「005. honeydukes and hippogriffs 」

HONEY WAS let out the clutches of madame pomfrey very quickly. for the most part, this was her own work. after downing just about all of the chocolate she had been gifted (which did leave her feeling just the tiniest bit sick) and pleading very fiercely with madame pomfrey that she was okay (which took around half an hour), honey was let go unwillingly by a very strained and tired medi-witch who had warned her not to 'overexert herself'.

she was thankful she was allowed out so early (she had planned to start her relentless complaining very early which was a challenge on her part, but with a little bit of pepper-up potion she was perfectly fine), because if she hadn't been let out- she'd have missed the first trip to hogsmeade. she'd practically sprinted out of the hospital wing, going at supersonic speed down to her common room and straight to her dormitories, casting a quick anti-frizz on her hair and snatching whatever clothes she first saw.

she tumbled into the shirt, layering the jumper over before grabbing a suitable dark and thick pair of trousers, snatching a coat and scarf and a bag to carry anything she needed in it (including her money and wand and her permission slip which she assumed would need to be checked). she was lucky to even have caught the tail end of students to hogsmeade, but it seemed luck was on honey's side for now.

she says for now, because when she actually got to hogsmeade, she lost all her luck as soon as she stepped into honeydukes. which was unfortunate, because honey had been looking forward to honeydukes the most out of it all.

when people look at honey, they very quickly assume she's a hard-shelled person (which... isn't always wrong?), she looks like the type of person who likes salt and vinegar crisps (they're not wrong, she loves them), she just has this pungent and acrid look about her that makes you think she's all mostly bark and all bite. she's not the type to physically hit you, but her words could knock you out flat. she's sharp-tongued and she's difficult as hell.

if she likes you, it is hard to tell. if she doesn't like you then it's still hard to tell. honey was sometimes known to be vindictive, to be jealous, to be selfish and to be harsh. it was what most of hogwarts saw on her bad days and what they saw on a lower level on her 'good days'. it was what emmery had seen in full last summer- it was a product of her upbringing.

she was a bitter, she was sour, she was callous and she was cruel-

but merlin's beard she loved a good bit of chocolate.

it was so excruciatingly cliche- the person who seems to have a heart of stone to love something so sweet. sugar quills, acid pops (they might burn holes through your tongue but when you get to the centre they were quite sweet and delicious!), chocolate frogs and she'd heard how famous the honeydukes chocolate were).

honey had planned to fully explore and enjoy hogsmeade for however long they were allowed there that day. she'd planned to go get butterbeer first, since she thought that would be best to do first since it would be less busy. she'd planned to get extra quills and rolls of parchment (which went down a success) before she found herself practically running towards honeydukes.

the place was warm and had a cozy feeling about it. the minute you walked in, it was just a blast of warm air and smiling people. a familiar sort of feeling that felt like you were being blanketed in casual conversations, soft smiles, red noses and that nice tingling feel when you step into a warm place to escape the cold. even if you'd never experienced it, the feeling was one that felt like you were walking to a place called home.

the tinkling bell rang as she walked in, and she found herself smiling as she strolled in although it was hidden under the big bundle of her large scarf. a secret smile, one that could maybe be guessed by the gleaming in her eyes as she stared at the sweets.

she was figuratively and literally a kid in a candy store at that moment.

she liked the browsing, the fact nobody was bothering her because they were all focused on their own endeavours at the shop, and she liked picking things up and dropping them into a basket. she looked around, scouring away to try find the honeyduke's chocolate section, which was just a bit closer to the counter than she'd thought it was. she moved around people, finally getting to te section and letting her eyes run over the different labels. from strawberry chocolate to 'firecracker' chocolate and right back to the original, there was so much choice it was almost maddening to the eyes.

"i quite like the original version," a voice said, interrupting her, "there's samples at the counter- they're very delicious!"

hermione granger?

"lee says they're good," she stiffly replied, looking at the equally bundled up gryffindor with a cashmere scarf in deep purple, suiting her dark skin perfectly. she was looking intently at honey, as if urging the conversation to continue. "uh.. yeah, i like chocolate a lot."

"is it your favourite?" hermione asked.

was this an interrogation?

"i mean, i'm not sure," honey shrugged, "i like sweet food in general. not the pure sugar stuff. that's too sweet, but i like chocolate and stuff- i like acid pops a bit too."

"i remember ron told me it burned through his tongue once," hermione said thoughtfully before adding on, "but he was a four year old. i reckon it probably would've been a bit too much for a four year old."

"definitely," nodded honey, "probably messed up his tastebuds."

"i saw him eat a lemon once," added hermione, "he didn't seem to mind the taste- bit it like an apple."

honey just stared oddly at her for a few moments before she just a blinked a bit more- this girl was confusingly interesting. "er- well, good for him. suppose they must be very good for you and stuff. nutrition and whatever."

"yes, yes- well-"

"yeah i'm just going to pay for my chocolate," honey stated blandly, holding up her basket and walking over to the counter.

"oh, yes- um, good talk-!"

"bye," she said, handing over the money to the lady at the till.

"well i'll just see you in div-"

she didn't end up hearing the rest of what hermione was saying, because she'd hurried out of honeydukes before she could finish. something about hermione grangers curiosity startled and confused honey. what was she trying to do? interrogate her- what was she, a teenage auror?!

she ended up walking around hogsmeade for a while, simply looking around and letting the strange encounter mull around in her mind a bit more, reason after reason being denied by her minds logic.

maybe she wants to be your friend, said some ludicrous part of her mind.

don't be silly, honey, she said to herself quickly, feeling some invisible force bump into her- making her stumble a bit as she saw a blur of ron weasley's ginger hair and the shouting of hermione pass her quickly. why would hermione granger want to be your friend?

it wasn't sad, it was the truth. honey jordan didn't do the concept of friends anymore. she hardly knew how to be one let alone what it meant to have one anymore.

honey awoke the next day with a distinct thought of a firebolt and a deserted bedroom, along with a slightly less deserted common room once she'd gotten herself dressed. she found freya downstairs, ginger hair back looking just a little bit sleep deprived. honey nodded to her, asking quietly if she'd wanted to get breakfast. freya laughed, telling her she'd slept through all the way into lunch time.

she rolled her eyes, surprisingly not snappy, "let's just go get some food."

freya hummed, swinging her legs before using the momentum to pull herself up. she looked around, squinting and frowning, "not many people, hm? there wasn't many at breakfast either."

"it's because it's the first day of the holidays, right?" honey answered, "why're you here, anyways? and where are hannah and vi? i thought they where staying."

"mam and dad did this getaway thing," shrugged freya, "they haven't spent time with each other in forever, i think they honestly needed it. it's like their bonding thing. hannah and vi are off somewhere on the grounds trying to crush each other in a 1v1 snowball fight. what about you? why're you staying here for christmas?"

"oh- uh-"

my parents hate each other and i don't want to fucking go back to their yelling.

"-just wanted to stay this christmas, s'pose hogwarts has got better food."

freya laughed, throwing her head back a bit, "yeah, you're probably right."

lunch was an easy little affair- it wasn't christmas yet, but it sure felt like it. the walls of hogwarts had been charmed with lights and baubles and decorations, little stars captured in the twinkling lights the ran down the staircase, the ringing of sleighbells near doors and holly truly did deck the halls. christmas at hogwarts seemed magical- and honey cursed herself for not choosing to stay before. this was ten times- no, a million times better than christmas at the jordan's.

the great hall was mostly deserted, which honey found better. not as many people, not as much noise. and far less annoying people in the same hall as her. she caught a glance of her brother waving to her from the gryffindor table, he seemed to be talking to another boy in his year, laughing at something before shoving him slightly in a friendly manner. she shook her head, sitting herself down at the hufflepuff table, facing freya on the other side of the bench. she took a liberal share of the food at the table, washing away her thirst with a cup of pumpkin juice.

the great hall doors opened once again, spawning the problem honey now had the solution to.

honey had been told by many that harry potter never went home for christmas. which meant by extension his friends never really went home either. they where a three for one deal at tesco that you wondered was worth it or not.

honey was still wondering that too.

but the thing the trio simply loved to do was stare at her. all day, every day. it didn't matter what, she'd hear mumbles and whispers, and little stares at her- which would be quickly diverted if she where to look in their direction even for just a moment. but fear not, honey had in fact come up to a solution for this.

staring right back.

she thought, if they where going to stare at her- then her staring back at them in the first place would pretty much cancel out the staring, right? maybe they'd get a taste of their own potion brew as hannah would put it simply to the younger years at times when trying to sort out a quarrel.

"merlin honey, are your eyes going to bulge out of the fucking sockets or something?" freya asked thoughtfully before putting a forkful of mash potatoes in her mouth, "i mean- seriously what are you staring at?"

"not now, freya," muttered honey, squinting at the group that sat down, "i am the cauldron, they are the pot. i'm just showing them how weird it is."

"you're so fucking odd."

"i know i am," she hissed, hands on the table as she leaned forwards, staring at the group- who seemed not wanting to stare back. she watched them intently as hermione placed a large spoonful of vegetables onto her plate, forcing the other two to do the same ("you need to have some sort of vegetable! they have nutrients!" she heard hermione inform them) whilst harry potter seemed to be attempting to drawn the roast beef in gravy.

it was only after a few minutes that harry elbowed ron, who seemed like he was in a state of peace when eating, and then 'subtly' nodded to honey. ron then let his eyes widen, before hermione turned around, eyes wide like she was shocked before she quickly waved. honey let her eyes relax, not bothering to wave back as she shoves food into her mouth.

"are you trying to kill them?" wondered freya, "mum works with animals in the ministry, says that animals and stuff squint and intimidate their prey- are you doing that?"

"i'd be a fantastic apex predator," honey proclaimed, not confirming nor denying that she might've been trying to intimidate them.

honey had come to hagrid's hut for extra reading. she'd owled her grandma a few days prior, and the women had sent a speedy reply after lunch, telling her in her loving grandma way to go and visit the abnormally large wizard for extra reading. (if you want to intern for mr scamander in a few years, you must know a lot of things! her grandmother said, he's a lovely chap, comes round for tea from time to time- i'm sure he'd love you, but you need to know your stuff, honour dear!). honey had been planning to do this regardless, but had been rather lazy about it- so the letter mostly set her into action if anything else.

again, honey had come to hagrid's hut for extra reading. not for a crying and tall wizard. but she didn't think she had the heart to leave when he was in such a state.

"do you want me to make tea?" she asked him, unsure as to what to do (she could barely comfort people around her age, but an adult? circe how did that work?).

"ah s'alright," he blubbered, lumbering over to a bookshelf and grabbing a few heavy looking books, "scamanders 'rigonal copies here- you'd find that nice, that. great man, scamander. got some others'well too- thought y'might like 'em."

"of course," she said, "thank you, by the way."

"s'alright," he said, blowing his nose in a large handkerchief, "you're one of my best students, pleasure to give 'em to you."

she simply nodded her head, not sure what to do. the kettle on the stove whistled, and honey brought it over, pouring tea silently and placing a spoonful of sugar into her own. she let hagrid sort out his own before she cleared her throat and asked, "what's the matter, hagrid? are you alright?"

"jus'a bit sad, s'all," he mumbled, "malfoy's gone of an' told his dad, hasn't he? trouble's coming for me, i-" he shook his head sadly, "i was a hufflepuff like you, y'know? s'all 'bout caring an' being there for them. s'what hufflepuffs are. and.... an' beaky is a lovely hippogriff, wouldn't hurt nobody without being provoked. i love 'im so much- he's a good little flyer."

she nodded, letting him continue without any interruption.

"i got expelled when i was in school- my dah used to tell me i was the next scamander. he got expelled too, did y'know? an' i- professor dumbledore- he offered me this position, an' i thought it would help. i'd see the forest- all i wanted to do was teach people that-"

he took a shallow breathe, dabbing the handkerchief against the corner of his eyes,"-that all them large and scary creatures- they... they aren't monsters. they're like us, they feel an' they- they shouldn't be treated differently. i was always a tall lad- people got a bit spooked by me. an' them creatures are just like me, we aren't so different."

"magical creatures aren't scary, they're fascinating and wonderful," honey agreed. "it's why i liek the subject. they're so fantastical and interesting, they'd make life long friends if there wasn't so much prejudice."

"an' then there's people like malfoy, a load of codswallop, tellin' the lot at the ministry that beaky is dangerous." he shook his head, head planting onto the table with a load thump- nearly causing the cups to rattle off.

"i'm sure there's something that can be-"

knock knock.

"i'll answer the door," she said to him, walking over to the door- wincing as she heard hagrid sob behind her. as she opened the door, she said, "hagrid's a bit unavailable right now, but i can- bloody hell potter, what are you doing here?"

"is it harry and his lot?" hagrid called, "let them in."

"alright then," she mumbled, opening the door a bit wider- hermione giving her a quick wave whilst ron just looked at her like she might be fluorescent.

"you've heard?" hagrid bellowed to them, looking up from the table.

"heard what?" harry asked, a bit confused. he looked at honey, as if she might have an answer.

"i think it's something to do with buckbeak," she said, shrugging. "tea, you lot? the water should still be warm."

"sure," replied ron and hermione.

"no thanks," harry mumbled, "what're you doing here?"

"i came here for extra reading," she smirked, "why're you interested, potter? do your eyes seem to draw to me? i should say the same to you, alluring bastard." she didn't wait for a reaction, turning around and refilling hagrid's cup, passing one to hermione and ron, taking a sip from her own.

"i think buckbeak might be in some trouble." hagrid sobbed, wordlessly passing her a letter which she skimmed quickly, "there's a hearing on april 2oth- blimey." she mumbled, frowning, "this..." she didn't want to say what she thought was going to happen (because mostly she didn't want herself to get upset, and the words buckbeak might not survive after the hearing sounded bitter and acrid and would definitely upset hagrid too).

"mr luscious malfoy has complained- buggering blonde inbred imp- and it will be taken to the committee for the disposal of dangerous creatures. but buckbeak isn't dangerous!"

"then they'll let him off, right?" ron asked.

"don't be an idiot," honey snapped, "you think the committee for the disposal of dangerous creatures will be-?" she cut herself off, hearing hagrid let out another sob. she sighed, placing the letter down, only for harry to pick it up and skim it himself.

"you'll have to put up a strong defence, hagrid," hermione finally said, "i'm sure you can prove buckbeak is innocent."

"won' make no diff'rence!" sobbed hagrid. "them disposal devils, they're all in lucius malfoy's pocket! scared o' him! ad if i lose the case, buckbeak —" hagrid drew his finger swiftly across his throat, then gave a great wail and lurched forward, his face in his arms.

"what about dumbledore, hagrid?" said harry.

"he's done more'n enough fer me already," groaned hagrid. "got enough on his plate what with keepin' them dementors outta the castle, an' sirius black lurkin' around."

"hagrid, he's the headmaster," honey frowned, "you are his staff. security isn't his only job. sure, he's old- yes he might pop his clogs soon but he's the headmaster! it's responsibility to make sure that if his employers aren't in the wrong that they get the best defence they can! he's got an oder of merlin or something, doesn't he? he has influence!"

"dumbldore's been busy, can't blame him honour." hagrid said miserably.

bullshit, she said. she didn't speak up on her opinion again, mostly because hagrid seemed about to cry again and they'd only just got him to stop.

"listen, hagrid," harry finally said, "you can't give up. hermione's right, you just need a good defense. you can call us as witnesses —"

"i'm sure i've read about a case of hippogriff-baiting," said hermione thoughtfully, "where the hippogriff got off. i'll look it up for you, hagrid, and see exactly what happened."

"i'll help too," nodded honey- ignoring the little gasp of excitement hermione gave (what was her problem?), "hippogriffs aren't violent unless provoked. malfoy was being a little twit, hagrid. you can't afford to break apart. you're just giving malfoy the satisfaction then. the prat doesn't need a bigger head- he can hardly fit into the hall with how big it is."

hagrid blew his nose on a handkerchief the size of a tablecloth and said, "yer right. i can' afford to go ter pieces. gotta pull meself together..." fang the boarhound came timidly out from under the table and laid his head on hagrid's knee.

"i've not bin meself lately," said hagrid, stroking fang with one hand and mopping his face with the other. "worried abou' buckbeak, an' no one likin' me classes —"

"i like your classes," frowned honey genuinely, "they're better than potions. up there with defence against the dark arts too. don't you remember, hagrid? don't let malfoy get you down! maybe... after the flobberworms we can do something from the book?"

"er- yeah," ron said, "so erm, how're the flobberowrms?"

"dead," said hagrid gloomily. "too much lettuce."

"oh no!" said ron, his lip twitching.

"an' them dementors make me feel ruddy terrible an' all," said hagrid, with a sudden shudder. "gotta walk past 'em ev'ry time i want a drink in the three broomsticks. 's like bein' back in azkaban —"

after a pause, hermione said timidly, "is it awful in there, hagrid?"

"yeh've no idea," said hagrid quietly. "never bin anywhere like it. thought i was goin' mad. kep' goin' over horrible stuff in me mind... the day i got expelled from hogwarts... day me dad died... day i had ter let norbert go..." his eyes filled with tears.

"yeh can' really remember who yeh are after a while. an' yeh can' really see the point o' livin' at all. i used ter hope i'd jus' die in me sleep. when they let me out, it was like bein' born again, ev'rythin' came floodin' back, it was the bes' feelin' in the world. mind, the dementors weren't keen on lettin' me go."

"but you were innocent!" said hermione.

hagrid snorted. "think that matters to them? they don' care. long as they've got a couple o' hundred humans stuck there with 'em, so they can leech all the happiness out of 'em, they don' give a damn who's guilty an' who's not."

hagrid went quiet for a moment, staring into his tea. then he said quietly, "thought o' jus' letting buckbeak go... tryin' ter make him fly away... but how d'yeh explain ter a hippogriff it's gotta go inter hidin'? an' — an' i'm scared o' breakin' the law..." he looked up at them, tears leaking down his face again. "i don' ever want ter go back ter azkaban."

"oh hagrid," honey said quietly, "we'll help you as much as we can. if push comes to shove- tell them i set free buckbeak when the time comes." the words sounded right as she added, "it'll be the truth, they can't argue with that."

christmas day usually wasn't honey's favourite day. she wouldn't wake up her parents with a giddy grin, they'd wake her up with shouting and screaming. honey and lee would make their dinners quickly, and they'd be about their day as if itt was no different. presents would be opened by the two of them, and they wouldn't get a chance to thank anybody before their parents where off shouting again.

christmas at hogwarts might have just been her new favourite thing. the castle smelt of sugar and spices, warmth and happiness flowing through the common room as the four third year girls exchanged the gifts they'd planned for each other. honey had gotten vi and freya gifts out of curtesy, but had saved up quite a bit to gift hannah the necklace she'd always been going on about. it was a simple pendant with a crystal on the inside which was said to bring warmth to the individuals loved ones and themselves as well.

she'd recieved sweets and chocolates from freya along with a yellow coat that was alarmingly bright ("you need to show more hufflepuff pride." was the girls excuse) along with even more sweets and chocolates from vi and some exotic feathered quills. finally, hannah had gifted her a jumper.

"we can match now!" she squealed happily, wearing her own, "you have to wear it!"

"i'm not wearing that thing," she muttered.

(she wore the jumper).

christmas lunch was thankfully less awkward than honey had anticipated it to be. there was a lot less awkwardness than she had expected. emmery and kai where thankfully out of her existence for a while, since they had seemingly both decided to go for the holidays (what a christmas miracle). the hall's tables had all been pushed away in favour of a smaller but still quite sizable one that seemed to be able to hold all the students (though there were few) staying for the holidays. the four hufflepuff girls along with the trio of gryffindors and two sullen looking ravenclaw's along with her brother had stayed. that, along with a few teachers.

"merry christmas!" dumbleodre said in a delighted tone.

"he's had too much brandy, fucker's gone mad," honey whispered to freya.

"i saw no point of house tables, there are so few of us! sit down, sit down!"

"crackers!" said dumbledore enthusiastically, offering the end of a large silver noisemaker to snape, who took it reluctantly and tugged. with a bang like a gunshot, the cracker flew apart to reveal a large, pointed witches hat topped with a stuffed vulture.

"dig in!" dumbledore grinned with delight.

and then, the thing went and finished quite nicely. besides the odd little comments from professor trelawney (the women had somehow unknowingly gained the annoying habit of the three gryffindors and had stared at her like she was some stupid crystal ball) and lee being the annoying thing he usually was, it went lovely.

at the end, the girls had made their way back to the hufflepuff common room to their dormitories, but not without honey and lee quickly exchanging the gifts they'd bought for the other.

gift giving was terribly difficult for the siblings, having lived with each other it was often difficult because everything they thought the other would like was probably in their possession already. honey had thought long and hard about what to get lee. he loved music, he actually adored it (arguing could sometimes be covered over the piano he had in his room) and he liked to play different things depending on his mood (there was a lot of tchaikovsky if he was in an excited mood).

she'd settled on some manuscript he'd been trying to get ("stupid ebay is selling it for so much. bastards.") along with a cringey looking jumper she'd found in a charity shop in hogsmeade that nearly made her burst out into a fit of giggles. it was an ugly lime colour, and had the print of a cat on it shooting lasers out of its eyes, holding a wand.

"you're such an imp," he grumbled, wearing the jumper anyways. "at least the fabric is good."

"it had to make up for the terrible graphic design," she snickered.

he rolled his eyes, giving her present in return. she unwrapped it quite quickly to find-

"is that a signed original version of fantastic beasts and where to find them?!" she breathed, holding it like it was made out of gold, "oh my merlin- leslie jr jordan you little-"

"you only say that when you're going to make fun of me or lecture me, are you-"

she squeezed him tightly, closing her eyes and hiding her grin of pure delight into the ugly jumper she'd gotten him. she held on tight, squeezing for a moment longer as he squeezed back. she let go of him after a while, grinning, "thanks."

"glad you like it," he muttered, rubbing his side, "think you broke a few of my ribs."

"i did not," she snarked, "you're such a git, lee."

"i know you are but what am i?"

"you're so childish!"

and that was christmas.

(not really).

"did you hear?" said somebody honey was convinced was a ghost, "harry potter got a firebolt for christmas!"

"what the fuck," muttered honey, thinking back to earlier on in the week.

"something the matter, honey?" vi said to her, looking a bit concerned.

"nothing," she said, trying to sound casual as alarm bells rang in her head: A FIREBOLT, FIREBOLT THOUGHTS? STOP BEING PARANOID YOU PROBABLY JUST SUBCONCIOUSLY CONNECTED THEM! "just uh- potter's got a firebolt, apparently."

"merlin, really?" freya grinned, "think we could try steal it?"

"freya!" hannah began to lecture as they entered the common room, walking down the hall to the dorms, "stealing is very bad! you can't just-"

"oh, by the way," hannah stated casually (though looking a bit distressed, only slightly), "hermione granger is in our common room right now. erm, crying."

"hermione granger?" honey repeated, looking a bit shocked, "you- you're sure? why is she here?"

"well she asked for you," explained hannah quickly, "and she was crying- and you know how i feel about people crying."

"we let her in," vi explained, "she was crying. and you know-"

"yes hannah just said- and yes i know hannah hates people crying," grumbled honey, still a bit confused, "but... she's here? why?"

"she was crying," freya lamaly replied, "we didn't want to upset her anymore."

"you're all terrible roommates," honey declared grumpily, stomping down the corridor of dormitories all the way to the common room, already feeling like there was going to be a lot more crying on hermione's part.

honey should've walked out of honeydukes when she had the chance.

rosie speaks!

OK PSA YES I KNOW HAGRID ISNT A
HUFFLEPUFF BUT FUCK YOU IT FIT
SO MUCH BETTER !! k that's it

hello friends !! mocks are finally
over yall !! i'm not amazingly happy
with the end of this but i loved writing
hermione and honey's interaction.

next chapter you guys might finally find
out about emmery and honey's backstory
idk yall it's mostly a filler but it has very
important stuff to fill the gaps !! so pay
attention and whatnot especially for the
most stupidest side plot i've ever created
and will continue to string out because i love
it.

anyways lysm !! wear a mask and stay
safe !!

thoughts ??

word count: 5,061 words