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𝕴 𝖜𝖆𝖎𝖙𝖊𝖉 𝖆 few days for Harry to actually blow up his aunt. I passed the time easily. I hung up Fred's painting in my bedroom above my bed. Regardless of my feelings, it was a great piece of art and I could fully appreciate it. Next, I worked on rigging up a little stand in my bedroom so Hedwig would have somewhere to sleep.
I read Ron's book first. There was fascinating subject material, just as he'd said there would be. I read the Monster book of Monsters next which was just as easily fascinating, if not more because I loved magical creatures. Hedwig and Sadie swooped in and out of my room easily. I think they were competing about how many mice they could catch every night.
In my closet, I had the pink backpack that I had come to Lupins with. I pulled it out frequently, wondering what to put in it, if I should put anything in it at all. No, perhaps not. Besides, it'd look very out of place at Hogwarts. I couldn't remember a single pink object in the castle. Well, except perhaps Lockhart's Valentines day robes.
Finally, on the day that Harry would run from his house, I went downstairs. Dad was sitting on the couch, writing out lesson plans. We were getting closer to the start of the school year and he was the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. I felt proud every single time that I thought about it.
"I'm going to Diagon Alley." I declared, grabbing some floo powder from the jar next to the fireplace. Dad looked up in surprise.
"Now?"
"I had a vision." I proclaimed extravagantly with a teasing smile. "Don't worry, it's not a dangerous one and I'll be home in half an hour to tell you all about it."
"Maybe you could tell me now so I don't worry for half an hour." Dad said, a bit tersely in my opinion.
I sighed. "Harry blew up his aunt. I just want to see him."
"Oh." Dad said, frowning. "And this can't wait until tomorrow morning because?"
"I want to surprise him." I said, stepping into the fireplace. I threw down the power and shouted, "Diagon Alley."
I flew out of the Leaky Cauldron's fireplace. Tom, the bartender looked up a bit surprised. "Bit late, don't you think?"
I smiled at him. "Don't worry, I'm not staying long."
I strode off in the direction of the stairs and mounted them, listening carefully at the doors and finally I came to a room where I heard a somewhat, half familiar voice saying, "Circumstances change, Harry. . . We have to take into account the present climate. . . Surely you don't want to be expelled?"
"Of course I don't." I heard Harry's voice say behind the door. I stood alongside the wall.
"Well then, what's all the fuss about?" The Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge said with a bit of a boisterous, fake laugh. "Now, have a crumpet Harry, while I go and see if Tom's got a room for you."
I heard the door open but Fudge didn't look my way, and instead strode down the way I'd come. I slipped into the room. Harry was looking in front of himself at the desk and didn't see me. I snuck up behind him and grabbed his shoulder saying, "Hiya Harry!"
Harry jumped about ten feet in the air and I watched in pleasure as he crashed into the desk behind him. "E-Elizabeth!" He shouted, gasping for breath. "You scared the crap out of me."
I grinned, grabbing a crumpet from the plate. "I'll meet you in room eleven." I said, slipping out of the room again and heading down the hallway. I unlocked the door and slipped into the room, closing the door and locking it again behind me again. Then, I sat down in a chair by the window. Hedwig was already perched on top of the wardrobe and I grinned at her.
I waited a couple of moments and then Tom unlocked the door and led Harry in.
"Hedwig!" Harry gasped.
Hedwig flew down onto Harry's arm, clucking her beak. I giggled.
"Very smart owl you've got there." Tom chuckled. "Arrived about five minutes after you did. If there's anything you need, Mr. Potter, don't hesitate to ask." He gave me a brief look, shrugged, and left the room.
Harry turned to me. "You told Hedwig I'd be here, didn't you?"
I shook my head. "She knew all on her own."
Harry came over and hugged me. "I've missed you Elizabeth."
I grinned, closing my eyes. "I've missed you too."
"Thanks for the present." Harry said. "I love the books, and the sugar quills helped at home too."
"I'm glad." I said, sitting down on his bed. "So, how's your aunt?"
"Deflated and she doesn't remember anything."
"To bad." I yawned. "She'd never pick on you again if she remembered."
"I doubt my uncle and aunt will ever have her over again as long as I'm in the house." Harry said and shrugged. "I don't mind in the very least."
I sighed, sitting up, and looking at the clock. "I told my dad I'd be back home. I'd invite you stay at our place, but I reckon you'd much rather stay here. I'll be back every day though, if you want me to."
"Yeah!" Harry said enthusiastically, which made me very happy. "I'd love that. I would come stay with you but I promised the minister I'd stay here."
"Great! It's no problem." I said, jumping off the bed and kissing his cheek. "But if you do get tired of me, tell me to stay home, kay?"
I exited the room before he could answer and sprinted back to the fireplace. Tom didn't even look up as I disappeared back to my living room.
Dad was still sitting on the couch, looking a bit anxious. "That was thirty-two minutes and twelve seconds, Elizabeth."
I looked at him, open-mouthed. Had he really kept track of every second?
Looking at my face, he burst into laughter. "I'm just joking. I don't know how long you were gone."
I sighed and then joined in the laughing with him. Then I sighed, "I'm going to go up and take a shower." I hesitated. "Are you going to be alright?"
Dad sighed, bookmarking his spot. "Elizabeth, I turn into a werewolf every month. Of course, I'm going to be fine."
I hesitated. Dad stood up and came over to me and gave me a tight hug. "I'm going to be fine, Elizabeth."
I nodded and headed up the stairs, my throat to tight to say anything. Dad would become a werewolf in a week or so, right before term started too! I felt horrible and a wave of anger and determination washed over me in the bathroom. I would make a werewolf cure, I would!
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𝕺𝖛𝖊𝖗 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖓𝖊𝖝𝖙 couple of days, I spent the majority of my time with Harry. He liked to spend the majority of the day at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, working on his homework. Our Uncle and Aunt hadn't let him do his summer homework so he was catching up on it now.
Florean Fortescue knew a lot about medieval witch burnings and loved to talk to both Harry and me about them, considering that was what our History of Magic essay was on. In fact, he knew so much that I threw my old essay in the fire and started on a new one. He also gave Harry and I free sundaes every half an hour.
I didn't like this much, mostly because I felt bad and knew a lot about businesses. So, I usually added the sum total of the sundaes up and left the money in the tip jar. I think he knew I was doing this though because our sundaes seemed to get larger every day.
Harry was also practicing the art of self control. This made me laugh but since he'd never had his own money, he finally knew how hard it was not to spend it on cool things. I had grown up poor, but before I learned about money, nearly everything I asked for- usually books- dad found a way to provide it or find a substitute. Once I learned about money, I stopped asking for stuff. I had practiced self-control for a long time until I'd found my fortune under Gringotts.
Harry and I also got our books one day. I'd been begging him to do this for ages and finally he gave in.
It was a bit funny as we entered Flourish and Blotts, the manger came hurrying towards us. "Hogwarts? Come to get your new books?"
"Yes." Harry started to say, pulling out his list, "I need-"
"Get out of the way." The manager said quite impatiently, pushing past us. He drew on a pair of thick gloves and picked up a walking stick and proceeded toward the door of the Monster Books' cage. I supposed they were being kept in the cage so that they weren't scuttling all over the shop, tearing up other books.
"Hang on!" Harry said quickly. "We've already got those."
"Have you?" There was a flash of relief on the manager's face and he put the stick and gloves back down. "Thank heavens for that. I've been bitten five times already this morning-"
There was a loud ripping noise as suddenly, two of the books seized a third and started to rip it apart.
"Stop it! Stop it!" The manager said, picking up the stick again and breaking them apart. "I'm never stocking them again, never! It's been bedlam! I thought we'd seen the worst when we bought two hundred copies of the Invisible Book of Invisibility- cost a fortune and we never found them. . . Well. . . is there anything else I can help you with?"
I strode towards the Monster's cage and stuck my hand in, rubbing my finger along the binding. I did this with each book and they all stopped scratching and tearing and biting and stacked on top of each other nicely. I turned back around as the manager gaped at me.
"Yes." Harry said, looking down at his list and smiling. "We need Unfogging the Future by Cassandra Vablatsky."
"Ah, starting Divination, are you?" He led the two of us to the back of the room where a small table was stacked with books like Predicting the Unpredictable: Insulate Yourself Against Shocks, Broken Balls: when Fortunes Turn Foul, and Intro to Tarot. "Here you go." The manager said, handing me my copy.
I rattled off the rest of the books that I needed and watched Harry out of the corner of my eye as he observed a book called Death Omens: What to Do When You Know the Worst Is Coming.
"Oh, I wouldn't read that if I were you." The manager said, my letter in his hand but addressing Harry. "You'll start seeing death omens everywhere. It's enough to frighten anyone to death." When Harry didn't answer, he pressed Unfogging the Future into his hands, breaking Harry out of his trance.
"Anything else?" The manager asked.
"Yes. Er- I need Intermediate Transfiguration and the Standard Book of spells, Grade three."
The manager bustled off and brought back our books, handing each of us our relative stack. I grabbed the Intro to Tarot book and tucked it under my arm.
We paid for our books and left Flourish and Blotts. Harry didn't speak a single word and kept bumping into things, seeming a bit dazed. I kept my mouth shut though. I guess Sirius had gone and seen him too. Unlike me however, it seemed Harry didn't remember him. I said good-bye as we reached the Leaky Cauldron. It was nowhere near the time for me to leave, but he didn't seem to notice as he stumbled up the stairs to his room.
At home, I dumped the books on my bed and went back downstairs, grabbing my jacket. It was raining outside and I splashed in puddles on my way to Trang's house.
I arrived at Trang's house and knocked on the door and she let me in. Actually, she pulled me in and I stumbled over the doorstep.
"My American celebrities magazine just came in!" Trang said, giggling and I continued tripping over my own two feet as she dragged me up the stairs without waiting for me to catch my balance.
I was a bit interested. I didn't know much about America though I'd studied some of their history. I heard that their entertainment was grand though.
We went up to her bedroom and she pulled out some of her magazines, the newest on top. We looked through them together.
She kept pointing out different guys and asking me if they were cute.
"Is he cute?" She asked, pointing to a white guy. He was wearing a nice suit with a white shirt and red tie. He had a wonderful smile and I looked at his description. He was in real estate and had a cameo in Home Alone 2.
"He is handsome." I corrected, blushing a little, looking for his name. Donald Trump. "So these are the men you have in America?"
Trang giggled, "He's much older now, but yeah. What about this guy?"
I looked at the picture. He had the thin makings of a mustache and black hair, a bit curly. He seemed to be surprised in the photo that he was in. I looked at his description. Played Iron man in all the movies.
"Robert Downey Jr?" I asked, my voice squealing. "I'm in love with him!"
Trang chuckled. "All the Marvel actors are quite good-looking, aren't they?"
I rolled my eyes. "Have you seen Paul Bettany? Will Smith? Personal favorite, Benedict Cumberbatch."
"Actually, he's British." Trang laughed again. "Who's your favorite American actor?"
I leafed through her celebrity magazine. "Donald Trump." I finally said.
Trang rolled her eyes. "Have you ever even watched any of his movies?"
"Yeah!" I lied. "Okay, no, but I think he's hot."
"He is, isn't he!" Trang agreed dreamily.
We spent the rest of the afternoon looking through the magazines and pointing out whos hottest and then moved onto British celebrities and ranking the Beatles from hottest to least hottest. I ranked mine as John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison. Trang ranked hers as Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon, and George Harrison.
Then, we moved our conversation to school.
"So, you're dads got a new job, again?" Trang asked innocently, reorganizing her magazine collection. It was sad to see that her American collection had grown larger than her British one. (I didn't blame her. The American guys were definitely hotter and if I was old enough, I would've married Robert Downey Jr- or so I believed. But that was only if Benedict Cumberbatch was still unavailable).
"Yeah, he's actually is going to be a teacher at my school." I said slowly, flipping through a different magazine. All the guys in this one were surfers. Usually blond, rather tan, and blue eyes. I wasn't sure if the magazine was for the surfboards or the guys.
"Oh! That's very interesting." Trang asked, still leafing through a magazine. It seemed a little to fast for her to actually be reading it. Her voice was very breezy too. "What subject is he going to teach? I didn't realize he had a teaching degree."
My cheeks flushed the way they did when I was caught keeping the magical world from Trang. I decided to go as close to the subject as possible. "Mythology."
There was a hint of recognition in Trang's eyes and then it was gone. "That's interesting. So magical creatures and stuff like that?"
"Yeah." I said, nearly holding my breath. "So what about you? How's school for you?"
Trang went along with the subject change. "Well, it's certainly interesting. I'll be starting freshman year and I've taken up an instrument, I told you that, didn't I?"
She'd mentioned it briefly in one of her letters. "I think so." I said.
"Viola." She said. "I'm not very good at it though."
"I bet." I said, a smile growing on my face and a teasing look in my eyes.
She looked at me in fake hurt. "You take that back, right now!"
"Make me!" I said, leaping to my feet and grabbing a pillow. She grabbed a larger pillow and we started to attack each other. I smacked her across the hips and she slammed her pillow over my head. I stumbled back and attacked her legs. We collapsed on each other, laughing and giggling and wrestling.
We lay there for a long time, laughing and catching our breath.
"ARE YOU GIRLS OKAY UP THERE?" Trang's mother called from downstairs.
This brought on another bout of giggles and then Trang sat up and said, "I have a secret to tell you." Her eyes were shining. She whispered in my ear, "I started my period!"
"Really!" I shrieked, a bit jealous. She was growing up much faster than I was! "Lucky!"
"Not really." She said, giggling uncontrollably. "My back hurts like hell."
I asked a multitude of questions about what it was like, what it felt like, etc. I knew I had reached the age that it usually started and I couldn't wait. Or, based on what she was saying, perhaps I could. But I was in awe because I didn't know what it would be like and I didn't have a mother or mother like figure in my life to tell me. . . perhaps Mrs. Weasley but that would certainly be one awkward conversation. Trang was like my sister (though I'd always thought of her as a little sister). Now, I thought of her like my big sister, telling me the secrets of adulthood.
"GIRLS?" Trang's mother called up the stairs.
"YEAH, MOM?" Trang called back in an annoyed tone.
"THAT TV SHOW YOU GUYS WATCH. . .SCOOBY-DO I THINK IS ON! DIDN'T YOU SAY YOU WANTED TO WATCH IT?"
"Oh yeah. . ." Trang muttered and I sat up quickly. She turned to me, "You want to watch?"
I scoffed. "Of course I do. Scooby-doo is one of the best shows out there!"
"COMING!" Trang called down the stairs.
We sprinted from her room down the stairs and into the living room. The TV was already on, the Scooby-Doo theme song playing.
You know we got a mystery to solve so, Scooby-doo be ready for your act- don't hold back-
"And, Scooby doo, if you come through you're gonna have yourself a SCOOBY SNACK!" Trang and I sang together, collapsing on the couch and giggling. Trang grabbed the remote, turning it up.
Lovely, buttery smells wafted in from the kitchen and Trang's mother brought us out Cola's and popcorn. We thanked her and settled in for an hour of about four Scooby-doo episodes.
Trang's mother invited me to stay over for dinner but I said good night and headed home. I'd stayed over later than I should've but I had a fancy for Scooby-doo. I know, childish, but it was my favorite show and Dad didn't have a TV.
Dad had dinner ready and I felt a bit bad. I usually made dinner and I never wanted him to make dinner. He wasn't a bad cook, but he'd taken me in and I wanted to repay for it.
"Elizabeth?" He called as I closed the door behind me.
"Yeah dad?" I asked, sadly. I knew what tonight was and that was another reason I should've made dinner. He'd stayed longer than he should've.
"I have to go."
"I know, I'm so sorry I didn't come sooner. I lost track of time."
Dad rushed from the kitchen and kissed my forehead. "Don't worry about it." And then he was rushing out the back door and I heard a crack which meant that he'd apparated.
I felt a heavy weight of anxiety settle on me and I went to bed without dinner.
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𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝖓𝖊𝖝𝖙 𝖒𝖔𝖗𝖓𝖎𝖓𝖌, I woke up with a heavy heart, knowing that tonight Dad was going to turn into a werewolf.
Dinner was still on the stove, having not been eaten last night and, cursing under my breath, I threw it in the garbage. I'd have to make something for dad when he came home tomorrow morning. . . something to eat before we boarded the train.
I met Harry in his bedroom and we wandered out after he'd eaten breakfast. We went back to to the Quidditch store. Harry came here every day because he wanted to look at the Firebolt. My stomach turned with anticipation every time I saw it. It was the most gorgeous broom I had ever seen since Silver Arrows. Even my Nimbus 2000, a wonderful beautiful broom, somehow wasn't in the same beauty rank as this one.
The cherry handle and all the twigs that gave it the impression that it was on fire near the end. I sighed. I had the money in my vault. I wondered if it would even make a dent. But there was no way that I was going to empty my vault on a broom. What if dad had a financial issue and our vault couldn't fix it and I didn't have any gold in my separate vault because I'd spent it on a nice broom?
"Let's go to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor." I said suddenly, a flash of a vision lingering in my eyes.
Harry pursed his lips. "I don't know if that's where we should eat today."
I rolled my eyes. "That's not why I want to go there." I grabbed his hand and pulled him along to the Ice Cream Parlor.
"Elizabeth! Harry!" Hermione called from one of the seats at the Ice-cream. Harry grinned at me.
"Finally!" Ron said as we sat down at the table. "We went to the Leaky Cauldron, but they said you'd left, and we went to Flourish and Blotts, and Madam Malkin's, and-"
"I got all my school stuff last week." Harry said and then asked, "And how come you knew I'm staying at the Leaky Cauldron?"
"Dad." Came Ron's one-word answer.
"Did you really blow up your aunt, Harry?" Hermione asked anxiously.
"I didn't mean to." Harry said as Ron roared with laughter. Under any other circumstances, I would've laughed too, but I just smiled. "I just- lost control."
"It's not funny. Honestly, I'm amazed Harry wasn't expelled." Hermione said sharply.
"So am I." Harry admitted, frowning at the table. "Forget expelled, I thought I was going to be arrested." He looked at Ron and then at me and then back to Ron and asked, "Your dad doesn't know why Fudge let me off, does he?"
"Probably 'cause it's you, isn't it?" Ron shrugged. He was struggling to speak without breaking into laughter again. "Famous Harry Potter and all that. I'd hate to see what the Ministry'd do to me if I blew up my aunt. Mind you, they'd have to dig me up first, because Mum would've killed me." I did laugh at this but it was a bit thin. "Anyway, you can ask Dad this evening. We're staying at the Leaky Cauldron tonight too! So you can come to King's Cross with us tomorrow Hermione's there as well!"
Hermione nodded, beaming. "Mum and Dad dropped me off this morning with all my Hogwarts things. Are you staying over, Elizabeth?"
I shook my head. "Nah, I'm going with Dad to Kings Crossing tomorrow." At least, I certainly hoped so. I didn't foresee any trouble though.
"Excellent." Harry said happily. "So, have you got all your new books and stuff?"
Ron reached into his bag and pulled out a thin box that I knew contained a wand. "Brand-new wand. Fourteen inches, willow, containing one unicorn tail-hair. And we've got all our books. What about those Monster Books, eh? The assistant nearly cried when we said we wanted two. They were fine until he handed them to us. Once Hermione and I touched em, they came to life and we dropped em and they started tearing up other books."
"What's all that, Hermione?" Harry asked, pointing to the three bulging bags next to her chair.
"Well, I'm taking more new subjects than you, aren't I?" Hermione asked a bit defensively. "Those are my books for Arithmancy, Care of Magical Creatures, Alchemy, Divination, the Study of Ancient Runes, Muggle Studies-"
"What are you doing Muggle Studies for?" Ron asked, rolling his eyes. "You're Muggle-born. . ."
I stopped listening. I was so worried about dad. I shouldn't have come today. The last time I'd left the house before he'd come home. . . our house had been robbed and I thought I was going to be murdered.
"Elizabeth?" Harry asked, bringing me back. Ron and Hermione were standing up with their bags and I quickly jumped up.
"Sorry." I muttered and trailed after them as we made our way to the Magical Creature shop. I supposed that Hermione was going to get an owl then. Or a big huge fluffy orange cat was what she really was going to get.
"So, Elizabeth?" Ron asked, "What kind of owl is Hermione going to get?"
I sighed. "She's not."
She gave me a look, "Then what am I going to get?"
"A cat named Crookshanks." I said in a dull voice. "He's a big orange cat."
"Yes." Ron sniggered. "We got that he was a cat the first time."
"I'm going to wait outside." I said. Ron and Hermione went in but Harry stayed outside a moment longer.
"Are you okay?"
I shook my head. "No. I'll tell you eventually, just not right now, kay?"
Harry nodded his head and headed into the shop. I closed my eyes. I wanted to see dad arriving home safely. It took a heck of a lot of concentration and a lot of mis-visions taking place at Hogwarts. Eventually, I found a vision of dad sitting on the Hogwarts train, his raggedy trunk up in the luggage compartment, fast asleep.
I opened my eyes, a weight lifting off my chest. Suddenly, Scabbers- Ron's rat- shot out of the Pet store. I quickly lunged and picked him up.
"Yeesh, Scabbers." I said. "The cat wasn't going to kill you." I stared at him a bit longer. "To bad it didn't." I added on for a random reason. I felt a sudden intense dislike for the rat. But that might have been because I absolutely hated rats.
Ron and Harry raced out of the shop, looked around, and I held Scabbers out to Ron. I didn't want to touch such filth.
"What was that?" Ron asked Harry.
"It was either a very big cat or quite a small tiger." Harry said placidly.
"Where's Hermione?" Ron asked, looking around.
"Getting her cat." Harry said.
At that moment, Hermione came out clutching a large orange cat with a squashed face. It was also a bit bowlegged. Seeing it in the light made me realize that it wasn't orange, but rather ginger.
"You bought that monster?" Ron asked, his mouth hanging open. He turned to me, "That's the cat that you saw?"
I nodded, my lips twitching. "Don't you think you're overreacting a bit?" I asked innocently. I personally hoped the cat killed Scabbers. . .but why? Why the sudden intense disliking of Ron's pet rat? Each year, there was someone I didn't like for uncertain reasons until they were revealed at the end of the year: Quirrell, Lockhart, and now a rat. I shrugged. I supposed I'd find out eventually as I always did.
"He needs rest and relaxation! How's he going to get it with that thing around?"
I sighed. "They will be in separate dorms. Now, can we please go up to the Leaky Cauldron?"
"Hoping to see Fred?" Ron asked, flashing me a smirk.
I blushed bright red and muttered something along the lines of no, not at all. The others laughed and we headed up the street to the Inn.
We entered and found Mr. Weasley sitting at the bar, reading a newspaper. "Harry! Elizabeth! How are you?" He asked, looking up as we came in.
"Fine, thanks." Harry said.
"Wonderful." I said, just a bit too heartily, "How are you, Mr. Weasley?"
"Ah." Mr. Weasley said, putting down the paper and showing the picture of Sirius Black staring up at us.
"They still haven't caught him, then?" Harry asked, interested.
"No. They've pulled us all off our regular jobs at the Ministry to try and find him, but no luck so far." Mr. Weasley said, polishing his glasses quickly before putting them back on.
"Would we get a reward if we caught him?" Ron asked, interested. "it'd be good to get some more money-"
"Don't be ridiculous, Ron." Mr. Weasley said shortly. He looked very stressed, I realized. A bit like Dad before a full moon. Just not as sick looking. "Black's not going to be caught by a thirteen-year-old wizard. It's the Azkaban guards who'll get him back, you mark my words."
Before anymore could be said, Mrs. Weasley showed up in the bar, laden down with shopping bags and followed by the twins, Percy, and Ginny.
Percy walked up to Harry and held his hand out solemnly like they'd never met and said, "Harry. How nice to see you."
"Hello Percy." Harry said, a quiver in his voice. Like me, he was trying very hard not to laugh.
"I hope you're well?" Percy said, pompously, shaking hands.
"Very well, thanks-" Harry said with a hiccup, still trying not to laugh.
"Harry!" Fred said, elbowing Percy out of the way. My laughs were about to come through. Fred bowed deeply. "Simply splendid to see you, old boy-"
I started giggling.
Now, George elbowed Fred out of the way, seizing up Harry's hand. "Marvelous. Absolutely spiffing."
I was openly laughing now. Percy was scowling.
"That's enough, now." Mrs. Weasley said, exchanging a look with her husband. I looked back. He was grinning as well, covering it up now that Mrs. Weasley was scolding him.
"Mum!" Fred said, turning and seizing her hand into both of his. "How really corking to see you-"
"I said, that's enough." Mrs. Weasley said and the shopping bags went into an empty chair. "Hello, Harry dear. Hello, Elizabeth. I suppose you've heard our exciting news? Second Head Boy in the family!" She said, swelling up with pride. Percy was wearing the silver badge on his chest.
"And last." Fred muttered under his breath. I giggled again.
"I don't doubt that." Mrs. Weasley said, frowning. "I notice they haven't made you two prefects."
"What do we want to be prefects for?" George said, looking as though he was allergic to the idea. "It'd take all the fun out of life."
Ginny and I laughed.
"You want to set a better example for your sister!" Mrs. Weasley snapped at them.
Percy said, "Ginny's got other brothers to set her an example, Mother. I'm going up to change for dinner. . ."
He strode proudly up the stairs while the rest of us laughed. George heaved a large sigh and turned to Harry and I. "We tried to shut him in a pyramid. But mum spotted us."
I giggled and then glanced up at the clock. It was getting on pretty late. I should go back to the house for dinner. . .Dad would be home from last nights full moon. . .
"Hey Liz!" Fred said, coming up to join our little cluster.
"Hey Fred." I said, blushing. "Thank you for the birthday present, it was real lovely."
Fred grinned. "Oh, glad you liked it. You figured out how to enlarge it then?"
"Dad did it for me." I said.
"Are you staying for dinner?" Fred asked.
I hesitated. "I'll ask my dad. But probably not."
"Alright." Fred said, seeming a little disappointed.
I waved bye to all of them and went back home. I tripped over my own two feet getting out of the fireplace and landed on the floor.
"Ow. . ." I muttered, getting up and wiping the soot off my knees. "Dad?" I called out hesitantly.
There was no answer and my heart started pumping. I thought about going back to the Leaky Cauldron to get the others but thought against it. Perhaps dad was outside. I hurried into the kitchen, pausing to look at the calendar. Oh wait. . .tonight was full moon.
For some reason, he had changed his spot for transforming into a werewolf. He still hadn't told me why. That's why he left yesterday. It still threw me off, always making me think that the night he left was the night of the full moon. But no, tonight was full moon.
Well then, I would go back to the Leaky Cauldron and eat dinner with the Weasleys. I'm sure dad wouldn't mind as long as I was back in time to pack. . .I'd have to pack for him too.
I waited until dinnertime, reading It by Stephen King. It was a vulgar horror book, with many cuss words and sexual occurrences. I knew dad hadn't read it because if he had read it, I certainly wouldn't be sitting here reading it right now. He'd have burned it before letting me read it.
At the moment, I was reading a very vivid scene in the beginning of the book between Beverly and her husband Tom. Tom was reliving some of the nights he'd 'trained' Beverly so that she didn't smoke cigarettes. Very strange feelings came over me whenever I read that part and I didn't completely understand the feelings at all.
Despite that, the book was very good, though a bit inappropriate, and I read it over and over again between other books.
When dinnertime came, I went back to the Leaky Cauldron and joined the Weasleys, Hermione, and Harry. I sat between Fred and Ginny, talking to each of them in turns.
There were five different courses that we ate through. Well, they did. I'm a picky bird. First there was an appetizer of bread and fruits and cheeses. And then soup and salad followed by some sort of magical food that I'd never had before. There was stew after that with more bread followed by spotted dick.
Then, for dessert there was chocolate pudding. I didn't care for it much and nibbled around it. The conversation was very light and fun. I'd never quite eaten in an atmosphere like it. If it was dad and I, we might be reading or doing mundane talk. If it was Trang and I, we were talking about American, British or Australian actors or American politics or American food (I found out that American pizza wasn't a disease after all, but quite like an Italian pizza just with more grease). At Hogwarts, well I usually didn't eat with everyone else at Hogwarts.
As we neared the end of dessert, Fred asked, "How're we getting to King's Cross tomorrow, Dad?"
Oh, I had forgotten that they didn't have a car again. I quickly glanced at Mrs. Weasley and felt guilt surge through me. I put my spoon down. I had forgotten to put gold in their vault this year. I'd have to do that next year.
"The Ministry's providing a couple of cars." Mr. Weasley said in what he probably thought was an offhand, causal voice. Everyone except Mrs. Weasley and I looked up at him.
"Why?" Percy asked, curious.
"It's because of you, Perce." George said in the most serious voice he could muster. "And there'll be little flags on the hoods, with HB on them-"
"-for Humongous Bighead." Fred finished for him.
Everyone except for Mrs. Weasley and Percy snorted into their pudding. I was a bit surprised that Mr. Weasley had laughed, simply because Percy was his son, and that Hermione had laughed, because she liked Percy. But then, again, it was funny.
"Why are the Ministry providing cars, Father?" Percy asked, trying to be dignified and show that he was above petty insults. But he clearly upset because he'd said 'are' instead of 'is.' Why is the Ministry providing cars, Father? I may not have mentioned this before, but I hate improper grammar.
"Well, as we haven't got one anymore, and as I work there, they're doing me a favor-" Mr. Weasley said, his ears red. But he'd said the sentence so casually.
An unexpected flash was in my head.
"Elizabeth?" Mrs. Weasley asked and I jerked, "Are you okay, dear?"
"Oh!" I said, bit loudly. "yeah, I'm fine." I blushed and looked down at the table.
Dinner finished and the Weasleys started to make their way upstairs, but I grabbed Harry's arm and jerked my head towards the door to the back of the Inn.
"What did you see?" Harry asked the minute we were outside. He tapped the proper brick and we started to walk down the street of Diagon Alley.
"Well, it wasn't much, but it was the answer to why Fudge let you off without any punishment, and why the Ministry is giving Weasley the car. It's why the Weasleys even stayed over a night instead of staying at the burrow. It's cause of Sirius Black. The Ministry believes that Black is coming after you."
"After me?" Harry asked incredulously. "But why?"
I shook my head. "That part, I don't know. Nor do I even believe or know if he really is coming after you. However, it's believed that he is coming after you because he was friends with ou- your father. I don't know all of it though."
Harry looked stunned.
"I have to go, Harry." I said and we turned back around. Once we were back in the Inn, I said, "Harry, Mr and Mrs. Weasley will be talking about it in the parlor. I don't know if you've missed the conversation by talking with me, but maybe you could catch something."
I waved, hopped in the fireplace and went home. Was Sirius after Harry? If so, why? I climbed the stairs, brushed my teeth, and got into bed. I rolled over and over, distracted by the fact that dad wasn't home yet. Finally, I got out of bed, and went into Dad's room, grabbing a throw blanket and fell asleep in his bed.