Mrs. Weasley woke them all early the following Wednesday. After a quick half a dozen bacon sandwiches each, they pulled on their coats and Mrs. Weasley took a flowerpot off the kitchen mantelpiece and peered inside.
"We're running low, Arthur," she sighed. "We'll have to buy some more today. . . . Ah well, guests first! After you, Harry dear!"
And she offered him the flowerpot.
Harry stared at them all watching him. "W-what am I supposed to do?" he stammered.
"He's never traveled by Floo powder," said Ron suddenly. "Sorry, Harry, I forgot."
"Never?" said Mr. Weasley. "But how did you get to Diagon Alley to buy your school things last year?"
"I went on the Underground —"
"Really?" said Mr. Weasley eagerly. "Were there escapators? How exactly —"
"Not now, Arthur," said Mrs. Weasley. "Floo powder's a lot quicker, dear, but goodness me, if you've never used it before —"
"He'll be all right, Mum," said Fred. "Harry, watch us first."
He took a pinch of glittering powder out of the flowerpot, stepped up to the fire, and threw the powder into the flames. With a roar, the fire turned emerald green and rose higher than Fred, who stepped right into it, shouted, "Diagon Alley!" and vanished.
"You must speak clearly, dear," Mrs. Weasley told Harry as George dipped his hand into the flowerpot. "And be sure to get out at the right grate. . . ."
"The right what?" said Harry nervously as the fire roared and whipped George out of sight, too.
"See you on the other side bro", Astraea smirked going after George.
She came out of the chimney coughing from the smoke, "I prefer apparation".
"Well until we learn how to apparate we are stuck with Floo Powder", George exclaimed.
"I look like I haven't bathed in a decade", Astraea whined dusting herself off.
"Well I think you look amazing", George smiled making Astraea blush.
Fred groaned and then Mr. Weasley showed up. Then after a long wait came Percy, then Ginny, then Ron, then finally Mrs. Weasley.
"Where's Harry?", Astraea asked.
"I think he said Diganaly or something", Ron said.
"Let's look for him around here, he couldn't have gone far", Mrs. Weasley said. Everyone started looking around until Astraea saw Fred, George, Mr. Weasley and Hagrid talking.
"Hello Hagrid", she greeted. "Blimey, Harry, Hermione didn't see you there"
"Hello", Hermione greeted.
"Where did you end up?" Astraea asked Harry.
"Knockturn Alley", Fred said grinning.
"Nice", he replied smiling.
Mrs. Weasley now came galloping into view, her handbag swinging wildly in one hand, Ginny just clinging onto the other.
"Oh, Harry — oh, my dear — you could have been anywhere —"Gasping for breath, she pulled a large clothes brush out of her bag and began sweeping off the soot Hagrid hadn't managed to beat away. Mr. Weasley took Harry's glasses, gave them a tap of his wand, and returned them, good as new.
"Well, gotta be off," said Hagrid, who was having his hand wrung by Mrs. Weasley ("Knockturn Alley! If you hadn't found him, Hagrid!")."See yer at Hogwarts!" And he strode away, head and shoulders taller than anyone else in the packed street.
"Guess who I saw in Borgin and Burkes?" Harry asked Ron and Hermione as they climbed the Gringotts steps. "Malfoy and his father."
"Did Lucius Malfoy buy anything?" said Mr. Weasley sharply behind them.
"No, he was selling —"
"So he's worried," said Mr. Weasley with grim satisfaction. "Oh, I'd love to get Lucius Malfoy for something. . . ."
"You be careful, Arthur," said Mrs. Weasley sharply as they were bowed into the bank by a goblin at the door. "That family's trouble. Don't go biting off more than you can chew —"
"So you don't think I'm a match for Lucius Malfoy?" said Mr. Weasley indignantly, but he was distracted almost at once by the sight of Hermione's parents, who were standing nervously at the counter that ran all along the great marble hall, waiting for Hermione to introduce them.
"But you're Muggles!" said Mr. Weasley delightedly. "We must have a drink! What's that you've got there? Oh, you're changing Muggle money. Molly, look!" He pointed excitedly at the ten-pound notes in Mr. Granger's hand.
"Meet you back here," Ron said to Hermione as the Weasleys, Astraea and Harry were led off to their underground vaults by another Gringotts goblin. They got the money real quick, Astraea having her mother withdraw money for her.
Back outside on the marble steps, they all separated. Percy muttered vaguely about needing a new quill. Fred, and George had spotted their friend from Hogwarts, Lee Jordan, and dragged Astraea with them. Mrs. Weasley and Ginny were going to a secondhand robe shop. Mr. Weasley was insisting on taking the Grangers off to the Leaky Cauldron for a drink.
"We'll all meet at Flourish and Blotts in an hour to buy your schoolbooks," said Mrs. Weasley, setting off with Ginny. "And not one step down Knockturn Alley!" she shouted at the twins' retreating backs.
"No promises", George muttered making Astraea giggle.
"Guess what", Astraea exclaimed and the three looked at her.
"I'm getting everyone ice-cream, my treat", she smiled and they smiled too.
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Editinggg!!!
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Black Soul- George Weasley
FanfictionIt all began on October 31, 1983, when James and Lily Potter were murdered by Lord Voldemort. Astraea remembers, in a blur, how her mother Aurora woke her up to take her to her aunt's Andromeda. She remembers them talking how her mother woke up to a...
