*
The rest of the week flew by and before he knew it, Tom was looking at Isabelle walking over to him in the entrance hall. “Wow, Isabelle. You look great!”
“Thank you, you don’t look so bad yourself.” He knew this had to be just her being polite. He hadn’t made any special effort. He just wore a shirt and jeans. Whereas Isabelle wore a black top, red skirt and heels. She’d also done something fancy to her hair. Her blonde hair was all curled, when it was normally straight and it sparkled in the sunlight. They both stared at each other, smiling. “Where would you like to go?” Tom asked.
“Oh, I don’t mind. You decide.”
“I’ve never been before so I don’t know what Hogswine has to offer.”
Isabelle giggled. “Oh, of course. I forgot. Well I’ll show you everything then. Follow me.”
They walked together through the Hogwash grounds towards the gate that lead to Hogswine. Tom couldn’t help but notice just how beautiful Isabelle was when in the sun and with stunning backdrops of the mountains around. They started talking about lessons and teachers, Isabelle was very nervous about the upcoming C.A.T’s. “I mean, how are we supposed to memorise all the different topics for every subject, it’s just impossible,” she said, exasperated. Tom had always found his homework and studying fairly easy but had kept it a secret as he didn’t want to seem like a nerd.
“I could help you out if you need it.”
“Could you? That would be awesome. I could really do with some extra help.”
“No problem, I’ll just have to fit you in around Quidditch practise.”
“What position do you play?” she asked, interestedly.
“I’m a beater. Always have been. I played at Durmprang as well but of course, I was overshadowed by Victor Dumb.” Tom said it with a bit of jealousy in his voice. Isabelle seemed to notice.
“I bet you’re great. I look forward to seeing you play.”
“Thanks,” he said, feeling raised spirits.
“I’ve always thought beaters are the most undervalued players.” Tom got more animated.
“Me too. Most people think seekers are the be all and end all. As if there’s no point the rest of the game being played because the snitch is worth 150 points. But a good beater could knock a seeker off his broom and by doing so, make our seekers job a lot easier. Or, if he managed to take out enough of the team, they’d have to forfeit.”
“I can see you feel strongly about Quidditch.”
“Doesn’t everyone?” he replied instantly.
“Err…I guess.”
They reached Hogswine and Isabelle showed Tom many different paces. Joke shops, pet shops, cafes, luxury goods shops and pubs. She even showed him an exotic goods store that contained the weirdest collection of items Tom had ever seen. Plants and herbs, machines and devices, equipment and supplies, from all over the world. Tom was really interested in the shop and wanted to stay longer but Isabelle dragged him out because she couldn’t stand the smell of a particular plant.
As they walked along the main street, side by side, they discussed each other’s likes and interests. Tom told her about working as a blacksmith but refrained from mentioning his parents. In return, he found out Isabelle liked singing and dancing, sun and beaches, fancy parties and fancy food. Tom was more partial to casual food and parties but he was open to doing fancier stuff with her. Where he was disappointed was how Isabelle preferred to stay clean and indoors, whereas Tom liked to be outdoors, in the thick of things with his hands dirty.
Tom was enjoying himself immensely and so he was really disappointed when he noticed it was 12:45. “Isabelle, I’m really sorry but I’ve got to go now.” She looked just as disappointed as Tom felt.
“Oh no Tom, don’t go.”
He tried to look regretful. “I’ve got to but listen, I’ve had a wonderful time and I’ll look forward to seeing you again.”
“Why have you got to go? What’s more important than me? Why can’t you tell me what you are up to?” Tom had been afraid of tricky questions like these but he’d thought of a way to ignore it. He leaned in, held her by the shoulders and kissed her, and she kissed back. His hands slid from her shoulders into her hair. After a few moments, he pulled away and said with a soft whisper, “you’ll just have to trust me.” And he left her standing there. She appeared temporarily paralysed but Tom didn’t look back. He was now focused on the job he promised Dumby.
Tom struggled to find his way to the Hag’s leg pub as Isabelle hadn’t shown him it even though he’d asked if there were any other pubs in Hogswine. She couldn’t have known about it. He eventually found the pub towards the edge of the village. It looked shabby and unwelcoming. He now understood why Isabelle hadn’t known about it. He reached the door, looked at his watch to realise it was 1:05 and hurriedly went inside, hoping he hadn’t missed much.
The first face he saw surprised him. It looked like Dumby, only a little rounder and younger. He was standing behind the bar. Tom was intrigued by the man and so went over to the bar. “Hey man. Are you by any chance related to Albus Dumby?” The man grunted and seemed to get annoyed at the reference. He spoke in a much deeper and rougher voice than Albus.
“I’m Albus’ brother, Abaforth.” Tom was taken aback by this. He hadn’t know that Albus had a brother.
“Cool, nice to meet you Abaforth.” Abaforth was about to reply when someone shouted from across the room, “Hey, Tom! Overhear.” Tom turned around to see Cho standing up around a large group of Hogwash kids that included Harry. “Get your drink and get over hear.”
Tom turned back to Abaforth and he said, “Can I get whatever the best drink you have is, please?”
Abaforth’s mood completely changed and he smiled as he said, “I’m glad you didn’t order butterbeer like the rest of your lot. It’s a pathetic drink really. Besides, I’m almost out after that lot. I’ll give you a special brew that I save for my best customers. It’s called Glory of Magic.” Abaforth pulled him a pint. Tom didn’t understand why Abaforth’s mood had changed all of a sudden but didn’t question it.
He took the pint and said, “Thanks very much, how much do I owe you?”
Abaforth waved him away. “Don’t worry about it, it’s on the house.”
“Thanks very much Abaforth.”
“Call me Ab.”
“Sure thing. I’m Tom by the way,” he said and stuck out his hand. Abaforth shook it and said, “Good to meet you Tom.”
With that, Tom went to join Cho and the others to listen to what the meeting was all about. “That’s not butterbeer! What are you drinking?” Cho looked impressed as she said it.
“Glory of Magic.”
Another kid piped up, “Wow. You drink Glory of Magic? How did you get the barman to sell you that?”
Tom had no idea what this drink was but he was enjoying the admiration he was getting, so simply said, “I have my ways.”
Another girl said, sounding impressed, “But it’s really strong. It’s a proper man’s drink.” Tom just shrugged and took a sip.
Hermione, who had been talking when he arrived, reclaimed the audience’s attention. “Everyone, everyone. We’re all here because we want proper defence lessons from a REAL teacher. Are we all agreed that teacher should be Harry? All those in favour, raise their hands.”
Everyone apart from Tom raised their hands. Tom had intended to stay impartial as he was just trying to observe but he didn’t want to look out of place so quickly raised his hand along with everyone else. He didn’t think anyone noticed. Hermione looked really pleased and continued. “Good, that’s settled then. Harry, Ron and I thought we’d call the group Dumby’s Legion and call it the DL for short so other people don’t know what we are talking about.” She didn’t wait to see if people agreed. She just moved straight past the point as if it had been settled. “We now need to decide when and where we are going to meet. Does anyone know of a good place to practise?”
A few people made suggestions but they
were all quickly rejected. Tom stayed out of the discussion, he wouldn’t have been much help anyway. The only place he could think of was the kitchens and he would never suggest it. He just sat there, enjoying his beer.
Nothing was settled throughout the rest of the meeting. No one could agree on a time due to Quidditch practises for different houses and no one suggested a suitable place to practise. The meeting came to an end with everyone signing a list saying they are a member of the DL and that they wouldn’t tell Dumbridge or anyone in league with her about it. With that, the group started to disperse and Cho came to him, “Tom, let’s go back to the castle. I want to hear about your date.” A few people glance over at them.
Ignoring them, Tom said, “Oh sure, let’s go.”
They got up to leave and as he passed the bar, Tom said to Abaforth, “Thanks for the drink, I’ll be sure to come back when I get the chance.”
“See you around Tom.”
Cho turned to him as they got out into the snowy town. “What is it with you and people? You seem to get on with everyone even though you barley know them.” She was really impressed.
“It’s just good manners. Be nice to people and they’ll be nice to you. It’s part of my code and something my parents were big believers in.”
“Code? What code?” she asked, intrigued.
“I’ll explain on the way back.”
As they walked back to the castle, Tom explained his code. The set of rules that he lived his life by. Once Cho had stopped asking questions about that, they moved onto Tom and Isabelle’s date.
By the time they’d discussed all there was, they hadn’t reached the entrance hall so Tom then turned the conversation towards Cho and asked how she was dealing with the loss of Cedric.
At first Cho looked shocked at being asked about it but then started to relax as she felt comforted by Tom. They stopped at a garden bench and sat down. Cho opened up to him about everything. All about what Cedric meant to her and how she feels about Harry and how she’s struggling to cope with school. Tom was really surprised that Cho felt comfortable enough to tell him this. But he didn’t interrupt and listened to everything she said. When she started to cry, Tom pulled her close and she hugged him for a long time, whilst continuing with her story.
By the time she had finished, the sun had set and it was getting very cold. She said goodnight to him and went up to bed. Tom had skipped lunch because of Isabelle and the DL meeting and now he’d missed dinner as well. He wasn’t sure if his stomach had ever grumbled this loud before. Therefore he went down to the kitchens and met Bonky, who had acquired a burn on his middle finger. It had been an accident involving a pan of oil and a wet floor. Tom offered his condolences and Bonky fed him up with a generous portion of lasagne. With that, he went to bed. It had been an eventful day and he had much to think about.