Beta:Cloudy

(≖‿‿≖)ノ⌒●~*

I took a seat on the cream-colored couch next to Harry, turned over then sprawled over his lap so I could hang my legs off the arm of the couch. My twin didn't bat an eye, merely lifting his book up long enough for me to relax. I yawned and closed my eyes, ready to take a nap.

Spending a whole night thieving like a badass and brewing potions with Anyo made me pretty tired. As much as I enjoyed my summer vacation, I was spending it more like a summer work program than an actual vacation. I'd get more sleep at Hogwarts.

On the bright side, I could officially claim I was a master at werewolf biology. Really not that different from human biology except the cells were mind-bogglingly buoyant and when prodded at they transitioned closer to canine cells.

Pretty weird. Even weirder to see it under a microscope. Had to give props to the author of Everything Canis Lepophagus for a surprisingly accurate proposed simulation to the dire wolf. Or at least what Anyo and I theorized to be the dire wolf. We could very well be wrong in our hypothesis, but it was the only thing we had to go on for the moment. It made sense. Something as powerful as the lycanthrope curse had to be done with a very powerful medium and a fossil would be damn strong.

Could I make were-dinos?

A thought for later.

"Oh dear," I heard Remus exclaim. He sat in the kitchen at the table—our downstairs was an open space with only a half wall to divide the kitchen from the living room. "It looks like our aurors are teaming up with France's aurors to hunt down this Gentleman Rose thief."

"Gentleman who?" Harry asked.

"For several years a nasty wizard has been targeting Muggle museums, art galleries, auction houses, millionaires, and so on. The past few years he's left behind a rose as his calling card, so the media has been calling him Gentleman Rose."

"Why gentleman?" Harry was intrigued. "If he's a nasty wizard, I mean."

"No one's been hurt."

"And now he's... what? Targeting France?"

"It looks like it."

"Wicked."

"Harry!"

I could feel Harry shrug. "Morality aside, it's impressive to have gone so long without getting caught. He must be pretty smart."

I cleared my throat. "Less talking, please. I'm trying to nap."

Harry shoved me out of his lap, I toppled to the floor. "Go take a nap in your room."

"Rude," I sniffed. "It's your obligation to be my pillow when I need to nap. That's why we shared a womb."

"I'll have to fail that obligation, then," he said dryly. "So sorry to disappoint."

I woefully sighed, rolling over on the carpet to look up at Remus with a hopeful expression. Remus quirked an eyebrow and said, "Rosie, I'm not going to try cuddling with you on the full moon, please stop asking."

"But—"

"Ask again and I'll ground you."

"Damn it."

(≖‿‿≖)ノ⌒●~*

I idly stirred potion 12B (batch 12, cauldron B) clockwise while Anyo stirred 12C clockwise.

"So.... can vampires go into sunlight?"

"Goodness no."

"There isn't even a spell for it?"

"Why would there be? Vampires tend to get nauseous around wizards. It's too much of a discomfort for most vampires to form a friendship, let alone ask a wizard to craft a spell for them. And wizards have repeatedly told us being around us makes them feel like a baby dementor is bothering them. Did you know some have even tried to cast the patronus charm against me?" Anyo sounded scandalized by that last part. "A patronus! Why would that do anything to a vampire?"

I snorted and bit the inside of my cheeks to keep from laughing. "What an idiot. I don't even know what they're talking about—I feel nothing but happy being next to you. You're so pretty."

He shook his head. I couldn't see his face behind the porcelain white mask, but I thought he was smiling at me. "You're an exception, Rosie. Although I am hesitant to take off the mask and smell you in case you do make me nauseous. I think it would be rather rude of me to get sick at the scent of you."

"I would be deeply offended," I said while nodding. "Deeply, deeply offended. Why, our friendship might even be ruined."

"How terrible," he teased.

"It would be a tragedy to lose you. There's so few eye-candies in this world," I bemoaned.

Suddenly both of our potions exploded in a burst of red smoke. I had set up plenty of standard protection charms on us both—I could use my wand in Lunar's Orchid as the trace was placed over it similarly to Hogwarts—so we weren't hurt, but it was still startling.

And frustrating.

I glared at the now empty cauldron. "Butter biscuits. This is tricky business. Maybe I should look into finding a third opinion."

"My sister is returning home soon," Anyo said. "She married a veela who has both a Muggle degree in veterinarian science and has taken Healer courses. She doesn't have a wand, but she knows the theory by heart. Perhaps she might be able to assist?"

"Do you think she would?"

"I believe her wife would be willing to help in exchange for... a few items."

"Such as?"

"Nothing too strange. I understand she is very fond of gemstones."

I smiled sweetly. "Does she care if they're obtained illegally?"

Anyo laughed warmly at me. "I think it would make her all the happier."

"A woman after my own heart."

(≖‿‿≖)ノ⌒●~*

"So..." I drawled it out as I wrapped my arms around Sirius from behind. He was sitting at his favorite chair in the kitchen, tinkering with an odd contraption in his hands. "Can we go shopping with the Weasleys this summer? Fred and George promised to buy me a new book."

"And why would they do that?" Sirius asked me, turning his head to place a chaste kiss on my cheek.

"I may have wagered a bet. They may have lost."

"Mm-hmm. It's been a couple of months since I've seen Arthur and Molly, and that's far too long."

I kissed his cheek. "I love you."

"It's impossible not to," Sirius said cheekily.

"Even dementors would swoon for you."

He chuckled at that.

(≖‿‿≖)ノ⌒●~*

When it was time to go shopping, Sirius, Harry, and I floo'd over to the Weasleys for breakfast. Molly and Arthur were ever so pleased to see Sirius again. Apparently Sirius had visited Molly several times during while we were at Hogwarts.

I had wondered what he did with all that free time. He had enough money between the Black and Potter fortune to not need a job, but Sirius Black was never one to sit still. I knew he had been studying curse-breaking and warding for the past few years, but aside from that? No clue.

Luckily for me Molly answered that question with, "Did you catch the latest drama?"

"I cannot believe that witch Sally-Ann would do such a thing," Sirius told her.

"What a waste," Molly nodded.

Sirius Black listened to the magical equivalent of soap opera dramas over the radio with Molly Weasley.

Beautiful.

While Sirius started helping Molly with breakfast—"Always such a dear, aren't you!"—I eagerly explored the burrow.

The kitchen was small and rather cramped. There was a scrubbed wooden table and chairs in the middle. There was an old fashioned wooden clock on the wall opposite. It had only one hand and no numbers at all. Written around the edge were things like Time to make tea, Time to feed the chickens, and You're late. Books were stacked three deep on the mantelpiece, books with titles like Charm Your Own Cheese, Enchantment in Baking, and One Minute Feasts—It's Magic!

Already up and waiting for us were Fred and George who gave me their charming Cheshire grin. I rushed forward, hugging George first then Fred.

"Good to see you both in person. Writing letters isn't the same," I said, giving both their hands a friendly squeeze.

"We have been told we are devilishly handsome," Fred said with a firm nod.

"The most handsome blokes on the Gryffindor Quidditch team in fact," George added with great confidence.

I reached up and pinched both their cheeks. "Cocky little shits."

"Cocky little shi—"

"You two better not finish that!" Molly rounded on them, holding up her wooden stirring spoon like a weapon. The twins flinched away from her.

Harry glanced around the kitchen some more before offering Molly a polite smile. "Your home feels warm."

"Aren't you sweet? Thank you, dear." Molly was all smiles for me and Harry.

The next Weasley to greet the morning was Ron. He came down the stairs in his pajamas, yawning and rubbing his eyes. "Mornin... uh, Harry?"

"Hello Ron," Harry politely greeted his Housemate.

"What're you doing here?"

"Rosie wanted to do school shopping with Fred and George," Harry explained, gesturing to me. I cheerfully waved at Ron.

"They owe me a book," I said and the twins sighed. "A big, fancy book."

"Should have known to bet against a snake," Fred muttered.

"You really should have," I agreed.

Ron shrugged, nonplussed by the news. He took a seat at the kitchen table beside Harry and asked, "Good summer mate?"

"Not bad actually," Ron said with an easy smile. "Did you catch the games?"

Harry perked up, eyes brightening. "Did you hear the one last night?"

"Oh man, did I—"

Yeah, I really didn't care to listen to two boys gush over Quidditch. Fred offered me a seat in between him and George—a truly dangerous position for those not brave, but I rose to the challenge.

At that moment there was a diversion in the form of a small, redheaded figure in a long nightdress, who appeared in the kitchen, gave a small squeal, and ran out again.

"Ginny," muttered Ron in an annoyed tone to Harry. "My sister. She's been talking about you all summer."

"Yeah, she'll be wanting your autograph, Harry," Fred said with a grin, but he caught his mother's eye and wisely mimed the motion of zipping his lips.

"His not mine?" I asked, jokingly offended.

"Your not a handsome bloke," George mocked.

"What a pity."

The twins snickered.

"Where's Arthur?" Sirius asked Molly while he whipped up his famous soufflé pancake batter.

"Had to work last night, I'm afraid," Molly tutted. "He should be back in time for breakfast."

Indeed, perhaps fifteen minutes later Arthur Weasley came in through the floo. He slumped into the nearest kitchen chair with his glasses off and eyes closed. He was a thin man, going bald, but the little hair he had was as red as any of his children's. He was wearing long green robes, which were dusty and travel-worn.

"What a night," he mumbled, groping for the teapot as they all sat down around him. "Nine raids. Nine! And old Mundungus Fletcher tried to put a hex on me when I had my back turned..." Mr. Weasley took a long gulp of tea and sighed.

"Find anything, Dad?" asked Fred eagerly.

"All I got were a few shrinking door keys and a biting kettle," yawned Mr. Weasley. "There was some pretty nasty stuff that wasn't my department, though. Mortlake was taken away for questioning about some extremely odd ferrets, but that's the Committee on Experimental Charms, thank goodness..."

"Why would anyone bother making door keys shrink?" said George.

"Just Muggle-baiting," sighed Mr. Weasley. "Sell them a key that keeps shrinking to nothing so they can never find it when they need it. Of course, it's very hard to convict anyone because no Muggle would admit their key keeps shrinking—they'll insist they just keep losing it. Bless them, they'll go to any lengths to ignore magic, even if it's staring them in the face... But the things our lot have taken to enchanting, you wouldn't believe—"

Arthur was interrupted by a couple of Hogwarts owls entering the kitchen with their Hogwarts letters. Like clockwork, they arrived at the same day every year, the day not even changing since Sirius went to school.

Harry and I accepted our letter—I noticed Fred and George were also cursed to share a letter due to being twins. Molly hollered up at Ginny to come down for her letter, and the youngest Weasley did so while Harry and I read through ours. As we read, Sirius and Molly began to pile food on each of our plates.

SECOND-YEAR STUDENTS WILL REQUIRE:

The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2 by Miranda Goshawk

Break with a Banshee by Gilderoy Lockhart

Gadding with Ghouls by Gilderoy Lockhart

Holidays with Hags by Gilderoy Lockhart

Travels with Trolls by Gilderoy Lockhart

Voyages with Vampires by Gilderoy Lockhart

Wanderings with Werewolves by Gilderoy Lockhart

Year with the Yeti by Gilderoy Lockhart

Fred, who had finished his own list, peered over at my shoulder.

"You've been told to get all Lockhart's books, too!" he said. "The new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher must be a fan—bet it's a witch."

At this point, Fred caught his mother's eye and quickly busied himself with the marmalade.

"That lot won't come cheap," said George, with a quick look at his parents. "Lockhart's books are really expensive."

"Well, we'll manage," said Molly, but she looked worried. "I expect we'll be able to pick up a lot of Ginny's things secondhand."

"Oh, are you starting at Hogwarts this year?" Harry asked Ginny.

She nodded, blushing to the roots of her flaming hair, and put her elbow in the butter dish. Fortunately not a lot of her siblings saw that, because just then Percy walked in. He was already dressed, his Hogwarts prefect badge pinned to his sweater vest.

"Morning, all," said Percy briskly. "Lovely day."

He sat down in the only remaining chair and nodded to Harry and me.

"Let's tuck in then head out shall we?" Arthur asked as Sirius plopped down beside him.

"Oh!" Sirius clapped his hands together. "All right if Harry's Housemate joins us, too? She's a Muggleborn so her parents aren't quite used to Diagon Alley."

"But of course!" Arthur all but gleefully exclaimed.

"Thank you," Harry said sincerely.

"Invited Hermione?" I asked.

"She was worried about her parents getting overwhelmed," Harry explained. "Be kind?"

"I won't run them off," I promised. Then I paused as I considered it. "Not intentionally, at least."

(≖‿‿≖)ノ⌒●~*

We met up with the Granger family outside Gringotts. Hermione was ever so happy to see us again. She hugged me first! I might have raced Harry to get to her in order to get the first hug, but still.

"You're Muggles!" exclaimed Arthur right away with utter delight. "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.

"Come now Arthur," Sirius said, he put an arm around Arthur's shoulders and dragged him off. "Away we go!"

We pulled out our money then exited the bank.

Back outside on the marble steps, we all began to separate. Percy muttered vaguely about needing a new quill. Fred and George had spotted their friend from Hogwarts, Lee Jordan. Molly and Ginny were going to a secondhand robe shop. Arthur was insisting on taking the Grangers off to the Leaky Cauldron for a drink and Sirius was never one to turn down the chance to socially drink.

"We'll all meet at Flourish and Blotts in an hour to buy your school books," said Molly, setting off with Ginny. "And not one step down Knockturn Alley!" she shouted at the twins' retreating backs.

Harry, Hermione, and to my delighted surprise, Ron headed off on their own down the winding, cobbled street.

I had other plans.

Knockturn Alley here I come!

(≖‿‿≖)ノ⌒●~*

Knockturn Alley was poorly lit, seemed to be allergic to basic hygiene, and yet smelled like a delicious roast of dark chocolate. I wandered about for a little while, easily evading those that tried to approach me. Then I spotted a familiar head of platinum blond hair and I skipped over.

"'Ello Draco!" I greeted him cheerfully. Draco and Lucius Malfoy were standing outside an antique shop named Borgin and Burkes.

Draco turned to me in shock, his gray eyes widening. Lucius Malfoy held his own surprise well hidden, only offering me a courtesy thin smile. Draco asked me, "What are you doing here, Rosie?"

"Sneaking around. We came with the Weasleys to do school shopping, but then Mrs. Weasley told us not to go down Knockturn Alley so obviously I went here first," I explained.

Draco snickered. "That sounds about right."

"Then you are without an escort?" Lucius smoothly inquired.

"Unfortunately yes."

"I can escort you," Draco offered, holding out his arm.

"Why, thank you," I said, hooking my arm through his. "Is that okay, Lord Malfoy?"

"It would be discourteous to leave a young witch unattended to," the handsome wizard softly returned.

"Lovely! Please lead the way."

With Draco's guidance, I got a proper tour of Knockturn Alley. Lucius was content to walk further behind us, carefully watching our interaction. Draco appeared eager to show his father that he had established a good friendship with one of the Twins-Who-Lived, and from the brief moments I caught Lucius smiling I could only assume Lord Malfoy was pleased by that development.

It was interesting to see the different shops down Knockturn. I understood why it got such a bad reputation, considering some ingredients they were selling were both unsavory and dangerous. The only place I was able to make a safe purchase was from Borgin and Burkes. I bought the Hand of Glory—a dark artifact that took the appearance of a shriveled hand. It would only give candlelight to the holder, and could even shine through a veil created by Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder which is resistant to most light-creation spells.

Such an artifact was perfect for a thief. Lord Malfoy didn't comment on my choice of purchases, but Draco thought it was super wicked and I promised him he could borrow it whenever he wanted.

Another artifact I purchased there was a flame holder made out of some type of porcelain and shaped like a small human skull. Any fire lit in the holder would stay lit indefinitely until the person who lit the fire in the first place blew it out. Perfect for when I wanted to plot an evil scheme at my desk in near darkness except for a single lit candle.

The last purchase there I had no reasonable explanation for. It was a rock that had something carved into it. From the jagged edges on one side, and the smooth rounded part on the other, I could only conclude it was a piece of something bigger.

The moment I touched it, I felt a rush of warmth and—I know it's going to sound weird but I had no other word for it.

I felt the color blue.

Warmth... and blue.

Super weird, I knew.

Draco thought the stone was warm, but he had nothing else to comment about it other than that.

I decided to purchase it, intrigued by it.

Maybe I could find the rest of it?

When the tour came to an end as thanks I placed a friendly kiss on Draco's cheek—he grinned triumphantly at his father who gave him a satisfied smile in return—then headed off to meet my family at the bookstore.

As I approached it, I saw a large crowd jostling outside the doors, trying to get in. The reason for this was proclaimed by a large banner stretched across the upper windows:

GILDEROY LOCKHART

will be signing copies of his autobiography

MAGICAL ME

today 12:30 P.M. to 4:30 P.M.

The crowd seemed to be made up mostly of witches around Molly's age. A harassed-looking wizard stood at the door, saying, "Calmly, please, ladies... Don't push, there... mind the books now..."

With careful ease, I slipped inside. A long line wound right to the back of the shop, where Gilderoy Lockhart was signing his books. As much of a moron he was in the book series I had to reluctantly admit he was handsome. He had a face that a Hollywood actor would be envious of, complete with those shiny golden locks and too-white-to-be-natural pearly smile.

I grabbed one of the books I needed and then snuck up the line to where the rest of my family and the Weasleys were standing with Mr. and Mrs. Granger.

"Oh, there you are, good," said Molly. Weasley. She sounded breathless and kept patting her hair. "We'll be able to see him in a minute..."

A short, irritable-looking man was dancing around taking photographs with a large black camera that emitted puffs of purple smoke with every blinding flash. "Out of the way, there," he snarled at Ron, moving back to get a better shot. "This is for the Daily Prophet —"

"Big deal," said Ron, rubbing his foot where the photographer had stepped on it. Gilderoy Lockhart heard him.

He looked up. He saw Ron and then he saw Harry. He stared. Then he leaped to his feet and positively shouted, "It can't be Harry Potter?"

The crowd parted, whispering excitedly; Lockhart dived forward, seized Harry's arm before anyone could react, and pulled him to the front. The crowd burst into applause. Harry's face turned redder than cherries as Lockhart shook his hand for the photographer, who was clicking away madly, wafting thick smoke over the Weasleys. "Nice big smile, Harry," said Lockhart, through his own gleaming teeth. "Where's your sister—Ah!"

To my absolute horror, Lockhart made a move to grab me, but Sirius was prepared that time and snatched his hand and pulled Harry back over to me.

"Not very polite to make a grab at a young girl," Sirius said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"Apologies for the misunderstanding. I only meant to offer a chance for the young twins to be presented—for free, of course—my autobiography," Lockhart smoothly said with his award-winning smile.

"How kind," came Sirius's saccharine sardonic response.

"Naturally," Lockhart demurred. "It only makes sense to have a proper introduction now since we'll be seeing each other more often in September. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have great pleasure and pride in announcing that this September, I will be taking up the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"

Lockhart had turned to the cheering and clapping crowd at that last statement.

"Hogwarts professors don't put their hands on students." Sirius's eyes were now narrowed, and he made it a point to push Harry and me behind him.

Lockhart's smile didn't falter. "Thank you, Lord Black."

Oooooh. Sirius was definitely glaring now. I hadn't seen him that angry since Remus decided to sleep in an alleyway instead of coming home because he didn't want to be a "burden" or some other bullshit. Sirius threw such a hissy fit and had to physically haul Remus back home. It turned into a brawl between the two that had them both in the hospital with broken bones and black eyes. Remus started sleeping at home from then on.

Knowing Sirius wasn't about to break eye contact—it was a dog thing, dogs didn't break eye contact with those they wanted to rip their throats out, you see—I decided it was the best if Harry and I slipped away.

The moment we tried though Sirius lost interest in Lockhart and the press swarmed in on the soon-to-be professor to ask him questions. Sirius put on a jolly smile and assessed our large group.

"Welp, guess I will be the one paying for these books," Sirius said with good cheer.

"Sirius Black you will not," Molly sternly told him.

"How dare you! Did you not make me Ginny's godfather?"

Ginny let out an eep while Molly laughed and rolled her eyes. "We most certainly did not."

"Well," Sirius blustered, "I am declaring her my goddaughter now. Harry and Rosie are impossible to spoil nowadays. Did you know Rosie won't let me buy her any more unicorns?"

"Unicorns?" echoed a mischievous Fred.

"Shut. Up. Now," I hissed at Sirius.

"It's too late," Sirius said, throwing a literal sack of galleons at the counter. "They're bought! Let me spoil, damn it."

"You are impossible to deal with," Molly scolded him, poking a finger in his chest. But her eyes were warm and her tone held no malice.

"Impossibly handsome."

"We know the feeling," George added.

"Look, you gotta give me godship over these two at least!" Sirius said, placing a hand atop both boys' heads. "They're everything I ever wanted in a marauder successor."

"Words hurt you know," I dryly added to which he ruffled my hair.

"Absolutely not!" Arthur laughed. "Molly would lose her mind."

"Oh, she's tougher than that—"

"I would lose my mind," Molly wholeheartedly agreed.

"Molly," Sirius whined, betrayed. "How could you? I thought we had a connection."

But Molly only laughed again.

Fred and George came up on me as I inched closer to the bookstore exit.

"So—"

"—what book did you want us to buy you?"

"I don't actually have a book I want to buy. I only wanted to win," I said with a shrug. And be at Diagon Alley when Lucius gives Ginny the diary so I can snag it for myself. "Pick one out you think I'd like."

The twins exchanged silent expressions, then headed into the store to peruse. I went to the exit where I saw Lucius and Draco leaving as well.

"Already get your books?" I asked in surprise. Canonically Lucius was supposed to fight Arthur and use the commotion to slip Tom Riddle's diary in Ginny's cauldron.

"Yeah," Draco said, holding up his bag with a roll of his eyes. "Hopefully Lockhart won't be as incompetent as Quirrell."

My lips twitched as I fought back a smile. "Mmmm... one can only hope. Thanks again for being my escort. I hope you both have a lovely day."

I offered them a curtsy. Draco politely returned it with a small bow, and Lucius dipped his head before the two departed.

Since the commotion didn't happen, did he slip Ginny the diary still, or—?

I had placed the artifacts I had bought from Borgins and Burkes inside my expandable messenger bag. I rummaged through to see if there was any hidden diary, but sadly there was not. How disheartening that Lucius didn't try to kill me. What a pity.

Glancing around I spotted Ginny and her cauldron. With the skill of a gentleman thief, I rummaged her cauldron without her knowing and—

Lucius you cunning snake.

He slipped her the diary without ever making a scene.

I inwardly applauded him while I pick pocketed the diary for myself then stepped out of the shop to wait for the twins.

They came back out with a purchased book and handed it to me with smiles so sweet I knew they did something ornery.

It was a book about unicorns.

"You little shits."

(≖‿‿≖)ノ⌒●~*

Bucket List Completed:

9. Master werewolf biology for future worgen army

28. Spend summer preparing for baby Riddle

30. Steal diary from Ginny ASAP.

ƪ(˘⌣˘)ʃ

See you next week!

Answer: Gentleman Fox. I'd leave a picture of a fox in place of every stolen item. :)

Question: If you were friends with Fred and George Weasley, how do you think they would prank you to cheer you up?

Reviews are love