章 203: Hogsmeade Ⅱ

The two of them entered the empty Honeydukes shop as a balding man says, "Welcome to Honeydukes!" His eyes crinkle with amusement at seeing the two students' eyes bulge at the endless stock of sweets. "Please take all the time you need!" He said, before returning to grab more stock from the back for when the hordes descend upon them.

There were shelves upon shelves of the most succulent-looking sweets imaginable. Creamy chunks of nougat, shimmering pink squares of coconut ice, fat, honey-colored toffees; hundreds of different kinds of chocolate in neat rows; there was even a large barrel of Every Flavor Beans, Fizzing Wizbees, Levitating Sherbet Balls, and other similar types of magical sweets.

Rowan made a face at the Fizzing Wizbees as she knew for a fact a certain magical insect was used in their making. As she was going to eat something like that! Ug.

Besides the barrels, there were the other "Special" sweets: Drooble's Best Blowing gum, (which filled a room with bluebell-colored bubbles that refused to pop for days. And which were rather unsanitary in Rowan's personal opinion.)

The strange, splintery Toothfloosing Stringmints; tiny black Pepper Imps that caused one to become a walking fire hazard by being able to breathe fire. Ice Mice that made one's teeth chatter and squeak. Peppermint cream-shaped toads that hopped realistically in the stomach, (as Rowan needed anything else to make her more squeamish.) Fragile sugar-spun quills and exploding bonbons; (sweets should never explode! A terrible faux pas on the creator's part.)

While James ran about with glee gathering all sorts of sweets including unusual-tasting sweets such as a blood-flavored lollipop or a jar of Cockroach Clusters. Rowan picked out a nice supply of chocolate bars, Toothflossing Stringmints, honey-colored toffees, and chocolates. She neatly placed her purchases on the counter, while the balding shopkeeper totals the amount on an old-fashioned metal cash register.

"That will be-," Rowan doesn't even hear the rest as she drops a sufficient number of coins on the counter. Rather she arches her brow at James, who is running around like a kid. James slows down in embarrassment causing Rowan to snort.

Rowan picks up her change from the counter and politely thanks the balding shopkeeper. She collects her purchases and places them in her mokeskin pouch. Finished with her shopping she folds her arms over her chest and impatiently taps her foot against the floor.

James quickly gets the hint and carries his armful of goodies to the counter. He dumps an armful of sweets on the counter. The balding storekeeper merely shakes his head and begins to tally up the sweets as the first batch of students rushes in. Seeing the hordes already advancing upon them, the balding shopkeeper turns back to call out his wife, before quickly ringing the first of the pesky buggers.

With a large sack full of sweets, James happily emerges from Honeydukes only to run into the rest of the Marauders. "James, where were you?!" Sirius Black exclaimed. "We were looking all over for you!"

Remus Lupin flashes Rowan a warm smile as Peter Pettigrew dubiously eyes her with Rowan scowling back. Just her luck really, she sighed to herself. So much for escaping early.

"I thought I'd get here first," James proudly said as he pointed at Rowan. "Besides Rowan here is going to Zonko's with me."

Remus and Peter blink as though the sky had fallen on them as Sirius beams, "Excellent! We can always come back to Honeydukes! Zonko's awaits!" With Sirius and James leading the pack, Remus and Peter linger behind Rowan. Seeing that the two of them waited for her, she reaches into her pouch and hands them each a honey toffee.

"It's a bit early for sweets," Remus muttered, but nevertheless graciously accepted the sweet as Peter muttered a quick thanks before popping the sweet into his mouth. Peter had begun to lose weight and it showed on his slimmer face.

"Though I find it highly suspicious that'd you'd ever want to enter Zonko's," Remus added in disbelief.

"You're right, but there's a first time for everything," Rowan innocently shrugged, which did little to change the skeptical looks on Peter and Remus's faces. On their way there, they passed by a Hairdressing salon, the Hogsmeade post office, and a few other shops, before arriving at the brightly colored door to Zonko's. The boys eagerly rushed in and with a resigned sigh she also followed them inside.

The door twinkled as they entered to reveal a large shop full of countless jokes and tricks to try out on unsuspecting friends or enemies. The Dungbombs were high up on a shelf to deter the sly hands of troublesome (demonic) students. However, on the lower shelves, there were things like Hiccough Sweets, Frog Spawn Soap, Sugar Quills, and Nose-Biting Teacups. The boys instantly surrounded the displays that looked most interesting to them as the door twinkled behind them as the hordes stormed into the shop.

Not wanting to be stuck in the middle of a horde, Rowan walks straight up to the beaming shopkeeper at the front counter and asks, "Excuse me, but I'm looking for a costume to wear. Might you point me in the correct direction?"

"A temporary enchantment or an actual costume?" The villain mustached shopkeeper asked as he rubbed his curling mustache between his fingers like a cartoon villain.

"A physical costume," Rowan warily answered as she took a step back from the fishy shopkeeper standing behind the counter. Anyone who looked like a cartoon villain in real life couldn't possibly be right in the head.

"They'll be right over there," the mustached shopkeeper pointed to a rather desolate corner of the shop.

Rowan gratefully hurries away and arrives before a pile of boxes with moving illustrations on the front cover. Glancing at the costumes she blinks in surprise as she reads the titles: Witch Hunter, Priest, Cardinal, Inquisition Member, Executor, Torturer, Templar Knights, etc. Then again it would make perfect sense for witches and wizards to wear costumes of things that seemed frightful to them.

Not seeing anything that she liked, Rowan was about to turn away when she spotted a squashed box in a corner. Walking over to the bent, dusty box, she sees the illustration showing a plague doctor. The costume illustration is a flat, brimmed hat along with the black leather beak-like mask that had glass over the eyeholes for which to see out of and dark heavy robes that the doctors of that era wore.

Satisfied by the costume, Rowan takes the bent box to the counter. There was no one in line and she quickly rang up. She doesn't bother to wait for the boys and escapes without so much as a goodbye. There is no telling what would happen if she stayed behind!

Rowan just made it out in time as a horde of boys and girls rushed past her and into Zonko's. The empty shop is filled to the brim in mere seconds. She privately congratulates herself on her prudent decision to escape lest she is trapped in the crowd and unable to get out.

Having put her purchase away, Rowan decides to go on a bit of a tour of Hogsmeade. As a result, she discovers several interesting shops. The Magic Neep, a green grocer's, Tomes and Scrolls, a bookshop, SpintWitches Sporting Needs, The Shrieking Shack, the old abandoned place now rumored to be truly haunted, Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop, Cerdiwen's Cauldrons, Potage's Cauldron Shop, Cerdiwen shops rival, a local Ollivander wand branch, J. Pippins Potions, Madam Puddifoots Tea Shop, The Three Broomsticks, Gladrags Wizardwear, Dominic Maestro's Music Shop, Dogweed and Deathcap, a Herbology store, Devish and Banges, a shop that sells and repairs magical instruments.

And last but not least, Rowan made her way to the edge of the town to take a peek at a pub at the edge of town, the Hogs Head Inn. She didn't walk inside but stood a distance away staring before turning away. As she did, she spotted four wizards in dark robes emerge from the Hogs Head Inn.

Rowan's eyes widened upon recognizing the four men, Corban Yaxley, Jugson, Selwyn, and Travers. What were they doing here? She had an impulse to follow them, but quickly thought better of it.

Who was she fooling? Rowan didn't have an invisible cloak and was unable to hide her identity in plain daylight! Thinking better of it, she walked back to the Three Broomsticks for a piping hot mug of cider. Clearly, there was some part of her brain that is far too cold to properly function.

Mid-step Corban Yaxley halted and whirled about with his wand held in hand. He saw nothing but a young student from Hogwarts turning down the street. Yet his intense scanning revealed nothing.

"Yaxley?" Jugson impatiently barked.

It's nothing," the tall blond man growled, before rushing away with the three men in tow. They had work to do.