There was a run in her stocking that pulled with each step she took. It pulled at her down the road from the castle gates, following the young witch like the fellow students who tarried behind her on their chaperoned Hogsmeade visit. On an ordinary weekend, there was little need to rush. The shops were a stalwart presence, most eager to open their doors to the youthful throng with pockets full of coins going unspent between visits. She was an ecumenical patron herself on those days, those ordinary days. The anticipation brimming in her throat, calling a hand to her necklace, made this unlike any of the ordinary weekends for Millie.

She should have taken her leave to visit home, greet her Mum if she was home, and ask their housekeeper to take a look at her stocking. Mrs. Moore had a quick hand at mending and fixes, as much for clothes as for an upset stomach or a bout of tears. Millie hadn't needed much of the latter for a few years, but the memories warmed the smile on her cold face. Her cheeks were already growing red underneath the scarf that shielded her face from the chilling wind, and if ever she was grateful for wind it was now, hiding away the feelings written on her face.

They made it to High Street before Millie let herself slow to the end of the group, making her excuses about visiting the pet shop for Houstonia's supplies. It wasn't a lie, exactly. She knew Ben would help her collect a supply to take home with her. His immediate promise, however, burned a hole in her coat pocket, hotter than any coin. Arriving like any other Valentine's Day card, his was written in Ben's characteristic hand. She would have treasured any note from him, but one that made her fly to her bookshelf to decrypt the secret message made it all the more meaningful.

Millie took a turn off the High Street, wending her way through the alleys behind the storefronts. She hardly knew them as well as any street urchin, but could count enough to find her way to the pet shop from here. The thought of Ben's cryptic note made her cheeks red all over again. She could only imagine what the young man might have planned for them. She would be thrilled enough for a moment with him reading the same book again, but today was the most romantic of days. Her heart sang with ideas that made her stomach flutter as well, and she stopped short. The count had vanished from her head, replaced by giddy anticipation. Was it four more stores or two?

Eventually, she managed to find her way, avoiding a more precarious interlude than one that High Street promised instead. The only promise on the young witch's mind was that of her dazzling knight of books and creatures. She smiled again, dreaming of Ben strolling out the back door to meet her with a kiss and the musk of his embrace. Millie found her hand on the door handle instead, alone in the alley behind the shop. Turning it, she stepped inside the space meant for deliveries, peeking around carefully to avoid any other Hunter until the one she wanted came into view.

"I went through the alleys just in case, though I'm sure we'll only have a short time before anyone begins to think I'm sneaking away for something untoward," she told him, pulling the mittens off her hands that altogether too warm now in the shop. She would be ruined if anyone were to think her as low as the French harlot who once shared her classes. Millie would never debase herself that much, or so publicly. "Your card sent me right back to the story of Wands Beneath the Ivy, I nearly brought it along with me as well."

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   Benedict Hunter