The Serpent's Thirst

The Serpent's Thirst

Chapter 4

Gladrags Hogsmeade Fashion Parade.

Ron and Hermione spent several days talking very politely to each other, fearing that one word out of place, one hostile emotion would hurt the others' feelings. Harry wondered what had changed their mood but couldn't get a straight answer from either Ron or Hermione. It was only when he began hounding Hermione to tell him that she finally broke down and told him about the incident in the common room when Harry had gone down to detention.

When he heard Hermione's explanation, Harry didn't say a word. He nodded, inhaling deeply, feeling the weight of the past tug at his heart. He wondered if he would ever stop feeling guilty, and found that he was unable to meet Hermione's eyes. Unwanted memories of the Cottage -- the look of betrayal on Ron's face haunted him yet again.

Harry found that his guilt did lessen over a good session of Quidditch training. The wind whooshing in his hair, the fresh cool air -- looking down at the world like a soaring bird made Harry feel alive. During Quidditch, when he was flying high above the ground, he could feel that his heart was unrestrained by past, present, and future troubles.

Harry intensified the team's training over the first few practices, and was relieved to find Ron's performance much better than it had been last year at this time. Winning the Quidditch Cup had given Ron the confidence he needed to ignore the Slytherins' taunts.

This year's Gryffindor team included Ginny, who had proudly become one of the Chasers. Ginny had also encouraged Dean to try out as well, and they had all discovered that Dean's talents extended far beyond Muggle football and became the second Chaser. Seventh year, Katie Bell was still the third Chaser on the team. Although a second year, Shelley Thomson, became the reserve and future third Chaser after Harry thought she had a lot of great potential. Two third years, Trevor Henley and Maggie Straut, became the Beaters.

Back on the ground however, things were different. Though homework continued to pile up on their common room desk, Harry and Ron were grateful they had less N.E.W.T. subjects than Hermione did. The strain of too much homework was beginning to wear on Hermione, despite her determination to fight her way through.

The mood of the school had changed as well. The thought of Voldemort and his ambitions loomed over the students like a dark, ominous cloud. Fear pervaded the atmosphere. Harry could smell it and he despised it.

He hoped that the Order of the Phoenix continued to be strong while working in secret. However the Order wasn't alone this time round. They now had Ministry backing. Dumbledore and Fudge were finally working in peace, with information was crisscrossing from the Order to the Ministry.

Even though the members of the Order were doing their jobs without having suffered any casualties so far, Voldemort seemed to be plotting something their informants could neither pinpoint nor penetrate. Harry's vision had given them a starting point from which to work, but all of them were aware that Voldemort's league was strong and getting stronger, with the Dementors and the giants now on their side.

Harry's vision also renewed his determination to master Occlumency. Dumbledore was teaching him well, and Harry was pleased to find that his progress was much better than it had been during his lessons with Snape. There were the odd occasions when he could feel Voldemort tapping into his emotions. Each time, however, Harry managed to quickly close off his mind, denying the Dark Lord any information.

Sometimes, no matter how hard he tried not to, Harry found himself dwelling too much about Voldemort and his forces. He had a hard time preventing himself from pondering when the first major destruction would occur. Already deaths were being reported, not only in the wizarding community, but also strange deaths in Muggle newspapers. Everywhere, signs that Voldemort's campaign had finally started were appearing.

Ron and Hermione noticed Harry's pale, sunken face. They noticed the dark circles around his eyes from lack of sleep. They urged him to eat something before he wasted away. Sirius, getting in on the act, had dragged him by the arm to Madam Pomfrey, just before the start of a Defence lesson, for a Better-Up Potion.

***

Harry walked across the darkened Hogwarts corridor with Hermione walking by his side. She watched him dolefully, her books tightly wrapped in her arms. Moving slowly, they only heard the sounds of their own footsteps and the feverish whispering from the portraits around them.

Harry's head was bowed in deep thought, although he wasn't worried about Voldemort for once.

"Oh, that's it, Harry!" Hermione huffed petulantly, annoyed at the way he was acting. Startled, Harry looked up wondering what on earth had gotten into her.

She whipped out her wand, making Harry jump back in alarm, grasping the mossy stone wall in surprise-- "Hermione, what--?"

"I'm putting a Cheering Charm on you," she said, matter-of-factly.

"But - but... Hermione I'm not feeling down. I was just planning out the strategy for our Quidditch match against Slytherin," Harry corrected her truthfully.

Standing frozen on the spot, her wand still pointing toward Harry, Hermione narrowed her eyes, checking to see if Harry was lying to her. Then she blinked and relaxed. "Well ... okay then," she replied, a little put off by the whole experience.

Harry hesitated before starting to walk again. Occasionally he glanced at Hermione just in case she went berserk again.

"Where is Ron, by the way?" Hermione asked, realising that Ron was nowhere to be seen.

Harry placed his hands in his robe pockets and yawned. "He, ahh. Well, I was on the way out of the common room when I saw Ron bang into Parvati, and her books to spilled everywhere. The last thing I heard was Parvati yelling at him. Maybe she killed him..." Harry added as an afterthought, trying to keep a straight face. The memory of Ron's shocked face kept replaying in his mind. He thought Parvati had gone a little overboard; after all, it had only been an accident.

"Hmmm," Hermione muttered with her lips pursed. "Parvati was a little upset that Dean turned down her offer to go out on a date. She didn't know that he was going out with Ginny. That must be why she overreacted."

A soft meow behind them made them turn to find Lilac following them. Harry's bushy, white, growing kitten. Her fur was so fluffy that if her fuzzy white tail wasn't swinging in all directions, she would have looked like a walking pom-pom. Harry folded his arms with a look of affection on his face, his green eyes twinkling as the approaching cat purred in their direction.

"Hello, Lilac," Harry greeted her warmly.

Lilac trotted a little faster at the sound of her master's voice and circled him, brushing her face against his leg devotedly. She purred lightly and let Hermione scratch behind her ears, though the moment didn't last long.

Lilac suddenly pulled away from Hermione's touch, then remained deathly still for a moment. She then ran forward, halting metres in front of them, watching the corridor ahead of her. Harry frowned, curious as to why his cat had reacted so strangely. He heard Lilac hiss loudly, as though she had caught sight of a particularly nasty object, but neither Harry nor Hermione could see anything.

"Lilac, what's wrong?" Hermione asked quietly. She knew that Lilac could see dangers that they couldn't. Hermione had seen proof of Lilac's abilities personally, when the kitten had saved her brother Buster from being eaten by a crow back at home. In that case, Lilac had known Buster was in danger of becoming the crow's dinner, although Lilac hadn't been anywhere near the backyard at the time. She had raised the alarm that had saved Buster.

Hermione's question was answered when they saw Draco Malfoy walking down the corridor, along with fellow Prefect Pansy Parkinson, whispering quietly.

Harry snuck his hand into his robe pocket, ready to prise out his wand if he had to. Hermione grasped his arm tightly and pulled him around, walking briskly away from the Slytherins.

Draco's chatter suddenly died away when he looked up and saw Harry and Hermione's retreating backs. The stupid cat in front of him hissed even louder, like she was as though giving the Gryffindors a warning that the he and Pansy had seen them.

"Well, what the hell have we here?" he said looking down at the source of the noise.

"It's Potty's cat," Pansy answered with relish.

Harry had to stop. Dread enveloped him. He spun around, fearing that Malfoy might do something to harm Lilac. Hermione turned her head, obviously thinking the same thing.

Pansy and Draco smirked at them. Lilac was caught between the two Slytherins and the two Gryffindors. Harry wished she would stop baring her teeth at the Slytherins and run off.

"Harry, please just get her and let's go," Hermione whispered into Harry's ear, worried that a duel might break out.

Faced with the two Gryffindors, whom he had especially loathed since they'd landed his father in trouble, Draco didn't even blink. He stood with his arms crossed, obviously planning some sort of insult. He then bent down and quickly picked Lilac up by the scruff of her neck.

Lilac didn't like it one bit.

Harry took out his wand. It was the reaction Draco had been waiting for. "Let her go, Malfoy," Harry spat ferociously. Oh, how he wanted to curse the vile blonde Slytherin-- not just because he hated him, but for what Draco's father, Lucius Malfoy, had done to them.

"Owww!" Draco mocked. "Looks like Potter's got a new love ... I suggest you move over, Mudblood, unless you want your heart broken." Next to him, Pansy laughed.

Hermione's face reddened and she moved closer to Harry, turning her head to whisper in Harry's ear again. "Harry, don't do anything stupid, it's what they w -"

Harry raised his wand, against Hermione's wishes, and Draco dropped Lilac without mercy, holding up his own wand. Lilac screeched at the indignity and lashed with her paw. She scratched Draco's leg with her claws, leaving deep gashes. Draco fell backwards, his wand backfiring toward the ceiling in the process. Pansy screamed in shock and scrambled back away from him.

"YOU DESERVED IT, MALFOY!" Hermione yelled in a rage, taking Harry by surprise.

"You both will pay ... and mark my words, Potter. She'll be the first to go next time." Draco nodded his head at Hermione, getting up. Hate radiated clearly from his cold, grey eyes.

"Next time?" Harry said through clenched teeth, his wand held upright in his shaking hand. "How do you know there will be a next time? I'm wondering about you, Draco -- like father, like son? The Ministry would be interested in you as well." Harry paused, then shouted, "LILAC! GET AWAY FROM THEM!" The cat obeyed and ran off out of sight.

Harry was tempted to hex Draco and Pansy, but Hermione took away his wand and yanked him around, pulling him away from the corridor to the Great Hall. They could hear Malfoy swearing, unable to curse him because Professor Vector had appeared in the hallway, wondering what the commotion was about.

Harry was furious. Hermione was very quiet, still hanging on to his arm, urging him by the tight grip she kept on his arm not to look back. Calming down as he walked, Harry stopped by a disused stairwell, hidden by large shadows and looked at Hermione. "Are you all right?" he asked.

Hermione nodded. "I'm fine. And Harry, nothing you do or say will ever keep me from being from danger. Everyone is! I choose to stay by your side and fight, because I know deep down that Voldemort will be defeated. I don't want you to get worked up about anything Malfoy says. I can protect myself."

Harry sighed; he couldn't speak for a second because his throat was so tense. He couldn't even swallow. He felt both pleased and frightened by what Hermione had said. Then something from the previous year crept into his mind.

"Hermione," he began, breathing in deeply, working up the courage to say the formidable words. "Um, remember the prophecy that smashed?" From the look in her eyes, Harry could see that Hermione understood. He didn't need for her to say a word or even to nod for him to see that he could go on. "Well, I know what it was about."

Harry could see her lips trembling as he spoke. He told her about what he had heard in Dumbledore's Pensieve and the fact that he might die.

"-- I ca -- can't believe this! You have to defeat him Harry," Hermione said as tears welled up in her eyes. "You have to kill him!"

Harry bowed his head and placed cool fingers on his scar, unable to say anything. The truth was that he was fairly sure that he could use the Killing Curse to defeat Voldemort. He could get it over and done with and be the murderer himself. Then again, though, Harry remembered the scene at the Ministry of Magic the year before, when he had seen Dumbledore face Voldemort and duel him. Dumbledore had not attempted to use any curse that would have killed Voldemort. The Headmaster was Harry's mentor and if Dumbledore had not chosen to kill Voldemort with the given the chance he had ... then what message did that give Harry? ... was Harry meant to die, or what? Or was there another way to defeat Voldemort--one that Harry didn't know of as yet?

Hope filled Harry.

The bell rang throughout Hogwarts and students began moving into the corridor from the Great Hall. Harry and Hermione hid near the stairwell, not ready to get to class. Harry looked up and saw Hermione wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her robe. He stepped closer to her, focusing on her eyes, which trailed unhappily over the ground. Hermione leaned closer willingly, her sniffles dying away as she sensed him nearing.

"Let's not talk about it, okay? Not any more! Let's just focus on what we have now," Harry whispered, moving closer until his mouth was inches from hers.

Hermione licked her lips, waiting for the moment when Harry would touch her, when she would feel his love caress her. It was like those days at the Cottage, she remembered, making her forget their earlier conversation, forgetting that Harry might die in the end.

Harry's nose touched the side of hers and he felt her lips upon his finally. He kissed her delicately, her lips wet with salty tears. Hermione closed her eyes in bliss, nudging his mouth open a little, feeling his warm lips on hers--

"Harry ... Hermione?" Lavender squealed.

They pulled apart, startled. For a second, Hermione had thought she was back at the Cottage in the serene atmosphere, sunlight warming them, the trees swaying brightly around them.

"La - Lavender." She looked up, covering her mouth.

Parvati stood beside Lavender, sulking at the sight of them kissing. Harry hid in the shadows for a moment, feeling as though his privacy had been intruded upon.

Lavender was smiling and was about to speak when Harry lifted his hand up to stop her. "Please don't say a word, Lavender. Please don't." And he stormed off, feeling worse than he had when he had told Hermione about the prophecy. He didn't know why. He'd wanted to kiss her; he'd been desperate to kiss Hermione for a while. But had he really wanted it to happen like that? Just after he'd told her there was a chance that he might die? He had to admit, however, that he felt happier when he was with her, no matter what they'd been discussing at the time.

* * *

By that afternoon, word had gotten around that Harry and Hermione had kissed. It shouldn't have been any big deal. However, since Harry was the Boy-Who-Lived, things couldn't be that simple. Worst off was Ron. He bore the brunt of it all. Some students had asked why Hermione - who they thought was Ron's girlfriend-- was kissing Harry. Ron continued to repeat, getting angrier all the time, that he and Hermione had broken up.

None of the trio spoke that day. Hermione was feeling glum again. The joy of the kiss had worn off the moment Lavender poked her nose into their business. Now that reality had returned, Hermione felt guilty that Ron was in the middle of the gossip. Even a new notice on the main board announcing the date of the first Hogsmeade trip of the year didn't raise her spirits.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione weren't the only ones who had a bad day. Professor Snape and Sirius had a little row in a corridor when they passed each other on their way to their respective classes. Their little argument could easily have been worse if Professor Flitwick hadn't calmed them down. Sirius didn't notice the Charms Professor standing there until he looked down on finding that something was preventing him from approaching Morganna. Harry and Ron, passing by the three teachers on their way to Transfiguration, had gaped in shock for a long moment before hurrying on toward their classroom.

Quidditch practice had gone extremely well that evening and Harry was happy with the team's progress. Ron had made some spectacular saves; whether this was due to his new confidence or whether Ron's emotions were driving him, Harry did not know. He was half-afraid to ask. Ron looked as though if Harry did question him, he might well have exploded.

***

That Saturday, ready for their first Hogsmeade weekend visit of term, Harry, Hermione and Ron met in the common room. Their cloaks and scarves were on, and their wands were tucked safely in their pockets. The weather was getting vastly cooler, and the day felt somehow forlorn, but all three of them were feeling much better. They were once again on speaking terms with each other after the bad feeling between them had worn itself out.

"Right then," Hermione said loudly, kneeling next to Crookshanks who sat lazily licking Persia's fur. "I have to take you to the local menagerie, my lovable ginger fluffball." Crookshanks glanced up, and Persia who had relaxed beside him, stretched her white legs out.

"What on earth for?" Ron questioned. "He looks perfectly healthy."

Harry watched the felines caress each other on the Gryffindor armchair, and suddenly it clicked. "OH! Oh, Hermione you're not? Leave the poor cat alone," Harry said grimacing.

Hermione stood up, staring at Harry intently. "Harry, this school will be invaded by kittens if I don't."

"Argh!" Ron pulled a disgusted look. After that, he didn't say another word, completely giving up his attempt to argue the point that no animal deserved to have its manhood taken away. "You could always give them to the house-elves?" Ron finished softly.

Harry stamped on Ron's foot. "Don't you get started on the elves. She's forgotten about them," Harry said in an undertone while Hermione was looking the other way.

Hermione placed Crookshanks in her arms and walked away, her cloak billowing behind her. "I heard what you said Harry," she replied at last, giving them both a dark look. "And let me just say, that I haven't forgotten about them. My S.P.E.W. campaign is not over until I say so."

Ron rolled his eyes. "Let's just go, before Filch closes the doors on us."

They arrived at the Entrance Hall twenty minutes later than they had expected. They would have been on time, but, much to Ron's disappointment, Hermione had to tell off a couple of first years who were determinedly trying to hex Mrs. Norris. That had taken long enough, Harry thought. However then there was the ensuing argument between Ron and Hermione over her defense of Filch's cat-- "Ron ... I don't care if it's Mrs. Norris ... I don't care if it was Malfoy! The point is we are Prefects and we must uphold authority." Harry had forced himself not to laugh while hurrying on ahead to avoid being in the middle of the argument.

Harry had just passed beneath Filch's weary gaze when Hermione and Ron joined him, both slightly out of breath. The despondent light outside softly bathed their faces and a cold breeze lifted their hair.

"You know," Harry started, "you two remind me of Sirius and Professor Snape lately."

Hermione crossed her arms. "Unlike them, we are friends, and I would never hex Ron."

Ron snorted, fingers in his hair. "I wouldn't completely disagree with that thought - OUCH!" Hermione had slapped the back of his head.

"But I won't say no to a good slap," Hermione churlishly replied, flicking her hair back in triumph, with Crookshanks purring in her arms.

After adjusting her cat slightly so that now his squashy, ginger face poked from over her shoulder, intently looking at the scenery, Hermione continued on her way. Ron and Harry followed her, quieter than usual as they pondered Crookshanks' fate. Harry wondered if the cat had any clue what he would lose by the end of the day.

Hermione turned her head slightly and Harry pulled himself away from his gloomy thoughts with an effort. "Harry, I'm worried that Professor Snape and Sirius will have a wizard's duel-"

"What?" Harry and Ron both said in surprise, stopping in their tracks.

"You've see them, they're acting like a couple of children. I overheard Professor Snape suggesting a duel to Sirius this morning on my way back from the library."

"What did Sirius say?" Harry said, his eyebrows up.

Hermione glanced at Harry, now very worried. "I - I didn't hear what he said."

Like Harry, Ron couldn't believe Hermione's news. He and Harry exchanged an incredulous look over Hermione's head, then shrugged.

Harry shook his head. "And I think she's taking it out on me now! I'd rather have the other Snape back than deal with her."

They walked on silently.

"Maybe she's deliberately punishing me, using me as bait to tempt Sirius into doing something stupid," Harry said reflectively. He made a mental note to speak to Sirius as soon as he was back from Hogsmeade. Harry knew Sirius was a risk taker and that his godfather was sometimes irresponsible. Harry thought that if Sirius duelled with the Potions Mistress, 'sometimes' might quickly become 'one time too many.' He had a feeling that the Potions Mistress knew as much about the Dark Arts as her brother had.

Hermione looked at him with a calculating expression. Harry thought that she was going to disagree with him when she opened her mouth to speak, but she surprised him.

"You know what, Harry? I think you may be right."

Harry raised his eyebrows at Hermione's answer and sighed, focusing his vision at the patchwork sky. Billowing dark clouds on the horizon threatened rain, although the sun continued to shine over them, but it disappeared sporadically behind the clouds.

Students all around them were heading in the same direction: Hogsmeade. They walked together in clusters, grouped by House, laughing and chatting without a care in the world. That was until a couple of Slytherins thought it was funny to throw a Dungbomb at the head of a third year Hufflepuff.

Ron, Hermione and Ernie McMillan started yelling at the Slytherins for their abominable behaviour, which had left the poor Hufflepuff girl crying madly, smelling like a manure heap. Hermione fixed her up in no time, which left Harry feeling enormously proud of her. The girl smiled, practically glowing when Harry asked her if she was all right.

"Oh, look Harry. She's gone off to tell her friends how cute you are," Ron said mawkishly, making Harry cringe.

"Shut it, or I'll hex you," Harry said through gritted teeth. He spent a moment idly casting about for something to tease Ron back about, when he couldn't help noticing that Parvati kept glimpsing over her shoulder, her eyes finding Ron each time. Harry observed this curiously and checked Ron in case he had something nasty stuck to his face or robes.

At last they arrived at Hogsmeade. The little stores were already packed with students and customers. The rough stone road, ancient and worn from years of use, glimmered in the autumn sunlight.

Hermione turned into an alleyway to take Crookshanks to the menagerie, while Ron and Harry continued walking to the Three Broomsticks.

The boys immediately noticed something which they had never seen on a Hogsmeade visit.

"What's that?" Ron asked curiously.

Having seen one on television, Harry was able to answer Ron without hesitation. "It's a catwalk." Harry wondered what was going on, even as he noticed a large crowd of people gathering around the stage.

"A catwalk?" Ron scratched his head repeating what Harry had said. "You should've brought Lilac then -- Hang on, I'll go get Hermione and let Crookshanks have a go on it."

Harry doubled up laughing over his best friend's Muggle innocent mistake. "Ron, it's a Muggle stage so that models can show off designer clothes... or robes in this case," he explained with a confused look.

Harry continued laughing as he and Ron made their way up to the stage, where students, witches and wizards were craning their necks to get a better look.

A dark purple banner instantaneously appeared overhead, hovering in midair much like the candles in the Great Hall. Gold lettering magically scrolled across it a second later.

Welcome to Gladrags Wizardwear's Winter Show.

The words then vanished and a new line appeared. As the words emerged, more witches and wizards gathered, taking an interest in the unusual event.

Our First Show for Fashion Conscious Witches and Wizards, Who Want to Look Good for Merlin's Sake.

BANG!

Clouds of purple smoke billowed across the stage, letting loose a storm of gold glitter that floated down to litter the stage. The smoke fanned out amongst the audience like a blossoming cloud. People around Harry ohhed and ahhed as a man Apparated onto the stage. He was wearing magnificent green robes with Celtic designs in illuminated gold which slowly rearranged to form new patterns. The wizard's hair was black, smooth and long, while his beard was plaited and held together with a solid gold band.

"Welcome, welcome," the man said in a heavy Irish accent. "In this, our first ever Gladrags Fashion show, I am here to describe to you the clothing our lovely models will be wearing. I will be filling in for Mr. Gladrags himself, who sadly cannot be here today, after accidentally mispronouncing a spell which caused his sewing needles to attack him."

"Er..." Ron said, feeling a little bewildered as people all around clapped and cheered when the man finished talking. Parvati, Lavender and some other students stood by Harry's side, waiting for the show to begin.

"Oh, how exciting! I've never seen a fashion show at Hogsmeade before. It's something different for a change, isn't it Hannah?" Harry heard Susan Bones say behind him, when he ruffled his hair to remove some stray gold glitter out.

Harry saw Cho Chang in the distance and repositioned himself so that he was standing behind Ron in order that she couldn't see him. Harry didn't want to know how she had reacted on hearing that he and Hermione had kissed.

He also caught sight of some wizards in front of him who were cloaked and hooded. His stomach plummeted. Harry felt fear every time he saw a hooded wizard. Maybe it was the fact that many of those who he had encountered upon in his past were dangerous. To his relief, some of them pulled their hoods down and he saw a brown-haired man who though evidently young, had several grey hairs. The man was chatting quietly with his female friend, a woman Harry recognised.

"Ron ... Professor Snape," he whispered, pointing to the Potions Mistress. Professor Snape was smiling at the brown-haired man, even as she slid her arm through his.

Harry had the urge to listen on Professor Snape's conversation. Harry wished he had some Extendable Ears with him. He asked Ron in an undertone whether he had any, and found that, to his luck, Ron did. As both he and Harry watched Professor Snape and her friend, Ron pulled of Extendable Ears from his pocket.

The glamorous man onstage began speaking as some models, wearing fashionable robes appeared started walking down the catwalk to the beat of some wizarding music. All of whom were in their fashionable clothes.

Harry wasn't interested in the show any longer. He stared at the Professor and her friend, but all he could see were the backs of their heads. He turned his attention instead to the Extendable Ears.

"... So Horatio, what brings you here to Hogsmeade?" Professor Snape asked smoothly, her fingers gripping onto the man's arm tenderly. Harry listened to them, amazed and shocked to see Snape so happy. He had never thought that a Snape could be anything but darkly cheerful.

"I wanted to see you," the man smiled, "and to take you out of that blasted castle."

Professor Snape didn't reply to this. Ron looked at Harry with disgust, pulling out his Extendable Ear. Harry, on the other hand, wanted to hear more. He found Professor Snape far too mysterious to ignore.

"Oh really, is that all? For a moment there, I thought you might have had some business to attend to." She smirked, coldness evident in her voice.

The man laughed, patting her hand. "I do. I have to snuff out some illegal trading in The Hog's Head. Would you like me to buy you some of those robes?" he asked, changing the subject lazily.

Harry automatically looked at the stage and saw a witch wearing a shimmering cloak. Beneath it, she wore a stylish composition of blood red robes with a low neckline.

"I like black and green," Morganna shrugged. "My big brother had a horrible influence over me."

"Oh, well now, that is disgraceful," the man said, interrupting her as he caught sight of the next outfit in the fashion show. "Muggle fashions being incorporated into our way of life? What is this world coming too?" he spat, glaring at a model wearing a beautifully made Muggle style evening dress, complete with cloak and dragon hide high heels.

Harry pulled out the Extendable Ear, having heard enough. From what he had overheard, he was more than a little suspicious of the man's pureblood views.

"... And now we have beautiful Anesia modeling our latest range -"

Harry looked back up at the stage. His eyes locked with those of the man announcing the fashion show for a moment, and the man clearly forgot what he was meant to say. Harry tried to look away, but something made him freeze on the spot, unable to break the stare. Harry couldn't help but feel completely unnerved as though he knew who this fashionable man was, though he had never seen the man before.

The man seemed to be feeling the same way Harry was, and gaped for a long second without a word popping out of his mouth. Harry forcibly pulled his gaze away from the stranger's, taking an interest in a model wearing a flashing cloak with stars. Harry did his best to shrug off the feeling as a simple déjà-vu.

Getting bored, Harry and Ron decided that it was long past time they had a nice drink of Butterbeer, and squeezed through the intrigued spectators. They both spotted Luna Lovegood at the very back of the crowd, separated from the rest.

"Hello, Harry ... Ron," she said.

Harry was well aware that she was wearing a garlic necklace. Her prominent eyes stared up at him intently. "Hi Luna. Hey, do you want to join us at the Three Broomsticks for some drinks?" Harry began. "Hermione, Ginny and Neville should be there by now too."

Luna clearly caught the slightly impatient look on Ron's face. Her huge eyes gazed at Ron for a brief moment, then she nodded. "Yes, I'd like that," she answered, walking ahead of them both in the direction of the Three Broomsticks.