Tom had made his way into the third-year, top-student as always and announced as a great role model by his head of house. Entering the third-year of Hogwarts also marked the year in which students were allowed to visit Hogsmeade, the inviting town situated north of Hogwarts. Rumors he had heard in his previous years painted Hogsmeade as some sort of haven; rows of stores filled with almost anything imaginable and some could even argue, with good point, it was better if not on par with Diagon Alley's brilliance.

In the hallways, fourth-year students chatted amongst each other on weekends to visit Hogsmeade; fifth-years talked about what to buy the next weekend they were allowed; sixth-years groaned in frustration at missing their turn to go there due to studying, and seventh-year students discussed their disappointment at never visiting Hogsmeade after graduating.

Tom, who had waited patiently for this year, already secured himself a guardian's permit in the form of a paper signed by his orphanage's owner, confunded by Dumbledore. His head of house declared that they would be permited to visit next weekend which renewed much mutterings.

Many of these mutterings also consisted of asking their crushes out to Hogsmeade; due to fear of rejection, this included girls considering whether or not it was a good idea to ask Tom out. He thought it was a stupid idea to go out with any either, not when he was intent on exploring all by himself. He always did it himself, and relying on others always had a huge possibility of failure.

As students poured out into Hogsmeade, snow had already begun to fall, piling on the roofs of the shops lining the entrance. It was already late November, so it was not unusual to already see fogged up windows with smiley faces.

Tom was already in Honeydukes. He was definitely considering buying a few sweets; the rumors were as true as the earth rotating on its axis. Quite honestly, out of all the options, he was left considering how many sugar quills and bloody lollipops he should purchase.