The Girl Who Fought | h.p |

Minnie Spills The Tea

Once the Quartet regrouped, Hermione and Ron showed the other two around the town. Nova pretended to be clueless, allowing her friends to have their moment. 

"That's the post office —" 

"Zonko's is up there —" 

"We could go up to the Shrieking Shack —" 

"Tell you what," said Ron, his teeth chattering, "shall we go fora butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks?"

"I'm down," Nova said. 

"No, you're up," Harry said. 

"Zip it, Harold," Nova playfully ordered. "I'm cold. I'm four seconds away from being a Nova-sicle."

"No need to be so dramatic, Nox," Ron sassed. Nova flicked him. 

Harry and Hermione laughed at the two. 

Honeydukes was extremely crowded, noisy, warm, and smoky. A curvy sort of woman with a pretty face was serving a bunch of rowdy warlocks up at the bar. 

"That's Madam Rosmerta," said Ron. "I'll get the drinks, shall I?" he added, going slightly red. 

"Oi! Ronald!" Nova called. "Can you get me a hot chocolate?"

"Oh, he so has a crush on her," Nova said smirking. 

"Why doesn't it matter?" Harry asked. Hermione rolled her eyes. 

"Deer Harold, you have a lot to learn," Hermione teased, sounding freakishly like Nova. 

"Blackmail material, love!" Nova smiled. 

The trio made their way to the back of the room, where there was a small, vacant table between the window and a handsome Christmas tree, which stood next to the fireplace. Ron came back five minutes later, carrying three foaming tankards of hot butterbeer and a hot chocolate. 

"Merry Christmas!" he said happily, raising his tankard. 

"Thanks, Ron," Nova grinned as he placed a hot chocolate in front of him. 

"Here," Nova said, handing Ron the coins for her hot chocolate. She knew it was more than her drink, but Ron needed it more than she did. 

"It's fine," Ron insisted. 

"You bought my drink," Nova stated rolling her eyes. "I'm simply paying you back."

"It's alright," Ron insisted. 

"Ronald, take my damn money," Nova ordered softly. "You didn't need to buy my drink. You did that out of kindness. Kindness should be rewarded."

"What Hufflepuff poisoned you?" Hermione asked sniggering. 

"I can be nice!" Nova objected. 

"Oh! Yeah! Very nice!" Harry said sarcastically, smirking. 

Nova blushed and looked down ashamed. Of course, she isn't the nicest, she knew that. She always used hostility as a defense mechanism, as toxic as that sounded. She hoped that if she was rude and brutal (but not abusive, she wasn't like her foster parents), people would stay away from her. Clearly, it didn't go as planned. 

"It's alright, Nox," Hermione insisted. 

"Yeah!" Ron said enthusiastically. "You're our angry pufferfish! You also protect us so...that's a plus." Ron frowned. "Would that make you a guard dog?"

Hermione buried her head in her hands. 

Harry smiled into his butterbeer. 

"I would say that I'm more of a lion," Nova said with a smile.