*Due to the winter weather, Madam Puddifoot’s Tea Shop had become more popular among sweet couples—for the special occasion, hot chocolate with two straws had been added to the menu—while the notorious Hog’s Head Inn remained, as always, for adults looking to have a couple of pints of beer. The Three Broomsticks, attracting everyone with its excellent mead and butterbeer, did not go without a mountain of attention to the dozen that exaggerates all other establishments.

Seamus had already visited Hogsmeade many times during the week, but when the weekend arrived, he decided to invite his friends to hang out at the pub. It was a good idea—to meet up and discuss everything that had been brewing. He proposed this to Dean Thomas and Neville Longbottom, also bringing along his sibling—Guest.

The Three Broomsticks was crowded and even a bit stuffy. Madam Rosmerta—the pub’s owner—, wiping a glass with a cloth, was chatting with a portly man between tasks and gave a short nod to Dean and Neville, who had just stepped over the threshold from the cold. They clumsily made their way between the tables—both were heavily bundled up in clothing and wrapped in crimson-and-gold scarves with the Gryffindor crest.

They approached a table in the farthest corner, where Seamus and Guest were already sitting. Neville greets his friend, then, sitting down closer to the window, pulls off his mittens, which hang on their cord and begin to dangle from his sleeves. Dean, meanwhile, pulling off his hat, plops down on the bench across from the fair-haired boy.

See? On every post, there are scraps of that article from the Oracle that flew all over, Dean said with a mix of surprise and admiration. The notice board by the Owl Post office is completely covered with them!

Neville looked up and discovered that he was sitting across from Guest. He was slightly taken aback, having thought there would be only the three of them, and he fidgeted. His cheeks, already flushed from the cold with a faint blush, were flooded with a brighter colour. Wiping the tip of his pinkened nose, causing the collar of his draped coat to shift and reveal yet another jumper underneath, Neville said in a quiet voice with a hint of uncertainty:

Seamus, at the same time, began actively discussing the rumour that had recently filled the school corridors with Dean.