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The cold gaze of Hogwarts followed you as you walked down the halls, the eyes of countless students silently watched you. They waited with bated breath for the day you would finally snap. It seemed as if, no matter what you did to separate yourself from him, people always saw your brother before they saw you.
You had hoped that the mystic and intrigue your brother had provided would have faded by now, but even after three years of building an identity outside of your shared last name, everyone still saw you as only a shadow of his crimes.
‘Well, almost everyone,’ you thought as you caught sight of the golden blond hair that belonged to the beautiful familiar girl you knew.
Penny Haywood had treated you like a person from the very beginning, more than that, she treated you like a hero. Even now, years later, she still jokingly called you the “Hero of Hogwarts.” Merula caused a lot of problems for you, but one thing you would always be thankful for is how she inadvertently brought Penny into your life.
“Hey, Hero!” Penny called over to you with a bright smile on her face, the nickname sent your stomach into coiling somersaults.
You raised your hand in greeting and walked over to her, purposefully slowing down your eager pace so as not to appear as overly excited as you actually were.
“Hey, Penny.” You attempted to sound calm and collected, cool even, but instead, your voice left your lips like a shrill squeak of nervousness.
Penny looked at you peculiarly. “Are you alright?”
“Fine,” you said, but you could feel the blood rush to your face and you prayed that it didn't look as red as it felt.
Penny didn't look convinced but she let it go. “I was wondering if you wanted to hang out at Hogsmeade this weekend?”
“Yes!—I mean, yeah, sure.”
Penny smiled and you felt yourself melting at the sight. “Perfect, I’ll see you then.” Penny walked away, leaving you standing in a static daze, your head was still swimming at the sight of her beautiful smile.
You wrapped your house scarf tightly around you, desperate to fight the chill of a Hogsmeade winter. Walking beside you was Penny, who was shivering in the cold, attempting to burrow herself deeper into the slight warmth of her coat. She had forgotten her scarf at Hogwarts and for a moment you considered offering her your own scarf, you slowly built up the courage to offer it to her, but Penny interrupted your thoughts.
“Let’s go to the Three Broomsticks!” Penny said, starting off in a desperate run towards the building. “Hurry up, before you freeze!” She called back.
A smile appeared on your lips as you charged after her.
The Three Broomsticks was booming with life when you two walked in. You struggled to find an empty seat, but eventually, you found an empty booth in a shabby corner of the inn.
“Looks like everyone’s hiding from the cold in here,” Penny said as she shrugged out of her jacket.
“Looks like,” you agreed, suddenly struggling to find words.
It wasn’t long before a waitress arrived at your table and took your order.
“Just a butterbeer,”
Penny, who had always been a little more adventurous, said, “I’ll have a firewhisky.”
You gaped at her confidence, but the waitress simply laughed. “You’re a bit young aren’t ya?”
Penny shrugged, “Worth a shot. I’ll have a butterbeer as well.”
The waitress smiled as she walked away with their order.
“Next time we come here we should take an aging potion,” Penny said, and you could already see the gears turning in her head.
“How do you do that?”
“Oh, it’s actually quite easy. It’s the ingredients that are difficult—”
“No, I don’t mean the potion.” You said and Penny looked at you in confusion. “When you ordered. You were just so confident, calm, and brave . I wouldn’t be able to do that.”
“Sure you could!” Penny said, “You dueled Merula in our first year. You’re plenty brave.”
You shook your head. “Not like you. I can be brave when I have to, but you're always brave. It just seems so natural for you.”
Penny began to speak but was interrupted by the waitress returning with two warm foaming tankards. “Here y’all are lovelies. Enjoy your drinks.”
You thanked her as she walked away. Penny picked up her drink quickly and took a long drawn out gulp. When she finally pulled the tankard away it was half empty and above her lips was a foamy mustache.
You giggled at the sight of it. “You have—on your lip.” You attempted to speak, but your voice was hindered by your own laughter and Penny just stared at you, clueless and bemused. Finally, you calmed down enough to speak. You reached across the table and grabbed a napkin, then suddenly brave you brushed the foam off her lips which felt soft under your fingers. “You had a butterbeer mustache.”
“Oh …” Penny said, her face red. “Thanks,”
You and Penny sit there in complete silence for a moment, it was if the two of you were the only ones there, the boisterous inn left behind the two of you as you commenced onto something else, but then it ended when you recognized the stares.
All around you, the inn had suddenly taken notice of the young Hogwarts student with eyes like his sitting in the corner of the room.
“Is that—”
“—Jacob had a younger—”
“Poor child,”
“Just like him.”
Penny drank the rest of her butterbeer and gave you a look that told you to do the same. The warm liquid caused a burst of heat to inflame in your chest. The second you set your empty tankard down Penny grabbed your arm and pulled you out of the inn.
She didn't let go of your arm when she started to run and you found yourself being pulled behind her. You struggled to keep up with her, your feet stuttering behind hers. When she finally released you, the two of you are at the shrieking shack, the inn far behind you.
“You asked me how I can be brave,” Penny said, her eyes focused not on the inn in front of her but on something that the eyes could not see. “People see me not as I am, but as they want me to be. Once I realized that I just didn’t care what others thought.” Her eyes suddenly snapped to you, her gaze fierce and protective. “Those people don’t know you, but they pretend they do. You can’t change their minds.”
The truth of the words stung.
Penny’s eyes softened, “So, fuck them. Who cares about what they say? I don’t and you shouldn’t. Because you are nothing like your brother.”
Tears burned your eyes. Penny looked startled for a second and she looked like she was about to say something, but before she could speak you pulled her into a hug. For a moment she didn't move, but then Penny’s arms moved to wrap around you.
You felt warm, warmer than the butterbeer had made you feel. Your not sure what your future holds, but all you know is that Penny is in it. And as long as she’s with you, you think you can be brave like her.