It's utter madness. Ever-Bashing Boomerangs whip through the air, Dr. Filibuster's Fabulous Wet-Start No-Heat fireworks spit sparks, and Nose-Biting Teacups bare tiny porcelain teeth. Fred and George Weasley, in screaming magenta, stand upon a counter, selling to the masses.
"Step up! Step up!" They say in unison.
"We've got Fainting Fancy..." George goes on.
"Nosebleed Nougats..." Fred adds.
"And just in time for school..."
"Puking Pastilles!"
A boy stops chewing, turns pale green, literally. Fred hands him a cauldron and looks over at me. His face brightens and he strides over.
"Mia! How are you?"
"Great. Fantastic. Terrific." I stutter out.
"Great." He says, not buying it. "Now tell me the truth."
I lose my smile and glance to the floor. "Well, I've been better." I tell him, then look up into his eyes. He opens his arms for me and I jump into him, embracing him with everything I have in me. "I just miss him."
Fred knows I'm talking about Sirius. He knew how close Harry and I were to him. We watched the only family we had left die right before our eyes. It wasn't easy, and he knew that.
"I know. I miss him too." He tells me and gently pries me off of him to look into my eyes, deeply. "But you'll always have me."
"That's what I'm afraid of, Freddie." I say quietly. "Whoever I get close to, always ends up in danger. And I'm scared for you. I can't lose you too."
"Look at me." He moves his finger below my chin and lifts my gaze to his. "I'm not going anywhere."
I smile and give him a quick peck on the cheek. Just in time for both of our brothers to come up to us. They stare at us with wide eyes, then glance at each other. Then back at us.
"What'd you think, Harry?" Fred asks, trying to diffuse the awkward tension.
"It's um..." he clears his throat. "Amazing, really cool."
"Oh stop it, will you." I tell my brother. "I had to watch you with a different girl every week the entire summer."
"Yeah, but you weren't best friends with their siblings." He mutters and I glare and hit his chest. Fred and George just look to one another and laugh. Then George turns his head.
"Pocket that and you'll pay in more than Galleons, my friend." He says to a browsing boy.
"We've got eyes in the back of our heads." Fred adds.
The boy, working a screaming yo-yo, blanches as Fred and George turn, reveal they do in fact have eyes in the back of their heads. Phony, but unnerving. As the eyes wink, the tiny boy bolts.
"Bloody urchins." George mutters.
I smirk and turn my head at a display. Noticing orange and black lumps, I pick one up and examine it. Harry looks over at it.
"Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder?" He questions.
"A real money spinner that." Fred says and then sees Hermione and Ginny. "Handy if you need to make a quick escape. Hello, ladies!" Fred gestures for me to keep the darkness powder, so I smile gratefully and place it in my pocket.
George drops one of the lumps in Harry's hand, turns to Ginny and Hermione, who peruse a display of Wonder Witch Love Potions. "Yes, they do really work."
"Then again, the way we hear it, sis, you're doing just fine on your own." Fred adds.
"Meaning?" Ginny scowls.
"Are you not currently dating Dean Thomas?"
Harry pretends to consider a rack of Ten-Second Pimple Vanisher, but secretly eavesdrops. I smile at my not so subtle sibling.
"None of your business."
"These are adorable." Hermione says, trying to change the topic of conversation.
Inside a cage, small round balls of fluff roll about, squeaking.
"Aren't they now. Pygmy Puffs. Can't breed them fast enough." George smiles.
Just then a huge boy I recognize to be Cormac McLaggen, passes behind Hermione and, with his eyes, takes the full measure of her. Noticing, she turns, receives a faint smile as he moves on.
To be honest, he is quite the looker. But his brain, or should I say, lack there of, over rules his bronze.
"How much for this?" Ron asks, walking up to us holding a small device in his hand.
"Five Galleons." Both Weasley twins answer.
"How much for me?"
"Five Galleons."
"But I'm your brother!"
Fred and George glance at each other and shrug their shoulders. "Ten Galleons."
"C'mon. Let's go." Ron huffs to Harry, Hermione, and I. I laugh and wave goodbye to Fred. He blows me a kiss and I can feel the blood rush to my cheeks.
We head for the door, passing Lavender Brown, who smiles flirtatiously at an oblivious Ron.
I see the obvious pain in Hermiones eyes. Then it quickly changes to annoyance, and then slight anger. Trying to calm her down, I grab her hand and squeeze it. She looks over to me and I give her a sad smile. She returns it and we continue to follow my brother and Ron through the door.
The sun fades over an iron archway as Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I pass beneath. All around us, shops sit silent, windows boarded up or shattered. People scurry by, avoiding the scary faces of the witches and wizards who peer out from the security posters plastered to every lamp post. Bellatrix is there: "KNOWN DEATH EATER." I feel my blood boiling as I read her name.
And Greyback: "WEREWOLF." And Lucius Malfoy: "CAUGHT."
"How is it Fred and George are doing it? Half the alley's closed down." Hermione states as we continue to walk.
"Fred reckons people need a laugh these days." Ron tells her.
"Reckon he's right..." Harry trails off. He eyes the poster of Bellatrix, her mocking half-smile.
"Oh no." I say. "Look." Harry, Hermione, and Ron follow my gaze to the wreck that is Ollivander's Wand Shop. "But everyone got their wands from Ollivander. Young. Old..."
"Good. Bad. Speaking of which..." Harry states as he turns his head. Across the avenue, Draco Malfoy and his mother, Narcissa, pause, glance around, then slip quickly down an alley.
"Is it just me? Or do Draco and mummy look like two people who don't want to be followed?" I ask my friends.
"You know what, Mia?" Ron says, then smirks. "I think you're right."
The four of us trail Draco and Narcissa, who navigate these dark streets with ease. Hermione, lagging a bit, glances up at the darkening sky. When she looks back, she sees Ron, Harry, and I far ahead. I stop in my tracks, waiting for my best friend to catch up. The boys turn a corner, vanishing.
Hermione and I move through the shadows, alone, peering down side streets, each darker than the next, lost, but holding it together, when a shadow flickers overhead.
We look up and see a figure leap from one roof to another. Hermione and I stand perfectly still, then hear voices.
The two of us creep to the end of a narrow passage, towards the voices, and find ourselves behind Borgin & Burkes. Figures encircle an old cauldron. Among them, Greyback, Bellatrix, Narcissa, and in the very center... Draco.
I squint at the brilliance of the fire, the figures twisting geocomettis. Draco extends his left arm, when a shadow falls over Hermione and I. Fingers find our arms and we wheel, terrified.
"Ron." Hermione whispers. Harry and Ron have found us.
I let out a sigh in relief. "Bloody hell."
"Sorry." He huffs out.
The four of us look into the shop, watching what's happening before our eyes. Just then, the cauldron exploding with light. Instantly, the group, including Draco, disperses.
"What just happened?" Harry asks me.
"I don't know." I tell the lot. "But it can't be anything good."