Chapter 2: Diagon Alley, Pets and Run!
Harry, Hermione and Mia made their way through Diagon Alley to collect the rest of their things for Hogwarts before they finally came to a stop outside the bookshop.
"Okay, I'll get the rest of the books," Mia told them as she held out her hands for their lists. "Harry, you get the equipment and Hermione, you get the potions stuff."
"Sure - that way we'll get everything done quickly and we can just spend the rest of the day lazing about," Harry agreed as he waved his wand, duplicating the lists so that everyone had one of each.
"Merlin Hermione, just how many lessons are you taking?" Mia demanded she took a look at Hermione's long list of books.
"A few, the others are just a precaution. Professor McGonagall didn't want me to be left short-handed just in case I need a certain book," Hermione explained.
"Okay. How about we meet up outside Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream?" Mia suggested. Harry and Hermione agreed.
"That'll be fine, it'll probably be the first place Ron will look for us," Harry explained, causing both girls to giggle and Harry to roll his eyes. "Come on!" he tugged on Hermione's elbow as they both walked off while Mia made her way towards the book shop.
Once she arrived, Mia looked around the shop and smiled when she saw the bookkeeper before walking purposely over to him.
"Hi," she greeted and the man looked at her. "I just wanted to pass on some information about those monster books," the man looked at her, interested. "You stroke the spine to get them to relax and open." Relief came over the man's face.
"Oh, thank you. Everyone was confused about how to open the books and they didn't want to buy them until they had some idea. This will really help us," the man told her and Mia waved it off.
"No problem. Now if you can just help me figure out where all these books are, we can call it even," Mia told him as she handed their lists over to the man who took it with a small chuckle.
"No problem," he told her as he led her around the shop to find the books.
Meanwhile, Harry and Hermione were making their way through the town. They had collected everything off their lists and were lazily walking about.
"How about we get your pet today?" Harry asked Hermione, who looked up at him.
"Really?" asked Hermione. Harry nodded.
"Yeah, this way you don't have to worry about it later in the week. Besides, shouldn't you get it early so you both can get used to each other before you head to Hogwarts?" Harry asked. Hermione smiled.
"Thank you," Hermione told him and Harry waved it off as they came to a stop outside the pet shop.
"Here we are. Why don't you have a look around and see what you would like while I get some owl treats for Hedwig?" Harry suggested. Hermione just shot him a delighted smile before she hurried into the shop while Harry shook his head in amusement before following her in.
The bell above the door rang, signalling their entrance. Harry looked around and saw types of animals around. Over on one side of the shop were rows of owls. Closer to the back there were jars of toads, fire snails - they left a trail of fire instead of slime - and different coloured rats and mice. Harry noticed that there was a cage of black rats at the counter and they were all showing off.
Cats were all over the place. One that caught his eye was a large orange cat sitting up high on a shelf. He couldn't quite decide if it was a very large cat or a very small tiger. Harry shook his head as he moved in closer and stood next to the counter.
"Yes dear, can I help you?" a voice asked and he turned to see a female, maybe 19, working behind the counter.
"Yeah - could I have some treats for my owl please?" Harry asked.
"Of course," she replied, flashing him a bright grin as she flipped her black hair back and batted her brown eyes at him. "Do you have any special types you might like?"
"Mice thanks," Harry told her. She nodded as she headed off into the backroom while Harry turned around and rested the small of his back against the counter. He watched Hermione flit from one side of the room to the other, looking at all the creatures that the shop had to offer.
"Here you are," the female greeted once more. Harry turned around and smiled his thanks as he handed his money over to the woman. He was still placing the treats inside the other bag he was carrying when Hermione walked over to them.
"Have you decided?" Harry asked as he straightened up. Hermione shook her head.
"No, I can't figure out what I want," Hermione fretted as her brown eyes darted swiftly from one creature to another. Harry placed a hand on her shoulder, calming her down.
"Relax. You have the whole day and tomorrow to make up your mind," Harry reminded her. Hermione nodded before she looked at Harry once more.
"Did you get your owl treats?" she asked. Harry nodded.
"Yeah, do you want me to wait here or do you want me to go on ahead to the ice cream parlour?" Harry asked.
"Go ahead, I might be here for a while if I can't decide," Hermione explained and Harry nodded.
"Okay, do you want me to get you ice cream?" Harry asked.
"Sure, get me vanilla with the strawberry chocolate topping," Hermione told him and Harry nodded as he pulled out some money and placed it in Hermione's hand.
"This is in case you decide," he told her as she started to protest. "Hey, your birthday present from me, remember." Hermione gave in and nodded. "Good, meet you over there later." He kissed her cheek before picking up the bags and leaving the shop.
"Hm, interesting," the girl stated and Hermione turned to face her.
"What?" Hermione asked and the girl looked at her.
"That he seemed to be interested in you when they are plenty more desirable girls about," she informed Hermione before walking off. Hermione just stared after her with hurt eyes before she suddenly remembered Harry's words from second year. Relaxing with that thought, she turned back to her pet hunting. She refused to let anyone get her down this year.
Harry found himself sitting outside Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour eating his sundae when he heard his name being called out.
"Harry!" a male voice shouted and Harry turned to see Ron heading over his way. Harry grinned as he stood up.
"Hey, you look great! How was Egypt?" Harry asked, taking in Ron's freckly look. Ron just grinned back as he sat down next to Harry. Harry saw Ginny taking her seat across from them next to the ice cream. "Nice to see you too Ginny," Harry greeted as he reached over and took Hermione's dish and sat it down next to his.
"Hungry?" Ginny asked, teasingly. Harry couldn't help but smile.
"Nah, the other one is for Hermione - she's getting her pet so I was waiting for her," Harry told her and Ginny nodded. As Harry turned back to face Ron, he missed the dark look that shot over her face.
"It was fantastic, mate," Ron told him, getting back to Harry's question about Egypt. "We even got to see Norbert again. He's really massive now! It's a good thing Hagrid didn't keep him back then." Harry laughed.
"I'm sure Hermione will be delighted to hear about that," Harry told him. Ron brightened up as he remembered something.
"Oh, and I got a new wand - mom took me to Ollivanders' today," Ron told him as he brought out his new wand and showed it off. Harry smiled at his friend, enjoying his happiness. "How is Sirius dealing being stuck at home?" Ron asked; keeping up the pretence that Sirius wasn't with the teenagers.
Ginny perked up, she had been keeping her ear low to the ground for any information she could use to get her closer to Harry.
"He's fine. I think he is having too much fun taunting the ministry," Harry told Ron with an amused smile and Ron chuckled.
"I bet he is," Ron quipped back. Harry just rolled his eyes in agreement.
"So Sirius isn't here?" Ginny asked causing Harry and Ron to look at her.
"Erm, didn't we just say that he wasn't here?" Harry asked Ron, confused about where Ginny had gone during the conversation. But Ron just narrowed his eyes at his sister. Ginny had been trying to get information out of him and the twins all summer.
"Ginny, we just said that Sirius wasn't here - I don't know what is going on with you but maybe you should just drop whatever it is you are doing," Ron warned her before he turned back to Harry. His eyes widened when he looked over Harry's shoulder.
"What on earth does she have?" Ginny demanded as she also looked over Harry's shoulder. Harry turned around and arched an eyebrow when he saw that Hermione was carrying a furry cat in her arms. Its face was squashed like it had run into a wall and its fur was quite unkempt as well. Harry couldn't help but smile though at the glowing look on Hermione's face as she cuddled the pet closer to her.
Ginny watched the scene with an annoyed expression. She was just starting to make progress in getting Harry's attention when Hermione showed up and Harry had forgotten all about her once more.
"What the hell is that?" Ron demanded only to feel a sharp slap on the back of his head. "Ow!" he rubbed the back of his head as he spun around to glare at Mia, who was standing behind him. She had just arrived after getting everyone's books and had overhead Ron's question.
"It's a cat," she informed him, matter of factly, before narrowing her eyes. "And I trust that you will be nice to it." Ron spun around to face the cat and Hermione once more.
"It looks like a wicked cat!" Ron finished off with a cheerful grin while Harry rolled his eyes and Hermione just gave him a smile. Mia just crossed her arms over her chest as Hermione moved closer to Harry.
"What's his name?" Harry asked.
"Crookshanks," Hermione told him and Harry reached out and scratched Crookshanks' head, causing him to purr.
"He's kinda cool," Harry admitted and Hermione smiled brightly up at him. Harry just smiled back while Ron and Mia exchanged looks of mirth.
"Come on, we better get back to the Leaky Cauldron," Mia told them. They all started to pack up their stuff.
"Oh," Hermione started as she turned to face Mia. "Did you tell the bookshop keeper…?"
"Yes," Mia jumped in. "I told him and he promised to let everyone else know."
"Know what?" Ginny asked while Ron threw Harry an amused smile.
"Are you telling me you're the one who figured out how to open those monster books?" Ron asked and Harry chuckled.
"Uncle Sirius actually, the book just attacked me and scuttled off before we could catch it. Hagrid had sent it to me for my birthday," Harry explained and Ron snickered.
"The book attacked you?" Ron asked as Hermione placed Crookshanks into the carry basket that she bought before latching it closed and turning to face Ron with her hands on her hips.
"And why is that funny?" demanded Hermione. "That book could have done serious damage!"
"Okay, okay!" Ron exclaimed as he threw his hands up in surrender. "It's just that we've never had a book that attacks people before!" Hermione just shot him a hard glare before she turned back to Crookshanks. "Jeez, I thought Harry loosened her up," Ron whispered to Mia, who just covered her face with her hands so that no one could see that she was laughing.
Harry picked up the ice cream that he had gotten Hermione and handed it to her. Hermione took it with a bright smile.
"Thank you!" she told him before she tucked into the sweet. It was a tall vanilla ice cream with melted chocolate decorating the ice cream with chopped strawberries to add colour.
After Hermione finished eating, Harry picked up Crookshanks' casket while Ron and Hermione each grabbed some of the bags that were surrounding the table before they all made their way back to the Leaky Cauldron.
They entered the building with Ron laughing at something Mia had told him. Harry and Hermione were holding onto each other and were laughing too while Ginny just gave them all a fake smile, pretending she was enjoying her time with them while she was actually frustrated over how her plan to "get Harry" wasn't going the way she expected it to.
"Hello kids," Arthur Weasley greeted. He watched as they all made their way into the dinner area. The kids smiled back.
"Hi," they all greeted back.
"Ginny and Ron, where have you been?" Molly demanded.
"Sorry, we got caught up with Harry, Hermione and Mia," Ron apologised and Molly's eyes widened when she saw Harry.
"Of course, Harry, how are you dear?" Molly asked as she moved closer to the young man and started fussing over him. "Are you eating properly?"
"Yes, I'm fine," Harry, told her, trying very hard not to get irritated with the elderly woman.
"Hey kids, you made it back in one piece," Mac announced his presence with a smile.
"Ha, ha, very funny," Mia shot at him with a sarcastic smile before she placed her bags on the table. Hermione and Ron did the same thing before Harry placed Crookshanks' carrier down on the table and unlatched it so the cat could make its way out.
"Here you go, buddy," Harry told the cat as he climbed out of the casket.
Hermione made her way over to them and ran her hand down Crookshanks' back.
"So, this is your present from Harry?" Mac asked as he moved closer to the table and Hermione shot him a brilliant smile.
"Yeah, Harry handed me a bunch of money and told me to pick whatever I wanted," Hermione explained.
"You just gave her money?" Molly asked in a sceptical tone, causing Harry to look at her.
"Yes, is there a problem with that?" Harry asked. His tone had a hard edge to it.
"Dear, shouldn't you at least try and conserve your money for the future?" Molly asked in her motherly tone and Harry sighed.
"Trust me when I say this didn't make a dent in my account," Harry informed her before he turned to Mac. "What time are we leaving for Hogwarts?"
"Ten in the morning. Because we're near the train station, there shouldn't be a lot of trouble," Mac explained to them.
"Great! We'll go and put our stuff upstairs and pack so that we're not running around all morning to do it," Hermione informed them before shooting Ron a pointed look. "You too Ron, I know what you're like." Ron just shot her a teasing glare before they all grabbed their bags.
Hermione gathered Crookshanks into her arms and they all made their way upstairs to their rooms.
Ron arched an eyebrow when he saw that all three of them were in separate rooms.
"Why do you each have a separate room?" Ron asked. Mia shot him a grin.
"No, it's not because Harry and Hermione are sneaking into each other rooms in the middle of the night," she teased him, causing Harry and Hermione to throw each other startled looks before they looked back to Ron and Mia and saw them snickering.
"Oh, very funny," Harry shot at them with a disgruntled look. Hermione just rolled her eyes while Ginny's features had tightened at the thought of Harry and Hermione sneaking into each other's rooms.
"Nah, we're not sharing rooms because Hermione and I have different schedules - she likes to get up at the crack of the dawn while I'm sleeping, and I like to listen to music - loudly," Mia explained to Ron.
"And I prefer to have my own room because it gives me a break from all the chaos we go through the day," Harry added in.
"Cool," Ron told them as they all made their way into Harry's room so they could sort out their stuff.
It wasn't long after everyone had packed that they went downstairs for dinner. The twins were sitting across from Mia and Mac, making Mia laugh by relating what they had done over the summer. Ron and Ginny were sitting across from Harry and Hermione with Molly, Percy and Arthur taking up the end of the table.
"You didn't?" Mia asked through her laughter.
"We did," the twins replied together. "We tried to lock Percy in the Pyramid but our mum spotted us." Mac let out a howl of laugher.
"You two are classic," Mac praised them.
"Thank you," both twins told him as Mac regained his control and took a sip of water. "Remember the time we stole all the toilet seats?" Fred asked George, causing Mac to go into a coughing fit as he tried to drink and laugh at the same time. Mia rolled her eyes in amusement as she gently pounded Mac's back to help him through his coughing fit.
Harry and Hermione couldn't help but laugh at the sight before they turned back to face Ron.
"So, what do you think will happen this year?" Ron asked. Harry just smiled.
"I'm not counting anything out this time. I've already met a couple of things I never thought I would see in my life during the last two years so anything goes," Harry told him.
"Let just hope that we won't have some dangerous animals running about loose," Hermione told him. "I don't fancy having anyone attacked this year." Harry just rubbed her shoulders.
"Don't worry, I'm pretty sure you'll be safe this year but I'll protect you anyway," Harry teased her and she scoffed at him, amused. She knew that Harry was just teasing about protecting her. It was turning into a trademark between the two of them; even though Hermione could protect herself without any problem, Harry liked the thought of being able to protect her. Ginny, meanwhile, rolled her eyes in disgust before she looked away. Molly narrowed her eyes at the couple before suppressing a shudder.
"Yeah, you do that Harry," Ron teased back causing Harry to kick his shin and Ron to jump in his chair, slamming his knees against the table. "Oi!" Ron gritted out.
"Now, now boys... play nice," Mia warned them as the dishes started clearing themselves away. Molly stood up, wanting to put an end to the display that she was watching.
"Okay kids, bedtime," Molly called out.
"Oh what?" Mia exclaimed as she looked at her watch. "It's only nine." Molly shot her a cold glare.
"You have to get up early tomorrow," Molly informed her and Mia snorted.
"For what?" Mia asked. "We're not your children therefore you have no right to tell us when we get up or not."
"You listen to me young madam…" Molly started but Harry stood up, cutting off any more arguments.
"Let's go upstairs," Harry told her and Mia pouted.
"There's no TV and the music in the wizarding world sucks," Mia informed him before shaking her head as she stood up. "God, I miss home - at least there we have some form of entertainment to keep us busy." She made her way up the stairs with Harry and Hermione following her.
"Oh, that girl will meet her downfall, you count on that," Molly informed her husband.
"Excuse me?" Mac asked as he stood up. Molly turned to face him.
"Oh, don't think I'm blaming you. That girl is a bad apple, but what do you expect when you have parents like hers," Molly told him.
"Molly," Arthur let out a groan as Mac's eyes hardened.
"Mia is not a bad apple. She just doesn't like purebloods very much because she thinks they are waste of space - with a few exceptions," Mac informed her before he eyed Molly in disgust. "And I'm not surprised." Molly let out a gasp of insult. "And you are not Mia's mother - she doesn't appreciate anyone trying to control her." With that, he walked up the stairs after the children.
"Good going mum," Ron told her before he got up and walked off. The twins also followed him while Percy and Ginny stayed where they were sitting.
Arthur let out a sigh of suffering before he stood up and looked at his wife.
"Molly, you have to learn that Harry is not your child. He will never be your child and if you keep acting like this, you will drive him out of the wizarding world," Arthur told her before he shook his head, sadly, and walked up the stairs.
"I think you're right mum," Ginny spoke up and Molly looked at her daughter. "Harry needs to get away from Sirius, Mia and Hermione - they are having an awful effect on him. He doesn't know the true way the wizarding world works. I just fear that one day Harry will learn that lesson too late and will suffer for it." Molly smiled down at her young daughter.
"And that is why you are a prefect match for him my dear. You can teach him the ways of our world and help bring our true saviour back," Molly told her daughter and watched as she flushed with pleasure at the elder woman's words.
Percy just frowned, as he looked back and forth his mother and sister. He had been watching the family with a close eye since Harry had arrived at Hogwarts, alive and well. Molly had been frantic that they didn't look hard enough for him and had demanded to Dumbledore that she wanted Harry away from Sirius Black to be brought up with them.
Ever since Ginny had started at Hogwarts, he had also kept an eye on her and saw that she would gaze at Harry with a sad look. That and she always acted like she was writing a letter to someone, but would hide the letter whenever someone went near it.
Percy couldn't help the gut feeling that was now filling the pit of his stomach. He thought that things were going to get worse as time went along and could only hope that everyone, especially Harry and Hermione - who he saw were growing closer each year - would be able to survive it.
Mac woke up the next morning after having a bad night of sleep. His anger was responsible for keeping him awake during the night. He couldn't believe that that Weasley woman had the nerve to badmouth his daughter in front of him and her friends.
He knew that Mia wasn't everyone's perfect daughter but she was to him. Mia reminded him so much of Callie. She was protective of her family and she was used to having her own schedule. Being forced to do something by someone was not the way to get into her good graces - and it always backfired on them in a bad way.
Something he knew all too well about.
Mac got out of bed and pulled on his jeans before he moved over to the door. He reached to open the handle only to groan when he felt a pain near his neck.
Mac rubbed the back of his neck as he made his way out of his bedroom only to bite back a grunt when he felt his neck crick. He was about to step on down the hallway when he saw Molly making her way over to her children's door before she caught sight of him and her eyes widened in shock and fear.
Mac couldn't help but feel confused at Molly's expression. The charm couldn't have worn off already, could it? He got his answer right away.
"Oh my god!" Molly shouted. "Sirius Black!"
Everyone spun around and they saw Sirius standing in the doorway. Sirius cursed before he slammed the door closed it with a locking charm. He rushed over to the wardrobe, grabbed his wand and his bag, and threw himself out of the window just as the door burst open.
"He escaped out through the window!" one of the men shouted.
"Dad!" Mia screamed out as she rushed over to the room only for Molly to hold her back.
"Dear, he is a murderer!" Molly exclaimed as Mia fought her grip.
"Dad!" Mia screamed once more.
"Get your hands off her!" a male voice shouted, causing everyone to turn around and see Harry standing there, his green eyes flaring brightly.
Molly let Mia go and took a step back as Harry hurried forward and took Mia into his arms, hugging her. "He'll be fine," Harry whispered as he rocked Mia, who collapsed into Harry's chest as understanding finally dawned on her.
Her father had been found and was now on the run for his life.
TBC
Told you Sirius wasn't safe.
I hope no one thinks Mia is selfish or spoiled.