfriend, who she'd not gotten to see all morning (thanks to Daphne wanting to skip breakfast in order to avoid Theo) sent her a longing look from across the grounds. In response, she sent him a half smile before he turned to answer a question Blaise had asked him. Lingering behind her boyfriend—like a shadow that you couldn't escape—was Draco Malfoy, his usually slicked back hair lacking it's usual jar of hair gel. His blue eyes bore the storm that he'd been staring at ever since the Yule Ball. Tilting his head to the side, he caught  Seline staring and smirked back at her. A wave of annoyance washed over her and she rolled her eyes before turning to the front.

When they'd turned up Professor Grubbly-Plank hadn't been present yet—which was unusual because normally she arrived long before they did with whatever magical creature they were studying. Seline was most certainly surprised when she turned to see Hagrid, in all his half-giant glory, had returned. A slew of swear words danced across Seline's mind as she gazed upon the scruffy man with the half-matted beard.

Hagrid didn't allow anyone the chance to complain that he was back or ask questions about his now exposed heritage. He led the class around the back of his hut (highly inappropriate for a teacher to invite children to the back of his house but anyways) where two baby unicorn foals awaited. They were blinding to look at, with a coat comprised of pure dazzling gold and luscious mane to match. And not only were they the most beautiful creatures ever, they were also no bigger then a Labrador. A chorus of 'awws' rang out across the female (and some male) students as everyone clambered against the fence to get a good look at them. Seline was gobsmacked as she stood towards the back, just simply staring at the two.

Even Daphne and Pansy, who had always been vocal about their disdain for Hagrid's teaching, couldn't contain themselves. At first sight of the foals, a massive smile spread across Pansy's face as she inched towards the pen. "They're so. . ." Her voice broke off once she caught wind of the smug look Hermione Granger sent her way, covering the end of her sentence with a loud cough.

As adorable as they were, Seline decided she was only half impressed. Like, yes they were cool but Hagrid is literally just copying what Grubbly-Plank did first. This was basically him trying to bribe them into liking and respecting him.

"Easier ter spot than the adults," Hagrid told the class, blocking the gate. "They turn silver when they're abou' two years old, an' they grow horns at aroun' four. Don' go pure white 'til they're full-grown, round about seven. They're a bit more trustin' when they're babies. . . don' mind boys so much. . . c'mon, move in a bit, yeh can pet 'em if yeh want. . . give 'em a few sugar lumps." He held out a bucket for students to grab some.

Whilst her friends launched forward to pet the creatures, Seline held back and watched for a moment. She just wanted to take in the fact that she was a witch at a magic school and instead of studying Mathematics, she got graded on how well she tended for magical creatures—that of which included fucking unicorns. Someone let eleven-year-old Seline that things do get better.

"At least he's not got animals that're trying to kill us for once," drawled a voice appearing beside her that she didn't bother to look back at. She felt his shoulder brush against hers, making the girl jerk back a little.

"Even seems like he knows what he's talking about for once," Seline scoffed, shaking her head as she watched Lavender Brown let out a squeal of joy as the young unicorn licked the remnants of sugar from her finger tips.

Draco breathed a laugh. "Who would've thought the day would come."

Seline didn't say anything, she just shrugged as she continued to watch on. She was waiting for him to get to the point of what he wanted—nowadays Draco Malfoy didn't approach her without some sort of agenda that would ruin her day.

She heard him sigh. ". . . Seline?" After a moment, he said aloud. A chill travelled slowly down her spinal cord—not at him using her first name—but at the tone he'd used. There wasn't any of the usual sarcastic undertones or arrogance. He sounded like he had at Christmas and it was worrying her where this conversation was about to go.

Slowly, she turned her head to look at him, breath catching in the back of her throat. "Yes?"

"The Yule Ball—" He noticed the way she recoiled into herself at the mention, ditching the opening question on whether she remembered what had happened. It was obvious she did. Now he knew for sure the reason she'd hardly even looked his way since (he'd really hoped the hangover had cleared her memory well enough). "What I said. . ."

She took a sharp breath inwards before finally looking at him, feeling like she was standing naked before him. Her skin was burning and she could feel her heartbeat in her throat. Her stomach felt like it had turned into a ball of water, ready to released at any second "We were pretty pissed," she muttered, gnawing at her chapped lips nervously.

"I only had two or three," he insisted, not breaking eye contact. If he was being honest, the drinks had just been for the nerves.

The world was spinning and Seline Winchester wasn't prepared for this to be happening in the back of Care of Magical Creatures class. "I think. . . I think it's better we don't talk about this, Draco," she breathed. "Like, ever."

The world was spinning and Seline Winchester was about to fall off. The axis at which it normally spun atop had snapped and everything was falling apart. It suddenly felt as if someone had plucked her up and dropped her back down in a twisted, parallel universe created to torment her. She longed for the comfort of her bed—to hide under the covers like she did as a child to escape the monsters in her dark cupboard.

"I meant it, though. I still do," he replied in a gruff voice, moving closer to her but she took a step back.

Except the monster was Draco Malfoy's feelings.

"Malfoy, Pansy would skin me alive—I have to share a dorm with her. . . she's my friend," she hissed back, a typhoon of reasons why he shouldn't have just said that flooding out her mouth. And yet, her boyfriends name hadn't swam by until the very end of her mental list.

"I'd do what now?"

Both their heads whipped round to look at the girl who'd appeared, worrying how long she'd been listening to their conversation. Red in the face. Seline tried to smile at her friend but it felt wrong. "Pansy—! Hi, how was the unicorn? Cuter then the big one, right?"

Pansy's expression was unreadable for a second she studied them. "Yeah. . . Which is why I came to ask why you've not come and pet it yet. Who knows what monstrosity he will bring next week," she said darkly, send a glare in Hagrid direction. "We'll be lucky if it doesn't try to eat us."

"Let's go feed the unicorn then!" Nodding enthusiastically, Seline stride towards where the girl was standing and locked their arms.

Not moving from where she was firmly planted in the ground, Pansy frowned. "Why did I hear my name, though?"

"Erm. . ."

That was when Draco finally said something, jumping in to save the day (Seline wasn't planning on getting used to him doing so). An excuse fell out of his lips with such ease. "I was asking Winchester for advice on a present for you. A make-up present."

Pansy's eyes went wide. "Really? Is that true?" She turned to Seline for confirmation.

"Yep, you're gonna love it," she told her through ground teeth, the fake smile still plastered across her lips. The only thing Seline knew for sure right now was that as soon as she got back to the dorms, her breakfast was going right down the toilet.

🌸 KARLA YAPS ! 🌸

unedited, we die like fred

ya know... i apologise that this chapter was not at all worth the like two month wait i subjected y'all to. the plot feels a bit clunky & goofy rather then fun, like i'd planned.

can you guys sense the storm that's brewing? because oh boy is it going to be a messy one teehee.

i'm also so excited that we're nearly done with goblet of fire (i think there's like 150 pages left in the actual book). the summertime interlude is gonna be so so so so fun !!!!!!!! rahhhhh

ok see y'all in six months or however long it takes me to write the next one lol

© QUICKSILVRS 2024