Gred and Forge

After shuffling through the crowds and shouting greetings at people we knew, Fred eventually pulled me in the direction of a shop whose exterior was almost identical to Honeydukes. The sign that hung over the street was old and slightly faded but the word “Gladrag’s” was still clearly visible.

“Let’s go in here,” Fred said, nodding his head in the direction of the door, “I think you’ll like it.” My cold fingers thanked him.

As the door was pushed open a small bell jingled above us, one similar to the one we heard at the Sweet Shop. Racks of clothing were organized through the small store sporadically as many of Hogwarts students browsed through them, the majority of them being witches. Soft music played faintly through the shop adding a comfortable element to it all.

“I remember this place!” I exclaimed as I started walking along the front of the store, my eyes scanning over everything. Walking up to the closest rack I started to flip through the arrangement of various shirts.

“So you have been here before?” Fred asked nonchalantly, resting his arm on the rod that the shirts were suspended upon.

“Yeah, I have, just not in a while.”

His eyebrows knitted together as I spotted a horrid looking blouse in the midst of tops. It was a mustard yellow color with a large cat face on the front and frilly lace around the hems. I quickly flipped on as Fred replied. “Why’s that?”

“Well,” deciding I’ve had enough of that rack I moved on to the one to my left that was full of an assortment of gowns. “Last year was O.W.L. year and that really made me nervous. My fourth year I was sick quite often and never had the opportunity to go.”

“Well don’t expect to be staying in the castle on Hogsmeade days because I’m taking you out to every single one of them, even if I have to drag you out of the castle.”

I momentarily stopped browsing through the dresses and gazed haughtily at Fred, popping up one of my eyebrows. “Is that a threat or a promise?”

“Both.”

I continued to sort through the dresses, dismissing Fred’s comment. A new rush of excitement and belonging ran through me; the thought of being taken out for every Hogsmeade trip was exhilarating, and even more so that Fred will be the one accompanying me.

“So what are you looking for exactly? Anything specific?” He asked only moments later.

I shrugged, not really sure of what I wanted myself, “Nothing really, whatever catches my eye I guess.” My fingers pushed the hanger of a long sliver gown out of the way.

“Oh, I thought you were looking for a dress for the Yule Ball. I wasn’t sure if the whole dress thing was a supposed to be a surprise, you know like in weddings, yeah?”

I laughed, shaking my head as the thought of teenage girls fretting over keeping their ball gowns a secret popped into my mind. “Not that I know of, no. Unless well, you want it to be one? I already got my dress you know.”

“You do?” I could hear the surprise in his voice as I continued leafing through the clothes. “Well in that case don’t bother showing me what it looks like, I want to be surprised.”

Nodding my head I looked at him and smiled, “Deal.”

We started to meander around the remaining portion of the store, laughing at disastrous articles of clothing, including a long skirt patterned with the pictures of various potions and an acid green corduroy jacket with a flashy arrangement of bright flowers and buttons scattered on its sleeves. Just as my stomach started to ache for food we somehow wound up in the back, right in front of the jewelry counter.

I scanned over all the odd and unique bracelets, rings, and earrings, all displayed on hooks and in small cases. Suddenly my eyes were attracted to the necklace that were all hidden behind a glass countertop. Out of all accessories I have to say necklaces were my favorite. One caught my eye particularly; it was a long silver chained necklace with a crystal pendant. The uppermost part was small and was widening as it met the other half barely a quarter of the way down. The second half was about 3/4th’s of the gem and came to a point at the bottom.

“You like it?” The middle aged witch who was standing behind the counter asked, noticing my interested gaze, her Scottish accent thick and native. She had porcelain skin and dark hair, well-manicured fingernails and a slightly upturned nose. Dressed in what I assumed was the latest trend, she had a friendly, yet had a superficial aurora about her.

“Yeah, it’s really nice.”

“It’s a pascaltia crystal. Watch what happens when I touch it.” She opened the side portion of the counter and reached in. As soon as her slender fingers touched the chain the pendant burst with color, a light blue to be exact. Strangely enough none of it seemed to penetrate farther than inside the crystal, as if the color was kept contained within the confines of the gem. By the time she had lifted the necklace from behind the glass the light blue had turned into a pale pink.

“What did you say it was called again?” Fred asked curiously from my side, looking as intrigued with the necklace as I was. “The pendant I mean.”

“Pascaltia,” she replied, her lips cracking into a sugary smile as soon as her blue eyes were laid upon Fred. I instantly felt the ugly green head of jealousy butt its way into my chest but I pushed it down and remained silent, watching.

“Isn’t that a rare good luck charm? They’ve only found it in remote places of Africa right?” He seemed bluntly oblivious to the woman’s slight attraction towards him, which was only what I expected of him.

“Oh, it is much more than a talisman dear,” She chided, shaking her head curtly. By now the gem had merged into a deeper magenta. “It also a symbol for a happy marriage, healthy body and mind and also, good relations with others. This one right here happens to be goblin made too. The gem has only been found deep within the Atlas Mountains.”

“And do the colors have any connection to the wearer of the necklace? Is it kind of like a mood ring?” I asked, the necklace interesting me even more. Now for different reasons then when I first looked at it. Before I just liked the way it looked, now I wanted to know what it did.

“Well that’s very uncertain; it all depends on who you ask. This crystal is one of the biggest mysteries in the world; no one really knows how the colors work.”

Fred and I shared a look of curiosity before he asked, “How much is it?”

“30 galleons, and that’s most likely the cheapest it will come.”

I shot Fred a threatening glance, one that silently told him that if he bought that necklace there would be quite a bit of refusal from my side. I can tolerate a bag or two of sweets, but a 30 galleon necklace? I am not one of those girls who expects her boyfriend to buy her everything her heart desires and for him to pay for the bill every single time they go out for dinner.

“How about these?” He pointed to a couple of different necklaces in the glass case to our right. “How much are those?”

With one hasty glance the sales witch sighed, “Anywhere between five to 20 galleons.”

My hunger seemed to peak and my eyes darted up to the clock hanging on the wall behind the counter; it would be nearly time for us to meet George and Emily if we stuck to the original plan.
As Fred was about to continue the conversation a couple of young girls came up to the counter asking how much bracelets were. The sales witch gave a forgiving glance to Fred and quickly walked over to tend to the other customers. I took that as a good opportunity to grab Fred and lead him out of the store.

“Well that was a quick exit,” He commented as we stepped out into the street and back into the cold day.

Buttoning up my jacket I shrugged, “I just wanted to get you out of there before you bought me something else that’s all. Plus I’m starving.”

“Oh, you’re starving are you?” He teased, his hands digging in his pockets for something. “You know Madam Puddifoot’s is right around the corner, we could have gone there for lunch but nope. Now we have to walk all the way across town to Three Broom Sticks.”

Smirking I crossed my arms over my chest, “You sound like you actually want to go there.”

Fred leaned in, chuckling, “I was only joking.” He quickly pecked my lips before continuing on with his sentence. “I’ve seemed to have forgotten my gloves inside, hold on a second while I go in and grab them, yeah?”

I simply nodded my head as he disappeared back inside. There were a good amount of people roaming through the streets; about the same as before we entered Gladrags. I was watching them all pass before me, looking at all the friendships and couples grouped up together; no one seemed to be alone. There was one couple though that stood out more than the rest, one consisting of a short girl with golden curls and a rugged boy with dark hair walking hand in hand. I smiled to myself as I watched Rue and Oliver walk past me in the direction of Madam Puddifoot’s. I will have to ask her how her date went later tonight.

Soon Fred reemerged from the store and we started off down the lane towards the destination of our lunch. He was right; the pub was practically on the other side of town, but it was a trip well worth it, as soon as I walked inside Three Broomsticks, I knew we were in my type of pub. It was a bit crowded but that just added to the cozy and friendly vibe it was giving off. As we walked to the back trying to find a booth Fred waved to the busty barmaid who was refilling a mug with a dark colored substance. To our great surprise it seemed like only moments after we were seated that George and Acorns had somehow found our table. I barely had enough time to look at the small menu that was left on the table.

“Oi, what happened to Madam Puddifoot’s?” George asked angrily, looking at his twin.

“I thought we were all supposed to meet there,” Emily piped up, her arms crossed tightly over her chest.

I looked at Fred for help; I wasn’t sure how to tell them that we didn’t want to go, I honestly didn’t want to hurt their feelings by telling them that their idea for lunch sucked. He simply shrugged, “Ella didn’t want to go so I wasn’t going to drag her someplace that neither of us wanted to visit.”

“So you just weren’t going to show up? We made plans this morning,” George argued, looking at both of us like we were horrible children. I have never seen him this angry; I’ve seen Fred angry but never George. He was always calmer.

“When? I wasn’t a part of this plan making.” Everyone looked at me and sheepish expressions made their ways to their faces as they had just realized what was missing in their expert day planning. Both Emily and Fred fell silent as George apologized. They decided to stay for lunch though and Fred moved into my booth as Emily and George shared the other one.

“So how did you find us exactly?” Fred wondered as we all started looking at the menus.

“Well,” Emily started, “We saw you guys walking out of Gladrags together and going in the opposite direction of the tea shop so we followed you.”

Fred sighed, “Well I couldn’t have expected anything different from the two of you.” His head suddenly snapped up and he looked around, his eyes searching the pub for something. We all watched him inquiringly until his eyes stopped and landed on something, or someone, in front of us. Quickly putting down his menu he stood up, “Look who’s here Georgie.”

George turned around in his seat, looked around for a moment, then stood up much like his brother did. “Sorry ladies,”

“But we’ve got a bit of business to take care of.”

“Do you want anything?” They asked in unison, both looking back at their respective girlfriends. I said, “No thanks,” while Emily shook her head rapidly. They both shrugged and walked away, heads held high and shoulders back.

“What was that all about?” Emily asked me, the curiosity inside her practically pouring out.

I just shrugged and unbuttoned my coat, “I have no idea.”

“You never really do know what’s up with them, you know? It’s like; they’re always so mysterious all the time. Always planning things with each other, like they have some big secret or something.”

My coat slid off the rest of my body. It was almost impossible not to detect some jealousy in her voice and perhaps, though I may have imagined it, a hint of unhappiness. Of course this statement surprised me, for one Fred was quite vocal with me, telling me the synopsis of his latest pranks. He never spilled all the details but he liked to let me know what they did to Snape that day or what hidden treasures they were going to plant for Filch. Another thing that struck me odd is the fact that as close as George and Emily seemed, they obviously weren’t.

As if she was pulled out of her own little world Emily’s expression abruptly turned serious. “Do you think I’m clingy?”

Yes. I wanted to say that but when you’re talking to a friend you never tell the whole truth, so I skirted around the outside of it some. “Well I don’t really know what you mean by ‘clingy’, it’s all a matter of perception. What I think is clingy may be the total opposite of what you think.”

“I know but,” She hesitated and looked over her shoulder quickly before answering, “do you think George thinks I’m clingy?”

Sighing I leaned forward on the table between us, “I honestly don’t know, but why don’t you two talk about it? It is your relationship after all.”

She nodded, some of the apparent worry lifting away, “You’re right, I will ask him about it.”

The rest of lunch passed wonderfully. As soon as the boys came back we ordered drinks and banter took off, sharing stories, jokes, and gossip between the four of us. The First Task always found its way back into our conversations though, and no one could deny how excited they were about it. The hours seemed to slip away from us and not before long did we get up only to make our way back to the castle.

“We still have to go to Zonko’s!” George exclaimed as the door shut behind us, a brisk wind rushing past our warm faces.

“Well of course, it wouldn’t be a Hogsmeade trip without it!” Fred agreed, shoving his hat back on again.

Both the twins stood in between Acorns and I and offered their elbows, “Shall we?”

We were about to start off down the street once more but Emily abruptly stopped and pointed to the sky, “Oh look! An owl!”

And right she was. A large screech owl was fluttering down towards us carrying a letter and fighting against the harsh wind. Eventually it landed on a window sill and Fred took the piece of parchment it was holding.

Looking at the front he handed it to me, “It has your name on it.”

Confused I looked at the scratched script and sure enough ‘Miss. Emily Martens’ was written on the front. Quickly I opened it, not knowing why anyone would try to contact me. Pulling the letter out I read the only two words written,

“Blood Traitor.”