Chapter 234 - The Date: Second Half

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「Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop」

Daphne observed the little tea shop glancing at the number of golden cherubs that hovered over the shop sign. "Is this what people would say. . . cute?" she asked.

"Yes, that's what people would say." Quinn peered inside, and it was the same scene inside with cupids, pink, frills, and bows. A pit settled on the bottom of his stomach; he had been rushed in his proposition to go inside — this shop unpleasantly reminded him a lot of Umbridge's office — he would know, he had, after all, watched hours of footage.

Daphne scrutinized the group of little chubby cherubs sprinkling pink confetti over the guests. "I would rather not if that's fine with you," she said.

"I am of the same mind," he said, spotting Roger Davis, the Ravenclaw Quidditch captain holding hands with a blonde, kissing over a sugar bowl. "I don't think today is the right day to enter the shop, maybe some other day."

"I think Three Broomsticks would be better," said Daphne, "I'm feeling a little parched."

Quinn nodded, "That would indeed be better."

The pair turned away from Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop and headed to Madam Rosmerta's Three Broomstick Inn. The pub, as always, was flush with activity. It seemed that even Three Broomsticks couldn't get away from the spirit of Valentine's; Quinn could spot splashes of pink, red, and white around the establishment, though the tasteful utilization made Quinn comfortable.

"Let's find a place to sit," he said. Luckily they were able to find a relatively quiet table in the seating area. "What will you have today?" he asked.

"A butterbeer will do," said Daphne.

Quinn came back with a glass mug of butterbeer, one tankard (Eddie's gift) full of hot chocolate peppermint, and a bowl of chips (crisps) for the table.

"That rain can put a hamper on such lovely weather," said Quinn. "A pity that it rained, especially how sunny the day had started as."

"February can do that to you," said Daphne, pushing a stray stand behind her ear as not to stain her hair with butterbeer. "Thankfully, it was only a light spray. A heavy pour would have been truly unfortunate."

"I saw that you brought some herbs from Dogweed and Deathcap. From the assortments you purchased, I would guess burn salves?"

"Yes. The schedule that you provided us," by 'us' Daphne meant the DA representative, "you have Incendio next on the list, so I thought it would be an excellent opportunity to try my hand on burn heals. If the brewing goes well, we would have the salves ready in case someone got burned."

A typical teenager wouldn't talk casually about supplying burn salves for many dozens of students out of her own pocket, but people sometimes forgot that Daphne was heir to the Greengrass fortune and had no shortage of coin. The boy sitting opposite to Daphne was similarly from an exuberant background, but unlike Daphne, who preferred to keep things simple, Quinn had an air of posh attached to him — everything from the subtle ambiance of the AID office to the way he dressed, screamed a subtle class.

"What do you think Tracey and Eddie are doing right now?" asked Daphne.

"Let's see if Eddie's on schedule," Quinn took a look at his pocket watch. "Tracey doesn't fly much, so Eddie borrowed my broom so both of them could go flying today. There's an added thrill because of the flying ban, sticking it to Umbridge."

"I hope they stay away from the castle," said Daphne, glancing outside through a window, "I wouldn't want them to get into trouble."

"Marcus grilled Eddie. They will be flying someway up north, away from the castle," said Quinn. "Speaking of Marcus, did you hear about the tea party he's having with Luna and Astoria."

"You missed Madam Pomfrey," Daphne sighed, "I don't know how they were able to convince her to let them have inside the hospital wing. Marcus and Luna might be quiet, but my sister is anything but. I fear that Madam Pomfrey might kick them out."

"Luna knows a one-way silencing ward, so it'll be fine if they made some noise. Madam Pomfrey might not look like it, but she enjoys a good tea time." Quinn was the authority on the matter. To this day, from time to time, he took a picnic basket to the hospital wing and set up a table to kick back and relax.

As the two talked and conversed, enjoying each other's company, a part of their minds were thinking that coming to Three Broomsticks might have been a poor decision. Both would have preferred a quieter setting with not so many people around them.

Daphne calmly sipped on her butterbeer, but she could notice the number of eyes on them. She simply smiled, nodded, and tittered along with Quinn, ignoring whatever was happening around her. Quinn was thinking along the same lines, thinking if it would've been better if they had just remained in Scrivenshaft, or if Madam Puddifoot's would somehow be a better choice.

'',

The double door to the inn pushed open, for a cold gust of winter wind further hilled by the downpour to enter the building, stroking the nearby occupants like death's touch, sending shivers down spines and goosebumps up the arms. The door closed behind four Gryffindors, the ones known to many as the Golden Squad.

"It's bloody crowded today," said Ron, shrugging his robe off his shoulders.

"It's Valentine's day," said Hermione matter of factly, as if it answered everything. She could spot couples dotting the pub, some sitting shoulder to shoulder, then there were those still new in their endeavors with some distance between them.

"Let's see if we can find a table," said Harry, scoping the place, "I see one; it's perfect for four."

"I'll get the drinks. What does everyone want to drink?" said Ivy and took the orders. She separated from the group and went to the bar while the other three headed to their table.

"Just when I thought the weather would warm up, the rain pulled in right down," said Ron, his mouth pinched, "it's cold out there in the air; it isn't like the Quidditch gear is particularly warm, my fingers feel like they would fall."

Harry heaved a sigh, averting his eyes as his posture sagged. His detention period with Umbridge had long ended, but vile women had refused to let his Quidditch ban lift. It had been so long he had taken his broom to the air, he had forgotten what it felt like to have the winds sweep his hair back, fluttering his robes. He even missed the chill prickling his skin when he sped through the air.

"It's okay, mate," said Ron, patting his best friend on the shoulder, "we will win the cup for you." The season had been looking good for Gryffindor; they were only in second above Hufflepuff and only below Ravenclaw. The chances to make it to the finals were excellent.

Harry nodded outwardly with a thankful smile, but inside, those words didn't do much good. Harry wanted to play, he wanted to be on the field, wanted to chase down the snitch and be the reason the team won. He was happy for Ginny getting the seeker position, but he really wished that he was in her place.

'I really hope he makes a move quickly,' thought Harry. He really wanted to get back on the broom.

"Aye, isn't that West, there," said Ron.

Bubbles of surprise popped in Harry's mind — he was just thinking of Quinn — was the man really the devil. He goggled his eyes around the pub to see if Ron had spotted someone else.

"And that's Greengrass with him," said Hermione.

Harry followed her eyes and captured the Slytherin and Ravenclaw sitting together — to his surprise, Daphne Greengrass was laughing, albeit softly — a rare sight despite knowing the girl since they were little loitering children.

"That's rare, seeing those two alone together," Hermione said — usually, they would be accompanied by their respective friends.

"Reckon they're on a date?" said Ron. The Hogwarts rumor mill hadn't read the Golden Squad yet.

Hermione's eyes narrowed her eyes. It was unusual, but there was a chance that Ron was correct this time, she thought. But before she could accept the guess, she needed to know if it was true. Hermione scanned the room and found the perfect people to ask, sitting right behind her.

"Lavender," she called to the rubenesque one of the Gryffindor duet who worshipped the paper on which Witch Weekly was printed.

Lavender Brown turned back, and so did her exotic partner of Lavender, Parvati Patil.

" "Hello, Hermione~," " they said in a sing-a-song duet.

"Yes, hello," Hermione subtly jutted to the subject of her query. "Those two. What's the deal there? Did they come alone, or are they with others?"

"You don't know?" Lavender said and then giggled along with Parvati. "They're here on a date~," she stretched it long, "everyone knows it."

"I was there, you know," Paravati dreamily sighed, "Quinn arrived in the entrance hall and started with gifting Daphne the most beautiful sapphire flower that, with a touch from Daphne, turned into a stunning wrist ring band," Parvati glanced over Hermione's head and suddenly said, "Oh hey, Ivy."

Hermione jerked her head back and felt a quiver in her stomach. She turned to see standing behind her was her best friend with a tray in hand.

Ivy wasn't looking at Hermione; her eyes were solely focused on the pair sitting a distance from them. She watched the two laugh and giggle; the boy she liked was clearly leaning forward — she could tell that he was enjoying herself. On the other side, she could see the relaxed shoulder of Daphne Greengrass — for her(Daphne), it was a big deal.

"Ivy," said Hermione with a pained gaze.

Ivy set down the tray on the table, her movements deliberately slow. With her hands free, they went up to her chest, grabbing a fistful of her cardigan and shirt. Her eyes were still checked on to that table. Ivy took an uneven step back, her head finally tearing away, but now her head hung low. She spun away and hastily rushed out, leaving behind a lingering grimace. Hermione hurriedly got up from the table and chased after Ivy, nigh close to stumbling as she pushed out of the door to the inn.

"What was that?" said Ron.

"I. . . I don't know," Harry stared at the inn door as if waiting for Hermione and Ivy to return any moment. When the door didn't open, he turned to Quinn and Daphne's table. She hadn't told him anything, he thought, not liking that he didn't know something about his twins. But, what if? Harry gazed at Quinn, wondering — what if. . .

Outside, Hermione came to a heaving halt. She panted with her curly hair hanging down as she gripped her knees. Hermoine pulled her gaze from the spot of brown peeking through the snow and looked at Ivy.

Ivy was gazing up at the sky, her hands clenched into fists, arms stiffly stuck to the sides, rigid like steel rods. "I thought this might come someday," she said, "I was preparing for it, you know. And I just got something great, something even she didn't know about, though it would pull him closer." — but she was too late! Daphne had clenched the chance before her.

'

No, she wasn't late. It was only the first day. She thought, as for the wrist ring band that she had clearly seen sitting on Daphne's wrist. Quinn had a tendency to give gifts — he had made Fleur a necklace, and look how that turned. Yes, everything wasn't over yet. She had her trump card, and there were plenty of chances to apply.

But then her knees went weak. She ended up on the ground, with her legs folded backward. Despite the speech of the grandees in her thoughts, seeing Quinn enjoying himself no a date with someone else did her squeeze on her heart, raising a burn up her body.

"It's nothing," she said, "I just need to try harder. It's only one. . ." For now, she wanted to go back to Hogwarts and crawl into her bed.

. . .

After spending some time talking, Quinn and Daphne exited the Three Broomsticks. They continued on their Hogsmeade crawl, with Daphne buying supplies for months in preparation for her OWLs and Quinn tagged along with her, keeping her entertained. By the time Daphne had checked everything in her head checklist, I was already late, so both decided to return to the castle.

"It turned out to become a shopping date," said Quinn.

Daphne nodded. "That it did."

Going around the village with company (friends) was nothing new for both Daphne and Quinn, they did this every time they came down to Hogsmeade. It could be said, that the date was uneventful, even a bit boring, but both were fine with it. They were worried in their hearts that it might go the wrong way, but boring meant that nothing went wrong. For them boring was good.

"Then, how would you rate me and today?" asked Quinn as they walked at a sedate pace on the Hogsmeade tiled roads, "what was that you liked?"

"Hmm, that's to be something to be thought more," said Daphne coyly.

She wasn't expecting for the day to turn into a shopping date. Her thoughts were that they would go straight to Three Broomsticks and spend time there and nothing more, but roaming around with Quinn, listening to his stories was surely the highlight for her.

As they moved closer to the castle, the distance between the two also became closer. From standing a couple feet apart from each other, they slowly inched closer to each other, soon they were walking with shoulder nigh from touching. The distance was important to both; neither allowed just anyone to enter their personal space, and were only open to their close friends. Right now, there was no sense of discomfort.

Between the two, no one knew who it was, but it started with the side of their hands touching — they immediately pulled away. But then their hands came close again, and this time, their pinkie fingers intertwined, and soon they were holding hands.

Neither knew who it was, it may have been Quinn, or it might be Daphne, or may be both, but their hands touched each other. Both pulled away immediately. They looked at each other, searching each other's eyes.

They removed their eyes and looked to the front, but they had smiles on their faces. Their hands met each other again, this time they didn't pull away — both gingerly intertwined their pinkie with the others before Quinn took the lead and took Daphne's entire hand into his.

They had held each other's hand before while dancing, but this felt different, this felt different.

Quinn beamed brightly as Daphne to his side looked dazzling with a brush of ethereal red on her cheeks. No words were exchanged as after a day of talking, the pair decided to opt-in for silence, enjoying the moment and making a memory.

"Quinn!"

"Daphne!"

Their hands slipped out of each other's soft grasps as they turned to the familiar voices to see Eddie and Tracey walk their way, joining them at the end of the day.

Tracey and Eddie eagerly exchanged what they did today, making them impromptu judges for their two-part date. While they did that, Quinn and Daphne listened to them with one ear and let it from the other as they got themselves busy stealing small glances from each other.

The date had come to an end.

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Quinn West - MC - Maybe keeping it simple isn't bad.

Daphne Greengrass - Ice Queen - 'His grip is firm,' she thought.

Ivy Potter - Needs some time alone - Want to go burrow into her bed.

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