Hey guys, sorry this chapter took so long again hehe. This is mostly just a fun little chapter, it's kind of a filler- so I'm sorry about that. But! There is a bunch of cute Draco stuff, and it helps to further some relationships in Janus's life :). Don't forget to vote and comment, it really helps :)).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Clem's p.o.v

       My eyes opened slowly as a cold gust of wind hit my face. I looked to my left to see Elnora- who had just opened a window- humming softly to herself. 

"Sorry," She apologized when she realized she had woken me up.

"It's okay," I dismissed, sitting up and rubbing my eyes. 

       The rest of our dormmates had seemingly left already. I checked my watch to make sure we weren't late for anything. I realized then that it was Saturday, and my fellow peers should all still be snoozing the day away. A rush of confusion washed over me as I inspected the empty room.

"Today's the Hogsmeade trip," Elnora answered my unasked question, jumping with excitement onto my bed, causing a small 'oof' to errupt from my chest as her knees met with my stomach, "Sorry. Again." 

      But I wasn't bothered by it. Rather, I was distracted by the thought of this long-awaited trip. I was excited. At my old school, I had been more carefree than now, but I still had a lot of precautions. I was young then- and prohibited from many extracurricular activities in hopes of negating many turbulent situations that could lead to the uncoverings of my secrets. 

       I got up as Elnora dragged me from the bed happily, sitting me down on a chair in front of her mirror. I furrowed my eyebrows as she began to mess around with my hair, which was frizzy from last nights sleep.

"What are you doing?" I asked, watching as she tried to finger-curl a loose strand. 

"My mom is a hairdresser," She explained, grabbing a tooth-comb, "I'm not the best with your hair texture, but I know quite a bit. Is that alright?" 

"Sure," I agreed, still confused, "But why?" 

"We're going to hogsmeade!" She repeated herself from a minute ago- like that was going to clear up my confusion- and began to work on my hair. She looked to me and saw that I still didn't understand, "We go to school every day, and look the same every day, and wear the same thing every, so it's just kind of fun to try and look cute when you have the chance, I guess." 

      I observed her as she worked, noticing that she was already ready. She wore black pants, a white top, and a yellow flannel trench coat. Her hair was done up in a way she didn't usually wear it and she had a little more make-up on than usual. 

"It's kind of also a date with Minnie," She continued as she began to braid a section on the top of my hair, "So I really wanted to look nice." 

      I didn't have an issue with her using me as a living doll. It seemed to make her happy. I payed attention to my appearance, of course, it was one of the only things I could really control about myself. But I didn't know how to do more than I usually did anyways, so it was nice of her to help. 

      As she worked, I began to think on the past week. I, obviously, had not forgotten about the conversation that Elnora, Minnie, and I had went through. It was on my mind a lot, actually. But I never acted on it. There was no way to act on it. So, on my good days, it would drift to the back of my mind. 

       Draco and I had stayed mostly the same as was before the conversation. There were moments when it felt like more than we were, but those moments passed as quickly as they had made my heart beat. 

"Alright, done," Elnora squealed after a while, "Get dressed and let's go!"

        I did as told, putting on a beige turtleneck, an ankle length plaid skirt, and some boots, all given to me from Ms. Hadley's closet. I smiled at the thought, shaking my head. When she had given me a bag of clothes after everything happened, I remember her whispering, 'Now, now, don't tell anyone where you got these. I could get in trouble. This may or may not be very against the rules. Big trouble, I tell you.'

       The next hour passed slower than I wanted. Though no one else could probably tell, I was shaking with excitement. When we gathered the students before leaving, I noticed Draco standing to the side with some of his friends, but he didn't notice me. Blaise, who I recognized from the hallways when I had seen him and Draco walking together, caught me looking- and winked. I turned away quickly. 

      I had decided to not even mention anything to Draco after our initial conversation about Hogsmeade. I knew that he wouldn't want to be seen with me and that was okay. Minnie and Elnora had a date planned since the trip was announced, which they had invited me to- of course I declined. I was okay with being on my own though, I actually rather enjoyed it. It was comfortable that way. Safer. 

       We got to Hogsmeade rather quickly, the train stopping at some unknown train station and us walking the rest of the way. 

      My eyes widened at the sight of it. It was very homely. Little lanterns lit the windows of each shop, a cobblestone path leading to and fro between the bustling community. My attention pulled this way and that as my peers ran around, finding shops they already knew. I took more time than them, wandering around casually as I peeked through the glass of the shops. I didn't find much that interested me enough to walk in. Or at least, interested me enough to walk in when there was a crowd of other kids in it. I was enjoying myself though-adventuring through this stone and wooden maze. 

      I looked into a little hut that seemingly had no one else in it. It had a fire place near the back, as far as I could tell. My warm breath made it's way out of my chest in a puff of steam, creating fog on the window. I decided to go in. 

      There was an elderly lady sitting behind the counter. She looked like a statue, unmoving. For a moment, I thought that she wasnt alive. At the sound of the bell on the door, her head shot up- as if surprised someone had walked in. She seemed to come alive, hobbling her way to her feet and leaning on the counter, "Hello, young miss. Is there anything I can help you with?" 

"I'm okay," I responded kindly, wanting desperately for her to sit back down. It seemed to take a lot of effort for her to even remain standing, "Just looking." 

      She accepted my internal pleas, shakily sitting back down and nodding as I watched her through wary eyes. I scanned through the books, taking note of the dust that covered the shelves- as if someone hadn't cleaned them in a long time. As I glanced at the feeble figure of the woman behind the counter, I realized that my assumption was probably correct. 

      There were quite a few interesting books- I had noticed as my eyes swept over the old bindings, every now and then picking one up if it caught my attention- and I began to feel that I loved the smell of old parchment. Most of the books I had read were well kept, new editions, from either my previous school or Ms. Hadley's personal library. 

      It did sadden me, as I examined the plethera of books, to realize that even if I did like a lot of them- I wouldn't be able to read even one. My family never had much money to begin with, but I most certainly didn't have any now that my family had fallen apart. Ms. Hadley had offered me some- 'pocket money' she had called it- but I refused it. She had done quite enough for me, and I didn't want to add onto that debt. 

      The bell on the door rang again, signalling that someone else had walked in. I barely noticed as I continued my exploration of the aisles of books, not even looking to see who it was. The woman, who had been watching me with interest, turned to whoever it was and gave them the same greeting as me. 

      The person who came in walked directly to me, standing to my right. My eyes flashed to see who it was, internally groaning as I looked up into dark brown eyes. 

"Clementine," Cedric greeted, getting a nod from me in response. 

      There was tense silence as I tried to meander away from him, pausing with a glare as he followed me.

"Look, I'm sorry about before," He tried, reaching for my arm. I stepped out of his reach, "Really, I am. It wasn't my place." 

"It really wasn't." 

      My eyes fled to the door, wondering if I could make it before he could block me. He seemed to notice the movement- of course he did, he noticed everything- and grinned humorously. I turned to him blankly, causing him to sigh and ruffle his hair.

"I really am sorry," He repeated, "I won't do it again." 

       I took a moment, watching as he looked at me with hope. I huffed, nodding in acceptance. It wasn't as if I had any right to hold a grudge. It's not like Draco and I were together. I began to walk again- this time with only the intent of continuing my perusing- and he followed again, though this time less aggressively. 

"So," He began, causing me to sigh, "Why aren't here you with anyone?"

"If you're going to keep following me around," I answered, taking a book from it's shelf, "At least stop asking me questions, please." 

"You really don't seem like a hufflepuff, do you?" He chuckled to himself, taking the book from me when I was done with it and looking at the cover. 

      I shrugged, turning to him as he put the book away, "Why are you trying so hard?"

"I just want to be friends," He responded casually, continuing when I raised my eyebrows disbelievingly, "And I know almost everything about everyone at Hogwarts, except for you." 

      My body went rigid at his words. Immediately, my guard was up again- as if it was an instinctual reaction. My back straightened and my shoulders tensed. He watched me in confusion, obviously noting my change in demeanor, "Are you okay?" 

"Mmm," I hummed in response, my eyes not meeting his. 

      I had been lucky, in my assemblance of friends, to have people that didn't want to dig into my personal life. I'd been lucky to have gone this long without a bump in the road. I'd been getting hopeful again. And I apparently needed to be knocked back down to ground-level. 

      With a small nod of thanks to the lady behind the counter, I made my way outside quickly. He followed after me in confusion, "Are you sure you're okay? Was it something I-"

"Cedric!" A girl's voice called out, taking his attention away from me. 

      A stroke of luck. One I desperately needed.

      We both halted, looking to a dark haired girl in a blue sweater. She waved at Cedric, causing him to smile. 

"Your girlfriend?" I asked, causing him to shake his head.

"Not yet," He grinned, then glancing at me, "Is it okay if I-"

"Go ahead," I interrupted, "I'm happy by myself." 

      He put his hand on my shoulder- which made me tense- and nodded at me in thanks  before running to catch up with a group of students from multiple houses. I only had a moment of calm before yet another storm of a teenage boy approached me. 

"What were you doing with Diggory?" A snide voice asked, causing me to look up to see Draco.

      His group of usual friends were nowhere to be seen. He was wearing a black hoodie, some gloves, and a pair of dark denim jeans. His eyes held anger, for some reason. 

"Did you come here with him?" He pressed, causing me to shake my head. He seemed to relax a little bit, "Then why?" 

"We met the other day," I explained with a shrug, "And then we bumped into each other today."

"I don't like him." 

"You don't like anyone." 

"I don't like him, especially," He corrected with a scowl, "He's better than Potter, at least," His eyes trailed to my shoulder, "For now."

"For now?" 

"Who are you with anyways?" He ignored my question, looking around, blowing hot air into his gloved hands and jittering.

"No one." 

"No one?" He paused.

      I nodded, burrowing into the white scarf around my neck that Minnie had given me before we left. 

"What about those two girls that you usually hang around?" He asked, obviously holding back from insulting them, "Where are they?" 

"They're on a date," I explained, watching as a couple adults walked passed us boredly- most of the students had gone to a more upbeat part of the small town.

"Don't you have any other friends then?" He questioned, then glancing at the look on my face and shaking his head to answer his own question.

"Just you." 

     He paused again, his eyes roaming over my face with a distant look. He shook it off, his foot thumping against the cobblestone. We both knew that he wasn't an option when it came to being together in public. He looked around, noticing as I had that the street we were on was nearly empty, "Well, I'm free now." 

      I stood there in shock for moment, comprehending what he had said. I nearly rubbed my ears to see if they were still working. He scowled at me, obviously feeling very awkward. I wanted to ask him for an affirmation on what I had just heard, but thought better of it. Instead, I nodded and he began to walk, myself pushing to catch up with him. 

      We walked in silence for a good while, stopping occasionally to inspect an interesting looking shop or two. After a bit, Draco went up to a hot chocolate vendor, coming back with two. He handed one to me, causing me to blink in surprise. I knew better to thank him. We sat on a bench next to a spruce tree.

"Have you been to the shrieking shack yet?" He asked as I sipped on my drink. 

"No," I responded, watching him as he pulled up the tufts of his collar.

"Well," He started, "It's this supposedly this haunted old building on a hill. We could go there." 

"Okay."

"Some people say it's a rumor, but last year me, Crabbe, and Goyle all got attacked out of nowhere." 

"Really?" I asked, leaning forwards, resting my elbows on my knees, "What did you do?" 

"I obviously attacked it," He scoffed, refusing to make eye contact with me, "Scared it away with some spells."

      We made our way to the Shrieking shack, but had to turn around before getting to it due to the amount of students there. It did become a bit tiresome to hide the fact that we were friends, I had to admit. 

      Thankfully, the majority of students had gotten bored of Hogsmeade and wandered off to do things they weren't supposed to do. It left the rest of the town that we hadn't already seen open for me and Draco to explore. 

      I walked with subtly disinterest as we passed all the shops, my eyes wandering over all the unique decorations for each shop. Draco watched me with intrigue as we made our way down the many streets of the town. 

"Is there nothing you want to look at?" He asked, almost annoyed. 

      Just as I was about to say that there wasn't, a small brown shop with a thatched roof caught my eyes. I stopped walking at once, peering into the shop to see different kinds of animals. From what I could tell, there were Owls, cats, and toads. Draco bumped into my back at my sudden halt, causing him to curse under his breath. 

"You want to go in?" He asked, throwing away our now empty cups.

      I nodded eagerly, taking the door handle and opening it slightly, walking in as Draco held it for me from behind. 

"Tell me if there's anything I could do for you," A cheery bearded man with freckles called from somewhere in the back, followed by the sound of loud clattering and whispered curses.

      We ignored it, exploring further in. It was hard to move from one place to another as I noticed each animal. I took my time to pet each cat I saw, picking up the frogs, and talking to the owls. I could tell that Draco was itching to leave, but he dutifully followed after me without a word.

"Are you going to get one?" He asked in a huff of breath, watching one of the owls with disinterest

      I hesitated in my answer, imagining his reaction. I knew I couldn't get anything and that I was just wasting his time. He waited impatiently, raising his eyebrows. I sighed, "No."

"Well why are we here then?" There was subdued annoyance in his voice.

"I just-" My voice caught in my throat and I avoided his eyes, "I just like them is all."

"Oh," Was all he said after a moment. I glanced up at him, noticing that he was taking in what I had said. It was like he wasn't sure how to respond but he could tell I was nervous, so he was content with the answer, "Okay."

      A few more minutes passed before more clattering could be heard in the back, and a gruff, "Aha!" 

"What's going on back there?" Draco muttered, annoyed, peeking behind an aisle of animal food.

     I followed after him, watching as the bearded shop owner seemingly chased nothing around, waving his wand wildly and mumbling spells. He looked up, disheveled, an exhausted grin spreading across his face, "Sorry about that, what do you need?" 

"What are you doing?"  Draco sneered, causing me to kick the back of his leg and him to glare at me. 

"There's a rat," The man explained, unphased by Draco's rude attitude, "And some kid put an invisibility spell on it. I've been trying to catch it for the past hour." 

"A rat," Draco repeated with disgust, looking around as if he could see the invisible creature.

      Just then, a scurrying could be heard to our right. Draco tensed, pulling his wand. I watched closely, trying to see if I could possibly catch some sort of movement. 

"Never mind that though," The man said, "I'll catch it later, probably just give it to one of the cats. Are you interested in a certain animal here?" 

      I looked to Draco nervously, not wanting to answer. I knew that we wouldn't get in trouble if we told him the truth- that I couldn't afford anything here- but my heart began to beat quickly.  His eyes met mine before turning to the man, "Nothing in particular. Just looking-" He tried, but he interrupted himself with a small yelp of fright. The man and I turned to him with alarm, watching as he shook his foot vehemently.

"What's wrong?" I asked, causing him to sneer.

"Something touched my foot, that rat," He said the word with just as much venom as the first time, "I bet-"

       Again he was cut off by himself. Another yelp. I failed to hide my amused smile. He cursed under his breath, shaking his leg this time and spewing spells at the ground. The man joined in, eventually pinning down where the poor creature was.

       I felt bad for it, really. Such a small thing- and to have spells shot at you like that- it's terrifying. Just as I was about to speak up, to tell them to give it a rest, the man yelled, "Stupify!" And there was a short squeak. I watched on with worry, holding my breath.

      My eyes lingered on the ground, watching as a cream and white colored rat began to slowly appear out of its invisibility. It was still alive and fine. The man picked it up by the nape of it's neck between his forefinger and thumb. It wiggled around helplessly. I looked to Draco to see him looking on with disgust.

"Well, sorry about that," The man apologized once more, shaking his head, "At least that's done then. Let me go put this thing with the cats and then I'll be right with you."

"Wait," My voice came out louder than expected, my heart beating loudly. The two of them looked at me and I swallowed. I really didn't have a plan for this. I just didn't feel right about letting them kill it, "I... I can take it."

"Seriously?" Draco questioned in disbelief, sending another disgusted glare at the creature.

       I nodded, squaring my shoulders. He raised his eyebrows but did nothing else, sighing in defeat. We both turned our attention to the man, who's familiar cheery demeanor changed into a sly smile before saying, "It'll cost you."

       I furrowed my eyebrows, thinking on how he was just about to give it to the cats. I wasn't one for argument though and my mind began to wander on how much money I could scrounge up from somewhere.

"Hold on," Draco interrupted, "Weren't you just about to get rid of it."

"Well," The man countered, just as cheery as ever, "She's the last of her litter. We stopped selling rats because no one wanted them and she's the only one left. I was just going to get rid of it sense nobody wanted her, but if someone's offering-"

"She's not offering you anything," Draco sneered, taking a step forward, "We're just taking it. For free. This is a scam."

"Maybe," He laughed, his eyes flashing with humor, "But are you willing to get expelled from your school for stealing from a Hogsmeade shop?"

       I grabbed Draco's arm as he tried to step closer to the man. He turned to me, realizing just how anxious this whole situation had made me. I had never told Draco, but he knew- I was petrified of these kinds of situations. As he held my eyes with his, I registered that he had put his hands in his pockets.

"So?" The man asked, peeking in between the two of us.

"I'll buy it," Draco accepted through his teeth, thrusting his hand out and dropping money into the man's hand, not breaking eye contact with me.