Meet me in the Entrance Hall in one hour. I need to go Christmas Shopping and you get the honour of joining me. Maybe I’ll even take you for lunch. Maybe not somewhere that serves alcohol though – wouldn’t want you to drink something and throw up…. Again. Don’t worry if you can’t make it or you don’t fancy coming with. I’ll go by myself, I just won’t buy you anything…… That’s a joke.
Oh, by the way, I promised the messenger chocolate, so if you have any spare, feed the first year.
Ps, It’s freezing outside. Wrap up warm.
That was the note that Amos gave to the first female he saw as he entered the Common Room. It happened to be a timid looking first year girl, who seemed mortified about the idea of going into the older girls dormitories until the promise of a reward. Something Amos hoped Gladys could help with, but wasn’t particularly bothered if the kid left disappointed. He’d make a point to buy something from Honeydukes the same day to make up for it.
When the note was securely with the younger Hufflepuff, Amos made his way down to breakfast. Already being woken up by one of his dorm-mates at a ridiculous hour of the morning, he had been able to shower and change into some winter wear, ready to embrace the December weather. Being a summer person, Amos was never particularly fond with how harsh Scotland was at the end of the year. And if he had to conquer such hideous conditions, so would someone else. And he decided it would be the perfect opportunity to grab Gladys.
Things hadn’t been weird between them since her confession. At least, not really. He didn’t flirt as much, and they weren’t spending as much time together, but when they were in each others company, it seemed comfortable enough. At least, for him. But there was nothing better to drive the point home that nothing had changed between them than taking her to Hogsmeade and acting as though her crush admittance had never happened. That way, when her feelings were gone, their friendship would still remain.
Even after breakfast, Amos was still early. He took the opportunity to go the Owlery and attempt to communicate with his mother again. Edith’s letters back to him were still infrequent and a cause of concern, but he tried to not overthink it on what was going to, with any luck, be a good day. A small note, just wishing her well, before he headed back to Hogwarts. He was a few minutes late when he reached the Entrance Hall, but was relieved to see Gladys already there.
Once he reached her, he gave her a large grin. “Hope I didn’t make you wait too long.” He paused, looking over his shoulder before adding, “Unless you’re planning to go to Hogsmeade with someone else. Then this is just embarrassing.”
The note had taken her by surprise, as did the invitation to go shopping in Hogsmeade. She had just gotten back from breakfast with Davina, when the first year had approached her in her dormitory, looking shy and nervous.
A few weeks ago, she would have thought nothing of it, and would have already been on her way. But it was different now that she had admitted her feelings to Amos. But he had promised that things wouldn’t be weird, and she very much wanted to go on like nothing had happened, like her accidental blurting out her feelings had never happened.
As she got to the end of the note, her cheeks turning slightly pink, she was nearly startled to see the first year still standing there, looking awkward.
“Oh!” She said with a small laugh. “Um, hold on,” she said, going to her bed and opening her bedside table to where she kept some chocolate. She pulled it out and offered it to her. “Thank you for the note,” she said, kindly. The first year nodded and rushed away.
All alone again, she realized that she had to make a decision. If she didn’t go, than it would tell Amos that things were weird between them. And Gladys would regret not spending time with him. But if she did go, than she might do something embarrassing, and then Amos would never want to hang out with her again. And what would she wear? They were just shopping, and it wasn’t a date, but she still refused to hang out with him in only sweatpants and a t-shirt. Gladys wasn’t self-obsessed, but she did like to dress nice. Which meant that she would have to change.
Screw it, she thought, and decided that she needed to go. So she quickly grabbed a pair of jeans and a sweater and got dressed, and then quickly ran a brush through her hair, making sure that it looked okay, and grabbed her boots and pulled them on. She glanced at the note again, and felt her cheeks turn slightly pink again. Why had Amos wanted her to go shopping with him? She didn’t truthfully know what to make of the invitation. But she shook her head slightly, deciding that she didn’t care why he had asked her.
She pulled her coat on, and grabbed some gloves and her scarf and she checked the time. She had fifteen minutes. So she grabbed her bag, and then made her way down to the Great Hall. She didn’t spot Amos at first, and for a moment, she wondered if he had thought that she wasn’t coming.
But then he was suddenly there, appearing out of nowhere, and she immediately brightened up, and smiled at him. “Hey!” She greeted. She laughed. “No, i’m definitely here to go shopping with you,” she told him. “But no, I just got here.”
