The first Hogsmeade trip of the year is always an excitement. Penny tends to look forward to it for hours, counting down the minutes until they can finally leave. Often the moment they really get to Hogsmeade, Penny gets a little bored of the small town easily; there's not much to see, and Butterbeer isn't really sweet enough for her Muggle tastebuds.

Still, this Hogsmeade trip is special. Hana's secret little boyfriend (read: summer fling), Jesús, has agreed to meet all of Hana's friends in The Three Broomsticks. Penny had suggested Madame Puddifoots, and Clare and Tara insisted that they should go to The Hog's Head, but all their suggestions were vetoed by Hana immediately.

The four of them stroll through the little village happily. Many of the shops are boarded shut; lights and lanterns that used to glow brightly all year round now extinguished by the darkness of the war. Hogwarts creates enough business for many shops to stay open, but the constant threat of violence and conflict emanating from the school is enough to close some of the more fragile businesses; those that are less frequented by Hogwarts students. Even in the shops still open, a somber mood seems to have overtaken them. In The Three Broomsticks, Slughorn, McGonagall and Tara's Divination Professor are mid a stone-faced conversation, with their hands firmly beside their wands in case they get spontaneously attacked. Zonkos have hired a security guard; a runaway Auror who is standing beside the door in dark robes and a frown on her face. The Hogs Head, still open, has a cracked window and a fresh paint job on the wall that can only mean someone spelled the Dark Mark onto it.

Penny tries to ignore and forget all of this. She just wants a fun afternoon with her friends. She links one arm into Tara's arm, the other into Clare's, swinging her heels a little as she walks, and forcing a smile. "This is going to be so good."

"You bet," Clare agrees.

"You okay?" Tara whispers in Penny's other ear. Penny offers her a nod; a real one, touched by the concern she shows.

Hana scowls at them. "You lot had better not embarrass me."

Tara snickers. "No promises."

"I would never," Penny declares.

"Hurt that you'd even suggest it," Clare adds.

"Oh, I am so sorry," Hana rolls her eyes. "Potter had better not turn up in The Three Broomsticks and cause a scene or something, Penny."

"What?" Penny splutters. "How is that on me? The man does what he wants."

"The man does what will catch your attention," Tara corrects. "He's like a little puppy, trying to make you like him. It's cute."

"It's not cute," Clare scoffs. "It's pathetic. You can do better."

"I'm not doing anything," Penny rolls her eyes. "And its not like that. He used to have feelings for me, years ago. We're over that, we're friends now. Uh, I think so, anyway."

Clare and Tara look at each other over Penny's shoulder.

"It's true!"

Hana pats her shoulder, tossing her hair. "Sure thing." She grabs Tara's free arm and drags her toward the door of The Three Broomsticks, Penny and Clare clinging onto each other and being dragged by relation. "Hurry up, seriously."

"We're hurrying!" Penny snaps.

Hana drags them over to the corner, where a man about their age is lounging in a chair. He's handsome enough, with a ponytail and a sort-of devil-may-care look about him, which is automatically Penny-repellent. Still, he greets them with a friendly smile and shakes all three of their hands as they squeeze into the seats opposite him, while Hana sits herself next to him, squeezing his arm.

"Hello," he says, with a slight European accent that Penny doesn't know enough about to place. "How do you be?"

"How do you do," Penny corrects. Tara kicks her.

"We're good," Clare says. "Well, I am."

"I am too." Tara agrees.

"Hm, me too." Penny nods.

"You are Hana's friends?" he asks.

"Yep," Clare says. "Well, I am."

Tara leans forward conspirationally. "I don't really like her, to be honest."

"I didn't know Hana had friends," Penny agrees, looking at Clare as if she's been hiding a big secret. "You didn't tell me."

He looks bewildered. "I am not understanding."

Hana rolls her eyes. "Ignore them, they're joking."

"I don't joke," Penny says.

"This is serious business," Clare agrees.

"They," Hana gestures over at the three of them, especially Penny and Clare, "are idiotas."

"Hey," Clare says. "Just because you say it in Spanish doesn't mean we don't understand. The words are the same, you know."

Hana raises a hand like she's about to make a rude gesture. Jesús gasps, batting it away. "Hana! We talk about this."

Clare rolls her eyes. "It's alright, that's how Han and I communicate. No need for that scandalised look on your face."

He nods and smiles, but there's a vacant look in his eyes as he does so, as though he doesn't quite understand what is going on. "I'll get everyone drinks," Penny offers. "Butterbeer?"

"Ah, just Pumkpin Juice for me," Jesús says. "I don't drink."

"Me too," Hana agrees.

"Really?" Tara furrows her eyebrows. "You love Butterbeer."

"No, no, not me," Hana says. "I don't drink, remember?"

Tara frowns, but Clare quickly intercedes. "Yeah, yeah, you're right. T's confusing you with me, right?"

"...Right."

"Two Pumpkin Juices," Penny agrees, slipping out of the booth. "Got it."

She walks over to the bar, where Madame Rosmerta is tending to customers. Penny has a terrible bar presence; the moment she appears there, the crowd seems to thicken and she's left to stumble around until she can make her way to the front of the line. Yet, though it takes her far too long to get to the front of the bar, once she's there Rosmerta is promptly upon her. "Two Butterbeers, two Pumpkin Juices, and a water, please."

Rosmerta nods, before stopping. "Water?"

"Please," Penny affirms.

Rosmerta looks toward her tap; the sink is covered in dirty dishes and tankards, and the liquid dripping from the tank does not look like water. "... Are you sure you want water?"

Penny sighs. "Three Butterbeers, then."

The owner of The Three Broomsticks nods, looking a little relieved, taking Penny's gold with a grin. Then she bustles off to make the drinks.

"Water?" An amused voice asks from behind Penny.

She turns. "You following me or something, Potter?"

He turns bright red, panic flashing across his face. "No - uh, not really - it's not like that, we just - "

"Is he okay?" she asks Remus, who is rubbing his forehead. There's a few new bruises on all of the 'Marauders's' faces; they recently were released from the Hospital Wing - why they were there in the first place, Penny has no idea.

"He's fine," Lupin mutters. "He's just an idiot."

Sirius, never to be found more than a few metres away from the rest of his friends, slings an arm around both James and Remus's shoulders. "Why would we be following Taylor into the busiest pub of Hogsmeade weekends, Prongs?" James rolls his eyes. "Wormtail?"

"We were wondering if you had a date," Peter offers, smiling at Penny gently, which she returns.

Penny scoffs. "In here?"

"Where else?" James asks.

"Madame Puddifoots?" She says, as if it is obvious (because it is). "Isn't that the whole point of that cafe?"

"Urgh, there?" Black groans. "It's so pink."

"I like pink," Penny says.

"Me too," Remus agrees. "Padfoot just hates it because he can't get a date."

Sirius shoves him into Peter.

At that moment, Rosmerta appears again with a tray for Penny, complete with five drinks. "Do you want me to bring it over myself, or...?"

Penny eyes the rapidly growing queue for the owner's attention. "I've got it, thanks."

"I'll carry it over for you," Remus offers.

"I've got it," Penny grins, waving him away.

When she makes her way back to her friends, Hana practically leaps out of her seat in haste, rushing over to Penny and practically grabbing the tray out from her hands. "Save me."

Hana practically throws the drinks at Tara and Clare as she slams them on the table, grabbing the tray and hurrying off back to the bar. Penny slides into the seat beside her friends.

She understands Hana's stress immediately.

"So, Jesús," Clare is saying. "What are your greatest desires?"

He audibly gulps. Hana slides back into the seat beside him and squeezes his hand. "It's okay, babe." She turns to Clare and Tara. "Jesús wants to be a musician, I told you."

Clare narrows his eyes. "And thats your ... only dream?"

He frowns. "When a dream is strong enough... it, ah - "

"Sustains," Hana offers.

" - sustains you so you do not need others."

Clare raises an eyebrow. Penny claps. "Oh, that was good? Do you write songs, too?"

"I do, I play guitar."

"Typical."

Tara kicks Clare under the table, but misses and hits Penny instead. "Ow," she groans. "Tara!"

"Sorry. Collateral damage."

"I noticed there is music shop down the road," Jesús gestures over. "It open?"

"There is a music shop down the road," Penny corrects. "Well, there was, anyway. It's closed now, the owner was a muggleborn and someone painted the Dark Mark on his windows."

"The Dark Mark?"

Clare gawks. "The Dark Mark? You know .. the skull with the snake?" Jesús looks on blankly. "How do you not know this?"

"You don't know .. You-Know-Who?" Penny asks uncertainly. It seems almost sacrilegous, the entire idea that he could not understand. The man - the monster who haunts her dreams, shrouded her teenage years, and this man in front of her does not recognise his symbol.

"You-Know-Who? What this mean?"

"What does this mean," Penny mutters.

"It's a symbol of that wizard I told you about," Hana whispers to her boyfriend. "You know, the crazy one?"

"Oh!" understanding dawns at last. "I heard about that. I see. We have wizards like that in Spain also. Crazy men. Ah, or women."

Penny gawks. "Crazy men? Hana, what have you been telling him?"

Hana frowns. "The truth. You-Know-Who is crazy."

"He's not just a crazy man," Clare groans. "He's a psychopath with thousands of followers over the country. Rich, powerful, influential followers."

"Yes," Hana allows. "But there have always been many of them. Like Grindelwald and all his followers. Dumbledore defeated him in the end."

"Dumbledore can't defeat You-Know-Who like that," Penny hisses. "Are you serious, Hana?"

"I'm just saying - " Hana reasons. "He's just another wizard. He'll be defeated eventually, there's no need to be afraid."

Tara makes a choking sound, but Clare shakes her head and they choose to keep their mouths shut.

"How many muggleborns do you think he's going to kill before he's defeated?" Penny almost yells. "How many Muggle parents of witches and wizards? What about my family? What if he kills me? That's okay, right? Nothing to be afraid of."

Hana recoils, shocked into silence. Her mouth wobbles, and a few tears form on her lower eyelid. "I - I didn't mean it like that."

"That's enough," Jesús says, wrapping his arm around Hana. "There is no need to speak to her in that way."

Penny huffs. "You shut up, you don't even know who You-Know-Who is."

"Don't be so rude," he scowls. "You are patronising, arrogant bitch."

Hana makes a small sound of horror.

"I am a patronising, arrogant bitch," Penny corrects.

"Everyone, lets just calm down," Tara says, in an attempt to intercede.

"I am calm," Penny says, resisting the urge to throw her stupid, bitter Butterbeer at Hana's boyfriend.

Hana nods, body shaking with repressed sobs. "No, Penny, you don't understand - I wasn't trying to insult you, I was just saying ... I am sure there isn't going to be a war. Peace will be restored, you'll see."

"Peace," Penny scoffs. "Peace when? Peace when the Ministry agrees to round up all the Muggleborns and bloodtraitors for the Death Eaters? Peace when You-Know-Who starts slaughtering Muggles?"

"Peace when Dumbledore defeats him!"

"She makes good point," Jesús agrees. "Grindelwald was defeated by Dumbledore. Why not again?"

"Millions of people died before that." Penny hisses. "It's alright for you and your pureblood family. This is my family, my community that is being destroyed. My parents are in hiding. For what crime? For having a witch for a daughter?"

She stands up, utterly done and blinking back tears.

"Penny - " Tara says, grabbing her hand.

"Stop," she snaps at them, tearing it away, before storming out of the pub.

~~~~

"Taylor, hold up!"

Penny hastily wipes some tears that nearly fell, whirling around. "I said to leave me al - oh, it's you."

"It's me," Potter agrees.

"Go away," Penny storms away from him. "I'm going back to Hogwarts."

"Okay," he jogs to catch up. "I'll go with you."

"No, James," she says. "I'm fine. Go back to your friends."

His lips twitch. "Who said I'm going because of you? I just feel like going back to the castle."

She sighs. "I'm not getting rid of you, am I?"

"Never," he says fervently.

"I'm fine," she insists.

"I know." he agrees.

"I'm not telling you what we were arguing about," Penny adds, speeding up.

"No need," James says cheerfully, keeping up with her pace. "I heard the whole thing. You were pretty loud."

Penny narrows her eyes at him. "Lets talk about something else."

"Fine with me," he agrees, walking next to her with a skip in his step. "First Quidditch match of the year tomorrow. Will you be there?"

Penny forces a smile onto her face. "Of course. Ravenclaw-Hufflepuff, right?"

"My money's on Hufflepuff," James said.

Penny gasps, mock-horrified. "Traitor!"

"No offence, but the Ravenclaw team's shit," he says. ""Hufflepuff have a great team, and they didn't lose anyone to graduation so they've had an extra fortnight's practice."

Penny has to admit, that seems fair. "I guess a fortnight is a long time in Quidditch terms."

"Exactly," he agrees. "They could have done anything with that time. Come up with new strategies, new training plans, new blackmail material on other players - "

"They're Hufflepuffs," Penny scoffs. "I doubt they're collecting blackmail material on you in their free time."

"All is fair in Quidditch," James says seriously. "Like war."

Penny chuckles, shaking her head. "You're something else."

He runs a hand through his hair sheepishly. "In a good way?"

Penny meets his eyes, properly this time - not in a joking or sarcastic way, but with a seriousness that is unlike both of them. "I think so."

He smiles, eyes meeting her own, matching her entirely. "Good."

There's a satisfaction about him that makes Penny happy. He looks lighter, younger even, when pleased in that way. She could almost entertain the thought that she'd like to find ways to put that expression on his face more often. She thinks she could find some happiness in that.

Her dreaming is cut short by a torn, half-dirty piece of paper being blown by the wind, straight into James's face. He splutters, trying to push it off, but in the end it's Penny who reaches out to pry it from where it's plastered to his noses. He's turned bright red from the humiliation, but manages to force out a muted "Thanks."

"Anytime," Penny says drily, before turning the paper over and smoothing it out a little so it lies flat enough to read.

On it, in bold Capital letters, it says 'WE NEED YOU!' In smaller print, it states; 'Are you: dedicated, hardworking, reliable? Have YOU noticed the discrepancies in 'The Daily Prophet' articles related to the war? Become a journalist and write for 'The Rennervater. Preserve integrity and write for freedom.'

On the back is a more heartfelt message from the magazine's owner. 'In times of war, it is easy to get caught up in all the fighting. Many will choose to fight against violence with violence. But many will be afraid, confused, alone, hiding out in their homes to escape the unending violence. I see it as my responsibility, as the owner and editor of one of the biggest non-Ministry funded magazines, to ensure that all our citizens; friend and enemy alike, are supplied with the truth. There is another weapon we can use to fight the war; information.

Choosing the path of a reporter in these times is a path paved with danger and pain. I do not recommend it unless you are certain this is the path you need to take. However, I cannot understate its importance. Truth is as much of a weapon as a wand. They may try to silence us, to mislead us, or to lie to us about the severity of this war. But I pledge that my paper will never lie. We will report on the truth, as the truth is. If this resonates with you, I hope you may consider joining me as I attempt to keep the best, unbiased account of the dealings of our Ministry, those that call themselves Death Eaters, and all those trying to fight back against them. We must be aware. As my old friends the Moody family may quote; "Constant Vigilance".'

"Hana should read this," Penny mutters irritably, continuing her walk. "Information is important and all that."

James doesn't say anything.

"What? Don't you agree?"

"I didn't say anything." He defends.

"You didn't have to!" Penny snarks back. "I heard your silence."

"You what?"

"You know what I mean," Penny groans. "I'm right."

"Well, yes," James says. "Mostly."

"Mostly?"

Most people would probably leave the subject alone at Penny's thorny response. But James, never to be deterred, barrels on. "Mostly," he restates.

Penny's not one to sulk, but she almost feels like crossing her arms and stamping her foot. She doesn't, knowing it would be childish and immature. "I'm right. How can Jesús form a proper opinion on this shit if he's not properly informed? How can he know the truth if all Hana feeds him is - is - "

"Is what?"

"I don't know!" Penny groans. "I just know that it's wrong. You should too."

"I'm not saying it's not wrong," James says. "I'm just saying that Hana isn't a bad person."

"Well, I know that," Penny says.

"So, don't you want to know why she's downplaying You-Know-Who?" James asks.

Penny looks over to him, almost stopping midstep. "What do you mean?"

"It's not normal Hana behaviour," he says again. "Surely you want to understand it?"

Penny finally does stop. "I don't get it - do you know why she's acting like this?"

"Yeah," James says. "C'mon, Taylor, you're more perceptive than this. She's pretending things are better than they are, denying there's any danger, telling people not to be worried; she's scared."

"Scared?" Penny echoes. Then she thinks about it. Hana's tremble, the teary eyes, the horror when Penny talked about her fears aloud. "Oh, Merlin," she mutters. "You're right. How're you right?"

James looks so pleased he could pat himself on the back. "I'm always right."

"Don't get ahead of yourself," Penny says, setting off again toward Hogwarts.

James rushes to catch up, and Penny looks over to him.

"Thank you, James," she says earnestly. "You've really grown up a lot over the last year or so, you know? You're not that irritating twelve-year-old you used to be."

He doesn't say anything, but the smile that slowly spreads across his face is so genuine and heartfelt that Penny could almost think she's made his week. 

a/n: 

I KNOW i said august but in my defence I wrote this in august and forgot to upload it i thought i scheduled it LOL

not sure when the next update will be as I'll be busy with uni again! xx

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