𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗸, harry potter

˗ˋ 67

 CHAPTER SIXTY SEVEN
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-: fifth year :-

── IN WHICH THE 
VISIT ARRIVES

. . .

Hermione was to take care of recruiting, which was more than okay with Aviana; she couldn't help but think that if she was to start going up to her friends and classmates asking them if they'd like to join a group that was actively rebelling against Umbridge - the one person who was pushing for the Ministry lies about Voldemort, lulling them into that false sense of security - then she wouldn't exactly receive positive responses, and the plan would be over before it had even begun.

And when it came to Hogsmeade visits, well, Aviana hadn't been banned from them yet and she was quite looking forward to it. Who else was going to spend the Rosier family fortune? And on the morning of that first, key, Hogsmeade visit, she woke up moderately happy, a promise of leaving the castle for the first time in a couple of months, what seemed to be the longest time to be cooped up with Umbridge, of all people. She would take what she could get, after spending the entirety of the past half year locked up in places that she didn't want to be with people she didn't want to be with, and to have some freedom from that was welcomed.

So she chose a matching brown pleated skirt and waistcoat with an almost sheer, wispy, navy blue shirt beneath and a thicker pair of tights than usual – clothes that she wouldn't get the chance to wear during the usual school hours, as well as a cardigan and coat to keep her warm. She wrapped a matching blue scarf around her neck, plaited her hair in two somewhat messy braids, curls spilling out, and applied a little more eyeliner than usual and wore her favourite lip gloss too. There was absolutely no chance that everything was going to go exactly Hermione believed it would go – with Aviana there as well as Harry, the former expected there to be more than a little pushback, considering there were two crazies asking them to do something as unruly as this.

Nobody really wanted to upset Umbridge, despite the unsettle she had caused since arriving there, and as Aviana went to breakfast, fingers tapping incessantly against the cup of coffee she had poured, which had too little milk and too much sugar for her liking. She hadn't been paying attention. 

Whilst she, of all people, usually failed to feel the nerves that other people did, instead finding that exhilaration in doing something a little more dangerous. She knew that was what this was, something a little more dangerous, but somehow she just couldn't wait. Aviana supposed it had something to do with the particularly intense hatred of Umbridge, because all she did in her free time - between all the homework and pissing off Draco and making out with Harry Potter in random empty corridors - was glare at the woman, her dislike blatant. 

And when it came to the end of breakfast, she rose somehow quicker than her friends, leading the way through crowds of excited third years ready to embark on their first trip down to the nearby village, those who were too young to go and those old enough to have experienced it many a time, now yearning for the days when they could come and go as they pleased. 

With their cheeks cold from the chilling air of the Scottish Highlands in autumn, the group of Slytherins made their way down the long path to Hogsmeade, pushing open the door into the welcome warmth of the Three Broomsticks. 

"I'll go and order the Butterbeers." Blaise said, quite diplomatically, as Draco continued to go on about the utter upset he felt at the fact he had seen Aviana wink at Harry in passing. 

The rest of them wandered through to a booth in the back, Draco forced onto once side with Aviana the other, Pansy puppeteering and attempt to keep the arguing to a minimum. 

"A girl has to have hobbies, Draco." Aviana sighed, elbows balanced on the table.

"Then play more Quidditch!" Draco raked a hand through his hair, jaw dropped as he despaired. 

Aviana glared at him, mouth set as she refused to reply. Then, she turned to her friends. "Theo, you wouldn't have your cigarettes on you, would you?"

"Perfect, I was just waiting for someone to ask." Theo made to usher Draco out of the booth. already on his feet.

"No." Aviana said flatly, standing up. "I'm not going for a smoke with you. I want one of your cigarettes, and I would like to borrow your lighter, and then you're going to sit here and remind Draco of what a good friend I am to put up with all his whining over the years." 

Theo stared up her for a moment. "Yes." He said, eyes blank, before he seemed to came to. "Yes. Yeah, sorry, of course, here." And he reached into the inner pocket of his coat and held out the pack to her, watching as she took one and wandered off, tapping Blaise on the shoulder to amend his order. 

And as Aviana stepped outside, she lit the cigarette, and stood for a moment, just breathing. She didn't know how she had lasted so long before going full scorched-earth on Draco, with his annoying blond hair and that awful whiny voice. But alas, the ease of smoking reminded her all too much of the fun she had during parties and she relaxed, stubbing it out just before it reached the small band near the filter and left it in one of the discarded ashtrays and peered through the window.

Her friends distracted, and she left the Three Broomsticks behind, making her way over the cobbled streets before turning down an alley, stopping before a door with a sign depicting a pig of sorts above it. 

When she pushed it open, she was met with the awaiting eyes of several Gryffindors, a number of Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws all jumbled together. As the door closed with a bang behind her, gazes turned to her, a mixture of confusion, shock and fear rising. Exactly what Aviana liked. 

Fred and George glanced at each other. 

"Wicked."

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