Ernie nodded to Hannah and then within a second, they apparated into the apparition point outside Hogsmeade. It had been some time since he’d been there, but it brought back memories of their School days when it wasn’t complicated or unhappy. It made him think of Justin and their long talks over Wizard Cards and of times when the group would mob Honeydukes to make sure they got the best candy before anyone else could snatch it all up.
Moments when they could just relax and have fun without worrying about the things going on in the castle or about the things going on outside of it. Honestly, it mad Ernie frown. Not a few weeks ago they were facing down Death Eaters and trying to save their school along with the rest of wizarding society. Now they were living under tyrannical rule and in fear of doing the wrong thing at any given moment.
Some of those memories were only a year in the past, or even two years, yet it felt honestly like it had been an eternity. How long had it been since he last let himself relax and just have fun? How long had it been since he was able to let himself just have fun and not look over his shoulder, afraid someone was going to snatch him up or worse, go after Hannah for their roles in the war? They were careful but still, it could happen. Some of their friends had been victims of it. They were treading a fine line and he didn’t want to make it worse.
“Come on, let’s go into Honeydukes and get some candy for our stash and then into the Quidditch supplies shop. I need a new cleaning kit for my broom.” He slid his hand down to take hers, lacing their fingers as he gently pulled Hannah forward. Of course Honeydukes was full but he made his way inside with her and pulled her over to the snacks wall where they usually looked, or at least where they had looked during their school days. It made him smile, erasing some of those terrible thoughts with better ones.
“What do you think?” He asked as he reached up with his free hand, never letting hers go, and grabbed a box of ice mice as well as a chocolate frog, “you want these? I think I’m going to get a few chocolate frogs, so I have more cards for my collection, plus the mice and oh they have fudge flies. My favorite. What do you want banana? It’s my treat, anything you want.”
No he didn’t think this would solve everything but he was hoping that Hannah would get some comfort from it. It was something ‘normal’, something that they could do without worrying about things. It was just…nice and they both needed that right now. Hell he’d owl Zach and Megan if he had to for a get together if it would make her smile. “Anything, Banana.” He repeated with a smile. “Just name it.”