Dad had owled me right before school let out, telling me that Mum requested that I stay at Grimmauld Place over the summer, as I needed 'to spend time with my father.' Dad also told me that he suspected there was something else, as he had overheard Dumbledore telling her that she should go into hiding. So, he also tried to convince her to come to Grimmauld Place as well. I assume she refused, as he didn't say she had agreed. Why would she do that? Why wouldn't she want to stay safe?
I couldn't stop wondering that on the train ride home. What if something bad happens to her? Is someone hunting us? What if someone found out that she's Harry's aunt and wants to kill her? Kill us?
"Elle?" I heard Fred's worried voice drag me away from my thoughts. His worried voice told me that this wasn't the first time he said my name.
"Yeah, sorry," I responded, shaking my head and looking away from the window.
"Are you sure?" He asked, not breaking eye contact as he shifted slightly closer to me.
"Yeah, don't worry," I said again, shifting my gaze to Sammy, Betty, and George.
I felt Fred give me a suspicious glance, but said, "Let's go follow Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle. Just seen them walk by."
Sam and Betty had went to the bathroom. Lee wasn't here, so it was just the three of us as we snuck out of our compartment and started following the Slytherins. We heard them being assholes to the Golden Trio, so we took matters into our own hands. We all pulled out our wands and casted different hexes, causing smoke to billow. When it cleared I was happy to see the three of them unconscious on the floor.
"Thought we'd see what those three were up to," Fred said matter-of-factly, stepping on Goyle to get into the compartment. George stepped on Draco, making me send an apology to Draco in my mind even though he deserved it. I stepped on Crabbe, making sure to step as hard as I could. The three of us still had our wands out.
"Interesting effect," George said, looking at Crabbe after I had stepped off of him. "Who used the Furnunculus Curse?"
"Odd. I used Jelly-Legs. Looks as though those two shouldn't be mixed. He seems to have sprouted little tentacles all over his face. Well, let's not leave them here, they don't add much to the decor."
Ron, Harry, and George moved the unconscious Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle out into the corridor.
"Exploding Snap, anyone?" I asked, holding my hand out to Fred for him to hand me the cards from his pocket.
A little while later Harry asked, "You going to tell us, then? Who you were blackmailing?"
Hmmm. Fred and George actually did it, huh? We were talking about it in our letters over the summer, but I didn't think they'd actually do it.
"Oh, that." George replied.
"It doesn't matter. It wasn't anything important. Not now, anyway," Fred added, shaking his head.
"We've given up," George said.
"I didn't think you two would actually do it in the first place! I warned you it wouldn't work," I told the twins.
They kept asking, so Fred finally gave in. "All right, all right, if you really want to know... it was Ludo Bagman."
"Bagman? Are you saying he was involved in-" Harry asked.
"Nah, nothing like that. Stupid git. He wouldn't have the brains."
"Well, what, then?" Ron asked.
Fred hesitated, but said, "You remember that bet we had with him at the Quidditch World Cup? About how Ireland would win, but Krum would get the Snitch?"
"Yeah," Ron and Harry said slowly.
"Well, the git paid us in leprechaun gold he'd caught from the Irish mascots."
"So?"
"So, it vanished, didn't it? By the next morning, it had gone!" Fred said impatiently.
"But- it must've been an accident, mustn't it?" asked Hermione.
George laughed bitterly.
"Yeah, that's what we thought, at first. We thought if we just wrote to him, and told him he'd made a mistake, like Elle suggested, he'd cough up. But nothing doing. Ignored our letter. We kept trying to talk to him about it at Hogwarts, but he was always making some excuse to get away from us. Elle got pissed when we kept disappearing to find him."
"In the end, he turned pretty nasty. Told us we were too young to gamble, and he wasn't giving us anything."
"So I told them to at least ask for their money back," I interjected.
"He didn't refuse!" Hermione gasped.
"Right in one," Fred replied.
"But that was all your savings!" Ron exclaimed.
"Tell me about it. 'Course, we found out what was going on in the end. Lee Jordan's dad had had a bit of trouble getting money off Bagman as well. Turns out he's in big trouble with the goblins. Borrowed loads of gold off them. A gang of them cornered him in the woods after the World Cup and took all the gold he had, and it still wasn't enough to cover all his debts. They followed him all the way to Hogwarts to keep an eye on him. He's lost everything gambling. Hasn't got two Galleons to rub together. And you know how the idiot tried to pay the goblins back?" George said.
"How?" Harry asked.
"He put a bet on you, mate. Put a big bet on you to win the tournament. Bet against the goblins." Fred told him.
"So that's why he kept trying to help me win! Well- I did win, didn't I? So he can pay you your gold!" Harry said.
"Nope. The goblins play as dirty as him. They say you drew with Diggory, and bagman was betting you'd win outright. So Bagman had to run for it. He did run for it right after the third task."
The rest of the ride went quickly. When the train stopped, I went to retrieve my luggage, but Harry asked Fred and George to wait. I told them I'd wait before I left. Returning to our compartment, I quickly pulled my trunk from the netting. Fred and George returned, so I asked them what that was about, but they just shook their heads. I went ahead and gave them all hugs and made them promise to write before we left the compartment.
On my way off the train, I seen Harry and the other Weasleys so I quickly shouted a goodbye, wanting to hurry to Dad. Maybe me and Dad combined can get Mum to stay with us.
I grinned, forgetting all my problems when I seen a very excited Snuffles who was wagging his tail alongside the real Mad-Eye Moody. I rushed over, bending down to pet Snuffles, who immediately started licking my face. "Good to see you too, Dad," I murmured before standing up and nodding to Mad-Eye, who nodded back before starting to stalk off, leaving me and Snuffles to follow.
——
Inside Grimmauld Place, Dad transformed. Once he was back in human form, I seen the grin on his face as he brought me into a hug. After he let me go, he told me, "Your room is on the third floor, the third door on the right. I figure you'll want to get settled before dinner."
I smiled, "Thanks Dad. I'll unpack and be back down."
He chuckled, "Okay."
I took my trunk upstairs and found the bedroom he told me was mine. The hallway walls were dark colors with portraits of strict looking people adorning them. The floors were rickety and there was still at least an inch of dust on it even though Dad told me Molly had come by a lot to clean it. The house smelled damp and dusty. There was even a wall with the heads of former house elves on it, which gave me the creeps. Dad wants to get rid of them, but doesn't want to offend Kreacher and cause him to kill us in our sleep.
My bedroom was gorgeous. It had dark blue walls, with an ocean theme. There was a vanity, four poster bed with light blue curtains, and two light blue, ornate chairs to match the curtains on the windows and bed in the corner. There was a desk in front of the window. There was a door that led to my own bathroom and a door that led to my rather big closet.
I set my trunk on the bed and started unpacking. I set my homework on the desk and my stack of books on the dresser. I kept some of my things in my trunk but hung up and put away all my clothes before going downstairs to visit with Dad while Kreacher cooked supper.
Even though Kreacher was horrid and rude, his food was still bound to be better than anything I would cook. Plus, I would probably burn down the house if I tried to cook anything.
"I think supper's ready," Dad told me as soon as I entered the living room.
"Okay," I smiled and followed him to the kitchen.
——
The next three and a half weeks flew by in a blur of letters to Mum, begging her to come stay with us- to which she always refused- and laughs with Dad. He loved to tell me stories about pranks the Marauders pulled and how Uncle James almost bit off his head anytime he suggested even a little interest in Mum. My favorite stories were the ones about private moments he and Mum got. He also informed me that he had donated Grimmauld Place to the Order for headquarters. He felt that it was the right thing to do. Oh, and I was also ordered not to reveal anything about Grimmauld Place or the Order in letters to Harry.
I was doing some homework at my desk when Dad knocked and came in. "The Order is coming tonight, including the Weasleys. Harry performed a Patronus charm. He's facing expulsion," he announced as he came in.
My jaw dropped, "Seriously?"
Dad chuckled, "Yes... Seriously."
I was silent for a moment, letting the information soak in. Harry's facing expulsion?
"I'm going to go prepare for our guests and give Kreacher a talking to, so go ahead and finish your homework. I know you'll want to finish up before the twins arrive," he said with a small smile before backing out the door, closing it behind him.
---
I had just finished putting all my homework in my trunk, which I had put in the closet, when I was tackled in a hug by Fred and George.
"Will... You... Idiots... Please... Let... Me... Breathe?"
They laughed and let go, hopping over to my bed.
"Hey, do you have any Extendable Ears with you?" I asked Fred, grinning as they both plopped down on my bed.
"Since when do I leave the house without one?" He smirked, putting his hands behind his head and leaning against my pillows.
I chuckled, "Good. There's an Order meeting tonight and I want to test them out."
George looked at his twin, "I think we've influenced her too much Freddie. She's starting to be as bad as us!"
Fred looked at his brother, "I believe you're right Georgie. I'm so proud, our baby is all grown up!" Fred said while fake sobbing.
I rolled my eyes, "You two realize I'm two months older right? You're the babies."
"We are much to mature to be babies, Miss Black," George informed me with faux seriousness.
I scoffed, "Yeah and Hermione doesn't worry about her grades."
It took them a minute to realize what I meant.
"Hey!" Fred shrieked, putting his hand to his chest.
"Elizabeth!" George also shrieked, mimicking his twin.
I heard stomps like someone was running up the stairs. Ginny. I chuckled and got up from my desk and made my way to the door, "Ginevra!"
Ginny came running. "ELLE!" She attacked me in a hug, tackling me and making us fall to the ground. I chuckled, "I missed you too, Gin."
She got up, "Sorry Elle, it's just that being stuck in a house with only one other girl, it gets quite irritating."
I got up, "I bet, Gin. Now let's go get some supper before they kick us out for the Order meeting."
We locked arms and skipped down the stairs and into the kitchen, Fred and George trailing behind us. I noticed that they had locked arms and were skipping down the stairs as well.
I hugged everyone and then dug into one of Molly Weasley's meals. I learned she kicked Kreacher out of the kitchen because she thought Dad and I looked far to thin and thought he was poisoning us. It wouldn't surprise me if he was, honestly.
Harry wasn't here yet, while Hermione arrived during supper. She hugged me from behind, throwing her arms around my shoulders. "I've missed having an intelligent human being to talk to! My mum and dad are great, but I haven't been able to talk to anyone about magic!" I laughed as she sat down in the open spot beside me.
We had only just finished eating when Molly said that the Order meeting was commencing and ushered us out of the kitchen.
I gave the twins a signal, which made them run upstairs to get the Extendable Ear. When they returned we listened to the meeting from the railing looking down on the hallway to the kitchen. That was until Crookshanks started attacking the ear. He managed to tear it off and ran away with it. I get the feeling he'll do that a lot this summer.
Over the next couple of weeks, we did manage to get a bit of information, like how the Order is following known Death Eaters. But Molly found out and went crazy, so me and the twins had to hide the Extendable Ears for awhile.
We were kept busy all summer, decontaminating rooms and sending out mail orders for WWW.
-----
Today was the day Harry was arriving. Ron and Hermione were in Ron's room, while the twins and I were hanging out in mine. I'm not sure where Ginny was. We heard the team sent to retrieve Harry come in. It wasn't long after that I heard Harry blow up at Ron and Hermione. I thought about going down to see what was going on, but I quickly changed my mind.
Finally we apparated into the room the Golden Trio was in, just to freak them out.
"Stop doing that!" Hermione scolded us.
"Hello, Harry. We thought we heard your dulcet tones," George said.
"You don't want to bottle up your anger like that, Harry, let it all out. There might be a couple of people fifty miles away who didn't hear you," Fred beamed.
"You three passed your Apparation tests, then?" Harry asked.
"With distinction," said Fred.
"It would have taken you thirty seconds longer to walk down the stairs," Ron said.
"Time is Galleons, little brother. Anyway, Harry, you're interfering with reception. Extendable Ears," Fred said, holding up the string he was holding, "We're trying to hear what's going on downstairs."
"You want to be careful. If Mum sees one of them again..." Ron trailed off.
"My dad will take care of it. It's our house anyway," I said, crossing my arms.
"It's worth the risk, that's a major meeting they're having," Fred added.
Ginny came in and greeted Harry before turning to us. "It's no go with the Extendable Ears, she's gone and put an Imperturbable Charm on the kitchen door."
"How d'you know?" George asked.
"Tonks told me how to find out. You just chuck stuff at the door an dif it can't make contact the door's been Imperturbed. I've been flicking Dungbombs at it from the top of the stairs and they just soar away from it, so there's no way the Extendable Ears will be able to get under the gap."
Fred signed. "Shame. I really fancied finding out what old Snape's been up to."
"Snape? Is he here?" Harry asked.
"Yeah. Giving a report. Top secret," George said. We all sat down on a bed.
"Git," me and Fred said in unison.
"He's on our side now," Hermione said.
"He's still a git. Doesn't like any of us," I said as Ron snorted.
"Doesn't stop him being a git. The way he looks at us when he sees us..." Ron said.
"Bill doesn't like him either," Ginny said.
Oh, yeah, Bill came home and is dating Fleur Delacour. I forgot for a bit, since me and the twins have been so busy with WWW. He says he's just giving her lessons to improve her English, but pretty much everyone knows that's not the case.
We heard a crash from a couple of rooms down, so I sighed, saying, "I'll be right back."
I stepped out into the hall. "Kreacher, come here!"
With a pop, he appeared in front of me. "Yes, Mistress?"
"What was that crash?"
"I was dusting and I knocked down some of the extra goblin-silver goblets."
"Oh, it was nothing important, then?"
"Just fifteenth-century goblin silver with your family crest," Kreacher spat.
"Okay, well, have you fed Buckbeak yet?" I asked politely.
"No, Mistress."
"Okay, well, go back to what you were doing. I'll feed him."
"Yes, Mistress."
With another pop, he vanished.
Sighing, I headed upstairs to Buckbeak's room.
---
After I was done, I returned to the room our group was in. I walked back in just before we heard the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs. "Uh-oh."
Fred gave an Extendable Ear a tug before Fred, George, and I apparated up to my room. We waited a few minutes before going back out to the landing. Fred dropped an Extendable Ear down, but the group that was there moved towards the front door. "Dammit," Fred whispered.
Fred put the ear back in my room before we started down the stairs. We were nearly there when there was a crash and I heard the unmistakable screams of my grandmother. I ran down the stairs to see Molly and Remus trying to shut the curtains, but my grandmother was screaming, "Filth! Scum! By-products of dirt and vileness! Half-breeds, mutants, freaks, begone from this place! How dare you befoul the house of my fathers-"
"Grandmother! That is enough! Shut up!" I screamed, stepping closer as Dad rushed out.
"Shut up, you horrible old hag, shut UP!" he roared.
"Yoooou! You and your daughter! Blood traitors, abominations, shame of my flesh!"
"We said- shut- UP!" Dad yelled. He and Remus closed the curtains, causing her screeches to trail off.
"Hello, Harry. I see you've met my mother," Dad said, turning to Harry.
"Your-?"
"My dear old mum, yeah. We've been trying to get her down for a month, but we think she put a Permanent Sticking Charm on the back of the canvas. Let's get downstairs, quick, before they all wake up again."
"But what's a portrait of your mother doing here?"
"Weren't you listening earlier, upstairs?" I asked, looking at Harry incredulously.
"Hasn't anyone told you? This was my parents' house. But Elle and I are the last Blacks left, so it's ours now. I offered it to Dumbledore for headquarters- about the only useful thing I've been able to do."
Downstairs, everyone welcomed Harry warmly.
Dad asked how Harry's summer was, making me frown when he mentioned how he's stuck in here. Molly got to yell at Fred and George, since they had bewitched a cauldron of stew, some butterbeer, and a wooden breadboard to hurtle through the air toward them. The stew skidded across the table, leaving burn marks. The butterbeer spilt and the bread knife landed point down where Dad's hand was seconds before. Dad, Harry, and I all busted out laughing. Molly told us our cleaning tasks for tomorrow, making Dad and I exchange glances before Dad gave a sarcastic response. And people wonder where I get my sarcasm from. Tonks entertained Hermione and Ginny by changing her nose. Things got really interesting when Molly tried to get us to go to bed. Dad stopped her, saying, "Not just yet, Molly. You know, I'm surprised at you. I thought the first thing you'd do when you got here would be to start asking questions about Voldemort," as he looked at Harry.
"I did! I asked Ron and Hermione but they said we're not allowed in the Order, so-"
"And they're quite right. You're too young," Molly said.
"Since when did someone have to be in the Order of the Phoenix to ask questions? Harry's been trapped in that Muggle house for a month. He's got the right to know what's been happen-"
"Hang on!" George interrupted.
"How come Harry gets his questions answered?" Fred asked angrily.
"We've been trying to get stuff out of you for a month and you haven't told us a single stinking thing!" George exclaimed.
"I've been trying since the beginning of summer! You haven't told me, your own daughter, who is of age, anything!"
"You're too young, you're not in the Order," Fred said, in a voice that sounded like Molly's, "Harry's not even of age!"
"It's not my fault you haven't been told what the Order's doing. That's your parents' decision-"
"You are my parent!" I argued.
"Your mother said not to tell you anything."
"But you'll tell Harry?" I asked.
"You haven't forgotten what Dumbledore said, I suppose?" Molly asked.
"Which bit?"
"The bit about not telling Harry more than he needs to know," Molly responded, putting emphasis on the last three words.
"I don't intend to tell him more than he needs to know, Molly. But he was the one who saw Voldemort come back. He has more right than most to-"
"He's not a member of the Order of the Phoenix! He's only fifteen and-"
"-and he's dealt with as much as most in the Order, and more than some-"
"No one's denying what he's done! But he's still-"
"He's not a child!"
"He's not an adult either! He's not James, Sirius!"
"I'm perfectly clear who he is, thanks, Molly."
"I'm not sure you are! Sometimes, the way you talk about him, it's as though you think you've got your best friend back!"
"What's wrong with that?" Harry asked.
"What's wrong, Harry, is that you are not your father, however much you might look like him! You are still at school and adults responsible for you should not forget it!"
"Meaning I'm an irresponsible godfather?"
"Meaning you've been known to act rashly, Sirius, which is why Dumbledore keeps reminding you to stay at home and-"
"We'll leave my instructions from Dumbledore out of this, if you please!"
"Arthur! Arthur, back be up!" Molly said, turning to Arthur.
"Dumbledore knows the position has changed, Molly. He accepts that Harry will have to be filled in to a certain extent now that he is staying at headquarters-"
"Yes, but there's a difference between that and inviting him to ask whatever he likes!"
"Personally, I think it better that Harry gets the facts- not all the facts, Molly, but the general picture- from us, rather than a garbled version from... others."
"Well, well... I can see I'm going to be overruled. I'll just say this: Dumbledore must have had his reasons for not wanting Harry to know too much, and speaking as someone who has got Harry's best interests at heart-"
"He's not your son," Dad interrupted quietly.
"He's as good as. Who else has he got?"
"He's got me!"
"Yes. The thing is, it's been rather difficult for you to look after your own daughter, let alone him, while you've been locked up in Azkaban, hasn't it?"
Yikes, Molly, that's harsh. Dad started to stand up, but Remus interrupted, "Molly, you're not the only person at this table who cares about Harry. Sirius, sit down. I think Harry ought to be allowed a say in this. He's old enough to decide for himself."
"I want to know what's been going on," Harry said.
"Very well. Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Elle, Fred, George, I want you out of this kitchen, now."
"We're of age!" Fred, George, and I shouted in unison.
"If Harry's allowed, why can't I?" Ron yelled.
"Mum, I want to!" Ginny wailed.
"NO! I absolutely forbid-"
"Molly, you can't stop Elle, Fred, and George. They are of age-" Arthur said.
"They're still at school-"
"But they're legally adults now," Arthur said, clearly tired.
"I- oh, all right then, Elle, Fred, and George can stay, but Ron-"
"Harry'll tell me and Hermione everything you say anyway! Won't- won't you?" Ron asked, looking Harry in the eyes.
"'Course I will," Harry replied.
"Fine! Fine! Ginny- BED!"
So apparently Voldemort is laying low since Harry messed up his comeback. The Order is following known Death Eaters and was trying to stop him from getting any more followers. Fudge doesn't believe he's back, plus he thinks Dumbledore wants to be Minister of Magic. Kingsley is feeding the Ministry false information about Dad's whereabouts.
Finally Molly ushered us up to bed, but after we were sure she had went to bed, the twins and I apparated into the Golden Trio's room to talk about what we found out.
---
The next day we had to decontaminate. It was quite boring, tedious work. I guess the twins let it slip to Harry that we had been doing mail orders and that we had been testing our candy on ourselves. They had been able to get doxy venom, so when we went into my room. I sat in my favorite chair in the corner, and Fred sat in the one opposite me. George sat in my roller-desk chair.
"Have you made a new ad for the Daily Prophet?" I asked Fred, leaning back in my chair.
"Nope. You have any thoughts about the doxy venom?"
"No."
"Anyone found a place for the shop?" George asked.
"Well, there is one place..." I trailed off, standing up and going over to my desk and rifling through the drawers. I found the Daily Prophet I was looking for, with one ad circled and notes in the margins. Sitting back down, I said, "It's really expensive, though."
George rolled my desk chair over to sit beside Fred. "Show us," George said, excited.
I bit my lip before turning the paper around to show them the ad about a place in Diagon Alley that had recently shut down.
They took it from my hands and looked at it closely. "Blimey, Elle, it's perfect!" Fred exclaimed.
"I know. There's just one problem: where are we going to get the money?"
Fred and George exchanged a look before smirking and saying, "Leave that to us."