Abby’s third year at Hogwarts was going quite well so far. She’d been rather nervous - scared actually - to return to the old castle, but the start of the school year had been much more enjoyable and normal than the previous tumultuous one. The Hogwarts professors had discovered an ancient greenhouse in the grounds over the summer holidays and the young Hufflepuff had been spending as much time in it as she possibly could, enjoying the peaceful and comfortable environment it provided for her.
The 13-year-old had greatly changed and grown, both physically and emotionally, over the past year, as along with becoming a teenager she’d also had to deal with all of the horrific and dangerous situations living and studying at Hogwarts the previous school year had included. The fears she’d acquired over the several psychologically damaging months had subsided quite a bit since her school life had returned to normal, thanks to the help and support of her family members and friends, but she was still learning to overcome them, even with so many months having passed.
Jari was one of the friends who had aided her the most, both by literally protecting her and helping her cope during their extremely trying second year at Hogwarts together and by encouraging her and supporting her as she’d recovered over the past several months. The two had written constantly over the summer and been almost inseparable since they’d returned to the castle for the new school year. Abby didn’t know what she’d do without the brown-haired boy, if she were being perfectly honest with herself. She’d come to care for the Trickett more than she’d ever expected to.
Something had changed between the two of them lately though. Their bond and closeness had started to feel… different. Not strange or as if it was a bad thing, just not like it had been before. There was a complexity to the feelings that the small girl now had for Jari, unlike anything she’d ever felt for anyone else in her life before. It was almost intimidating, like her emotions were no longer hers. It was as if they had a mind of their own.
This had all only become apparent to Abby the previous month, however. She’d agreed to go through the magical corn maze with Jari, even though she’d been quite scared of something bad happening. Unsurprisingly, something had indeed spooked her and the young Hufflepuff had found herself clutching Jari’s soft, warm hand, as if it were a life preserver. She’d been rather startled at herself, not fully understanding how or why she’d instinctively grabbed on to her best friend’s hand, but the brown-haired boy hadn’t seemed to mind that much, regardless, as he’d continued to tightly hold onto Abby’s hand for the remainder of their time spent in the maze, and eventually the third year had stopped feeling nervous or scared altogether.
The pair never really talked about that night, after-the-fact, but when the first Hogsmeade visit of the year was announced and Jari asked the blonde-haired witch to go with him, she’d immediately said yes. She was, after all, quite excited to visit the wizarding village and she couldn’t imagine exploring the intriguing new place for the first time with anyone else, even with her feeling slightly concerned over the changes that appeared to be slowly occurring in their relationship.
Abby was particularly looking forward to visiting Sugar & Spice, the cute critter café that she’d been dying to go to ever since she’d learned of its existence from an older Hufflepuff student. That’s where she and Jari were headed at that precise moment, as they slowly made their way down the road to the village. They were both dressed warmly, as the late fall day was quite cold and wet. The small girl had a long-sleeved knitted dress on with a pair of thick stockings to match underneath her winter robes, and she was also wearing her old comfy pair of boots, along with some mittens and a hat with a pompom on the top of it. Jari was more brightly dressed, with jeans and a jacket on, and Abby knew that his favourite tin foil hat was most likely hidden underneath the knit hat that he was wearing that was very similar to her own.
The 13-year-old turned towards her yearmate as he asked her his question, returning his happy smile with an enthusiastic grin. “Yes. Very.†In fact, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d been this excited; possibly not since she’d first come to Hogwarts. Abby’s third year had been full of new, thrilling experiences thus far: beginning her elective classes and practicing Quidditch with her friends were the two main ones, but the Hogsmeade visits and, specifically, being able to go to Sugar & Spice was definitely the one she’d been looking forward to the most, ever since receiving the permission slip for them over the summer.
Chuckling along with Jari, the young Hufflepuff grinned even wider, happy to see her best friend so upbeat and cheerful. The brown-haired boy was always fun to be around, but that day was going to be particularly enjoyable, Abby could already tell. “Oh, yeah!†She nodded eagerly. “There’s at least one that I know of. I think it’s called Honeydukes. My dad told me about it. I promised that I’d bring him back some sweets actually. He even gave me extra pocket money for it.†She pulled a handful of coins out of her pocket, briefly showing them to Jari. “Will you help me pick some out for him, and Ollie too?†The small girl knew the Trickett had a sweet tooth and would be quite skilled at picking out all the best candy to gift to her family members. “We’re still going to Sugar & Spice first though, right?†Abby hoped his immediate answer was yes because she honestly wasn’t sure she could wait much longer to see all the cute animals!
