Hogsmeade: A village like no other

The snow was starting to let up and Amadora idly wondered whether it would clear away. She couldn't go into the forest because it seemed to be forever coming down and a Ravenclaw would be noticed through the white. However, going to Hogsmeade wasn't so unusual and Dora could blend in quite well there.

Blending in did cause her some problems, though. She seemed to be forever getting sat on and no one seems to notice her in lines when shopping. She understood this, she wasn't a spectacular beauty like other girls. She was the strange, silent Ravenclaw that wore an excessive amount of Glamour’s and could be heard screaming nearly every day. It was a sad, sad truth that unfortunately it seemed she didn't have the power to change.

But Hogsmeade seemed like a good place to go. She needed a Butterbeer seeing as one was very over due on her part and perhaps she'd even be able to get some sweets if it wasn't too busy in there. She only just got noticed if she was the only one in the shop - how on earth could she be seen in one practically heaving?

((Cue Scorpius - interrupt her thoughts ))

It was a dreadfully cold day, and Scorpius wondered why he was even outside at Hogsmeade. But he had felt quite lonely at the Slytherin Common room when everyone else was at Hogsmeade, so he had decided to come as well. Perhaps he would just spend the day at the Three Broomsticks, get some butterbeer and all that.

Usually Scorpius would be surrounded by friends when he went to Hogsmeade, but his attitude nowadays was hardly friendly and most people just stayed away from him now. Of course, somethings happened in life that really changed you, and Scorpius had changed from the talkative, overconfident guy he had been. Now he was thoughtful and silent for most of the time. He was even attending classes now.

Finally, he arrived at the three broomsticks, which was unsurprisingly crowded. It always was when the weather outside was like that. In here it was warm and cozy, but crowded. Scorpius now generally hated being near to many people, unlike before. He quickly ordered a butterbeer, then turned and looked for a place to sit. As he searched, he saw some of his friends sitting at a table, making a lot of noise. Before they could see him, he hurried away to the very corner of the shop where one person was sitting alone at a table. "Mind if I sit here?" he asked nervously. He recognized the person, but didn't know her name. He knew she was in his year, but he had never talked to her.

Dora looked up at the sound of a voice. The hum of the Three Broomsticks was now pounding against her ears and it seemed that the students were livelier than usual. She wished she could have said the same for herself but she wasn’t interested in befriending hormone charged teenagers. There was that small part of her that was like them but it was so miniscule it was unbelievable. She wasn’t someone that a person would voluntarily talk to. Maybe if they knew who she was and recognised those haunted eyes and the familiar screams then perhaps they would speak to her out of pity.

The words on the pages of the book in front of her and the earphones in her ears had kept her busy in the pub. Her Butterbeer was still warm and her dog-eared book was still in her hands. However something in the air had changed. Apart from the boy being there - one she recognised - something had changed. It was an air of worry, concealment and what seemed to be a change in character. She knew it wasn’t her because she’d always been the same way but someone had done a three-sixty turn and changed their character around completely but who ever it was hadn’t done it gradually - they’d been forced to. A bit like her.

She took the earphones from her ear and the Muggle music she’d been sold left her ears. Dora turned the Ipod off that was sat in the pocket of her leather coat and slipped the little machine back inside. She added another dog-ear to her book and set it down beside her before gesturing with a pale, slightly blue hand to the seat opposite her. Dora smiled a little and returned her hand to her lap. “Take a seat.” she said quietly.

Scorpius realized he hadn't even ever heard her talk before. Or he had just probably never heard her. Hardly surprising, the tone she talked in was so quiet he could barely hear it over the noise everyone was making. "Thanks," he muttered, putting his butterbeer on the table and taking a seat opposite to her.

Scorpius hardly focused on her for a minute, just watching his friends to see if they didn't see him. He didn't want to be noticed, after what had happened at the forest, he disliked the people who he had previously thought of as friends deeply. He watched as they stood up from the table and left. They didn't see him, he was easily hidden by the shadows in the corner of the shop.

Now that they were gone, he sipped his butter beer and looked at the girl. He knew her, she was the girl that never talked. Unless she had to give an answer to a question. He had no idea what her name was, which just showed how quiet she was, they had almost the exact same classes. "Umm, hi," he said nervously. He would just finish his butterbeer and then leave, coming into the three broom sticks had been a mistake in the first place. He should have known that most of his friends would be here. "Sorry about that.. I didn't want to be seen," he apologized.

Dora followed his line of sight with a small turn of her head and noticed some of the people he was usually around. She sighed and pushed a fly away curl of hair out of her eyes. She couldn’t quite believe she knew who he was friends with and she could barely put the name to the face. But then, of course she knew. She was the observer and saw, heard and felt things others either chose to ignore or were to ignorant and wrapped up in their own lives to notice. There was quite a bit animosity coming from the boy and it was directed at the group of people, especially when they got up and left the shop - no doubt to shop at the joke shop. They were meant to be his friends. She wondered what she had missed. Why hadn’t she noticed it? Perhaps she just wasn’t looking or maybe it wasn’t up for show like so many other things in a sixteen year old wizard or witch’s life was. She felt a little bit left out when it came to that but it wasn’t her problem. She chose to become the recluse she was. It was easier like that.

She turned her attention back to her book and picked it up. She had ever intention of starting to read again but it was far to loud now and she was aware of her surroundings. The only place she could really melt into something and forget the world was when she was in the forest. Some thought her foolish and she was constantly being taken from the woods by students that decided it was her time to leave. She never believed it, of course, seeing as it was the only place she could truly be herself and not have to worry about loosing her sight on one of the staircases and slipping into a memory before finally unconsciousness. It could happen without a problem there and she wouldn’t need to scream. But it was rare for her to have a relapse in the forest, very rare indeed.

She found his excuse to sit with her quite entertaining. If he didn’t want to be seen then he should have chosen the Hogs Head to sit and have a drink in. It was usually quite empty and she was one that frequented it for the solitude but today she didn’t want to make the walk. She knew that he was quite a well liked person but he didn’t seem to want to drift into the backdrop and be that face that people remembered but never the personality or name. Perhaps overlooked but still recognised. Amadora could tell he had quite a bit on his plate from the way his eyes were guarded and the slight apprehension in his body language.
“If you didn’t want to be seen then why come to a place that Hogwarts Students frequent often when in Hogsmeade?” Dora asked with one of her rare smiles. “You could have gotten a disguise though. It might have worked. A bright curly wig and some huge sunglasses.”

Scorpius chuckled at her suggestion for a disguise. Jokes aside though, she was quite right, why would he be here if he didn't want to be seen or noticed? The place where all the students usually came? The answer was well, he didn't really know. Still, he had been cold, and the Three Broomsticks was the closest shop, and the Hogs Head was always cold. "I don't know, I haven't been thinking straight lately," he replied tiredly. "Probably the stress from school work," he added, so he didn't get any questions. She didn't really seem like the nosy type but you could never be too sure. He drank some more butterbeer than continued to look at her with his cold grey eyes. "Whats your name again?" he asked curiously.

Dora raised an eyebrow and picked up her Butterbeer. She doubted that it was school work tiring the boy. School had barely begun and they shared most classes - if not all and they hadn’t received homework as of yet. But it wasn’t hard to get overwhelmed by classes. It was probably one of the main reasons she took so few. She took his reason without question though, deciding it better to leave it be. She didn’t like people prying into her life but then again, no one that ever tried to reach out to her. She hadn’t let them. “Clear your thoughts and quiet your mind. Then you will know which voice to listen to. Thoughts become clouded when there are too many voices speaking at once.” Dora advised tentively.

Dora bit her lip and her mind finally caught up. She recognised who he was now. He was a Malfoy. She couldn’t believe she’d not recognised him before. The blonde hair and classic blue-grey eyes. They were very beautiful and unique in their own way. “Amadora.” she said finally. “You’re Scorpius, yes?”

Scorpius raised his eyebrows slightly at her suggestion. What? He hardly understood what she had said. Still, after thinking about it, it wasn't bad advice, just confusing. He tried to follow what she said, then just shrugged. "Well the thing is, I don't really know what voice to listen to," he replied.

There were few people in Hogwarts who would not know his name. Despite being rather popular, anyone could recognize a malfoy. Blue grey eyes, silver blonde hair and good looks were something all Malfoys shared. "Yeah, I'm Scorpius. Nice to meet you Amadora," Scorpius replied back quietly.

Scorpius looked down at the book she was reading, he frowned, not noticing what book it was. Scorpius had generally hated reading books. Another thing that had changed about him. He read a lot now, spending a lot of time in the library, mostly alone. "Your reading? Seems like an odd place to read," he said. "Personally I hate to read in places like this. One can't concentrate."

She saw a look of concentration and she traced back what she had said. Perhaps listening to it once and hearing conflicting words was a slight issue but she was pleased he understood what she had meant. Her advice was used often but not by herself. She believed that it didn’t apply to her because she was too far gone to be helped. So she aided others. “You go by your instinct. It is your own voice and the quietest. Above the rest, that one is the voice that will guide you through life. Others aren’t as distinct or useful because they aren’t your own.”

Amadora wondered where this advice was coming from. No doubt her fathers teachings were finally sinking in after so many years. She picked up her butter beer and put it to her lips before putting it back down again. Dora traced her finger around the rim of the glass and wondered if she had started to come into her own. She was French for goodness sake but she bore no trace of that apart from her surname. Lunel. Her father’s name. Her siblings got Christian names native to their home country but Amadora was Italian. Ironic really considering her mother had Italian heritage and Dora was the one she despised the most.

She closed her book and put it down on the table. It was wizarding fiction, one she’d picked up in one of the slightly older bookshops in Diagon Alley. She did tend to avoid Flourish and Blotts. She found that old, worn and written in books gave much more insight and wizarding fiction wasn’t something that would be found in Flourish and Blotts - well, the good ones. “I didn’t intend to come here. I prefer the Hogs Head but my ankles are- tired, I’m just tired.” she said quickly, brushing over her mistake and hoping he didn’t catch it. She was stupid to go outside and she knew it. She was getting increasingly clumsier and her constant trips and slips down stairs were probably making up with the lack of memory lapses as of late. Of course, she had to be scarred some way even if it wasn’t mentally and physically all the time. It had to be at least one.

Scorpius listened to her advice, taking it much more seriously than he normally would. Before, he would have probably just laughed at her, now he was listening to her closely. Even if she was being extremely confusing. "Well umm... thanks for the advice.." he replied, not really sure how he should have replied.

There was a small period of silence, so Scorpius quickly finished his butterbeer. He thought about leaving and heading back to Hogwarts, somebody else could spot him, but he sort of liked the girl and was enjoying talking to her. He was a little surprised that he had never actually talked to her before. But then she was a really quiet person, and Scorpius had never got along well with people like that. Until now of course, it was weird how a single event could change a person so much.

He could tell the book was a novel. Scorpius had recently became interested in fiction, something he usually hated before. He hadn't understood why people wasted so much of their times reading stupid stories. In a way he had sort of became the opposite of the person he had been before. "You were tired?" he repeated, smiling slightly. That was a slightly odd excuse for coming there really, he guessed she was probably lying, but he decided against asking. He didn't really want to be nosy. "I would probably go there too, but it does mean going back out into the cold."