girls night out [tag Roxie!]

[Annabella Jordan]

The fall air was beginning to turn more and more towards winter. Leaves were dropping faster and disappearing from the ground, leaving barren trees to stand as nature’s skeleton around the lovely little village of Hogsmeade. The winds picked up, blowing signs with fancy writing on them and ringing store bells that stayed outside and vulnerable to the elements. Winter was coming around the corner, leaving the last bits of fall for the students of Hogwarts to revel in until the time when thick coats and snow boots would be needed.

Annabella Jordan sat at a table in Madame Puddifoot’s with a steaming cup of hot cocoa in front of her. She worked nimbly to pull off the fingerless gloves she wore, placing them neatly on the table before taking the cup and lifting it to her lips. The thick liquid filled her body with warmth, warming ever little bit of her. The walk from Hogwarts to the village had been rather chilly—and a tad bit scary by ones lonesome—but she had made it.

Anna had made plans with one of her favorites of the Weasley clan to meet up for a drink and chat. She and Roxanne Weasley had known each other since they were toddlers she presumed. Their fathers had been good friends in high school and kept in touch of course after wards, and that lead to the great friendship that Annabella and Roxie developed. Even with the age difference, the two girls got along just as well as sisters.

Roxie had been one of Anna’s greatest comforts when she first came to Hogwarts. On the exterior, Annabella was a confident young woman, but she was skittish and nervous about silly things. Upon going to Hogwarts in her first year Roxie had only been help to the homesickness Anna sometimes felt or the spooks that she got from the eerie old castle at times. With the comfort Roxie gave Anna continued to come out of her shell and blossom more into the confident girl she was, even at the age of 13.

As good of friends that they were though, even school got in the way sometimes. The two had hardly seen each other that year besides a few times in the Great Hall before rushing off to a class. Upon running into each other the other day they made plans for a girls day out in Hogsmeade; it would be the perfect time for them to catch up on things…and boy did they have things to catch up on.

Anna shifted in her seat, pushing down on the sleeve of the loose grey sweatshirt she wore. The thin material was widened in the shoulders, showing the purple strap of her camisole that matched the grey-purple hue of her jeans. A pair of black combat boots topped off the outfit, along with a few accessories to make the casual look more feminine. Annabella reveled in the days off when she got the design her own outfits and didn’t have to hide under robes or in the bland uniforms.

Her foot tapped on the leg of the table slightly as she waited for the familiar girl to show up. They certainly did have a lot to talk about. Since they hadn’t seen each other since before the Masquerade there was the whole debacle to talk about. Anna was sure Roxie knew about the first part of her drama with Louis. Anna knew by now that news in the Weasley clan traveled fast, so she would not be surprised if Roxie already knew all that had happened.

She would rather not bring up her fight with Louis, but she knew they were going to have to talk about it. Anna still felt terribly ashamed by the whole thing. She had been foolish enough to accept another boy’s invitation to the big Masquerade Ball and that sparked Louis’s jealousy along with a string of hurtful words. Of course after that the two best friends took a week apart; avoiding, hiding, and absolutely not speaking to one another. Annabella had been so hurt by his words and confession that she didn’t even know what she would say to him if he were to come up to her. And so she waited, and when the Masquerade Ball came around she could wait no longer.

Louis had been her best friend since she started Hogwarts. There was no way she was going to let one fight come between them. Anna had had her crush on Louis start in their first year of friendship and to most it was painfully obvious. The two were always together laughing and giggling and talking—most people assumed it would happen eventually. Of course, Anna had only seen her side of the crush and without reciprocation she pushed the feelings to the side and continued with the friendship. At the Masquerade when she confronted Louis, all those feelings came out once more.

It was difficult for Anna to say what the two were now though. They had made up at the Masquerade and they both knew how the other really felt, but she wouldn’t be bold enough to call Louis her boyfriend….yet at least. All she knew was that they had started something and whatever it was the was starting was going to be wonderful and she couldn’t wait to tell Roxie.

[Roxanne Weasley]

The highlight of every Hogwarts students weekend was the trip to the small village of Hogsmeade. Aside from the freedom and fresh air, the shops and pubs were a great break from the hectic school schedule. Honeydukes sweetshop had everything any one student could possibly imagine to indulge in, from chocolate to sherbet to suckers, and most with magical effects on anyone who thought to give them a taste. Of course that shop was usually packed. So too was the Three Broomsticks, with students eager for a butterbeer after a long day traipsing up and down the streets. There was also a branch of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, which had gained popularity after Zonko's had shut down in the second rise of Lord Voldemort.

Generally, Roxanne Weasley liked her father's shop. The chaotic insanity was familiar and, she had to admit, kind of fun. By now she had the timing down just right to duck and weave around the flying objects and racing children, too. If she hung around for too long, of course, then Roxie would of course get recruited to work as she knew the products better than even the employees. Which made sense, of course, since she was there when it was being made.

As she dodged an improved Fanged Frisbee, Roxie made her escape from Weasleys' Wizarf Wheezes and into the brisk fall air. She had plans for the day and she was excited by the chance to catch up with Annabelle Jordan, easily one of her best friends (if not the best) since she'd been a very young child. Since this was her fifth year, the year of her O.W.L.s, Roxanne had become loaded up with absolutely every possible class and hadn't had much time for anything but writing essays.

And anyway, Anna had been a bit busy herself from what Roxie could tell. Not that she knew much, but Louis was her family after all, and despite the fact that the Weasley clan was absolutely huge, she still heard rumors down the grapevine. Nothing concrete, really, just that they'd had some sort of falling out. Poor girl, and Roxie would absolutely take Anna's side, she didn't care. And she had her own things she wanted to share with Anna-- she was beginning to think that maybe she might have had a crush on an older student, and that was different for her. Most boys ended up boring her very early, no matter how cute they were, so this change of pace threw her off a little and she wanted to chat with Anna about it.

So today she had plans to meet her friend at Madame Puttifoot's and catch up. It was also exciting to have a day off, be able to go a little casual. Not that she didn't dress up her school uniform at times, but she did enjoy her muggle clothes. Today she had donned her frayed jean skirt and dark brown ankle boots, with a lacy soft pink blouse and a brown slouch hat. The autumn wind whipped her thick, dark curls around her face and by the time she reached the tea shop, Roxie had a healthy flush on her cheeks.

A little bell tinkled above her head at she came into the warmth. Roxie cast her eyes around and a lot of people in the shop were couples, but she quickly spied her friend waiting for her at her table. "Anna," she practically squealed as she grabbed a seat across from her. Briefly, she waved at Madame Puddifoot and ordered a lemon tea. "How're you? I feel like we haven't hung out in forever."